Wait and see

Well, we went into Edinburgh again on Monday and saw a few more flats. While viewing one the agent got a parking ticket so he was probably a little peeved - that'll be half a day's salary for him I'd expect. To top that off we backed off the flat we thought we'd take through him and instead put a deposit down on one with another agency. See J's blog for details. While we did that we got our own ticket, but I am questioning this with the council as the meter appears to have made any error. In case you wonder about the significance, our ticket was issued at 16:08 - only one minute over what should have been our half-hour.

Anyway, we now have to wait for reference checks, etc. As neither of us is in full-time employment they may want to take the whole 6 months in advance which will put a hell of a dent in our savings. Still, better that than no place to live at all. Unfortunately the job situation is less encouraging for me, though J has had her CV sent off for a couple of posts already.

We went to Hancock at the movies. Average. I'm more keen to see Wall-e so we may go today, though I think J has other ideas. It isn't sunny out, but it is at least mild so I guess we should make the most of it. It's the nearest we'll get to summer it would seem.

My article is being polished off, but as the photos ordered for it are unlikely to make the November edition cut-off, it is most likely to be published in February. Hooray.

So you wanna be a writer?

Before anything else I shall share some good news - After the Battle has agreed to publish my article on 'fake' photos of Cassino, my first independent published work. Now don't all go rushing down to the newsstand for your copy because there is quite a lead time to publication and I don't know when it will actually be in print, but rest assured I will let you all know.

We've been busy flat-hunting and have a stack lined up to visit tomorrow. We missed out on a really nice one the other day, but hopefully there'll be more of the same quality.

We've also been registering with job agencies and sending off applications but J has only heard back about one position and I have had nothing at all. The problem is that I have no experience for the office/bank work I am looking for, and I don't want to do what I'm experienced in...

There was a hint of sunshine today, so J washed the car in her 'daisy dukes' and heels. Not. Somehow the old bomb passed its MoT (WoF) so we have a a breathing space to fix its major problems, but I reckon it was the dirt holding things together so we'll see what collapses first.

We visited another castle on Sunday - Bothwell, between here and Edinburgh. It was a nice example with a bit of history to it as you can see here. We had a picnic lunch and gave the dogs a bit of a run. All in all a pleasant day out. And yes, it was sunny for a change.

Job and flat hunting

We went to Edinburgh on Wednesday to have a look at flats. I seem to be in a Catch-22 situation as Reeds say I can't get work without an address, and the letting agents say we can't get an address without work. It'll be interesting to see how that gets resolved.

We saw a couple of horrible flats but one particularly nice one. The latter had a queue of people to view it! We have to go onto a list of interested people and the agent will base their decision on the references they receive. That could be an issue for us as we have no current employment...

It is still raining. If this is summer, I don't look forward to winter.

I emailed off my article to the publisher for comment. Now it is just wait and see what he thinks. It was a big disappointment not to find the last set of matches I needed to complete the article satisfactorily, but there should be enough otherwise to make it worhwhile.

Other than that, all is quiet.

Ye'll tak the high road, and I'll tak the low road

And I'll be in Scotland afore most of ye.

We had sunshine yesterday and it was lovely. Sadly there is no sign of it again today. The days are so much longer up here and it is weird to have sunset at 10pm. It was a lovely one this time, and we could see the lights of Glasgow down below.

On Wednesday we flew down to Bristol and stayed with A, M and the girls. It was lovely to catch up given the short time we had. In the morning we loaded everything we own on this side of the world into our Vauxhall Astra, and after having a cuppa with M we headed 'up north'. The trip was very straightforward on the motorways and it only took us 6 1/2 hours from go to whoa. There is a hell of a lot of England for us still to see in between though...

It was nice to see M again. She and T are off to Japan and the South China Sea to see a total eclipse of the sun later this year. They will be on a special cruise with guest lecturers and if it travels the right way (against the earth's rotation?) the experience will be slightly extended. Cool. Nothing much seems to have changed at the old job, and the remuneration process I was hired to temporarily look after has still not been automated. I hope C has knocked my notes into shape...

I saw Mum off on Friday and she is now in the hands of A (Q's ex-girlfriend) in Bonn, Germany. I hope she enjoys herself there. It was good to have her over here and I hope she found it worthwhile (she doesn't say much, our Mum, so you never know). She flew with Ryan Air whose idea of Glasgow Airport is Prestwick - about 50 kms from the city - and of Duesseldorf Airport is Weeze - about 75 km from the city. Still, their flights are cheap, even with taxes and fees.

