Will the last Englishman out of the country turn the lights out please ?

Travel Plans

09:07, Tue 28 November 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

With the house secured here, we are getting a bit itchy to go out exploring now. We booked a weeks accomodation in Sydney expecting it to take ages to secure a house, but now we are kinda tied here unless we want to waste money. Anyway, this is our base for now, but there are plenty of places within easy reach, so here are our plans.

Its Blue Mountains day today. We are gonna truck on up to see the 3 Sisters (3 huge rocks on a peninsula). Its a 2 hour drive from here, so as I write it is 7:30 am, K has the stove fired up, cooking breakfast like all good Sheila's should. The bacon was a little underdone on Monday, so I had to put a complaint in, but yesterday all was well again, so I am expecting a tip top dining experience this morning.

Anyway, I was saying, 3 Sisters, Blue Mountains. Last time I was here, with Robson, we booked to go there, but it was our first day here, and it was Robsons MUST see. Well, we got back drunk the night before, and Robson said, “Make sure you set the alarm”, reply, “Yeah yeah”. Well, I didn't. If he was that bloody bothered he should have set the alarm. Anyway, I woke up, looked at my watch, and knew we had missed the bus by hours. So, I snuck back under my duvet, and Robson woke around 30 mins later. I had to play like I did not know what the time was, but he kicked off big time. So much so, he did not talk to me for 2 hours, and then only did once he had slapped me across the face so bloody hard my fillings fell out. Anyway, I will take plenty of pics for you today son, so you will finally get to see the Blue Mountains !

Right, other plans. We are going to Hunter Valley Saturday. K cant wait to get there, as it is the winery. She kept asking last night (In her very drunken state), could we go today. Then, this morning, on her daily webcam chat back to Mum and Dad, she said we were going there today. I think it's fair to say she is eager to get up there.

Yesterday we went shopping. K bought a pair of flat shoes. I will write it again in case you thought spell check transformed some other sentence into it. K bought a pair of flats. Thongs (Flip flops) to be precise, and she loves them. Makes her about 3 feet tall mind, but there are advantages to that.

I bought some wicked shorts, and a couple of shirts, and the obligatory pair of thongs. Then, we hit the beach. 30 degrees down there, it was lush. Got tans on the go already, and today is gonna be another scorcher.

The Bank called yesterday, and our Aussie Bank cards are on the way. Once we get those, we can get a statement, Tax File Number, Medicare etc, and we will really be into the system over here.

Oh, we are going to Brisbane Sunday. Undecided as to whether to carry on up North, or come back from there. We have to be back for the 19^th to drop the van off, then get the house ready for the arrival of the parents the following day.

Our stuff arrived in Singapore today. 2 weeks time, it will be here. Cant wait to get our hands on it. The shippers have all our details over here, so we are set to go. If customs feel in a good mood and process us quickly, we will have the furniture for Xmas.

Right, going now. That breakfast has arrived, and a cursory check of the bacon reveals all is well.

Got the House !

07:16, Mon 27 November 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

Result, we leased our first home in Aus today. After seeing 2 shockers, and visiting a million estate agents who had nothing that fitted our specification, we came back to our Holiday Park feeling pretty down. So, we decided to search the web again, and turned up a lovely place in East Wahroonga. Expecting it to have gone, we called the agent, who said it was still available. Rushed over there, had a look, loved it, and grabbed it before the couple visiting it that afternoon got a look in. FANTASTIC !

The house has a lovely pool, and is in a really really nice area. We cant wait to get in there. It is a massive weight off our shoulders, as this was the one thing we knew would be tough about moving here. The market does seem tough, but we were lucky.

Weather today was rubbish, but we were running around, so it was a godsend. Still warm, just no sun. Going out tonight to celebrate, Seafood and champagne Aus style.

We are here !

07:39, Sun 26 November 2006 .. 2 comments .. Link

I write this, sitting in the back of our motorhome, having a tinny, bbq ribs marinading, ready to go on the barbie in 30 mins.

