Touch down

Well, we've arrived in Coffs Harbour - Thursday afternoon at about 2pm to be exact. The 980+ kms from Wagga were a bit of a trial: towing a trailer slows you down and the car was drinking petrol! But we're here. We've picked up the keys to the house, bought mattresses, a teak table and chairs for the veranda, a sofa bed and two fold up chairs for the house, a TV, fridge and washing machine... The garden furniture, sofa bed, chairs and mattresses all arrived yesterday, and the white goods should arrive this morning, which is great service since we only bought them yesterday lunchtime. Telephone connection is not such good news: Telstra have let us down repeatedly and now our internet/phone connections may be hooked up on TUESDAY!! Michael is furious...

So I am blogging this from our hotel room just before we check out. Knowing that we wouldn't have a fridge or anything to sleep on immediately, Michael had the foresight to book us into a resort hotel for a couple of nights, and in view of the absence of phone connections it is just as well he did!

Anyway, we're off to have breakfast and then move out, so we won't have any phone or internet until later in the week unless we can find an internet cafe. So don't panic if we can't immediately reply to emails or Skype you! We'll catch up with you in a few days, with a bit of luck.

Moving on...

We're off bright and early tomorrow, setting out for Coffs Harbour. We're going to do it in two stages: hopefully we'll get north of Newcastle tomorrow, with a short stop to paddle in the Pacific on the way! Then the last part of the journey on Thursday. We've checked into a hotel (well, beachside resort, actually!) for Thursday and Friday nights because we don't have the mattresses yet, and we're not sure the electricity will be connected when we get to the house.

Fingers crossed that driving with a trailer and a full top-box goes OK! I've never driven with a trailer before... We may be out of contact for a few days (although I want to get a picture of the trailer on the blog ASAP so that you can laugh), but should be around over the weekend with an update.

Filling the trailer

This is a photo of Ella with the 'small cuddly toy' that her grandparents (i.e. Terry) presented her with when she arrived in Wagga! To say that she was delighted is something of an understatement... Michael and I are just glad that we've now got a trailer for the car!

We haven't over-stretched ourselves on this visit, but this afternoon we went to 'Big W' in the central shopping mall and stocked up with 'essentials' for Coffs Harbour. This included an iron, a kettle, a toaster, three lightweight duvets, accompanying sheets and pillow cases, pillows, glassware, various kitchen implements... to add to the donation of cutlery, other kitchen tools and crockery coming from Joan and Terry.

We've had to re-think a few things since we've discovered we can't hire furniture in the way that we thought. The first change is that we've booked ourselves into Opel Resort, 7kms north of Coffs Harbour, for Thursday and Friday nights because we're not sure whether we'll have electricity and telephone connected by the time that we arrive. We also have the small issue of what we're going to sleep on! Michael has had a waterbed for the last decade, which he loves and I have hated ever since I first tried to sleep on it! It's not intrinsically uncomfortable, it's just that I can feel Michael moving every time he turns over in the night and it makes for an unsettling night for me... The big advantage of it has been that it's heated, but in Coffs Harbour I don't think this is going to be a problem! Anyway, Michael thought he'd found a solution in that he heard of a 'twin mattress' system so that we'd have one bed with two waterbed mattresses in it, and hopefully I'd get a more restful night's sleep, but we couldn't get one delivered within a sensible period of time. We went to a bed shop in Wagga and happened to get a salesman who seemed to know what he was talking about, and basically he told Michael that posturally speaking he'd be better off with a conventional mattress, but one specially designed for chiropractic problems. Michael tried one and - I think to his surprise - found it comfortable, so we've ordered a particular Slumberland mattress that will arrive in about 10 days' time.

Meanwhile we hope that we'll be able to pick up from the shops two standard single mattresses and one double mattress, to cope with our immediate requirements. We need a single mattress for the bedframe Dad gave us, that's currently in the sea container. Patrick's double bed is coming over in the container too, but he'll have to make do with a single mattress for the next few weeks until the container arrives. That single mattress and the double one Michael and I will be using will doubtless be very useful in the future given that all of my brother- and sisters-in-law have at least two children if not four, and they're all threatening to come and stay!

So that's some shopping and the beds sorted out. Michael's also managed to arrange electricity, phone and internet accounts that should all be available to us relatively quickly. We'll have to organise other furniture when we get up there. Terry's recommended the St Vincent de Paul shops as a source of cheap second-hand furniture, and there's no doubt he's found some absolute bargains there, of a type that would certainly suit us for a few weeks. This might be a better - and cheaper - alternative to buying cheap new furniture, and we can always give it back to the shop when we've finished with it!

