Advertisement
Published: February 10th 2015
Edit Blog Post
Where does the time go, it’s been 3 months since we left Australia to start our new life in the UK. We have settled in well and feel very much at home and part of the Albrighton/Boningale community. This may seem a strange thing to say given the close family and friends we have left behind, we miss them all every day, but contact via emails, Facebook, telephone & text brings everyone so close to us that they don't seem to be on the other side of the world.
As we had already spent 6 months here from September 2013 to March 2014 it was like coming home and we already knew so many people in the village. Our flat, right in the middle of the Albrighton High street, is ideal and just what we needed. Although the building is old the flat has been recently renovated with new carpet, kitchen & bathroom. We are the first people to rent the flat since its renovations.
After purchasing a new fridge, cooker (no they don't come with a flat or house), washing machine (which is located in the kitchen) and TV we managed to furnish the flat with good quality second hand furniture mainly from the charity shops in Wolverhampton. The double bed was provided by our dear friend Bob from Boningale Manor who also provided a new mattress as a gift. Thanks Bob.
The first floor flat has two bedrooms and we have turned the second bedroom into a dining room. The flat is comfortable warm and light and being in the centre of the high street we have become accustomed to the sounds of the village. Being above the SPAR supermarket we are used to the sound of the morning newspapers being delivered and the shop opening and closing times.
Walking out onto the high street we usually meet people we know and so we can stop for a chat. The facilities in the high street are great with the Trustees Savings Bank (TSB) & ATM across the road and a good selection of coffee shops for us to choose from. There are 4 pubs in the Albrighton High street and two along the main road at Boningale plus a couple of good restaurants in and off the High Street.
We have not purchased a car and probably won't as the Arriva bus stops just outside the building and runs every hour Monday to Saturday. One direction is to Wolverhampton and the other to Telford, both have large shopping centres. We have a train station about a 10 minutes’ walk where you can catch a train that will take you as far as Wales in one direction and Birmingham in the other. It's also possible to get a train to London.
Jess has found it different, not difficult, getting used to miles not kilometres, and although the money is decimal they still have one and two pence coins and the two pound coin is larger than the one pound. Petrol, like milk, is sold by the litre but some foods especially fresh meat and fruit & veg are displayed and priced by the pound as well as by the kilogram and the daily temperatures are always given in Celsius and Fahrenheit. So it's all a bit of a mix of old and new.
We have been able to open bank accounts and Jess has managed to get his NiNo (National Insurance Number) which allows him to work and vote and we have been able to organise our rubbish bins, electricity & water connections plus pay our council tax, all of which are an issue when you have no credit history in a country. We have organised a local doctor and as a bonus medical prescriptions in the UK are free for the over 60's.
We have both been on the lookout for part time work as we are not yet eligible for the pension and refreshing the bank account always helps in the long run. Evelyn started a part time job on Monday 9th February at the Cedars Care Home just 10 minutes’ walk along the High Street. Jess is still looking.
God has been SO good to us both that we know this is where He wants us to be.
Speaking of God, this is the main reason we came back to St Chads and the Albrighton Benefice. We have settled back into our Church life attending St Chads on Sunday's and participating wherever and whenever we can especially with readings and Prayer. We are still attending St Mary's on Wednesday mornings and enjoying our Tuesday cuppa at Tea Cosies. We have also enjoyed our involvement in the 'Churches Together Week'.
In the coming months we know our Church involvement will increase.
St Chads has invited us to join the PCC; we attended a meeting on 27th January.
A member of the St Mary's 9.30am service, Jim, asked Jess if he wants to learn bell ringing, to which he said yes. His first lesson was on Monday night 9th February and he enjoyed his first attempt.
We have been asked if we would like to join the Churches together group and will be involved in the Lenten lunches, Lenten studies and the 'Women’s World Day of Prayer'.
Our Christian journey continues at a steady pace and we look forward with great expectation to whatever God has planned for us both. We know God will never leave us or let us down so Thanks be to God for all He continues to give us.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.125s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 10; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0614s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.2mb
Colin & Sue
non-member comment
News from us
Love hearing your news & your English life experiences. Our news is that we have at last SOLD here at McLoughlins Beach and will be once again be Bittern/Hastings residents as from 20th March. We will start by house sitting for Megan & Gary as they will be in UK for the month of April, we hope to purchase a house in partnership with Lane & Geraldine soon.