Got here Friday evening. Stayed at the Mercure Hotel at Sydney Airport. K and I met some Aussies in the bar, and they ended up giving me $20.00 to start my stay in Aus, and an invite over for lunch. Now there is Aussie hospitality for you !

Since then, been a bit manic. If you read this, and have ever tried to buy a Satnav in Sydney, you were either very lucky, or had the same experience as us. Jesus, how hard can it be to buy a Satnav. We went to this technology centre, they sold PC's, DVD's, phones, printers, but ask about a Satnav and they did not even know what one was. We tried calling them GPS's, things that go on dashboards of cars and speak to you, nope, they did not know what we were talking about. Eventually found a great shop that had loads, and bought the kick ass Hitachi version. I am well impressed, f*ck TomTom, this little kiddy rocks.

The caravan park is pretty neat. Walked on the beach last night around 19:00 yesterday, sun belting down, hand in hand. I've gotta say, only 2 days in, we feel really at home here already. The people are soooo friendly. On the way back last night, another couple said hi to us, and “Enjoy the walk”. Does not happen in the UK, and you feel a better person for it happening here.

K's managed to find an Aus rose wine she likes, so she is well pleased. There are little things we are acclimatising to, but nothing that bothers us. In fact, the majority of things we prefer over here. Subway being the exception, the roast chicken subs suck over here, I'm defecting to KFC.

Went house hunting today, and also visited Kirstie's mate from an old company. Got half way to his house and the Satnav conked out. We crapped it, as we were pretty far from where we knew, and nowhere near his house. Retraced our steps back to the campsite so we could jack into the power there to recharge the thing, as we thought the cigarette lighter adapter was faulty. In fact, I was a complete dildo, and put the power lead in the wrong socket. Well, fancy letting it fit in 2 holes, if I normally get the wrong hole there is a load warning informing me of the fact. The Satnav said nothing ! Anyway, problem solved, we were off, and saw some real nice areas. Tomorrow we are going back to try and sign up for somewhere.

Finished the day with a trip to Ku Ring Gai National Park. It is lush there. Went to Bobbin Head, on the marina. Families there, all using the communal bbq's. Huge parties, all with gazebos and things. Kids playing together. This really is a different world over here. Did a walk through the Mangroves, and K was real brave, only shouting “Get off me” once, when a bug got in her hair. Finally, visited Curl Curl beach to watch a bit of surfing, this place has so much to offer.

Right, gotta go, the bbq is a calling me. Update again real soon.

Kidney transplant please

09:17, Sat 18 November 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

So, are you reading this with plans to leave for Aus soon ?

If, yes, have you made arrangements for a kidney transplant at Heathrow ? (Shakes head like Keith does in The Office scene in the staff room with Dawn).

Word of advice. You can expect to consume more alcohol in your last week in the country than you ever thought possible. SCOTCH EGG. My alcohol tolerance right now is about the same as the chap who slept in the subway on the way to work, and drank Diamond White for breakfast !

Said my second last goodbye to me old Dad today. Managed to raise ourselves from bed post lunch, quick bacon sarnie, then back down the pub. Felt ropey until I drank a pint, that was supposed to be a shandy, but the old man's marbles dont even allow him to get from the bar to the table these days without forgetting which drink he has in his hand

. He can still play a mean game of pool though. Seeing as I wont be seeing my Dad's partners kids for a while, we had a game of pool, the champions could expect to hold the title for some time, considering we would not be back in the same room for a while. It was close, but we won through. Champions we are.

Plan for tomorrow ? Another visit to the pub, last English Sunday Lunch. Followed by my farewall to the Godfather, the Mighty Martin Jol. My last game Spurs game in the UK. Martin Jols, BLUE AND WHITE ARMY.

Last day at work

01:52, Fri 17 November 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

It's here. My last day of work for a while. Desk is cleared, all important docs are on the memory stick, just twiddling my thums for 2 hours now till we hit the pub. Done references for a job over there, for a rental property, and most importantly, got the invoices into the agencies

.

