Have a car will travel

Friday 8th June saw us both getting on the bus early - not much fun at all after 3 weeks of getting up late. Harry enjoyed his day - he is responsible for getting all the faults in the hospital sorted out - he now knows what an mercerator is (the machine that cleans bed pans) - apparently they break down all the time. The other time he is busy is when it rains and there are floods all over the hospital (eg my building which was built in 1749 is just getting over a major flood). I know who to ring when the airconditioning breaks down in the middle of summer!! My job didn't really get started on Friday but it promises to be busier and a bit more interesting than the last job. There are another load of acronyms to get used too which should be fun.

After work we went to Weston Super Mare in our new car (We haven't yet got a name but I convinced Harry that 'the car' was not appropriate - we are thinking of either daffy (cos it is yellow) or cecil (cos it is a citroen) or kermit (cos it is french). We had a lovely walk along the beach and watched the sun set. It is a pity cos the beach is beautiful sand but where the water is it turns to a mud which apparently is quite dangerous. So, lots of playing in the sand but no swimming except for the man made pool at one end.

Saturday - we drove to South Wales and had a lovely time. We have decided that we like travelling on smaller roads and where possible do not go on the motor ways or A roads. These are busy and tend to take you quickly from one town to another. We like exploring as you come across little gems all day that you aren't expecting. Today, we drove over the Severn River - took both bridges - the north to get there and the south returning. The toll was £5.10 going over and we thought that was expensive but realised coming back you don't need to pay a tool. The first picture is of Caramello sitting at Severn looking over to the south bridge (bridge number 2 it is called). There was a heat haze for most of the day and so we didn't get much of a view from the bridge. However, it gave everything quite a eerie feeling. We then took a little detour to a place called Aust which was quaint and it had an old church which was pretty run down. The gardens were lovely with roses etc.
We came across a little place called Magor - a real find - we had lunch in the church yard. There was a ruin of a procurators house built in the 1700's. He was apparently the tax collector who sent all the taxes back to Rome - I imagine rich but not popular. The house was a ruin but quite picturesque. We wandered around and then drove down towards the direction of the 'sea wall'. What a find!! It was built in the 1400's apparently to stop the sea encroaching on the land and has been built up over time - the land around it is actually below sea level. There were people fishing in the sunshine and a farm house at the end of the beach. The lamb was also on the hill and we took it to show you that spring is near!! The haze was still around and it was very quiet - the sheep were the only noise you could hear.

We then drove to Newport, didn't stop there cos it was busy but drove to Abergavenny. Harry could remember the first line to a song 'making our way to Abergavenny' but no more but unfortunately the tune got stuck in our brains. We will have to go back there. We wandered through the little lanes, around the castle, had afternoon tea in a posh hotel and found lots of leaflets on the national park, walkways and caves. If you take the direct route it isn't too far (about 45 minutes) so we'll go exploring further. The Teddy Bear shop was in the main street - took the photo just for you Mum.

We finished our touring off in a little town called Caergeon - there was a roman amphitheatre built in 90AD. It was breathtaking to think that there were people there 2000 years ago. I was amazed to see that on this archaelogical site people were allowed to play and sit. They have shows there and there is a Romeo and Juliet drama there in a few weeks - unfortunately it is during the week. We took a picture of a typical country lane - the hedges of bracken, fern and a vine a bit like a grape are so high that you can't see over them. We drove down lane after lane like this. We know what a horse with blinkers must feel like.

Our trip to Avonmouth

Today was quite eventful. I had to take some forms into the recruitment agency and when I got there mentioned that the job I had yesterday had little to keep me interested. They mentioned there was another one available tomorrow. We suggested Harry could take the other job, and after a bit of time they offered him another one as well. We are both working in the Hospital - me in the management team and Harry in estates. Apparently I am in the building with the cafeteria and Harry is in the building with all the nurses!!! Anyway, it should be interesting as it is ongoing temp work until they fill the vacancies. A bit of money coming in while we look for permanent work. We took a walk up to where we are working and we are only across the road from each other and quite close to the shops. We also registered for our national insurance number and have got 'interviews' on Monday. We need to take lots of documentation and a letter from Jayne to say that we live with her because we don't have a power bill or telephone bill etc. It is amazing we didn't realise how important having a permanent address was. We also managed to register the car on line but still have no formal proof of it. But that is o.k. cos we can go for a drive on Saturday. After that we went to the bank to pick up our credit cards. They managed to send Harry's credit card and my cheque book to the wrong branch - we had to laugh as at least we have a cheque book and credit card between us.

