A trip to the market

We decided to have a fairly relaxed day as we will be heading over to Bristol to check it out tomorrow. J found the Portobello Rd Market was on so we headed off to see that. (By the way, for those coming to London, the Oyster Card is an essential for getting about on public transport. It is quick and saves you lots of money. Even if you are only here a few days it is worth getting for its simplicity and convenience.)

It was pretty crowded but there were plenty of stalls although we managed to avoid temptation on the whole. We then wandered down to Notting Hill, past scenes from the movie and had lunch at NH Gate. After that we strolled through Hyde park and sunbathed for a while. It was a lovely day, supposedly 23 degrees.

The sun brought out some lovely sights and J was disapproving of my comments about a Bella Donna I was watching while J was in the loo.

We visited the new New Zealand war memorial at Hyde Park corner before heading home. It is very well done and quite striking although the tour guide hadn't mentioned it at all the day before.

I've been reading Ron Crosby's Massa Albaneta: A lost Opportunity at Cassino. There are a few errors in the details and I don't agree with his emphasis on the importance of this eponymous building, but the overall thrust of his argument is sound. Massa Albaneta was a building in the hills behind Cassino. The Allies attacked this area on 19 March 1944 but the attack was not given the support it should have. In the end it was one more failure of New Zealand's command. I'm afraid that Freyberg does not come off well in the battles for Cassino, showing neither imagination nor flexibility. JP and I have been looking into this attack ourselves, and in some areas have information that Crosby didn't have. I think we could have done a better job, but in any case it'll form part of our own book on Cassino.

Places to live...

We spent the day on buses and trains, it seemed. We decided to look for somewhere to live so spent some time on the Internet before changing tack and heading off to see some areas in person. It took 1 1/2 hours to get from Streatham to Richmond on the bus, but we passed through some nice areas, including Wimbledon where we saw the outside of the famous tennis Club. It was reasonably obvious that these areas were going to be more than we could afford, and we moved on to Twickenham to view a flat there. It was very nice, but at L900 per month, we can't really afford it. Add to that the 6 weeks bond, reference checking fees and agency fees and we'll be forking over around L2000 just to move into a place!

It was quite interesting on the bus to see how the ethnic mix changed in the various areas. Streatham and Tooting were very black English and Eastern European, then we had a small patch of Asians, then many European English. Wimbledon, Sheen and Richmond reminded me of Fendalton or Merivale.

We are now on the horns of a dilemma. We need to balance rental costs with the probability of finding work and the pay for that work in any given area. We need work to pay for our rental, but need to know where we are living to find work! We've decided to head over to Bristol on Sunday to see the place, and catch up with M&C. We'll talk to the work and letting agencies and M&C as well to see if it's a goer. Otherwise it'll be back to expensive London.

The weather is forecast to be 23-25 degrees this weekend, so we are going to just relax a little tomorrow. I still haven't quite shaken off the jet-lag, but nearly so.

I forgot to mention in earlier posts that the customs officer let us know we'd lost the cricket. Not really a surprise, but I still don't know any details. Anyone care to comment?

Our first curry for dinner, and I haven't even had a beer! (They send me to sleep...)

London explorer

Last night we had a dinner party with friends of P&B. They were a nice couple, one in finance and the other in education. Plenty to eat and drink although the latter went to my head.


I had an interview with the agency today so we both headed into town. They have nothing for me as yet, which is OK since we've not got settled yet anyway.


After all the form filling was done we had a nice brunch and then decided to do the tourist bus thing. It was nice but the weather packed in during the afternoon and the battery ran out on the camera. Still, we had a good orientation. Here's a few of the shots...

London

We spent the day wandering the shops of Singapore, and I finally managed to find the plastic cover for my Palm Pilot that I'd been looking for since losing the original in Italy in 2004! I was so happy I bought two. Then it was on to the plane which was a 747 this time around. Leg room was no better and to cap things off the git in front of me pushed her seat back as soon as possible. I made it my mission to kick the back as often as possible. God I'm evil...

We had the longest possible sunrise as we were chased west by the sun over Russia and into Europe. There was no cloud cover over the Caucasus and the lights of villages and towns were splayed out below us. The odd larger city would appear, but I had no map so they stayed anonymous. Berlin appeared and disappeared but there was cloud over much of Europe. Then we were flying over London, with lights as far as the horizon (from our much reduced height). The Heathrow flight-path is directly over the city, so we could make out the Thames barrage, the Eye, London Bridge and then we were down, landing at 0512.

