Getmedownunder

Lou and I are so sorry to hear that you won't be coming out initially in March as hoped. I'm sure we'll all meet up at some point in the future. We've invited ourselves to a bbq at your probable HUGE country house in Port Lincoln when your settled . Keep your chin up - Scott and Lou

sunworshipper

Hi getmedownunder!!!!!

HA HA!! our HUGH house???? i don't think so but i wish!!! you must come and see us when we are all settled, and Michelle and family and even Ozzie nude!!!
I am getting used to the idea of staying now although it would of be nice to stay together as a family! and i really wanted to spend some time with you all before you all started at the academy!! but we have got plenty of time when we are all out there!! and who knows, in 2 years time we may be metro as Port Lincoln might not be for us, who knows?? you may even head out that way??!!!
I would like to say sorry for my post on the other forum in case it offended you getmedownunder, it made me feel so mad as the two people in question are obviously 'ganging' up on her and i think it's awful. What must the people going to Whyalla be thinking???? whatever has gone on i'm sure she does not deserve that!!
How's the house going?? have you got it ready for tennants yet? how long until you leave work? Andy is counting the days down and cannot wait to get out there!! i think it's to meet Ozzie nude!!
Can i ask you about your flight? are you going with Quantas?? ive been lokking at Singapore but flying from Manchester they stop at Munich then on to Adelaide, i thought they went via London?
Hope you are all ok
Say hi to L and hope her mum's ok!
Keep in touch xxxxxxxxx

michelle6266

Hi there, yes its a shame Lisa and Andy are not travelling together , never mind, how are your plans going scott ?, when are you and Lou travelling ?, Its 3 weeks and 5 days before we go, we wish we were on our way now, the waiting is killing us.

See you all soon

sunworshipper

OMG MICHELLE!!!!!!!!! we both sent msg's at the same time!! great minds think alike!!!! ha ha.
Please will you take lots of pictures when your there so i can look at them whilst i am freezing in this cold weather!!! do you wish you had booked an earlier flight?? i am not looking forward to the last couple of weeks either when it's my turn! (ages away) Andy flies on the 22nd March so not long now either, he's ready to go as well.
Take care and keep in touch xxxxxxxxxxx

Getmedownunder

G'day

Lisa, I was trying to back you up when that 'smurf' really got quite aggressive with her posting when you rightly highlighted the bitching going on. I sent in a post intending not to appear to take sides but ask that they take whatever issues they have with others somewhere else. I see that the administrators have deleted all reference to it and others now.

I just dont get some people sometimes?!

Everything is moving on a'pace now. The house went on the rental market on Thursday and since then we've had two prospective tenants in to view the property. The first one rang wanted it and we are waiting to hear back from a lovely couple that came today. To be honest, we were not that keen on the first viewer so have turned her down. The agent has also turned down another 4 because they didnt meet our criteria. We wait to hear now from the lovely couple that came today. We still have 4 weeks left so no real rush just yet. We've been told by the agent that we should have no problem finding a tenant.

We have sooo many leaving parties to attend over the next few weeks, I just dont know where we are going to find the time!

We are flying out to Adelaide from Manchester on Mar27th on a Qantas flight via Heathrow and Singapore. There's a migrant fare you can get with Qantas if you ring a certain number in London office of Qantas. DONT ring the one printed on the Qantas website, they quoted us over £1000 each with 40Kg migrant baggage!! HRH Mrs M on the other forum has the correct number to dial. Might be worth checking that out before you book anything. We secured about a £40 discount each + 40Kg baggage per person. It's printed on the ticket so no arguments at check-in! They'll ask you for your visa number when you ring so have that ready. Singapore Airlines do also offer 40Kg with presentation of an unvalidated visa at check-in. Cathay P are a bit confusing. The internet would suggest they charge extra for excess baggage though I have heard of stories they run a similar scheme to Singapore Airlines. If your a gambler you can also try British Airways. Their fees for excess baggage to Oz was VERY reasonable in fairness, from recollection it was about £35 each for 40ish Kg. The gamble is with the cabin crew industrial strike situation!

We can't wait to go now. I was working nights last night and it was freeeezing cold, snow and ice everywhere! Very depressing! To think in a few weeks I'd be living in a new country with 30 degree heat was mind blowing!

Lisa, I know your itching to get out there now. It will soon come around. I read in a magazine yesterday that Port Lincoln was absolutely gorgeous, with some of the best beaches in SA. Quite jealous now! Apparently Qantas are to begin scheduled flights between Port Lincoln and Adelaide due to growing demand. The magazine article suggested this would drive down fare costs as this brought Qantas into direct competition with Rex Airlines. It might be worth looking into the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program. You can redeem flyer points to book upgrades and even flights. We worked out that about 4 to 6 return journeys between UK and Australia would possible give us enough points for a free return flight on Qantas.

