Monday, April 28, 2003
Because today was an indoor wet playtime I got lots of things done which I wouldn't have had the sun been shining.
I completed the Visa application form & that goes by special delivery tomorrow am to a courier firm, another £100 gone.
I also cancelled my subscription to my neddy book club as they told me they don't deliver overseas. It's a shame because the standard of books has been very good. They charged me £25 to cancel but then told me I could re-join when I return (oh-that's ok then)
I filled in all the paperwork which authorises the police to look at my bank records to trace the TPB's who stole my purse.
I sent a letter to R(ural) E(xchange) NZ saying I accept the terms & conditions of my employment ie. that I won't do drunk or drugs to excess(?) & won't have intercourse with a minor (I prefer farmers anyway)
I sent a letter to my solicitors who are handling my bike accident claim from Aug 2000 (still) to let them know where I am going, in the vague hope that they may one day settle the sorry saga & send me a Gregory.
We then settled down for a lovely, healthy meal, courtesy of Di & council viewing courtesy of "I'm a celebrity - get me out of here" How feeble was John Fashanu with the creepy-crawlies ? I am hoping Sian Thomas goes first, anyone who smiles that much can't be trusted.
In the background as I type is a documentary about kids with Tourette's syndrome. It sounds perfectly normal behaviour to me, but then I have worked in a police station for the last 14 years. The best line from the programme so far was a bloke who said "I could never be the one that hid when we played Hide & Seek" :)
I gave the cats 2 catnip mice tonight. 1 brightly coloured one called "Rainbow Mouse" & 1 exotic feathered chap, called "Rainbow Mouse" (nothing if not original in our house ...) To say they were well-received would be an understatement, the pair of them have been playing non-stop for the last 2 hours. Tallulah has mastered walking on her hind-legs & shaking Rainbow Mouse, looking like a very ferocious but tiny Godzilla !
Hope you guys @ VK are having a quiet night-duty.
Night.
Cx
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Morning. (or afternoon to be more accurate) Sunday 27 Apr 13:05
That’s what happens when you spend the morning in bed listening to the Archers omnibus & Desert Island Discs. Now pleasantly comfortable, ensconced in front of the pooter, in a quiet house with the soundtrack of Lord of the Rings on the CD, courtesy of the Big Guy. Speaking of whom, go to sleep – you are night duty for goodness sake.
Yesterday morning I got a call from Lindsay to say there was mail for me with IEPUK stamped on it (International Exchange Programme) he knows by know that any mail from them is V.IMPORTANT & to ring me & open it “NOW, NOW, NOW & READ IT TO ME” rather than forward it to me.
It was my application for my Visa & always assuming it comes back with no hitches they have marked down a working date of 12th May for me travel. For some reason it hit me really hard. I went immediately to Bookham to collect it then I sat in Henry trying to read the questions over & over. But it was impossible to make sense of it. You know when you have waited for some news for a long time & when it finally comes you can’t get your optic nerve to slow down long enough to focus & read ? That’s how it was yesterday.
Up until yesterday it seemed like I couldn’t quite digest the fact that I was going. It seemed like tempting fate to think about it for any length of time. However, holding the visa application made it seem suddenly real. It showed my date of return for the UK as 11th May 2004 & I thought …”That seems a long way off”
So this afternoon after going to buy more plastic boxes (bliss) & going to the garden centre (to surprise Di by doing some window boxes for the front of the house, don’t forget to say “ooh” when you arrive for the bash) I will apply myself to the form to get it off by courier tomorrow.
The paperwork I have to do now is
1. Visa application.
2. Insurance form to cover my stay (mention of cover for hi-jack worries me not a jot)
3. Open an NZ bank account (if I can do it from here)
4. Import certificate for BM.
5. Decide what to do with Henry ? Either MOT him now with extra expense which I could do without & carry on the insurance so that he remains roadworthy or take him off the road for the year & risk him being manky when I return. If anyone knows of a garage space going unused for a year, let me know ?
6. Book a flight. Prices are encouragingly low at the mo, £529 to Christchurch as opposed to some £800 which Queenie paid, but then he travelled during the Americas Cup.
7. Change my driving license to an International one. This is easier than it sounds. I am told by IEPUK that you go to any AA shop & pay about £4 to get it done.
8. Write to everyone in England to tell them where I am going.
9. Decide upon a final date for the bbq. Please get your replies back to me pronto if you haven’t already. If you have, thank you.
Does this remind you of all the paperwork & running around you had to do during our week in Cyprus, Trudes ?
Had a very relaxing day yesterday, more golf. This time with Stuart at Pine Ridge in Frimley. He had managed to negotiate 9 holes free after last Friday when we played an incredibly slow 9 holes on a course which was engulfed in flames & smoke. I was really looking forward to it after the Society day & sure enough scored par on the 1st hole of the course. Stuart looked at me in disgust & said he wouldn’t have lent me the money when my purse got stolen had he known I was going to spend it on golf lessons.