6 more days in the UK, it's weird. By this time next week, we will be there, in our hotel, either drinking ourself stupid cos we cant sleep, or in the deepest sleep we've been in for a while if we do not sleep on the plane.

Our stuff is approaching the Suez Canal as I write. It will be well on the way to Singapore by the time we fly over it.

Our poor little fish died today. We think he went blind a little while ago, don't know what happened. Maybe the stress of the movers packing his cabinet was too much for him. He's fought on for over a week, and he even came and said a final goodbye when we tapped the tank the other day. Rest in peace little one, we could not take you to Aus anyway.

That's another 10 mins wasted then.........

Leaving Do

09:26, Tue 14 November 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

Well, if it weren't real before it is now.

We had our leaving do Saturday. Thanks to all of you who made it such a special night. K and I had our Aussie rugby shirts on, and there were many other honourary Aussies there. We had, the Fosters girls, half the Aussie rugby team, and an escaped convict (Cheers Latz!). Rolf Harris had planned to be there, but could not make it on the night.

So, 9 more days to go. 3 days of work, around 7 more drink ups, 1 hotel, and then the flight to our new lives. The novelty of the blow up bed is starting to wear off, the motorhome will be absolute luxury to what we have now.

Saturday was real emotional. Spent Sunday in the pub with my closest mates, and I have to admit, when we spoke about the move, and they asked wont I miss this, I did think, god its a big move. Then I travelled home from work today, and I smiled. We will miss all of you, we wont miss the place.

Our blog, the reasons behind it

09:45, Tue 7 November 2006 .. 2 comments .. Link

Over the past year, I've had some good feedback, and flak about what is written here. Seeing as all we own here now is a blow up bed, 2 garden chairs, a portable tv, and this laptop I am on, I thought I would put a few words as to why, sometimes, this blog could be seen as propoganda on why to leave the UK, lets not forget, the country I was born in.

I was born in London, in an area where the sense of a community was extremely strong. We lived 6 doors away from my Nan, the idol of my life. Even though it was on a main road, my Mum would ring my Nan, and say D's coming down. I would be let out, watched all the way, but walk down on my own, and into my Nan's house.

As I grew up, I lived in a lot of different areas of London, but came to settle close to where I was born, albeit in a more expensive area. Where I live, it's great. There are lots of trendy bars, nice people, and although the community spirit died long ago, with people keeping themselves to themselves, it's still a nice area.

Now, here's my thinking. 10 years ago, my old Dad went to Aus, came back and said, "Son, you need to get out there, the quality of life is so much better". I laughed, and said I would never leave the UK, and if it was so great over there, why are loads of Aussies over here. What I did not realise then is the true meaning of the very famous phrase "Youth is wasted on the young". My Dad did not dispute my remarks, just shrugged his shoulders and said, "OK, I am telling you one day, you will go". I did not realise that in HIS lifetime, he had already seen the decline, and I just needed to see it from the level that I had observed it from in my lifetime.

I would never had left the UK 10 years ago. I had a great job, living life to the full, and I never considered taking such a bold step. Things changed a lot in my life over the last 10 years, and my eyes began to open that things that were there before, were no longer there. I have friends, good friends, who are not from these shores, but they work hard, they pay into the system, and they have integrated. Let's be fair, they had to in those days, people would not have accepted it any other way.

I dont know when it happened that we became all politically correct, but we did. Working in blue chip banking environments, you would not believe the seminars I have been to. There are so many rules, laws, unspoken guidelines. All in the name of political correctness. Our immigrant issues, in my belief, stem from this. England is an island, same as Aus. Except, we are not an island, we are joined to France by the Channel Tunnel, and Europe by the EU. I kind of understand the reasons why we cant just say, Bollox to the lot of you, exports, UK business etc, but how did we get here ? I dont know, but I do know the writing is on the wall.