Did everyone receive the email from SAPOL this week re the pre-course meet up at the Semaphore Palais being organised by Gary Pusey? I think the date was incorrect, it should have stated Apr6th, not Mar6th. Lisa do you recall Gary was the lad sat with us at the table in the pub in Tottenham Court Road, London after the fitness tests?

Michelle, I'm sooo jealous that your flying out before us! Would be nice to meet you, Darren and kids on April6th if your coming?

Good luck everyone on the forum, not long now!!!

michelle6266

G'day to you also,

Hey sounds like fun and games on the other forum, I dont go on any other forums, anyway sounds fun.:frown, How can any one bitch at lovely lisa,.
Yes Scott things are really moving fast now, cant believe its only 3 weeks before we are there , its quite mixed emotions at the moment, my dad got upset today and it breaks my heart, but I have to think of my family's future, and there's nothing to offer my children in wales, my dad remarried last year, after my mum died 6 years ago, and the family unit has all changed, theres no problems but it's just not the same,and I have to think of My life now and my family circle, but its still hard, it will all work out.

Love to meet up with you and Lou, whats the set up with the get together then?, are all invited ?, don't really know anything about it other than what you have said, let me know Scott, thanks, Have you decided on a location to live yet ?, We are going to Brighton hopefully, but we can't organise from this end so its fingers crossed.
Lisa I so wish we were going to be closer, i'm gutted.

Getmedownunder

Michelle, the pre-course meeting in the Semaphore Palais is open to all April 2010 recruits and family. I understand current expats will also be coming as will serving police officers and families. Gary is collecting numbers so he can let the venue know how many are coming. At the moment it's over 100 going. Do you want me to pass your name to Gary so he can add you and the family to the list of attendees?

Gary Pusey managed to persuade Sapol recruiting to circulate that email you should have received last week. He put the wrong date on his email though. It should state 2pm on April 6th at Semaphore Palais. I think it's beachside along the Esplanade at Semaphore.

I've read on the other forum of 2 to 3 families landing in Adelaide that morning and going straight to the venue!!

We haven't decided where to live yet Michelle. We are going to look around after we arrive on March 29th. Initially we'll be looking for rental acommodation. Brighton looks awesome and I expect the school played a big part in your decision too.

I posted the below on another forum so it would be remiss of me not to share it on here too. Gives you an idea on there shift patterns. In Elizabeth they have 6 teams. Below is the patter for one of these teams.

Days are generally 0700-1530 or occasionally 0830-1700 (admin days)
Arvos are generally 1500-2330 with some 0200 finishes at busy times.
Lates are generally 2300-0730

I'm told that though the Lates appear to start on the Saturday, you do actually start on the Friday. It's something to do with the duty management computer recognising the majority of hours are worked on the next day??!

Have a look below anyway, I quite like the look of them personally!


For info of those posted to Elizabeth LSA - I've come into possession of a typical shift pattern. Hope you can understand the below but it's an example of the pattern for one team from total of 6. I've tried to paste it from an xl.doc onto here so apologies if it confuses.
X=PDO
GD=Grace Day (i.e. Bank Holiday no req to work)
D= Days
A= Arvo
L= Nights
Ø= Rest

Weekends in BOLD

Jan
A A Ø Ø D' D' D' D' D' A Ø Ø D' D D D D X Ø Ø Ø Ø L L L L L L L Ø Ø
Feb
A A A D' X Ø Ø D D D A A A Ø Ø D' D' D' D' D' A Ø Ø D' D D D D
Mar
X Ø Ø Ø Ø L L L L L L L Ø Ø A A A D' D' Ø Ø D D D A A A Ø Ø D' D'
Apr
D' D' D' A Ø Ø D' D D D D X Ø Ø Ø Ø L L L L L L L Ø Ø A A A D' D'
May
Ø Ø D D D A A A Ø Ø D' D' D' D' D' A Ø Ø D' D D D D X Ø Ø Ø Ø L L L
Jun
L L L L Ø Ø A A A D' X Ø Ø D D D A A A Ø Ø D' D' D' D' D' A Ø Ø D'

Getmedownunder

For those wondering what a PDO is?

Planned Day Off

Ive learnt that this is a day off unless you want to work it in which case you can bank the day off and take it on a day of your choosing. Bit like Rest Day in Lieu in Uk. Every officer on shifts accrues a PDO every 5 weeks.

michelle6266

Hi Scott, yes if you dont mind let them know we will be there thanks,
Names are Darren and Michelle Smith plus 2 children.

Those shifts look complicated, I think I'll have problems finding work to fit into those shifts, but hopefully I can have my own business like here, its the only answer to fit in with school hours, hopefully I can gain enough interest in a mobile hairdressing service.

Thanks again Scott, look forward to meeting you.

sunworshipper

Hi Guys!!!!!!

