Home, Sweet Home...for the next 12 to 15 months

Vee and Reiver along the Thames at low tide.       

During our search for a new rental flat, we discovered the village of Barnes on the Thames River in the Borough of Richmond. It is still in Greater London.

I checked out rentals in Chiswick, Putney, St. Margaret, Kew, Woolrich, Isle of Dogs and Twickenham, but Barnes stole our hearts. Plus, it is close to our other favorite, Richmond-on-Thames ("Ted Lasso" is set and filmed there). 

We made an offer on a 2-bedroom flat that is the renovated top floor of a now-closed pub. It was historically called The Manor Arms, but most recently was called the Idle Hour.  There were three other offers. We had to up our game by offering £50 more per month than the asking price and, gulp, to pay a year in advance. They took it. 

Our flat is atop a closed pub. To the   
right is Barnes Primary School.         

 The flat is not furnished but the landlords said they   would allow a well-trained, highly intelligent dog but   we talked them into letting us have Reiver there. 

 I have spent the past few weeks buying cheap   furniture. Our move-in date is June 1. We will be there   12 to 15 months as Matt will finish his master's   degree creative writing program Sept. 1, 2023.

 Barnes was established in 1086. There are many   walking trails, nature reserves, open spaces and a   wetland habitat. The High Street has lots of   independent shops, but for department store-type   shopping, it is over to Richmond via a 10-minute bus   ride from a stop near our flat.

Barnes is well known for its annual skulling races on the Thames, where student athletes from Cambridge and Oxford universities battle. The end of the race is Barnes Bridge, which is shown above in the picture of me and Reiver.  

Our friends, Mary and Rick, came over from Arizona for a 12-day visit. We could not get into the flat to show them, but we spent some time at Barnes checking out pubs. There aren't as many as in Islington, but we can easily wander to five watering holes. I will write more about them in the future.

Spring has been lovely, following on the heels of a mild winter. I'll be back in California June 18-July 28. Matt will do the next blog and tell you all about Olympic Studios in Barnes, where great musicians recorded masterpieces, including Jimi Hendrix's cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Barnes is also where Marc Bolan of T Rex (remember "Get it On (Bang a Gong) from 1971?) died in a single-car collision in 1977.

Rick and Mary Morris with us in Penzance at the
Admiral Benbow pub. We went to Cornwall for 4
nights while they visited. Don't miss the character
up on the roof. I am not sure if that is the admiral.