Emigration Day - 13 Oct 2022

After weeks of planning, we’re finally on our way.

In fact it’s a lot more than weeks, since we’ve been thinking about retiring to the sunshine for decades, indeed it was always something we agreed on from as soon as we met, just the destination was up for grabs.

The tense needs changing now to describe what has happened. Over many holidays we have repeatedly asked the same question - is this THE place, is it better than the last one we decided WAS the place? We’ve alternated between several continents and countless countries, in order to test the hypothesis. I could list the close contenders but it’s not really relevant now, as we’ve settled on the obvious one - the one we’ve returned to numerous times, that’s not too far away.

However it was the unexpected occurrence of covid which provided the catalyst to hasten our retirement plans - we’d been thinking it might be 2023 or 24, but Hubby was exhausted after keeping the company afloat during the pandemic and we concluded we should bring plans forwards.

In November 2021 we set off on a spending trip, and after viewing 15 houses, chose our retirement home in Tenerife, just a few miles north of our favourite hotel. It’s not far from the popular coastal region, in a town somewhat larger than our Yorkshire village, where the walking is equally as good as Cawthorne, but the weather is significantly better.

After our winter holiday in January 2022 we returned, having gone through countless hoops and paperwork with our Spanish lawyers acting as intermediaries, clutching banker’s drafts drawn ready to complete. It’s complex, the lawyers don’t handle the cash like in Britain, we are expected to meet the vendor, then pay off his estate agent and his mortgage to the respective representatives also present, and then hand over what’s left to him, all in front of a notary, who then said “congratulations you have bought your house!” Two hours to conclude, but weeks and weeks of planning. At that moment we are given keys, and drive straight to our house, a very good way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, our first night in our new home.

Since then we’ve flitted back and forth between houses, preparing for the final push, the largest of which was Getting Hubby Retired. Although he’d informed the chairman a long time before, it was still a monumental task, after doing the job for a quarter century, to make his leaving as trouble-free as possible. We still managed blocks of time in both houses, proving to me beyond doubt that being a remote IT Director was entirely possible for the time being.

After our summer holiday we spent a few weeks in Tenerife then returned for the very last session in Yorkshire - removals already booked, parties already planned, and the start of even more paperwork.

Since the start of the year we’ve been slowly clearing the house, our Saturday trips to Barnsley Hospice shop so frequent the staff all know us and our plans. We’ve taken 23 years of household stuff, plus much more from our two previous houses and clearances from both sets of parents - it’s been a gargantuan effort but hopefully the charity has benefited well - extremely satisfying!

Before we fly, the small detail of what we are taking needs some work, and with a delivery of various sorts of boxes, plastic and cardboard, Slowly we work through what’s left in each room, cataloging each box, a requirement for our import documentation, until the rooms get empty, except for a pile of boxes in the corner.

On Monday two vans and three men arrived to take away the 52 boxes and dozens of things too big for a box, like office chairs, desks, sofa, giraffe, our exquisite Italian ceramic dining table, chairs and of course the piano. A specialist grand piano man joins the team to ensure all goes smoothly whilst manhandling over a third of a tonne of walnut and cast iron.

By lunchtime all had gone, only the skip on our drive remained, half empty again after a couple of lads asked us if they could take stuff away - great we said, room for more rubbish!!

On Wednesday we drove to Mercedes

for the last time - I’d sold the car last month with plans we would return it as agreed. Walking on to Europcar we collected an MG, not what we’d booked but they obviously needed that driving across the Pennines - still charged us a one-way rental the robbing buggers - £194 for one and a bit days - hey-ho!!

On Thursday morning we take a last walk up to the Post Office, say our goodbyes and enjoy the beautiful day as we return, also stopping for a final goodbye with dear neighbours.

On evening flying days I usually do dinner at lunch then take packed lunch with us for the plane, so we enjoy excellent crab bisque, a left over from last night’s fairwell dinner party, then Normandy Chicken before a final walk around the house and garden to say our goodbyes.

It’s a clean drive to MAN, easy check-in, then rapidly through security into a half-empty departure hall. Before long we’re embarking a half-empty flight. Even in TFS we’re through in record time, nevertheless our driver is waiting. Our junction of the motorway is closed so we have to go well beyond (it’s the last of the very closely grouped junctions) and return to take the Playa Paraíso exit. Despite this we’re home for 22:30 and we celebrate with a glass or two whilst stargazing on the patio.