London 2016 Day 6 – Walthamstow Village and Hillman’s Tearoom

As LCM Summer School was over, on this day we didn't have to leave our flat at 8 a.m. So we took some time relaxing before setting off to our next appointment. We were able to walk there as it was also in Walthamstow where we stayed. On our way we walked through the beautiful Walthamstow Village which had been the centre of Walthamstow before the place became part of the ever growing Greater London. Hermann and I agreed that it would be an ideal place to live for both of us - he would have his village atmosphere and I would have my London including a tube station not far away ;)

That was before "it" happened...:

We had a little chat with this lady in her beautiful garden. She told us she had been living there for 50 years. That's what you expect in a village - unlike in London where moving house seems to be one of people's hobbies.

Our destination was Hillman's Tearoom where we met with our friend Laura Porter who had suggested it (she knows the best secret places in London!). She had looked out for us before we got there which was good, because without her we would hardly have found the place, as it was well-hidden in a kind of very narrow street with some small shops - literally a hidden gem! Inside it was also very small, the room where we sat was more the size of a small living-room with just a few tables close together. It was all in the style of the 1930s/40s, including an old tv set showing parts of films and news of that era. It is also one of just a few places in London where you can only pay cash (no plastic cards - very un-Londonlike!).The tea was excellent and so was the scone I had. We spent about three hours there without even realising where time went. It was very cosy and we enjoyed it so much :)

Afterwards the three of us returned via Walthamstow Village and passed St. Mary's Church and the old cemetery.

We had almost reached Walthamstow Central Station where we had to say good-bye to Laura when a heavy rain started and within minutes we got soaked. So our good-bye was quicker than we had expected and Hermann and I rushed back to the flat. We were wet through and for our shoes it took two days to get dry. Of course as you never know what the weather will be like in London we both had a spare pair of shoes. That is, I had two spare pairs, because I'm a woman ;) In the afternoon we took a little tour near Oxford Street.

Also thanks to Laura I was able to surprise Hermann by showing him his own statue at Bourdon Place :)

You Never Know ...

Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ – James 4,13-15 NIVUK; quote from BibleGateway.com

Our London Visit Day 3 Part 1 – Platform 9 ¾ and St. Sarkis

We only had to go two tube stations on Piccadilly Line to reach our fist destination on that day. It was the famous Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Railway Station. This was the platform from which Harry Potter took the train to Hogwarts. Not the real one, though, but just a sign and a luggage trolley “disappearing” in the wall, so that people can take photos in front of it. The actual filming location was situated between platforms 4 and 5.

Our next destination took us to Kensington, one of the most expensive parts of London. We took a Circle Line train to High Street Kensington. Here even the tube station itself is worth a look – it even has got its own little shopping mall inside.

From there we didn’t have far to go to reach Iverna Court and Iverna Gardens in the centre of which stands a church of the kind we had so often seen during our visit to Armenia in 2009. However, St. Sarkis is in London and in one of the best places in London, too. It had been built in 1923 for the survivors of the genocide in the Ottoman Empire which had taken place during World War I and in which more than one million Armenians, Aramaeans and Greeks were murdered systematically and with the utmost cruelty.

The church is surrounded by houses which at least partly seem to contain flats, and we wondered what it would cost to buy or rent such a flat. Far too much for us, at least ;)

Free To Live by Guy Brandon - A Review

This book with the subtitle “Expressing the love of Christ in an age of debt” is about sustainable living (not only) for Christians. The topics are time and money, the impacts of our private sexual behaviour on society and our personal environment – and, yes, there are impacts -, the complexities of “fair” and “local” shopping, how we treat our natural environment, what to do with our money and how to keep our spiritual health. There are two appendices, one about how the current financial crisis started and the other one about the pros and cons of “Fairtrade”.

The book is not a classic guidebook which tells the reader what to do and what to avoid, but rather food for thought. This is why at the end of each chapter there are a few “discussion questions” which the reader can also discuss with him- or herself, of course ;) Even though the author’s statements are based on the Bible and he thus mentions several Bible passages, most of the book is worth reading for people with a different – or no – faith background as well. After all, living a sustainable lifestyle is something worth thinking about for everyone. There are a few passages in the book, particularly towards the end of it, which non-Christians or nominal Christians will most likely not identify with, but this is not something which should prevent you from reading the book. If these passages do not apply to you, at least they will help you to understand something of true Christian faith - which is most likely not the kind of “Christianity” which you usually come across in any country with a nominal Christian majority.

