This morning Mum, Dad and I went down to Kent to start clearing out Nan's flat. We'd decided to stay overnight at a Premier Inn in Rochester as there was no way I fancied driving 100 miles back just to return the next day!
We arrived at about 10am to find the flat in a state of mayhem. My uncle had been there since around 7am as we'd had a skip delivered and had decided to start sorting out the wardrobe and drawers in Nan's bedroom...Mum and I were not happy! There were clothes everywhere and the whole flat was in a mess. He'd taken all the photos down from the wall and put the frames into a big suitcase as his son-in-law worked with someone who dealt with photo frames (and was probably going to sell them). I was livid as all the photos I'd given to Nan were now lying on the table minus the frames. It meant that if I wanted to put them up in my own house I'd have to buy new frames! I asked where he'd put them but he was deliberately vague and then he disappeared to deliver them to his son-in-law! Which was maybe a good job seeing as I was so angry!
Mum and I looked at each other in despair and I could cheerfully have screamed and run away from the flat, but we squared our shoulders and knuckled down to it. I started sorting out Nan's clothes and putting any that were good enough into suitcases, as one of the ladies that works for us helps out at a charity shop. Nan had some beautiful clothes, many of which were hardly worn, so very soon we had about five suitcases and bags filled with her clothes, ornaments and soft toys. Dad and my Uncle busied themselves with taking rubbish out to the skip and tried not to get in our way as both of us were still seething.
It was very hard seeing all of Nan's possessions being carted away to either the charity shop or the skip. My uncle said that some of our (very) extended family wanted a few bits of furniture and his daughter-in-law wanted the photos. That was the last straw for me as I'd regarded the photos as my job and had said I would go through them all at home and then give out the pictures to my uncle and his side of the family, to my parents and keep any that related to me. He jokingly said that there'd be a "punch-up" between me and my cousin's wife and I was nearly very rude to him indeed! The photos were of my family - not her family!
He then found a booklet with all of my Grandad's blood donor records and said that she would love them...Er, excuse me! I very politely pointed out that they belonged to my Grandad and that I wanted to keep them...I think he got the message!
We carried on working until well past 5pm and all of us were very tired by the time we finished the first day. At one point in the afternoon we'd had a crowd of people in the flat all seeing what they could get and I thought that my mum was going to explode. I knew this would happen as the same thing happened when my other Nan died and it just made me really angry to see people walking about looking at things that they had no right to have, especially as they'd never even visited her when she was in hospital!
It was a relief to get into the car and drive the short distance to Rochester. We found the hotel easily (there was a Virgin gym nearby - shame I didn't bring my kit!) and were soon checked in and sitting in the bar with a well-earned drink. I checked up on Sophie who was in Birmingham at a Lewis Watson concert and then we got ready for dinner. I really relished the time alone after our busy day and I had a bath before joining my parents in the restaurant.
We decided on the Sleeper Saver menu which was fantastic value - three courses at dinner, with a drink, followed by breakfast the next day, at just £22.99 each. I hope they still have the offer on when Keith and visit the North-East in June!
We had a lovely meal and a good chat but by 9.30pm we were all ready for bed. I read for a while and turned my light out at around 10.30pm only to be woken five minutes later by an ecstatic Sophie calling me to say she'd met Lewis Watson after the gig and that he'd cuddled her! One very happy daughter, but one wide awake parent who spent the next two hours hoping she'd got home OK!
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