Good news on the purse theft front, the Nationwide have come up trumps & credited my account with all the stolen money even before they have commenced their investigation. It would be a real result if the Halifax did likewise.
Back to golf & I thought that for only the 2nd time ever I was to come close to beating Stuart. However, he unleashed a previously unrealised talent for being able to drive the ball a comfortable 230yds of just about every tee. More distressingly for me, they were going STRAIGHT off the tee.
I can usually rely on the fact that Stuart spends a large proportion impersonating David Bellamy by wummaging awound in the undergrowth hunting for his drives. Not so yesterday, he ended up beating me by a clear 20 points. Still, I played well, scoring 2 pars, which I have never done in 1 game before & finishing 1 over my score on the Society day.
Then back to Leith Hill for a huge dinner, a hug with the mogs & Barley, a roaring fire & about 10 minutes worth of Lord of the Rings on video before I fell asleep. I think I actually saw more of the film than 10 minutes but it was certainly shorter & missing the odd fight scene from what I can recollect when I saw it at the cinema.
It was very strange to look at the scenery & realise I would be seeing it first hand in a few weeks. I can vividly remember the impact the film & it’s scenery had on me when I saw it at Christmas 2002. I said then that I would love to see New Zealand, purely on the strength of the film. Guess what ? I only went an’ bleedin’ did it !
Funny incident during the drive home last night. Came upon what looked like an accident in Wootton (pretty village nr Dorking) Was flagged down by a distressed looking man in the road standing next to another man who was sprawling in the road & had apparently been knocked off his pedal-cycle. I hesitated about stopping, as you do when you are nasty & cynical & have worked for the police. When I did stop, it was a safe distance away & I wound down my window & asked if everything was ok ? The standing bloke was completely incoherent & just smiled in a slightly soft-focus way. The chap who was on the road entangled in his bike had a very important question for me. “God bless you for stoppin’ darlin’. Could you tell us where the nearest pub is ?” Classic.
Made me giggle all the way home.
Right, off to the promised land now aka B & Q.
Have a good Sunday.
Carol x
That’s what happens when you spend the morning in bed listening to the Archers omnibus & Desert Island Discs. Now pleasantly comfortable, ensconced in front of the pooter, in a quiet house with the soundtrack of Lord of the Rings on the CD, courtesy of the Big Guy. Speaking of whom, go to sleep – you are night duty for goodness sake.
Yesterday morning I got a call from Lindsay to say there was mail for me with IEPUK stamped on it (International Exchange Programme) he knows by know that any mail from them is V.IMPORTANT & to ring me & open it “NOW, NOW, NOW & READ IT TO ME” rather than forward it to me.
It was my application for my Visa & always assuming it comes back with no hitches they have marked down a working date of 12th May for me travel. For some reason it hit me really hard. I went immediately to Bookham to collect it then I sat in Henry trying to read the questions over & over. But it was impossible to make sense of it. You know when you have waited for some news for a long time & when it finally comes you can’t get your optic nerve to slow down long enough to focus & read ? That’s how it was yesterday.
Up until yesterday it seemed like I couldn’t quite digest the fact that I was going. It seemed like tempting fate to think about it for any length of time. However, holding the visa application made it seem suddenly real. It showed my date of return for the UK as 11th May 2004 & I thought …”That seems a long way off”
So this afternoon after going to buy more plastic boxes (bliss) & going to the garden centre (to surprise Di by doing some window boxes for the front of the house, don’t forget to say “ooh” when you arrive for the bash) I will apply myself to the form to get it off by courier tomorrow.
The paperwork I have to do now is
1. Visa application.
2. Insurance form to cover my stay (mention of cover for hi-jack worries me not a jot)
3. Open an NZ bank account (if I can do it from here)
4. Import certificate for BM.
5. Decide what to do with Henry ? Either MOT him now with extra expense which I could do without & carry on the insurance so that he remains roadworthy or take him off the road for the year & risk him being manky when I return. If anyone knows of a garage space going unused for a year, let me know ?
6. Book a flight. Prices are encouragingly low at the mo, £529 to Christchurch as opposed to some £800 which Queenie paid, but then he travelled during the Americas Cup.
7. Change my driving license to an International one. This is easier than it sounds. I am told by IEPUK that you go to any AA shop & pay about £4 to get it done.
8. Write to everyone in England to tell them where I am going.
9. Decide upon a final date for the bbq. Please get your replies back to me pronto if you haven’t already. If you have, thank you.
Does this remind you of all the paperwork & running around you had to do during our week in Cyprus, Trudes ?
Had a very relaxing day yesterday, more golf. This time with Stuart at Pine Ridge in Frimley. He had managed to negotiate 9 holes free after last Friday when we played an incredibly slow 9 holes on a course which was engulfed in flames & smoke. I was really looking forward to it after the Society day & sure enough scored par on the 1st hole of the course. Stuart looked at me in disgust & said he wouldn’t have lent me the money when my purse got stolen had he known I was going to spend it on golf lessons.
