"We're not buying chutney..."

I suppose it must be about time to panic now. Everyone else is. We're just about to shoot off to Spain for a few days, then we're back for a few days, then we'll be on a few planes for a few days and then we'll be in New Zealand. On paper, we're ready, which is to say everything's booked, we have (or can be fairly confident of soon having) all the certificates, med checks, shipping, insurance, flight, immigration, hotel and hire car documentation in order. Writing this instead of doing something more constructive is typical of me in these circumstances, ie in times of high stress, I invariably find something utterly frivolous to do. I've been pointlessly surfing things to do on a stopover in Los Angeles, for example (even though we're going via Singapore) seeing as the area's been in the news so much. An opportune time to visit, I'd say, spend some pocket money, maybe buy a couple of investment banks ;)

Mostly though, I've found it expedient to swot up on stuff worth checking out in NZ. A number of other visitors there seem to use the same stress-aversion technique I do, either that or they're incurable nerds. It's a very outdoorsy place and there's plenty of sport goes on beyond the obvious rugby-and-cricket. This is after all the home of falling off bridges for fun, having the world's first permanent bungee jumping site, and continues to innovate in the more bizarre thrill-seeking sports, including ball games. Cycling is very popular and seemingly infected with the "extreme sport" ethos; where I'd maybe have expected to see a decent turnout for a nice organised ride round a lake, they have 5,000 riders registered for a 160km mountainous course, with some of them putting their names down for the four-lap 640km "maxi-enduro"... there'll probably be someone doing it in a large inflatable ball, just to go one better.

Otherwise, the drawbacks are still sinking in. I mentioned the Ikea thing a few posts ago, and it seems we may have to re-think our TV strategy as well as home decor choices, as it turns out the BBC iPlayer feeds aren't (legally) available there. Nor are NZ offerings likely to provide much incentive to buy a TV, having as it does the worst TV programmes ever. Oz TV wasn't that much better when we were there, although ABC1's Gruen Transfer show recently came up with some pretty interesting ideas for alternative forms of entertainment for both countries. The spot was based on the news that NZ basically has no fully-funtional armed forces. I'm not sure if that's good news or bad, frankly. It should probably be filed under "drawbacks: inconsequential".

Of course we're almost deliriously excited about living there & Nik in particular is prone to sudden explosive bouts of uncontrollable frenzy at the thought. But we're already missing some things, mostly food-related, due to the double whammy of running down the pantry and the absolute ban on bringing food through NZ customs. They have highly-trained dogs at the airport, sniffing out not drugs or guns, but ham sandwiches. There's no shortage of poorly-trained dogs that could do the same job, but you have to admire their zeal. We certainly won't be risking it, even though the temptation to bring a year's supply of chorizo picante over from Spain is nigh-on overwhelming. There is hope for all things South East Asian of course and I don't mind leaving behind all my spices and stuff, but it really is almost impossible to force down a ploughman's without some Branston or something to help it on its way. Low-turnover condiments that won't get used up have been stricken from the shopping list until we get there. On the bright side, chutney looks big in NZ, so there's that at least to look forward to, and there's bound to be something resembling a cheese and pickle sarnie at the airport to ease the craving.

Right, I really must get on with the panicking... er, packing... next blog from Spain!

A blessing

As mentioned last post, my dad's not been at all well recently. He fell victim to an extremely nasty NHS superbug which no-one seemed to have heard of until it finally hit the news last week.

Clostridium dificile (aka C.diff) has been approaching epidemic proportions here for some time, largely because it wasn't getting properly reported or even diagnosed. The recorded survival rate among people Sid's age is frighteningly low, mostly as a result of secondary and tertiary complications. In his case, it destroyed the wall of his bowel; the resulting peritonitis caused respiratory and renal failure, which was bad enough, but it also meant 90% of his large intestine had to be removed. Colectomy is a seriously risky procedure but, like the C.diff, thanks to timely intervention and an amazing resilience he's shown in the past, he's survived it.

He spent five days out cold in the Critical Care Unit and took a further week to re-orient himself and recover to the point of being able to communicate normally, and although he's still too weak to stand on his own two feet he's just about able to feed himself and slowly understand what's happened to him. This week, as the tubes and drips have been gradually withdrawn, he's started to show definite progress. A major turning point was Wednesday's request for a sausage... a sure sign the old Sid is re-emerging at last :)

It's hard to believe this all started with a completely unrelated bladder complaint, which now seems utterly trivial in comparison, just over six weeks ago. That was yet another complication of an earlier surgery, the whole saga going back to his cancer treatment of several years ago. Just before the C.diff took him off the radar he told me some stuff about all this trauma which has changed my perception of medical intervention for ever. I'm still digesting it, maybe I'll write it down one day but I'm already way too far down the page today to start elaborating it now. Suffice to say, life's too short.

