Downsizing

I thought I would let you know my experience of down- sizing and moving my home and Studio to a new location.

I had a bit of a tough time a couple of years ago, losing my husband and Mum in very quick succession, so when I found myself rattling around in a three bedroom house on my own, I decided to downsize into a Park Home.

After looking all over the county, I fell in love with Anchor Park at Snettisham, partly because of the location, but also because it is so beautifully looked after, so safe and secure, and just lovely. I have a two-bedroom home, kitchen/diner, lounge and bathroom. There is 26 feet of space either side, which gives me a garden area quite large enough to manage.

The River Ingol runs through the parkland behind the house, and Mr. Leslie and his staff keep it looking great. We have about 200 ducks, beautiful beech trees, three beehives and lots of planting for the bees. I even persuaded him to paint the bridge in Monet’s colours to have the reflections in the water.

When I originally discussed the move with Mr. Leslie, the Park owner, I said that the most important thing I needed was somewhere to paint, because I always felt that if I had a stu

dio, I could be happy wherever I was. He kindly made a garage available to rent, and, we turned it into a cosy studio. The up and over door disappeared, and a window and door were put in. A big roof light was installed, which lets in lots of light. The floor and ceiling were insulated, and a heater/cooler put in. My son screwed strips of wood to the walls, so that I could hang my pictures up, and apart from access to water, I was ready to go.

Moving all my “arty” stuff from Kings Lynn to Snettisham was a challenge to say the least, and quite a lot of things found their way to the charity shop. That’s one thing you soon discover, is how much STUFF you have accumulated over the years. Once everything was in, and I could get started, I just felt the luckiest person in the world. My home is about 50 yards from the studio, buy phentermine so that gives me some exercise. I put a notice on the door saying, “pop in and say hello” and some of the other residents do come and see what I’m up to, and that’s nice.

Once this crisis is over, I can invite you over to paint out in the fresh air on the riverside, and you can see my studio, and have a cup of tea with me, so I am already looking forward to that.

Keep safe everyone and see you soon!

Helena Anderson