Originally Posted by Ian & Sharon

So we waited and waited, after about half an hour stood outside Mark turned up. He was very apologetic and explained that the M6 was plain and simply packed and he was stuck in a traffic jam, it had taken him an hour and a half from Billinge, usually it would be 40 minutes. We loaded up the car and began the journey back “home” I for one was not looking forward to this part of the trip, I wish I could fast forward it to the part were I’m in the pub with my mates on a Saturday afternoon, but I guess that only happens in the movies.
We got out of the airport and started to que on to the M56, I could not get over how grey the whole place was and how busy and unhappy people looked, it was a bit of a shock seeing this again. You tend to forget the not so good things about the UK and focus on the good things, especially when your moving back. This is what we’d done and now seeing the looks on peoples faces as the struddled with the morning traffic was a shock, but we were use to this when we lived here and copped with it surly we could get back to a routine and carry on with our lives or would we just think of what we once had and pine for them fantastic views and pace of life.


So we were on the M6 going back to pour old insignificant lives or were we? After all we had been out of the Country for just short of a year that must count for something, it did to me! in that small space of time we had learned that what ever life throws at you we as a family could cope with it and nine times out of ten catch it and throw it firmly back, in short we’d learned to deal with things!
It was mad being on a three lane motorway that continued being a three lane motorway and not ending up a track with “overtaking” lanes every blue moon, it was quite good to see all the new cars on the road even tho you knew most of them were keeping up with the Jones, but at least we knew that the standard of driving had increased by a few hundred %. We turned off the M6 and on to the East Lanc’s this was when it hit me that we had landed, we could see the Thistle hotel were we married a couple of years previous, signs for Haydock park races were I’d ripped so many people off when I was younger! We use to go there minding car’s, you know rich people use to turn up in there expensive cars and we use to ask for a quid to “mind it” sure enough people would pay, but you use to get one or two people who would say “no thanks its got an alarm” we use to reply with “does it put out fires?” sure enough a shinny gold coin was given, usually thrown at us!
Anyway we turned off the Lancs. And were a few minutes away from Sharon’s Mum and Dads, great. Sure enough we tuned down there road and within a flash we were parked outside there house. Just as Mark got out Sharon’s Mum came running to greet her and the kids, not me because I was still the devil! She burst in to tears, God it was a feast of emotion and bloody cold to boot! Sharon’s Dad started to take the mountain of cases and boxes in to their house I followed with a case just because I wanted to see if any alarm would go off when I crossed the threshold! It didn’t so they had not booby trapped any anti Ian devices I was saved for a few hours at least!
So everything was in and we were stood there everyone crying and hugging except me the baby and our Harry, we just stood there! I could not help but think who small the place was, the front room was titchy and I felt closed in. The strange thing was that I could not remember it being this small, in fact we thought bit was big before we left. The thing was we were use to the open plan NZ houses and being blunt a lot more space. Just the Sylvia ask how I was? What could I say! “Fine except I do not want to be hear, great but I wish I was in NZ, stunning nice weather your having!” I opted for the simple reaction “OK” We had a cup of tea and showed the baby off, remember it was the first time they had seen Millie, Sylvia started crying again as Millie nestled in to her. We chit chatted for about half an hour and then they (Sharon’s Mum & Dad) went upstairs, after a few minutes they came down in their work gear, I could not believe it we’d just come back from the other side of the World and they were not even spending the day with us, as quick as you like they were off to work! FFS!
We just sat there in a smaller than we could remember front room thinking what have we done! The thing is Debbie Sharon’s sister had not bothered taking time off and as for my Dada where was he? I said to Sharon that I’d ring him, I picked up the phone and let it ring no answer so I left a message. Remember they were going to NZ in the next couple of weeks for 10 weeks, they were going to stay with us and use our house in Howick as a bit of a base, since we’d come back it had stuffed them up. Anyway I was sure he’d ring latter and come round to see us, after all we were his only family and he did have a new Grand daughter!
We could not really do anything else, all my mates were at work and there was no way I was going out with a new born, stuff that!
Sharon said she was going for a walk round her beloved Asda, fine but I’d be left in the house on my own! What would happen if her Mum came back? Well there was one thing for certain, there wouldn’t be any riveting conversation going on!!!!
I went in to the kitchen and put the kettle on, walked in to the front room just then the front door opened, sh1t it was her Mum, what was I going to say, what would we talk about at the end of the day we had covered the weather a couple of hours ago! I was relieved to see glimpse of long blonde hair and knew it was the Shazzer, she must have forgot her purse or something because she could spend hours in Asda and she’d only been a few minutes. She walked in and said that no one was smiling, you see she’d had this mad romantic idea or illusion that the UK was full of happy people that would stop you and say “hi” something like the Truman show but not as American, the reality was it wasn’t and in fact she had dreamt this as the UK was nothing like this at all. The thing is you do always think that the grass is greener on the other side but we all know its not, it’s just that you want it to be so your mind lets you think that it is, does that make sense? Anyway, the one thing that had hit Sharon flat bang square in the chops was the realisation of England green and pleasant land not being as pleasant or quite so green! She asked me again if we had done the right thing and I told her that we had an escape plan and all she had to do was say the word and we could give it another go but this time in the South Island. I did tell her to think long and hard as I did not want to ping-pong-ping-pong, we just could not manage that financially. Yep the ball was in her court and she had to either run with it or pass the bugger and carry on watching this game of life.
It had got to after 5pm and Sharon’s nieces had come home from school, Lourie and Jody are twins and a really nice set of young girls they were over the moon to see us and Lourie was particularly pleased to see me. I got on with her better than Jody and we had a closer relationship I think I was a bit of a big brother figure to her.
They said that they would help me with my case, as you know there was no room at the inn so I was staying at Debbie’s house, the plan was for me to sleep in the spare bedroom. This room was just being painted as it was getting turned in to Louries room, it would do until we either found a house of our own or moved back to NZ. We walked up the street towards Debbie’s house, God I’d forgot how dirty the streets were, broken glass, litter, cig butts and spots of grey stuff the one thing was certain, my flip-flops were now condemned to inside use only!
We got to the house and I was shocked to see the house over the road boarded up, you see the council now did this to stop druggies entering and shooting up. It looked a right eye sore but not as much of an eye sore as what I was about to see! Now I don’t mean this to sound horrible but when I was shown to Debbie’s spare room I was shocked, I opened the door and was met by a freshly painted baby pink wall’s, no carpet, no curtains and a single blow up bed half set up on one side. So this is why we left New Zealand!
Debbie came in and I went down to greet her, we hugged and she asked was everything ok? What could I say, yes course it was. She asked how thing were and why we had come home, I started to tell her knowing that this was not going to be the last time I told this tale!

Originally Posted by IngStina

Is there anyone who can give Ian a poke please to finish his story? No fair leaving us hanging.

Originally Posted by Ian & Sharon

That would do it

I'll post some more tonight - made a note on a post it pad.

Just been busy, never ending stream of relatives and friends + I won a trip back to the UK so were planning that + main beach in surfers most weekends + I've just enrolled for a collage course + I'm in the middle of building a wall + I'm also in the middle of restoring a moke + (deep breath) + I'm finally really enjoying life (however I could do with a bit more sex but I'm always tired)