Good news on the purse theft front, the Nationwide have come up trumps & credited my account with all the stolen money even before they have commenced their investigation. It would be a real result if the Halifax did likewise.
Back to golf & I thought that for only the 2nd time ever I was to come close to beating Stuart. However, he unleashed a previously unrealised talent for being able to drive the ball a comfortable 230yds of just about every tee. More distressingly for me, they were going STRAIGHT off the tee.
I can usually rely on the fact that Stuart spends a large proportion impersonating David Bellamy by wummaging awound in the undergrowth hunting for his drives. Not so yesterday, he ended up beating me by a clear 20 points. Still, I played well, scoring 2 pars, which I have never done in 1 game before & finishing 1 over my score on the Society day.
Then back to Leith Hill for a huge dinner, a hug with the mogs & Barley, a roaring fire & about 10 minutes worth of Lord of the Rings on video before I fell asleep. I think I actually saw more of the film than 10 minutes but it was certainly shorter & missing the odd fight scene from what I can recollect when I saw it at the cinema.
It was very strange to look at the scenery & realise I would be seeing it first hand in a few weeks. I can vividly remember the impact the film & it’s scenery had on me when I saw it at Christmas 2002. I said then that I would love to see New Zealand, purely on the strength of the film. Guess what ? I only went an’ bleedin’ did it !
Funny incident during the drive home last night. Came upon what looked like an accident in Wootton (pretty village nr Dorking) Was flagged down by a distressed looking man in the road standing next to another man who was sprawling in the road & had apparently been knocked off his pedal-cycle. I hesitated about stopping, as you do when you are nasty & cynical & have worked for the police. When I did stop, it was a safe distance away & I wound down my window & asked if everything was ok ? The standing bloke was completely incoherent & just smiled in a slightly soft-focus way. The chap who was on the road entangled in his bike had a very important question for me. “God bless you for stoppin’ darlin’. Could you tell us where the nearest pub is ?” Classic.
Made me giggle all the way home.
Right, off to the promised land now aka B & Q.
Have a good Sunday.
Carol x
Friday, April 25, 2003
Good morning all. Fri 25th April
No Blog entry yesterday because I spent the day playing golf & returned to find Di surgically attached to the pooter labouring over an application form.
The day was a society day organised by Trevor Turnbull and knowing how seriously these things are taken I cannot emphasise how worried I was.
The only upside was that my new-found life of leisure meant that I have had plenty of time for practice lately ! Remember the forest fires in Frimley during the hot spell last week ? Even an army helicopter instructing us to leave the course did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm. With very funny typical British priorities the golfers with flame licking round their ankles & choking on thick acrid smoke were heard to mutter “Vacate the course ? Not bleeding likely, I’ve paid 30 quid for this round”
We had been told to arrive for 9 or 9.30 at the latest so being ultra keen (& not wanting to shame ourselves) Andy, Kiaran & I had arranged to meet at 8 for some driving practice.
Imagine our dismay upon meeting Trevor to be told our tee-off time was 1050 !
Precious bed-time wasted !
Undeterred, we sallied forth to the practice area and practiced our driving, chipping & irons. Or should I say Kiaran & Andy did. I followed the time-honoured practice tradition of lining up numerous balls (supplied generously by TT) & smashing them to kingdom come with a driver. Jolly good fun. We decided that the warm-up should include bacon rolls too as we were due to play 27 holes.
The morning session consisted of the 4 of us playing a round of Texas scramble. The easiest way to describe this is that you all play your shots & use the best one each time to make progress. The upside is that you warm-up in a very relaxed manner, because you can always rely on Trevor (who happens to be very good) The downside is it doesn’t really prepare you for playing on your own. Because you are scoring pars & bogeys you think you could rival Tiger Woods & playing your own game in the afternoon comes as a bit of a reality check.
We came last in the Texas scramble which was a shame but still enjoyable.
After a huge full English breakfast we went into the lunch-time session.
For this we played a 3-ball, losing Trevor. He made it quite clear to us as he left us that he wanted no Lambeth Accountancy (cheating) no abuse & no behaviour which would cause him, as the organiser, embarrassment. As if. His worried demeanour did not improve when Kiaran’s parting words were “You can trust me – like a brother” Unfortunately, we had spent the lunchtime discussing Trevor’s brother and how they used to fight like cat & dog as kids.
I won’t bore you with a blow-by-blow account of the afternoon 18 (except you, Stuart) suffice to say we all played some great shots & some complete duffers. Honourable mention goes to Andy for some of the longest, most impressive drives. We kept our promise to Trevor on the Lambeth Accountancy & we managed to behave professionally until the 13th.
At this stage, feeling a little tired & giddy in the heat we thought it fun to abuse each other during our back-swings. The abuse took the form of threats in Cockney rhyming slang. Very funny & similar to playing golf with the cast of EastEnders. Strangely, nobody’s game suffered for it.
