Enjoying Aldinga Beach

We are enjoying the opportunity to look around Aldinga Beach, and getting to know some of the areas that we did not know existed.   The weather has been too cool to walk comfortably on the beach, and the strong winds seem to blow straight through us.  And we have had plenty of heavy rain, which has covered the hills and surrounding areas in a verdant green.   

Britain, and its Brexit problems, are now a distant problem.   I have been skimming newspaper articles and still sigh at the futility of the Brexit negotiations.    A Government in disarray, led by people who have neither the expertise nor the skills to get Britain out of its current mess.   But happily we no longer live there.   And our money has left too.   Not that we had a great amount, but still I guess every little bit helps.

And talking of money, we had an interesting telephone call with our British bank last week, which highlighted one of the traits that I never came to grips with, when I lived there.   The condescending tone of voice, displayed by some men in authority, when they believe you need to be put in your place.  

  When I rang to cancel our Rewards Card, due to not living in Britain and therefore not able to use any of the benefits, the call was forwarded to a man, obviously a senior employee at the bank.    First he outlined, in a condescending and officious tone of voice, the benefits that we would miss out on, if we cancelled the card.   

He then proceeded to tell me that if we cancelled the card we would have to pay a very high interest rate if we used the overdraft facilities, and should we wish to get another Reward Card, we would have to either earn a huge amount of money per year or have that amount of money invested in the bank.   Eh!   Never.   He also asked me to put the phone on speaker phone so that my husband could add to the chorus of 'I agree' after every stipulation.    From this distance it was all very funny.  What a farce.

I must point out though that we miss all our family, friends and neighbours in Britain, and Bobbi, the dog, and the beautiful woods in Joydens Wood.   Such lovely memories of a beautiful country.

But back to Aldinga Beach, where we will soon be living, in our new house.   At the moment we are staying with Darren for the week.   

First of all, on a relatively calm day, Darren sprayed all the chairs, just to make sure the local red back spider population had not moved in.   He found one little baby red back, sadly we had to get rid of it, before it grew into an adult one.

 Out for a walk, along the cliff top, on a wintry day.   Jay, Darren, Walter and me.

The bicycle point, with tyre pump, various tools and stand.   All that is needed for a cyclist to make quick repairs to the bicycle, when out for a bike ride.

 A beautiful place to visit, the park alongside Aldinga Scrub, which is a conservation park.  There is a fence running along the edge of the conservation park, with a ban on dogs and bicycles in the conservation park.  Everything is green at the moment, after so much rain.

 The park is lined on one side by large two storied houses, rather out of our price range, I think.   Brilliant views over Aldinga Scrub and the line of hills which surround he area.

 The sign, for Aldinga Scrub Conservation Park.    And yes it does look very scrubby, so lives up to its name, however the bush is important coastal growth, and important for the animals that live there.   I have been out of South Australia, for too long, and cannot name the different types of bush that grows in this area.   I need to get back into relearning about our local flora and fauna.

  An area has been set aside for filtering water from the storm water drains from the two housing areas abutting the area.   It has grown into a successful wetland, for the local birds.

 There are good paths throughout the wetlands, and a perfect place for a walk at the weekend.   Darren, Donna and Poppy walking along in front of me.

A beautiful stringy bark eucalyptus tree, standing out above the surrounding scrub.

 We looked over the fence, into Aldinga Scrub, and saw hundreds of kangaroos, resting or nibbling at the lush green grass.   The large male kangaroo scratching his chest, looked very threatening to me.  I was glad I was on the other side of the fence.   He ended up hopping away after a few minutes.  I am not sure I want to walk amongst these huge kangaroos, although Darren has assured me, they will not attack, preferring to hop away instead.   I just hope I don't get freaked out by the kangaroos like I did with the local foxes in Joydens Wood.

 The kangaroos must be having a feast at the moment with the luscious green grass growing at the time of year.