My job, in the UK, is largely finished. My Dad qualified as a top class engineer. He can do things with metal and moulds that any man on this planet would be proud of. I could only marvel at the things he made. He saw, many years ago, a "thing" called a "computer". He thought, oh shit, this will be the end of me, and he was right. Moulds are made my computers, and unless you know how to run these things, you are un-employable. I see India. My current contract is finishing because it is going to Bangalore. An Indian chap will do my job, from India, for 20% of my rate. That is life. Years ago, it would not have happened, but with telecomms the way they are nowadays, you can work from anywhere. Progress is good, but someone always pays somewhere, and while I am not exactly paying, if I had not had the foresight to emigrate 2 years ago, I could be in a dodgy position now.

The days of the UK big bucks are over. If you are in the markets, on the business side, you are safe for now. It wont be long, I say 10 years max, before these jobs also move abroad. This is where my relationship with the UK goverment, and my old mate Prescott comes in. The UK is no longer a nation, it is a sheep. Maggie, for all her thoughts, loved Britain. Somewhere along the line, I think we lost our nationality. I dont know when, I dont know how, but I know I have, and I am going to the only place in the world where I think it still exists.

I am thankful to the UK. It has made me lots of money, bought me up, made me the person I am today. It has given me the life I always wanted, and the most beautiful wife in the world. Now, I dont see anything else for me here, only trouble, and that is why I am off. I am just lucky that I met someone who also shares my belief, and has the spirit to try something new.

Wohoo, stuff on it's way

08:20, Tue 7 November 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

Thank you thank you thank you Doree Bonner. Outstanding. Hopefully I am not speaking too soon and all our stuff turns up broken, but we have had a real great 2 days. The chaps were ace, we had a real laugh with them, and they made us feel like we were already on our way, getting us excited about leaving the UK. I had a real good chat with the lorry driver, he has emigrated to Spain feeling much the same as we do. He said all he does now when he comes back is drive lorries to peoples houses with containers on, and they are all going to Aus, Canada, Spain or France. 10 years ago, there wasn't much business of this sort, it was all commercial. Go figure Mr Blair, Mr Livingstone and Fat Prat Prescott.

Anyway, here are the final pics of the container.

Empty :

Empty

Loading :

Empty
Empty

Nearly Full :

Empty

Full :

Full

Idiot

06:24, Mon 6 November 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

Wasted an hour tonight looking for a camera that D "Dont leave anything out that you want as they will pack it" thought he had done exactly that, only to find it in his bag. D'oh.

Shippers have been, stuff goes tomorrow

05:15, Mon 6 November 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

Wow, Doree Bonner, what a fantastic company. Those boys worked so hard today, so friendly, respectful, and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. I've driven past some people who have removals companies in, large tattoed chaps with builders bums struggling around trying to load large boxes etc. Not these guys, all well presented, wiping feet everywhere, true professionals.
Anyway, here are the pics of what the house looks like. The living room :

Living Room when packing

Now the bedroom :

Bedroom when packing

Now the clothes :

Our clothes, packed !

Finally, where are we going ?

Microwave meals for the next month

10:30, Thu 26 October 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

The packers are coming on 6/7 November, so we will be living in an empty house for 3 weeks. Blow up bed, portable tv, plastic plates, knives, and forks, and microwave meals for us then ! It's gonna be weird living there, but we will probably be out most of the time anyway, so no biggie. We need to really get cracking on the cleaning and stuff now, so it is all ready for the packers.

Shipping now means, fingers crossed, we should get our stuff back for Christmas

. If it gets stuck in Customs, we probably wont, but hey, so long as we have a BBQ, and a pool, we are happy people !

It is getting real exciting now. The dream is almost upon us. Could not be better timed after our journey in this morning. Central Line, screwed. District Line, screwed. Got kicked off, tried bus, FULL. Next bus, crowded, severe lack of deodorant for most of the passengers, none of them British. Ever since we committed to go this year rather than next, things have happened that are telling us we made exactly the right decision.

1 month to go (Well almost)

10:57, Mon 16 October 2006 .. 2 comments .. Link

38 days to go, wow !

We are real excited now. It's getting pretty real. Speaking to our Aus mates who are over at the moment was great. Remembering all the names of the places D has been to (In his extensive stay of 10 days there previously ! ), has brought it all home.