We finished the 18th & headed in for dinner, speeches & prizes (still full of lunch)
The food & company were great & Trevor’s organisation of the day was much appreciated. Then we came onto fines. I had no idea of how rigorously they would be enforced. Kiaran & I were both fined for failing to bring smart attire for the evening. Our excuses ranged form “I didn’t read the invite until I parked this morning” to “ I have never been to a society do before” They got us nowhere & we were still fined.
The funniest were …
Failing to secure the handbrake on a golf-buggy, to the immediate danger of passers-by.
Driving a buggy over the green on the 8th.
Impersonating a teapot whilst haranguing other players about the state of the greens.
Onto prizes & stuff. I was very pleased to come away with best lady player. Not as impressive as it sounds given there were only 2 of us but never look a gift horse etc. Better still, I scored 30 points beating a goodly number of the chaps. Under pressure, I would admit to playing off 45 which is the maximum ladies handicap. I have been told by the club captain that I must play off 44 next time. By that time I will have been in NZ for a year playing weekly so I would be more than happy to play off 44 !
Of more personal pride is the fact that I took 10 off my personal best and came very close to beating the longest drive (ok I admit it – I was playing off the ladies tee !) A very good day all in all, the only disappointment being that I had my eye on one of the Thermos flasks which Trevor had bought for prizes. (I have a thing about Thermos flasks) I was, instead, presented with a large, crystal golf ball which Trevor dropped & almost broke as he presented it to me. One of the guests who I had never met before very kindly offered me his Thermos but my manners got the better of me & I declined.
I arrived home tired but happy shortly before 10pm & almost immediately collapsed into bed instead of having the long, hot soak I had promised myself. I don’t feel too bad today but would be interested to know how Andy is fairing. He was walking like a laden milkmaid & already complaining of stiffness.
One of the nice things about yesterday was catching up with people I haven’t seen for years. Job gossip being the way it is, ensured almost everyone knew about my impending trip. To a person they were pleased, supportive & enthusiastic with many of them repeating what is almost becoming a mantra “You won’t come back, you know” Good job I am thick-skinned or I could start to take it as a hint.
Right, off for that bath now & hopefully do some neddy-pestering today.
Busy, busy, busy.
Carol x
Some quick notes before turning in for the night.
No - I don't understand why every word with an apostrophe has now appeared with a question mark either ?
Have tried changing & can't. How did we manage without computers ?
Rode 3 neddies today, Hannah, Woody & the gorgeous CB. It’s going to be hard explaining to June that I am taking him with me to NZ. He is obviously meant to be my horse, why else would he have my initials ? Met up with Linda for an hour-long pootle around the Heath. Plenty of time for a chinwag. We discussed the pros & cons of the Atkins diet & decided any diet that doesn’t let you eat spuds isn’t worth house-space ! Snippit has had a haircut & looks adorable.
I then spent peaceful hour thinking about things whilst cleaning 5 sets of tack.
I have decided the following ...
I want to take up yoga or Pilates whilst I am away. Partly to ride better & partly to improve my strength & mobility.
I am also badly bitten by the golfing bug at the moment. Now that horses will be my job rather than my hobby I figure I will be able to devote more time to golf. I hope to play weekly in NZ & also take lessons. My ultimate aim is to reduce my handicap to 30. I have no idea if it’s possible but it will be a good target.
Just think – whilst I am about to go to bed, my erstwhile colleagues are settling down to a straight 63 hour week of night-duty. Poor sods. Hope it’s quiet for you guys. At least if it’s raining the drunken low-life who frequent The Works on a Friday night will get their punchy little butts in taxis rather than littering the streets.
Speaking of rain, it surprised me this evening to appreciate seeing rain on the windscreen of the car. After such an incredibly dry April it occurred to me that I will miss rain.
Carol x
No Blog entry yesterday because I spent the day playing golf & returned to find Di surgically attached to the pooter labouring over an application form.
The day was a society day organised by Trevor Turnbull and knowing how seriously these things are taken I cannot emphasise how worried I was.
The only upside was that my new-found life of leisure meant that I have had plenty of time for practice lately ! Remember the forest fires in Frimley during the hot spell last week ? Even an army helicopter instructing us to leave the course did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm. With very funny typical British priorities the golfers with flame licking round their ankles & choking on thick acrid smoke were heard to mutter “Vacate the course ? Not bleeding likely, I’ve paid 30 quid for this round”
We had been told to arrive for 9 or 9.30 at the latest so being ultra keen (& not wanting to shame ourselves) Andy, Kiaran & I had arranged to meet at 8 for some driving practice.
Imagine our dismay upon meeting Trevor to be told our tee-off time was 1050 !
Precious bed-time wasted !
Undeterred, we sallied forth to the practice area and practiced our driving, chipping & irons. Or should I say Kiaran & Andy did. I followed the time-honoured practice tradition of lining up numerous balls (supplied generously by TT) & smashing them to kingdom come with a driver. Jolly good fun. We decided that the warm-up should include bacon rolls too as we were due to play 27 holes.
