Avid readers of the blog 'Mexico Christmas' may recall a Margherita-fuelled discussion between me and Alexis, over our extended lunch in Daiquiri Dick's, near the beach one wet Monday afternoon (December 30th 2013 to be precise). The topics, wide-ranging and on occasions rather off-beat, included a wild idea to buy a holiday home for us to escape to. There's one place in the UK that has captured top-spot as an ideal destination for us, and that is Saundersfoot in Southwest Wales.
So, ordinarily when these ideas were mooted we'd think about a plan; I'd decide it was too risky; I'd come up with all the reasons why it would end up being a bad idea, and then we'd drop it and revert to normal life. Then I'd moan that normal life had lost its sparkle, filled as it was with a list of 'jobs' and nights in from of the crappest of crap TV.
Mexico, however, had a somewhat transformative effect on me: I returned with a sense of devilment and freedom, determined to move on from my conservatism and my impressive ability to find the negatives in any scheme. This was a new me.
Before we'd even left Puerto Vallarta we set upon the iPads and scoured Rightmove. We found a small number of potential properties, with two stand-out candidates. We arranged with the agents for some viewings and on 17 January, less than two weeks after we got back from Mexico, we drove down to Saundersfoot to take a look.
Candidate number one was a 100 year-old semi-detached cottage. It would have made a wonderful holiday home when completed, but that might have been in 5 years time - it was simply too much to take on. Everywhere I looked there was work to be done. The only thing in the entire house that didn't require remedial work was the original tiled floor in the hall, which was fab, but not exactly a great basis for a complete restoration project.
It wasn't a great start...
No comments:
Post a Comment