A Quick Update,

as to what has been happening in the background over the last year,

due to various reasons a year ago I decided to close the shop down, it was a hard decision, but due to retirement and other factors we are going to close, at the end of last year I started the ball rolling by approaching a number of architects to have plans drawn up, and then having the plans passed by the local council for planning permission and building permission, afterwards engaging a estate agent to find a builder to undertake the remodeling of the building, a builder was found and a year later we will be signing contracts before Christmas I hope! I am selling the building then stepping out at this stage and letting the builder complete the project.

a little history of the shop, above as it was when I started work there, Kingfisheries started trading as a single shop at its current location back in 1953, when it started selling accessories and foods for dogs, cats and birds, in one corner of shop there were 10 or so aquariums selling goldfish and a few tanks with tropical fish in them, no one had any idea how popular the aquatic side of the trade would become, eventually as the shop expanded into the shop next door, the general pet side of the trade was dropped and the shop became solely aquatic, it was just before the shop expanded that I started work as a Saturday boy, back in 1963, and I am still completing all of the paperwork at the shop today, at 75 years old! The end of the business is sad for all of us, Carl, the youngest has worked there for 25 years, Lee and Graham over 40 years each, but there it is, nothing stays the same forever.

On to today, well they say things come in threes, arriving back in the UK my mobile telephone finally packed up, £350 later and I had a new one, also there had been no Internet since we returned, then it was back for a day then off again, a BT engineer is scheduled for a home visit Thursday morning, no idea of the cost, what else could possibly go wrong in just 3 days? I jumped into the car to pick Diana up from work, a warning on the dashboard lit up, flat tire! I had a air pump for cars but it gave up at 24psi, anyway I picked Diana up and called into the garage that MOT's the car every year on the way home, the verdict? the tire was beyond repair, £160, the tire will be ordered as they do not keep that size/make in stock, so on Thursday after the BT engineer calls I will drive to the garage, welcome back to the UK!

The posts will be a tad erratic due to the fact that I will be in the shop everyday helping Graham and Carl to strip down the aquariums and getting the shop empty for the new buyer, but I will eventually get up to date with our holiday on the blog, off now to the solicitor to sign more papers!