Englishman Buys Bar 5 - battling to cut the ties 

By John Harries-Harries

Who does he remind you of?

Warning: this episode could be stressful for those who are a week or more behind John, Chris and Lucy in the process of a major house move.

Trish lends a hand again. 

....

15 Nov 2002. Two days left.

Saturday evening. I am absolutely bushed. Knackered, exhausted.

The van, (nicknamed 'Beauty', because it isn't), has been loaded with all but the odds and ends that we need for the next day and a half. Boy, are the butterflies causing chaos in my stomach. I don't care what they're doing in the rain forest, but I feel very apprehensive.

I'm not frightened of the path ahead, it's just that I feel so very odd.

My daughter and (hopefully) future son-in-law came up to help load the heavy things. At least this didn't include The Beast. I took that down to deepest Gloucestershire last week whilst we said farewells to the outlaws. Trish will drive The Beast over in the Spring, and I am now glad she volunteered, as Beauty is full to bursting. (Notice how even John talks of driving The Beast, not riding it.)

We are having the usual problems with the Utilities, TV licensing etc. Their systems do not allow anyone to drop out. However many times I tell them emigration means I will not be coming back, I get another letter asking if I wish to change the way I pay them. They say I'm in credit in one letter, then that I owe X pounds in the next. I have decided to forget them all and settle up from Brittany. I'm sure my debts outweigh the credits, so they can whistle for a few weeks.

The local tidy-tip has done very well out of us. We have had to be brutal and leave many things behind that are perfectly serviceable, but probably too old to make room for. So toasters, vacuum cleaners, the oldest fridge, microwave oven etc have been sacrificed.  We have many duplicate items in our Bonen home of course, so they would only be 'come-in-handy' items. It's my experience that it's cheaper to just junk them. At least it keeps the modern throw-away system ticking over.

Chris and I are very excited about the future, and at last Lucy (15 years old), has become fairly enthusiastic. Her friends gave her a great send-off from school yesterday, and now that so many have expressed envy at her new life, she has now come to appreciate what a tremendous opportunity lies ahead. We don't play down the problems ahead for her, it will be very hard work for the first year or two, but once she becomes fairly fluent, we are all confident she will achieve her educational aims.

As I mentioned, I feel very strange. I have also said farewell to my colleagues and friends, and been very touched by their affection and good wishes.  I know that some I will never contact again. Some I shall be in regular e-mail contact, and a few will take the trouble to look us up at the bar. I feel this too, about some of my relatives. I think it most unlikely that we will all meet again, and it will be Christmas cards, messages of condolence after a death, and the very occasional congratulation card for a birth or graduation. C'est la vie. (And weird messages on the Freebooters Notice Board. John swears that the landlord had already decided to quit The Swan and that his absence did not trigger the equivalent of a US Chapter 11 filing).

I have been very rude to everyone today whilst I packed the van. You just can't get the help these days. I was never handed up the correct sized box for the space I had available. Every time I poked my head round the back of the van, everyone had vanished! I didn't shout THAT much, even if I did wake the next door neighbour. And I have always considered the term 'Useless Pratt!' a form of endearment.

And cats that get in the way are expected to spend the next few seconds learning how to fly! Chipped or not. (Chipped? Made me think of the disintegrating  foot in Monty Python until I remembered that you can now transport pets in and out of the UK as long as they have been vaccinated, and had an electronic tag implanted under the skin, like a prisoner on probation.)

We have been eating at our local pub for the last few days, as our stock of food diminishes. They have a good range of food, but by Sunday evening I will have exhausted the menu. Monday morning should be interesting. We don't really need to leave for Portsmouth and the ferry until about 15.30, but I bet we are on the road by 13.00. I suppose it's better to spend a few hours, bored stupid at Pompey, than to be worried about missing the bloody thing. (Given John's tendency to attract unplanned events, having two and a half hours in hand sounds a wise move to me.)

Our mini-convoy should make an interesting picture. I hope Mike has room for it in this episode. (I had to wait, but now I have them and I've put a couple of them up here). My euro cheque book has arrived. I could have collected it in 2 days!

This chapter has become very disjointed, but it is important that I write it as I feel. I feel disjointed, too! My thoughts, such as they are, are whirling around like demented dervishes, confusing, exciting, scary and soaring. I am trying to savour the moments, because they are special  only to those who take that huge step of leaving their country of origin.

I feel bonds to those who trekked across new continents. I feel huge empathy for those who have had to move on because of hatred, war or famine, even though for my family it is a planned and voluntary undertaking.

I feel a pioneer, even though thousands of Brits have done it before me, and often with much less means and support. I feel little pangs of guilt. For leaving my mother country. For leaving friends, family and colleagues. I feel the excitement of taking the risks, for without risk, we are not entitled to true fulfilment. I feel the joy of stepping forward to live out my dream, and the apprehension for the tasks ahead.

All in all I FEEL GREAT.

* * *

If you want to congratulate or encourage John (or sympathise with Chris and Lucy)  e-mail me with your thoughts or advice, or better still, write to the Notice Board.

Have fun.

Next Instalment

Previous Instalment

Back to All Articles Index