'Carpe Diem'

 My friends in the Midlands tell me that the housing market there has recently been all but frantic. Perfectly ordinary houses (their words, not mine!) attracted numerous viewings almost as soon as they were listed. Was it the urge to benefit from the tail-end of the Chancellor's reduction in stamp duty, even though it was already partially withdrawn.Who knows?

Here in Keswick I've seen much the same. It is notoriously difficult to see into the future. That's obvious, I hear you say, but many of us still act as if tomorrow will be similar to today (except where the weather's concerned!).

Recently, two episodes reminded me just how fragile our anticipation of even the immediate future can be. One of my Aunts has recently moved into a rest home; nothing unusual in that except that only two months before she was leading a "normal" life with her husband. But now, without warning, she finds herself confined to a home in need of a high level of care.

At the other end of the age spectrum, my gorgeous son has just celebrated his third birthday. The clan gathered from far and wide; fortunately, the weather was good and we were able to spill out from my home into the back yard. But – he's three!It feels only a few days ago I was carrying an eight-pound bundle back from the Cumberland Infirmary. Where did those thousand days go?

So, if you're thinking of moving home, my homespun advice is – it's better to get on with it than wait for what you imagine will be the "ideal" moment. It's all too easy to think of reasons why you should delay a week, or a month, or a year, until ….. well, until what? Before, you know it, a thousand days have passed, and you've three years less to enjoy the benefits of a decision you could have made earlier. Or, new circumstances have arisen which now prevent you from proceeding in the direction you knew you wanted to go.So, Carpe Diem!

Hannah Sims, Branch Manager at PFK Keswick.