We moved into our new house in the Brentham Garden Estate on April 23 2010. I really loved Canonbury, where we moved from, however living in a one bedroom flat was a little trying by the time we left. The day we moved was just perfect! Beautiful sun and about 20 degrees. The Picture above is of Denison Ludlow Green behind our new place. Such a beautiful Spring day for the first day of our life in Ealing.
Living in a one bedroom flat with no outdoor space did not lend itself to having outdoor furniture and given the weather when we moved, of course we had to buy some immediately! The day this was delivered of course trigger three days of torrential rain that resulted in flooding in Pitshanger Park! See below.
After that initial dampener on the early summer weather, things actually reverted to normal and we had one of the best summers I can remember in years. For considerable periods of time there was actually warm sunshine!
The Summer saw the World Cup held in South Africa, where the Brentham Club came in quite handy to take care of a good place to watch the games with a bit of atmosphere. Of course England were terrible again, but that is always something you can count on.
June 20th, saw the annual Pitshanger Party in the Park, organised by the Pitshanger Community Association. We were roped in to help out serving behind the bar. A bit of a thankless task actually so not sure we will be back in 2011!
July saw one side of our garden massacred by the neighbours replacing their fence. The best thing about it was the lack of notice they gave us about doing it. I guess they had not read 'How To Win Friends And Influence People' recently? The garden has recovered but the whole process was a little disheartening really. Ho hum. One must move on! ;-)
There have been three major DIY activities since moving in, and many minor ones! We have finished off three rooms, now to get through and do the rest!
As mentioned previously the London Summer was a cracker in 2010, resulting in quite a few evenings spent on the roof top terrace of the Brentham Club. A brilliant location to unwind after work!
There were also too many BBQ's to mention through the summer. All too often we ended up cooking in the backyard as opposed to the kitchen. Whenever the opportunity arose we grabbed it! Simply too important not to waste a warm sunny moment! Living in London you quickly realise it could be your last! ;-)
Apart from taking up gardening in our acquired garden, as highlighted in many other places in this blog, there was also the opportunity for community gardening. The houses on our street back onto Denison Ludlow Green which is collectively owned by the owners of the houses on both these streets. Consequently we are responsible for its up-keep!
December saw the first of two snow sessions in London this winter. The second caused absolute carnage as Heathrow was closed for several days and the rest of the country ground to a halt as well. Understandable I guess as there was 15cms of snow ..... ;-)
We had our first Christmas tree as well this year!
and we won't mention the 2010/11 Ashes as they were held too far away!
Of Course Peter squeezed himself into our first year in Brentham! He was born on the 21st of March and has blessed us with his presence since. Of course it might be nice if he let us sleep a little more, but I guess that goes with the territory!
Of course it's really impossible to summarise the past year adequately, however it has been fantastic. I look forward to many more years to come!
Cheers
m
Shhhh! Brentham is a magical place - Pitshanger Village is full of great shops, cafes, bars and pubs....and the river and park are breathtaking. London's best kept secret. A village within a city!
ReplyDelete