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For this submission, I am going to try a diary type entry - while it might work this week, I'm sure it won't last long as there will be days when we do b***** all so there'll be nothing that will hold your interest!!
Monday 25/2/08
Today we wandered around the streets of Christchurch, the 'suburb' where I worked in 1999. Monday's are market days on the high street, but it's no Camden market - rather it's a blue/purple rinse market, as Christchurch has an extremely abundant elderly population!
I took Nige into Blockbuster Video, one of my old places of employment, to meet my old manager Janet, and another old colleague, Lynn. Although it's been a long time since I worked there, Janet has remembered me both times I've popped in to say hello (this time and on the 2004/05 Christmas visit) which is lovely. Funnily enough, she reminds me of Nige's mum - they have a similar look about them and very similar mannerisms! Nige thought the same when I asked him after we left the shop, so if he gets homesick for his mum, a reminder of her is only a 20 minute walk away!
When we got back home, my nana (dad's mum) was over for her weekly hair visit with my auntie. She's 3 months away from her 85th birthday and unfortunately is struggling a fair bit with older age, such as being prone to falls, and forgetting her short-term memory. She wasn't quite sure who I was, but she was the same last year so it wasn't a shock. Actually, we all had a quiet giggle when she asked Auntie Viv 'who I belonged to'?!
Tuesday 26/2/08
It all feels a little familiar to me around here, semi-aimlessly wandering along the promenade and around the shops - I was here only 10 months ago doing pretty much the same thing! And as for the weather, well it's also a little familiar, reminding us both of Canberra winters. We had decided to walk to Boscombe along the seafront today when we saw that the sun was out, but about 5 minutes after leaving the house, and with about 40 mins left to walk (me wearing two light three-quarter sleeve jumpers but no coat…), the wind picked up a treat and we copped a few drops of drizzling rain for a short time. Of course the sea chill hit me pretty hard with no beanie, gloves or coat!I was hoping to buy a parka at the shops (I couldn't fit my Aussie one into my backpack!) but as luck would have it (or wouldn't have it in this case), I couldn't find anything so the search will have to continue. The only success I did have at the shops was buying a pair of boots. Those who know me well know that I'm a bargain hunter / cheap-skate, so I was pleased to find some 30 pound boots reduced to 15, and then further reduced to 10 at the register!
Whilst on the topic of bargains, the exchange rate from Aussie dollar to the UK sterling is awesome with one pound equalling almost two dollars. Most times I've been here the rate has been about a pound to two dollars fifty. It's about time that Aussie visitors to the UK got a good deal with exchange rates.
Wednesday 27/2/08
A bit of a relaxing day was had today. Nige had to pick up a card at the bank and other than that all we had to do was purchase ingredients to make dinner for my very hospitable auntie and uncle. One eventful moment was had however as we were walking to the shops - a woman stopped to ask us for directions! As it happened, I was able to assist her thanks to my keen eye for generally useless information…
Thursday 28/2/08
To cut very boring daily events short, we went to Poole, the bus rides to and from there were long, I settled on a parka and some shoes, Nige bought a pretty feral coffee, and we had a pretty crappy lunch at a pub on the quay. And to add insult to injury, the weather was typically English (grey, misty, drizzly) and as a result, the probably rather nice Poole Harbour looked dismal and very uninviting, yada, yada, yada…
Friday 29/2/08
Today we made the decision to stay in Bournemouth for a couple of months when we found a pretty good deal on a house share type arrangement. From Monday we'll be 'living' with a South African couple (who have kids probably around our age) that came over to England about 7 years ago on a boat they built themselves! The townhouse a little out of the way from where we were planning to look for accommodation, but it's new, rather spacious, and the woman seemed lovely, so we're happy to go there for 2 months. After that however, who knows where we'll end up! I am still rather keen on Edinburgh though - I just like the thought of living somewhere that I haven't been before, plus my youngest brother is there for about 6 months, so it seems like a good idea! And I've only heard rave reviews about it from other friends that have lived there.
Saturday 1/3/08
Nige experienced his first 'cream tea' today when we went out for a drive with my auntie and uncle. While I have seen him eat scones before, I still can't believe he actually had a cup of tea - with milk!
Speaking of Nige, he has pretty much decided that we should buy an old car here so that we can visit English places that aren't easily accessible by coach or train. His other idea is to get an estate (station wagon) so that we can occasionally sleep in it! As a woman however, I am not quite convinced about this - how many women can wake up in the morning and not need a power outlet to help them get ready?! I'll keep you posted…
The week ahead…
- 'Moving' into our new digs on Monday
- Searching for random jobs all week (i.e. temp stuff, pub jobs, pamphlet delivering, etc, etc)
- Dragging Nige to a Westlife concert in Cardiff next weekend! I still don't know how I quite managed that one…
- Trying to figure out the UK music scene. Somehow I think times have changed a bit since 1999 when it was all about the battle of the boy-bands, UK soap-stars turned pop-stars, the Vengaboys, etc, etc!
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