Better late than never

I'm just back from a couple of days in London.

I was down there for a day long course in Commercial Property Management as part of my role in the family business. It sounds horrendous, but was actually very interesting and the guy who taught it was brilliant. Also, No. 1 Son was at the course too, so it was fun (in a way) to be in the same group as him and we had a few laughs between the 2 of us.

There were 11 of us on the course from all kinds of backgrounds and whose rationale for being on the course differed hugely from people who were going to inherit a portfolio of property and wanted to know what to look for in a management company, to those who were already working in management companies and wanted to know more about what they should be doing and all stages in between. I was the only Commercial Property Company Director there and it was fascinating seeing things from the day to day management perspective.

Suffice it to say I learned a lot and now have an understanding of leases and legal aspects and rent reviews and all kinds of stuff like that. The only embarrassing thing is that I probably should have known a bit more than did, but at least I know it now and No. 1 Son had his eyes opened as to his future potential dealings with the family company.

The saddest bit was it was THE most beautiful day and to spend it inside was a bit of a trial. However, the view was spectacular. We were right by Westminster Abbey. Here's what I was looking at when I wasn't looking at the PowerPoint presentation:

What a view!

The rest of my time was taken up with my mother who'd managed to hurt her thigh somehow. She ended up in A&E while I was on the course, but was released after x-rays showed nothing up and was told to take some co-codamol. Luckily that meant she had an early night which left me time to go out to enjoy a bit of nightlife.

So that's me... home again. Full of leases and rent reviews and the like. Tomorrow I get Mercer the Guide Dog puppy who's coming for a week's visit with me and I'm looking forward to it immensely. At least that's how I feel about it now. Let's see what the reality brings!