ianandhelena

yep, a Marquee at the regatta.

up early-not enough beer last night!!

travelbug

Seeing as it's the weekend now - i'm sure you're going to make up for it!
Going to watch any bands this weekend?

ianandhelena

Sunday night, wrest point casino, Guy Sebastian doing his Memphis soul album show, featuring Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn from Booker T and the MGs/Blues Brothers band. Steve C is famous for writing some classics including Dock Of The Bay, and he's also an excellent guitarist...

travelbug

Sounds good! Hope you have a great time! Quite a few things are held at the Wrest Point aren't they? Do you normally have to buy tickets for such events way in advance like you do here in the UK or can you get them that week depending on the popularity of the performers?
I remember seeing a great Soul / Blues Brother cover band at the 100club in Oxford Street years ago....cant quite remember what they were called though! My memories deserting me as i get older!

natty

Hwy Travelbug

what kind of tradesman is your husband?

my husband is a recruitment consultant and he says that the north and south generally pay the same and he has got very good tradesman jobs at $30-35 an hour- of course it does depend on the trade though.

Nat xx

natty

sorry- just read what he was !

Husband says he should contact Incat- they are always needing people with his trade

Nat xx

natty

we did and we saw it go down the river from our house which was nice.

Nat xx

natty

that was the circus that came to visit

travelbug

Hi Nat, thanks for your messages - Incat are the build/ship builders aren't they? Andy wouldnt be able to work for such companies as he has no experience with that kind of metal work unfortunately - it's very different from the kind of metal insulation work he does in the Construction Industry...
i'm not sure that he would fancy re-training - especially as normally that would entail a drop in salary!
Although we got our PR visa's with his Sheetmetal working skills he hasn't done workshop based metalwork since his apprenticeship (which was a good few years ago!) and a lot of the sheetmetal jobs advertised are for just the workshop based work - after being on site for so many years Andy would struggle to be indoors all day... but thank you anyway - and for asking your husband!
I think we'll just have to see what happens when we arrive. We have been in touch already with all the major insulation/metal companies that do the work he does - most have replied saying get in touch once we're on the Island so i guess that's what we'll need to do... if you dont mind me asking - what kind of work do you do?

natty

i work for a investment company - i deal with financial advisers in a customer service centre.

i worked in admin for ten years before moving to oz and didnt have a problem getting a job- infact me and the husband both got jobs within 4 weeks of getting here- you will both be fine i am sure- what job do you do in uk

nat x x

ps- holding bundle of joy hence one hand typing !!!

travelbug

Hi Nat, i have worked for a couple of large reinsurance companies for the last
20 years almost. One company was taken over by a US owned company more than 8 years ago - that company was called Aon - they have an office in Hobart and many of the main Australian cities....(main office being Sydney). One of my old bosses actually emigrated with his Australian wife and kids to Sydney and now works in the Sydney office. About a year ago, the part of Aon that i work for (Accounts) was outsourced to another company that i work for now - so my old employer has now become my "client" which is pretty weird as all the people we deal with in London and all over the world still consider us to be "Aon" staff as well as we've all worked together for years....to them it's not like we work for a different company. We dont deal with car insurance/house ins etc - it's more major catastrophe covers - and stuff like Terrorism, Marine and Aviation business etc...When i had my daughter nearly 5 years ago i returned to work when she was just 4months old (her grandparents looked after her till she was 2 1/2 and then she went to a private nursery 3days a week which cost us a fortune till she started school last September) - but i went back on just 21 hours a week and have kept those hours - except i had 7months off work after having Jared December 2006 - and when i went back this time they agreed to me working "flexible" hours so that we didnt have to worry about childcare for Jared. My main clients are USA and Canada based - so when Andy gets home from work and can have the kids i go to work normally from about 4pm till 8.15-8.30ish.... Sometimes i'm in earlier or later...some weeks i've done my 21 hours before friday so i dont have to work that day or the weekend at all...other times if i'm short on my hours they allow me to work Saturday to make the time up... They've been really great like that but i know it's because i've been there so long that it's allowed - as no-one else in the department does similar hours (and there's more than 120 of us in just accounts). It's handy though as i can ring the States & Canada to sort stuff out - especially the West Coast because of the time difference as many of my colleagues go home at 4.30pm... I know i couldnt do these hours indefinitely - especially on Eden's school days i dont see much of her, but when i started i knew it wouldnt be forever and my employers know it may only be a couple of months now before i hand my notice in....
I am hoping to have a break for a bit when we 1st arrive although would work if i have to... I may even make contact with the Hobart Aon office prior to leaving the UK to put some feelers out....but i know i couldnt not work indefinitely as i need to be doing something - i get bored easily - and as Andy would confirm i get very irritating to live with if i'm bored!!

you'll soon become a master of one-hand typing.....one-hand pretty much anything once you've got kids i think!

travelbug

Can anyone recommend any nice places to stay near Devonport that they've stayed in themselves? When we eventually come over we're thinking of perhaps spending a few days having a look about the Devonport area before coming down South (a town called Ulverstone in particular if anyone knows it?)....We'll probably be coming via the Ferry from Melbourne as hopefully we'll buy a car there... We need something self-catering rather than just B&B as it makes things easier catering for the kids for some of their meals..... thanks All....Cathy

Lenmil

Hi, not stayed in Ulveston but pass through it many times and been to Devonport too. Nice places and close to the sea. From Wynyard to devonport is a nice drive. We have seen dolphins and wales in the ocean just driving along the Bass highway. The roads here are excellent. Tassie is a really beautifull place with very friendly people. You will love it here, good luck to you.

travelbug

Hi - thanks for your reply.... I recognise you (although i know you have a different name) from the Tassie Forum! Must be wonderful to see dolphins and whales whilst just driving along the Bass Highway
We loved what we saw of the South of the Island in November and are really disappointed that we never included the North or East Coast in our trip as well...
But i guess we've got plenty of time to explore the whole of the Island once there.... My OH had a response from a company based in Ulverstone - hence our interest in seeing what the place was like....

travelbug

How was the show on Sunday night?