In Devon

Old Jul 23rd 2014, 1:22 am
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Default Re: In Devon

Originally Posted by pondhopper2014
Ahh... some of the hidden ugly truths about Canada are surfacing. Yes, isolation is high up there in the negatives of Canada. I live in a small town (500 residents), an hour and a bit out of both Montreal and Ottawa... just enough to be "too far" for regular trips with the family, and no busses, with the nearest "towns of any significance" too far to walk/bike with children... so we are dependent on our vehicles, go through a TON of gas (petrol... which btw, is not overly cheap here either at 1.35 a litre more often than not, but a necessity)...

I long for walking distance shops, I long for a transportation system that is well established, I long for the UK.

Blessings!
Yes, pondhopper, this is something I really enjoy about being in the UK--things in walking distance, and good public transportation.
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Old Jul 24th 2014, 11:18 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

No thread about moving back would be complete without a few gripes, so here are mine:-

Call Centres:

I don't mind BT deciding to use a call centre in India, but I do wish they'd chosen one staffed by people who speak English. I've had two conversations with people whom I could not understand and who seemed to have a very limited English vocabulary.

On the other hand Scottish Power's call centre does appear to be in Scotland (unless it is like the Dell call centre which used to have Indians speaking in Oirish accents). But, that was really the only difference, since the staff seem to be unable to cope with anything but the most simple queries and seem nervous of straying outside their script. I got asked four times, by four different operatives, whether I paid monthly or by standing order, when I'd already explained that I was making a query about an account which has had no payments set up on it at all. One of the operatives asked me the same question twice, apparently not knowing what to do if he got an unexpected answer.

BT and Scottish Power both have websites which attempt to control their customers communications with them by prescribing the questions they can ask. I did manage to resolve my problems with BT, but I'm going to have to resort to snail mail to communicate with Scottish Power, and who knows whether they answer letters?

I also used to get frustrated by Canadian call-centres, but that was generally because the voice recognition software couldn't understand my accent; when I eventually got to speak to an actual person my query usually got answered. The chances of getting any useful information from a British call-centre seem 50:50 at best.

An awful lot of people employed by British companies give the impression that the only satisfaction they get from their work is when they manage to screw up someone else's day.
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Old Jul 31st 2014, 8:14 am
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Default Re: In Devon

Our container arrives tomorrow. OH is giving a paper at an academic conference (a commitment he cunningly made eighteen months ago), so I have to deal with the tsunami of books on my own.

We have succeeded in decorating the living room and dining room already and had some carpentry jobs done, but we have a plumber and an electrician booked for next week, so I'll have to make sure there are corridors through the boxes of books so they can work.

I bought a new bike yesterday. I cycled for 30 years, but gave it up 17 years ago. It is true that you never forget how to ride, but yesterday I proved that you can sure get rusty! On my first run I toppled over and fell into a hedge. Fortunately it was one without nettles.
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Old Jul 31st 2014, 11:48 am
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Default Re: In Devon

Originally Posted by Editha
Our container arrives tomorrow. OH is giving a paper at an academic conference (a commitment he cunningly made eighteen months ago), so I have to deal with the tsunami of books on my own.

We have succeeded in decorating the living room and dining room already and had some carpentry jobs done, but we have a plumber and an electrician booked for next week, so I'll have to make sure there are corridors through the boxes of books so they can work.

I bought a new bike yesterday. I cycled for 30 years, but gave it up 17 years ago. It is true that you never forget how to ride, but yesterday I proved that you can sure get rusty! On my first run I toppled over and fell into a hedge. Fortunately it was one without nettles.
Well done with the decorating done so far--real progress! Good luck with the avalanche of books and with leaving the corridors. Don't be tempted to LIFT any book boxes yourself (you may be as strong as a horse, please don't be offended--I just know from bitter experience the damage one can do lifting books.)

Ha yes good thing there were no nettles! You are brave, good luck with the bike.
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Old Jul 31st 2014, 12:14 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

Thanks for your good wishes 'between two worlds'.