Shipping quotes are in, and we are ditching the self ship idea. The cost difference is quite small, and considering the amount of time we will have to spend to pack, when we could be working and getting paid, it is probably more expensive. We have quotes from Doree Bonner, John Masons, and Crown. We will make a decision end of the week as to who we use, but we have our favourite already, and we just need them to drop their price a little.

It's kinda scary having people talk about packing your worldly goods, and sending them the other side of the world ! We take great confidence from the people on here, who have all done it, and come out the other side with a smile on their face.

We haven't bashed the UK in a while, so it's defo time for a further instalment of why we have come to hate this place. There was a nice little thread tonight on BE talking about reasons to leave. For once, it was an honest debate about why this country is going down the pan, without the bloody BE thought police "You cant say that, it's not politically correct" a**holes sticking their oar in. They must be off at a tree hugging immigrant friendly conference somewhere. There were a lot of varied posts, but a lot of them pointed to the fact that this country is in decline. Our Aus mates said they noticed a difference since the last time they were here, and it seems, a lot of people feel the same. We, to be frank, are sick of having to share a tube, bus, restaurant, or anywhere with people who do not want to integrate. When we go to Aus, D wont be walking round in an England football top, we may watch the occasional England game, but we already supported Aus in the last World Cup, and we hope beyond all hope that Australia accepts us, and want to be Australian. We already know some of the lingo, here are some of our favourites, Australian first, then politically correct English :

"Oh man, he was stoked" - "Well, he was very excited"
"Yeah, let's get maggot" - "Yes, lets have a tipple"
"Nah, I just wear a T-Shirt and thongs" - "No, I just wear a T-Shirt and sandals"

We love the thongs thing. Rhys, from Aus, came over, and went into a Nike store. Asking the guy did they sell thongs, he got a real strange look. Priceless .

People who come to the UK do not want to integrate. We saw a woman on a driving lesson in a full on veil thing the other day. What is all that about ? I tell you, the first kid that gets run over with someone wearing that driving, it's all gonna kick off. All of these issues could be resolved now, but nobody has any balls in this Country. Look at Aus today, they are to ban North Korean ships from entering their ports, due to the Nuclear Test they did. Decisive action. Can you imagine our goverment doing something so decisive ? Bollocks can you. The one thing someone did was Jack Straw talking about the bloody veils, then fat git Prescott who is the biggest prat in the world comes out and says he disagrees.

Get us on that bloody plane

7 weeks to go

09:49, Thu 5 October 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

We broke 50 days left yesterday, 49 days to go today. We have the shipping quotes coming in, and will make a decision on who to use next week. Then it's just a case of one last clearout over a weekend between now and D day and we are done !

Lots happened recently. D had his first flying lesson, which was ace. Managed to do both the take off (With a fair bit of instructor assistance), and the landing (Up to 20 feet off the strip) himself, which was good for a first attempt. Have looked on the web for Aussie flying schools, and it is pretty cheap to get a PPL out there, so that's another thing we will be doing over there !

More good news, K passed her Prince II final exam, so is now fully Prince II qualified ! The look on her face when she read the letter was first one of horror, as she scanned the letter looking for the words "You've failed", then tears of joy when she realised she had passed.

Work have expressed an interest in extending D's contract. This really messes up the plans, as it would now expire after the flights are scheduled, so we would need to dump those, swallow the cost, and buy new ones. This, coupled with the fact that we have Shay and Rhys over from Aus at the moment, telling us all about how great things are over there have brought us to the conclusion that we are going to go on November 23 as planned. There are too many plans in place for the small amount of extra money we would make delaying the move a month or two, and it's getting too damn cold in the mornings here to make us wanna stay any longer.

64 days to go, we need to get our skates on

09:22, Wed 20 September 2006 .. 1 comments .. Link

Quite a bit has happened since the last update. K has started her new job, which she loves. The City office is apprently v posh, coming from where she was, metal knives and forks at lunch was posh . Shame the contract is so short, she should have done it far sooner !

