The house that Anna’s colleagues had picked for us is at 5-7 mins drive from Anna’s workplace.
Madhu’s school – 5-7 mins
Mugil’s daycare -5-7 mins
Shops 5-7 - mins
Library/post office/recruitment agencies – 5-7 mins
Cinema - 5-7 mins
"Welcome to Horsham" / "Farewell from Horsham” boards - 5-7 mins………
By now you might get the general idea, any nook and corner within Horsham can be reached from our place within 5-7 mins; the entire town traversed within 10-15 mins. Having said that, I should fairly be confident in saying that I cannot get lost in this tiny town, but I managed to do so quite successfully, the day I stepped out without the city map…….but yeah discovered the city’s botanical gardens and the anglers club instead of the transport office. No worries, plenty of hours to kill in the day…..sure will discover the transport office some day soon
Most of the stores are open for longer hours here – we sure did not believe that Woolworths is open till midnight…..had to take a trip to the store to see the timings for myself, was quite certain that Anna was taking the mickey out of me. If extended timings of grocery stores send me into raptures, should I be stopping here and taking a deep look at myself ?? :) We have already graced the town’s cinema with our royal presence, though the movie “Clash of the Titans” is a sure disappointment in terms of both 3D effects and money spent.
There are plenty of little treats hidden in the town for small kids in terms of parks, playgrounds and playcafes. The town definitely justifies being the recepient of its frequent awards of a tidiest town both nationally and statewide; despite being a drought stricken town, most houses have well tended gardens and the roses in bloom are quite a sight for sore eyes.
When we first approached our neighbourhood, Anna and I were quite delighted to see our address in an upcoming part of the town with plenty of new and stylish looking houses in the area. But being at odds with Miss Luck always, we discovered that our house (being a rental) was the most unassuming one with a plain façade and quite an unkempt garden. However the inside of the house was quite clean and cosy, especially the highlights being the western sun streaming down the large windows of the living room – providing just the perfect setting for a delicious cup of hot chocolate and Mosteghanemi (an author I am re-reading lately) in the evenings. Anna is not overly delighted with the number of rooms in the house as he had to contend with me for the extra room – however we compromised :) Rightnow his study (in reality a dump yard most of the days, as anything we wish to hide or throw away automatically finds its way to this room) is turned into a mausoleum of Ikea’s shelves and furniture.
Just when we thought we were finished with the unpacking and had the house in order, we were surprised or rather stricken (in my case atleast) to discover unwanted guests in the house. In addition to overwhelming amount of tiny creepies and crawlies, we also discovered our house was infested with tiny four-legged creatures – the squeaking and scratching of mice keeps us up almost every night. Seeing the supermarket shelves, containing rat baits and traps, almost empty, we soon realised this is a common problem in Horsham – the nearby paddocks and open fields serve as breeding grounds for these little pests. The first few sights of dead mice gave me (and the kids) the screaming abdabs, however we are now seasoned dead mice spectators (hope Bala does not report me to the RSPCA)…..we now calmly wait for Anna aka exterminator to arrive home and bury the dead.
So yes, not everything is perfect, hiccups here and there……the town has both its plus and minus points….but I guess the people of this town are no doubt the bonus points. The residents are quite friendly and have the time and the right frame of mind to help you out, be it an address or advice; they go out of their way to be of assistance. One of the charms of living in a small town – even the cars here on the roads seem to be more relaxed, no honking, no impatient drivers trying to edify the ignorant on road…..er rude signs, and hey, I manage to get parking around schools !!!
Well for now, Mugil loves to go to daycare, Madhu has settled down in school, Anna is looking forward to some challenges at work and I have discovered some friendly neighbours and acquaintances……it is all good for a start……in rural Utopia :)
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