We then took the bus to Avonmouth. We had a picnic lunch in the park and had a really nice walk along the Avon. The photos are of the Avon River - boats that sit on the mud during low tide- I was fascinated as they looked really unusual!! There is also a photo of the M5 which is a bit boring but good to see the bridge etc. The walk along the Avon was really picturesque, there was both blackberry and rape seed in flower and so yellow and white lined the paths. The black cliffs along some of the Avon was already interesting. Our little map book showed a bridge across the Avon, but a local we talked to convinced us that there was no bridge. Harry suggested that it could either have been a ferry crossing or a possible path across the river at low tide but neither of us were keen to take up the challenge of wading through the mud.

The fascinating thing about Bristol is that the power cables and most of the telephone cables are underground even in the older parts of the city. The city is lovely and clean and we have seen a number of council staff collecting rubbish, cleaning streets and waterblasting walking areas etc.

We enjoyed the double decker bus ride. It went through some lovely streets - real English scenery with big trees and homes and quaint pubs. The double decker bus drove along and we sat at the top at the front - ducking everytime the bus hit a tree branch. The trees are learning to grow a bit taller than the buses.

A day at work

Today Harry went to pick up the car. He signed the papers, and got the V5 form which says we are the proud owners of a yellow Citroen. He got directions to the nearest PO and raced off to pay the car tax. He got there and was told that he could not pay the tax because we did not have the actual insurance certificate - even though we were told we could apply on line and insurance is paid for. So, Harry drove the non-paid tax car home and we can not use it until the postman kindly delivers the insurance papers - tomorrow we will be ringing up the insurance company to give them a hurry along cos it has now been 3 days. We were looking forward to going somewhere tomorrow but unfortunately will have to travel on the buses once more.

While he was enjoying this little touch of bureaucracy (is that how you spell it), I was enjoying another on my first day at work as a temp. I was told by the manager who introduced me that there wasn't much to do - answer the phone (had about 8 calls in the whole day), there might be a bit of typing but otherwise just 'chill out'. So, I read the news, applied for jobs, wrote a long letter to Mum and talked to a few people. It is so frustrating to think that this is how tax payers money is spent. Anyway, back there for a few days next week and then it is over. There are a lot of jobs out there but the one that appeals at the moment is running a graduate leaving survey. They don't like cvs here - you have to either fill in by hand or online an application form. I attached my cv to one and was told by email that they don't accept them!!! So, we are now having to rewrite paragraphs that we can cut and paste into the application forms. One thing I did hear about was all the Coronation street news - as people were coming to my computer to find out the latest - Noel you aren't missing out on much.

Yesterday we went and explored Bristol Cathedral, college green and the council buildings. A lovely area that reminds me of all those Sunday afternoon pictures you see of England. Jayne's dad gave us a book of historical pictures of Bristol and we have been enjoying looking through it and then visiting the sites as they are today. Unfortunately, many of them were destroyed during the war. The pictures are of college green and the little garden and cemetery behind the cathedral that we stumbled across - a perfect place for a cup of tea and biscuit in the late afternoon.

We then took a very very long bus trip out to North Bristol for Harry to meet a recruitment agency. It took ages on the bus and was in a new business park, all set up for offices, and with trees etc. Quite attractive and laid out - reminded me a bit of Canberra. I stumbled across the fountain and sat in the sun for a while waiting for Harry. We came back into town and spent ages trying to find where I was to work this morning - not being a morning person it helps to know these things. We had a number of false turnings (it is in a hilly part of Bristol) and we discovered not only did our map not name many streets (or abbreviated to MP etc) many streets did not have street names. We got terribly lost. It didn't help that I got lost again this morning - and spent another 20 minutes walking up and down hills. Harry bought a new map today.

