June is the month when I think it is fair to say that I really moved to Scotland. We are still in the process of moving bit-by-bit, but in June I spent most of the time in Scotland, while Jayne was mostly in England.

She has been unhappy because she just wants to get moved, but until she finishes her job she can’t do it. One downside of being a bus driver is that you can’t work from home like I can!

As the month started, the house in Scotland was more or less bare, and a bit of a building site. As this is our forever home (no way we want to go through the moving house process again!) and we would want to make some changes to the kitchen and the flooring downstairs it made sense to get all that work done before we got our belongings and furniture in. I had the basics in the bedroom and in my home office, but downstairs the only furniture was one armchair and a fold-out table with two chairs. When the kitchen got ripped out my only cooking facilities were a hastily-purchased kettle and a microwave. The few bits of cutlery, crockery and supplies were all stashed in a bedroom.

My daily routine was to take some cereal, sugar, a bowl, and a spoon down from the bedroom, then go out to the fridge (stored in the shed for now) for milk. Filling the kettle and washing up had to be done in the bathroom sink. It was all a bit bleak, but still Jayne was jealous of me.

During the month I made a couple of trips up in hired vans to move the bulk of our belongings. The first time it was a massive Transit I hired in Kilmarnock with all the gadgets in it. The second time I got a lift back South with Jayne after she came up for a few days then did a one-way hire from Crawley. That was some weird Chinese model I had never heard of and the journey was a lot worse because of not having cruise control. By the time I get back to what I now call home, the kitchen was all finished and all the rubbish cleared away and it was now the old house that was empty and bleak.

During the month I spent a lot of time putting up shelves, unpacking books, records and clothes, assembling furniture, setting up the televisions, hanging pictures and generally making the place more homely. It still looks a little bare because the sofa we ordered in May is not due to be delivered until August, but I think its getting there.

It feels like all I have done in the month is working remotely, nest-building and driving. Lots of driving. I made the journey between Scotland and Crawley four times, though it felt like more. Also loading and unloading vans.

It is hardly surprising that I only read four books in the month, and the only television I watched was a little bit of World Cup football and a bit of catching up with things like Last Week Tonight. I did get round to watching a film on Netflix though, which was Apex. It was bit like a female-led version of Deliverance but set in Australia but I enjoyed it.

Somehow I did manage to pick up some new vinyl in the month. While I was back in Crawley I took the bike across to the Horsham record fair for the last time and snagged a few LPs. I also had a little surprise bundle of records from somebody off Facebook. I was selling off all the books I was not taking up with me (22 boxes full!) and I had managed to split out the science fiction in to 3 boxes full for somebody who only wanted them. When he turned up he gave me a bag with a half-dozen or so LPs. Possibly because he felt guilty that he was taking a massive pile of decent SF for not much money. It was good to get out on the bike though. Even if it was only for a short trip.

I bet I won’t feel quite so keen on the bike after I have done the 400+ mile ride to bring it up to Scotland!

I managed a few administrative milestones during June as well. I got myself registered with a GP up here. I haven’t heard from them yet, though I did get a letter from NHS Scotland with a bowel cancer screening kit. I also received my free bus pass and celebrated by taking a bus into Kilmarnock to make sure it works OK

Inbetween all that I have been exploring the village a bit by going for lots of walks around. I also went out to see one of the local landmarks – the Barony A Frame. Once I get my bike up here I can start getting round to the other places like Dumfries house. For a small village there is quite a lot to see.

I am now waiting for Jayne to move up. I do hope she is happy with what I have done so far.