lf1

Thank you. I am glad that you enjoyed them.

windsong

I loved them, too. Beautiful place!

trottytrue

lf1.....I loved your pictures what a beautiful place I can just imagine walking through that area such peace. Thankyou for posting them.

Curleytops.....I hope you are feeling much better being home makes all the difference I like Rodney remember when you went home. In some ways its like yesterday in others it seems so long ago, when we were all excited and making plans.

Jasper 123....I think the word is you are back with your roots I think thats whats important you finally belong somewhere its familiar its comfortable and you feel just part of the scenery.....no longer the outsider, I think it takes a while but once you have re-connected you are home and free. I am so happy for you and your Mum. It was sad about your sister but you did see her that was nice.

jasper123

Sorry to hear of your loss, great news though about your Dads aunt 102 WOW and looking good too

jasper123

trotty its strange really, I do feel very good here, like I said comfortable, contented, and happy to be here, and I like that everything is familiar, and I love my town, but fitting in with the people may take for me some time, I dont feel really accepted yet as one of them, its hard to explain but what I was trying to say was that when I was growing up here and the total of 9 years that I worked here before becoming a long time expat ------ in those days I never ever felt the way I feel now about my town or even my country, I couldn't wait to get out of here, but 40 years goes by living away and I think something magical happens to us when we return home, I think growing older has a lot to do with it too,
Nice to see you posting like the old days Avril

curleytops

+1

cheers

I'm finding everything better than expected.
The first day of driving I was hiting the curb a lot but I think I've got that sorted out now.
Why can't I live here?
I sat next to a young Scotsman on the flight over and he was from Glasgow and I couldn't understand what he was saying.
I Love this place. I'm in heaven.
Now to buy a home here
Cheers

curleytops

Have you been to the chippy yet?

cheers

Yes!
We were recommended to one in Holyhead and it was worth the search. The best. Yesterday we went to a carver type place in Llangollen andI had a Hot roast beef sandwich. What a difference in the quality of beef.
Off to Corwen Castle today.
Cheers

jasper123

Hey cheers nice to know you arrived here safely, yes some scots do have really thick accents and can be very hard to understand, as some English people do too
cheers You better buy a house here fast ----- cause in the daily express the other day on the front cover it said that on average homes in the UK now are increasing in value by £540 each week, WOW thats £2,160 per month, thats almost £26,000 per year so in 4 years the average home here in UK will cost £100k more then they do now, I feel sorry for all the young couples trying to buy there first house,
I hope you and your wife have a lovely time here cheers, and thanks for bringing the Sun with you!!!! well a little anyway

windsong

WONDERFUL!!!!

Keep us in the loop, Cheers!!

islandwoman120

I second that. Homes up north are a whole lot cheaper than down south, so you could buy yourself a cottage for your old age and retirement from the rat race...

windsong

That's what we would like to do, too - buy a house that is not too close to neighbors, listen to the birds outside without hearing or seeing any/many cars, have a decent view from our windows . . . I don't want anything that is pretentious or indicative of "keeping up with the Joneses". I just want something comfortable and nice. Don't really want a new build either - prefer something pre-owned with mature garden and character - and lovely conservatory.

I rely a lot on nature and contemplation for my inspiration and creativity - can't live without it!

Rat race . . . BE GONE!!

sallysimmons

Hi Rodney, I know it's hard but try introducing yourself and starting some conversations because you might be surprised.

I say this because we have been amazed at the people who live up here where we are. Our village has 350 people and is a working farming village. So I assumed that all the neighbours would be farmers who had never left. Some are - but others turn out to be from all over the place. Just this morning I had a cup of tea with two neighbours up the lane. One is an abstract artist from Paris and her husband is something in international finance and is always going to Europe on business. Even though they seem very well-to-do (and their house is amazing!) they are really nice and friendly, and of course our having lived in New York is nothing special to them, so we don't feel like we're too different. We aso met a guy who lived in Hong Kong for many years, and recently we met a couple who had moved up from London to get some peace and quiet.

In other words - there are all kinds of people all around you, all with their own interesting life experiences - and once you realize that, you don't feel like such an outsider.

sallysimmons

Glad you're having a great time!