Moving on (12)

21 5 12

             You'd think by now I should have had the time

            To relax and turn our move to rhyme;

            Yet, though it all went smoothly, everything

            Is out of joint and, what's more worrying,

            While simple things like scissors or a spoon

            Are lurking somewhere in the other room,

            Those items undeserving of the light

            Refuse to disappear from our sight.

            Even trying to make a cup of tea

            Becomes a battle with my memory,

            As if each tiny tea-bag thinks it's fun

            To hide away and keep me on the run.

                      But then that's nothing when I come to think

                      Of phone lines and computers on the blink.

23 5 12

            A day in Brighton, not that far to roam

            But it's worth it, just to come back home.

Brian Hick May 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 9.5.24

           

 Moving on (11)

15 5 12

            We're in - but not before the removal van

            Needed to shift the cars before they began

            To unload everything across the ramp

            Which managed to save our things from getting damp

            Given that it showered most of the day -

            And just as we arrived - but then ok

            We're in - and only one glass sacrificed

            An offering which we hope will suffice.

17 5 12

            No heating,

            No hot water,

            No phone for at least a week

            Not sure about the oven

            Yet

            Forty-eight hours on

            Everything is unpaced - well almost

            The garage is not yet full

            The grass is cut

            The saucepans are hung up

            Most of our clothes are sorted out

            There's champagne in the fridge

            Hannah is impressed

            But we still can't find the lead for the kettle.

Brian Hick May 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 8.5.24

 Moving on (10)

13 5 12

            A day to go and most things are now packed.

             Each room heaves with cardboard boxes stacked

             Almost too high and loosened clothing snags

             On recycling and mounds of plastic bags.

            The family all arrive so we can go

            For Sunday lunch together before we show

            Them how to get to 146 and where

            To park the car, when they are next there.

            Sam has spent the weekend to ensure

            His collections are all quite secure.

14 5 12

            Two men arrive from Chapman's and proceed

            To pack up all the rest, and do not leave

            A thing untouched, and all within two hours!

            I put a note out, hoping that the showers

            Will not wash away a parking ban

            In the space that's needed for the van.

            The chairs are in the road as it gets dark

            Hoping the van won't need to double park

            Tomorrow morning, especially as Tuesdays

            Are rubbish and recycling collection days.

            Sam is back from work hoping that he

            Can finish packing before the clock strikes three.

I

             And so to bed, with night-cap in a cup

            As all the glass is  packed and every drop

            That's going with us is snugly packed away;

            So I must finish off the Scotch - wahay!

Brian Hick May 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 7.5.24

 1159

          13 May 2012

When we came here in nineteen-eighty-four

Would we have guessed that twenty-eight years on

We'd only just be trouping out the door

For the last time, and when we are gone

Will memories of these years just disappear?

For this house was never ours, though we thrived

A few year here, as many did before

And many yet may do if it survives.

Memory travels with us, all unaware;

Those tiny fragments of so many days

Known only to ourselves, unless we share

With those who can recall our family ways.

Solstice, birthdays, Sunday lunch with friends

These last forever - such love never ends.

Brian Hick May 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 6.5.24

 1158

Evesham

St Lawrence's - redundant - but still worth

A detour for the Saga parties who

The locals hope will supplement the dearth

Of foreign tourists put off by the queue

To get into the country at Heathrow.

James is there to greet them at the door

Offering to guide so that they'll know

Something of its history before

They wander for themselves to view the glass,

Modern for the most part, but in place

With Early English tracery and the mass

Of arches which enclose this quiet space

            Where peace continues even if the church

            Has long since left the building in the lurch.

Brian Hick May 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 3.5.24

 Moving on (9)

 7 5 12

            We're off to Stratford, but Sam needs to know

            Where to put the boxes or to stow

            His stuff once he's removed it from the attic,

            Sorted it out, then carefully repacked it.

 8 5 12

            Chapman's call us early on to say

            They'll deliver boxes on Friday

            So we start to pack up what we can

            Before they come on Tuesday with the van.

10 5 12

            A form from RB which we need to sign

            To transfer No5  and thus consign

            Twenty-eight years of family history

            To a single entry in local registry.

            Two letters from Sky, saying again

            That they will be there when we move in

            For all that's needed is a simple tweak

            Although the phone will take another week.

Brian Hick May 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 2.5.24

            

 Moving on (8)

We have exchanged!! All's done for good or ill;

Now all we have to do is pay the bill.

Meanwhile, I spend the morning filling in

Endless forms on-line, as we begin

To contact the bureaucratic world

Who insist each item be approved - 

Previous address or mother's maiden name -

Before my driving licence can be changed;

And every site has its own special plan

To make contact as difficult as it can.

Given they know us all, in any case,

Could they not simply change our data base

With one swift click at Cheltenham GCHQ

Then we ourselves would have far less to do?

Chapman's have confirmed that they will pack

Our books, our china, pictures and wine rack,

And all the frames of family photographs

Which should give the packers a good laugh.

Wrote a cheque for over eight thousand quid

So RB can finalise, with nothing hid,

All docs in place, consummatus est,

But moving is now left to our behest.

Brian Hick May 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 1.5.24