We kept expecting a hiccup but there was none. No problem at customs, all the bags arrived undamaged, there was no sight of a customs man, and no-one tried to rob us, blow us up, rip us off, or anything! J talked me into the sensible option of grabbing a Taxi to P&B's place in Streatham. A genuine black cab but £60 for both of us and all our baggage. Well worth the lack of stress I think. We pulled up just as B was leaving for work.

P&B's place is lovely, with a garden much like we'd have in NZ, except squirrels running around the trees. The sound of birds and trains was somehow comforting, although a horse and silkie (sp?) was unexpected. We had a cuppa, then when P went to work we hit the bed and slept like logs until 1100. It felt like 24 hours and it still seems strange that this is still Day 1.

So far though, we have each got a pre-paid phone, and we have been to the bank. Despite applying on-line and receiving pre-approval, opening this account is still going to take 5 working days! Ah, this is the system I remember from 15 years ago... We'll try a building society who may be more responsive.

So, we've negotiated the High St, and fallen into this Internet Cafe. It's only 50p per hour, a very good deal I thought. Spotting differences is the name of the game. One obvious difference from home is the cosmopolitan nature of the area. There are Indians, Eastern Europeans, Africans, Asians. Of course it is more crowded and the heavy traffic must struggle in these narrow streets, most of which haven't changed in several hundred years, and there are the familiar row houses, so often seen on TV.

We still don't know where we'll settle, but P has recommended somewhere on the commuter belt - that is, within easy commute of London. Reading, perhaps, or Oxford. We'll spend week in London getting our bearings then throw a dart at the map. 8-) I'm not sure if I'll teach at all now, as P has done a good job of scaring me off, explaining that the schools are much more difficult than at home. We'll see...

Click here for pictures of London.

Singapore

Sorry for the gap, but we haven't found an internet connection until now. First we were rushing through airports then when I finally sat down the bloody laptop battery was flat! We're in a cheap cafe in Singapore now, having had lunch with Dad and M.

We left Dunedin and everyone had managed to hold off the tears although C was clearly close, and succumbed later. Through some misunderstanding we only got to see Mum and the others long enough to say good-bye, as we had been called to the departure lounge half an hour earlier and could delay no longer. After all the panic about how much we could fiit in our bags, there was no problem being over weight and in fact the cabin luggage wasn't even weighed. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing this time as well.

The flight wasn't great. J was OK, but trying to fit a 187cm frame into an economy seat in the middle of three was not fun and I couldn't stretch and couldn't see the LCD properly either. We tried to book better seats for the second leg but they were all gone already, but maybe the 747 has more room than a 767 - we'll see.

We were still out having a cup of tea at 1am NZ time (10.00 pm Singapore), and people were shopping all around - more of that later... I certainly slept well.

The Allson Hotel is OK, but quite handily placed in Victoria St just two blocks from Raffles' Hotel. We met Dad & M there and also cousin Mark's wife Jenny. We blokes weren't allowed into the hotel proper because of our shorts so we had drinks in the long bar instead. There were bowls full of unshelled peanuts and the tradition is to drop the shells on the floor where they accumulate all day. We couldn't bring ourselves to do this so the piles just got bigger on the table. M had a Singapore Sling at a mere $23 +taxes. The rest of us had more straightforward drinks but still at some expense. Still, now we can say we have had drinks at Raffles'.

We had Chinese for lunch and wondered why they build MacDonalds there. Dad and M had an appointment with an optician so we have taken the Hop-on Hop-off bus to Little India.

Click here for more pictures of Singapore.

Don't panic Mr Mannering!

There is a slight air of surrealism about us. Can we really have all our belongings in four bags at the bottom of our bed? Am I really being interviewed for jobs in a country that is half a world away? Are we really jumping on a plane in two days time?

The car has been taken away by its new owner who really did get a bargain. The buyer's father was a teacher who used to be at OBHS but is now in Manhattan. And he reads After the Battle, and has read the articles I contributed to! (By the way AH, they are the Tucker article and the Fall of Florence - please excuse my early onset Alzheimers moment.)

I just read an interesting book on the Mongol invasions of west Asia, Russia and eastern Europe, called Chinese Whispers, by Robert Sproat. It is supposed to be, in part, from translations of a newly discovered (at the time of writing) Secret Official History. I don't know anything of the period but it was at least entertaining. Like this:
"The waking thoughts of the seneschal of the keep at Sandomir on the Vistula, December, AD 1240. ".....arecomingtheTartarsarecomingtheTartarsarecomingtheTartarsarecomingtheTartarsarecomingtheTartarsare....."

