The Move
by Ray Timms
Art Blakely moved his family to Devon to escape his debts but when his dream new start went horribly wrong he decided to move to London. He thought he had it all planned out. What he hadn't reckoned with was having to use four vehicles that were mostly illegal or unroadworthy and the removal driver had a broken leg.The convoy broke up on the M5 when most of them were arrested. Hilarious but true.THE MOVE is a true story of a family in crisis and how they coped or often didn’t cope. Art Blakely’s small plumbing business had been made bankrupt and there was a repossession order on his house. After hiring a huge removal lorry Art and his family packed up their home and fled Crawley and the bailiffs hoping for a dream life in glorious Devon. Hoping their creditors wouldn’t find them they rented a bleak cottage on the edge of Dartmoor. It wasn’t long before Art lost his job when the Victorian attitude of the employers finally got to him. Nine months on, now penniless, cold, starving and jobless their dream new life had become a living nightmare. Their only option was to move house again. This time they were moving to London. With no money for moving costs, Art put together a team of willing if inept, house movers. A friend, who owned a removal lorry, the only expert on the team, turned up with his broken leg in a plaster cast. It was a set back but it wasn’t going to change Art’s plan to lead a convoy of four clapped out or illegal vehicles up the M5. Before long they became separated as one by one they got pulled over by the police. Now Art Blakely’s entourage including two dogs and a couple of guinea pigs were spread out over four counties. Filled with extraordinary incidents and ridiculous people, THE MOVE will move you to tears and have you laughing out loud.