rotwang and me helping one of our friends from Oxford (not on LJ, but hence to be called DL for reasons which will become apparent later on) move his stuff into storage. chrestomancy, angry_marmot and zandev were also present and helping with sofa-shuffling; there were a couple of decidedly Dirk Gently moments when furniture that we knew had once fitted into the flat without the help of Vaseline, removing windows or pocket space warps seemed strangely reluctant to leave. I'll spare the collective blushes by refraining from posting the photos.My main function was throwing stuff into boxes and acquiring random lunch-type foods from the local Tescos, rather than lifting and shifting heavy stuff. Suited me fine, I must say, even if the reason was largely because the hired van only seated three and there were at least three people burlier than I am present at any one time. Actually, I'm not sure either DL himself or
angry_marmot fit that bill entirely accurately, but he had to drive the van and she seems uncannily able to lift furniture without seeming to exert effort. It's quite possible she scares it into levitating.That Sunday, DL arrived on our doorstep with a couple of boxes and a suitcase or two. DL actually stands for Dodgy Lodger, since the chap behind the pseudonym is staying with us for a few weeks while he sorts out the purchase of a new palatial mansion in London to replace the former palatial mansion in Oxford (relocation for job purposes). This is attempt #3 of his to buy somewhere, #1 having fallen through when his buyer pulled out (after revealing his desire to be a slum landlord and convert a perfectly nice flat into two bedsits; the management company of the flats, and the lease, had other ideas), and #2 having partially collapsed when the vendors of the place he was attempting to buy decided they didn't want to move after all. Or something like that. Rather than lose another set of buyers for his existing place, he went ahead with the sale and is now a footloose-and-
Neither
rotwang nor I have shared living space with others, not on any long-term basis at least, for about fifteen years at this point. Still, it seems to have been working okay so far; none of us has killed any of the others, nor have we driven one another mad (or, at least, more mad than we were to start with). It does remind you how much you take for granted that people living in the house will know about its contents, even more so than briefing a new cleaner; spare toilet rolls live here, cleaning products are over there, your space for items X, Y and Z is over here, the day the bin men come is such-and-such, if you're putting stuff away from the dishwasher you'll find the rest of item A in cupboard B... that sort of thing. 