shipley

Atlast we take up residence in Shipley. The house is very cosy and certainly big enough for us. We have met our exchange partners and they are extremely welcoming and generous. This place is very historic with beautiful old buildings especially Saltaire which has World heritage listing. Lorraine has seen her school which is right in the centre of the village, a great location. We have been introduced to half of the village already! There are lots of great restaurants and pubs serving locally brewed ales. The drive from London took only 3 hours, nothing by our standards. We can fly to many destinations in Europe from Leeds/Bradford airport which is only 15 minutes away. Oh....and the weather is unseasonally mild and dry.

cultya day

Visited the Victoria and Albert Museum today to immerse oursevles in culture (the Brits do this well). I got lost and ended up in the Science Museum across the road, which was just as interesting, if not more so.

Football (soccer that is)

It helps to have local contacts. Dan's brother Steve was able to get us tickets to the local Premier League match, Chelsea (our team) v Aston Villa (what a bunch of losers). It was a supurb match, the final result being 4-4 ie 8 goals! The local press called it the match of the year. Its hard to convey the excitement but it was nothing like I've seen back home (AFL grand final maybe). Today I went shopping alone (scary) in Regent St --- big mistake. The locals are all out bargain-hunting and every store had SALE in the windowl. Don't get between a Brit and a perceived bargain. We learn from our mistakes. One more day in London then off to Yorkshire....where its cold!? Thanks to Garry for the Xmas swimmers photos. What a superb display of athletic prowess. (Brits all look ill). Actually a local group went swimming in Hyde Park yesterday in a duck pond. Brits.....eccentric? See ya!

Xmas Day

It's 8:00am on Xmas Day and it's dark, wet and bleak. We have already made several calls to family in Australia and it seems that everyone is getting out of the summner heat at the end of Xmas Day over-indulgence. Yesterday afternoon (it was dark) we went to St Paul's for the the Carols service with several thousand others. Despite my natural cynicism about the whole thing the sheer spectacle was awe-inspiring, no doubt about it. We had the usual pint of Guiness on the way home of course. The biggest surprise (we weren't supposed to know yet) is tickets to a Premier League match (Chelsea vs Aston Villa) on Boxing Day. This is a major scoop as tickets are very hard to come by! Christmas greetings to all back home from Lorraine and I and enjoy the festivities.

Lorraine, Tori and Dan

xmas cheer ho ho ho

Today is the coldest so far. I can't believe it isn't snowing. Today we met up with my two twentysomething nephews who are doing the London work experience thing. Great re-union was had! Saw an arty film called "Lust Caution" in a luxery "busines class" cinema with armchairs and the whole deal. A bit much for 10:30 on a Sunday morning. Anyway a great Xmas to all who read this blog.

the sun shines

We've now been in London for 4 days (24 hours of daylight!) and are getting used to the cold, crowds and traffic. Unbelievably it hasn't rained yet and the sun has made several feeble appearances. We are staying in Ladbroke Grove, which is in the wild west end of London, near Portabello Rd. Today we drove down Abbey Rd and we saw , yes, that pedestrian crossing! It is still unclear how long we'll be in England so we are just enjoying the moment. The cold really is not a problem for us as we both enjoy the contrast with Byron. How long that feeling will last is anybody's guess. We have another week in London before we head north to Shipley. For those who know London today we went for a walk on Hampstead Heath and were the only ones without a dog. Have a great Xmas and get lots of presents.

london here we are!

We have arrived in london after about 3 weeks in the plane or so it feels. 18 hours is not fun believe us. We were met at the airport by Tori, Lorraine's daughter who drove us through the dark and cold to thier home for several hours jet lag recuperation. Tori and Dan's flat is very roomy and comfortable in the heart of Ladbroke Grove. We have now recovered more or less and enjoyed a leisurely lunch

DAY BEFORE!!

Okay..depsite a few last minute dramas ie health problems with our exchangee, all systems are go as the thunderbirds would say. We're packed up, squeezing winter jackets into unwilling suitcases in the stifling heat, scrubbing parts of the house which have never experienced such attention before, saying last goodbyes for the third time etc etc etc. Tonight we spend in Brisbane with my son Luke then find our way to the airport then.... Next posting will be from the mother country from frost-bitten fingers.

3 days to go

Loyal readers (all 3 of you) ....there are only 3 days to go before we begin our excellent adventure / odyssey. Are we ready? Well we hope so. Time will tell. Next entry will be from London where it is near freezing. The world is such a small place!

workaholic

This is me working "flat out to prepare for our trip beginning in 16 days to Shipley Yorkshire for 12 months. Actually I'm just experimenting to see how this blog thing works .Please let me know if you have been able to visit the site. I WANT FEEDBACK!!!

how to make comments

Loyal readers....if you wish to comment on this blog you have to create an account which is no big deal really. We welcome your comments especially once things start to happen! Our intention is to create a serious exchange of views as well as a bit of frivolity?

Hi Neil, test post!!

Here is the picture I was talking about taken...well maybe a few months ago on the back deck but at least I know how its done now

Here is a picture of us on the back deck taken a few weeks ago....we hope

countdown

Loyal readers, less than 3 weeks to go till we set off for shipley. i've given many people my contact card and I know that most will either lose it or at least not check out this blog. I am constantly asked whether I am excited about the trip. To this date my answer is no... as the reality has not sunk in. I guess it soon will. Tension will mount in the next few weeks as the countdown begins in earnest. At the moment we are too consumed by our jobs and getting the house in order. Oh well.... I guess that is all about to change. Stay tuned....

humming along

Only 6 weeks to go..... Spoke to our exchangee, Jan, last night and we understood each other easily..phew that's a relief. It seems that my skills (?) are in demand in Yorkshire, at least according to Protocol teaching agency who have an office in Leeds. Get this...you have to have a UK police check before you can work there..even if you've never been there before! Our obsession at the moment is cleaning up the hsoue inside and out. I spent an hour this morning painting some facia on the roof, and got stung by a wasp for my troubles. That's all for now...we're not that interesting i know. I have to work out how to put photos on this thing!

another hoop through

Okay we have our viasa and I have been assured that I am entitled to work in the UK. At last no more calls to the High Commission - they have made a fortune out of us! I'm to try to put some photos on this blog now

great weekend

Just had a great weekend with daughter Sarah at Yamba. Fluked a multi-cultural day which was enjoyable.

Okay its 11 October and this is entry number 2. We don't expect any one to have read this yet because...well nothings happended yet! Will forward further entries as the time draws nearer. At the moment this is just an exercise in how to set up a blog

First steps

This is the very first entry in the blog of Lorraine and Neil McKenzie as we prepare for our year in the UK(Shipley, Yorkshire to be precise). At present we are busy trying to finalise all the details (lots of I dotting and T crossing!). We are both very excited and perhaps a little apprehensive about the adventure we are about to undertake. However we are also optimistic that we are going to learn a great deal about life in another country.