New and improved

Ooh I've had an hour or so of fun today editing things on my blogs, and just so that you know (because you may not be able to see it unless you scroll down the screen) I have put a clock and a weather forecast on the right-hand side bar to show you the time and the weather in Coffs Harbour at the moment! Depending on the speed of your internet link the weather forecast may take a little time to load, but you'll be able to see obscene amounts of sunshine (I hope)... Once I've worked out how to do it I'll move it up the screen a bit so that you can see it more easily.

Shiny new Subaru

Behold, our new car! Registration is AM49FV, which of course has been translated to 'Australia made 49 foxy vixens', which I guess is as useful a mnemonic as any other...

It's a bit of a beast, really - slightly more chunky than our previous Saab, and a lot lighter on the steering... The top box was a) a brilliant idea, and b) a lifesaver, as we otherwise would not have been able to get all of our cases in the boot, despite it being an estate. The only downside is that HORRIBLE new car smell, which gives me a real headache and makes me feel sick...

We bought the car on-line, back in the UK, and had lots of fun trying to pay for it using our Westpac telephone banking facility. It turned out, after we'd got all the proceeds from the sale of our house in our Australian bank account, that we could only transfer over AU$5,000 at a time - not enough to pay for the darned thing in time for when we originally wanted to collect it, so it arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel a day (and several hours...) late.

In the end we were driving into the sunset all the way to Wagga, which was 500+ kilometers of squinting eyes and fatigue, but we got here in the end. I'm blogging from my parents-in-law's computer desk on a lovely hot, sunny day in Wagga! Michael had fun today adding to the car's machismo by buying a covered box trailer for it so that we can move furniture etc - pictures to follow when I've actually seen it.

Organising things...

We're leaving Sydney today, in theory, depending on whether our car arrives at the hotel this morning and whether we can arrange the insurance on it. We kind of forgot about sorting that out, but it should be relatively simple to get a cover note. We have been sorting all sorts of stuff out: Michael got his New South Wales driving licence, we went and talked to the Medicare about the equivalent of National Insurance, and Michael spoke to the phone and electricity companies about hooking up the utilities.

We also established that we can't possibly afford to rent furniture! Michael had found what looked like a great company on the internet that would rent us washing machine, fridge, sofas, tables, desks and beds by the week but it turns out that they would have charged us AU$2,000 for delivery and collection which kind of puts it all out of our league! So it's back to Plan A, which is to buy things like a sofa bed which Patrick can sleep on for a while, a single mattress for Ella that will eventually go on the single bed frame that's in the sea container, a cheap fridge and garden furniture to do us for eating on.

It's been fun in Sydney but I have to say that the Intercontinental Hotel has been a bit of a disappointment this time around - which has really disappointed us as it has been our home from home whenever we've been here over the last 7 years. Traditionally we've spent our last night at a restaurant called Aria, next to the Opera House and we asked the Concierge to book a table for us, but when we turned up it was clear no booking had been made and they were booked out. The front of house staff couldn't have been kinder: they booked us into the Kirketon in Darlinghurst (where they go to eat, apparently!) and found us a cab, and we had a great evening. But when we got back and I went to talk to the Duty Concierge, he couldn't give a stuff, which was a great shame. Oh well, never mind.

Gotta go as Michael needs to use the computer!

G'day folks

Yes, we've arrived in Australia. I am writing on Michael's computer on a desk in our suite (i.e. two rooms which means we can have Ella and Patrick in with us, albeit on the other side of the sliding doors, so don't choke!) overlooking Sydney Harbour. Hooray!

Our twelve hour 'long transit' in Dubai was longer than planned due to technical issues with the plane. In fact the flight took off three hours late, which pissed us off slightly as we were all in need of sleep and would have welcomed the extra three hours horizontal in the First Class Lounge! However, at least we weren't flying cattle class, which would have meant three hours sitting around at the departure gate without enough seats and less information... I did overhear one Aussie woman trying to tell the gate staff that Australians and New Zealanders were used to wide open spaces and shouldn't be coralled into small rooms in airports unlike 'you people', which made me wonder, how big does she think the Arabian desert is...? I suspect the people of Dubai, especially those in the airport dealing with endlessly stupid passengers, would have loved to be out in their very own wide open spaces...

