It's only supposed to go down to six tonight. So how come my frost alerts are all going off? Feeling a bit chilly. Spent another day filing (amazing how much loose paperwork can accumulate in a house in four years!!) and have most of it wrestled back under control. The remaining pile is now only about two inches high, and seems to comprise stuff that does not fit into any intuitive label but which should be kept nevertheless. I think I will sleep on it. Today was rather lovely outdoors, pity I could not get out there to enjoy it, except for a short burst of activity with the chainsaw. That newly sharpened chain is a bonus and cuts through things very rapidly. There is an oxtail simmering in the oven at present, but tonight's dinner is more likely to be oven-baked fish and chips as the oxtail needs to be chilled, deprived of fat, reheated, have stuff added, thickened and then served for dinner tomorrow night instead. I have a friend coming for lunch which will be very nice (though have a frenzied morning of cleaning to do before she gets here, lol) and she will hopefully come bearing a ream of coloured A4 for printing out the emails (sent) so I can organise my thoughts about the UK situation and my formal complaint. Yesterday's computations at least provided some short-term solutions, so I live in hope I can organise something else before things get messy. There's always that lotto ticket sitting in my wallet waiting for me to check it when I hit Glenorchy for the interview come thursday!! (I wish!!)

Thought it was a bit chilly today - maximum of 8.1 could explain it. Still at least the sun was out and about and I have managed to cut a bit more wood. With a few mm of rain overnight things were a bit damp, but the new wood will have ample time to dry out before it goes in to the fire. The Agents failed to provide the complaints procedure, but have at least given me firm numbers so I can work on these to establish a timetable of works. Hopefully progress will be made, but I have celebrated prematurely before now and am exercising my cynicism muscles at present. I will be off into town tonight to call those chartered surveyors so I can gain some insight into the role they offer. I doubt they will collect rent for me, but would probably provide a better property management solution if they are affordable. Will wait and see. Oops, kettle has just come up to the boil and a hot drink will go down very well right now!

Well eureka! I have the names and contact details of two RICS members in the area so will call them (probably tomorrow night as tonight the weather is a bit too wild to be driving into town to find a signal...). I have also tracked down the relevant organisations that govern letting agents in the UK (when I say 'govern', I mean voluntary membership and code of practice, not regulate). The first step, which I have initiated, is to contact the letting agent and request a copy of their complaints procedure. They are obliged to make this freely available to owners - as in on their front counter etc. So I have asked it be sent before Close of Business today. I have also spent some time today compiling a list of exchanges to demonstrate my complaint. So while this does not address the problem in an urgent manner, I do feel I am heading in the right direction. It is moments like these it would be nice to live closer to town. I have been trying to find a ream of coloured A4 to print off my 'sent' emails so they are easier to distinguish from the 'received' emails in my records. No such luck apparently. A bit extreme to take a run down to Bridgewater to get some. I wonder if they might have some in Campbell Town? I will phone the IGA there tomorrow and find out. Cut some firewood today as the forecast said rain, and we have certainly had wild winds, but no rain so far (though apparently surrounding districts have, judging by the circling clouds). Oh well, I had hoped for some water, but you can't have everything. Perhaps it will arrive later tonight. Surprisingly dark for the time of day today - more like five than four, but I guess that's the clouds overhead that fail to produce rain.

More mayhem in England, but least said soonest mended. The contractor is proving a mine of useful information and has been sending me emails with suggestions of useful people to contact to sort things out. Members of two internet forums over there (of which I have been a member of longstanding) have also provided very helpful advice and links to such sites as RICS (chartered surveyors apparently manage property for owners over there!!) and the Ombudsman (with a copy of their code of practice and a setting out of the complaints procedures. Meanwhile my contact at the agents has decided it is all too hard and referred me to her colleague who is the one I spoke to on the phone. Hopefully she will continue to show the creative and helpful approach she showed during our phone call. I will fully brief her on questions to which I continue to await answers and see how I go. Tomorrow may be spent drafting a formal complaint. Needless to say this has done nothing for my sleep patterns so I have been awake since four this morning after an even earlier start yesterday. I almost decided not to go to quilting as I felt I was hardly in the frame of mind to deal with Little Miss neighbour's spy. Glad I did though as some people were there I had not seen for some time and we had a number of lovely chats (all carefully and overtly eavesdropped by the pest, but at least she limited her interjections and tendency to turn the conversation round to herself... So = fire is lit, the animals are fed. No idea what i am having for dinner but no doubt the freezer hides some gourmet delight. I will be off to bed early tonight methinks...

The last two days have been spent in battle with my property manager in the UK who apparently believes that if she ignores all my relevant questions and simply repeats information that should be bleeding obvious, she will win. Well no. Despite their efforts to disguise the contact details of the tradie engaged to carry out the works urgently needed before the tenant moves in, I have been able to contact him directly and make my own arrangements with him so the new tenants can move in in a timely manner. Thank you Mr Google. There remains, of course, the issue of other outstanding works that will need to be addressed, but hopefully these can be sorted out over the next two months that I have just bought for myself as a result of that call. Needless to say, another advantage of making arrangements direct with the tradie is that once the new tenants are in, and the rent is paid for the first month (which should cover the property agents fees), I will be able to sack them (the property agents), which I could not do if they had dealt with the tradie on my behalf. Hah, to them!! I will of course need to wait till the matter of the outstanding bond is resolved, but will be asking to play a direct role in the evidence giving, so if the mediator rules in favour of the tenant they will also rule against the property agent - not me. Otherwise I have been continuing the clearing up of the study, with a major focus on filing today. Once everything is in its correct suspension file, I will still need to go through each file to provide some semblance of order, but at least this years tax return should be a bit more straightforward and involve less stress arising from rummaging through the piles of paper that slip slide all over the place. One disappointment in the exercise was that I had hoped it would uncover the missing external hard drive required for computer backups. But that remains missing in action ... I wonder if I can back up the laptop onto the desktop? I guess I would require a double ended USB cable to do that - must look for one when down in Hobart on the 13th (I know ...) for the interview which has finally been rescheduled.

A moderately unproductive day. Spent the morning drafting a response to my property manager in England about the (continuing) drama over the vacating tenant who is disputing the bill we presented to her for the filthy state she left the property in. Then into town to the Market where I bought a savoury strudel which should do me for three meals, and a tea cake which is in the freezer for unexpected guests. Then home to cut some wood with the chainsaw (which decided to work today) and then back into town to make some calls. But my mentor (who is in WA) had the appointment for 2 her time, not 2 my time, so sent her a couple of texts and phone messages before deciding to give up (after 40 minutes) and just getting the car into gear as the phone rang as she had finally received my efforts to communicate (her phone was on silent tone...). Made four calls, two of which sound possibles and arranged to call them back at a more convenient time, then home once more. Fed the dog, and now I plan to read until dinner time I think...

First day of winter today. The time I spent sitting beside the lake waiting for my training call was spent realising next Monday is, of course, Queen's Birthday Holiday. I will ring GCC and check they really do mean to interview me then, or whether that was a mistake on their part.... So after the training call I went to visit someone i have not seen for ages as she goes to the Tuesday quilting group I have stopped going to in the vain hope of avoiding the toxic one. Had a nice long chat and catchup and met their new dog (the other one having finally died) and then home to light the fire. I had planned to cut some wood up with the newly sharpened chainsaw but it decided it did not want to start, so I gave that a miss. Spent time printing out the new training call scripts and generally sorting things out about the place, and am now settling down to a night in front of the fire with a good book.