Edward and Patricia Murphy

About this sitter

My wife and I are a retired couple [teacher and hairdresser respectively] in our mid-sixties. We are both healthy, fit and active non-smokers. We have adult children and a granddaughter all living in Ireland. We own a house in Cork city and are in the process of selling an inherited property in England.
We joined M.M.H. com four years ago and undertook one successful three month assignment on an olive farm in N. Portugal. We then had to suspend our membership to take care of a parent in the advanced stages of Vascular Dementia in England.
We made the most of our position by transforming an extensive garden into a working allotment and joining the Huyton with Roby horticultural society of which I am now Treasurer and my wife is social secretary. We also became beekeepers with two hives on the allotment.
I am also the Co-ordinator for the Merseyside Veterans Tennis Association.
We have lived and worked in England , Ireland , China , Africa , Cambodia and Taiwan.
We have recently {Nov. 2015} returned from a month long assignment looking after a farm with two dogs,a cat ,three alpacas and thirty chickens in Victoria , Australia which was highly satisfactory for both parties.
Our most recent assignment was in Toronto,July 2016 where we had only a dog and cat to take care of
We have undertook assignments in Portugal
and Spain and most recently once again in Australia
Since Toronto we have had successful assignments in Spain , Australia again, China and Canada again and a couple of assignments in the UK

Why they want to house sit

We would like to experience new cultures and meet different people in situ rather than as tourists

Their experience

Yes, As stated earlier we undertook one assignment. We also spent over six years [1982-1988] while teaching in Hampshire as caretakers and guardians of a manor house belonging to the Governor of the Tower of London Maj. Gen. Giles Mills.We actually lived in a four bedroomed mews cottage tied to our duties.

What can they bring to the assignment

We can offer experience and care for both property and pets/livestock ,we created an organic hobby farm (16 acres )on which we reared sheep ,pigs ,chickens , goats and of course org. veg. we kept working dogs and pets , dogs and cats and we grazed horses for friends. We are capabl;e honest and hardworking. We have both undertaken extensive renovation work on our own properties throughout our married lives