Sometimes things coincide in a very pertinent way, and it was during the darkest hours of this whole nightmare that our inchoate relocation efforts (finding shippers and insurers and airlines and accommodation and god knows what else) all started to deliver results. One after the other, things have just fallen into place with barely any effort at all. We're now all booked up onto a flight to Singapore on the 30th – just over 3 weeks time –arriving in Auckland around midnight on the 2nd October. We have a trip to Barcelona organised in the meantime, the shipping company have been very reassuring, we have a lovely place to stay when we get to NZ, it's all, suddenly, sorted.

A few weeks ago, Dad got to his feet as I made to leave the cubicle, grabbed my arm and said, "for god's sake, don't let all this crap get in the way". At the time, I didn't know what to say. As I traversed the warren of corridors back to the car park, I started to realise how lucky we were to be here for all this crap; we could so easily have still been stuck in Spain. I'm just thankful we were around for him and me Mam, who has been amazingly strong through even the most desperate times. We're not out of the woods yet and life is clearly going to be a bit of a struggle for a while after he gets home, but it's important that life goes on with the same determination as before, for everyone concerned. The resilience I've seen this last few weeks will always be an inspiration.

Get well soon, mate.

Poohsticks

That formal job offer was the one thing standing in the way of actually getting started on the NZ part of the adventure, and a couple of weeks ago I actually received one. I start work in Mayfield Primary School, East Tamaki, on 13th October – hurrah! That's not far away when you think about it... especially in the light of what we've done in terms of actual things...

Right then. Things we have done:

• Submitted application for NZQA assessment of my qualifications and Teacher Registration
• Submitted an Expression Of Interest (EOI) for the purpose of applying for a permanent residence visa
• Almost contracted a removal firm for bringing our stuff over from Spain and uniting it with our stuff here to all go together to NZ

Things we haven't done:

• Booked flights
• Actually contracted a removal firm for bringing our stuff over from Spain and uniting it with our stuff here to all go together to NZ
• Booked flights to go to Spain to oversee removal of stuff from Spain and see everyone
• Anything else

er.... for so long we've been itching to get going with the process and now that we can, the inactivity is quite frightening really. I have found out some about the class I will be teaching (y4/5, 23 mixed Maori and Pacific Islands kids, can't wait really) and keep talking to the kids, (well, Elly) about what will happen. I'm sure she thinks we're going to get off the plane and fall into a ready made home complete with hamsters, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, goats, chooks and a vegetable patch! I'm trying to let her down gently :-)

The main reason we haven't done much about the fact that we are leaving the country in 5/6 weeks is that Mik's dad, Sid has been very ill in hospital and we are all quite worried about him. Anne, Mik's mum is incredible, I admire her strength; in the light of what he has been through over these past few weeks, our plans seem rather less urgent than they did. We're kind of organised, I keep thinking we ought to be doing something but can think of nothing immediate that needs to be done; I guess I need the pressure of dates and deadlines to get motivated!

Also, we are in full swing of the summer holidays and we're mostly having a wonderful time, despite the weather! The end of July was lovely, nice and sunny, nice bit fluffy cloud to entertain the eye and warm. Let me tell you, it didn't last and it's been a very wet August. Why am I surprised? Shame it didn't last, it really was nice to plan and have a picnic/bbq/trip to the park etc. I'm beginning to run out of wet weather activities!! Fortunately, Oscar is falling in love with his train set and Elly is right into The Wizard of Oz, and the library and the Baltic are free and the swimming baths are sick of the sight of us! It's not being the drag I thought it would be which is lovely. The flat is only now starting to feel claustrophobic and a bit too cosy - we can all hear every word spoken and are feeling a bit squashed. We had a really nice few days away in Surrey at my aunt and uncle's house, Mum came down on the train with Benji and the weather was good! We went to a farm and up a hill, to the park and to see my cousin's new house. It was great to see them all and we had a really good time.

