I live in Torquay and am lucky enough to live very close to the sea, the town centre and the railway station. Until the first lockdown I was happy working from home and sharing an office with my wife. She wasn’t quite so happy with that arrangement; I have no idea why.
When lockdown arrived, like a lot of other people, my kids were suddenly at home all day. Don’t get me wrong, they are all young adults in their 20s, they did not require constant attention and home schooling. However, they distracted me in other ways. The heating was always on, the fridge door was always open and there was either a TV on or ‘modern’ music playing at a volume that Led Zeppelin would have baulked at. I needed to escape!
Luck was on my side, walking past the railway station one day, I spotted a To Let sign on an old signalman’s office. A two storey square box (25’ x 25’), two floors with three rooms. I looked through the letter box (survey done), I decided immediately that it had to be mine. I phoned the agents pronto; the annual rent was good (only £3500.00 pa). I said I’ll take it. Not that easy, three others also wanted it and there would be a viewing the following week, followed by a vetting process.
I viewed the signal box with the other interested parties, one wanted to open a barber shop, one a small café, the third would not say in front of everyone else, hmmm?
I put in my sealed bid (with a sensible increase on the £3500.00) and tried to explain why I would be the best bet as a new tenant. I laid it on as thick as Devon cream.
After jumping through more hoops than a show dog at Crufts, I eventually got the keys and fitted out my office. I love it. I get to see the trains, have made friends with the railway workers and even get an occasional knock on the door from the railway ‘anoraks’ asking for a gander inside.
In all seriousness, it allows me to work in virtual silence (ok, I know the train times off by heart now), virtual solitude and the Wi Fi is great. I have a small kitchen, a WC and enough heaters to melt the coldest of hearts.
It has been a tough year for everyone and the signal box has allowed me to focus and keep the BLG membership fully updated and informed at all times. I therefore appreciate and take my hat off to all of the conveyancers who have had to work harder than ever before, remotely and/or differently, with a lot of unusual interruptions.
I strongly believe that post 31st March, the market will level off and the Covid vaccination process will begin to take effect, and life will become a ‘new’ normal.
It won’t be long before we are all on the right track once again. Full steam ahead!
