NEWS FROM ME ……

Transport in the UK! Traveling in the UK! Taxis in the UK!  We have been here seven months (almost eight months) I know – how quicky has the time flown!!  I am delighted to say that I started driving quite soon – okay perhaps that’s a bit of a white lie or as they say in the UK …a bit of a Porky-pie! Anyhow I think it was just over a month being here – and we needed to be traveling in our own car (well I did – not for me the busses – definitely not for me) at this point I would like to give a huge shout out to Marcel and Riaan for their kindness and loaning us one of their cars during that time. One thing, oh my giddy aunt the insurance when driving someone else’s car! Yikes! I do believe as much as Gary would emphatically deny it – he had a fond fascination for the busses, me, not so much! In fact, not at all! The double decker; sitting on the top in the front with the big wide window and the road ahead did zip, zero, nothing for me! Watching out for your stop – ensuring you press the little buzzer before the bus reaches your stop! Nice for some – not for me! 

Robots in Oxford geared for the cyclists 

Digressing slightly here, I don’t mind the trains/underground too much, prefer it to the busses, but if I am given an option, I would prefer to take my car. The interesting point of view of this subject. Chad says he prefers to train it – in fact he hasn’t even renewed his driver’s license. He says he buys back his time. He has a very valid point. I am currently quite a distance from home (28 miles) so I will go so far as to say – when I see a bus ahead of me, I quietly have a little fit! They slow you down – what about when you on what I really thought were quaint country bumkin roads – that is till you traverse them every day and you nearly die A thousand deaths each day from cars coming onto your side of the road – they are like Kamikaze pilots! And the thing is they always have big fancy heavy metal cars – so they most certainly would not be scooped off the road in a whirl landing upside down in the neighbouring field amongst the sheep. Nope it will be me! I literally feel my tummy doing hurly whirlies when a huge car passes and makes no attempt to move a little closer to his side of the road. Oh, my word and the trucks!! Shucks they are like Lewis Hamilton! They clearly ofay with driving these roads everyday – talking trucks. In South Africa I recall especially the freeway they still reconstructing (well have been for the past years!) the freeway that leads to Maritzburg! The trucks on that – they were like a train of trucks. I was always amazed – well the trucks here are definitely not the same amount but close enough and there are trains! Seriously, is there that much freight that we need two T’s; Trucks and trains? The other thing here, when you entering a freeway, the people just come – no easy does it slowly ease your way into the flow of traffic. Nope just go and toughies if no one moves to the other lane. And another thing, I kid you not – traffic when cars are entering the freeway, we go from flying maybe 100kms …. literally to leopard crawling in many instances we come to an absolute grinding halt. In the beginning I would think ahhhh no clearly an accident ahead – soon learnt – nope it’s just people entering the freeway. So, you spend your whole freeway journey stopping and starting! Kid you not. An interesting point, in Oxford and London there are Zero Emission areas, so like my old car – it is not allowed in London, and if you dare to defy them you get fined. I am not exactly sure what the fine is but I certainly know I won’t even try with my old girl.  There are horrendous traffic jams each day – to and from work – one of my colleagues was telling me the reason for this – they are closing certain roads and I don’t mean just whilst they do road works – I mean they well and truly closed – they are trying to get the working class to rather rely on busses and leave their cars at home! So that will be a major pain in the neck! Talking pain this neck of mine you know, – well most of you know about my degeneration of the neck bone story – so some days the old neck really plays up and is quite painful. I have taken to carrying on Deep Heat and lathering that on when it’s a bit much! When I first started here – obviously it was a tad more anxiety, now the problem with me is I am never, ever totally relaxed, I am always tense and so tense my body always! So, when getting to know the job, the people I was forever anxious. This resulted in my neck always being sore – the one day not the first and definitely not the last day I will do this – I lathered on Deep Heat and carried on with my day. I heard two teachers who were ambling past reception comment amongst themselves “can you smell Tiger balm?” I never said a word, the next time a student was at my desk and asked “Mame, can you also smell that funny smell?” in all honesty she didn’t even finish her sentence and I blurted out that it was me …… 

Talking of the students, obviously I never mentioned it was my birthday the next day and in fact the remainder of the week trailing into the following week after I was so touched. I even got baked some cupcakes, home-made birthday cards and gifts. Then earlier this week – one of the girls writing her GSCEs gave me the most gorgeous bunch of sunshine yellow roses! I honestly have always been extremely blessed in all my jobs – two amazing ladies that made such an imprint on my life have to be two of my greatest friends Maureen and Terri-Ann thy were both my bosses at a particular time – both of them know me better than I know myself!! Blessed with jobs and so I am blessed again with this temp position, which I truly do hope will lead to my forever job here in the UK. A few weeks after the birthday surprises another group of girls awarded me with a lovely teeny tiny much of daisies. Yesterday another wonderful surprise from another student – she gave me beautiful pink roses! I was gobsmacked she told me how she would write her exam and just seen me sitting in reception and knowing that I would ask her how it had been and encourage her …. I was touched beyond – but now enough of the ra- ra – raaring of myself. 

