No going back now.......................

[FLYING BANANA]

........................................... well, especially in Cornwall.

Gradually it is sinking in that I have at last done something about buying a home. My first, never done anything like this before in my whole life. Ys, I’m excited, and the excitement is growing every minute. Going back to not being able to sleep, (writing this out at 3am), making plans of “what to buy?”.
Cannot wait to move in.

Have taken Allen and Val to view, only from the outside at the moment. Found an extra parking space opposite the garage so Redfive or the Bear might have somewhere to park off road. I’m basically the last house in the road on the left hand side. There are some houses further down but I think they are on another road.
Allen’s going to make me a garden gate and help me to put up a new garden fence.
At least he’ll not have any decorating to do, just hang all my pictures, and there’s about 40 of them.

Anyway to back to the title. Yesterday I attended the Cornwall MG Owners Club meet at Lands End, this was in conjunction with the Chichester MG Club. They have 12 cars down on a long weekend, 2 cars had to drop out, ( the Jowett Javelin broke down and the MG SVR was unable to make it).
Anyway one of the Chichester members came over and asked who owned the ‘stunning Firefrost ZT? I raised my hand and the chap said, “Wish you had brought the Yellow One Mr Banana man”. I explained that she was still being fitted with her new coat of paint.

Andy then asked me what part of Essex I came from as he had detected my accent. This has been said numerous times, never thought I had a accent. I replied that I had lived in Barkingside all my life up till June last year. Then moved to Saltash.
Turned out that he had lived in Ilford and then moved to Basildon before moving down to Chichester. He then said he had served his apprenticeship at Ilford Films, Kodak films biggest rival at one point, in Ilford.
They used to have a massive factory complex that basically stretched from Ilford to Barking.

As the 35mm film industry moved on so the factory got smaller and smaller before it moved to Basildon. Ilford films are still going but I believe they are made abroad, probably a subsidiary of another company now.
But Andy and I had a good old chat about Ilford and Barkingside, lots of memories from the distance passed. Turned out he is a couple of years younger than me but the memories are still there.
Small world really is it not. The receptionist at the doctors lived about 200yards from me in Barkingside, then there is one of the mechanics at my local garage who was born in Cranbrook Road Barkingside. One of my neighbours was born in Hainault, that was the next place along from Barkingside.

Andy asked me if I had been back, yes I was there in January. Did I think it had changed? Yes, I suppose it had.
But I have no yearning to return anymore, I know I should go back but my heart is now in Cornwall.
Even when I was property hunting over on the dark side I still wanted to live over the Tamar in the pasty capital of the world.

Oh! Best have a shower and get ready for the trip up to Yeovilton with the Bear. Meeting Allen n Val in Leafy. Then we are meeting some of the others at the Route 5 Diner at Haldon Hill before progressing up to the National.

Many thanks for reading and the comments.