Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Hi everybody, we're back!

I would like to thank you all once again for the support you have given us following the death of my MIL, It was a bit of a shock to hear of Ruby Murrays situation too!

As you all know the reason we were back in the UK was the funeral, but I thought I'd post our observations too.

The Funeral was held on the only Sunny day we had and it was lovely, I almost lost it while singing all things wise and wonderful - the first song after the coffin was brought in, but managed the stiff upper lip bit in the end! We even all held it together at the mud slinging bit:blink: The coffin was lowered very quickly - before we has all got to the grave so that was a relief.

As anyone would, we worried about FIL - the parent left behind, but he is doing OK and has even bought himself a brand new car to replace the written off one. There is still no indication of what caused the car accident though.

Now we felt we were forced back to the UK, as we had no intentions of going for at least another year and spending all that money going somewhere we didn't want to go...well you know what I mean.

We wondered what our feelings were going to be, being back in the UK after nearly 3 years away, we wondered if we would have any regret, longing, homesickness so it was a bit scary. None of it! There was no regret, no pangs nothing but the feeling of we did the right thing in moving.

I was there 9 days, hubby 14, we had sunshine once and one other cloud filled dry day. The news was depressing, the traffic was horrendous (over 2 hours for hubby to drive to Heathrow to pick us up - only 33 miles). Litter was everywhere and people pushing and shoving to get to places and shop staff who didn't give a rats arse - I was looking at cream cakes in Asda and was shoved out of the way by a shelf filler so he could reload the shelves - and I mean shoved with the box of cakes he had. And everything seemed damp, inside and out, I mean really damp and cold too. The first few days I couldn't get up the stairs without wheezing and I'm fitter than I have ever been thanks to Curves and I don't have asthma so that was a bit scary. Parking was a nightmare and you had to pay everywhere you went to park.

On the plus side Fish and Chips were yummy, so were the kebabs from the Silver Jubilee in Potters Bar - the bloke that owns it makes his own from 20 lamb shoulders and salt and pepper - that's it and then he cooks it well so the meat is a little crispy on the outside - YUM. We brought back 66 quids worth of sweeties and OXO's:o The jam doughnuts were disapointing though, not what my taste buds remembered (and we tried two lots:o).

We went back for the worst reasons, we will only go back for the worst reasons from now on. Our home is Red Deer, Alberta and this is one family of immigrants that made the right choice for them:thumbsup:

Now I must go and walk my wonderful doggy who I have really missed!
Piff

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome Home Piff!:thumbup:

Wow .... it doesn't seem possible 2 weeks have passed! :blink:

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome back Piff.

I am glad the funneral went as well as can be expected.

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Glad your trip went, even under the sad circumstances. Pleased to hear that it just confirmed you made the right move. Hopefully life can settle down for you now.

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome home, Piff.

Thank you for the update.

I'm glad for you that your trip worked out all right, and I'm also glad for you that you feel as if Canada is home.

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Nice to hear of your experiences. Sorry to hear about MIL.

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome home, glad all went well. XXX

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

welcome back piff poff

While you were away I noticed in an earlier thread that you had lived in Bedfordshire at one point. So did I. Went to school in Bedford, and then much later lived in Leighton Buzzard. I wondered where you were ,, for some reason my keyboard wont type a question mark, i just get an É I am being terrorised by keyboards :eek:

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Wow what a welcome!:o

Yep Batty we moved here from Bedfordshire - Biggleswade to be exact, however I went to school in Harlow then later in Cambridgeshire, didn't move to the delights of Biggleswade 'till I was 24ish.

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Ah yes, Big Les, wading, across the river. So we never met in a previous life!

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I don't beleive so - I think we would have a right laugh if we did meet up though!

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Well done Pif Pof pleased it went as well as can be expected,
why didn't you shove him back pushed him into his cream cakes :rofl:
Bet your dog was pleased to see you, ours go daft after a trip to the shops :eek:
Hope the food was good, pleased you feel Canada is the right choice for you and your family, good to have you back on here, :wub:

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome back piff poff

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I lived in Leighton Buzzard for a while and have happy memories of 'tiddly tuesdays' in the Roebuck pub

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome "home" Piff.;)
Hope Hubby is doing fine. It's a funny old time after one loses a parent, but it gets better, just let it take it's time.

Rob.

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome back Piff Poff....I am craving Fish and Chips now - with MALT vinegar ;)

I think you're on the 'French Canadian' Setting - so I think the '?' would be 'shift - 6' or go to the task bar and change the keyboard setting 'EN' & it'll all be back to normal.

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome back, I'm glad things went ok and that you have realised the UK is home no more. It's nice to hear about people who made the right decision.

Sharon

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome back Piff, glad to hear all went well.

Rosie

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

ah yes, we would, we would. one day I will be rich and can tour canada visiting BE people.:rofl::thumbsup:

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome home Piff Poff. Glad it all muddled along OK for you. Well done for trying the doughnuts twice - well, one must be sure about these things !

Regards to your hubby and all the family. :)

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Well the ones from Tesco were full of jam but stodgy and so we tried the local bakers ones which were tight on the old jam but a bit fluffier - I decided that doghnuts were better being dreamt about than eaten:thumbdown:

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Good to have you back PP, ditto what everyone else says bout the funeral (i'm crap with words and s**t!) so now Canada is your "old pair of comfy slippers eh!"

;)

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Welcome back to Canada (even if it is Alberta :rofl:) you write as if you have a spring in your step :lol: so you must have missed us.

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

yeah ya buggers I missed ya all:mad:

Our trip back reconfirmed how lucky we are to be here. We popped in to see some old work colleagues and the same ones were still there doing the same things and still moaning about how bad it all was and how lucky we were, I just felt like saying well get off your arse and do something about it.

