pcmaccallum

It will be hard but if you know it's the right thing for you and Tony then you will be able to cope. The only thing i can tell you is you have to do what will make you happy in life. We all have to sacrifice something. We know only too well. We are so happy to be back even though its has rained for the last three days here in Ireland. I would still take that over the heat of Florida. We miss our family in America so much but know it is not the place for us.

I'm sure your family want you to do what is best for you the same as ours do. Just enjoy your time and know all the emotions you will feel are all normal.

I am so happy for you. It wont be long now then you can begin your new life.
At least with the technology we have now it's very easy to keep in touch. I dont know what we would do without the webcam.

Take care Chris

jasper123

Just wanted to add my Congrats too Denise, enjoy your countdown, just 30 days and you will be on the QM2 Wow what a trip that will be,
I of course havent given in my notice at work yet cause Im not leaving till Nov 30th but last month I told all my bosses and all the people that I work with that I am leaving to go home to UK so everyone knows --- and that is a good feeling indeed when you tell everyone over here, no more trying to hold the news back from people, My bosses all wish me well as do all my friends at work ----- all American --- and some said they wish they were going with me,

You were right in saying that getting citizenship before we leave is so Important, cause as you say once you have burned your bridges its real hard to cross that bridge again,

I f it was not for so many great people on our thread here encouraging me to just go for it when I did in January I would still not be an American citizen now --- cause I am such a procrastinator, But now I have my American passport and my naturalization certificate and it feels really great, cause although me like so many of us are going home for good ---- nobody really knows how they will feel years from now, but we are all going to give it our best shot arent we, home is indeed where the heart is right !!!!
Take care,
Rodney.

DDL

Oh wow, your trip sounds so nice. I have only been to North Wales - it was beautiful. Sooo want to visit Yorkshire and York someday, especially have an Afternoon Tea at Betty's Cafe!

You know, I'm not sure about the baggage. I do know that they said "whatever will fit in your cabin" but I don't know if there are limitations on the type of "container" it has to be. You could give them a quick bell and I bet they could answer your query.

Hey, thanks everyone for the well wishes! I just hope that heat wave in London clears out before August 14!!!!!!!!!!!!

Easterndawn

Good Morning Everyone, well Denise I don't know about London but the weather here has certainly changed, still warm and muggy but very wet. I am still very busy at work and although at the end of some of my work days I can bairly get myself home I am enjoying it. I have met some amazing people from all over the world including Canada, USA and Australia. The most freindliest and the most fun are people from Ireland, they have a joy for life that is unbeatable and I have had so many offers to come over and stay with them for a visit.
You meet all types in this job, we have a lady who comes in 7 days a week at around 11:30am, has 2 rolls, marmalade and butter, coffee with brown sugar and cream always served to her in the lounge. She has been doing this for 20 some years and actually where she sits she has made the rug bare from swinging her feet. Then we had the young lady who was very upset that we had keys for the rooms as she did not want anyone to have keys other than herself, then took herself out to one of the pubs, got extremely drunk and lost her key, and wanted our night porter to go and look for the key and not let her in with our pass keys or make her another one.
I have been interviewing for housekeepers and it has surprised me how many of them show up to an interview dressed very inapproriately, coming in with friends to the interview and then have their mothers call when they are not offered a position. I can say it certainly is never boring though and I have had some great laughs. We have a young man who is our night porter, he started about 3 weeks ago and is a nice young man. Last Friday at the end of my shift and the beginning of his, we got to talking about if the hotel was haunted. Of course we have many of the rooms on cctv, when I was reveiwing the tapes, I saw him entering our lounge area and you could see by the look on his face that something had frightened him very badly, it seemed to take a good few minutes for him to collect himself. I asked him the next time I saw him what had happened and he explained that when he was doing his rounds he went into the lounge and saw a person laying on the floor, now this gentleman had quite a large tummy and the way he was sitting it looked to Andrew that he had no head. and of course he had white shirt on so in the dimly lit lounge at 3am in the morning it scared the living daylights out of him. It actaully was one of our patrons who had passed out.

charleygirl

ED, so happy to read your lovely story, I came here first last year when you were trying to get home....... I hope and pray hubby joins you soon, you are certainly getting on well now.
Amazing how things turn around.........
I hope it all continues to work out well.
p.s hope you dont mind me asking, how old are you? Being an older lady hoping to start over just wondering.

Easterndawn

I am 57 years old this year, no, just a minute, that can't be right, yup, it is correct It certainly has not been an easy road to go, but not sure if it was any harder than moving to another province/town in Canada, actually was probable a bit easier, as at least I have a connection to the place and it's history. I was told last night that my accent is that of an American actor trying to speak with a Scottish accent, not sure if this is bad or good, since I am not American lol

charleygirl

aw I am 58 and keep thinking it is a mistake.....
I would love a hotel job, meeting lots of people...... sounds right for me.
I still have my UK accent, been here 13 years though but still not lost it. haha to the comments about yours. Is your hubby Canadian?

Easterndawn

Yes, he is 4th generation Canadian, family went to Canada from Prussia. I was there for over 40 years and made a concious effort to lose my accent because of being teased at school.
At this hotel at the moment I am wearing 3 hats, Duty Manager, Head Housekeeper, Front of House and most evenings help serve in the restaurant. i think it would be nice to do the job that the general manager is doing though, which is really not very much, for a lot of money and free room and board. So eventually I will be looking for that type of position but for now living and learning the trade as they say.

Mummy in the foothills

Sounds like a really interesting job ED. You may find all kinds of ex-ats turning up in Scotland to see this hotel or looking for a job.

Easterndawn

Well at least I would not have to worry about them not doing the job properly, as we have all had to work our a---s off to get where we have been and back again. Actually would be a great place to have a reunion, once we get our bar licence.

trottytrue

Would you all keep your fingers crossed we are having a showing this afternoon at 4.00 Lets hope this is the start of something good.

Easterndawn

Fingers, toes, knees and everything else in between above and below lol

Mummy in the foothills

Wawa

Hi Charleygirl & Ed, I am also in that age category (54) and have nightmares that I might be too old to get a good job and they want to put me out to pasture! I, too, am in the hotel industry, albeit the corporate office of a large international chain. I do love it and hope to find something similar when I go. I left UK at the age of 7 (my folks followed the sun to South Africa) and even though I have been back for holidays, its going to be a brand new experience for us. Am dragging my Canadian hubby along, who is quite happy to have a change of scenery. Hopefully we wont suffer much and we manage to get some decent work between us.

ED, your hotel sounds out of this world! Seems to be in a lovely area, and you sound so much happier now. Time is flying by, it wont be long until you have done your 6 months.


TT, keeping everything crossed too...Good luck for 4pm

Going to settle down with a glass of wine to watch the footie.

fulwood

ED I needed cheering up! You seem to be doing well all things considered (minus hubby and dogs). Loved the story of the night porter thinking there was headless body..