 A large group of kangaroos enjoying themselves amongst the reeds and grass.

Donna, Poppy and I went for a walk along the cliff top, on a windy day.   A lovely view over the sea, towards the hills in the background.   I never tire of this view.

We went up to the Victory Hotel for drinks and dinner in the bar.   Always guaranteed a view of the beautiful sunset.

 The best and friendliest hotel around the area.   Up on the hill with glorious views.   What more can one want.

 We all enjoyed our food, at the bar.   Our favourite meals, salt and pepper squid for me, hamburgers for the men, and schnitzels for Donna, Lucy and Jespa.

There was an ongoing pool game, which some people enjoyed, and lots of laughter all round. 

And back to the weather.   For those people who may not believe me, it is not all blue skies and sunshine here.    At Aldinga Beach, for the past two days, there have been strong winds and heavy rain, with an average temperature of 12 degrees.

My view from the bedroom window, where I am sitting on the bed, with a hot water bottle on my lap and a throw over that.   Not all wonderful weather, sadly.

We are looking forward to warmer days ahead, Spring is only a month away. 

All go for house and car

A very busy time, searching for a house and a car.   Probably not a good idea to jump straight into it, seeing as we were jet lagged, but it needed to be done.   Grit the teeth and get searching.   Mind you Walter had researched thoroughly during the past six months, via the internet, so we had a pretty good idea where we wanted to buy a house.

The main criteria, other than being in the southern vales, was for a reasonable flat area around the house, plenty of space, and good access to medical centres and a shopping centre.   We were also restricted by price somewhat, as we could not afford the western suburbs of Adelaide itself.   And I forgot to say, we would like to be close to the beach.  We were not committed to commuting to jobs in Adelaide either.

Aldinga Beach came up as the ideal area, time and time again.   Close to the beach,    A flat area, surrounded by hills.    Easy to cycle and walk around.   Good cycle paths and footpaths.   Wide streets, and plenty of space.   Not forgetting the number of medical centres, dentists and other support services, plus two supermarkets, a lovely village not far away, and an Aldi within a cycle ride away.    And house prices were reasonable.

A couple of the houses we looked at ten days ago were pretty woeful, and certainly did not match the description advertised online.    It is very annoying when the agents use photographs taken from a previous sale of the house.

So here we are, having signed the final contract today on a house at 15 Dolphin Boulevard, Aldinga Beach, sold through Harcourts.   My apologies as I do not have the skills to put the link onto this blog.

The house is fairly large, with a large lounge, large kitchen dining area, plus four bedrooms and two bathrooms.  It also has a very large back garden, paved mostly, a huge undercover patio area, a large outdoor kitchen, a gazebo and a swimming pool.   Walter was not so happy with the swimming pool, but I have volunteered to take responsibility for it, together with the help of the grandchildren.  Famous last words, Walter no doubt thinks to himself.

And there is space, and more space, which we had at Ferndell Avenue, and were certainly looking for here.    

 The compromise has been the address, Dolphin Boulevard, which sounds like something from an American soap opera, and the front has a fountain in front, Venus I think, plus a dolphin shape above the front door.    These little extras may have to go, although it is amazing how one becomes used to them.

Yesterday we collected our car, a 2019 model Kia Optima.   A demo which has 1400 kilometres on the clock.   So not entirely brand new but certainly a few dollars off the selling price.    Although we will miss our Skoda, this car is a good compromise.

Interestingly when we went to collect it, it had a large red bow on the bonnet.   Although it was in the showroom, the car salesman insisted that we take it outside in order to take a photograph of it.   Too sunny and too much glare he said.    It was only when I looked at the photograph later on that I realised why he wanted to take it outside first.   The car was conveniently parked in front of the sign 'Kia Motors Stillwell'.   Very funny.

So we are now driving a lovely car around, and looking forward to moving into our new house on the 9th August, which will be a month after we put the initial offer into the house.   

