We're moving out...

If anyone should ask how long it takes to empty a five bedroomed property, you can now say with some authority (ours) that it takes two days with a small team of remarkable removal men, lots of boxes, even more sealing tape, copious amounts of wrapping paper, a transit van and a large container lorry.

Fortunately for the process, the weather was fine and dry – as one of the men told me, if it drizzles they usually work through it but if it rains then they have to stop because carrying boxes and furniture becomes a bit dangerous.

The whole thing started yesterday morning after eight when our two wonderful packers arrived and set to work. We already thought we had a lot of stuff, but as it took all morning to clear the dining room and half the kitchen we realised how woefully we had underestimated the amount. In the afternoon reinforcements arrived when two other fabulous men from Britannia came to help out. By the end of that working day most of the downstairs had been cleared of objects, a start had been made on the upstairs and we were left with a garage packed with boxes.

Day two was, again, fine and dry and this time we started off with a team of four. Vince, the ace packer, continued sorting us out while the other three began the process of emptying the garage of its boxes. For those not in the know, access to 14 North Street means going under two railway bridges, one with a 3.1m and the other with a 3m clearance for vehicles. This meant that the lorry had to park up half a mile away by the Voith factory while the boxes were ferried there by transit van. Yes, living in Strongstry has been wonderful but any work on the house has been a triumph of planning and logistics given its position and thick stone walls.

Anyway, to cut to the chase, by 5pm the house had been cleared of everything we were taking: the packing had been finished, the boxes and furniture had been transported and the lorry was on its way to put all our worldly goods – or at least a high proportion of them – safely into storage. We cannot say how great the Britannia men were, and if you ever need to remove give them a ring.

And us? Having nothing to cook anything in or to eat anything from we went into Ramsbottom for our last taste of fish and chips for some time before coming home for a glass of wine (I didn’t say we had nothing to drink from, there are limits) and an early night.