So I guess we re-appreciate our new lives! I like the comfy slippers motto too!

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Sorry to read about the circumstances of your trip home - but Biggleswade is a word I haven't heard for a while - I went to school there (yep - Stratton Upper.....need I say more?)

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Glad the trip went okay, rubbish circumstance.

I am looking forward to getting the NL to then have a trip back in a couple of years time!

The local Asda in Stevenage and our Letchworth Saisbury's, it's the same, it's a fight for the shelf fillers to get the stuff on the shelves as quick as possible, regardless of the customers in the way.

I always have to tutt to, at the check out, when the person slams your apples on the scales and bashes your carefully picked produce.

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

I lived just around the corner from Stratton Upper, my daughter went to Lawnside and then Edward Peake, I met my hubby whilst working at Mantles!

I have fond memories of Biggleswade - a great little town that has everything you need.

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Ahh! But at least you've got Lidl's (sp? I've forgotten) with the jam and cream filled doghnuts (in the frozen section if you haven't found them yet!).

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Biggleswade was the big city for me... I was born and raised in Gamlingay...not so similar to Vancouver!

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

glad your trip went well as it could go, :) nice to be missed isnt it? bet your doggy went mad!:)

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

His tail hasn't stopped wagging yet!

The poor thing is exhausted though, his eyes were puffy and everything, I don't think he got a wink of sleep with all the other dogs keeping him awake, so needless to say he has been spoilt rotten. I even made him chicken and vegetables and gravy for supper last night (he left the peas:blink:).

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Ditto all of the other posts...welcome back
Best wishes,
Lorraine G

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Hey Piff, glad to see you back! I can't believe the pair of us have been going through the same thing, a matter of days apart!! We just got back today (landed at 4.30pm and eventually arrived in Red Deer at 7pm) but unfortunately, unlike yourself, I am not glad to be back :(. We had 6 days back in Manchester (5 when you rule out the day wasted on sleep and jetlag!) and in that time we had to cram in as many visits on Hub's large family as possible, as well as visit my folks & sister too.

Sorry to gatecrash your thread Piff, but if I may use this opportunity to tell as briefly as I can on our trip. After all the balarva with son's and my passport and booking the tickets the day before we flew, we were told the devastating news on Monday morning that my father in law's funeral was (and is) going to be held on Tuesday 29th! We only booked a week as my mother in law had requested Thursday the 24th, and so we thought everything would go to plan. Unfortunately, due to the number of elderly deaths in the region and the timing of the funeral directors, crematorium & church service, the 29th was the only day that "gelled together". We'd gone all that way, ran up $4,000 on our credit card and we still couldn't attend the funeral. The only consolation was visiting him in the chapel of rest and spend some time saying our private words of love and goodbyes. We also got to see OH's sick mum who really is deteriorating at an alarming rate with motor neurone disease. As we said our goodbyes on Friday, our tears were literally saying "goodbye".....it'll be a miracle to us all if she sees this year through. I have been battling homesickness for months now, and a bad feeling of not being there to be with the people we love, and one of them has already passed on. I will be honest. I didn't want to come back here. If I'd have won the lottery, I'd have stayed. I had a complete sense of "comfort and ease" being back there and I have now looked at the UK through different eyes. Sure, 6 days isn't long enough to get a real picture - the whole picture - but despite the rain and litter, I felt it really wasn't as bad as I'd been believing it to be. I found people so absolutely down to earth and knew instantly what I was talking about without the odd looks!! We found food shopping unbelievably cheap....I was "high as a kite" piling my trolley with bits to bring back and commenting on how little it was costing!! The rain didn't bother me at all...in fact I found it wonderful to be back in the UK in January, seeing such greenery and no piggin' SNOW!! No more spending 10 minutes wrapping up before you left the front door to venture out in frigid temps! We actually had it quite mild up north. As much as I've battled with this all week (and for the past few months) I know that my place is back there, surrounded by "my support network", but OH is very mixed in his feelings. He does agree that the bond of family cannot be replicated with "friends" over here in Canada, and he doesn't see himself as an old man living here in Alberta, but he isn't ready to throw the towel in just yet....he wants citizenship first. He does worry about certain elements in the UK that he had when we first immigrated, and he does accept how "lonely" we are over here, BUT we are not on the same page in what we want. So we've come back today with lots of talking to be done. I have come back today with a refreshed outlook on what I want for my future, but sadly, I don't see it here. We must catch up Piff and swap our experiences. Back in work Monday :( :(

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Ruby - how awful - very sorry to hear that after all that, you still won't be able to attend the funeral :(

Best wishes with all the 'talks' with hubby too - how long till you could apply for citizenship? Is is far off? Could you hang on that long? who knows what you might want in ten years! Thinking of you .... :)

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

Hi Ann M........we definitely qualify (timewise) to put in our application for citizenship but it's the cost and timeframe to take the test (I'm sure it would cost us about $1400 and won't be another 12 months to take the test). The thought of having to stay here another 12 months doesn't thrill me right now....I may feel better as the warmer weather starts to appear, but right now in this deep freeze, I just want to jack it all in and be back there.

I could be forgiven for talking utter crap right now as I'm jet-lagged to death (I'm still up at 10:45pm and I was wide awake at 4am in the UK....so I have been up for several hours!!) :unsure:

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

I'll give you a call later:wub:

Re: Our two Weeks in the UK
 

I had amazing fish n chips in Squarmish on Saturday night. Mr L2S had a bar of Galaxy for pud!

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Was it a deep fried Galaxy bar?? ;) I will definitely have to satisfy my fish and chip craving soon...