The book has been published by the Jubilee Centre, a Christian organisation in the UK. They are also offering many resources for free download on their website, addressing society issues from a Christian perspective.

My 1 Euro per Day Experiment

Even though we are sponsoring eight children in Armenia already and pay the therapy costs for one of them, I decided to do the 1 Euro per day experiment nevertheless, on which I wrote in the previous blog post. Simply to see what is possible (with GOD's help always more than one thinks). Each day I put one Euro in an old savings box which had belonged to either me or one of my brothers and of which I didn’t even know it still existed – until I noticed it standing on a sideboard in my middle brother’s living-room. When I exclaimed “Oh, you still have it???” he gave it to me, and after I had put it on my own desk I soon realized what it was good for.

However, the money which I’m saving in there is not meant to sponsor another child, but to support projects which are important to me. No, sorry, I will not take any suggestions, as there are already more projects on my (invisible) list than I will ever be able to support! The money for January will be donated to support the Arise Conference.

It's getting cold

This is the time of year to switch on the heaters. However, we are still refusing to do so and only using the wood stove for as long as possible. This means that most of our current life at home takes place in the sitting room, as it is too cold in the other rooms to stay there for long. We also keep warm with warmer clothes and, if necessary, blankets. The reason why we are doing this is to save money.

A good side effect of it is that we get a little (though just a very little) impression of how it feels to have to live in a place without proper heating. Of course, we are still spoiled. Our home is well insulated, there is no draught, we have got windows instead of just plastic foil and it is not dripping through our roof when it rains. So despite our little retrenchment we are not nearly as bad off as for example the people who have to live in these huts in Gyumri in the north of Armenia:

More Delays

While the problem with the loan is almost solved – we had to change the bank, though – there are now other delays, this time on the seller’s part. The house with the apartment we want to buy is owned by the town. Therefore they have to decide how the complex is now to be shared between them and us. Our architect had been very busy drawing up a plan and discussing it with the people involved. In the end the town council should have decided. On Monday they had their meeting, but it was not on the agenda – we have got no idea why not! The next meeting will be in four weeks’ time and if there is no other way we will have to wait until after that, before we can buy the apartment. So it will most likely be September (or even later?) before we will be able to move. Meanwhile I have doubts that it will ever happen at all!!! Who is next throwing stones in our way?

Waiting again

Right now we are waiting again – this time there is a delay regarding the loan. Just a formal thing really, but it seems to be a problem. Everything else goes smoothly at the moment, so we hope that the loan problem will be solved in time, so that we can buy the apartment as soon as the other formalities are completed.

Meanwhile the whole house selling and apartment buying business reminds me very much of a dance like this one:



You move forward, backward, to the side, in circles, and by this slowly reach the end of the line. A dance is much more pleasant most of the time, though ;)

A Small Step Forward

Today we completed the extensive paperwork which is necessary to get a loan. Now the agreement has to be drawn up. From our side we leave this part to our broker who has been doing an excellent job already, while we know nothing about such things, and he will then explain all the small print to us. So all we can do now is wait – once again. Not too long this time, I hope!

One Step Back, One Forward

The potential buyer doesn’t want the house now – the heating contractor made a quotation for a new heating system which everyone regards as far too high (we knew it before, that company is notorious for it) and which he cannot afford. So now we will take up a loan which we pay back when our house is sold, so that we can at least move forward and buy the new apartment. We hope to be able to do it sometime this month, so we can move before my birthday (July 24). Of course, the apartment needs some renovation, but that should not take too long. In the meantime I will dedicate myself to the task of packing up all our stuff, the mere thought of which horrifies me – at least until I can actually start with it.

Our weather is still like autumn, but at least I’m feeling a little better now and I do not think that it was gastritis; instead I had a migraine for the past two day, but that is over, too, for now.