Just before OH left this morning, I got an email from Eurogroup (i.e. Upakweship) saying they have to cancel the delivery for Friday. The container has been cleared by customs, but the shipping line refuses to release it because of a problem 'at the point of origin'.

Baffled, I rang them and was told that it is a problem with the bill of lading. I don't know what that means and the person I spoke to couldn't explain, but it sounds to me as if Upakweship haven't paid the shipping line. They are trying to sort out the problem.

Now, earliest delivery now will be Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Wednesday would suit me fine, since OH will be back by then. On the other hand we may have to postpone the house rewiring.
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Old Jul 31st 2014, 1:03 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

Originally Posted by Editha
No thread about moving back would be complete without a few gripes, so here are mine:-

Call Centres:

I don't mind BT deciding to use a call centre in India, but I do wish they'd chosen one staffed by people who speak English. I've had two conversations with people whom I could not understand and who seemed to have a very limited English vocabulary.

On the other hand Scottish Power's call centre does appear to be in Scotland (unless it is like the Dell call centre which used to have Indians speaking in Oirish accents). But, that was really the only difference, since the staff seem to be unable to cope with anything but the most simple queries and seem nervous of straying outside their script. I got asked four times, by four different operatives, whether I paid monthly or by standing order, when I'd already explained that I was making a query about an account which has had no payments set up on it at all. One of the operatives asked me the same question twice, apparently not knowing what to do if he got an unexpected answer.

BT and Scottish Power both have websites which attempt to control their customers communications with them by prescribing the questions they can ask. I did manage to resolve my problems with BT, but I'm going to have to resort to snail mail to communicate with Scottish Power, and who knows whether they answer letters?

I also used to get frustrated by Canadian call-centres, but that was generally because the voice recognition software couldn't understand my accent; when I eventually got to speak to an actual person my query usually got answered. The chances of getting any useful information from a British call-centre seem 50:50 at best.

An awful lot of people employed by British companies give the impression that the only satisfaction they get from their work is when they manage to screw up someone else's day.
Kind of got used to the Indian connection as Barclays were one of the first to offshore call centre personnel. Used to love it when they would tell me to go to my local 'branch' to execute wire payments when the local branch was 4,000 miles away - geography wasn't a strong point either.

We are still trying to work out who to go to for our comms bundle. BT on the sales side say we cannot set up internet (for their 'roaming' WIFI which is free to subscribers) until we have a street address - which isn't until late September and we arrive this Saturday. In the interim, we'll have to use Skype and Skype WIFI and the free WIFI connections which in our initial area are in Exeter and Exmouth. Then there are pubs/cafes. We will be in Devon for a couple of weeks from this Monday.

Will pick choices from the uSwitch site and we are considering Virgin Media as well as BT.

I must say that the customer service stuff is a worry. Being in constant touch with estate agents for the last four months for sales (I'm selling) and rentals is NOT a good experience in so many different ways.

What we are taking to the UK is going with us in suitcases and we are now out of our home here, which is rented, so that we have time to just settle down and make sure we have addressed EVERYTHING before the flight on Friday night. We are using monthly storage near Gatwick (Edenbridge) to hold stuff that we simply can't trundle around on trains in the interim before we occupy our actual HOME expected to be in Dorset. However, I am still leaving the door ajar in case we ultimately decide that the Exeter, east of the Exe area, will work better, though that seems really rather unlikely now.
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Old Jul 31st 2014, 1:11 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

Originally Posted by Pistolpete2

We are still trying to work out who to go to for our comms bundle. BT on the sales side say we cannot set up internet (for their 'roaming' WIFI which is free to subscribers) until we have a street address - which isn't until late September and we arrive this Saturday. In the interim, we'll have to use Skype and Skype WIFI and the free WIFI connections which in our initial area are in Exeter and Exmouth. Then there are pubs/cafes. We will be in Devon for a couple of weeks from this Monday.

