Finding somewhere to live back home in the UK

 Before I started receiving my state pension in 2018 I decided to check out the UK property rental market. I wasn't seriously considering going home just yet, but felt I had to have some idea of what I would have to pay for accommodation. I didn't own anything in the UK, selling my house in Brazil would not raise enough capital to buy anything (and I mean "anything" - except maybe a garage!), but I was pretty sure I had to set my sights low, and it would have to be in the North of England (or possibly even in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland!) to find anything affordable.

I had a quick look around Central Bedfordshire where my daughter lived, but, as expected, rentals there were outside my budget, as was Norfolk, where I had previously lived for 30 years, so my search extended back to my home county of Yorkshire. Although I would have preferred to live somewhere rural I knew that my situation (long before I knew about Chip!) meant that I should look for something close to amenities, and was relieved to find that flats in coastal Yorkshire towns appeared affordable. I liked the idea of being close to the sea, and my childhood memories of these places meant there was considerable appeal to me.

Fast forwards to 2021 when I eventually returned to the UK and the situation had changed dramatically! I stayed with my daughter and her husband at first, but knew this could only be a temporary solution - especially as they were both still working from home due to the pandemic - though until I could get referred to a specialist for my ongoing shoulder treatment did not want to commit myself to a radically different area. I did, however, start researching straight away, and was horrified to discover that rental costs had rocketed since 2018, in part due to the pandemic. Locally - to Central Bedfordshire - prices had increased to unaffordable levels, unless I wanted to do a flat share! Even looking further Northwards, including Yorkshire, I felt that one-bedroomed flats were now beyond my means, but when I eventually contacted a letting agent in Luton, Bedfordshire my dreams were shattered even further! According to them in order to pass a credit reference check, which all landlords would request, my income needed to be 30 times the rental amount - so for a £500 a month rental, which within 50 miles of where I was meant next to nothing available, required an annual income of £15,000 - and I was nowhere near this!

By now I had been staying with my daughter for over 2 months, so felt I was close to over-staying my welcome. I had managed to make contact with the RNOH (Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital) in Stanmore, and though couldn't afford anything close to there, needed to be withing easy access, so close to public transport links. Luton fitted that bill, but was not the "nicest" place to live, and though I dropped my search to include studio flats (basically bedsits) was still struggling to find anything within my one thirtieth "budget"! I did view a couple of flats in Luton, within walking distance of the transport hub - train and bus stations - but the locations were less than salubrious, and the letting agents told me I would either have to pay 6 months rent up front, or else get a guarantor.

I was getting pretty desperate at this stage - I felt the one thirtieth credit reference requirement was too harsh, especially since in my situation on a guaranteed income, with low personal outgoings (no smoking, no drinking, no transport to work costs, no debt, etc.), but this was non-negotiable. I had also registered with a couple of sheltered housing (warden controlled for over-55 or disabled) associations, but they had long waiting lists, and many were not located that close to amenities, and had also joined a couple of Facebook rental sites - though the only "positive" response through that avenue was from a gentleman in Ireland offering me a reference-free rental with no viewing, just a "deposit" in advance and he would post me the keys!! I politely declined!

I had previously found a promising property in Bedford and arranged a viewing, and made my way there, but the letting agent was a no-show! They said they had messaged me for confirmation and I didn't respond, but I never got any message or email from them about it. I did, however, rearrange, and travelled from Luton, where I had another viewing, to see the flat. It was very small, unfurnished (though had a fridge, cooker and washing machine - and a bed frame without mattress), but the area looked OK - I had walked around on my first visit, and had arrived early this time so looked round some more - so made an offer. They required a 6-month up front rent payment, as well as a deposit, but by now I felt I had no option, short of moving farther to the North, and much further from Stanmore and more difficult to attend the hospital appointments. On October 10, 2021 I finally moved in!

From the window - next to my bed - towards the "sitting room"

From front door towards the "bedroom"

Kitchen area

While waiting for the lease to start I had been buying things I needed - mattress, sofa, chest of drawers, bedding, kitchenware (crockery, cutlery, pots and pans, kitchen utensils) - and my daughter donated a lot of things to me - TV, duvet and pillows, bedding, pair of folding chairs among other things - so when I moved in, with greatly appreciated help of daughter and son-in-law, I had everything I needed. Just round the corner was a shop selling secondhand white goods, so I bought a tumble drier and freezer, meaning I was now totally self-contained!

