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September arrived and with it came an anniversary.

Unbelievably, September the 4th 2024 marked four years since we gave up our permanent address.

Who can forget our first attempt and the drama on September 2nd 2020 when we were not allowed on our flight to Greece because of my stupid mistake?

This meant our initial start date was delayed by two days and we eventually started our nomadic adventure on September 4th 2020

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you but time flies by.

I keep a list here to help us remember all the different places we visit on our journey.

I have done a quick check. Over the last four years, we have stayed in 30 different Airbnb/hotel accommodations and completed an amazing 72 house sits!

I am pleased to be able to report that we are still loving this nomadic lifestyle and September 2024 saw no slow-down as we managed to add four more house sits to our tally!

Here’s how they went…

September House Sit Number One

After leaving Surbiton at the end of August, our first stop this month was Finchley, North London.

This was a repeat house sit for us.

We were last here in May 2023 and had been our first UK house sit when we returned from our New Zealand and Australia adventure.

We have fond memories of the first time we stayed in Finchley. We loved it then, and as expected, loved it just as much this time.

This house sit is one of the few where there really is nothing not to like.

The hosts, home, location, and pet all get a top score – 10/10 😊

The Home

The Home hosts were as friendly and welcoming as they were the first time we stayed. They invited us to share a meal with them before they left, which we were more than happy to do. It allowed us to catch up with news from the past year.

As we already knew their home, we had no surprises. It is large and spacious, spotlessly clean, and the beds are really comfortable.

They also have a lovely small, private back garden which is an oasis of calm within the busy surroundings of Finchley.

The Area.

Finchley has turned out to be one of our favourite London suburbs.

A few minutes walk from the location of the house sit is Finchley Central overground train station which has frequent, direct trains to central London.

Finchley High Street runs straight through the centre of the area. Here you can find many shops, bars, cafes and restaurants with cuisine from many different countries.

As with most areas of London we visit, Finchley has plenty of green space.

Victoria Park is just off the high street and is well-used by the local community who take advantage of its facilities, including tennis courts, football courts, playgrounds, and a busy little cafe.

The Pet

Cleo is the resident cat of this home. She is very friendly and independent.

There is no cat flap in the house, but Cleo does enjoy the great outdoors.

She sits by the front door and gives a loud ‘meow’ to let you know she wants to be let out. Then she does the same a little later, this time from the street side of the door (but with a louder ‘meow’) to be let in again.

There is a strict night-time curfew. Cleo is well aware of this but tries her luck occasionally by sitting by the door at night and asking to be let into the darkness beyond.

When this happens we have been told to say ‘No Cleo’ in a loud, firm and sad tone of voice.

On hearing this, after giving us a ‘you can’t blame a girl for trying’ sideway glance, she happily settles somewhere inside the house for the night.

Then, the moment the light of a new day shines through the window the whole in-out process begins again for another day.

Honestly, our title for this housesit should be ‘Cat Butler’ rather than ‘House Sitter’

We’re not complaining though, We love Cleo and would return again in a heartbeat if invited.

Hello Dolly!

We love the theatre but nowadays hardly ever get to go.

Our nomadic lifestyle makes booking future events difficult as we usually don’t know where we will be any more than a month or so ahead.

However, our Finchley house sit was booked almost a year ago so back in March, when I was reading the newspaper while we were on a house sit in Horley, we knew exactly where we would be in September of this year.

Within the newspaper was an article on the upcoming London Palladium production of ‘Hello Dolly’ starring Imelda Staunton.

The show was only on for a short ten-week run, and when I checked the dates, the final week coincided with the week we were to be in Finchley.

I love musicals but Karyo is not so keen so it took some persuasion.

Luckily, it is my birthday in August so I used that as my trump excuse card to fork out two hundred quid on two tickets.

Fast forward six months and here we are, standing outside the London Palladium eagerly awaiting to see the show.

We had read plenty of five-star reviews before going so had high expectations, and were not disappointed.

From the moment the curtain went up, to the moment it went down, the whole production was brilliant.

It was a real feel-good show with plenty of laughs between the songs. The whole cast was fantastic but Imelda Staunton exceeded all our expectations and was the undisputed star of the show.

Who knew she has such a great voice?

Without a doubt, Hello Dolly was the highlight of our Finchley stay.

I didn’t even moan about getting charged £15 for two cans a lager, £10 for two ice creams and £6 for a bag of chips outside the venue when we left.

That’s how much we enjoyed it!

September House Sit Number Two

After Finchley we took the two trains, one one-hour journey to East Ham

East Ham was another London suburb that was new to us, and we really liked the area.

It is very multicultural and the restaurants and shops in the town centre cater well for the many nationalities of people who reside in and visit the area.

The home we stayed in could not have been in a better location. Just two minutes walk from the busy town centre, yet in a secure, gated and very quiet apartment block complex.

As a bonus for us, within a ten-minute walk from the apartment, there were not one, but two branches of the gym we use!

Often, we have to catch a train or bus (or two!) to get to the gym so this convenience can’t be underestimated!