Elly goes back to school on 4th September, and even though it's only for a few weeks and includes a wee trip to Spain she will go back, I think it's important to keep some continuity in her life, if only until we turn her world upside down, but she is also craving kiddie company. She and Oscar are beginning to play together properly in bits and it's dead lovely to watch. My dream has us living in a house with a garden and some kids nearby for E&O to play with. Not much to ask?! As we hurtle almost motionless towards September, the best we can do is go with the flow.

Up in the air and all at sea; it's (almost) decision time

Poor old blog, all neglected cos of those durned kids... not true, actually: they're full on of course but the real spare-time sponge is this NZ thing: the trivial formalities of finding work, applying for visas, sussing out flights, negotiating shipping rates and looking for somewhere to live. In that order. Kind of transcending this list is the vexing question of what things to buy before we go vs how much we want to pay to ship it over there. Basically, there's no Ikea in NZ. No really, I'm not kidding, apparently they've been banned for fear of them becoming too popular. Although there are conflicting rumours that they may have acquired a site somewhere near Auckland, we're not prepared to leave a house full of cheap plastic novelties and matchstick furniture to chance.

Then there's the flight thing. Price aside, it should be a simple case of choosing your stop-over destination, right? Wrong. If you Go West with Air New Zealand, they allow you a staggering 46kg per person baggage allowance, making it a no-brainer for us clutter-magnet migrants. Except your stop over is in the United States of Antipathy, who are so close to disappearing up their own collective arses it's possibly the scariest place in the world to be right now. We've heard some real horror stories about US immigration, including the right of customs officials to confiscate your laptop/iPod/cellphone without warning or pretext. Sod that, then, we'll go east and travel light. Ha. If we max out hand luggage and hold allowance we can still take around 140 kilos. That's almost an entire Ikea trip :) It's a shame, I was looking forward to visiting San Francisco for some pioneering-spirit inspiration, but if it means a compulsory visit to the bottom inspectors they can stick it.

Shipping's another thing that could be a nightmare if we don't work it right. One plan would be to move all our stuff from here back to Spain, reunite it with all the other stuff in Maria's garage and ship everything, ourselves included, from there (we go on the plane, of course, not in the container...) (leastways, that's the plan...) – if not, we have to ship from here as well, which we could do by combining our stuff with Anne's, except she probably won't be out until next year and all our UK stuff constitutes our "everyday" chattels we really can't do without for that long. More than 4 weeks without me big wok and I start to go a bit funny. The long shot is to go with the nice firm who shipped our stuff here from Spain, who are mad keen to quote us for shipping everything else in Spain out here first before dispatching the whole lot to Kiwiland. They're more nuts than we are.

We've only seen the tip of the iceberg as far as finding a place to rent is concerned. It's not too expensive and there's plenty to see online, but no way do we want to pick something before we get there and see it in person. Methinks the trailerpark beckons! A bit of camping could be fun and make up for the cancelled summer trip round Europe; it's just a pity we probably won't be able to move early enough to ride the school holidays out & straight into the wild blue yonder. Even though it sometimes feels like we need months to prepare everything, we would go tomorrow if we could. The fact that we don't have a formal job offer yet is neither here nor there...

back to the future

Amazing, the summer holidays are upon us already. Scary how quickly it goes by, seems like an age ago that we moved over here and February and Spain are distant memories, even though we've both managed to get back for a brief visit. Or two! I was lucky enough to get to Mallorca for Kerry and André's wedding, with Elly and Mum, spending a very nice (if hot!) weekend in Palma. It's incredible how quickly you get unaccustomed to the heat. It was actually quite nice to get back to the cool British summer and be comfortable again! The wedding was lovely, very intimate and I felt privileged to be there. Kerry looked really pretty, all natural and relaxed, André, despite having suffered with a stomach bug for a couple of days prior to the wedding, scrubbed up well too! It was great to see the girls, they are so grown up. It's always quite shocking to see just how much everyone's kids change. But lovely at the same time:-)

More headspinners: I thought Elly finished school tomorrow, but it turns out she's there until Wednesday. I'm really disappointed, as I had loads of things planned but now they'll have to wait for a few more days. One of our big pieces of news this blog is that we've taken the difficult decision to not come to Spain this summer, or at least not this coming week as planned. We intended to drive over and catch the end of the Tour de France, then down to see everyone in Barcelona, finally back through Santander/ Bilbao and the west of France. When we did the sums, any way we looked at it, it all worked out waay too expensive. Especially in the light of another piece of important news; I had an interview this week with a recruitment agent for New Zealand and their feedback was very positive. They can get me work definitely for January and possibly for October, so Kiwi-land, here we come! We're very excited and have begun paperwork and reading up on the place in earnest. It looks very nice although there is a high crime rate and Auckland (where the jobs are) is more expensive than other main cities on the 2 islands. We're so happy to give it a go; if we decide it isn't for us, the automatic right of entry to Oz might be there sooner rather than later: the guy who interviewed me reckons you can get NZ citizenship really quickly; he's heard of people doing it in just two months. Fab!

