Farewell Westbourne House xxx

So this is it!

We have just heard that the lovely Westbourne House is ours no more.

We cannot leave this lovely home without a little fond farewell to the place that was ours for 9 years. This was the place we named, where a post office once stood, where two brand new babies were brought home for the first time, where three children learned to crawl, walk and talk, where two Christening parties were held, where many happy family Christmasses took place, where Santa visited on Christmas Eve and on his tractor, where trick-or-treaters and carol-singers called (even singing a resounding 'Happy Birthday" to Katy one year), where many childrens’ parties were held, where one year we even managed to fit a bouncy castle into the lounge, where pool and darts championships were won and lost, where Rangers games were enjoyed with friends, where the sound of piano and recorder and flute playing echoed through the walls, where we played at shopkeepers with a real till, where walls were demolished and others were built, painted and re-painted, where the kitchen was renovated twice and once relocated altogether, where floors were lovingly sanded, where happy boozy weekends with friends occurred, from where two children started school...how can we forget those unique circular front steps where friends often sat into the evening, and where Katy once fell and grazed her face, and from which visitors were greeted and then waved off again... and the garden which was excavated and where children played, where tents were erected and bbqs were attempted, where friends and family were entertained, those two bathrooms that became one and the two that were built from scratch, the home where excited menfolk left for weekends at Glastonbury, returning caked in mud, where Easter egg hunts took place......where two books were written and remain yet unpublished, the home from where a marathon and several halves were run, where little boys rode their cars down in the drive and smashed into the gate, where grapes were grown and Oakhill Chardonnay was made (thanks Mike!!), those trips over the road to Jane and Ewan's and staggers up to the pub (now new and even better!), this was a true home for us all.

Let's hope the new owners, the Ridges, love it as much as we did - we wish them well and look forward ourselves now to buying something on Aussie soil.... onwards and upwards - here we come!!!