Letting a stranger look after your home.

Would you let a stranger look after your home? Your beloved dog? Your three guinea pigs?

Well one family let me look after their home and this is what happened.

It was a stiflingly hot day in Tel Aviv, and with this experiment worming it’s way into the back of my mind I started googling house sitting websites in the UK. I came across www.housesittersuk.co.uk and signed up and even made a video (for a review of the platform, information about costs and to laugh at my terrible video please see this post).

Embarrassing video made I sent out emails to a number of home owners but got back rejection after rejection. For awhile I thought it was a scam. But then I got an email from Alan. He had already found someone but they had fallen through, it seemed that my luck had turned.

We spoke on the phone a couple of times. Each time I felt a little like I was at a job interview, trying to sell myself as the perfect house-sitter. But oddly Alan seemed to be really concerned with how I might like the house and dog. He explained to me in detail the dog’s social issues, asked me if I wanted then to put anything in the fridge for me and then told me that his partner Becky apologised if the house was a mess.

I reassured him the best I could that I had no expectations. He seemed nice, funny, maybe a little bit serious but considering he was about to hand over the keys to his house to a complete stranger that seems fair enough.

On the day I was to meet them I said a teary goodbye to my boyfriend (who was heading back to Australia) and got on the train (the wrong train first then the right one). I ended up in Brighton nervous, worried that I might disappoint them, and very very tired. Alan had offered to pick me up from the station. His message to be instructed:

Actually don’t leave the station! Go thru the barrier and turn left where the bicycles are parked. We’re in the green camper van. Wave like a lunatic.

I have to admit this made me smile and when I saw them I did. I was greeted by Alan, tall smiley and what I knew instantly to be a good man. He was joined by the effervescent Matilda who regaled me with talk of sharks, and Brighton and asked a million questions on our way to their home. I felt like part of the family and we had just met.

When I got there my jaw dropped. The house was beautiful (and not messy in the slightest way). Cookbooks lined the walls and jars of lentils and spices filled the shelves — heaven. I was greeted at the door by the gregarious Bonnie, a beautiful collie that is super smart, extremely well trained and friendly by nature, and a card and some freshly picked cherry tomatoes from Matilda.

Then I met Becky and teenager Amelia. It could not have been a more serendipitous meeting if I had tried. It turns out Becky is a social entrepreneurship manager, very involved in social impact work and a serious foodie. I could have talked to them for hours but they had a holiday to get to.

So started my 10 days in Brighton, and it was pure bliss. Bonnie was an angel (apart from barking at foxes in the middle of the night). I ran with Bonnie through the mist on the ridge, played in the dog park and explored the magical paths of the woods.

When they came back, Alan and Becky invited me to stay for dinner and over a Thai take away we talked about our lives, the future and the stuff we care about.

Something special happened with this family. They treated me like I was a trusted friend and I became one.