The weather continues to be nice - the warmest Spring since 1945. we had a lovely sunset that we saw from our bedroom window which is the last photo.

The clock is the council chambers and was quite fascinating to watch. the hand on the outside doesn't go around the clock but just seemed to go up and down - even though the clock seemed to be working.

Thank you Terri and Karin for your comments and for all the emails we are getting. It makes us feel so much closer to you all. Glad to hear everything is going well. Are you enjoying my desk Karin?

Queens birthday in Bristol

It is Queens birthday in NZ but not in Bristol. So, today everyone is back at work and we are busy looking for work and fixing up our car insurance.

Yesterday was a bit of a lazy day. We were going to catch the bus out to Avonmouth and then walk back along the Avon but discovered when we got into town that the bus doesn't run on Sundays. So, we went to Cribbs Causeway instead - we weren't sure what that was but a number of buses go that way and a few people have said that they were going there. Anyway, it is a huge shopping complex - a bit like the mega stores at Porirua and then a huge shopping mall full of clothes shops, jewellers and food centres. We had a coffee and then came back into town. It was handy going cos Harry meets a recruitment person out that way tomorrow. We also discovered that it is not a good idea to try and do grocery shopping at 5.00 on a Sunday evening. We didn't go hungry - but almost.

Today, we had fun!!! We have discovered that to keep our medical insurance going while in the UK it will cost us about £200 a month (about $500 NZ dollars). A bit much. So, we have written to Southern Cross as they recommended this company. We are in a bit of dilemma cos Southern Cross have said they will only give us travel insurance for one month and we have to organise in the UK with an affiliated company. Apparently once we have enrolled at a doctors for six months we can apply for the domestic rate - I bet you we can't enrol at a doctors until we get sick and we will be healthy for ages.

Anyway, onto the car insurance...after a very long painful internet search we went to the good old Post Office - thank goodness they do all the things our post offices did 20 years ago. We had a very helpful man who took us through the computer screens and we now have our car insured. We discovered that third party is the most expensive (yes I did get that right) at about £250 a year, third party, theft and fire was about £207 a year, and guess what comprehensive is £179 a year - so we have a fully comprehensive insured car and that will probably reduce once we get our international licences converted to UK.

I went for my job interview which I don't think I will get as they kept saying I was too well qualified. It is only a temp job and I was hoping for a foot in the door and some £££'s while I kept looking so we will see.

We have no photos today as we haven't really been doing anything exciting. Aaron sent me some great photos of sophies 21st and a photo of the rubix cube he completed. It was a fancy dress and Sharon looked great in her pink dress.

