Shipping company came on Wednesday to take away all my worldly goods for the move to the States. It had taken over a month to sort out, whittle down and pack up. I called Dolphin Movers to check it was what they wanted on Monday. As a result, I then had to spend all of Tuesday daytime re-opening the cartons and logging the contents to draw up an inventory for customs.

Got up at 9am yesterday ready for the fun to begin but no sign of the shipping people. My friend Pete’s hallway was stacked up with boxes high enough to hide the coats. 9.30, still no moving men. 10am, still nothing. 10.15, Pete’s cats barfed up one too many breakfasts. 10.30am, twiddling thumbs.

11am, I called the shippers. They’d gone to the wrong address. My old address. Which I’d guessed. Even though I’d given them my new address. This should worry me but somehow, I am strangely unworried. 11.30, they appeared. One man, a van and a trolley. Fifteen minutes later, it was all gone.

In the end there were 20 book cartons containing books, comicbooks, files of paperwork, CD’s, DVD’s, cassettes, bric-a-brac and clothes. There’s an airpistol in there somewhere too. Not sure what they’ll make of that. There were also three cases of LP’s, including 12-inch singles, and three tea-chests of, well let’s just call it “stuff”, shall we? Plus five paintings.

We’ll see it all again in two months, just in time for Christmas.