And more rewriting history

In typical fashion, and in line with my belief that "nothing succeeds like excess", I also bought a couple of wardrobes from the 1890's, and an exercise in logistics they have proved too. Firstly, when the shipment of all the old furniture arrived at my home in Bracknell, it was delivered by a tiny little old man in a 3-ton truck. He looked like an ex-jockey and, when he had handed me the waybill which indicated the total mass of goods shipped to me being almost 600kg, we both stared at his equally diminutive trolley and sighed in anticipation of a hard day's work. It occurred to me then that perhaps my love for old African furniture was not matched with any similar amount of common sense - especially as far as English houses are concerned.

These wardrobes are 2m 25cm tall - and the ceilings in the Bracknell Lego block house are 2m 30 .. suffice to say they had to be reassembled inside the rooms in the house. Where they loom over the occupants. And probably creak late at night. Mind you, having just watched the first of the Narnia Chronicles, I am all in favour of owning an access gate to a new and more magical world so I think I will have them dismantled and then "re-mantled" in the new Norwich house.

Who knows, maybe one night I'll disappear into a strange and beautiful land ruled by a savage psychopath and his evil trolls, a land where all normal rules have been suspended and where the broad mass of the population live in abject subjugation. Or maybe I'll use my wardrobe to visit Narnia instead of Zimbabwe.

It is a serendipity of note that the differently-sized niches in the new house (those on either side of the chimney breast in lounge, dining room and two of the bedrooms) are exactly the right shape and volume to hold my various cupboards. In truth, this was one of the deciding factors in buying the new Victorian terrace in Norwich. And to continue the strange synchronicities that happen in my life, the new house was built in the same year my family headed up to Rhodesia - 1891. And about 10 years before my Mom's dad was born in Lancashire.

Anyway I can hear the rain beating against the windows and it's 07h21 - time to head for work and another busy day trying to join up the myriad unconnnected bits of people interventions into a smooth programme. A bit early to be planning holidays but I am already looking at pictures of Perth beaches and sighing. Maybe in the middle of the year I'll head South, see family in Sa and then hop over to Oz for some exploring.