So I see my life in a brighter light again ;)

Frustrated

I’m in a state of frustration these days.

Firstly, because the decision whether our house will be sold soon or whether we will have to take up a loan is dragging on and on at the moment. The potential buyer is waiting for a quotation by the heating contractor and what his bank will say on the quoted price or something like that. Hopefully we will know more before next weekend.

Secondly, because the weather has suddenly decided that it is autumn, so we are having rather low temperatures and lots of rain. According to the forecast it will remain like this at least until Friday. We had switched our heater off already, but now it is on again and I only hope that we do not have to buy any more oil!

Thirdly, because I’m not feeling well and wonder whether it is gastritis or just the weather – could be the weather, as I’m reacting extremely sensitive to it, but until either I or the weather get(s) any better I cannot tell.

Waiting...

After having resolved on taking up a loan to buy our new apartment everything is now on hold again. The reason is that last Monday we had visitors who are very likely to buy our house. If they do we don't need the loan. We hope that they will finally decide in the course of this week, because we can hardly wait to move forward and therefore we need to know as soon as possible whether we will have to take up the loan or not. Our plans are to buy our new apartment in April, so that the necessary renovation and maintenance can be started soon and we will be able to move sometime in May or June and enjoy the summer in our new home already :)

Getting Started

Even though our house is not sold yet we now decided to start the procedure to buy the new apartment and have it renovated, so that we will be able to move sometime in May or June, depending how long it takes. Of course we have to take up a loan until our house is sold, but that is far better than remaining here probably another six months or longer being unable to plan and probably even risk to lose the apartment we are intending to buy. If we were still living in the house towards winter we also would have to buy heating oil again. So there would be many disadvantages and almost no advantages (or none at all) if we stayed here.

A Successful Day!

Even though I’m rather tired I just wanted to write a little update.

At first we showed to the expert the apartment we wanted to buy. He took a close look at everything from the loft to the cellar. We had only hoped that he did not find too many faults with the condition of the house, but it was just the contrary! He showed us many things which had been renewed in the house since it had been built and which we as “ordinary people” had not seen. So afterwards we went to the town hall right away to talk with the people responsible for this to secure the apartment for us :)

Then we talked about the sale of our present house. The expert set an amount which we already had expected, so no unpleasant surprises here either :) With our share of this amount we would be able to buy the apartment and still have some money left for renovations.

Next Wednesday...

... we hope to get to know more about the issues regarding the house we sell and the apartment we would like to buy. We will meet with our expert - who had been here on Tuesday to take a look at the house - and will show him the apartment, hoping of course that he will tell us that it's worth it :) Also he will most likely tell us then how much money we can expect when selling the house.

Changes...

Strange where time goes – just found that it is already one week since I blogged here.

I had a lot to think about during the recent days, though. We have decided to sell the house we are living in and buy a flat / apartment instead within the next two years. There are several reasons for it: first, half of the house belongs to Hermann’s brother and he wants to get rid of it, as he does not live here and sees no sense in keeping it, as it only costs him money; second, the house is old and will cost more and more money in repair – more than we can afford in the long run; third, the house and garden are much too large for the two of us to manage – Hermann has got so much work in his job (seven days a week is the rule) and for me it would be more than a full time job to manage the house – apart from the fact that with regard to the garden I have got no idea how to take care of it. It will be hard for Hermann to leave his parents’ house after such a long time, but of course we have to be sensible. So we are looking for a nice affordable flat to buy and hope that when we offer the house we will get at least the price for it which the bank says it is worth, because our share of it would be about the sum a flat would cost.

This Makes Your Heart Cry

I found the video above on Renee’s blog and I just had to show it here as well. This little girl is just one of many helpless children who suffer from disease, starvation, neglect, etc. The reason for this is certainly NOT that there in not enough money in this world:

Belt Tightening

We had to buy heating oil and the car needed its regular inspection – all this together cost us about 2000 Euros (1750 GBP, 2800 USD). This means that for the next four weeks we will reduce our expenses to the absolute necessary. We had done that already before our trip to Armenia and I regard it as a challenge to look for bargains and to think about what we really need at all and what can be postponed. It’s always good to improve one’s money saving skills ;)