View from my window - there are 3 tower blocks to the right, but not as bad as I envisaged, and the area is pretty quiet.

I am 10 minutes walk from the city centre and bus station, about the same from the train station, and a similar distance from my GP, and just round the corner there is a Sainsbury Local, so everything I need within easy reach, as well as a large park not far away. The flat is much smaller than anything I have lived in, and a lot different from what I thought I would be renting, but I have now been here almost a year, and am happy with it - I have everything I need, it is easy to keep clean, doesn't feel claustrophobic, and the bills are affordable - despite the current economic situation! I have simple needs - food being the primary one! - and feel that this little place is now my home, and am very happy here!

Leaking flush valve

Almost since I moved into my house I have had a slight leak from the flush valve on my toilet in my en-suite bathroom. It is not your normal loo with a cistern attached, but rather the sort you would normally expect to find in a public building, with a "button" on the wall connected to the water supply (in my case a 1500 litre roof-mounter water tank). You press the button and a measured amount (you can adjust it easily) of water flushes your toilet - the main advantage being that there is no wait for the cistern to fill, but you can keep flushing - ideal in, say, an airport toilet, or even an office toilet where there are multiple staff members using the toilet regularly.
The leak initially collected behind the button cover plate, and seeped into the wall, but I removed the plate and placed it in a drawer in my bedroom, and then the leak simply dripped down in front of the wall tiles, doing no damage.
As it is non-standard I have struggled to find a repair kit for this. The first I bought was a different brand, and the wrong size, but eventually I found the correct one, though it needed a specialised tool to remove the front plate - a 24mm box spanner. I could find a 25mm, but not the 24, so the leak remained for months, with an empty ice-cream container catching the dripping water. It was not major so I didn't worry too much about it, but whenever I went to the city I would try some hardware stores to see if they had the correct spanner, and even looked there during my trips to Peru.
I finally managed to get one in the UK, where I had not been for over 2 years, and took that to Peru before returning to my house in Brazil.

Repair kit

As can be seen the instructions for the repair kit (which, in the photo is sitting on top of a sheet of A4 paper) are minuscule, and consisted mainly of an exploded view of the system, while the kit comes ready assembled! It looked as though I had to turn the water from the 1500 litre tank off first, and since this was outside and only accessible using a ladder, I had put this off for a long time! However the leak appeared to be getting worse, and I decided I needed to get myself organised and effect the repair.

Since there are so many "how-to" videos on YouTube I decided to start there, so entered the details into their search box and up came a long list of solutions. The first one looked promising, but it was filmed using a mobile phone, which he set up on the sink about 2 metres from the valve location - and you could see nothing of what he was doing! He kept bringing pieces close to the phone, but they went out of focus, or he held them in such a way the camera didn't pick them up ... and this was the "top pick" most viewed solution!

The next two were no better - both were done by "plumbers" but they were working on a complete brand-new valve, on a worktop not installed in a working location, so basically were pretty useless. It is one thing to work on a "dry" valve, and another to work on something hooked up to the water supply - but both also claimed you had to turn the water supply off first!

I was about to give up watching and get straight to work when I noticed a clip by the manufacturer!!! Why it is not the number 1 clip I have no idea, but it was professionally done, covered several different scenarios, including if there was still a leak after you installed the kit and possible causes, and, best of all, showed that you didn't have to turn the water supply off first, but simply had to screw the valve in tight first which cut the water off!

So armed with this knowledge this morning I easily completed the work - well, removing the 24mm bolt took some effort as it was incredibly tight, and also when I removed the nipple and washer (top left in my photo) I found evidence of an earlier attempt at a repair, which appeared to consist of packed the area beneath the nipple with something like Blu-tack! Removing the complete old assembly (replacement one shown bottom right of the photo) was also not that easy, and took several attempts using levers and spanners to ease it out without damaging the old one. Put everything together, adjusted the water volume and ... no leak.

