The Eagle Has Landed

I am so tired I can hardly type. Though I am naturally a worrier by inclination I did manage to sleep on Friday night before the move but I was a bag of nerves come Saturday morning. I'm the same when I travel anywhere, always thinking of the worst case scenario. By lunchtime the last of the packing had been done at Atrocity Mansions and a mountain of packing boxes stood by the door awaiting the arrival of the van. At five o'clock on the dot, Victor, the driver, parked up outside and then with the assistance of Tommy Dog we loaded the van in thirty minutes flat. A stately drive from South London to Bloomsbury followed with the redoubtable Victor easing the gas to ensure there were no breakages in the back.

We arrived at Schossadlerflug a half hour after departing and then spent another hour unloading the van and taking my worldly possessions up the lift to the top floor. Tommy Dog was an utter hero and has earned himself a slap up dinner of steak frites and a decent bottle of Fleurie at The French House on a date of his choosing. In two hours everything had been moved from Atrocity Mansions across the river to the resplendent Schossadlerflug. We made up the bed as a first priority moved a few boxes around, built a bookshelf and then, exhausted, decamped to Pizza Express for pizza and beer, both of which were well earned.

I have chosen the name Schossadlerflug for the new place on the blog because of a pleasing alignment of the fates. The name pertains to part of Tinseltroos' ludicrously long full surname, also to the fact that the street we now live on has an eagley theme and we are the top (or penthouse as we like to think of it) flat in our block so it has an eyrie kind of feel. So Schossadlerflug it is and we are delighted with it.

On Sunday Tinseltroos and Sisoftroos had to put the finishing touches to the cleansing of Tinseltowers to ensure the maximum return on their deposit. Any lingering doubts that T may have had about wishing to move to a new place quickly vanished when, as she took another bin-bag of rubbish out, she found a tramp and his boyfriend in flagrante delicto in their outdoor bin cupboard. Delightful. Some may say that this adds colour and cultural diversity to their former neighbourhood, I am not so sure about that so soon after breakfast.

I spent the morning assembling shelving, hi-fi equipment and unpacking my myriad boxes of books and putting them on the shelves which are now dotted throughout the new flat. I am told that the generally desired effect is to put the most impressive volumes in the room guests are most likely to visit. I didn't quite manage this so there are more comics on the shelf in the living room than anywhere else but hey-ho I'm sure no-one will really mind, they will at least get a farily honest appraisal of my tastes and predilictions. Next up was clothing. I managed to hang up all my clothes, leaving plenty of room for Tinseltroos' impressive wardrobe and then set about sorting out computer space in the studio/office/second bedroom. Post tramp-shock and book shelving we met up for a late lunch at Balans before Tinseltroos came back home with me to survey the mess I'd made. I cooked our first meal in the new flat: pasta with a cream, courgette, black olive and Parmesan sauce followed by one last round of unpacking before bed.

And that's pretty much where we are. There's still odds and sods in boxes; there will be the inevitable re-arranging of things we've already arranged when a better configuration suggests itself but we are pretty much moved in now. Tonight I will store the boxes of cables, art materials and whatnot in a tidier manner in the studio and then we will be in good shape for the weekend. It's tiring and boring unpacking but I love our flat and I'm so happy we've moved in together.