KISS Life

Children of the 80s like me will be familiar with the motto 'Choose Life' as paraded on a T-shirt by a very fresh, very young, and very orange George Michael.

2012 brings a new one for me. KISS Life.

Nothing to do with snogging. It was my dear friend Soo@32 who introduced me to the concept of KISS when writing out instructions to help me cook my first ever Christmas Dinner. 'Keep It Simple, Stupid!' was the key to success.

Now, it was time to take KISS to a higher level.

For many years I have spent more nights of the year under a tin roof than I have under tiles. But I craved a 'base' of my own. So four years ago I bought my dream home; a beautiful, brand-new, trendy eco-house on the beach at Camber Sands. The idea was simple. I could live there in the winter, then when it was time to hit the road for the summer I could rent out the place as a holiday let, thereby maximising the use of the house and, effectively, living there for free.

A great idea. And it worked. But there is no such thing as 'free', of course. To run the place successfully required a lot of time and energy. In 2011, the time I still had, but the energy had gone thanks to more important things that had cropped up in my life. It was time to KISS.

Luckily I found a couple of buyers for the house who also wanted the furniture and the business. I was delighted, as it meant that my 'regulars' were still assured of happy holidays. The buyers were delighted as they had a ready-made business to walk in to. Everything just fell into place.

Of course, that would leave me with the minor detail of finding somewhere to live. The Airstream is fine throughout most of the year, but this single chap gets Cabin Fever when the clocks go back and less time can comfortably spent outside in the open air. But I know that many holiday homes sit empty during the few dark days that I need a bit of indoor space to stretch my legs. In fact, it even remains possible that I could end up back in my former house on a temporary basis. I'd enjoy all the good stuff, but without the worry of ownership. It seems like a plan.

Despite the fact that the furniture was included with the house, there was still a lot of personal stuff to deal with and sort out. This is where things could get interesting.