Human nature

So you'll glean from my recent entries that the Boy and I are still to move house, despite having our purchase completed (bar the financial transaction) since the first weekend in June. Pencilled in exchange and completion dates have passed us by, and here we are still in London. Ho hum.

We have been seemingly unfortunate in our buyer - who drags her heels at every turn, and when chased reacts like a stubborn toddler and refuses to budge. The process has been stressful at times. It's not an ideal time to move when you're pregnant, and while I know lots of people do it, we definitely won't be doing it again. Things began well - if you recall we secured a buyer for a flat within a matter of weeks, and had an offer accepted on a house we love not long afterwards. Solicitors began speaking and initial paperwork was exchanged. It's therefore somewhat bizarre that four months (to the day) since we accepted the offer on our flat, nothing has actually happened, except for all involved having a few less pennies in their purses.

However it's not the delay that has been difficult - if we have to have Baby Beans in London then that's fine by me, because all that really matters to me is the Boy and my baby. And having a few extra weeks to enjoy our time in the big smoke has been really good - we've had quite a few nice extra dates together at the theatre, galleries and our favourite restaurants. No, it's been the 'unusual' personalities that we have encountered along the way that have made the Boy and I at times regret the position we are in. I think we are pretty standard, decent people. We are fair, honest, polite and treat people with respect - regardless of whether they deserve it. The same could be said for most of the people in our circle of connections, and because this is the case, I have tended to assume all people are similar.

Well sadly they are not. We have had the misfortune to encounter a very demanding and aggressive buyer, constantly in touch with our solicitors and asking the estate agents to ring the Boy almost daily for updates - and threatening to pull out of the transaction several times. The tone and manner of her language has been intimidating and threatening, putting a lot of extra pressure on us. At the same time, we have a buyer who is incredibly detached from the process. We've been pushing for completion dates for the last few weeks as I am now more than seven months pregnant and currently have no idea where I will be having this baby - the buyer's response is that she finds our requests for a timescale 'irritating' and they make her consider pulling out.

I am quite surprised and saddened by the behaviour of those either side of us in the chain. I do anticipate to be treated politely and professionally - and this has not been the case at all. As it is, the Boy and I have been left as a 'piggy in the middle' trying to placate both sides - and that's a position I really, really don't like.