The House Sit in Retrospect

My last day in Cheshire. The house sit is coming to an end, so time for a report. 

Eighteen days have run by without incident. No water pipes have burst, no electrical equipment has blown up, no animals have perished. That sounds like a successful house-sitting stint in anyone's language.

Annie, my canine companion, and I have become good friends. We've walked in the mornings and evenings around this lovely area greeted sometimes by some of the four-legged neighbours.

Annie and I have not always seen eye to eye about the polite way to greet other dogs/cats. She maintains that rushing up to them with me flying along behind is quite acceptable. I've pointed out (with the help of a rolled newspaper) that it's far nicer to nod and walk on past. She's mostly conceded that this may be all for the best.

My arrival in Cheshire coincided with the arrival of ex hurricane Bertha, sent swiftly across the Atlantic from the general direction of Nova Scotia. Bertha had a considerable amount of water that she wanted to rid herself of and has proceeded to do just that off and on for the whole time I've been here. Today is bright and sunny and I'm hoping Bertha isn't planning to wring out the last of her wet washing over Norfolk where I'll be heading tomorrow.

I've had ten days out of eighteen where I've been out and about, with a coat just in case, so I can't complain about that. Often it rained overnight and cleared up during the day. Or the morning would be wet and the afternoon dry or the other way round.

A half hour in one direction lies the vast area of Greater Manchester with the old industrial city at its heart. A half hour in the other direction lies the starkly beautiful moorlands of the Pennine Range. The whole region alive with history and stunning scenery. I couldn't have asked for a better location for house sitting in Cheshire.

Tomorrow I bid farewell to Annie the dog, Fennel the invisible cat, and the five chooks who are addicted to dandelion leaves and have required me to eat more eggs than I'd normally eat in six months. I'll set the sat nav for Reedham on the River Yare in Norfolk and hope to take today's sunshine with me.