So, tightening of belts it is, and a whole 6 week's hols in the UK to tighten them in. We really are terribly sad not to be coming over to see everyone, but there'll be another chance to can catch up with people when they come here, and we will be coming over at some point soon - there's still a garage full of our stuff to sort out in Spain and we need to get it to a shipping company, ready to send on when we have a permanent address. Meanwhile we plan to spend some time in Scotland, and visit relatives in Surrey, but there's loads of things to do around here to stop the kids (and us) getting bored: my list includes strawberry picking and visiting some stately homes to try to give the kids a bit of culture before they become total surf dudes!

The way things are going, that'll be sometime in the unfeasibly near future. I was just reading about driving in Kiwi land. Apart from driving on the left (like here) a six-monthly MOT test and giving way to oncoming vehicles turning right, you can take your test as soon as you turn 15. So in about the same time Mik and I have been together, Elly could be driving her own car. Now that's scary!

Oscar 2, Australia 0

How time flies. Seems like no time since Oscar's first birthday and now he's a big old 2-year-old, complete with hair and everything. This time I think he had some idea what it was all about; wrapping paper to tear up, candles to blow out, making sure he infuriatingly played all day with the world's cheapest plastic piano while pointedly ignoring his expensive new bike... we all had a fab time, far too many sweets and a happy-hour pizza at Valentinos. Which he refused to eat. He's gorgeous and infuriating and stubborn and hilarious and wonderfully, terribly TWO. I've posted some more pics on the Picasa page which explain it better, somehow. [edit: you might not need to click the Picasa link if you can see the slideshow to the right]>>

No explanation for the absence of blogs this last month. We're both busy as hell with work but that's not really it. I think it's the realisation that Australia is going to stay out of our reach, at least for now. It kind of took the wind out of our sails for a bit & got us scheming a scheme. The revised plan of inaction is to look at maybe getting to Oz a few years hence, maybe 2011 (which is so far off it sounds like something out of the Science Fantasy bargain bin at WHSmiths (hey, whaddyaknow?!) – but it's no biggie, really. We've been throwing around the idea of a slightly longer stay here as a worst-case thing but really, there had to be a better solution than just sitting here, waiting, hoping and getting rained on. So what we doing between now and then? Well, with a bit of luck we gonna be living in New Zealand!

It was all initiated over a bottle of reasonably-priced wine and a late-night perusal of the TES; it somewhere we always thought we might end up, maybe to retire or something equally mundane, but apparently they're crying out for primary teachers there now. There were a few keen-sounding ads from schools around Aukland, so we scraped the mould off Nik's CV and three weeks later and she has two UK interviews in the autumn, one direct with a school and another via an employment agency which more or less guaranteed her a place. Well, not in so many words, but the Big Deal is that the main barrier to getting into Oz was the work situation and with NZ this seems to be the easy bit. The hard part is trying to keep a lid on the excitement. Ok, thus far it's not much more than an idea, something (else) to aim for, but it really feels very different this time, much less pie-in-the-sky than Oz, and only 2 0r 3 hours flight from the place. You get Permanent Residency status after three years and (this is my favourite bit) NZ PR entitles you to Australian residency as well! Except NZ sounds so completely fab that we might just as easily end up staying...

I'm going to say no more for now except to promise more blogs than there have been of late, by virtue of keeping them short and therefore a sight more likely to get written. That might be a more sound basis for making plans, as well.

the long road home

Pic © Nik

It was so lovely to see everyone when the kids and I popped over for our overdue quick-fix visit. I'm sorry I missed some of you, though it makes me smile when I think of those I did manage to catch up with. We all had a great time staying at Virginia's. The kids were a little shy at first, and Elly refused to speak, which I found quite refreshing really :-) but by the Sunday she had got over that and was making up for lost time! Delights of the trip were (apart from seeing everyone, naturally) cafe con leche at the Casal, playing in the park, walking up to school, scoffing churros and smelling some of the familiar smells. It was great to be back 'home' and to see that although all the kids have grown up even more in the 4 months we've been away, most things are the same as ever. Lovely.