Will pick choices from the uSwitch site and we are considering Virgin Media as well as BT.
You can pay as you go on the BT WiFi -

https://www.btwifi.co.uk/

If you find that the pub/cafe provision isn't up to scratch ie too slow or too patchy, you could always opt for the BT WiFi for a short time.
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Old Jul 31st 2014, 1:45 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

Originally Posted by rebs
You can pay as you go on the BT WiFi -

https://www.btwifi.co.uk/

If you find that the pub/cafe provision isn't up to scratch ie too slow or too patchy, you could always opt for the BT WiFi for a short time.
I used that service when I was in England for ten weeks over last winter, at a holiday cottage that didn't have wifi. 39 pounds is a bit high, but it was reliable and definitely worthwhile for a stopgap. It's hit or miss though, available some places but not others.
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Old Jul 31st 2014, 1:59 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

I do like the BT internet service. The 'hub' they use is an elegant bit of kit, very easy to set up. And I've made ample use of the free roaming wifi that comes with it, since I had it installed at my mum's house a couple of years ago. When we moved here, it took a few days for BT to connect, but in the meantime we had internet access from our neighbour's BT hub.

We can't use their TV service because the only way of getting TV here is by using a satellite dish.
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Old Jul 31st 2014, 2:34 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

Originally Posted by rebs
You can pay as you go on the BT WiFi -

https://www.btwifi.co.uk/

If you find that the pub/cafe provision isn't up to scratch ie too slow or too patchy, you could always opt for the BT WiFi for a short time.
Very good! Thanks!
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Old Jul 31st 2014, 11:49 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

Originally Posted by Editha
I do like the BT internet service. The 'hub' they use is an elegant bit of kit, very easy to set up. And I've made ample use of the free roaming wifi that comes with it, since I had it installed at my mum's house a couple of years ago. When we moved here, it took a few days for BT to connect, but in the meantime we had internet access from our neighbour's BT hub.
Wow. That sounds really cool
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Old Aug 31st 2014, 9:08 am
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Default Re: In Devon

Two months now since we returned, so I thought I'd give you all an update:

As far as the practical/financial side of things goes, we are spending significantly more money on petrol and food than I expected. This is mainly because of living in one of England's more remote spots: Renovating our house has meant long trips to DIY stores and the recycling centre, while there isn't an Aldi or Lidl anywhere near us for bargains.

I think our bills will come down as we get more used to living in the locality. I've already discovered a local butcher who is cheaper than the supermarkets and delivers to our village and we will be using the car less often once we finish the work on the house.

What has been quite wonderful for a Londoner like me, used to paying the plumber more than I earned as a lawyer, is the availability of skilled, reasonably priced, workmen. We've employed an electrician, plumber, carpenter and roofer in the last two months and been very satisfied with all the work that has been done.

Because we've been so busy with the house, we haven't had much time to get involved in community activities, but we did attend a few concerts in the music festival and last week we went to one of the open air theatre performances at our local stately home. Taking part in cultural events in this locality requires higher than average British stoicism. The concerts were held at our local church which has the most uncomfortable pews in Christendom and it poured with rain all through the theatre performance but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

OH has been made very welcome at the uni and he is as happy as a pig in shit. I'm pleased for him, but my heart sank when he told me that they've given him a book allowance. Do they have to feed his addiction? He already has the methadone drip of review copies, but a book allowance is like a heroin wrap. I'm already going to be spending much of the next few months putting up shelves for the 200 boxes of books we brought with us. Thank God for IKEA.

There have been several discussions on this forum about the difficulty in getting washing dry in the UK's humid climate. I'm anti tumble-drier on eco and expense grounds, plus we gave away the drier which came with the house because we needed the space for a freezer. But, being a coastal area, the washing on the line often remains a bit damp, even on a sunny day. We've solved the problem by buying an electric airer from Lakeland.