The morning session consisted of the 4 of us playing a round of Texas scramble. The easiest way to describe this is that you all play your shots & use the best one each time to make progress. The upside is that you warm-up in a very relaxed manner, because you can always rely on Trevor (who happens to be very good) The downside is it doesn’t really prepare you for playing on your own. Because you are scoring pars & bogeys you think you could rival Tiger Woods & playing your own game in the afternoon comes as a bit of a reality check.
We came last in the Texas scramble which was a shame but still enjoyable.
After a huge full English breakfast we went into the lunch-time session.
For this we played a 3-ball, losing Trevor. He made it quite clear to us as he left us that he wanted no Lambeth Accountancy (cheating) no abuse & no behaviour which would cause him, as the organiser, embarrassment. As if. His worried demeanour did not improve when Kiaran’s parting words were “You can trust me – like a brother” Unfortunately, we had spent the lunchtime discussing Trevor’s brother and how they used to fight like cat & dog as kids.
I won’t bore you with a blow-by-blow account of the afternoon 18 (except you, Stuart) suffice to say we all played some great shots & some complete duffers. Honourable mention goes to Andy for some of the longest, most impressive drives. We kept our promise to Trevor on the Lambeth Accountancy & we managed to behave professionally until the 13th.
At this stage, feeling a little tired & giddy in the heat we thought it fun to abuse each other during our back-swings. The abuse took the form of threats in Cockney rhyming slang. Very funny & similar to playing golf with the cast of EastEnders. Strangely, nobody’s game suffered for it.
We finished the 18th & headed in for dinner, speeches & prizes (still full of lunch)
The food & company were great & Trevor’s organisation of the day was much appreciated. Then we came onto fines. I had no idea of how rigorously they would be enforced. Kiaran & I were both fined for failing to bring smart attire for the evening. Our excuses ranged form “I didn’t read the invite until I parked this morning” to “ I have never been to a society do before” They got us nowhere & we were still fined.
The funniest were …
Failing to secure the handbrake on a golf-buggy, to the immediate danger of passers-by.
Driving a buggy over the green on the 8th.
Impersonating a teapot whilst haranguing other players about the state of the greens.
Onto prizes & stuff. I was very pleased to come away with best lady player. Not as impressive as it sounds given there were only 2 of us but never look a gift horse etc. Better still, I scored 30 points beating a goodly number of the chaps. Under pressure, I would admit to playing off 45 which is the maximum ladies handicap. I have been told by the club captain that I must play off 44 next time. By that time I will have been in NZ for a year playing weekly so I would be more than happy to play off 44 !
Of more personal pride is the fact that I took 10 off my personal best and came very close to beating the longest drive (ok I admit it – I was playing off the ladies tee !) A very good day all in all, the only disappointment being that I had my eye on one of the Thermos flasks which Trevor had bought for prizes. (I have a thing about Thermos flasks) I was, instead, presented with a large, crystal golf ball which Trevor dropped & almost broke as he presented it to me. One of the guests who I had never met before very kindly offered me his Thermos but my manners got the better of me & I declined.
I arrived home tired but happy shortly before 10pm & almost immediately collapsed into bed instead of having the long, hot soak I had promised myself. I don’t feel too bad today but would be interested to know how Andy is fairing. He was walking like a laden milkmaid & already complaining of stiffness.
One of the nice things about yesterday was catching up with people I haven’t seen for years. Job gossip being the way it is, ensured almost everyone knew about my impending trip. To a person they were pleased, supportive & enthusiastic with many of them repeating what is almost becoming a mantra “You won’t come back, you know” Good job I am thick-skinned or I could start to take it as a hint.
Right, off for that bath now & hopefully do some neddy-pestering today.
Busy, busy, busy.
Carol x
Some quick notes before turning in for the night.
No - I don't understand why every word with an apostrophe has now appeared with a question mark either ?
Have tried changing & can't. How did we manage without computers ?
Rode 3 neddies today, Hannah, Woody & the gorgeous CB. It’s going to be hard explaining to June that I am taking him with me to NZ. He is obviously meant to be my horse, why else would he have my initials ? Met up with Linda for an hour-long pootle around the Heath. Plenty of time for a chinwag. We discussed the pros & cons of the Atkins diet & decided any diet that doesn’t let you eat spuds isn’t worth house-space ! Snippit has had a haircut & looks adorable.
I then spent peaceful hour thinking about things whilst cleaning 5 sets of tack.
I have decided the following ...
I want to take up yoga or Pilates whilst I am away. Partly to ride better & partly to improve my strength & mobility.
I am also badly bitten by the golfing bug at the moment. Now that horses will be my job rather than my hobby I figure I will be able to devote more time to golf. I hope to play weekly in NZ & also take lessons. My ultimate aim is to reduce my handicap to 30. I have no idea if it’s possible but it will be a good target.