We went to Oxford for the last time probably at the weekend too. Most of K's friends were there, and we had a great night, so it was a fitting finale. We took Mia and Josh ice skating during the day, and they had a really good time. Overall, a really really good weekend.

Also been to Dads in Spain, again for the last time in a while. It was really nice weather for once down there, and now Dad is hooked up to the net, there should be no stopping him. We got him a webcam and set it up, so we can talk to them from Oz. He hasn't got the hang of it quite yet, shouting loudly at the screen is not required.

We both bought bikes, matching ones too . K baulked at the matching cycle helmets to go with them though. She looks quite good in hers (Typically), but my elongated head looks like the stork, and the helmet, the head of the mushroom on me. We've been biking everywhere to get ready for our new lives, and really love it. Walking like a cowboy at the moment though, I need to get a wider saddle I think.

We really need to concentrate on getting things ready now. K has now shirked her only responsibility, the movers. "I cant anymore, not with the new job" was her only justification. I've booked Dorree Bonner to come round already, and plan to do some more today.

We are boot saling this weekend. One of those wonderful events you do once a year if you are very unlucky. When we sold the house, we chucked loads. K said a lot of it would not have sold, but I reminded her last time I did one, I sold a maroon toilet seat with no fittings for 50p, so go figure. The sight of that woman with her arm through the middle of it, walking off down the field made the whole thing worthwhile. Anyway, this time, we said we are not chucking anything. My goal is to outdo the toilet seat, and some other gems I have sold at boot sales, as it will be our last in the UK. For instance, I once sold a broken iron. Before you ask, I did say it was broken. The guy said it did not matter, he could still sell it. I said, how, it's broken. His answer ? "They will just use it to throw at someone probably". Marvellous.

Ssssshh, quiet update, the BE thought police are listening

02:02, Wed 13 September 2006 .. 2 comments .. Link

Have not updated the blog for a while after I took a pasting from the ever dilligent BE thought police. These people who jump on any statement you make, as they do not believe your opinion is worthy of any comment other than to start making all kinds of claims about what sort of person you may be, when in truth they know NOTHING. The twats do not realise these are widely held views outside of their little utopian world they exist in. They know who they are, and I look forward to reading about their demise from the other side of the world.

Anyway, enough of the idiots. Things are going real well at the moment. The Bank balance is going through the roof with all the work we have been doing, and K now has a new contract, at a greatly increased rate, which will help even more. When it was announced, many cries of "Great, you are staying" were heard, but a little premature I am afraid. True, we have the option now we have an extended intial entry date, but the lure of the Aussie way of life, and the fact that it seems most UK primary schools are being turned into terrorist training camps is doing nothing for that idea.

We have looked into what house we would like to build, and there is a clear winner. The Kirribilli from Clarendon Homes. The link is below :

http://www.clarendonhomes.com.au/html3/desi_doub_a/kirr/faca.html

Here is a quick piccie too :

Lush eh ? Anyhow, you wont believe how cheap that house is, and once we find the land, we will fill you all in on how cheap the whole thing is compared to the UK. True, we will be earning less blah blah blah, but stick a pool on the back of that thing and I am happy as Larry.

That's all for now, just remember, if the thought police come a knocking, I was never here.

12 weeks to go people !

11:35, Wed 30 August 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

Things are moving real fast now. It's only 12 weeks and we are off. We've booked into the Crowne Plaza Heathrow for our final UK soiree. One short step from there, on the plane, and gone. We've gone for the Executive room ofcourse, with access to a private lounge with a fully stocked bar etc. Canapes at 7:30, lovely old job.

Staying in the Mercure Sydney Airport Hotel when we arrive for 1 night, before picking up the 6 berth motorhome monster the next day. The hotel looks lovely, and was recommended to us by the camper van people. Very reasonable on price too.

The exchange rate is doing rather well again, so much so that at the weekend we sent another bundle of cash over. We traded right at the peak, 2.5017 interbank rate, which was ace !

