It was advertised as a spacious one-bed apartment in a recently-restored country house. And it suggested that it might 'appeal to an active, mature gentleman'. Well, I was certainly mature. And I was reasonably active. And the idea of being near the village without actually being
in
the village definitely had some appeal.
'How spacious is spacious?' I asked the estate agent when I phoned.
'The rooms are very generous,' she said. 'But, of course, there aren't that many of them . One bedroom. One bathroom. One sitting room. One kitchen. And a small boxroom which the present owner has been using as a study. There is also a communal library and a spa pool.'
It sounded perfect.
'It was originally designed by and built for Sir Charles Claxton, the eminent architect,' she said. 'Sir Charles himself died just after the outbreak of the Second World War. After that, the place had a bit of a chequered history. The army took it over at one stage. But it was restored and converted into eight apartments just over five years ago. And no expense was spared.'
'And are the apartments owner-occupied?' I asked. 'Or are some of them holiday lets?'
'Oh, no,' she said. 'All of the apartments are owner-occupied. The owners have a covenant. They are mainly - how shall I put this? - "of a certain age". Or "in their prime", you might say.' She laughed lightly. 'The possibility of holidaymakers and noisy children coming and going is definitely not something that the new owner will need to worry about.'
That also sounded perfect. And I arranged to drive down to the coast the following day to inspect the place. We agreed to meet at Whitecliffs Hall at midday.
I could immediately see why Claxton had chosen the location. It was perhaps three-quarters of a mile from the village, situated atop a small cliff, overlooking the sea. There were two apartments on the ground floor, and a further three apartments on each of the floors above. The apartment that was for sale was on the first floor at the eastern end of the building.
I think that I made my mind up the moment that I walked through the front doors and into the spacious downstairs lobby area with its adjoining library. After that, the apartment itself could have been a shabby shoebox for all I cared - although, of course, it wasn't. 'Where do I sign?' I asked the estate agent.
The stars were clearly in alignment and, just six weeks later, I was moving in. The moving men were just starting to unload the lorry when the first of my neighbours came and introduced herself.
'Hello. I'm Anna,' she said.
'Humphrey,' I said.
'Humphrey. Oh yes, I do like a Humphrey.'
Anna was a larger lady - although by no means fat - and, as the estate agent had suggested, she was 'of a certain age'. But then so was I.
'I won't get in your way now,' Anna said. 'There will be decisions to be made. And only you can make them. Leave it up to the moving men and you'll spend the next three weeks trying to find the teapot - only to discover it in the linen cupboard in the bathroom. But I think perhaps you and I should have a small gin and tonic at about six o'clock. And then a large one ten minutes later.' And she laughed.
By eleven o'clock, the moving guys had got everything inside and they were starting to unpack the books, the crockery, and the glassware. And hour or so later they were done.
I took a break and ate the sandwich that I had picked up from the bakery in the village. Then I got the kitchen into some sort of order, made my bed, and decided that it was time for a brief nap. Over recent years, I have more or less perfected the art of the 20-minute nap. But on this occasion, I slept for more than an hour. Oh, well. The sea air perhaps.
I got myself up again, made a cup of tea, had a shower, and then changed into some gin and tonic clothes. I wasn't sure of Whitecliffs Hall's dress code, but I got the impression that Anna might be more slacks and a blazer than jeans and a T-shirt, after all, she had been wearing full makeup at nine in the morning.
At precisely six o'clock, I was knocking on Anna's door.
Anna greeted me with a friendly hug and a little kiss on the cheek. She was wearing a red dress that would have been right at home in the pages of a smart fashion magazine. I was glad that I had opted for the blazer.
'How is it?' she said. And then, before I had a chance to answer, she said: 'I do so hate moving. It's so tiring. Although I must say: you look remarkably fresh.'
'Ah, yes, well I cheated a bit,' I told her. 'I took a nap this afternoon.'
'Oh, very wise,' she said. 'Now ... gin and tonic?'
'Perfect,' I told her. 'Thank you.'
'Hilary tells me that you were in London,' she said as she sloshed generous quantities of Tanqueray Gin into the waiting glasses.
Hilary? I thought that the estate agent's name was Helen. Still ... 'Yes. I had a business there. But I sold it. So now I'm hoping to have a slightly less hectic life down here on the coast.'