From the walls of Cracow on 24 March, AD 1241, the pastrycook William, pressed into sentry duty in the absence of the city's regular garrison, addresses the citizenry shortly before deserting his post. "THE TARTARS ARE COME!" "

The papers are full of ANZAC Day but we'll be in the air, or newly arrived in London. It would have been a chance to try to track some 24Bn members down for my article. It is interesting that more and more are attending the parades, and should I ever actually write my book it suggests there will be a good audience.

We're off to see a motorhome show. This is one option for getting about in Europe.

D-Day - 2

D-Day -4

So we think we sold the car, and there've been a flurry of calls from agents for work, and we've packed our bags (at least twice), and what else do we have to do?

I spoke to N and he is bearing up well considering he's broken the ball of his hip joint off and has been wandering around on it for a week. K & D are upset because they hadn't picked how bad it was, but I can understand. (I think Mum had M wandering around with two broken wrists at one point, so it must be a family thing.) N was on morphine so a little out of it, but we had a good old conversation about new members of the family and how Granddad was being made to tidy his act up. N's going to be in traction for a while and was particularly concerned about his schoolwork. I told him that the school would do what was best for him and I hope that K&D give them some prodding as well. He has three pins in his joint and has to stay off it for 8 weeks or so. He's a tough little bugger... (Here are some pictures of him Mountain Biking.)

Dad and M also called for a chat. We overlap at the airport for about an hour I think but it depends on the check-in procedures, etc. whether we'll see much of each other.

It's all just a matter of counting down now, although there are still one or two loose ends to tie up. Breath deeply, smile and wave...

D-Day -5

Finished off some bits and pieces. Noone has actually looked at the car yet, although there are several watchers on the Trademe Auction.

J packed her bag again yesterday and now we have to squeeze everything that's left into mine! Should be fun...

The agent rang again offering a History job at Queensbury Upper School in Dunstable near Luton airport, north of London. The school looks pretty average in its Ofsted (ERO) report, but interestingly teaches non-denominational Religious Studies, including Buddhism! A full term teaching new topics at new levels, at a new school and new type of school (co-ed) in a new country all seem a little daunting, and not really what I want but I'll find out more.

R is coming for dinner so we will hopefully get to see some photos of her trip to India. "This is the hospital. This is my bed in the hospital. These are my nurses..."

The Army comes through - not!

I visited Waiouru Army Museum just before Christmas and there were one or two things that they didn't do well so I let them know in a three page letter (mostly constructive). Anyway, since it is now April and exactly 4 months since I sent the letter I asked for an update, and here it is: "Perry, thank you for the catchup. I am in the middle of handing over to an incoming Director so have had to put the my findings on hold temporarily. I will contact you with my findings before you depart."

The words "Yeah, Right" come to mind, but I may be surprised. After all, it has only been four months and there are a whole four days left...

R and I finished off his memoirs, or at least the Italian section. We've also captioned most of the photos which we now have to fold into the text before we are completely done. J will do this when we get to the UK as her laptop is in the post. His health is improving but his legs are very weak and out of condition. He'll have to work on them to get his mobility back.

J has been cleaning up banking stuff and working on an allowance for C. We are both awaiting our retirement savings funds, and of course the car is yet to sell...

The ITN agent has called several times but seems to have not read my CV very well. So far I've been offered a term as a senior English teacher, and a term as a senior Geography teacher (both to A Levels - our Year 13). Neither of them have been near Bristol, but that is of less concern. I don't think it would be fair on the students to be teaching unfamiliar subjects at senior level! However there has been a History position (for a year!) and an ICT job which may be more appropriate. Still, I'd rather do 'supply' or relief teaching.

Frolicking on the tors

We said goodbye to the inlaws and headed home, but detoured to finally see the Sutton Lake Scenic Reserve, after having intended to do so many times. It is a great, rugged landscape finished off by wind and rain erosion, and topped by wonderfully threatening clouds.

J's sad of course, and her shoulder muscles are tight as drums - apparently she's holding all her tension there...

I finally got Ellis finished off, and it is a good read. The only general to have come out of the whole Cassino inferno with any honour seems to have been Alphonse Juin, the French Expeditionery Corp leader. Freyberg, Clark, Leese and Alexander all get slated at one point or another. Sadly even the French don't recognise the efforts of Juin and his men, De Gaulle stealing all the glory in France.

6 nights...

Happy anniversary baby

One year ago we got married! How life has changed in such a short time. We celebrated with dinner at the Lone Star, courtesy of my sister's family. It was a nice dinner, but hardly romantic. 8-) Then we went into town and were entertained watching the passers by in the Octagon, and particularly a group celebrating a 21st. The Dad was quite proud that he had been banned from three pubs at age 57. His wife was less pleased...