Had to work all weekend, but that's the deposit on the boat paid for I guess, so it was not all bad. Been looking at some real lush rental properties on the web too, the pool's, the huge gardens, we are gonna be brown mo fo's !

The GoAussie List

11:08, Thu 24 August 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

We have started a what to do document, which once we have been in Aus a while we will share with anyone who wants it. It details what to do, when, and how. Things like transferring pensions, self shipping tips, all the stuff that is kind of already on the forums, just in many different places. We've split the tasks between us, and interestingly I get 99% of the tasks, and K get the remaining 1%. K's reasoning behind this was "You are better at that kind of stuff than me". Hmmm.

Anyway, I dont mind as she has probably the biggest job, the dreaded shipping. This really is her field anyway, a) because she kind of deals with this in her current/old job (Even though she is a Project Manager now really), and b) because she will flutter her eyelids, flash her legs, and get a much better deal than I ever could.

The BBC website has a great forum today, Have Your Say on Immigration. I have a comment on there, ofcourse, but Dale Avery bless his soul is now my hero. No idea who this chap is but Dale, if you are out there, and reading this, love your work chap. Here is what he said :

Added: Thursday, 24 August, 2006, 08:32 GMT 09:32 UK

I think we should take the same stance as Australia.

Our country has one Government there are one set of rules for everyone. If they wish to live under Muslim or any other law other than UK law then they should leave the UK. After all they were allowed to come here and they also have the freedom to leave if they choose. If our way of life and God offends them we should not apologise it is our way and they chose to move here. Until immigrants can accept this there will be no integration

Dale Avery, Bushey

Go Dale ! The address of the forum if you fancy a spot of scum bashing is :

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=3431&edition=1&ttl=20060824103042&#paginator

3 month coundtdown

10:14, Tue 22 August 2006 .. 1 comments .. Link

3 months to go now, we are getting real excited. We finally took the plunge yesterday and paid for the campervan, and campsite for the first week. I was working nights, so I was getting the emails back from Oz as I sat at my desk nodding off, which was real exciting. It has bought a sense of realism to the whole thing, and now we cant wait to get off.

We watched an ace programme on Australian customs over the weekend. Check this, the Aussie immigration people found an illegal worker, arrested him, put him in detention, MADE HIM PAY FOR IT, AUD$125 PER DAY, until he agreed to be deported. If he did not agree, they deported him anyway. FANTASTIC ! That is what we want, not this UK come on in crap. Kick em all out I say, let them go and bomb their own bleedin kind !

The garage is full of boot sale stuff now, as we start to get ready for packing up. We've sold pretty much everything except K's car, and that will be going the last week or so we are here.

Weather is getting warmer in Sydney, nights drawing in here. Bring on the Sydney summer !

The Motherload arrives

01:44, Tue 15 August 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

We will sleep a litle better tonight knowing that our money has crossed the e-devide between here and Aus, and now sits in the account over there. With a good rate of interest, the balance will have swollen somewhat by the time we arrive, which is great news.

Not really much else going on at the moment. We have everything sorted, the visa, the Bank account, the flights, all we need now do is make a final decision on the shippers. We were going to do it ourselves, but with the smaller load we will now be taking, no cars etc, we wont need a whole container, so the full monty with a shipping company may be an option. I cant see we are going to save a lot doing it ourselves, and it will be a lot more aggro.

We've also decided to spend the night at Heathrow the day before we fly, as we will be going so early the next day. It will be our last night in the UK, so it will be good to be able to stumble upstairs from the bar, after toasting the UK goodbye. We wont be shedding any tears on that front though, our friends we will miss, the country we will not.

Our work is done

09:19, Sat 12 August 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

This is it. What we have been waiting for. After only posting the passports Thursday afternoon, 9:00 this morning, a knock on the door, and guess what ? Our passports are back, but with one big difference. They have a little slip inside, our Australian Visas.

Got hammered last night cos K passed her exam, so that knock on the door was not too welcome, until I saw what the postie had in his hand.

Sandra is coming over shortly, I am sure she will be well happy to see the visas here. Sorry San

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