Getting back was a scream, and thank you so much Annabel for the lift to the airport. We checked in fine and got through security with Oscar screeching just the once (but quite forcefully) as I tried to put him back in the pushchair... "Pobre," said the Guardia, "esta enfadado consigo mismo. Tiene una lucha interna". I think he was being funny, but you never can tell... anyway, the little bugger's lucha interna tried to externalise itself when we were having lunch, as he picked that moment to begin in earnest the 'running away' phase. Thought it was great, didn't he, to run away out of my sight, in a busy airport, and make me go after him. I know the trick is to not give in to the invitation to play etc but in this vast public space, when one is already receiving looks for travelling alone with 2 small children, one has to show some measure of good parenting and not simply let one's offspring run wild. Fortunately, Elly was a model of decorum and restraint. Thank goodness for 1 good child! as she took great pleasure in reminding me :-)

Boarding was a riot. Almost literally. At Newcastle, the boarding procedure was all Very Well Explained and people did as they were asked and sat and waited their turn. Those of us with children, we were informed, would board after the 'speedy boarders', then all the rest of the passengers would be invited to queue. We dutifully took up our place behind the prickly speedy boarders (well we have paid extra you know) as they showed their passports and were directed... on to the bus. The poor prickly speedy boarders, standing pointedly (or should that be spikily?) at the front of the bus. I almost felt sorry for them, until I had to carry Oscar and the pushchair and a bag as well as shepherd Elly to the plane stairs. And then I didn't.

Barcelona, OTOH, was a total free-for-all! Easyjet woul' like t'nounce de depature... and there was an instant scrum! Thank god for dummies, it is Oscar's 'off' button and meant I could carry him and the pushchair etc etc without him screaming and struggling to be down and away, and we just sort of hovered next to the nervously heaving scrum waiting for the nice lady to let us in. Which she dutifully did.

On the plane, as you do, I sat Oscar on a seat and gave him an ensaimada to keep him quiet. On the journey there, I'd done something similar (as you do...) and we ended up with the whole row of three to ourselves – bliss – so I figured it might work on the return trip. Only it didn't, and when the poor man who came up to the back ended up with Oggis' crumby seat, I did feel bad. But then the air hostess found him a place next to his son and we ended up with all 3 seats after all, hurrah!

Getting back was good too, I had work straight away and we got bunk beds off Uncle eBay for the kids – yay! – bedtime is now peaceful and sleep-oriented, rather than shouty and filled with bed-sharing games. Elly is more than excited, and keeps going up there to play. Fab. But all the exertion of that week seems to have energised me, and I've decided to finally take some positive action as regards Getting Fit. The lovely Ian has loaned me the use of is daughter's bike (thanks Chessie!) It's fab and today Mik and I made use of another Sunday morning sans kids and went out to play. He, of course, is delighted, even though in the 2 hours we were out, whilst I panted and heaved and sweated and sneezed hayfever sneezes he didn't get out of breath nor so much as break into a sweat... ho hum. I have a long way to go both metaphorically and literally, but the weather is so nice, and despite the strain involved, it was really good fun. I really don't feel too bad at pulling over to let some people on foot overtake me, or about the 65- year old gentleman cyclist who beat me going downhill, especially when we totted up we'd done some 20km. I only had to get off once, up a rather steep incline and sort of managed to almost gracefully fall off the bike when I changed gear too quickly, making the chain come off. Compared to the last time I was on a bike – 6 years ago when Mik thought it would be a good idea to take me mountain biking round the St Pere riera and I fell off but didn't let go and landed on my face, putting my tooth through my lip and friction-burning the entire right side of my face off – it was reletively incident-free. I remember my face swelled up so badly I looked deformed :-( I'm sure that was a factor in our being unable to get a mortgage for a tiny little flat we had seen in Vilanova! It was certainly haunting me today.

But it was great. I'm not looking forward to the pains in my legs tomorrow or the continuing saddle soreness, but I will go out on the bike again. Only, that is, on condition Mik promises not to take me across any loose surfaces and stops trying to invent ever-more-challenging rides. Last suggestion was to tow a week's shopping behind him in a supermarket trolley. Any more suggestions - you can keep them to yourself thanks!