Today we've driven up to Naseby to say goodbye to J's folks. I had to sneak in a game of hockey before we left, and that wasn't pretty. I played like a bag full of a...holes as the expression goes. Couldn't hit, couldn't pass. And I wasn't alone either - if they'd had a goalie we would have lost the game. Anyway, one more next Sunday and that'll be the last for some time.

The inlaws are well and it was a lovely sunny afternoon. None of the goodbyes seem any more than just 'see you soon' though. What brought it all a little closer was the practice pack of our bags we performed yesterday. 20kg is not a lot when you are trying to live for a year, and there's still a lot of culling to be done.

7 more sleeps...

10 Days...

Sadly the car didn't sell yesterday, so we've put it on Trademe and will try Turners again next Thursday.

R is out of hospital and being looked after by his daughter and grandkids. I don't think their surprise visit was intended to be one to hospital but it is good that there is someone handy to keep an eye on him.

I spent some time in the Hocken again, looking through their books this time. They have quite good holdings of published memoirs, some of which I haven't found in the public library. I'm reading through one by Guthrie Wilson, but he seems to have changed names and places so it's a little difficult to check his authenticity. Roger Smith did the same but it was very easy to figure out who was who...

We posted off our stuff yesterday. What a kerfuffle! I had to open the boxes a couple times, first to take the batteries out of laptop and camera, and then to take .6 kg out of the heaviest. All on the floor of the Post Office. It's done now, and is a sign that what is happening is real. (So far the reality has not sunk in, even when saying goodbye and even when collecting the tickets.)

The agent rang to see if I wanted a term teaching English. I said no. I haven't been in an English classroom since I was at school! It's a sign that he's looking though...

J has a half day and a long lunch today, so I'll go back to the Hocken to read some more.

Ciao

12 sleeps to go

Home again

A lovely weekend and we saw many of the people we wanted to. There were 10 at dinner on Saturday for J's side of things, and 14 on Sunday for mine! In addition I caught up with T&E who had dropped in to see W&R, and also a couple I hadn't seen for over 11 years when we visited M&S. Sadly we missed J&B because their cell-phone had changed.

Our flight details are:
Monday 23rd April, Depart Dud 0720 Arrive Chc 0815. Dpt Dud 1050 Arr Singapore 1745.
Tuesday 24th April Depart Sng 1120
Wednesday 25th April Arrive Heathrow 0550.

We have between 2-4 days in London to get our bearings then (at this point) we go to Bristol to find work and accommodation. If the agency comes through with anything between now and then though, we'll go where they find it.

Today we booked the CRV in at Turner's Car Auction for Thursday's sale. We hope to get >$7500 for it. We'll just have to drive the school van around after that.

Ray was still in hospital when we got back, as he has had a few complications. However he is hoping to be out in a day or two. He's happy now that he's allowed a beer ration every night.

We had lunch with C&O who are still on holiday this week. They are both well of course. Not too many opportunities left to catch up with them now.

While out, I picked up the new book on Massa Albaneta and I'll read it on the trip over.

So, not a lot happening just now in the lead up to the big move, but a rather large 'to do' list is sitting on the bench...

Easter Holidays

We drove up to W and R's new home on Thursday and only passed one accident. I've never been in an accident but I've seen heaps in my rear view mirror. (Just joking.) Traffic was heavy as you would expect at Easter, but it was also steady and not too many idiots.

The new home has two units almost ready for accommodating visitors. They are lovely and well appointed so we are rather spoilt. We're waiting for the bill... It's an exciting venture for the two of them so I hope it goes well.

R's parents are here again so it is nice to catch up with them. We are discussing a visit to Holland already. I have a book on the liberation of Walcheren Island to read before we get there and it may be the inspiration for another Then and Now (if it hasn't already been done).

I caught up with Jeff for the afternoon and handed over my library for safe keeping. We had a talk about what to hunt for while in Europe. It's going to be fun getting into those archives. J spent the afternoon playing petanque at W's parents' place. W came out the winner and isn't shy about reminding us!

We slept in today and missed the Easter Market, but it was raining anyway so we didn't mind. W and I had a look at his CMAK games in progress while the ladies went shopping at Northlands, then we had lunch in the food court. The mall was absolutely packed, but I wonder how many were actually buying. There weren't so many carrying bags for all the crowds.

On the way home we picked up a desk and a PC for the new business, and I'm christening it for them now. A pretty good deal for what they got I think. Thanks Warehouse Stationery.

We've just finished a meal at the Nor' Wester Restaurant in Amberley and it was very good. It is a little pricier than I would normally go, but very good food and wine so everyone was happy. I recommend the Chocolate Mud Cake, but then I would, wouldn't I.

