Well, I left off on my last blog about my condo but I didn't realize I'd have a trip to London to fit in. So I'll talk about my London trip first and then will go back to the problem with my condo. I'm sure it will prove to be an interesting story for everyone. Anyway, on to London.....
I always enjoy my trips to the U.K., short as they are. I can cram quite a few antique shows into a small space of time and I must admit, I do enjoy it. The viewing, the buying and sometimes, the trading. I have my own little corner of London that I stay in - a small B&B on Sussex Gardens just down from Paddington Station. I've stayed in the same B&B for 25 years now, without a toilet in my room (but yes, there is a shower) and hardly any heating. I must admit I missed central heating THIS trip - it was so darn cold! I know all the businesses in my small area. My money changer is there, my grocer is there, and I'm right around the corner from Paddington Station where I can enter London from Heathrow via the Heathrow Express. 15 minutes rail time, a short walk, and I end up at my "home away from home." There's something quite comforting about seeing faces you've known for a long time at the end of a journey. They're more than faces really, they're friends.
February in London is always iffy. It's always cold but it can also be wet, dry or snowy. In my case, it was a little of all three. Portobello Road was clear and dry and cold. Victorian Horticultural Hall was rainy and cold. Covent Garden was snowy and cold. Kempton Park was just plain cold.
For those folks that have never been to London - here's a glimpse of my first stop. Later on, I'll add to my Blog and tell you of the other places I visit.
PORTOBELLO ROAD
I think a lot of people's first glimpse of this popular London road was in the movie "Notting Hill" starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. While Mr. Grant could be seen strolling through the food and clothing sections, it was the antique section that I think moviegoers really wanted to see. Well, they didn't and so I will try my best to explain the antiques section of the road.
Portobello Road starts at Chepstow Villas and runs downhill from that point. In the early morning taxis congregate at this starting point letting out eager customers for antiques and yes, souvenirs of a London trip! Running for two full blocks is the antique section - hidden in little "cubby holes" of buildings running along the left side of the street. Enter these small tunnel like alleyways and you'll find a myriad of antique dealers eager to sell their wares. Jewelry, paintings, prints, clothing, statues, woodwork - you name it, you will find it on Portobello Road!
I search for jewelry and it seems that almost every stall along the road has a little bit of silver, gold or costume. Prices vary by dealer as does quality. But when you've found the good stuff you'll know it because your mouth will begin to salivate!
For the last 25 years I have been walking down Portobello things had hardly changed. But this time, I noticed something quite disturbing. A large block of dealers in a corner section of the road had been displaced by a clothing store called Allsaints Spitelfields. In the old days, these section would have held close to 100 dealers in individual stalls - now there was just a big retail store where once 100 people had made their living selling antiques. It was quite a shock. The store had attempted to "blend in" with the flavor of Portobello - its window was stocked with every old fashioned black Singer Sewing Machine that the store could find. The effect was amazing and people lined up in front of the window to have their picture taken. I felt right then that what I was seeing was the beginning of the end. Hopefully, I will be proved wrong and Portobello will stay the same for the rest of my lifetime.
Anyway, after seeing Spitalfields I wondered how much more of Portobello Road had changed. Thankfully, not much. But I guess the writing is on the wall.
Now back to my condo problem...........
I visited my neighbors and sure enough each had the same noise, only my upstairs neighbor a little lighter hum, but my downstairs neighbor - well, let's just say if I had it 100 times, she had 1000 times. The only difference was she didn't stay home 24/7 and when she went to bed she had the TV on. She thought the hum was being caused by ME!
So with this new information I again began to make some calls. I think I am talking around mid 2008 when this happened. And since that time, NO ONE has helped me. But something funny began to occur. As each month passed, the hum started to get softer, more manageable. The vibration stayed but it shrank in intensity. When it rained, it got softer still. When winter 2008 came, it was practically negligent. So much so that I began to paint more walls and think that I was going to fully move in. But then the winter would end and the noise would come back. Which led me to a conclusion.....
New buildings were still being built around me and one of the construction people had suggested that since my unit was the first to be built, all the power for the construction was being drawn from the electrical box near my building. As each new building went up, the drain increased and my hum would subside. Okay, that's one theory. But the other is more plausible.......
Consruction on a new freeway began at the same time the condos were being built. AND as they worked, the electrical company started installing new power lines. So in fact, there were two sets of power lines running and perhaps I was getting the "overload". Once the freeway is completed, the only lines will come down so that only the new remain. Again, could be the problem.....
So here we are in 2010 and yes, I still have my hum but it's the lowest its been. Yes, the floor still vibrates as does my bed but I can sleep now with just two pillows over my head and no ear plugs. I can tune the noise out with a loud TV and I can tune it out entirely with headphones. In other words, I can think and I can work and I can go to bed not having cried my eyes out because it was too noisy.
Friends and family visit and sometimes they can hear "something", other times they cannot. I realize that no one can understand my problem because they have not experienced it. But in April of 2009, there was published in a British newspaper, a "hum" epidemic within a certain community. So I was proved then and there NOT to be crazy. And if you do a GOOGLE on THE HUM you might see the story still in print.
It's a nasty occurrence that I hope happens to no one. It's a horrific nightmare and I pray every day that one morning I wake up not hearing the dreaded sound. We shall see.
Till next time.....
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