Moving.

We are moving into a new house.  It is tiny and pretty and lovely.  It is in my favourite area of Brighton.  It will be the first time I have lived in a whole house (not flat) in nearly ten years – and that was with housemates so doesn’t really count.

Prior to this, we have lived in three different flats in Brighton.  We have lived in the same area for well over five years now and we really love it, although I think we’re ready for the change.

Things I will miss about Seven Dials:

• ·      The amazing local shop and all my friends there being right on my doorstep.
• ·      The Battle of Trafalgar pub.
• ·      Sing-Li fish and chips.
• ·      Being able to walk to Brighton station and into the Lanes in under a minute.
• ·      My tried and tested running routes.

We have lived in our current flat for only just over a year and a half (but before that we lived basically across the road – you can see our previous flat from the kitchen window).  It is not our dream flat but it has been good to us and we have got used to each other.  When we moved in, it was during a time of turmoil – we had to move at just the time I was made redundant from my job, so I was simultaneously (and pretty unwillingly) leaving a job and a flat that I had been in for a good few years.  Since then life has calmed down and I hope it will continue to do so.

Things I will remember about the Buckingham Road flat:

• ·      Being able to see the sea from my bedroom window.
• ·      Feeling cocooned on the top floor.
• ·      The nasty brown carpets.
• ·      The sweet little galley kitchen that reminds me of Paris.
• ·      The awful downstairs neighbours who filled the communal hallway with rubbish, had comically noisy sex whenever we sat down to dinner and one of whom would play Times Like These by the Foo Fighters (presumably the only song he could play on his acoustic guitar), repeatedly, every Sunday afternoon.  Somewhat annoyingly, they moved out only about a month ago and much nicer neighbours moved in.
• ·      The broken hallway light that nobody ever came and fixed.
• ·      The angry American next door – who we could hear shouting through the walls every time we were in the kitchen, but who was softly-spoken, polite and usually on his way to yoga whenever I saw him in the street.
• ·      The excellent shower, coupled with the weird fact that the only bathroom in the flat is the en-suite (providing much fun for overnight guests).
• ·      Sunshine in the sitting room on Sunday afternoons.
• ·      Making bivouacs.

So, we are now off to a new house and a whole new area.  Wish me luck.