Talking of fees, it turns out that our household contents insurance got cancelled while we were away as for some reason the bank didn't/couldn't set up our Direct Debit. This means that since we had a period of no insurance for a month we lost all our no-claims bonuses, and the same insurance policy is now L60 more expensive! Sigh.

We heard from W who was as close as Newcastle but still could have been on the moon for all our ability to catch up. It seems ridiculous for W, R and L to fly so far, and be so near, but circumstances mean we can't get to the same place at the same time!

Today we went to yon bonnie banks and yon bonnie braes of Loch Lomond. It rained. A lot.

36 to 13

We're back in the UK - Glasgow to be exact. We now have regular access to Internet so hopefully the blogging will become more regular. One of the largest frustrations in Italy was the lack of Internet access, closely followed by printer issues.

There is too much to catch up in any detail, so I hope you have all read J's blog to get an idea of what we've been up to. I have to say we had two very different holidays: mine was running around all day every day looking for matches, while J's (and Mum's) was more like a real holiday - shopping, pottering, exploring, swimming, etc. While I enjoyed mine very much, I don't think I'd do it again this way as there just wasn't enough together time.

Research-wise wise it has been productive but unfinished. I had a good look around the Sangro/Orsogna battlefield and have a much better feel for it, but there is more exploring to do there. The time at Cassino seemed to evaporate (printer problems used up a few days on their own), so I didn't accomplish what I hoped for there. I did manage to get inside the Convent where it was clarified that the 'Crypt' was no longer in existence, it having been infilled with the rubble from the church itself. I also found Hove Dump, the Kiwi's (and in fact the Allies') largest supply dump in the vicinity of Cassino, got some matches in the Abbey, and various along Route 6. Finally the other coast provided many matches, but again there is lots more to do. We had a shortage of photos to match for this area, so I got a large percentage of a lesser number. I found most of the bridge and crossing points, except the largest pontoon bridge, and that's a start.

Another success of a sort was our presentation of a New Zealand flag to the Historiale (Multimedia Museum) in Cassino. This Museum cost the city E15m and they neglected to get a New Zealand flag! The are flying a Belgian flag when that country only supplied a small commando contingent, and an Austrian flag even though that country had been annexed by Germany so didn't technically exist. I have to say the management response was completely underwhelming, and we never managed to meet or even talk to the director. Furthermore I had to climb on to the roof and raise the bloody thing myself! (We replaced the Austrian flag, so we may have raised an international incident.) Sadly our contribution wasn't as big as all the others so there may be a few eyebrows raised by visitors. Still, better a little flag-envy than no flag at all. I've asked friends there to make sure it is kept flying, as I suspect there will be a temptation to sneak it down after we've left.

Anyway, it's all over now, baby blue. There are some immediately noticeable differences. The cars all travel within the lanes, and don't consider the center line to be a secret extra lane. Drivers don't actually wait until a blind corner before overtaking. People don't stop in the middle of the road to have conversations or indeed to park. Small things really... Oh, and it is no longer sunny and 36+ degrees. Try grey and 13. We still need a phrase book though...

Singing in the rain

It's the wettest summer in Italy for 18 years, and the graph shows peaks in 2004 and this year - both when Mum came for a holiday. Jinx!

It only rains in the afternoon (so far) so I have been able to get photographs. We had massive printer problems which soaked up lots of time and energy, but have been resolved for now letting me get fully down to work. I've had a productive couple of days at last, so it's all good.

On Tuesday I meet a couple of contacts to go up Monte Camino. It usually has locked gates so it's a bonus. On Wednesday I go to the aerial photo archive in Rome for half a day, then join J and Mum for the other half. But before then we catch up with Lorenzo and Christina (and Rachele) for dinner on Monday night. It will be great to see them.

I haven't heard from the Convent about my request for access, so I will have to approach them myself shortly. That'll be fun.

I'll post pics later - J is better organised so follow the link to the left and read what she's been up to.

Arrivederci

Just a quick post

Well, we have made it back to Cassino, and are getting settled in. The Abruzzo was lovely, but as you read earlier, it was pretty full on for me. Make sure you read J's blog for holiday stories.

This week I'll be tracking down some more shots around Cassino; the final shots for my own article; and then into the Liri valley. That'll keep me busy.

Roccasecca, north of Cassino, is an archetypal (sp?) Italian village, clinging to the sides of a hill above the Liri. The house we are in appears exactly how it was the day the owners left - drawers and cupboards full of stuff, knick-knacks on the dressers, etc. It is like we are living in a museum. There are all sorts of historical bits and pieces, including some war-related objects. There are four German helmets, each with holes of varying sizes, and I fear the wearers would not have survived...

We have more access to Internet now so I'll keep you posted.

Ciao. A domani.