Our cats have settled in very well, although our neutered Tom is still having territorial disputes. We've had one complaint from our neighbour about the noise. Being Canadian, and despite having spent 30 years of his life previously in the UK, OH did not recognise it as a complaint, because our neighbour knocked on the door and said she was enquiring about whether our cat was ill. He thought it was a genuine enquiry about the animal's health.

It's been a wonderful summer here, though autumn has come early. We went swimming in the sea and we have done some walking, as well as spending time clearing the garden. I'm very happy.
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Old Aug 31st 2014, 3:55 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

Originally Posted by Editha
Two months now since we returned, so I thought I'd give you all an update:

Great update, Editha!!

As far as the practical/financial side of things goes, we are spending significantly more money on petrol and food than I expected. This is mainly because of living in one of England's more remote spots: Renovating our house has meant long trips to DIY stores and the recycling centre, while there isn't an Aldi or Lidl anywhere near us for bargains.

I think our bills will come down as we get more used to living in the locality. I've already discovered a local butcher who is cheaper than the supermarkets and delivers to our village and we will be using the car less often once we finish the work on the house.

What has been quite wonderful for a Londoner like me, used to paying the plumber more than I earned as a lawyer, is the availability of skilled, reasonably priced, workmen. We've employed an electrician, plumber, carpenter and roofer in the last two months and been very satisfied with all the work that has been done.

Excellent that you're finding cheaper options...but yes, living somewhere remote does make things harder...

Because we've been so busy with the house, we haven't had much time to get involved in community activities, but we did attend a few concerts in the music festival and last week we went to one of the open air theatre performances at our local stately home. Taking part in cultural events in this locality requires higher than average British stoicism. The concerts were held at our local church which has the most uncomfortable pews in Christendom and it poured with rain all through the theatre performance but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

This made me laugh! But I think there's a need for stoicism in many corners of Britain!

OH has been made very welcome at the uni and he is as happy as a pig in shit. I'm pleased for him, but my heart sank when he told me that they've given him a book allowance. Do they have to feed his addiction? He already has the methadone drip of review copies, but a book allowance is like a heroin wrap. I'm already going to be spending much of the next few months putting up shelves for the 200 boxes of books we brought with us. Thank God for IKEA.

I am so impressed by/jealous of/ this book allowance!!! How lucky...I have a similar addiction. My husband has periodic nightmares about the weight of my books bringing our house--whichever one we are in-crashing down. Once I get my library moved from USA to here in uk, these nightmares will recommence...

There have been several discussions on this forum about the difficulty in getting washing dry in the UK's humid climate. I'm anti tumble-drier on eco and expense grounds, plus we gave away the drier which came with the house because we needed the space for a freezer. But, being a coastal area, the washing on the line often remains a bit damp, even on a sunny day. We've solved the problem by buying an electric airer from Lakeland.

I saw this airer in Lakeland and thought it looked a great wheeze.

Our cats have settled in very well, although our neutered Tom is still having territorial disputes. We've had one complaint from our neighbour about the noise. Being Canadian, and despite having spent 30 years of his life previously in the UK, OH did not recognise it as a complaint, because our neighbour knocked on the door and said she was enquiring about whether our cat was ill. He thought it was a genuine enquiry about the animal's health.

!!!!!! So funny.....

It's been a wonderful summer here, though autumn has come early. We went swimming in the sea and we have done some walking, as well as spending time clearing the garden. I'm very happy.
Ah Editha, that is lovely to hear. I hope you are enjoying the incredible weather today--at least here in Glos (lovely and sunny and pleasantly warm, ie "boiling," "so hot," in local parlance!!!).
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Old Sep 11th 2014, 11:18 pm
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Default Re: In Devon

Chiropody. I was tempted to add this to the What Makes Britain Great thread.

Chiropody. Not podiatry. I had a mobile chiropodist call today and she did my corny feet, which are much worse due to eight years of Canadian podiatry. My feet are glad they came home.
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Old Sep 12th 2014, 12:42 am
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Default Re: In Devon

Lovey to read your update Editha.
I am trying to follow how well you settle back into a UK life . It is interesting to read your experiences.
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