We have a car

Today we tried to hire a car. We couldn’t find the phone book so I rang a dealer to ask for the phone number of a rental car. A nice man named Nick answered and was very helpful and I promised to come around and see him later.
We rang Avis and they asked for all our details and then said we couldn’t hire one if we didn’t have a credit card unless we had 3 utility bills in our name. So, we didn’t hire a car. (so all of you coming over keep your NZ credit card if you can). I think there are probably similar requirements to NZ but we didn’t realise cos we always had a card. So, we headed towards town on the bus, caught another bus and looked for some car yards. We came to one which Harry had researched on the web and we found a car. The other day I said to Harry that I don’t mind what car we get but it had to be either yellow or red with a blue interior. The look on his face was worth the joke!!.
Anyway we bought a car. Guess what? It is yellow with blue and yellow upholstery. Harry thought long and hard cos it isn’t a Toyota but in the end decided that it was tidy and mechanically sound. He negotiated a new cam belt. I’ve attached a photo of the car with its new proud owner. It is a bit of a pity that Nicky has got the number plate back in NZ that we now want and I am sure that someone else will have it in the UK ‘MIBUG’.
It is interesting buying a car. You have to have compulsory insurance – third party and you can’t register it (the new owner has to do this) until you have insurance. So, we went to the internet cafe and after 2 hours managed to get into some sites – it looks as though 3rd party (with fire and theft) is about £200 which is reasonably expensive. We are going to wait until Monday and go and visit a couple of other companies that won’t give us quotes on the net. I suspect it is because we don’t have an employer and also have an international licence that the premium is so high.
We then went to a pub for lunch – the unhealthy 2 for $5 meals – but by this time it was 4.00 and we felt we needed something. We watch the run up to the Epsom Derby and the actual race which the favourite won. Haz was very pleased cos I finished dinner first (a most unusual occurrence) he maintains I must have eaten very fast, I thought it was cos he couldn’t do 2 things at once – eat and watch tv.
We then went for a walk and went to another church which was closed. St Mary Redcliffe – lovely from the outside. Went to a park Windmill Hill and sat and read the paper for a while and came home.
We are both beginning to miss everyone – it has been two weeks exactly since we left. It feels like so much longer. NZ will still be tops where ever we go, but it is good to see the history. I have a feeling that the Englanders take the history for granted as there aren’t nearly as many signposts etc about as I would be expecting. I think if we had grown up with it I would be the same.
Anyway, I hope you laughed when you saw the picture of the car. We haven’t really got a v dub – but a Citroen Saxo (3 door hatch)– and guess what it is yellow with a blue interior – so I got my wish after all – photo will come after Tuesday when we pick it up.

The photos of the gardens are especially for Mum, Cheryl and Heather whom I know will love the english gardens.

After we spent time looking at our emails and the internet we went for a walk to see what building I would need to go to for the job interview. We managed to get a bit lost and go round and round in circles but found a garden centre and a few pubs before we found the building. I was looking for a high rise which is a bit funny because there aren’t many high rises at all as most buildings are only about 3 or 4 floors. This one is an old building with 3 floors and looks quite cute from the outside but I imagine it could be crowded and dingy inside.
We went through a park back the centre of town and found a really old church which has been gutted. It was lovely outside with herb gardens etc. The photo is of the old windows and you can see a building around it. I was impressed with the lovely herb gardens and gave Harry a lesson in smelling and identifying herbs. Oreganum, lavender, rosemary etc.
We tried more Cornish pasties – we will be becoming quite proficient in deciding which is the best Cornish pastie maker in Bristol. The first we tried is by far the best so far. Each time we have one I am trying a new flavour though I think Haz will stick with lamb and mint for a while. So far they are all awarding winners of Cornish pastie competitions though I suppose there are a number of awards in each competition.
We then went to the bank and met a woman there that had been visiting a family in friend in Makara over the summer. I thought it might have been David and Margaret (which would have been a funny co-incidence) but she was closer to the beach. She said she had a lovely time, but wasn’t sure what she had struck the first time she went down the Makara road.
We walked past a barber shop and Haz got his hair cut after a bit of prompting from me. I had to take a photo of his first UK hair cut. That reminded me about our fascination with the way they cut grass here. They leave some of it long and cut other bits. Jayne wondered if their lawn mower had broken down like hers.
We went up to the river to a car yard, got very hot and waited ages for a bus. Came home and am sitting outside in the sun.

Sitting in a internet cafe

We have found a free internet cafe - all we have to do is buy the occassional drink. Such a hardship!! Harry has got our laptop searching for cars and I have the computer with the very sticky keyboard.

I have also done a bit of internet searching on the organisation I have the job interview with. This afternoon I am going to take a walk and find out where the place is so I don't get lost getting there. I can just imagine arriving late!!

We caught a different bus into town today and it went past a big retail park not far from home. We thought we might go there on the way home and buy some sheets and towels. Will no longer be able to move with just suitcase each.

We had to do a spelling test at a recruitment agency. They gave you 4 words and only one was spelt right. I hope I got 10 out of 10. One of the words was occassional and after looking at the option could not decide if it had one 's' or two.

We are also excited cos Jill and Graham are coming over in August and we just might go to Ireland. Will check out some deals in the next few days.