I just realised that one thing I haven’t updated recently is the current situation with the flat. After some thoughts and discussions, George and I have finally decided that while we would love to take the gamble and move out early without a financial safety net… it’s too much of a risk. The plan currently is that George is looking into getting a job down in Hampshire, because as soon as that happenned, we could put the plan to move early into effect almost immediately, and if we end up liable for some of the rent, we’d still have enough to survive (We would probably, at least initially, be moving in with George’s Mum and Dad. It’s not a perfect situation, but it will also help an awful lot having a firm base from which to find a place to live…). This could happen incredibly quickly- it might not happen until April- or we might be here until June. We do, at least, know that the refurbishment situation is not our problem, whatever the Landlord says, and there are certain advantages to being here till next June- most particularly, it may give both of us the chance to improve our driving skills before we move to the Hampshire countryside, where we’re not really going to be able to survive without them. George needs to get her licence, and I need to improve my confidence considering that I drove once a couple of months ago, and that was my first time in nearly ten years. Refresher lessons are on the cards, and finding money for that kind of thing may be a little easier before we take the big-scale gamble of moving.

Of course, another advantage of not moving out till next June is that George wouldn’t have to immediately get a job, and would instead be able to, at least for 2 or 3 months, throw herself full-time into work on the art business she’s currently running with her mother and sister. It’s a source of major frustration that she’s so far away at the moment, and I wish there was more that I could do to make things right. But, we both know that the current plan is the only workable one- we’re doing okay, but we’re not exactly flush with cash, and are still wincing from having to pay back the council £2,000 of benefits and losing £4,500 in the Highbury debacle. We do, at least, have a workable plan, and things to investigate, while knowing what our situation is has turned out to be something of a relief. After some talks, we’ve also decided that there’s not an awful lot of point in talking to the Landlord until we have something to talk about- if we’re in the situation where we’re moving, then the refurbishment is his problem, not ours. I’d be quite happy to keep conversations with him to an absolute minimum, and it seems sensible to wait until the situation is no longer hypothetical.

Whatever happens, in twelve months time, our lives are going to be very, very different.

(Gulp…)