So, I don’t think I ra ra raaed about this as it is a tad embarrassing! On my ‘groot trek’ home after work each day – I listened and obeyed each instruction given to me by Sheilagh (aka Google maps!) if she said go off the freeway up the walk way and drive until you see a rainbow – I did exactly that! It took me 3 weeks – I am beyond embarrassed – three weeks……. T-H-R-E-E WEEKS of listening to her, ok wait lets go back a bit here. So, she told me to take a particular off ramp, which I did – I decided I didn’t like the route she told me to take which was let’s say the third exit – so then and there decided nope I will take the second one. Which I merrily did – again I re-iterate for THREE BLADY WEEKS!!! The one day I took the off ramp as instructed and then took the next ramp onto the freeway and as I did this, I pondered wonder why she tells me to go off the A34 – which I duly do and then I go right back onto the very freeway (A34) I have just exited! Can you imagine how many drivers I intrigued as they saw me exit the freeway only to re-enter the freeway! I know, I know I have noooooo …none words! I am beyond delighted to say I have secured a permanent job – and at a school! I truly, truly have found my niche here …at MySchool I always loved the interaction with the schools – and being the receptionist here I have to say I am so, so happy. The only bug bear has been the traveling – 28 miles in the morning and 28 miles in the afternoon with heaps and heaps of traffic! It has been fascinating driving the same way each morning you see the same moms/dads waiting with their kid as they await the bus, the same moms cycling their kids to school. Oxford is known as the Cycling city of UK – and that it sure is! The different contraptions you see on the roads, a normal bike with attachments on it like almost a side car where you get kids (more than one on some occasions) sitting in it as mom or dad cycle. All I ever think is can you imagine; my boys can be forever grateful they were not brought up here – as each time I cycled up a slight incline I would have hoiked the boys out and insisted they help me push the blady bike up the hill!!! 

Typical moms taxi in Uk (imagine me!!) 

Ah this is my worst!! Yesterday I did a whole add on to this and its gone!! So let me try recall what I was saying! I mentioned a whole bit about charity shops and just how much Gary and I are loving discovering them! When we were still in SA – we loved frequenting Shongweni market, and on one of the last visits I found and bought a beautiful little house ornament, why? It reminded me of my mom. But then when I got here, I spotted little house ornaments here too! They are replicas of actual cottages in UK. Now my collection has got that big that I needed to buy a wooden shelf.  And to add to this – Gary has for a long while collected cars. When we packed up to come across, we spent weeks, months tidying decluttering …. well haven’t we started from the beginning again and all that stuff we gave away to charity shops in SA – and felt so clean and free after decluttering, well we are back in the same cluttered boat!!! Our little granny mouse country house is very, very busy. I giggled the other day – when we brought the shelf home, I said to Gary I can just hear Ryan and Chad when it’s time for us to be shipped off to an old age home – or die, both boys flipping coins as to who get the tedious task of packing up our house! Talking charity shops have you ever noticed, when you buy a brand new out the box Barbie, they always have this amazing shiny long blonde hair, and when you see then after probably a week they have blonde fizz bomb hair, I have never seen a years old Barbie doll who still has the most amazing hair – have you? 

This blog is all over the place isn’t it! Now going back to the driving and, and, and. This morning my car needed a service so I dropped Gary off at work and drove his Flippen ox wagon to work (those 28 miles!!!) there were plenty moments where I thought FRIK these fellow drivers really are getting a tad irritated with me and my ox! And it got me thinking, I have thought it a thousand times. In SA we all had number plates according to our Provinces – remember at holiday time if you lived at the coast how you would flook the Vaalies with their GP plates, and even comment about ah typical the way they drive! Here we all one and the same – no one knows where you from you all Brits! (Or are we??) 

And that my beloved faithful friends is all she wrote for now! I have a week and a half to go at this mazing school. And then a new Chapter commences in my book of life.

UPDATE:

As most of you are aware Ryan was involved in a bad accident a month ago. Thank you Lord although he is very badly injured we have Faith that he will be the strong wonderful young man he has always been. Everyday is an incredible the progress he is making.

I commenced my permanent job at a school here in our local village on 4th July after leaving Rye, I was totally blessed with that temp position and showered with flowers etc on my last day – cards and flowers of thanks from parents, pupils and the staff of Rye. What a brief blessing that time was in my life, thank you Lord for that time. 

On the 8th August Gary and I will make our way to my dearest darling Son and family. 

Thank you for all the prayers, love and support. Thank you for those that have participated in Back a Buddy, your kindness is BEYOND appreciated thank you.

Please keep Ryan in your prayers. 

I hope you are all well and enjoyed my news.

Till next time stay well and warm – love you all madly. 

Mwah mwah