Beracah

I assumed the auction sale meant it would be cheap. Back when I was a new arrival to UK, I had watched a lot of Homes Under the Hammer (the tv show). I was wrong. Indeed the starting price was relatively cheap. On the day of the auction, I sat in a cafe in Hertford spending the second highest amount I'd ever spent in one go. It started at £300,000. So far, so good. (By the way it is a terrible idea to participate in an auction bidding whilst sat in a cafe where people -- many people -- recognise you, and keep stopping to say hi). 
As the bid rose up to 400k, many other bidders dropped out except one other bidder, I'll call him Mr S. This man wouldn't let go. The price went higher and higher, and I panicked. I was sending SOS texts to people who were supposed to also be listening in on the call to help.
A friend walks by" "hi C.. haven't seen you in ages..". I gave her a panicked look which is a cross between "help me" and "please go away".
The bidding climbed past £450k... What is happening??? this was supposed to be cheap!
Oh my good Lord, please help! Why the heck wont Mr S just drop off?!
I started praying. I prayed for Mrs S's phone connection to cut out, for someone to call him urgently and make him end this auction call, for his phone battery to die- was he using a mobile phone like me? Who is this guy? I prayed for him to accidentally drop his phone. 
For anything.. anything at all to happen to make this man leave this auction.
He didn't.
The bid went higher still, higher than £500k.
I wanted to cry.
Still bl**dy blessed Mr S clung on. Who is this guy?!
I guess he was thinking the same about me.  
Eventually he dropped off...
Way, way, waaaaay past the original listing starting price.
I heard the electronic gavel bang. 
I'd won. 
But I was no longer sure how i felt.

By the time the Auction Master congratulated me, I actually wasn't sure I wanted the property any more.

When we went to view it again after winning the auction, every single dilapidated detail suddenly looked much, much worse. I struggled to locate the "good feeling" it had before.