Coming home (almost)

So it's amazing what you can achieve in a morning. By 2pm today we were sitting on sunny Crantock beach having driven from Lewes to Cornwall, visited 4 schools and a nursery and had a picnic. Admittedly we did get up at 3:45 this morning.

Basically, on Wednesday, I suddenly decided that I wanted Mark and the kids to see the schools, realising I couldn't make the final decision all on my own. I am so glad I did, the kids loved the schools and I was reminded just how good (and how creativE) the schools down here are. Mark agreed with me on most decisions but pointed out a few things I had missed and we all feel 1 step closer to our new life. It's weird being here on holiday for a week knowing that we are coming to live here but has been good seeing some of what a real life here will be like as we watched our kids getting to know the teachers and children and running around in the playgrounds of their future schools. The kids seem to be so relaxed about the whole thing. I have a feeling they will settle in much quicker than their parents.

And another thing we've remembered. It gets dark about half an hour later here. Bonus.

In the meantime, I am still struggling with photos and editing this post - maybe I should do an IT course when I move down here, however the good new is that I am posting this on the correct date, although I am incredibly tired so apologies in advance.

Operation Go West

Since my return the reality is setting in, as we start to tell everyone our news and to unravel our lives here in Lewes. And so begins Operation Go West. The house is on the market - and frankly, looking incredible. Suddenly, my gorgeous husband Mark, someone who is definitely not a finisher, is frantically completing all the DIY jobs I have been going on about for years- it's amazing what the promise of a little surf will do (well actually a lot of surf).

Meanwhile, I am suddenly realising how many people I actually know and call friends here in Lewes, not to mention in other locations considerably nearer to Lewes than Crantock. I am trying to come to terms with moving away from people that I lean on in my day to day life and am incredibly aware of the value of community. We are humbled, blessed and, at times, surprised by the reaction of others, friends both old and new and not really yet begun, but already full of promise. It is amazing to realise how deeply people care about us and that our friendship means as much to them as it does to us, there is a sense of loss for the friendships I never quite got around to nurturing and a physical pain when I think about leaving certain people. But in all of this there is a sense of calm, a feeling that we are doing the right thing (for now at least) and I am finally sleeping well at nights because a decision has been made, whether it is the right one is another story but it is, at least, a decision. Oh and then of course there is the long list on my fridge that is Operation Go West.

Lost in Cornwall

Well that serves me right, I was so smug about not having to look at schools this time as 4 year old Malakai would obviously go to the same Lewes school as his 9 year old brother Kieran. Well so much for that, in my bid to find the right Cornish school for the boys I have looked at 5 schools and 2 nurseries (for 3 year old Chloe in 24 hours), not to mention interviewing every parent I could find as I loitered at school gates at pick up and drop off (thanks to Kristen and Stuart for that piece of advice). So the deed has been done, schools looked at, decisions made (partly based on the news that basically none of the schools have places except the local village school) and forms have been filled in and hand delivered before racing back to the airport to fly home again. And all of this done in a hire car based on my own sense of direction – for those of you who know me well, you will know that racing around Cornwall in someone else’s car is a huge achievement for me in itself, I feel like I have got to know Cornwall on my own terms in the last 24 hours and the best thing about getting lost? You find some great places along the way.

In my spare time, I have also managed to take a few numbers, visit a lovely lady who I met in the playground yesterday only to find that her husband has known Mark for years – they moved to Crantock 8 months ago, and bump into a girl we met on the beach 15 years ago and asked to model for Plain Lazy when we were first starting out, luckily for me (and her) she hadn’t changed and luckily for Kieran she has a 9 year old son. So numbers duly swapped and everything was looking rosy, well it was until I lost my phone along with the many useful contacts I had made. Then of course there was the zumba and yoga classes I had found for me and the cubs group I had found for Kieran. Not to mention the possible house I viewed as a stop gap when we first arrive. Phew.

In between all this I took a couple of walks on Crantock beach and across the breathtaking National Trust Common to remind myself why I was running around like a headless chicken. A moment to breath ,(and I am convinced that one deep breath in Cornwall is worth several deep breaths anywhere else) and smile at the view and start to nurture the seeds of an idea I have (more on that at a future date) but soon the smile turns to tears and I remember all that we will leave behind and I wonder if I am mad or just a little bit crazy.

The last 48 hours have been a rollercoaster ride and I know that it is just beginning But the images I return with are those of rolling coutryside and coast line and of theold man with the wild hair and the longest yellow macintosh I have ever seen, coming out of the woods with his pockets bulging and 2 carrier bags overflowing with food he had been foraging in the forests, looking a little bit lost but with a sense of purpose and I sort of knew how he felt…

(Please note this was written on the 6th May on flight home, it just took me a while to set up blog)

Restless Dreams

I love Lewes, no I adore Lewes. A beautiful historic town, surrounded by the downs, not far from the beach (stony but still….) , a stone’s throw from Brighton and a reasonable commute from London. I have fantastic friends, am part of various groups and my eldest son loves his very fantastic school. And yet….

And yet, there are certain dreams that won’t go away, a sense of needing to do something different. We’ve talked about it for years, shall we move to Australia, Cornwall or, more recently, Devon. My husband has at times been desperate, a surfer in search of surf and better weather. I have said yes several times, normally after a fantastic week in Cornwall when our children still have the smell of sand and salt on their skin not to mention pockets full of sand which will be sprinkled liberally across our Sussex carpets when I start to unpack and for a few days I am up for it and then I start to feel sick in my stomach.

But suddenly, this time it is different, I’m ready for a change, a new chapter, suddenly the only thing I feel is butterflies in my stomach, the good kind. We’ve weighed it up :Devon - where lots of our friends have moved or Cornwall - where we have holidayed for the last few years and we have a shop (Plain Lazy) and a holiday home. And the winner is…Crantock, Cornwall along with a conversion to our van to make it a camper so we can head to Devon and hang out with good friends old and new.

It feels like the final decision was made about 2 hours ago and suddenly we have organised a house to live in and I find myself on a flight to Newquay to do a whirlwind visit to schools before filling in the application forms which have to be in by Monday.

Last weekend, in Devon, I met an amazing young lady called Sarah, who recently moved from New York to Bournemouth and she told me how once they took the initial step everything just snowballed and started to fall into place. Sarah inspired me to take that leap of faith and she’s not wrong, things are going at a crazy pace but this time, with 5 minutes to go until landing , it all feels right…daunting, scary, a bit sad in places but definitely right…

(Please note this was written on 5th May on flight to Cornwall, just took a while to set up blog)