Thanks for backing me up getmedownunder, i did realise you were but still wanted to appologise in case you thought it was unneccessary by me to put my post!
Michelle, the bitching was 2 other women on another forum having a go at another women who seems really lovely and it was getting pathetic and i wrote a post telling them what i thought and boy they were not amused!!!

It must be hard for you Michelle to see your dad upset! i am not looking forward to it when my time comes!! i will have to go through it with Andy and all his family and then do it all again when i go!!!! OMG!!!! don't think i am strong enough emotionally to cope with it all????!!!!!

I do wish i was going earlier and it would be so lovely to see you all on the 6th!!! have a great day everyone and take loads of pictures please!!!!!!!!! and put them on facebook! S + L, please add me as a friend when you join facebook!!!!

Take care everyone!!!!!!

love Lisa xxxx


P.s Ozzienude, will you be there on the 6th April??

michelle6266

Hi Lisa,
They dont sound like the type of friends you need anyway, Lisa its hard seeing my dad so upset I know deep down he feels like it's another bereavement, but I HAVE to do it for my family, he has'nt been well lately, and it makes it even harder, but hes talking about coming over to stay for sometime which will be great, a couple of months ago, he said he'd never make it, it breaks my heart to see him so sad, my sister told him off yesterday, and said, DAD you have 4 other children, and 13 grandchildren,
we are all still here, but I am the closest to him.
Lisa you have to keep saying to yourself, I MUST DO IT, and PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, otherwise i'd crack up, also I have to be strong for the children.

You'll be fine , Ill keep intouch via facebook also , so if your feeling sad, just email me, we'll help each other, I so wish we were going to live close, who knows we might sometime, we are certainly going to check out Port Lincon, have'nt looked into that area at all, is there much going on there?.

Anyway enough babbling, speak soon.
Michelle.

Getmedownunder

Good news today.

The second people to view our house have contacted our agent to say they want it too! They seemed lovely so we have accepted and now we wait to see whether they pass the comprehensive tenant checks now! They are happy to wait until March27th so we will be staying in the house until the day we fly out!! Perfect!!

Michelle/Lisa I can sense the agony of your family issues in your postings. We are lucky not to have suffered too much with our families. I don't know if this is a daughter thing and I'm probably generalising here, but it seems to me that daughters get a much more emotional reaction from family, as compared to sons leaving family in UK. My parents have been very positive about the move. Sure, my mother will admit she is going to be very upset when we do leave but my parents fully understands why we are doing it, and they have more or less encouraged us to do it. My parents have visited Australia twice and they loved it, so perhaps that may be a factor. L's mum has clearly been very upset about us going and in fairness she seems to now be very good about it and understands our reasons. I do catch her filling up from time to time when we talk about it which tugs on the heart strings. I think it would be a lot harder if we had children though. Lisa/Michelle, I'm sure once the initial shock is over and emotions settle, in time they may come round to it a bit more.

For info, L and I are looking at purchasing a Skype videophone like the one in the link I've pasted below for her mum. Appears quite simple to use. Although it seems it is currently unavailable through the Skype website. It is however available in a lot of online electrical wholesalers for between £140-£220. Free video calls to and from Oz should help L and I keep in touch with her mum.

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/allf...s/videophones/

14 shifts to go at work!

michelle6266

Hi Scott,
Maybe your right with the daughter thing as my oh family are not as bad, they dont like it but they are not emotional, and yes your right things will be ok when we settle down.

Skype we have just arranged totally free of charge, if you like i'll let you know how, my oh and children sorted it out ,i'll let you know when I find out how.


Good news about your tenants, we rented ours out in August last year, so our big move was really done then, Scott make sure your estate agents do their spot check's regular, ours no problem finding the right tenants in fairness, but once their in it goes a little quite, we dont want the house neglected as thats our future MANSION money in OZ.....

anyway its in its 30s plus all week in Adelaide, so roll on the 18th March

Byeeeeee for now.
Michelle and Darren

Getmedownunder

Michelle, thanks for that, let me know how you sorted out Skype so cheaply.

We wanted to try to keep it as simple as possible for L's mum. The beauty of the Asus phone is that it doesn't need a computer/webcam etc. I've contacted a company in USA trying to get a discount on the purchase of 3 of them for family (that's the dell boy in me!)

While I remember, I've added your details to the list of attendees on April 6th being collated on another forum.

michelle6266

Hi Scott,
OH just done it through the computer which is free, But it can't be done unless you have a computer, sorry to raise your hopes (DIZZY HAIRDRESSER),

Yes we need to get one of those phones for my dad, as he has'nt got a computer.

Hope everything's going to plan for you, and thank's for forwarding our names
.
Speak soon, got to go back to my book keeping, otherwise the tax man will be after me .
Michelle.