Abandoned

This is the view from my boundary over the sheep fence into the neighbouring abandoned property.

You can see the remains of the house through the under / overgrowth. The two limestone chimneys are still standing and the odd bit of roof, but otherwise it’s all collapsed.

The last people to live there were the owners of the local coal mine. Apparently the manager of the mill lived in a house on my property. The other two properties going up the road were occupied by the mill owners and the mine manager. It was the posh end of town! They had all left by the mid-90s.

I have spent the day helping friends R and N pack and clean their house. They have to be out in 48 hours’ time and there is still plenty to be done, so I’ll be back there in the morning.

When I moved from North Canterbury to North Otago six years ago, my plan was to spend my last day in my previous house frantically cleaning the place from top to bottom. However just after I’d made a start five friends turned up unannounced, replete with cleaning gear, vacuum cleaners, a carpet washer, refreshments and a huge amount of cheerful goodwill. We had the whole place sparkling by lunchtime, so I treated them all to a meal at our lovely local cafe by way of a thank you.

There is always far too much to do in the last few days of a move, so I’m happy to chip in at R and N’s to make their final efforts a wee bit easier, just as mine were six years ago.

I’m pooped tonight though! Six hours of cleaning is hard yakka :-)

Bean supervised.