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I had packed most of my stuff in readiness for the 15th. I had bought loads of cleaning things,broom, dustpan and brush, disinfectant, loads of stuff.
The journey to work and back was getting much easier now as the nights were getting lighter and the ice and snow was gone. It was very tiring though 300 miles minimum a week was telling on me and my car. Three years to go then I could retire, it seemed a long way off.
The moving day arrived and Lesley and I filled the car up with stuff and went to the house. I couldnt believe it nothing was happening, I was met by the estate manager who said she had refused to move out as the house she was moving into was not ready yet, they were still decorating it. I said this wasnt right and he agreed but could do nothing. Also the kitchen in my house had been installed without permission therefore she had to reinstall the original which she said she had in the loft. One thing he said he could and would do was charge her rent for both properties. He said he would ring me and let me know when my tenancy would begin.
Evidently this woman was a real trouble maker and they were all scared of her. Even workmen came in pairs when repairs needed to be done. What a reputation to have.
I received a phone call from the estate manager giving me the new date 1st April, very ominous I thought April Fools Day. The reason for the extra time was she had finally told them that she didnt have the original kitchen, so the Housing association had to fit a new one for me when she moved out and they anticipated it would be done before th 1st April.
This time she had moved out and again I met the manager to sign the tenancy agreement and paid the first months rent and set up a Direct Debit. He told me she was going to have to pay a huge sum of money for the state she had left the house plus the cost of a new kitchen and the delay in vacating the house.
At last I had the keys and could scrub the place and Steve was going to decorate it before the carpets and furniture came. Lesley was going to help also. My children were amazing nothing was too much trouble. I was and am so proud of them. I put all the cleaning products and brooms etc in the kitchen ready for getting stuck in the next day, saturday. Steve was coming to see my new house and tell me what decorating stuff I needed to get.
Lesley,Steve and the kids and myself went to the house and the first thing I noticed was all the cleaning stuff and brooms were gone. I couldnt understand it as all the doors were locked. I rang the estate manager and asked if his workmen had been in, he said no they hadnt got keys anymore. Then he said there can only be one person and that was the girl that had moved out, she must still have a key. He said to leave it with him and he would get it sorted out. He arrived about an hour later with a workman and proceeded to replace all the locks. He hadnt as yet seen the girl and to be honest I didnt think he would challenge her.