I’ve got thrills, they’re multiplying and I’m losing control – probably my bowels and bladder as I approach 57 years of age in April.
Much written about, vaunted and flaunted on personal and business social media pages, my thrills come from an impending move to Norwich city centre.
If I retrace where I’ve lived, there’s only been one stint at real urban living – Sunderland and Wearmouth Hall from 1983 to 1986. That was close to the then town centre, but not as near as the place we’re in the process of buying in Norwich, a very genteel and deprived city at the same time.
Daughter has been offered a conditional place at the Sixth Form at Notre Dame, a beacon school in the city centre. Instead of driving daily to the railway stations at Haddiscoe or Great Yarmouth, we’ve opted instead to sell in Bradwell and move to Norwich: Ber Street, no less, the same road as the school, and, by pure accident, John Lewis.
Bradwell, where we live now, is a good place: suburban, safe and clean. The new build home we bought, almost 6 years ago, has been a big part of my success. It’s here I finally accepted teaching was over, after being bullied out. It’s where I finally gave up drinking for good and bedroom 3 has been the base for this business, Get Pro Copy, which has blossomed like trees in spring in the adjacent copses and woods.
But Norwich calls.
Not purely for daughter’s sake either – she could and would have travelled by train – but for all four of us. There used to be five, but James, our 21 year old son, has found independence at university in Cardiff and Toulouse, and like I did at 21, only comes “home” grudgingly. Who can blame him?
Student life with international friends or some nagging parents with old school values?
I know what I’d choose.
We’ve sold this house very quickly with Sefftons in Norwich, an excellent estate agent we’re buying through too. When we moved here in 2016, I used Emoov to sell before they went tits up, as I liked them. Sefftons have impressed too, with high quality marketing, and a sale in 4 days with the onward purchase moving apace.
Estate agents, generally, leave me cold. I’ve worked with 50 or 60 now with blogging and marketing and most are tossers. I’d count the good ones on two hands, which may be more than you expected?
City living though does hold enormous appeal.
I know, before 6 months are up, I’ll be whinging on here about urban issues: noise, litter, anti-social behaviour etc. But there is something very exciting about walking to theatres, shops, restaurants and cinemas from home after years of semi-rural sleepiness.
Norwich could be seen too as a dummy run, a trial, for Lisbon, where we intend to bugger off to in 3 years’ time. Hopefully, Brexit may have been reversed, Johnson incarcerated and we can get back to the freedom of movement we all enjoyed, pre Farage, Johnson, Cummings.
A triumvirate of twats.
I’ll be 60 by then but have no intention of hanging up my keyboard. I like what I do. It’s a beautifully rewarding job too, after the shitfest of teaching for 27 years.
Norwich then it is.
If you’ve never been here, I’d recommend it. It has massive pockets of deprivation, seemingly high drug deaths, but a real character and appeal that you’d perhaps find in places like York or Canterbury. I prefer it to both too. The weather in East Anglia is excellent too and that, along with the safeness and things to do here, anchor us firmly in Norfolk.
I’ve begun repurposing this business to its new base. It has a new Norwich landline number, a fresh base on Google Maps and a stack of handsome photos and videos from the weekend we did missionary work. We allowed the northerners of Andy and Mandy Plues, with Jack and Jazzy in tow, to see what Norfolk offers. Andy did the photography you can see on here, via his business.
Finally, if you’re based near Norwich, or ever feel like a visit, I’m always happy to meet up for a chat and show you why this place has been home now for 14 years – and probably 3 more as well.
