Things are going better than we expected I am is settled at work, Gemma is doing well in Fredericton High School and they have put her in a sort of creative writing class with 17 & 18 year olds. The teacher keeps getting her to read out to the class so they can hear a British accent.

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Kathryn has started applying for universities in Atlantic Canada and the she is doing well in her preparations at the NB Community College for taking the provincial exams in maths, chemistry, English and biology (so the universities understand her qualifications).

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Julie has started looking for work, however it’s tougher for Julie than we thought. Every government job asked for bilingual English/French and the rest of the workplace seems to be run in cliques with jobs for the people you know rather than outsiders.

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We have had some shocks though.

Healthcare costs are very high compared to the UK, both dentistry and prescription medicines make you realise why North Americans value jobs with healthcare insurance so highly. David had his usual prescription for his knees and in the UK  he would pay 12 pounds for two items, here it was closer to 200 pounds! (How little we realise the true cost of drugs in the UK…. So don’t ever grumble about prescription charges again).

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Surprisingly we find food more expensive in relative terms than the UK and probably spend the same amount (in £ value) as when we were in the UK but of course we are living on a Canadian dollar salary.

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By mid march the snow had all gone, it never really returned after the big thaw mid January. This has been the mildest winter in living memory. The spring is beautiful all the green, trees in burst into bud almost overnight. There are so many varieties tree it makes you dizzy trying to count them, beech, birch, red oak, cedar, elm, rowan, several varieties of fir, pine and maple, the silver birch is beautiful in its pristine white bark that peels off as it grows. That list is just from our garden!

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For relaxation we have been walking the trails in the hills behind the house and the local provincial park (Mactaquac) about 15 minute drive from us, going away from town.  During the walks we have seen beaver and muskrat in the ponds, big black and white kingfishers, owls, hawks and huge turkey vultures plus groundhogs and deer.

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White tailed deer are a common sight as we drive to and from work / school so much so we don’t really notice them much anymore.  I have twice nearly collected a deer on the hood (bonnet) of the car. The deer seem to play chicken on the main road, they wait around in pairs and one dashes across as the car approaches and the next one waits a few more seconds to make it interesting (scary for us).

We will be back in the UK in 2007!  Julie’s brother is getting married in March 2007 and David has the honour of being asked to be Ian’s best man.  The wedding is in Cambridge so we will be around Cambridge and Nottingham for two weeks in March. So we will be stocking up on those things we miss or just don’t taste the same in Canada:

• Heinz Baked Beans (available in Canada but stronger flavour)
• Paxo stuffing
• Oxo cubes (available in Canada but weaker flavour)
• Bisto Gravy (available in Canada but weaker flavour)
• Branston Pickle
• Back Bacon
• Processed peas
• Pork Pies
• Cornish Pasties
• Sausage Rolls
• A decent curry restaurant
• A decent Chinese takeaway or restaurant

Its funny how you suddenly start to crave those things you were not partial to when you can’t get them. Julie has developed this craving for UK baked beans (no she isn’t pregnant). In Canada the baked beans are darker and no matter what type we by (even Heinz) they seem to have some form of sweetener such as molasses added. Oh well I suppose we will eventually get used to the taste, and when we try some UK beans we will think they are bland.