Thursday 17th February 2000 – Council flat offer
Yesterday, late afternoon, we got a call from Alamo. Willie said that he wanted to offer us a 2-bedroom flat in an estate off Caledonian Road, behind the swimming pool. He told us to come to Alamo the next day and sign a transfer form. As he could not find the keys to the place we would not be able to see it until next week, but at least we could get the ball rolling. I knew exactly where the estate was as I had seen it before and I knew it was a dodgy area but I had never been further inside the area.
R. went to work and I kept ringing him to tell him about my worries. First of all I was worried about my benefits (how sad is that?!), and then that if the place was in a bad state we would have to decorate it, and we just finished putting the carpet down here and we don’t have any money at the moment really. Then there was the fact that the place is much further away from university (we are now just a couple of minutes away) and it would take R. a while to get there plus we would have to spend money on transport. Worse of all, the place isn’t even permanent and is due to be handed back to the council and then given to Guinness Trust who will redevelop the area, around October. This would mean that we would probably have to move out again and then hope that Guinness would take us on as tenants once they had finished the work. They would have to, under the law, as we have a child. If we accepted the place we would be guaranteed a permanent flat sooner rather than later. Or so they said… The housing situation is so bad in London, and especially in Islington, that you never know.
The alternative, staying here, means we have to wait longer to get a permanent place, but we won’t have to move twice. This house will got back to the council, eventually, but it should be at least another 2 years (but then again, it could be next month), by which time R. would have finished his degree and he may even be able to buy our own place once he gets work and I’m working too. That way we don’t have to depend on the council to get a place, but we would probably have to get out of Islington as I don’t think we would be able to pay the market price to live here. It’s getting impossible to live in this city and the housing market is booming and the prices are hitting the roof.
Today we went to Alamo, signed the form, had a chat with Willie. He said the estate is a bit rough, but the flats are good. We drove to the state. When we got there we drove past a nice estate, lovely, belonging to another housing co-op. We then got to Naish estate and drove around it. It was like entering a horror movie… The blocks were about 6 storeys high, and we stopped by the block where flat 126 was on (the one allocated to us). I told R. I could never live in a place like that (it was the worst estate I’ve seen around here). Although Guinness is going to redevelop it, it will take quite a while to get that place to look half-decent. The only way to improve it is to demolish everything and start again.
The flat windows were flimsy, and I had visions of getting burgled every two weeks by the local drug addicts. The entrance to the block was filthy and had writing all over the walls, there was a playground that looked miserable, and a green area that looked very sad. The nearest shop was about 5 minutes walk and that place is probably a war zone at night. How could my mum walk around there on her own, or even me, or even R.? The car would probably get vandalised… The nearest tube station (King’s Cross) is 15 minutes walk away. We decided (for once we agreed) that we would not live there, not even for 6 months pretty much straight away, without even seeing the flat. I am glad we didn’t see it, because it would probably be nice and spacious, but it just wouldn’t be worth everything else we would have to put up with.
We got home and phoned Willie to ask him to take our name out. We are just going to have to stay here and wait for the council to offer us a place or for the council to ask Alamo for the house back and then offer us a place (as we would then be homeless). I hope we made the right decision.
I have another job interview on Tuesday, with Groundbass, a multimedia company, looking for a developer. They are not far from here and the salary isn’t too bad either, but they want someone with C++ and Java. I’ve only programmed with C++ for a semester, so I don’t know. Anyway, I’ll go along and see what happens. Hopefully they will show me the code in Java… It’s definitely time I got a job and going to the nursery for 20 hours a week will do you good as you seem fascinated by other children (even though they’re never that interested in you). I can tell that you are craving to be around children. The salary is reasonable (£19,000) and I should get tax rebate. But why am I getting carried away (as usual)? I don’t think I’ll get it.
Oh, yes, the big news. On Sunday the sky was blue and the sun was shining so we went out at around 11 in the morning. When we came back there was no Evelyne in the house. I thought she had gone to stay with friend as the toilet had been blocked since the day before (now, that’s another story). On Monday morning Evelyne’s mum tells us that she had a baby boy, the night before! He was also born on the 13th day of the month, on a Sunday (just like you!) and at the same hospital. He was born heavier than you (3.5 kg) and Evelyne had a quick labour. Started in the afternoon and the baby was born at 22:00. Only she had to have a general anaesthetic to have the placenta removed as she couldn’t push anymore. She had to have stitches, poor thing. We went to see her on Monday (you, me and her mum), but you were such a bloody terror, going into all the beds, being nosy and screaming, that I didn’t stay for long. Evelyne’s mum came back with us because Tony (the father) showed up and we all felt like we were intruding a bit. She is now home, feeling exhausted, as all new mums do, but her mum is helping. I’ve sold her the steriliser and breast pump and that money will go into your savings account.