But we got on the plane in the end and thoroughly enjoyed our experience of First Class, despite the histrionics of a couple who were asked if they would be kind enough to swap seats with one or more of us to facilitate Ella being placed next to Michael or me as opposed to infront of us. In the end we gave up, which did mean that my flight, in particular, seemed like a series of interruptions as Ella dropped by needing something else done... I probably sound a little peeved, but I'm not, just tired! Because her seat wasn't next to anyone (the First Class cabin was arranged as one window seat, two centre seats and then one window seat across the plane) she was a bit spooked and couldn't face sleeping on her fully reclining bed 'alone', so she had to come in with me (and later on, with Michael). I could completely see that the couple who kicked up a fuss at being asked to move would want to sit next to each other in the middle of the plane, given the seat configuration, but I didn't appreciate the moaning at the end of the flight about the fact that they couldn't see out of the windows because Ella and I (Ella strapped to my lap for take off and landing) were in the way! I guess I'm just used to passengers being more accommodating on other occasions when the seating plan has gone awry - most people would rather move out of the way of a small child in a confined space anyway. But maybe that's me being a parent-fascist and unaccepting of the idea that the world does not revolve around my children!

Ah well, never mind, the hell that was in the end closer to 40 hours of travelling is over and we are in Sydney. Ella's passed out on the bed, I've unpacked the 'hotel/Wagga' suitcase and toilet bags, the dirty laundry is piled up waiting for washing tomorrow (hard to believe how much laundry I did in Bristol and Frankfurt before we left), and we've all had a shower. Now we're waiting for Room Service to deliver some much-needed lunch before we venture out. Michael's mother said that yesterday it hit 35 degrees in Sydney - a record high temperature for the time of year - but I'm pleased to say that it's a more reasonable 23 degrees today with a breeze. Not sunny though - mostly low cloud.

Guten Tag, ich spreche kein Deutsch!

A picture of the Burgun/Bowens at the Opel-Zoo near Bad Soden, yesterday afternoon when it was sunny, before it started pouring with rain this morning!

Sorry to have been out of touch for a few days but unexpected technical hitches with computers and network connections mean that I haven't been able to get onto Blogger...


Never mind, we've been enjoying ourselves staying at my sister's house near Frankfurt on the way to Oz.

We haven't exactly been up to much: the stresses and strains of the last few weeks have caught up with us and we've all needed a bit of 'down' time and the chance to get some decent sleep, so we've just been pottering. Fiona took me into the Main-Taunus shopping centre and I was able to buy another suitcase! Packing for emigration is, as you can imagine, slightly different to packing for going on holiday but the situation has been complicated by the fact that our baggage allowances are different on different legs of the journey, so from Bristol to Frankfurt we had 22kg each and racked up £100 in excess baggage charges. From Frankfurt to Dubai/Dubai to Sydney we should be OK. Baack in Bristol I had thought I'd managed to keep the weight down in the cases but when it came to doing the final pack, bearing in mind that by that stage we were sleeping in two separate places, it turned out that there was a lot more to go into the cases at the last minute than I had planned for! So we ended up commandeering a computer bag and Patrick's very old green suitcase as 'overflow' and the new case replaces both of them and gives me enough room to even things out between the bags.

Here we are then, feeling slightly more used to the idea that we're moving. I had a complete wobble in the taxi after saying goodbye to Dad, but by the time I was in the air over Belgium my thoughts had turned forwards and I felt a bit better. It still is an absolutely HUGE thing to leave Dad, Fiona, all of our friends, our house, Bristol, England... but I have to believe - and I do believe - that we will make a good life in Australia.

Today feels a bit weird - there's lots of 'being nowhere' on the way to being in Australia. An aircraft is a funny sort of a non-place in which to spend so much time. Who knows, perhaps
this time I'll get to watch an in-flight movie!

Lots of words

Despite the looming departure date I spent most of yesterday at UWE being enrolled onto my PhD. I find myself slightly stunned, again, by the elevated language used by everyone else but me! One of the challenges I face really is eating a dictionary, I think - I ned to get my conversation about my own 'art practice' away from ums and ahs and pointing resolutely towards meaningful words such as 'chthonic', 'hermeneutics' and 'post-post-modern'. I may have to learn how to spell them too!

Anyway, the main benefit of the day was meeting the other doctoral candidates and hearing Iain Biggs reassure us that we shouldn't panic about the fact that we're not at doctoral levels of discourse yet (although some are significantly closer than others!), which would be absurd. I did feel relieved...

I'm ashamed to say that I sloped off from the sessions on how to use the library and the computers and paid a final visit to Spike Island, where I had a civil parting chat with Irena, and talked to Martyn - who very sweetly asked me to chose a print from his series about the Black Mountains. I chose a lovely image (I could have chosen any of the four) that I know Michael also likes, and Martyn says he'll post it to me in Oz when he knows we've arrived safely in Coffs Harbour.

Last night we went to Moreish again for dinner, and very nice it was too. Hannah, Leia and the other staff were so kind to Ella: they'd bought her a little magnetic travel Snakes and Ladders game, and had written us a card.