Final part of the job was to replace the cover plate and button, which were in my top drawer ... or not! They were in the second drawer, or rather the plate and screws, but not the button were! I searched high and low, including other parts of the house where the button had no reason to be - and then realisation dawned on me ... these had been moved by my rogue house-sitter in 2017, who had gone through all my stuff, and chances are that he had no idea what the plastic button was and may even have disposed of it, but whatever the reason I now have to try and get a new button to complete the repair. At least it doesn't leak any more!

Living in Brazil - 9 years on

Around 9 years ago I took the decision, which at the time appeared to be the only sensible one open to me, to move to Brazil. My reasons for doing so are laid out in an earlier post (Leaving England for new pastures) so I won't repeat that here, but I was rather heading into the unknown, as apart from a small amount of savings (after I had bought and furnished a house to live in), all I had coming in was a very small annuity which at that time was £220 a month. The amount had been guaranteed for two years initially, and I had no way of knowing what would happen to it at the end of that time - it could just as easily have gone down as up! As it turns out it has gradually increased year-on-year and is now almost double that original amount! As I am also now officially retired and getting a UK pension my financial situation is much improved - while I am in Brazil! Back then the annuity was just about enough to live on, as long as I didn't do any travelling, and didn't have any large unexpected expenses.
Those who follow my Blog will know, however, that I do not have permanent residence in Brazil, so spend 6 months of the year in neighbouring Peru, where I have to rent an apartment, so, until my pension started this year meant that I was unable to save any money, and was using up my "old" savings while in Peru and in getting there, as well.
I like living in Brazil, and would still choose to live here if circumstances had been different - Brazil was my original destination as much through circumstance as choice, though I have spoken Portuguese for almost 60 years, and my nephew still lives 250 miles (400 kms) away from me here, but looking 9 years ago at alternative "cheap" places to live didn't throw up any viable options, and still doesn't! (I have been told that some Eastern European countries like Romania would be easily within my budget, but language would be a major stumbling block) With my pension I maybe could just about survive back in the UK, and that may become my only option as I get older and if my health fails, as I probably couldn't afford healthcare here or in Peru, but I am not looking forwards to the though of months of cold weather, and related heating costs. 
Brazil isn't perfect, and living in a very rural, remote area can be trying, and I have been accused of seeing things through rose-tinted spectacles, but think that after 9 years the fact that I still feel the same way about it, despite the problems faced, says a lot for how good life can really be here for an impoverished retired foreigner. If I were younger and looking for work out here, and had a family to raise, though, I am sure my opinion would be quite different.
I am fortunate that though I live alone, I do not feel lonely, despite that fact that I also do not have any close friends here - I have always been a bit of a lone wolf, so manage quite happily on my own. I would, however, be lost without the internet! It is my only real contact with my daughter back in the UK, and with other friends and acquaintances, and, since I don't have TV in my house, my only source of digital entertainment. I live in a National Park, and we are surrounded by incredible countryside, with waterfalls, nature walks, grottoes, and greenery all year round, so never lack anything to go and look at, and having a motorcycle allows me to explore whenever I want.
