Relocateme

Hello everyone...Relocateme reporting in!

It's been a real eye opener here the last few days with a few things to report

Went to watch some "blues" in a pub along the canalway...get this..Ladies our age wear this sort of fashion...

black leggings with no feet in them with high-heel shoes ..with a short dress with a belt round the hips, ..long floppy cardigans, black and white hair (on the same head)and big jewellry..plenty of makeup..
I asked my friend if this was the normal thing with the dress and was assured it was

the guys are in suits and crocodile shoes...this is the dress-up type-going-out for the evening thing for 50-70 age group!!!!!!

It was a great evening though and the people were extremely nice and super friendly ...first pint in UK

Tip:

make sure you get a chipped and pinned debit card to bring to UK
My Canadian HSBC debit card is being refused where ever I go and had to go into branch today

It will take a week to sort out and the only thing I can do with my unchipped debit card is get cash out of the machine

Its getting me by but the convenience is not happening for me
I had no way of knowing this info so just passing this on for Canadians and if it applies to US folks

Saw an airplane this afternoon?...All the injured from the Afghan-Iraq Invasion
are flown into Selly Oak Hospital here in Birmingham and treated here so maybe something to do with that..when I first came I saw the Sea- king or Chinook choppers flying in and had to ask

Dont know if I already mentioned I applied for the EHIC health card online and it came in the mail in only a couple of days

Tip 2:

It's official ...my motorola phone from Canada cannot be unblocked and used as a pay-as-you-go phone here in UK so apologies for that..bed pce of advice given to me

Bought a completely new phone at the Car-phone Warehouse for 9.99 GBP
a no-nonsense basic phone that will get me a few calls before I move on

Had lunch today with schoolfriends from 46 yrs ago..what a meeting that was!
finally after years of emailing we met...Yahooooo!

They still look the same as far as recognizing them and the tales we did tell!
finally broke up after three hours ..some drove from other counties so I really appreciated the effort they made..got some nice hugs and kisses on the cheek...lovely!

One guy (own printing business) made me a copy of all the roll-out photos with everyone from school on it (for every year we were there)...a great presentation as I had not all of them

It was great to walk around with the ladies shopping after lunch and being informed of where places to go and how to get this and that how to do tasks which in Canada were so simple and here in UK beyond comprehension
sometimes I feel like a real idiot and cant understand the vernacular but then
in Starbucks I asked for a "large-double-double"... (large coffee, double cream,double sugar) and right away they did not understand mine...touche'


Oh it takes a lot of getting used to said my friend

We went into a huge post office where you must take a ticket to be served
At least twenty stations were in operation calling numbers constantly..caught a good bus home today so all in all a good day

Fish n Chips 56

It might be difficult at first but you are gettin there sister, today sounded wonderful, with all the people you can call old friends, Good for you.

England has changed in so many small ways for us all, we think we are all So English, but then we get back we feel a bit odd, its just a learning curve.

Enjoy Tomorrow. People make the difference.

sallysimmons

I understand that there is no chance of this because they are not that organized - the American obsession with small government means agencies don't coordinate their information - not even the ones tracking terrorists!

Still, I will be filing US taxes every year if and when I go back because I am painfully law-abiding, so I guess I shouldn't have been advocating that someone else do it differently. Sorry!

pcmaccallum

It's so great to hear you had such a good time with your friends. Did you have jaw ache afterwards. I know when i meet up with friends after a couple of years i do lol.
It will take time to get used to everything, but it will all come together before you know it.

Chris

aes1

Great!!!! You are feeling back at home, that's super news. Good to hear you have a phone and can make contact with the outside world. Little steps every day!

Already knew of the chip and pin cards, they have been in existence quite a few years now as I remember in 2006 not being able to use my US card. Also applies to other countries in Europe. As far as I know, the US has no desire to use this technology and will stick with their own chipless cards.

Had a much quieter day here, only one stop this morning for coffee and chocolate flapjacks with one of my sister's friends. It was so cold, only 6 Celsius at the most, and boy, could you feel it as the sun didn't come out till sunset!! Doesn't stop us walking about though, got to get on with life, can't be waiting for warmer weather in the UK That's why the flowers always look so colourful here though, the daffs and tulips are at their peak, of course also the primulas, more blossoms in the trees too.

