Our quest continues.

We seem to have been into every estate agent in the north of Cornwall and have only been given the details of a small handful of properties that we can afford. There are a few more that are in our price range but they are made from the dreaded Mundic.

Mundic is a type of concrete building block widely used in Cornwall properties in the first half of this century. As far as I can see it is basically mining waste that has been bound together with cement to make building blocks. It has been discovered that the block crumbles when it gets damp so these houses are simply crumbling away, leaving their owners unable to sell them and with their value limited to the value of the land on which they stand. It’s a huge problem in Cornwall.

We try our luck in Launceston, where a kind of madness seems to be gripping the place. Every estate agent we visit has throngs of people in it, wildly grabbing the details of houses. We go into one agent and ask for the details of a property that is described as a ‘new instruction’ today only to find it already sold. One property seems to meet our needs but a drive past shows it to be down a pathway from a very busy road with trucks thundering past all day and no-where nearby to park.

We go to Camelford where there isn’t a single property on the books of either estate agent that would be affordable for us.

We get depressed and head for St Breward for lunch in a ‘Good Pub Guide’ pub. It’s a welcome break from our chore (as we have come to see it) of the week. After we leave the pub, we decide to walk up the lane to the church for some reason. Don’t know quite why other than that it seems peaceful and tranquil and the antithesis of the rest of our day. This sundial above the door of the church gives us hope. It’s wonky but it tells our story perfectly.

We decide that enough is enough and return to Perch Close to reconsider our options. Appointments are made to view the handful of properties that we like the look of and can afford for Tuesday. There are only three.

I know you think I’m stringing you along but I can’t process my pics, think about what I want to say and write any more quickly without making David cross with me. I have spent so much time here in my room since we returned home he’s complaining I’m like a stranger! I promise to have this part of our story told by the end of the weekend.

For all this I am reminded of this……’seize the moments as they fly, know how to live and learn to die’. I can do no more. I am so sick of working myself into the ground, spending so much time commuting, having no time for David and the dogs and never getting time to think. This is my big opportunity to ‘seize my moment’ and do this one thing that has eluded me.