My hands are shaking with excitement as I type this..... after over 2 months of waiting, our Expression of Interest for moving to New Zealand has finally been selected! Hooray! What that means in real terms is that NZ Immigration thinks we are suitable candidates for residency (the fools!) and they are now in the process of checking some of our application information more thoroughly. If that meets with their approval, we will be Invited to Apply for Residency which is when we have to submit medicals and criminal record searches etc. Yippppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :-))))))))))))))) ... read more

While I've been busy slaving over a hot computer trying to re-learn my ECDL in time for a job interview on Wednesday, Glynn has been working hard at college and even took Jish in to meet one of his tutors. As you know, Jish has a massive and ever-growing fan club although I'm starting to wonder if he has a girl in every port! He even has his own website now if you want to check it out - www.myspace.com/jishbear. On Friday, Glynn also took a walk around Birmingham city centre after college to capture a few photos so you can get an idea of what the city is like. I have to admit to quite liking the recently renovated Birmingham centre with the ultra-modern Bullring, nicknamed the Pincushion, and the famous Rag Market which has ... read more

Sitting here trying to think what news I have to tell you makes me realise just how little has been going on in our lives lately - hence the reason I entitled this blog 'Doing Time'. It's not that it feels like a prison sentence in so many words but that being back in England is serving us very little purpose indeed. Since I last wrote, the weather has picked up a bit and we've been able to get out of the house a bit more. Glynn's folks took us to a couple of car boot sales, a great British tradition that I will definitely miss when we go. We're still walking the dogs lots and going to the gym virtually every day. Glynn has started a course in the mornings now to get qualifications in ... read more

Once again I find myself here wanting to share with you all the magical and wonderful things that have been going on with us but I have very little to tell you. I'm sure you will all have heard about the crappy weather we've been having lately - I'm talking virtually non-stop rain for the last fortnight. Thankfully, we aren't living in a flood-risk area so we haven't been too affected by it except for being stuck indoors even more than necessary plus my Hello Kitty umbrella that Glynn bought me in Hong Kong bit the dust after a very wet and windy walk to the gym earlier this week :-( We've had no news yet about our New Zealand application, which is a pity as we're longing to get moving so we can settle down ... read more

Well, after a lovely week in Germany it is back to the grindstone here in wet and windy England. Since returning to England, life has been relaxed with only a couple of job interviews for me to break up the days. The first interview went well but I didn't want the job. I had a similarly positive experience at the second interview and this job is literally 10 minutes up the road. Shame I'm not so interested in that one either. Still, it's a possibility and I'm pleased to say I have been invited to a second interview, so things are looking good. The feelers are out on other things for both me and Glynn, so I'll keep you posted if anything more happens. The really good news is that we have checked and double-checked ... read more

A few years ago, I started my first job as a teacher at a college in Swindon and I was lucky enough to have a fantastic German assistant called Andrea to help me out in class. Not only was she great fun to work with but she was as bonkers as me so it was inevitable we would quickly become firm friends. Alas, aside from a bit of a chat at our wedding last year (may I add that I was chuffed to bits that she flew over especially), we haven't seen each other since. Until today.... My father had an appointment in the nearby city of Freiburg this afternoon so Glynn and I hitched a ride. We last visited Freiburg in winter when the Christmas market was in full swing and a fresh layer ... read more