Now waiting anxiously for good news from Ryanair, with more flights beginning to creep back into airspace. Being hopeful, but if we can't make Thursday's flight, then I am hoping for Sunday, which is the next time Ryanair will fly to Malta out of Leeds. Did think maybe I could get there in a hot air balloon

I've been watching more tele lately. It is amazing how (unlike in the US) I can always find something to watch, no matter what time. Is that because I am back home, or because programmes here are superior???? The choice is greater, even though the number of channels can be less. You can go from Master Mind, QI with Stephen Fry and University Challenge to Foley's War to New Tricks to Noddy, Dr Who and The two male Hairy Bakers (opposite of Two Fat Ladies) who are baking scones, a Victoria Sandwich and Bakewell Tart, mixing the pastry till it's 'like the bottom of a budgie cage' - talking in a thick Northern Geordie accent!!! I find I am quickly losing my American accent and am back in the land of WI, rock buns, 'missus', loos and canny lads and 'pet' for a greeting to those of either sex, as in 'how are ya, pet?'- and dinner for lunch and tea for dinner!!! Rule Brittania!!!!

aes1

I forgot to mention hedgehogs. There was one in my sister's garden tonight, rummaging around looking for slugs probably. They are adorable, much more attractive than possums!!

Fish n Chips 56

Anna, I'm loving your posts.

So what about advertising on TV, whne I go back I find its nice that there are just a few shorts ones instead of endless ads that ruin a programme I was into, and the BBC, I just love it, No Ads except to promote their shows.

fulwood

Relocateme - maybe i've been gone from UK too long but what does "make sure you get a chipped and pinned debit card to bring to UK" mean? I think you mean make sure you have one with pin number but what is chipped? I will be using a credit card likely but have debit card that can use as credti card as well..

wingandapray

Yes by sea-I have had a talk with Gordon Brown and he has decided to pick us up-He does realise we are returning so it is only fitting that we should be accommodated.

Easterndawn

Chipped is a micro chip that is imbedded in the card that has information about you. It is a security chip which is just coming into use in North America, I was lucky when I recieved my new Visa before leaving Canada it had this tecnology imbedded in it, you do not need to sign for your purchases you just put in your pin number. My friend that is from Alaska used her debit card at House of Frazers in Glasgow was unable to complete her purchase because they would not acccept the card as she would of had to sign for it.

aes1

You are too funny!!!! Perhaps I need a trip to #10, promise I will vote for him if he gets me to Malta!!!

wheatsheaf

also, without this "embedded micro chip" in your card, you may not be able to make more than one initial cash withdrawal at a banks ATM, nor will you be able to use it say on the underground, parking pay booths etc.

aes1

Yes, and the ads that you do see are very well done, some of them hilarious, typical British humour!! Coming back to England has made me realize how little I have laughed in too long a time. Here - whether watching TV or talking to people, I am laughing till I cry!!! What a wonderful feeling!

You are right ED, without a chip and pin card it is very difficult to make purchases. Although, in theory, you are supposed to be able to tell the store your pin number and they are supposed to be able to manually scan your card. Good luck with that though!! I must say though, I never had any trouble getting cash out of a machine, even if I did use it more than once (but that was in Germany). Of course there is always an upper daily limit of how much you can withdraw.

Taffy Duck

"chip & pin" the UK has had it for a few years already, Europe always seems to adapt to new technology well before we do in Norh America. Here in Canada we are just starting to get on board with the chip card, most big box stores have the chip and swipe units but not in use yet. I've changed to chip & pin on my debit card plus M/C and visa but not available on American Express so guess what I never use my AmEx when I'm in the UK...really they must be losing millions of dollars. I remember a few years ago when I first encountered the chip card in the UK...I had just got off the plane in Manchester and picked up a hired car the type that comes with no petrol so the first thing was to go and get filled up...well when I went to pay the cashier he said "chip-n-pin" it was so funny I just looked at him and wondered what the hell was he talking about..he guessed I was from overseas and lucky for me he was able to still swipe my card. So the rule of thumb for now is make sure you have some cash with you.....

cheers...Taffy

Relocateme

Hello Fulwood....yes its true when you arrive into UK your are best to have a debit card from your bank with a little gold square located on it..this is the embedded micro chip with all your security details on it...."don't leave home without it"..I have been given a card from HSBC in Canada without one of these things in it and here I am in Uk trying to make purchases with this card I am rejected each time which is indeed an embarassment in front of friends

so purchasing everything on my old CIBC Visa just to find out I cant pay that online via the online banking...its all a mess

Supposed "easy online banking"...for which there is a page of usernames and passwords and codes and access features to key in each time you go online

Same thing for the "My Service Cana" site and so on
None of it seems to be operating easy for me

There is no online "send your question" to us helpline nor do they use the email system...so much for confidence in internet technology

My advice to all of you coming to UK is put everything in place before leaving and make absolutely sure a couple of payments have come through and got the ball rolling...I know I thought I had got everything done and took four weeks in the City to do all of it correctly
On a lighter note...its windy here today and hopefully it will blow the ash cloud
up and over the pole giving the airline industry and our lungs a break

The last Icelandic volcano was the Laki in 1783 and well worth an investigation to see the havoc it caused over Europe

The HMS Ark Royal is on her way to pick up some of our own stranded on foreign shores and bring them home