The Pet

The pet in our care was Davina, a French Bulldog.

This was the first time we had looked after a French Bulldog but had heard only good things about them, and Davina certainly lived up to the hype!

She was the cutest, most loving, playful, well-behaved dog you could ever wish to meet.

The only drawback was that when out walking, it took us ages to get anywhere.

Everyone we passed wanted to stop and say hello to Davina!

Our time in East Ham was short but Davina quickly stole our hearts. ❤️

We hope in the future, we get the chance to visit again for a longer time.

September House Sit Number Three

We were rattling through our house sits in September and soon found ourselves heading to our next stop. This time in East Croydon.

After enjoying a long run of great house sits, the inevitable was bound to happen sooner or later.

A house sit that we didn’t enjoy at all!

We had done a video chat with the home host two months before the house sit was due to start. During the chat, we were told there were two cats to care for, Mini and Diva,

Mini had been with them for a long time but Diva had only just joined the family.

We were told they were gradually being introduced to each other.

The cats initially did not get on so the home host had been keeping them in separate rooms.

However, the process of gradually getting them used to sharing the same space was well underway.

We were assured all was going well and by the time of our arrival, they would be the best of friends.

Unfortunately, that did not go to plan at all!

When we arrived, the current situation was much worse than we were expecting.

The cats still hated each other and fought like cat and cat!

We were told to prevent a catfight, they should be kept apart at all times.

If they did come into contact with each other and start fighting, the safest option was to throw a blanket over them (and presumably hope for the best).

In addition to the fighting issue, our initial instruction had been to feed the cats between 7.30 am and 8.00 am. On arrival that changed to 6.30 am.

Then we were told that Diva still could not go outside alone. However, she did need outside time so we were to take her out on a lead for an hour a day!

Our conversation with the home host before they left was frosty, to say the least.

We were not happy with the changes that had been dropped on us, and they could not understand why we were not happy.

This house sit was our 73rd and was definitely the most stressful so far!

Keeping the cats constantly apart was a job in itself.

We had to be on constant alert. All the time having to remember where each cat was in the house at any time, and which door must be closed before which door could be opened.

To be fair, it was not all bad. The saving grace was the house was spotlessly clean and beds comfortable. Plus, it was only a five-day booking.

As you can imagine, we were delighted when day five came along!

Oh well, you can’t win them all.

Onwards and Upwards.

September House Sit Number Four

To finish off our busy September schedule we remained in Croydon, this time South Croydon.

Had we not had suitcases we probably could have walked from house sit number three to house sit number four.

However, not wanting to risk losing a suitcase wheel for the sake of not waiting for a bus, we decided to wait for the number 231 which got us to our destination in ten minutes, with all wheels safely intact.

During this final week, we once again looked after two cats, but it was a totally different experience from the previous five days.

To be honest, these cats were not the best of friends either, but the difference from our previous house sit was these two just ignored each other rather than actual fisty-cuff cat fighting!

The Pets

The cats, Pia and Ugo were a dream to care for. Both were very independent. They had a cat flap so they could come and go as they wished.

Neither ever went too far, Pia liked to hang around in the garden and Ugo preferred the comfort of the sofa!

Pia was the shy one. It took her about a week before building enough confidence to come for a stroke. However, she soon transformed into a really loving cat.

Ugo on the other hand, was super confident from the get go.

He was a great big fluffy ball of fun who made us laugh a lot during our stay.

He loved his sleep (usually on his back) and once asleep, he was difficult to wake!

The Home

We loved this very unique home.

It was decorated and furnished completely in a 1970s style.

Not in an old-fashioned way, but in a really beautiful authentic way.

Every piece of furniture looked genuine and in perfect condition.

Think brightly coloured wallpaper, teak sideboards, a stereogram and curved coffee tables and you will be getting the vibe of this beautiful home.

I have no idea where you would go nowadays to source top-quality, genuine, vintage furniture like theirs was. I bet it costs a lot more now than it did then!

The home was beautiful throughout, spotlessly clean and very comfortable with a lovely private garden complete with a ’70s style outside toilet!

The location was brilliant too.

It was a ten-minute walk to the train station, a twenty-minute walk to Croyden town centre, and a supermarket was literally at the end of the street.

A Touristy Day Out

Since we started pet-sitting we have spent a lot of time in London, however we rarely do touristy things. We normally stay in the areas where we are sitting and don’t bother travelling the often short journey into central London.

We regularly say we should make the effort, then don’t.

However, during our September stay, Dimitris, a friend of ours from Greece was also visiting London.

He was travelling alone and invited us to join him for a day of sightseeing.

We met at Tower Bridge and enjoyed lunch followed by a cloudy Sunday afternoon stroll following the River Thames to St Pauls Cathedral.

It was a grand day out that we really should do more often.

A perfect end to a not so perfect September!

Where Next?

For October we have another busy month with four sits booked, starting on a houseboat floating on the Thames.

More on that next time.

Until the, as always, thanks for taking the time to reads our whereabouts.

Hugs, Colin & Karyo xx