Homeland Extraction - Phase One - COMPLETE!

Well, would you believe it? Absolutely everything went according to plan - and according to MY plan at that! What relief. I'll write more later (I've been lying on the floor for two and-a-half days) but for now here's a photograph of the view from our balcony:
In just a couple of months this panorama will be a lot greener. It's rare to get a wide-open view like this in Berlin, usually one sees the other side of the street. Here though, right in front of our house, is the old no-mans-land between East and West.
Before reunification, our strasse had buildings on one side and THE WALL on the other.
Exclamation marks are appropriate.

Now I've gone and done it.

It's done!
I finished packing (amazing what you can achieve if you forgo sleep) just as the big white van arrived. 45 minutes later I watched all my worldly goods trundling off down the street, wondering if I'd ever see them again. And now I'm off to Gatwick.

I'm actually leaving!
Hang on, does it still feel like I'm doing the right thing here?
Hmmm...
Yes, yes it does. Good to keep checking though.
Now where on Earth did I put my passport?
Huh?

Boxing Records

I have quite a lot of VINYL.
Somehow the amount of records I have in my possession seems to double every couple of years. I have no idea how that happens.
A single LP is light and easy to deal with, you could easily slide it between your teeth and walk up and down the stairs for hours, if you wanted to.
A couple of thousand of LPs are a different matter.

For a while I used those gingham zip-up laundry bags made from shiny nylon that seem to exist absolutely everywhere in the world - that was a mistake. They get too heavy and slice through your palms (even more so if you're a gentle artist only used to carrying fine pencils and the occasional teacup).

It's hard to find the right boxes... wrong shape and the corners of your precious rekkids get all mangled, too big and you can't lift them. Luckily this time around I managed to find some grrrreat boxes - bought them from Access storage. Taped up and glued, they're strong and do the job rather well. Look how neat they are... and what's that? It's a copy of rare Texan acid guitar LP "Where Are We Going?" by ID from 1976. I bought it three years ago and may even get around to actually listening to it once I live in beautiful Berlin.
You never know.

Old House

This is where I live in London.
No, I'm not a millionaire, I share it with four other (nice) people.
Goodbye house!