Page 196 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

£25.000 in 1985 was a deal of money. The drivers took it, I had lost it and my solicitors
had no defendants to fight.

While all this was going on I had tried to earn a crust doing what I knew best, selling tyres.
I had created a small firm dealing in second-hand commercial tyres.

Most of the smaller commercial vehicle operators in our region were trying to keep their
costs down and keen to save on tyre costs wherever possible. I had established contacts
in the trade who could supply me with first class part
used Michelin lorry tyres with several millimetres of
tread remaining.

Michelin tyres were and still are, the industry
standard, very expensive when brand new and in high
demand second-hand.
I travelled my old Firestone area seeking out the
smaller lorry operators who would I knew be prepared
to buy what I had to offer.

The business made a crust as it were, supply to me
was limited but remained sufficient to keep head
above water while final negotiations for the sale of Ivy
House continued.
Ruth and I were obviously looking for a new home in
which to live. Ruth just did not want to leave Ivy House and it was only from time to time
that I could get her to concentrate on seeking somewhere else that she did not wish to go
to! The whole episode was very traumatic.

THE MORTGAGE
After a few favourable properties were cast aside we settled on Northcote. Mainly because
time was running out and we just had to get out of Ivy House. The “house” at Northcote
was truly tiny but had five acres of land and a few broken down outbuildings. Ruth said it
was fine for the horses we had managed to keep, but for us it was more than a test of our
endurance!
All that remained for me was to find the money to pay for it!

The sale of Ivy House was close to completion to Alan Rundle, our neighbour and
youngest of the three sons who had now begun to take over management of the family
business in our village. To allow the sale to go through, I had been forced to give in to the
horrendous court action brought against us by our wealthy farmer neighbour as a result of
the footpaths and bridleways being reinstated all over his land. Further repercussions of
this I was to suffer later.
After the bank and all costs had been paid from the sale of Ivy House, we had about
£10,000 left, certainly better than I had hoped. The price of Northcote was £40,000, I had
to obtain a mortgage.

The building society that we had been using for Ivy House would not take on “Northcote”
as it was an Agricultural property, a registered smallholding. I had to find another building
society, I chose the Leeds, and duly applied for my mortgage.

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