The cost of living here, for me, still appears reasonable 9 years on - but I do not have to support a family of 4 (or more) on minimum wage (which is currently around £200 a month), with no social security benefit back-up! If I make direct comparisons with prices in the UK (based on their minimum wage, which is currently over £1000 a month), then living here doesn't seem quite so cheap! Petrol, for example, is only about 30% more expensive in the UK (minimum wage is 5 times more!), but my council tax is probably 10 times less than I would pay "back home", though I receive similar services. I rent in Peru (similar minimum wage levels to Brazil) and a one bed-roomed apartment with all services included, as well as internet and cable TV, cost me around £200 a month (and would probably be the same here in Brazil) - a similar all-inclusive unit in the UK (in a decent area!!) would be 4 times that, at the very least. It is difficult to make direct comparisons - especially as I live simply, as I do not smoke, rarely drink, rarely eat out, do not have membership of any clubs or societies (never felt the need for that), and my only real vice is food - I do like to eat well, and, fortunately, am quite a good cook.
So on a day to day basis Brazil is perfect for someone like me with my lifestyle and "income" - so what are the downsides? Well, for starters living in such a remote rural area means a lack of shopping options, so if you need some new furniture, some new clothing, new electrical goods, etc. it is a major problem getting them! We do have a shop in town that sells things, but the selection is very limited, and prices a lot higher than would be in a major city (our closet one is 250 miles/400 kms away), and shopping online ... well, let's just say that for a foreigner without a Brazilian bank account (as a tourist you cannot open one) it is nigh impossible, and delivery charges (and lead times!) are prohibitive!
Finding a tradesman is also a challenge - everyone claims to be an electrician/plumber/builder/etc. etc., but very, very few have even the basic skills required. They are all desperate for work so will claim the ability, and try anything you need! The quality of the finished work is often very poor, though, though the costs are also low. Another thing is that if you need, say, a garden wall building - the "builder" will tell you it will cost £200, but that is just his labour charge, as it is up to you to buy all the materials separately. He will tell you what you need and you pay for them and have them delivered - and anything left over (because he miscalculated!) is yours for the next project! He will also have very limited tools, so more often than not he will be using yours, and may even ask you to buy some things that are needed if he cannot borrow them elsewhere!
Reliability is an issue, too, not only with tradesman coming when they say they will and turn up late, or the following day, but even among people you consider friends. I posted before about a young man I had known for almost 8 years and considered a friend (With friend like these who needs enemies? ), who had betrayed my trust badly, but even this year when I had someone else look after my house I had problems. When I got back there were no problems with the actual house, and he had even done a few jobs around the place, for example he had found a part-used tin of paint and did some interior painting, but I had left him money to pay all the utility bills while I was away and came back to 3 outstanding water bills (that is half the number that came in while I was away), including a reconnection as it had been cut off for non-payment, an electric bill and my council tax bill. He had used the money for other things so had none to pay my bills, I was so relieved that my house was intact this year, after the experience last year, that I was not too bothered, but it still reflects badly on how Brazilians think of us Gringos, and that they take advantage of us without a second thought.
Finally, and perhaps the most important one, is healthcare. I am now 65 and have no right to free healthcare in Brazil (or Peru), and though the cost of major procedures is still a fraction of places like the USA, it would still cost a lot more than the UK where I would get treatment free on the National Health Service. If (when?) my health starts causing concerns I will have to re-assess the situation, and probably opt to sell up and return to the UK permanently. But, for now, the decision to move here was, I think, one of the best decisions I ever made, though I still miss being able to see my daughter on a more regular basis!

