We told him that we were, but he then gave us a task. A challenge to prove our worth to the Gods. He told us that we must remain constant when the waters around us grew stormy, and that we must hold still when the bridge appears to engorge itself with flames.
We went to the Isle of Wight this weekend to check out the lie of the land and refresh ourselves of its charms. The practical reason that we had was to deliver an application for Sophie's school to the 'County Hall', which was accomplished, but we also wanted to look around to gauge areas that we might like to move to, and also what the island looked and felt like in the winter.
The weather was miserable, overcast and rainy on the mainland as we left Southampton, but as the picture shows below, the Isle of Wight seems to be protected by an imaginary sunny forcefield that ensures that it's summer all year round. So much for seeing what it looks like in the rain. As you can see, it looks as though someone has cut round the clouds by the coast line of the island. Weird.
We have always had in our minds that we wanted to move to Porchfield, which is a rural district between Cowes and Shallfleet. It spans the length of one road, pretty much, with fields on either side. The countryside is lovely and it looks like a real community, but we have now had second thoughts due to its remoteness, especially regarding Sophie.
The next district along the coast towards Cowes is called Gurnard. This has the feel of an old fishing village. It is situated right on the coast, which is definitely a part of the dream, and it also has a character which Claire and I could only describe as higgledy-piggledy. Every house is different and it looks as though they've all been thrown together randomly. I like this uniqueness a lot.
There is also an area of beach huts as well, but again, not uniformed beach huts but an amalgamation of sheds thrown together at the waters edge. All with nets and buoys strewn over them like a fishing village still life. In summary it has the feel, in my opinion, of the village in the Kevin Spacey/Judi Dench film 'The Shipping News'.
It is also a mile away from Cowes, and the metropolis of life that we will undoubtedly miss when we move away from the city. So this is important for us as well.
So this is now going to be the target for our move, and when we first arrive for good, the plan is to rent for the first six months to make sure that we know the place better before we commit to buying anything. We estimate that this will come at a cost of approximately six thousand pounds, but this is a necessary cost. What we do need to make sure is that we don't rent for much longer and end up throwing away even more money.
We both really like the New England style wooden house with white edges and greeny coloured walls. There are a number of examples of this type of house in Gurnard and one of these would be fantastic.
As we get nearer and nearer to the summer, the mountain is looking higher and higher. Almost like an optical illusion. The number of things that need to be in place in the next six months seem to be moving further away. The leap of faith is drawing up in front of us, and at some point, however prepared we are, we will have to jump. The good news is that both of us felt as though we could have stayed there this weekend, and we didn't want to come back on the boat. At least that's a start.
So, the stormy waters rose, and we just stayed there. And the flames grew high on the bridge, and we just stayed there. At points it looked like we would be destroyed by the devastation of the natural elements surrounding us. But then, just as quickly as it came, the ferocity died and the old man appeared once more at the foot of the bridge.
'You have proved that you're nature is true, and that you deserve the riches in which you seek. Your steadfastness will mean that you inherit your dreams.'
We lived happily ever after.
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