So there has been lots of sadness and longing over the last twelve hours. I don't think any of us can quite take in the fact that we are now arrived at the point when we are actually leaving. It's been a hypothetical concept for so long, and now it's happening. We've sold our house, sold our car, given away the contents of our food cupboards, fridge and freezer, and now all our stuff is either in a suitcase or a sea container. In a few hours' time Michael, Ella, Patrick and I will board a plane to Frankfurt - and that's it, we're ceasing to live in Blighty and are embarking on a new life far, far away... How strange. I've spent the last month or so wandering round thinking I'm really going to miss everything: friends, rain, autumn leaves, Bristol, our old house, everything... and I am. I've managed not to have a major wobble about it so far, but I think one is on the way shortly.

Blogging might be a bit hit-and-miss over the next week or so but I will catch up with you all when I can. Lots of love, Sara xxx

Homeless

Well that's it, we're now officially homeless. We completed the sale of our house yesterday and that's it! Of course, our purchasers finished things off nicely: Mr Idiot just marched in at about 3:30pm (which by then he was perfectly entitled to do as he had the keys and the money had been transferred), but literally all he had to say to Michael and Patrick was, 'So when are you going to be out?' No hello, no pleasantaries, just the arrogance and rudeness we've come to expect. So actually it is with some pleasure that Michael and I contemplate the sale: Idiot and his partner (well, actually, his partner since it is her name on the Land Registry deeds!) visited the house during the long vacation when you can actually park outside and there is no noise from the students as they are on holiday. They've come back from their holiday in the Maldives and will now find that it's the start of term: no chance of parking outside the house and lots of noise through the walls.

Also, I sort of feel as if the house is telling us it's time to move on: when we moved in five years ago we had to spend a fortune repairing things and improving things, and now it's clear that more work needs doing. Taking the coats off the coat pegs in the hall en masse rather than singly revealed damp patches in a rather strange place: on the dividing wall between the properties, which suggests to me that there may be a problem with damp coming down from the valley roof - lots of money to fix that one! And there's a sag developing on the floor of the rear bay window, which is supported at ground level by two steel posts - I wonder if they need replacing? Of course our purchasers didn't pay for a full survey so I guess they will just have to find out these things for themselves in the fullness of time. But it's clear to me that if we'd stayed we would have needed to spend a LOT of money again over the next five years, and then probably more money every five years after that - so I do feel that it is the right time for us to leave. I just haven't managed to walk past the house again yet.

Anyway, email and blog posting might be a bit hit-and-miss over the next little while since this is the week in which we are travelling, so although I will post again when I can, you might have to wait a few days! Talk to you soon...

Slippery Slope

I've been trying to find a good picture for this post and although I can see the shot in my mind, I can't find the damned photo. Anyway, it was a shot of a ski jumper standing at the top of the slope with their skiis just over the edge, and about to slip over, because that's how I feel at the moment!

I suppose that as the packers are here today you could say I've already jumped off the top and am gathering speed on the way down... We have certainly entered a week of madness and goodness only knows how it's going to work out. Three lads arrived with a lorry, stacks of boxes, and boxes of packing tape this morning, and they're all working in separate rooms. I think all our happy thoughts about being in the house for the next few days are going to go out of the window. For example, I assumed that they would start by boxing up all the small stuff (ornaments, books etc) from each room, and only going for the big stuff (sofas, chairs etc) later in the week. But in fact they work room by room and clear the lot - unless you can persuade them that there is a good case for leaving you something to sit on. So poor Ella is going to come back this afternoon and find that all of her books, toys and furniture has been removed from her bedroom apart from her bed, bedding, and if I'm lucky a couple of soft toys!

(small pause while I try to rescue soft toys... Oh no! BAD MUMMY! All the soft toys have been packed... Aaargh! Luckily, very nice Ben says he'll open a box for me.... phew!!! I've managed to rescue Piggy and Lady! OK, enough exclamation marks for now...)

It's enough to drive you mad. Our bed has become an island of 'stuff not to be packed' while the lads get into boxing up everything. Ella's room is almost done; Patrick's is next up; the lounge is a sea of boxes and one sofa left forlornly against the radiator - too small to accommodate all four of us so I'm guessing we'll be using it in shifts this evening... Perhaps Patrick should be going out to the pub with his mates after all! My study is being boxed up as I speak - hopefully I have kept the right paperwork regarding my PhD because there's no chance of getting in there and sorting anything else out now. Michael and I are taking refuge in the kitchen and crossing all available digits that we haven't completely mucked this up. Luckily I have a large pile of important documents squatting on the island unit at the moment, waiting to go in our hand luggage along with all our cash and (very little!) jewellery, none of which can be shipped. So I find myself in the slightly daft position of having to hand-carry pension documents regarding a pension that I can't collect for another twenty years, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.