Making your mind up too quickly!

My last full-time job was managing a residential activity centre for a large female-only charity in the UK. The property consisted of a 12 bed-roomed house with around 40 beds (an old Rectory), 6 campsites (4 of which had direct access to showers and toilets), and a variety of adventurous activities.
Our focus, obviously, had to be the members of the organisation, but we allowed others to use the facilities at times that didn't clash with the charity's needs, so term-time weekdays we had schools camping and using the activities as they were not needed by the members, and similarly the house could be booked during the week for schools, business conferences, or even residential stays (occasionally by groups of "retired" or senior members).
Weekends were generally reserved for the association, as were the campsites during the school holidays. We were, however, always open to new ideas to generate income for the charity, and offset the considerable running costs. Weekday business conferences were one of the services we offered, as well as training days (using our adventurous activities), but the take-up was relatively poor.
One day one of my assistants came in and said "Why don't we do weddings? A lot of country houses like this do and we could charge a lot of money for the facility." I may have been a little hasty at pouring cold water on the idea, but listed my "objections":
1. Most weddings are weekends, and this is core time for our members
2. Weddings tend to be noisy and we already have a poor reputation with some of our neighbours
3. Parking will be an issue - we only have parking for around 20 vehicles as it stands
4. We would probably have to close the entire site for the duration of the wedding - as we could hardly have revellers wandering around the estate and into campsites occupied by young female members
5. A Saturday wedding (well, any day of the week wedding) would probably require the previous day for preparing and decorating the venue, and the following day for clearing and cleaning - so we would be looking at a 3 day booking for the wedding.
6. Staffing would be expensive as we do not currently have the staff required to attend a wedding
The other 2 assistantss looked at me as I listed all this - they had not considered any of these factors, simply that weddings bring in money! A counter suggestion was made that we "sell" it as venue only, and the clients do all the decorating, cleaning, catering, etc. but that still left the issue of lack of parking, noise, and not being able to have any other guests on site. I asked them to come up with a figure for "lost" income from other sources (activities, camping, etc.) for us to host a wedding, and whether they though the organisation would allow us to refuse a weekend booking to members in favour of a wedding. That idea went no further!
Some months later one of the staff suggested that we should consider hosting "business breakfasts" - there was a group of businessmen from the local Chamber of Commerce who held monthly (on a Friday) breakfasts, currently at a city hotel, but were looking for a new venue. As we had a large dining room with conference facilities, and with a separate entrance from the main house we could host these without interfering with any guests who might be in the house. These meetings were attended by anything between 20 and 60 businessmen, starting at 7.30 and running till around 10.00, so could be a good source of income - my assistant knew how much they were paying and felt we could match or beat that price
I paused briefly before responding, to collect my thoughts, and said I didn't think it was feasible - and before I could elaborate was immediately accused of being negative and rushing to decisions.
So again I enumerated my concerns:
1. If we are using the dining/conference room for these meetings where will any residents have breakfast?
2. Noise? 20 or more businessmen directly below some of the bedrooms.
3. Parking is still an issue - typically businessmen travel alone to these meetings so we could have 40 or more cars to find parking for (when we have space for 20 - assuming we have no other cars already in the car park)
4. With the event starting at 7.30 we would have an influx of people around that time, parking next to our largest campsite, and walking up to the main building past what could be several hundred children (schools or members) early in the morning.
5. Catering - our cook works Friday evenings as we usually have groups in most weekends, so we would have to get a contract cook, and waiting staff, to service the business meeting, and they would have to start probably an hour before the meeting commenced.
6. Toilet facilities - although we could shut them off from the main house we only have 2 toilets serving the dining room, one of which is our downstairs "accessible" toilet
7. Attendance at the meetings is voluntary so we would have no way of knowing whether we were getting 20 (or less!) or 60 delegates, so there was a great potential for wasted food, which we would have had to prepare ahead so it was ready for the 7.30 start.
8. Finally, although the meetings last till "around 10.00" this was not absolute so we could have delegates hanging around in meetings till later, making clearing the room difficult, and possibly even impacting on lunch preparations for any residents.
There was silence from my assistants - again they had not really considered any of these, but then both expressed amazement that I had taken such a short amount of time to assess all these factors, and come to my conclusion. It taught me that reaching a decision quickly can appear as though you have not given it due consideration, but I hope it also taught them that there are people, like me, who can analise something fully in moments, and are not rushing to a ill-conceived decision just because they do it quickly!

Gun Control

I tend to over-think things, to over-analyse, and when I read something though provoking I stop, consider what I have read, do a little research even, and then make up my own mind about it.
This week it is gun control - at the forefront of everyone's minds after the latest horrific school mass shooting in the USA. Immediate knee-jerk reaction to ban all guns, which of course goes against the Second Amendment of the US Constitution "the right to bear arms"!
Fact - the US has the highest per capita gun ownership in the world
Fact - the US has the highest number of "mass" shootings in the world 
Fact - actually no fiction - the US does not have the highest rate of gun homicide in the world. 
In terms of gun deaths per 100,000 population per year the US comes in at number 11, behind countries like Honduras (6 times higher than the US!), Venezuela and Swaziland but interestingly of the "top" 20 one is in Asia (the Philippines at #13), one in Europe (Montenegro at #12), two in Africa (Swaziland at #3, and South Africa at #14) and the rest, all 16, are in the Americas!
Fact - most gun deaths in the USA are suicides
But the fact is that it is these "mass killings", and especially at schools, that catch everyone's attention and create the call for tighter gun control. People love quoting "Guns don't kill people, people do" - and they are right, it needs someone to pull the trigger, but that person also needs to be in the state of mind that makes them go out and kill as many people as possible.

