{"id":2533,"date":"2016-05-02T11:11:40","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T11:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kiwihoods.com\/?p=2533"},"modified":"2016-05-02T11:11:40","modified_gmt":"2016-05-02T11:11:40","slug":"woking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kiwihoods.com\/?p=2533","title":{"rendered":"WOKING"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saturday March 19th<\/p>\n

We arrive at our next house sit which is 3 weeks in Woking looking after 2 Hungarian Vizlas. The owners welcome us and so do the dogs with full on excitement. \u00a0We discuss the dogs needs and then we take them for a walk to see a couple of the normal routes they get taken.\u00a0 The dogs have\u00a0 only been with the current owners for a year but they had 3 years with previous owners whom we figure didn\u2019t provide any training or discipline as these boys really don\u2019t listen to what they are required to do and they pull badly in great anticipation of getting to a place they can run free.\u00a0 Anyway we get back and find out what their food routine is.\u00a0 The dogs are inside dogs and are allowed to roam free in the dining\/lounge\/kitchen area. As a consequence of this, this area is not overly clean and does smell \u2018doggy\u2019 but we have to deal with it. We stay the night in the house, the couple are leaving later the next day. The next day we walk the dogs down the Green Lane (which we rename the Green Mile after the movie as we later feel incarcerated) with Kevin to St Johns wood which is a really neat area around a small village which has most amenities- but no bloody pub in fact there are none anywhere close- but it is very muddy and a fair walk with the dogs to get there.<\/p>\n

Kevin takes us in the car later in the day and shows us where he takes the dogs for a run by car as it is too far to walk them. We are expected to take them in the campervan which we are reluctant to do but may give it a go and have a partition made quickly to stop the dogs from getting into the cab but this is not ideal. We take the dogs for our first walk to Green Mile and they are a handful and really pull on the choker chains which we don\u2019t like but seem to work on them\u00a0 as ordinary leashes would be hopeless and too tiring as there is no stopping the pulling as they aren\u2019t trained for them. We end up turning the wrong way and end up at the golf course which is ok as there is a public walkway passing through it with wild bush on each side which is then surrounded by the golf course as it winds itself around. However the dogs do not play by the rules and stay in the bush and tracks but also decide to chase squirrels up trees (they love to hunt and chase as that is what they do) and run all over the course to the consternation of the golfers who are still playing and the other responsible dog owners walking their very well behaved dogs, well that\u2019s what it feels like but who knows.\u00a0 But as we are newbies we just shake our heads and try to get the dogs under control but the more we yell at them to come they run further away and it is a good half hour and nearly dark by the time we get them on the leash and get back \u2018home\u2019.\u00a0 The area around here is really cool and lots of open space and lovely lanes and roads with amazing which we can\u2019t wait to explore. We are surrounded by large brick mansions and this part is quite exclusive and possibly 75% of all the houses we walk pass (and the one we are in would be I million pound homes + with the rest not much less. We say goodbye to our house owners as they go off to the airport and settle in to the doghouse.<\/p>\n

The room we are in is upstairs and we have a new ensuite which is great but the bed is way too small really only a large single and very uncomfortable so we have to get the memory foam mattress which helps but is not ideal. Over the next few days we walk the dogs each morning for a good 1 \u00bd hours then they get fed and we relax and have a coffee. We walk into Woking if the weather is fine or we don\u2019t have to carry much as it is a real pain parking the van.<\/p>\n

We are big time looking at a small car but what we can afford is at the low end and though not bad still most are not ideal either a bit rough or been in the hands of a smoker which is a real turnoff. We quite like the looks of the Peugeot 207 which are popular here and seem good value for money. We travel to outside Dorking to test drive one and though pretty good (it is ex smoker you can tell straight away) and the riding position is a bit low for Vicki even with the seat at its highest. We check another out which is closer to us and while we are looking at it(it is by far the best one we have seen) I wander out the back to look at the other cars there not on display-and also to have a pee- and spy a real tidy Toyota Auris which looks the real deal. By this time we are realising we can go round in circles looking in this price range. We look at the spiel on it and it has only done 73000miles for a 2008 model 2 owner and has been traded and has a MOT for 3 more months. We arrange for a test ride the next day and it is a tidy, clean car and runs great so we are sure it is a contender. You can tell sometimes just by the look of it and how it has been looked after, for example it looks like the boot(it is a hatch) has never had anything in it and all the doors shut beautifully and very little scratches and wear and tear.<\/p>\n

