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Originally posted by debsy
Oh Sindy - I really felt sorry for you. Howver, it seems that you are having a great time. Let us know when you move in to your new apartment.

Glad you are enjoying it.

Debs

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Originally posted by Pollyana
Sounds like things got a bot frantic for a while Sindy! Hope things go well with the new place and the job - and it sounds like you're meeting some great - and helpful- people!
Good luck,

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Originally posted by footie chick
Hi Sindy & Bill

Whew i am exhausted just reading your post, and i can sympathise as when we went on holiday the other year i got the date wrong and we only had a hour or so before we were due on the ferry.

Best of luck and hope you have a nice time at the picnic on Sunday.


footie chick

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Originally posted by Sindy
G'day


Ok, as we have now been here for almost a month it's time for the second update on our never ending adventure down under.

So there we were sitting pretty in our temporary rented accommodation on the morning of 26th September. We were all set for the move to our new premises the next day. Unusually for us we had already arranged for a seamless transition to the new place by arranging for our relatives and a convoy of vehicles to arrive the next morning to pick up our stuff. So what could possibly go wrong?

Well, as we sat contentedly in our lounge discussing the planned activities for the day (Morning coffee with Jockney and his family down by the beach, pre – employment medical for Bill at 2pm, and a trip to the estate agent to pick up our keys later in the afternoon for our new rented home) when a tap on the door interrupted our conversation. I answered the door and there stood our apartment cleaners, I explained that as we would be leaving the next day that perhaps it would be best if they returned tomorrow. "Sorry, thought it was today�. they said, “Nah� said me, “Its definitely tomorrow�. They looked puzzled but left to continue cleaning another apartment.

Told Bill what they had said, that they thought we were leaving today, to which he reassured me, for two seconds, with “Nope, we are definitely booked in here until the 26th�. An uneasy silence followed this sentence as we looked in horror at each other. “Err, wait a minute, today is the 26th……..Ahhhhhhhh!�

The scenes that followed would not have looked out of place in a Keystone cops movie. Bill called the apartment owners in the hope of extending our stay only to find out that a family of six were due to arrive at midday and the cleaners needed to be in by 10am to fix up the apartment. It was now 9.45! What were we going to do now? We had to be out of the apartment in the next 15 mins and we had our arrival baggage of nearly 200Kg of luggage, plus a variety of new bulky articles (Pillows, quilts sheets, cutlery etc) for the new house scattered around the apartment! Bloody hell!!

This was definitely our darkest hour (or near to the top, we seem to have so many!). Even if we could quickly get it all together, which would be impossible, where would we put it? We thought of outside but then dead on cue the skies clouded over and a torrential downpour started, accompanied by some very high winds outside of the apartment (or was that Bill and I!).

There seemed to be no way out, we dropped into auto pilot and continued to assemble our belongings and pile them up by the door. I was like a zombie, very pale, vacant, and desperately trying not to cry. Another tap on the door stopped our frantic activities in there tracks. “What now, I know its 10am but geeze, give us a chance�. Thankfully it was our upstairs neighbour who had heard of our plight and had come down to lend a hand. “Hey� she said “Don't worry about anything, we can take all of your stuff in while you sort yourselves out�. Lisa, my neighbour (that I had never met before) told me afterward that she could tell by just one look at my face that I wasn't handling things well, so she decided to take charge. She gave me a bag and told me to just take everything out of drawers and from tops of tables and just throw it in the bag "you can always sort it out later upstairs" she said. I think if she hadn't been there I would probably still be clearing out the apartment! She got the boys organised into taking the light bags and suitcases upstairs and found something for Rosina (5) to do so she was occupied and out of the way.

Bill then rang the telephone company and arranged for the line to be disconnected ASAP - the last thing we wanted was for the next people running up a huge telephone bill for us (we can do a good enough job of that ourselves!) Lisa came back into our apartment from one of her many trips and suddenly announced that she had just called her husband and that he would be coming home from work to help us out!! As he was nearby it would only take about 10 mins. Sure enough about 10 mins later Mark (Lisa’s husband) appeared. As well as helping move our stuff he also took it upon himself to ring around and try to find us alternative accommodation. This proved difficult as the next two weeks are school holidays and everywhere seemed to be booked solid. Eventually he found somewhere nearby - phew - and by 10:40 we had moved everything out of our apartment, and turned their apartment into something that resembled a cross between a tip and an obstacle course.

Mark and Lisa were absolutely awesome. Having helped us out of a massive predicament they now proceeded to make us all tea and coffee and helped us to calm down a bit. They told us that they had moved at least 10 times which was why they were quite expert and organised. They then let us use their phone to call for a taxi to take us into Adelaide for Bill to have his medical (high blood pressure or what!). Lisa offered to look after Lewis for us until we got back as he had been playing with her son David (also 9) for the past three weeks and they had become inseparable (Oh dear, another boo hoo time for Lewis )

Mark told Bill to try and not stress out to much about the job, he said he felt sure that he would get it, as after all that we had been through we had stuck it out, so we were obviously meant to be here, but if things didn't work out job wise he would get him a job working with him for Telstra (Australia's equivalent to BT)

The medical surprisingly went ok and we picked the keys up from the estate agent with no hitch. When we returned Lisa offered to keep Lewis until later that evening (and feed him) and Mark would bring him over to our motel when he returned from work. They had also said that they were happy to hold onto all of our stuff until it was picked up the next day. You wouldn't believe the state of their apartment, they could hardly move. When Mark dropped Lewis off that night he said that he and Lisa had been discussing our situation (Endowment not through yet) and that they were both willing to lend us some money to see us through until the house was sold! Flipping heck, they can't be normal people, more like our guardian angels! Naturally we declined but wow, what an offer, and from strangers.

I can't believe how friendly and helpful the people have been here. When we were out in a little cafe having a snack the owner, when finding out we had just migrated, asked if we had been to the local estate agents. We said no, that was our next port of call and she said "no worries, i'll nip out for you" She was the only person working in the cafe so closed for five minutes and left us inside to carry on eating. Can't see that happening too much in England!

The generosity of all of the australians we have met has been overwhelming. My cousins all pitched in to help us move and loaned us an amazing amount of stuff to tide us over.

Sorry it's another big post,

Sindy

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Originally posted by Sindy
Sindy

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