Just think – whilst I am about to go to bed, my erstwhile colleagues are settling down to a straight 63 hour week of night-duty. Poor sods. Hope it’s quiet for you guys. At least if it’s raining the drunken low-life who frequent The Works on a Friday night will get their punchy little butts in taxis rather than littering the streets.
Speaking of rain, it surprised me this evening to appreciate seeing rain on the windscreen of the car. After such an incredibly dry April it occurred to me that I will miss rain.
Carol x
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Here, after much procrastination is the promised Blog entry.
The reason I have put off writing today is because yesterday morning I spent 90 minutes typing, only to lose the whole lot.
If you have any comments/suggestions about the font/size etc, please let me know. I picked arial because it seemed easiest to read.
You may be wondering why “quest4aragorn” ? I f you are then you obviously haven’t seen “Lord of the Rings”. In which case go see it immediately. Aragorn is the god-like creature with the brooding good looks who appears to have been born in the saddle. He is strong, sensitive, loyal, brave & looks great in tights.
If you have seen it, then you already understand.
I figured the best place to look for this man was in NZ as that is where LotR was born so he obviously lives there. Queenie has tried telling me that Aragorn is not real & the man who plays him is an actor who probably lives in LA. Some people are so keen to crush your dreams.
Most of you reading this will know about me but for those who do not, a little bit about myself & why I am disappearing off on a career break.
Age : 34, Starsign : Capricorn, loyal, boring, perfectionist (not that I believe in it obviously), Favourite colour : blue. Favourite film : T2
Likes : aminals (not a typo, that’s how it’s pronounced) especially notters (small, brown critters which live either in the West Country rivers or off the Californian coast) & gees, most classical music, Honda Fireblades (sore point) Radio 4 in general, The Archers & Gardeners Question Time in particular, burning things, Bill Oddie, David Attenborough, Alan Titchmarsh, Michael Palin, golf (when I am playing well)
Dislikes : Sharks (yes, I know they are aminals, but I can’t help it, they scare the bejesus out of me), smoking, children (especially toddlers) that feeling when you chew wet wool, damp mild days that make your newly straightened hair curly. Golf (when I am playing badly)
Relationships : 5. 3 long-term, 2 not. Longest, 5yrs, Shortest, 18 months.
On good terms with all exes apart from the one who had an anger management issue ie: he couldn’t
Last November, it occurred to me that I was disillusioned at work. I work for the police at Kingston Police Station & I think the public get a pretty raw deal from us. The only “victims” who seem to get a speedy response are drunken yobs who kick the crap out of each other. If you are a genuine, law-abiding citizen who is unfortunate enough to be burgled then don’t expect the police to turn up for anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days. It dawned on me that I went to work, shuffled crimes, apologised to the public for not being able to send someone & went home again. Nobody would notice my being there or not. (audience begin to sob at this point …)
In contrast, my days off have been spent at a livery stables for the past couple of years. I exercise a few different horses & help out with a few jobs. I found that after a day at the stables I would return home filthy, aching, smelling of poo (the horses, not mine) but generally very happy.
After working full-time for 17 years I was no closer to getting that elusive first foot on the housing ladder & I was in a relationship which was making me unhappy. I decided to do something about all the above in one fell swoop.
The answer seemed obvious ; Take a career-break, go to NZ, work with gees, blindingly simple.
Except of course, it wasn’t.
My first step was to move in with Diane, an old (well, she’s not old but you get the gist) The 7th Feb 2003 saw me, plastic boxes packed, en route to Hersham. I didn’t know Di well until we both worked in New York post 9/11 (or 7/11 as I heard Ali G call it recently) I won’t bore you with details of what we did; suffice to say it made for good bonding.
Di did all the things girls do for each other when they go through break-ups. She made me welcome in her house (even drawing me a little picture of the boiler controls – bless) She bought me chocolate. She bought me candles. She bought me wine. She bought cats (but I think she was planning on getting those anyway)
She gave me hugs when I needed them. She gave me space when I didn’t
(I quite often needed space) She listened when I sobbed “ … then I saw a man who was wearing black shoes, he used to wear black shoes …. And they had laaaaaces !” In short she was a rock.
And how did I repay this kindness ?
Within 20 minutes of moving in I had broken a very fragile Xmas decoration, to my shame the thought occurred to me that if I put it away & denied all responsibility I would be in NZ by the time it came out at next Xmas time. Needless to say though, felt obliged to own up. A couple of days later it was the unique, hand-crafted, African table/stool (?) A short time later I almost burnt the flat down with a combination of a carelessly placed tealight, a curious moggy and a billowing voile curtain. You get the picture. In fact, I never told Di about that one (she was still recovering from the table/stool (?) & I thought it best to protect her from further shock), so if you are reading this now Di, oops - sorry ! Anyway, the flat didn’t burn down, Di sold it & move no. 27 brought us here to 19,Snellings Road with Jeffrey & Tallulah (I know, I know) Did I mention that the removal men (who were a quarter the price of their nearest competitors) turned up in a graffiti-covered van, stinking of cannabis & asking for cups of tea & biscuits. I had visions of our belongings turning up at the nearest car-boot sale & lovely Colin spent the day trying to find a mobile tracker device to secrete in the van so that we had a chance of finding our stuff again. Oh how we laughed.