I'm up to the 4th battle for Cassino in Ellis. It never fails to puzzle me how soldiers can get up and walk into near certain death as they did in these battles. The book describes how whole companies (120-180 men) were wiped out almost to the man, and yet the next would get up and do the same. No matter how much I study it, I will never really know what it was like. It's like erady a work of fiction really.

J is here to get me off the computer, so ciao for now.

Yesterday we were rung by R's granddaughter, to tell us that R was in hospital with abnominal bleeding. It was a bit of a shock, but when we visited he appeared to be much improved, although tests to establish what is wrong are continuing. Possible it is due to the Voltarin he's had to take for the pain of his broken ankle. Anyway, he was pretty chipper when we dropped in and was hoping to be sent home for Easter.

That night we had J's farewell after 16 years at school. It was a pleasant night although three staff members parked their cars in Smith City's car park and got locked in. While it was their own fault, it was a bit rank that the security firm wanted $45 per car to let them out. If it's a cost of their call out, why would it be per car? Anyhoo, we all had a good time and said many of our goodbyes.

On the last day of school I got a full five hours of teaching (that's what I'm supposed to be doing now). I figured out there had only been 5 days this term that I hadn't worked, and many of them had been 5 hours in the class room. I've yet to find the downside of relief teaching - no parent teacher interviews, no marking, no reports, no prep, no responsibility! I don't think you realise how much extra crap is wrapped around the teaching until you don't have to do it any more!

We had a call from the pommy agents the other night to talk about work opportunites. He didn't seem too well informed, asking J what she taught, and not knowing I was interested in 'support' (relief) teaching over there. However, he was quite positive about the possibilities in the south of England around Southampton, and we will hear from the Bristol agent sometime soon.

I took a break from Ellis to re-read a personal memoir by Gordon Slatter - One More River - who writes quite well of his experiences after joining the Div after Cassino. I'll try to map his progress on Google Earth. (Have I mentioned before how fantastic Google Earth is?) I've also watched a doco on Cassino from the War Channel on Sky. Some interesting film clips but the history was fluffy. I've actually met (briefly) one of the German guys they focused on - Herman Friess - who had knocked out 18 tanks in one week's fighting against the Canadians in May 1944.

We are off to Christchurch this afternoon to say arrivederci to family and friends. We are staying with W & R in their new B&B acccommodation at Amberley. R's parents are there so we will jack up a visit to them in Holland. I'll hand over all my Italy library to J and talk over progress on our book on Friday.

"Laters", as the girls like to say. (Or is that so last year?)

Hills and things

On Friday I climbed Puketapu in behind Palmerston. It's the pimple with the lookout tower on its top that you can see for miles around. It's a bloody steep climb at the end and I was quite puffed, but as I was going up I couldn't help but think about the men climbing the slopes around Cassino, laden with ammo, rations and equipment, and with Germans shooting at them. There's no comparison of course, but it does give pause for thought.

It was the last dash of the Y12 camp but none of the girls were keen enough to give it a crack. Instead they broke into the van and tooted the horn every 2 minutes or so until I got back. It didn't impress me so I made them get out and walk while I sat in the van and tooted. I hate to think what the lady in the other car at the carpark thought of the girls. I'm surprised she didn't give them a bollocking. Anyway, the view was fantastic. Unfortunately though, water had pooled inside the tower and it was a mosquito breeding ground. The ladders were absolutely black with the critters, and so was I. They didn't seem too vicious in the end and I got no itchy bites - in fact they were less annoying than the girls on the horn.

The girls proved quite good shots in the small bore shooting we tried, though I beat all the other teachers and students. Nothing really to boast about as they were marking them rather leniently, but I'll take it anyway.

Saturday was a nice relaxed day, though J had a bit of retail therapy that required me to carry bags. I refused to pay $21 for a haircut (since I have so little) so we bought a cutting set and she did the job for nothing. One more cut and it'll have paid itself off! We can spend the savings on more important things like booze and food.

We went to see Hot Fuzz at the movies, and thought it was great. Good concept, good lines, lots of laughs. I haven't seen enough cop movies recently to get some of the parodies, but it didn't matter. We came home and watched Grumpy Old Men - the series, not the movie - on the box. Why J needs to watch this on TV when she's married to me I don't know...

Today we had a lovely brunch with friends from school. We are staying with M's sister in London for a few days, so we looked at photos of them and the house so we would recognise them! Then tonight it was another game of hockey. I was crap due to unfitness, but we won by default anyway. I'll sneak one more game in possibly, but it's the day before we fly out so I'd better not do any damage!

Don't know yet if I have work this week, but I'd better assume so, so buona
notte.