A family day out and horrific black mould

Tuesday 22 December 2015

Sunny 13 degrees
Southampton

Woke to sun squeezing through the heavy clouds.  Breakfast was in the large communal dining area.  People in business suits, ladies in couples discussing business, a general feeling of serious activity with dynamic buzz.  Corporate types leaning back expansively and waving their arms languidly as they talked figures, their huge stomachs straining against the striped shirts.  Staff all Eastern European.   Ate fruit salad, bacon and egg and set off into the bright morning to pick up youngest WF.

He had recently moved to a street not far away from his old house.  Another terrace with narrow frontage.  The front door looked like it had been the subject of an attack and the window had sad nets and half burned joss sticks.  The interior was more messy than the previous house, although nothing on the appalling state of the house before.  Clothes were stacked everywhere.  The kitchen was full of rubbish and dirty dishes.  Someone had wrapped around some pine branches on the staircase and the needles had fallen everywhere.  WF room was covered in floor to ceiling black mould.  Absolutely horrified.  His clothes were in boxes and everything smelled damp.  He went and got some mould killer and said he had only just noticed it.  Whole house damp.  Insisted that he contacted the landlord and told him to sort it out.  He said he had emailed him.  No one actually seems to ring people up any more.  I am all for ringing up and playing hell.

Went out then and drove to see eldest RF at the hotel where he works - a beautiful Georgian manor house.  Slightly disappointing inside, rather more shabby than I had anticipated.  Some of the dining area in the former dungeons.  Went to Winchester for lunch and it was a total nightmare to park.  Had turned into a wet day by this point and the brolly and us were blown around as we finally took refuge in Prezzo.  Had very agreable lunch.  It has been so long since we were all together as a family.  That is the only thing that really matters at Christmas.

Dropped both of them off and went back to hotel in Southampton.  Still very tired from yesterdays efforts.