Which brings us up to speed (thank God, I hear you murmur) I can’t help it, I have this slightly compulsive need to explain everything. Think yourself lucky I haven’t talked you through the other 27 house moves. “This Blog’s not big enough for the both of us”
So, in answer to the FAQ’s
No – I haven’t got an exact start date (early May)
No – the visa isn’t through yet
No – I don’t want to do a ranching holiday in Arizona instead & yes, I agree it might be easier.
No – I don’t have any family out there.
No – I don’t plan to never return.
Yes – It’s true I will be looking after 6 kids.
Yes – My mum will miss me (I hope)
Yes – Barley is allowed to come with me & will probably travel out to join me once I have decided it’s suitable.
Yes – I will miss Radio 4 & Yorkshire tea. “If it int in Yorkshire I art goin’”
It has taken me 3 months & 7 agencies to find a job but now that I have it looks like a corker. For any of you that don’t know, a 440 acre farm, 10 horses, cows, sheep, beaches, wine & good weather. Oh yes – & 6 kids, go on laugh.
At the risk of using a cliché, & just as Bill promised, it has been a real roller-coaster of emotions. From elation at getting the job to a whole week when getting out of bed was too much of an effort. Honourable mentions to the friends who baby-sat me during that time, especially AG.
So, here I am, on the brink of what I am sure will be a life-changing episode. I want to use this Blog, partly to let my friends know what I am up to but partly as a diary to record how I am feeling.
I am sure there will be times when I wonder what on earth I am doing and others when I can’t believe my luck. If it gets too maudlin or soul-searching then just look at the foties. When Queenie went to NZ for his 6 week holiday I found it fascinating to read his perceptions of the country. I hope my Blog is half as enlightening as his was.
Must sign off for now as I have to try & cut & paste this from word onto Blog. I am having an early night because I have very foolishly agreed to take part in a Society Golf Day at Bushey Park with some people from the Police Station. They take it kind of seriously & I don’t want to make an ass of myself so I have arranged to meet Andy & Trevor @ 8am for some driving range practice.
Wish me luck.
Carol x
The reason I have put off writing today is because yesterday morning I spent 90 minutes typing, only to lose the whole lot.
If you have any comments/suggestions about the font/size etc, please let me know. I picked arial because it seemed easiest to read.
You may be wondering why “quest4aragorn” ? I f you are then you obviously haven’t seen “Lord of the Rings”. In which case go see it immediately. Aragorn is the god-like creature with the brooding good looks who appears to have been born in the saddle. He is strong, sensitive, loyal, brave & looks great in tights.
If you have seen it, then you already understand.
I figured the best place to look for this man was in NZ as that is where LotR was born so he obviously lives there. Queenie has tried telling me that Aragorn is not real & the man who plays him is an actor who probably lives in LA. Some people are so keen to crush your dreams.
Most of you reading this will know about me but for those who do not, a little bit about myself & why I am disappearing off on a career break.
Age : 34, Starsign : Capricorn, loyal, boring, perfectionist (not that I believe in it obviously), Favourite colour : blue. Favourite film : T2
Likes : aminals (not a typo, that’s how it’s pronounced) especially notters (small, brown critters which live either in the West Country rivers or off the Californian coast) & gees, most classical music, Honda Fireblades (sore point) Radio 4 in general, The Archers & Gardeners Question Time in particular, burning things, Bill Oddie, David Attenborough, Alan Titchmarsh, Michael Palin, golf (when I am playing well)
Dislikes : Sharks (yes, I know they are aminals, but I can’t help it, they scare the bejesus out of me), smoking, children (especially toddlers) that feeling when you chew wet wool, damp mild days that make your newly straightened hair curly. Golf (when I am playing badly)
Relationships : 5. 3 long-term, 2 not. Longest, 5yrs, Shortest, 18 months.
On good terms with all exes apart from the one who had an anger management issue ie: he couldn’t
Last November, it occurred to me that I was disillusioned at work. I work for the police at Kingston Police Station & I think the public get a pretty raw deal from us. The only “victims” who seem to get a speedy response are drunken yobs who kick the crap out of each other. If you are a genuine, law-abiding citizen who is unfortunate enough to be burgled then don’t expect the police to turn up for anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days. It dawned on me that I went to work, shuffled crimes, apologised to the public for not being able to send someone & went home again. Nobody would notice my being there or not. (audience begin to sob at this point …)
In contrast, my days off have been spent at a livery stables for the past couple of years. I exercise a few different horses & help out with a few jobs. I found that after a day at the stables I would return home filthy, aching, smelling of poo (the horses, not mine) but generally very happy.
