Keeping up with the Zedses

This blog is a diary, a monologue, at best a conversation – anyway, I try to keep up to date with what’s happening.

I’m home again. A very sound chap called Simon came over from the house clearance company, we all liked him and felt he was capable. The quote he sent through was well within the sum we expected, so I accepted it and agreed on a date for the work. I’ve also booked a full ‘red book’ valuation for the house – it’s not as if the probate people care how much unnecessary expense people have at a worrying and expensive time, after all. My kind brother- and sister-in-law are going to come up from Devon to deal with all this and I appreciate all the help.

I have sorted out everything for my visit to Atlanta except for the pre-flight Covid test. I struggled the other night and, as a government update was expected, left it – the BA website doesn’t seem to have kept up and it doesn’t send me to tests any longer. i tried for an hour or more to find what I needed and gave up, in tears, in the end. I have to decide whether to book it in the morning of the flight and go by taxi or else stay overnight at a Heathrow hotel, which would be sensible and cost-effective if I can get parking while I’m away. I couldn’t do it because I kept being wildly side-tracked and it was actually not possible to sort out. I’ll try again over the weekend and have asked my sister to contact her friend, the travel agent, if I can’t manage it. I don’t give in all that easily but it made me crumple hopelessly this evening. Good that Wink was here, we drank wine and I made mushroom omelettes and a salad.

I worry every night about Covid, too. Not that I’m too anxious about getting it, I don’t think it would be too bad at all now, but that I won’t pass the test and will be denied my flight at the end. It still wouldn’t be the end of the world, i could delay by a couple of weeks, but that’s not what your mind tells you in the small hours, especially if you happen to sneeze.

I have paid bills, including my stupidly massive tax bill, which is a good deal more than is reasonable. It’s because I got a rebate last year, it’s huge this time and will be relatively small next year. They have not got the self-employed tax system sorted out at all. I still had an absurd amount of difficulty because of the different regulations of different banks’ websites. So I could pay a lot of money from one bank to another in one go, but the second one wouldn’t allow payments of more than £2,000. So I was in the silly situation of paying one £2,000 after another into yet another bank until Bank 2 decided that was enough for one day. Luckily, I could then manage the full amount from Bank 3, because I really didn’t want to faff around for another day. I’ll sort it all out tomorrow and remind myself never to rely on Barclays for a big bill to pay online.

Weeza and family are coming over tomorrow. We’ll all test and the small risk is worth it. I’ve bought in all the food. I’m in no mood to cook, apart from bread as I need to use most of the sourdough starter before I leave, so that Wink won’t be overwhelmed by the fruiting bodies.

3 comments on “Keeping up with the Zedses

  1. Blue Witch

    Once upon a time house clearance companies paid you to take stuff away…

    Tests for travelling keep changing. That might be why there is no info/links on the BA site. It will probably change again before you go.

    It sounds like you are making huge strides towards getting it all sorted. Well done 🙂

    Reply
    1. Z Post author

      This really is worthless stuff. Including a fridge and a freezer that they have to pay to dump. It’s a huge amount of work too, especially getting 30-something years’ worth out of the attic.

      When the furniture goes, I don’t know if I’ll pay him or he’ll pay me, I suspect the former as I’ll keep everything nice. Most furniture is decent repro, not much value. Good paintings but they’re spoken for.

      Reply
  2. Scarlet

    I can’t keep up with all the test changes and am grateful that I don’t want to go anywhere. I know I would crumble trying to work it all out as well. Good luck for your test.
    Sx

    Reply

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