Hello there,
We are both retired and own a property in Lancashire, UK, where we currently reside. We are also Aussie Citizens who were looking to return to Australia, after a period of 15 years back in the UK and would have been back in Perth a long time ago, had I not been struck down with Cancer in 2011, after coming back to the UK to care for our elderly relatives who have since passed.
So (long story short) we had to postpone our ads for a few years so that I could undergo chemo and subsequent treatment. But I came through it all and am happy to be back on track. And then of course, the Pandemic hit and for three years no one could move anywhere, which was gruelling for all of us, everywhere.
However, my previous illness does not detract from the fact that we still love house-sitting and have enjoyed all our house-sits so far, which cover nearly two decades now.
Our only daughter lives in Melbourne and is about to give up conventional life and head off with her partner to live off-grid and concentrate on her art, which sounds exciting.
Our previous career posts include ex- Diplomatic Staff (having worked for the Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand in Wellington), many years spent in the Hotel Trade - both in the UK and internationally - travelling world-wide (Roger as Executive Chef and myself as Maitre'De), the Merchant Navy, running Youth Hostels and latterly the Legal Profession.
We are non-smokers, enjoy the occasional glass of wine, love music, taking walks and adore reading. Rodge is also a keen angler and although I'm the writer in the family, Roger has written a book of short stories which are excellent and which are waiting to be published. I have been writing for over 50 years now, and dedicated all the proceeds of my children's book (which I wrote 26 years ago and which I had published in to the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. I felt I had to give something back, for all the love and support I and all my fellow patients were given, when I was undergoing treatment there at the time.
We're not bad at gardening, but we are sensational at reticulation and lawn mowing. We excel at property maintenance too! We are good with pets and don't mind looking after both cats and dogs, as long as they are friendly and cuddleable and need to be loved and pampered.
In summary; we do appreciate that if we ourselves were seeking house-sitters for our own lovely property we would consider someone like us, because we have respect and understanding of other people's needs and expectations.
Ideally, we are looking for a fairly long house sit and one which will give us a chance (after this Pandemic) to enjoy a location other than where we are and reflect on all the changes our world has experienced.
Please contact us if you are interested in our application and we sound like the people you are looking for. We feel that we can provide a quality house-sit service to you. Excellent referees, references & Police Clearance can be provided.
Regards, looking forward to hearing from you.
Pat & Roger Checkley