07-Feb-2026
The end of January saw us struggling to get to grips with our new house.
A week on, and things are very definitely looking better, although we've pretty much exhausted ourselves in the process.
The week has disappeared in a tumult of activities like these:
-- Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning
-- Building, building, building
Nigel, constructing the table
And resting after the last piece is assembled...
-- Doing trips to the tip
-- Making daily visits to hardware and sundries shops
-- Ordering stuff, and taking delivery of what you've ordered
-- Keeping an eye out in nearby second-hand shops for missing items (always carry your measuring tape with you)
-- Sending for the boiler man (the problem was easily sorted, thank goodness)
-- Removing miles of excess wiring
-- Moving things around until they feel as though they're in the right place
-- Photocopying stuff, and registering for things
It has often felt endless, and there's still a lot to do. But at least the basics needed for daily life are all clean, and have a home.
We even had a kind of inauguration dinner on Saturday. Ensconced in the fold-up garden chairs that are currently the stand-in for the sofa we don't yet have, two family members joined us to crack the bottle of prosecco the estate agent had gifted us, and enjoy the handiwork of the local Chinese take-away.
And it's definitely starting to feel like home, as we slowly assemble the little things that carry meaning for us.
New to us was this vase, which used to belong to my mother, and was passed onto me by a family member. Mum loved cut glass, and loved fuchsia, so it's a very resonant piece
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We basically live on a 1990s estate. But you don't have to walk too far to feel quite rural:
The picture at the top is the view from our local B&Q...
There's also a lot that's very handsome about Douglas, on whose outskirts we're situated:
I have a great love for these terraced houses
And this is very elegant, don't you think?
Here's T.E. Brown (1830-97), renowned as the Manx national poet
We have had some wild, wild weather since arriving on the Island. Massive easterly gales, combined with high tides, have meant that Douglas prom has taken a real battering.
Here the waves are still low, but the bay is already very turbulent. Loads of sailings had to be cancelled last week
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We've visited a fair number of cafes during this rather intense settling-in period. These indulgences will assume more reasonable proportions as life becomes more normal. Highlights:
Breakfast with our Kuching friend at Noa
Fabulous combo of poached eggs, avocado, and feta, with a delicious potato rosti
Noa is situated in the former Old Market Hall
St Nigel... This is the cafe at Riley's Garden Centre, very close to where we live
Delicious and very sustaining
Reminds us of our other home...
We really liked Java Express, especially when visited before light on a cold, windy morning
The Windsor Coffee Co, which we discovered only last October, is still a favourite
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Tomorrow we head briefly back to England, to visit family, return the van, and have a couple of days' break in Liverpool.
Nigel has really got into the swing of driving the van, and will miss it
I'm grateful for the change of gear, but am also looking forward to getting back to the little house, so that's a good sign. I kind of feel I've bonded...