After working full-time for 17 years I was no closer to getting that elusive first foot on the housing ladder & I was in a relationship which was making me unhappy. I decided to do something about all the above in one fell swoop.
The answer seemed obvious ; Take a career-break, go to NZ, work with gees, blindingly simple.
Except of course, it wasn’t.
My first step was to move in with Diane, an old (well, she’s not old but you get the gist) The 7th Feb 2003 saw me, plastic boxes packed, en route to Hersham. I didn’t know Di well until we both worked in New York post 9/11 (or 7/11 as I heard Ali G call it recently) I won’t bore you with details of what we did; suffice to say it made for good bonding.
Di did all the things girls do for each other when they go through break-ups. She made me welcome in her house (even drawing me a little picture of the boiler controls – bless) She bought me chocolate. She bought me candles. She bought me wine. She bought cats (but I think she was planning on getting those anyway)
She gave me hugs when I needed them. She gave me space when I didn’t
(I quite often needed space) She listened when I sobbed “ … then I saw a man who was wearing black shoes, he used to wear black shoes …. And they had laaaaaces !” In short she was a rock.
And how did I repay this kindness ?
Within 20 minutes of moving in I had broken a very fragile Xmas decoration, to my shame the thought occurred to me that if I put it away & denied all responsibility I would be in NZ by the time it came out at next Xmas time. Needless to say though, felt obliged to own up. A couple of days later it was the unique, hand-crafted, African table/stool (?) A short time later I almost burnt the flat down with a combination of a carelessly placed tealight, a curious moggy and a billowing voile curtain. You get the picture. In fact, I never told Di about that one (she was still recovering from the table/stool (?) & I thought it best to protect her from further shock), so if you are reading this now Di, oops - sorry ! Anyway, the flat didn’t burn down, Di sold it & move no. 27 brought us here to 19,Snellings Road with Jeffrey & Tallulah (I know, I know) Did I mention that the removal men (who were a quarter the price of their nearest competitors) turned up in a graffiti-covered van, stinking of cannabis & asking for cups of tea & biscuits. I had visions of our belongings turning up at the nearest car-boot sale & lovely Colin spent the day trying to find a mobile tracker device to secrete in the van so that we had a chance of finding our stuff again. Oh how we laughed.
Which brings us up to speed (thank God, I hear you murmur) I can’t help it, I have this slightly compulsive need to explain everything. Think yourself lucky I haven’t talked you through the other 27 house moves. “This Blog’s not big enough for the both of us”
So, in answer to the FAQ’s
No – I haven’t got an exact start date (early May)
No – the visa isn’t through yet
No – I don’t want to do a ranching holiday in Arizona instead & yes, I agree it might be easier.
No – I don’t have any family out there.
No – I don’t plan to never return.
Yes – It’s true I will be looking after 6 kids.
Yes – My mum will miss me (I hope)
Yes – Barley is allowed to come with me & will probably travel out to join me once I have decided it’s suitable.
Yes – I will miss Radio 4 & Yorkshire tea. “If it int in Yorkshire I art goin’”
It has taken me 3 months & 7 agencies to find a job but now that I have it looks like a corker. For any of you that don’t know, a 440 acre farm, 10 horses, cows, sheep, beaches, wine & good weather. Oh yes – & 6 kids, go on laugh.
At the risk of using a cliché, & just as Bill promised, it has been a real roller-coaster of emotions. From elation at getting the job to a whole week when getting out of bed was too much of an effort. Honourable mentions to the friends who baby-sat me during that time, especially AG.
So, here I am, on the brink of what I am sure will be a life-changing episode. I want to use this Blog, partly to let my friends know what I am up to but partly as a diary to record how I am feeling.
I am sure there will be times when I wonder what on earth I am doing and others when I can’t believe my luck. If it gets too maudlin or soul-searching then just look at the foties. When Queenie went to NZ for his 6 week holiday I found it fascinating to read his perceptions of the country. I hope my Blog is half as enlightening as his was.
Must sign off for now as I have to try & cut & paste this from word onto Blog. I am having an early night because I have very foolishly agreed to take part in a Society Golf Day at Bushey Park with some people from the Police Station. They take it kind of seriously & I don’t want to make an ass of myself so I have arranged to meet Andy & Trevor @ 8am for some driving range practice.
Wish me luck.
Carol x
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Yesterday I spent 90 minutes typing on this Blog, at the end I pressed "Post & Publish" & guess what ?
Nothing - how gutted ?
So now after much cursing & phoning Q, I am trying again.
If this works, I will re-do yesterday's entry, although obviously it may not be as funny,enlightened & well observed.
After all, you can't re-produce genius.
Nothing - how gutted ?
So now after much cursing & phoning Q, I am trying again.
If this works, I will re-do yesterday's entry, although obviously it may not be as funny,enlightened & well observed.
After all, you can't re-produce genius.
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
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