After 45 years of living in the same house in Groenvlei, Paarl, a house that Tom had built for us, and after living in Paarl for 46 years, a life rich, happy and full, we moved to Somerset West to start our lives’ final phase.
After we’d sold our house, rather suddenly in March, we realised we had to look for a house in Paarl to move to as we had decided we needed to scale down, think smaller and be a whole lot safer. And we could find nothing in Paarl to suit our needs. Either the house was non-existent, but marketed as though it would be the best investment ever (at a premium price, of course, and lots of promises with no assurance) or it was someone else’s old, rather shabby, much lived-in house of many years (also at a premium price, of course – the price you could have paid for a brand-new house but without the added benefits of a frailcare and good security). Why aren’t there any affordable retirement villages in Paarl? They’re either affordable because they are not in the safest areas or cost an undivided fortune, gobbling up every bit of one’s investments and savings over the years and leaving one with little to nothing to live on.
However, look further afield and there are many suitable retirement villages, especially in Somerset West, a burgeoning extension of Cape Town (yay! Very little load shedding), yet still slightly rural in places. We found such an affordable village and, to our joy, moved into a brand-new house. Yes, it has been around for at least 20 years, but it was refurbished and extended to fit into modern times. Here, there is so much to do. There is a thriving clubhouse with a restaurant, coffee shop and bar, an activity centre that includes talks by guest speakers, pop-up shops or exhibitions, a book club, duplicate or casual bridge, canasta, bingo, a library and beautician, an indoor heated swimming pool and a gym, and loads of privacy and beautiful gardens, a walker or runner’s dream. There’s even a nursery selling plants donated by residents and manned by volunteers. There are outings, bring and braais, a bus that loads you up and takes you shopping, and much more. What’s not to like?
One day, I’m going to write a book about “scaling down” and how to survive it, but one of the main things to consider is the actual move. One cannot do it without a company like Dreyer’s, which moved us 45 years ago from a farm to the town (was that the grandfather?), and then from Paarl to Somerset West (by the son or is he the grandson?). This family business is so professional. They talk to one often. They come in earlier and wrap up all your precious paintings. And then they arrive early to pack up your house, with all your accumulated possessions (most of them given away by now) and then transport you to your new abode. Kerwan and his men treated us so well that all I can say is this was service excellence – Kerwan moved us with a sense of humour, a smile and with warmth and encouragement and very, very gently. His men were absolutely charming as well and went way beyond what was expected of them. The only thing that broke was something I had packed – nothing else was damaged and we were delivered safely with all our “stuff” in our new cottage in Somerset West. I would like to thank Jacques and all his employees for an exceptionally professional job truly well done. Our deepest thanks to him, Kerwan and the men!
We wish to apologise to our many friends in Paarl for not throwing a farewell party or getting around to saying goodbye, but it all happened too fast! Keep an eye out for that book!