Christmas 1960

Propped up against the table amongst my Christmas presents is a Diana model 22 (caliber .177) air rifle - bought by my parents, and I was 7 years old!

Out with my airgun

I took that rifle with me whenever we went out for a drive, and used to carry it about - but never shot at any animals back then, and certainly would never have shot anyone with it - even at that age I knew that would be wrong. My "targets" were tin cans, paper targets, old light bulbs (challenging when they were swinging!), and my Dad and I used to play "darts" on the verandah with the tiny flighted darts you could buy for airguns! Later in Mozambique, when I was 15 I used it for rat control in our chicken run, and got pretty good at taking down running rats in the tree branches.

I do not recall being "taught" that guns were dangerous, or it being drummed into me that you don't point it at people - if anything I would only have to have been told that once and that would have been enough. So why is it that some people, or even some nations, treat weapons differently.
In the UK, my homeland, it is quite hard to own a weapon - low-powered airguns can be owned by anyone under 18, though others are considered to be "firearms" and need licences to own. Handguns are no longer available to the general public, nor are semi-automatic rifles (the favoured weapon of the mass shooter in the USA), but shotguns and hunting rifles need a firearms certificate before they can be purchased. Ammunition needs a separate licence as well! The licence is weapon specific - it must list the particular weapon it pertains too, and adding others requires this to be recorded. Weapons must also be stored securely, generally in a gun safe, and ammunition stored separately, also under lock and key. The police will periodically come and inspect how the weapons and ammunition are stored, and often when the licence is renewed (every 5 years). It is a complicated process to get a firearms certificate, and includes a medical report on suitability of the applicant.
I understand that in the USA you could buy a gun and walk out of the store (you can even buy one in Walmart, not just in licenced specialised firearm stores) with it around 30 minutes later, assuming you don't fall into one of the "prohibited" categories (convicted felon, diagnosed mental illness, history of drug abuse, etc.) on the FBI database - so as long as you do not appear on their database, even if you have undiagnosed mental illness (so you do not need a medical certificate stating competency like the UK), you can buy a firearm - and this includes handguns, assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons. I believe that the Las Vegas shooter had also bought an adaptor (bump stock) that effectively turned a semi into a fully automatic weapon, and sales of these are unregulated!
Now I am not saying that the USA should ban weapon sales completely (not without changing the Constitution), but I do feel that they need more regulation - it does need to be harder to legally acquire firearms, especially multiple firearms! The process should be more rigorous, the background checks more detailed, and include a medical assessment as to competency, and it certainly should take longer than 30 minutes to acquire a lethal weapon! Possibly the process should also include some guarantees about the storage of weapons and ammunition, as there are many cases of children finding loaded unsecured guns and shooting someone with it. This is going to be the most contentious point, though, as many gun owners claim they are for protection, and if you have to find a key and unlock a "safe" (could be a drawer!) to get at your weapon in response to, say, a home invasion this could prove the difference between life and death!
In the 60's my Dad purchased a .22 handgun while we were living in Angola, in response to the commencement of the liberation struggle by "terrorist" anti-government organisations. He kept the pistol, loaded, in his bedside drawer. A few days after he moved it to a lockable cupboard in our lounge (not sure why he did that) he awoke to find an intruder in their bedroom (a pet mongoose, rather than the two dogs sleeping on my parent's bed alerted him!) - he shouted and then went in pursuit, stopping to unlock the cupboard and collect the pistol, but by the time he had it the intruder had vanished. It turned out that it had been a former domestic servant who had been fired recently, as there was no "break-in" but rather the back door had been opened using a key that was "hidden" by the replacement domestic employee. My father, however, was left in quite a state by the incident - he wondered what would have happened had the gun still been in his bedside drawer, and whether he would have been able to shoot at the intruder, and what his reaction would have been had he actually hit and killed the intruder. It affected him so much that he decided to get rid of the gun, as he was unsure whether he could use it against another human being, even in defence of his family, and felt, therefore, that keeping it was dangerous.
My point here is that maybe the British have a different view of guns and their use, to the Americans, and possibly part of this is due to the fact that it is harder to get hold of one (legally!) and therefore "we" look upon it as a privilege, and not a "right" instilled in our Constitution.