Character

I want to tell you a little story about this shutter. But first, let me tell you some history about Castle Rowe.

Our flat used to be the schoolhouse for the New Park Preparatory School, which encompassed the whole area around the building, including several buildings and recreational facilities. The school was founded in 1933, with 13 boys. By 1938, they began boarding students and by the 1970s, they admitted girls to the school. Here's a lovely picture of what their school kids looked like in 1983.

There was another school in the area, St. Leonards, that began accepting boys, which made recruiting difficult for New Park. Eventually, in 2005, the two schools merged into one and the few students left at New Park relocated to St. Leonards' campus. This meant the New Park School and all the surrounding buildings were left abandoned... for years.

The whole complex was boarded up, waiting to see what they were going to do with the property and the buildings. The New Part Trust decided to demolish most of the building to build affordable flats in their place. The one building, however, that they weren't going to demolish was the original schoolhouse, which they decided to renovate and turn it into a flat and maisonette to provide affordable housing to families involved in education. From what I've read, there used to be security.  There were gates at the entrance to keep intruders out. But you and I both know that kids will find their way in.

Fortunately (I guess) for the trust, some lovely arsonists took care of the demolition for them. I found a local blog where someone happened to walk up on the fire.

Thank goodness the schoolhouse was spared.

After years of planning and preparing, they began building two apartment complexes on the site along with the renovations of the schoolhouse. They set off with approved building plans with an expected finish date of March 2013. Praise the Lord it wasn't ready then or it probably wouldn't have been available for us when we got here.

Less than two weeks before we were supposed to fly out (and I was in full we-don't-have-anywhere-to-live freak-out mode) we received an email from Martin who saw an advert about our need at his church. He just *happened* to be the chair of the New Park Educational Trust and they just *happened* to have a flat available for us September 1. After some further delays, I'm happy to say we are settling in to our new castle. Still a lot of issues to work out. Caulk the shower to prevent leaking. Get a timer for the boiler. Figure out why the towel radiator in the spare bathroom isn't functioning. Fix the cracks and holes in the living room ceiling.

Fix the shutter in the living room. 

Knowing the story behind the house helps you to understand why I love this little broken shutter. After the schoolhouse was boarded up in 2005, local kids began breaking in and disturbing the property. Somehow, someone made off with the shutters in the living room. (Who steals shutters?) Somehow, they FOUND THEM. Not sure where they were or who took them or what it took to find them, but they got the original shutters and put them back in, and gave em a nice white coat of paint. They are an eyesore to Martin, and he apologizes profusely for them. But I love them and their story.

They are broken. They were lost and found again. They were brought back to where they belong. Whenever I see them, I remember how God delayed the renovation of this house for it to be ready at the exact right moment. I remember how my faith got to such a low point through this whole "moving-to-Scotland, I-am-freaking-out" process as I wasn't able to plan everything so perfectly and I worried through it all.  But God took broken Carmen and put her back where she belongs.

Carm