Cupid

“…Draw back your bow, and let your arrow go

Straight to my lover’s heart for me…”

Ah, good old Sam Cooke. There’s not much in my world today that can’t be soothed by a wee bit of Sam Cooke.

I’ve been singing this to myself while having my morning swim because as the council phrase it, a match has been made, and when we saw the flat yesterday it felt like love at first sight.

It’s fantastic. Bigger and roomier than I had expected, calm and airy with wide passages and doorways and even opens out onto a garden. And the “furnished” element simply means that there are carpets and kitchen fixtures already in place and the council operate a paid points system for providing other features – anything from a bed and new mattress to a microwave or an ironing board. So Nick can bring all his existing furniture and order anything extra via the housing offices.

We haven't got a definite answer about the cats but from what I can gather, the "no pets" rule tends to be a little flexible and mainly means no dogs.  

It’s all looking so good but inevitable there is a catch. There is a small step up from the outside path into the communal hallway, and the bathroom is not adapted. It’s just a normal bath with a shower unit like the one he has at the moment and can’t use. Hmmm.

We don’t quite understand how the flat has been allocated for Nick on that basis, as a walk-in shower was one of the main requirements in our search.

Has the OT who rejected the previous property seen this one and passed it because she’s confident it can be adapted as soon as possible? We don’t know, she’s not been answering her phone and eventually when I get home and call the housing officer, it turns out that she’s on leave. So the whole thing might have got to this stage without her knowledge, and it’s possible that she could take one look and just say, No. The match is off.

What happens if we like it and want to go for it anyway? I ask the housing officer.

And besides, what else are we going to find at this stage, it’s November now and Nick has to be out of the current place by the end of the month.

She agrees. Tells us once more to hold our nerve. It’s a requirement that the OT checks it anyway, if she recommends against it we can still go for it regardless but will just have to accept, for instance, that there isn’t an entrance ramp installed and not likely to be one. 

And the bathroom? Will that be a deal breaker or could it be adapted if we choose to go for it? We’ll have to see what the OT advises, says the housing officer. It all depends on the drains. 

Well, that’s certainly romantic. 

Cupid? Draw back your bow. We need some rose tinted love rays to do their magic and make the whole thing work out.