No time to settle!

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Epping was the family home from 1954 with Mum, Dad and sister Gillian until I got married in 1967.

The bungalow had lots of land with 76 fruit trees and chickens backing on to open fields with a mink farm next door.

Great for parties when mum and dad were on holiday!

Much of the land was sold in 1966 for new houses appropriately called "The Orchards."

1967 - Our first home was a studio apartment rental in South Holmes Road which was very brief because Hepworth Iron Company asked us to move to the West Country.

During this brief stay in Horsham, Joan was a secretary at Gripperrods, the manufacturer of carpet gripper while Michael covered London and the South East selling uPVC pressure pipe to Local Authorities & Consulting Engineers.

1968 - Our very first house was a new Wimpey chalet style house built in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. The deposit was £50 (borrowed from mum Harper) and the price was £3,525 including a garage. Our children, Nicola and David were born while we lived in Shepton Mallet.

Life is all about making good friends so meeting John and Heather Byrne & family who lived in Wells has been an ongoing pleasure.

1974 - Redland Pipes asked us to move to Dorset so we bought "Green Acre" in West Moors. A lovely property that was in need of serious renovation which kept Joan busy for years while Michael travelled the world on sales trips staying in luxurious hotels!

This was another chapter for making very dear friends, this time with John and Anthea Holloway & family, who mean so much to us.

1987 - When we returned from Abu Dhabi, Redland Prismo asked us to move to Sussex so we bought "Pastures" where we stayed until 1998 when we purchased "Firle" which is our current home and now the longest place of residence having been there for 39 years. No more moving!

2003 - In the days of take-overs and asset stripping which led to redundancy, we decided to purchase an apartment in Tenerife to escape the cold winter months and enjoy the warm sunshine in Los Cristianos. One of our best decisions, having made many lovely friends during the past 23 years.