With Lisa's Mum now removed from the equation, and busy settling into her new home by trying to work out how to use the Freeview digibox I bought for her, it means we can begin the second phase of Operation Move It: getting me, Lisa and Amelie into her old flat. You didn't think I helped her move house for nothing, did you?

So first thing this morning, I was straight over to Hove Town Hall for some visitor parking permits. If I'm going to persuade my parents to do all the decorating for us, I at least need to provide them with free parking. It'll distract them from the amount they're spending on petrol.

So that's what I went for. What I came back with was this:


That's a photo of a sofa. The real thing's arriving on Tuesday. And it's bringing a couple of friends...


Yes, I know the mother-in-law's key fob has barely had time to go cold, but I've bought us a 3-piece suite.

It's the MultiYork Glemsford, and it costs £2,495. Unless you buy it from a charity shop, in which case you can pick it up for £250 including delivery. I went for the latter option.

I wasn't actually planning to look at furniture, but I'd just bought us some bedside lamps from the YMCA shop in Hove, when I noticed that they've opened a new Martlet's Hospice shop across the road. It's been well documented on this blog that about half my worldly possessions came from the Martlet's Hospice Furniture Warehouse on the other side of town. I bought Lisa's dressing table there, along with two chests of drawers, a table, and of course my lovely old sofa (although not the saw I used to cut its legs off). So to come across a new branch just as I'm about to move house, seemed like a fateful discovery.

And so it proved. I may not know much (feel free to argue), but I know quality when I see it. So having shamelessly climbed into the window and sat on all three pieces of furniture whilst waving to passers-by, I made myself comfortable and called Lisa on my mobile. She listened to my enthusiasm and told me to go for it. Which was an easy decision, as it's not her money.

So I went to the desk to enquire about it, and was told that it came with a complete set of spare covers, plus a wooden MultiYork paddle thing which you apparently use to shoehorn them over the cushions. To be honest, the only tool I usually get with my furniture is a screwdriver to put it together, but I nodded as though I understood.

The suite is arriving on Tuesday, but I decided to take the spare covers with me today. Three boxes of them. Only two of which would fit in the boot of my car. Frankly they take up more room than my old sofa. But I was glad I took them, because when I got home, I discovered that the boxes feature the name and address of the previous owner, from when MultiYork first delivered them new.

And guess what..? My 3-piece suite belonged to a doctor in Lewes. I'll be checking down the back of the sofa for pills.