Geoff & Chris in the UK     Letters & Photos: Previous Next

Another "hail me hearties" from the land of Brum. Hope all is well with you and life continues to treat you well.

This photo is the new Selfridges shop in the Bull Ring area of Birmingham. It is a most weird building, with thousands of aluminium disks on a curvy outside shape. This shop will employ over a thousand staff, with another five thousand in the other shops in the new shopping centre - due to open in September. Ah... retail heaven. 

We're enjoying more lovely hot weather, 25 degrees, muggy, just like a Hamilton summer. Yes, Really! We have even have to use an electric fan to try to cool our room in the evening.

I admit, last week, it was I who was confounded! It was a squirrel baffler that I saw in a shop, not a squirrel confounder! Click here for details. 

This week, yet another Birmingham motorway accident - this time a lorry caught fire, with it's load of lingerie and sex toys. The police say the smell of burning rubber was horrific... 

Chris has just had her first performance review review and has had confirmed a significant pay raise. So she's well pleased, although the stupid payroll department of her work are still taxing her at the wrong rate - we're £200 pounds out of pocket over that!

Geoff continues to like spending money, this time on a £30 parking ticket! That was for parking 90 minutes in a 60 minute zone. Ouch! That's about NZ$80.

But it's been great to have some spending money at last, with Geoff's parttime wages. Went to a huge new shopping centre called Merry Hill on the other side of Birmingham. Measured the distance - 40 miles! Probably won't go there again. Chris bought three pairs of shoes then ran out of time.... nothing for it - we will have to go back!

A lovely surprise in the mail this week, a packet of marshmellow Easter Eggs from sister Wilma. Thanks!!! Really missed them this Easter, as I've not seem them for sale anywhere here.

Geoff's Dad Les has broken the agreement to not get sick while we're away, he was in hospital last week having a melanoma removed. That went well, (although the biopsy tests are still to come back) and  preparations are now well underway for his 80th birthday in August. We're sad to not be able to attend that, unless we win Lotto! However Jevon and Aidan will represent our side of the family for us on 16th August.

Domestic life in Olton has been a bit strained of late, with a house burglar alarm going off many times throughout the night for about a week. Finally one night, in a fit of frustration, Geoff hopped in his car and drove around until he found the house. The city council noise control office was there and he immediately pounced on Geoff and asked if it was his house! However now that he had witnessed the alarm going off he could have it silenced as the owners were obviously away somewhere. Thank heavens!

Just been listening to Classic FM and heard a lovely piece of music (Who wants to live forever) from Kashif's Queen Symphony - the London Symphony Orchestra and choir playing a clever interpretation Freddy Mercury's music. I think that will be our first  UK music purchase.

Wednesday - Geoff's interview at Shoosmiths Lawyers went very well. Had to travel to Northhampton, about 1 1/2 hours away. They have recently opened a new branch office in Birmingham - where everything is totally new, very modern, right in the social heart of central Birmingham - Brindley Place (on the canal side development). They want a staff coach, who will look after their staff development and support. This would involve mostly walking around, sitting with staff, seeing if they have any IT problems, and solving them as well as training the staff. Sounds like a wonderful job.
Northampton is a city of old cobblers - seriously! It was the main shoe making city of the UK over the centuries.

A very unusual building in Northhampton is the Express Lift tower. Looking like a chimney, it is fact a 127 metre tall testing facility for elevators! Many call it the Northhampton Lighthouse, despite it being over 100 miles from the coastline. 

Wednesday night, Geoff attended an Institute of Directors meeting on wireless internet, which is part of the networking that he is trying to achieve, to access 'the hidden job market'. It is true, that many jobs are not advertised, and so getting to know some employers should boost his chances of hearing of them.

Friday - Had my Interview at Specialist Computer Holdings - this is the 2nd interview, so I have passed their 1st interview criteria. Really hoping that I get this job, as it will provide invaluable experience for my doing similar work in NZ when we return. The interview had to include a 10 minute stand-up presentation, with a PowerPoint slideshow on traffic congestion. To their acute embarrassment, they forgot to bring a laptop to the room, so one was summoned. Then we discovered that it didn't have a floppy disk drive. That also was summoned. Lots of difficulty getting it to log onto the network, and then it crashed when we plugged a mouse into it! At least it gave an opportunity to make some humorous chat about the whole thing & they promised me that they would give me a better laptop if I get the job! I will hear next week if they are to offer me a job...

We have discovered a folk music club, called The Runway @ The Boggery HQ. It is run every Friday night in the cricket clubrooms of a little village called St Catherine de Barnes. We're not sure why it is called The Runway - possibly because that whole village is proposed to be demolished to make way for a 2nd runway at Birmingham airport. Why 'the boggery', don't know!. Last nights show was a 4 piece country rock band called Alias, whose lead singer is friends of the people Geoff is doing website editing for. They were excellent, hard to believe they only perform a few times per year, and have their own CD. We enjoyed several shandies with pork scratchings and crisps. A 'proper' English evening! A couple of other groups performed as well, including a guitarist who wrote a song made famous by David Bowie, about whores in Amsterdam.

The next folk concert we will go to there, is, to our surprise and delight, Martin Curtis from New Zealand. We went to one of his 'house concerts' in Hamilton a year ago, with Diane and Adrian. It will be lovely to hear some of his songs about olden times of gold mining around Cardrona in the South Island.

Saturday - We're both nursing sore heads this morning, from last nights boozing and loud music, Chris has taken to the bubble bath for therapy!

A few hours retail therapy, then having a look at the map for another evening stroll. This time it is to be Danzey Green and Moxley Wood, walked down Pig Trot Lane, which was lovely. Red deer stag in the middle of a field of wheat.  Walked through a tall grassed field, came across an area where the grass was flattened down in long tracks, so was almost certainly a foxes area. On the ground was a little mole, just like the mole in wind in the willows. Black velvety fur, lovely little digging feet, he was about about 4 inches long. We figure it was the foxes dinner, but that we had disturbed him at supper. Walked through a disgustingly unkempt farm yard, rubbish and shit every where. Obviously no pride at all. 

Sunday - George has bought himself a wheelchair, a racing version! Today we're off to Baddesley Clinton again, taking George, Claire and Dave with us. Then we're having dinner at the Fleur de Lys - we're told they have the most wonderful pies there. Going back to Baddesley Clinton was really interesting, as we saw and noticed many more things than our first (very rushed) visit. Eg the woven rush matting in the upstairs lounge had been watered earlier today. They have to do that from time to time, to keep the mat supple and flexible. Boy, what a smell! 

Another interesting thing, was the Narwhal tusk, an amazing thing that is an external tooth of the Narwhal whale. It has a spiral groove around it, and was considered to be like a Unicorns mythical tusk.

Sometime soon, we hope to go to the Wooten Wawen workshop of the husband of Geoff's boss -  Period Fine Bindings. He is a true craftsman, undertaking restoration of books, some from the 16th century. The techniques used are quite ancient and mysterious, especially for producing the marbling effects of the covers and aging new paper and leather so that it looks old. It is worth clicking on the link above, to read his description of the art.

Another pay packet today, so it's getting closer to when Geoff can buy a digital camera. Expect a lot more photos of what we're up to, in these newsletters, in the future! 

It's late Monday night, time to sign off...

Thinking of you all, in wintry New Zealand

Love,
Geoff & Chris

Geoff & Chris in the UK     Letters & Photos: Previous Next