So home and Vicki has to arrange insurance and we have to have our Oz drivers licences exchanged for UK ones as our internationals have run out. Anyway if I explained the 5 days of bureaucracy and run around to get someone to insure the van and the car it would run to 50 pages and I can\u2019t believe Vicki\u2019s tenacity but she is a marvel and finally all is sorted but we have to send our Oz licences and passports to Swansea in Wales as they are the only centre that do it here. We are reluctant to send our passports and Vicki toys with the idea of driving there but in the end our commitment to our next sit and the hassle makes us take the risk and send it registered with covering letter to explain we need our passports back asap as we need them to get jobs. Also the insurance company that insured us for Europe won\u2019t insure us if we are not travelling overseas which is strange so we get quoted 1400 pounds by one but end up finding one who will insure us for 200 pounds. Whew. The fact that we have not held a UK license for long doesn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n

So we go through the rigmarole of buying the car and we think we have done well as it really is in good shape but time will tell. We get back and let the dogs out as 5 -6 hours inside is about the limit so we can\u2019t be away long. We have after a week given up on walking them later in the day as we don\u2019t think they really need it and we don\u2019t need the stress either. When they are outside they run around a bit and play fight which is nice and they seem quite happy lying around inside when they can go out. By the end of the first week we are adamant that we won\u2019t be getting housesits with dogs and will settle for cats. These two are really trying our patience but we remind ourselves that it is not their fault they just haven\u2019t been trained to be on leads. They love to run and run as they sniff out rabbits and squirrels and are a joy to watch and they are really good around the other dogs we meet at the paddocks. We encourage them to run to tire them out but really they don\u2019t need much. By the third week we have grown quite attached to them and they really are lovely natured boys and it is hard not to like them. Growling at them doesn\u2019t do any good as they do not respond to it well so we just tell ourselves that it is not our problem and definitely won\u2019t be next week as we count down the days.<\/p>\n

I have taken the opportunity to start drawing with coloured pencils as it is a clean medium though I would love to do my oils I will wait till we are in a home where it is safe and I can\u2019t do any damage. It was definitely out with the kittens and the third house is so tidy and newish that I won\u2019t risk it but will keep on practising with the pens and pencils. I want to do pictures of the animals or the house for the owners. We have a routine here that is pretty good as it is my job to be first up to let the dogs out and make tea since Vicki got up early in the last house to feed the kittens and Henry and let Zilla the hen out.<\/p>\n

We get through the 3 weeks with the dogs but aside from not being open to looking after dogs again \u2013 unless we absolutely know they are well behaved, we would prefer to check out a house at least before making a commitment for any length of time to make sure the cleanliness is up to our standard otherwise we will not accept the sit.\u00a0 There is nothing worse than having to live in someone else\u2019s unclean house especially when they have no cleaning things.<\/p>\n

The day before we leave we think it is wise to top up the power in the van as it shouldn\u2019t take much so we plug it in through a window for a couple of hours. Later that day Scot goes into the van to check it out and finds there is no power \u2013 WTF?\u00a0 We can\u2019t understand it but wonder if the house power had drained our leisure battery but I can\u2019t see how it can.\u00a0 Through the night I come to the conclusion that the rogue fan heater must have come on at some stage and drained the battery.\u00a0 So our plans for where we are going to stay for 2 nights until our next house sit are messed up and we now have to stop in a campground so we can power up the van.<\/p>\n

On the day the owners are returning we have cooked them dinner for that night since they have had a huge flight and will be jet lagged and Scot has cooked them date scones. The living area and fridges are definitely cleaner than when they left.\u00a0 We walked the dogs for the last time and about mid morning we head off.\u00a0 We now have 2 vehicles to drive so we can\u2019t be in the same one with one navigating so I decide that I will drive the van with Kate my GPS lady showing the way and Scot will follow me in the car.\u00a0 If I lose him he will have the tablet but I hope that won\u2019t happen.\u00a0 We drive through the busy traffic on the M25 and then find the camp ground I had pegged for the next 2 days.<\/p>\n

We are looking forward to our next 6 week sit in Horsham as there is only one cat Boris who apparently does his own thing. In the end the previous sit has been done and though not ideal we have to take the good with the bad and take out the positives. We have been to the next sit to say hi so know what it is like plus 6 weeks will let us settle in a bit, get some swimming underway and establish a nice routine.<\/p>\n

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