It all happens so quickly here.

Australia - and jet lag

At long last I feel free of jet lag.      No more feeling drugged, half asleep, headachy and unbalanced.    And unable to sleep properly during the night.    

How do people manage when they have to work after travelling long haul by plane. Yet people do it.   Flying Business Class, is the answer people will say.    But we were upgraded to Business Class.   Although we slept on the plane, and did not feel tired during the first day, but within fourteen hours jet lag had set in.   Oh well the joy of travelling.

We left Britain, during hot and sunny weather.   Glorious weather.   And it continues too.   Always the way when one leaves a country, especially a country that often has an overload of grey, rainy weather.

Our view from the airport lounge.   Not a fantastic view, but with plenty of activity to watch.   However the football was also being played on the television, so much more interesting.   However, we did not see the end of the game, due to boarding the plane, and had to wait until we arrived in Hong Kong to find out the score.    And England won, and straight into the quarter finals of the World Cup.    And now they are in the semi finals.   I have not really caught up at all.

 We decided to fly Premium Economy, a little luxury, without spending all our life savings.    And it is a reasonable compromise as there are less people jammed into the cabin, and the seats are larger and with thicker padding,   They also recline back further and it is possible to sleep.     However, there is a design flaw in them, in that the arm rests are fixed, which makes it extremely difficult to get out when the seats in front are reclined fully.   No sliding over to the aisle seat before comfortably standing up in the aisle. 

Walter had Mr Arrogant in front of him.   All fluffy haired and stubbly beard.   Probably from Sydney.  My apologies if anyone lives in Sydney.  Definitely not a polite British person.   The man ignored the airline staff and reclined his seat during takeoff and meals, not fully, just enough to make it difficult for the person sitting behind him.   He also complained when I tried to get out of my seat (twice) even though I made sure I did not touch the back of his chair.  Despite Mr Arrogant it was a very comfortable flight from Heathrow to Hong Kong.

The flight path went via the edge of Russia.   A sneak view out of the window at the light filled northern horizon.

The approach to the airport in Hong Kong, is a trifle scary, to be sure, with the mountainous terrain, and rain clouds.   So pleased there are excellent navigation systems.   We were here for only 1 1/4 hours, just enough time to rush to the next boarding gate.

It was when we lined up at the boarding gate we found out we had been upgraded to Business Class, together with a few other passengers.   The plane to Adelaide had been changed and there was not a Premium Class cabin on board.    What a pleasant surprise.

I was certainly a very happy bunny, in my little cubicle.

And the food, beautifully presented on white plates.   No plastic cups.   And the linen was white and starched.    We felt spoilt.   But the best part was changing the seat into a very long bed. Pure bliss.   And we slept well.  No Mr Arrogant to annoy us here either. 

Walter enjoying his steak.

Setting foot on Australian soil?  All a bit dreamlike actually, especially at 5 am. And very quick through customs and immigration.    It was fantastic to see Donna and Lucy standing there, on the other side of the doors.   So lovely to be with them again.

Walter standing in front of Donna and Patrick's house.    A courtyard home, practically new, and so luxurious. 

We have been very busy, no rest for us, despite jet lag.   A new telephone for Walter, new telephone packages for us both, register for Medicare cards, reinstate tax file numbers and viewing houses.

On the second day we caught the tram into Adelaide, after we had walked for an hour trying to find the nearest tram station.    A sunny morning thank goodness.

We have had plenty of grey weather.   Almost like being back in the UK.  Winter time here with palm trees. 

But this afternoon, blue skies and sunshine again.   Love it.

We went for a walk with Donna and Poppy.    Such a friendly and affectionate dog.

It is great to be here, although a little dreamlike at first.   But now we can view the world through clear eyes and mind.    Looking forward to being settled again.

Goodbye Britain

It is time to say goodbye to the country that we have happily lived in for the past twenty six  years.   

We have sold our house, the touring caravan and our car and cancelled most things relating to our life in the UK.  We now have no keys either.   A very strange feeling. Our pensions will be sent to Australia, the taxation department has been notified although we still have to completely finalise tax arrangements.   Amazingly all discussions with pension departments, three for me and one for Walter, and the taxation department went very well.   Lets see if we find the same efficiency when we arrive in Australia, as we will be applying for our Medicare cards and reactivating our tax file numbers as soon as we get to Adelaide.  

  

We have said our goodbyes to all our friends here, although we hope that some people will visit us in Adelaide.   Of course there is a chance to catch up when we return for a holiday next year.   But we no longer live here, and it is a huge wrench to leave an area that we know so well, and especially when it comes to people we have known for such a long time.   Thank goodness for social media and emails, which makes keeping in touch so much easier.   No writing letters by hand, which sadly means losing touch with many people.

We have been very fortunate to be able to stay with Emma, Steve, Jackson and Isabel in their rented house in Orpington, a house belonging to the Church of England. It is called Church House and is a huge eight roomed house. It had previously been rented out to a charity, and before that the curates lived here.   Such a spacious house, set on the top of a hill, and surrounded by a very large garden and with the church hall, church, vicarage and large carpark to the left of the house.    

 The photo below looks down at the overgrown part of the garden, where there was once a small patio.  Now it is home to badgers who live under the plastic table, the corner can be seen in the photograph.   The badgers come out at night, but one has to be very quiet in order to see them.

 The back lawn, so lovely and shady during this very warm weather.   The grass has turned brown, which saves on mowing time.

 The side view of the house, the driveway beside it leads to the carpark.

 A view of St Barnabas Church, and hall , with our car in the carpark.    Not a busy time.

 The huge lawn, with a backdrop of trees and shrubs, at the back of the carpark.   Altogether a delightful place.    There are plenty of foxes in the shrubs.

Jackson celebrated his 16th birthday two weeks ago.   A very special and exciting time.

His birthday cake, consisted off his favourite biscuits and small cakes, with a special effects candle in the centre of the tray.   When lit, the candle briefly gave a loud whoosh and blew small pieces of coloured paper everywhere.   It was fun, for all its briefness.

Kathy, Karen and me about to have breakfast on our last walk together.    Very dear friends.

Last weekend Steve's church held their fete in the back garden of the vicar's house.    It was all very English, with cakes, and cream teas and small stalls.   Although quite a hot day all went very well.

The fete had an Australian theme, in recognition of Steve moving to that country soon.   He was also presented with an 'Australian hat'.    Someone had made lamingtons to mark the occasion.

 Steve's church, Holy Trinity Church.    A very old church, not sure of its age though.

Another church spire, in St Mary Cray, taken on a walk one day.

 There are plenty of wooded areas around Orpington and it has been lovely to discover them.    The park in the photograph below, which we walked with Jackson, runs behind the buildings and shops at the Nugent Centre.

Jackson, Steve and Walter on a walk in Hoblingwell Wood and Recreation Centre.   These woods lead to Scadbury Park and the huge wooded area in Chistlehurst.

And now we are sitting in the lounge at Terminal 2, Heathrow Airport, looking out at vehicles mostly, but there is a plane sitting in front of us.

 Walter looking very comfortable in the photograph below.   Our last chance to use these airport lounges as we are cancelling our Black Card as soon as we get to Adelaide.   We will no longer need the use the benefits, which we pay dearly for, of this card. 

It is a very strange feeling to be sitting here, in the airport, on our last afternoon in Britain. An unreal feeling.   It is almost as if we are going on another holiday, and we are I guess.   A very long holiday.

And the last aside.  We are hoping to escape the worst of Britain leaving the European Union.   However as a proportion of our income will still come from here, we will be always linked to the country and be affected by the final outcome of future negotiations with the European Union.   Troubled times ahead.

Roll on Australia.