OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Feb 2nd 2011, 9:49 am
#2611
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Location: Surrey, England
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
We are in the pink and pale red cyclone zone as per the tracking map.----------------->>> http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ65002.shtml
Well that's it for now....see you after the show...
Celticspirit - I am sure we are united in thought at the moment. I will tune in later in the day.. gone for now. Rosie in rainy, safe Frome[/QUOTE]
Rosie and Fidelma I am tuned into the local TV station and it is NOT looking good, those poor people up there.
The streets are like a ghost town and people are camping out in shopping centres.
The winds seem to be coming and going and this is only the start........
Feb 2nd 2011, 10:29 am
#2612
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Update from Queensland: my brother is emailing as fast and furious as he can as Cairns is predicted to cut the power off before the major winds hit the power lines. Nine hours ago the winds were at Category 2, now they are up to 100Kmph as he says in this excerpt: its blowing 100+K winds outside mainly from due South not much rain yet but that is on the way as this cyclone looks to be in bands so we get a break every so often...the back yard is littered with bits of trees from the next door neighbour...the wind sounds like a freight train as it blows its way up thru all the other trees from houses away.
We are in the pink and pale red cyclone zone as per the tracking map.----------------->>> http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ65002.shtml
Well that's it for now....see you after the show...
Celticspirit - I am sure we are united in thought at the moment. I will tune in later in the day.. gone for now. Rosie in rainy, safe Frome
We are in the pink and pale red cyclone zone as per the tracking map.----------------->>> http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ65002.shtml
Well that's it for now....see you after the show...
Celticspirit - I am sure we are united in thought at the moment. I will tune in later in the day.. gone for now. Rosie in rainy, safe Frome
The streets are like a ghost town and people are camping out in shopping centres.
The winds seem to be coming and going and this is only the start........[/QUOTE]
Just checking in to say hello, I hope all of my friends in OZ are safe..
Not long now for Don, and BEE..
Feb 2nd 2011, 2:44 pm
#2613
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
It's true. We live with 4 cats and it's clear they see this as their house which they generously share with us. That's why it's so hard for me to think of leaving while they are still alive. I know that whatever I tell myself, they would truly hate to leave and would be traumatized by the experience.
Feb 2nd 2011, 2:53 pm
#2615
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Yes trotty a seat has been saved at the table for you, then I will set the table for three on that day
for desert we had apple pie and custard, mum liked the whole roast so much she asked if I could do it every Sunday just like we used to do with the whole family when we were young, I said OK no problem,
Mums way too old now to do all that work, she makes a lot of the meals though, and I do a lot of cooking too, Ive always enjoyed cooking, but it is so much more enjoyable when you have someone to cook for who appreciates it, Mum has lived alone for many many years and so have I, and you dont bother with a Sunday roast on your own do you? I never did anyway,
Next week its roast beef & yorkshire pud, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes and parsnips with gravy, beef & pork joints are quite reasonably priced really, but you have to shop around --- I ve noticed that the prices changes dramatically from store to store, more so then in the U.S. --- small example, a 4 pint container of milk at co-op is £1.75 and at Iceland £1
You know while we are on the subject of food the thing I have noticed the most is comparing processed food between U.S AND U.K. I have found that in U.S they ababsolutely pack products with so many iningredients that are mostly chemicals and preservatives-- most that you cant even begin to pronounce,
But here in UK everything I have bought these days in bottles/cans/packets you name it --- you read the iningredients and you are delighted to find that you are just reading the actual food ingredients, and you may now and again find something with one or even two preservative additives, so all your babasically eating is the real food, --- I was always really scared to eat processed food of any kind in the U.S. I would look on the back and see all those chemicals,stuff that you have no idea what it is, stuff with so many letters that you cant possibly pronounce them --- you would have more luck trying to pronounce a city or town or steet in Wales
So for a small example I used to love Toni's Pizza, frozen in box, until I decided to look on the back once, and I counted the ingredients of a supreme pizza,after all the food listed there was another 34 ingredients I think thats right? and all stuff that I could not pronounce or heard of --- chemicals ---- I call them poison !!!!
and I would then look at other pizza brands and they were the same, ---- last week I bought a couple of hawaiian izas in liddles, the only place Ive seen my favorite ham&pinapple so far, ---- I looked at the back at the ingredients and I am now going to read out all of them to you, --- wheat flower,chopped tmatoes ozzarella eese,water, pipineapplehunks,smoked ham,pork,salt,spices,glglucoseysyrupipineappleuice ,vegetable oil,yeast, sugar, salt,dried onion, dried garlic,wheat malt flour,oregano pepper,dried carrot basil, herb extract, ---- thats it folks !!!! not one single prpreservativend no poison chchemicalshat you cant prpronounce|_And no word of a lie this Pizza was the best tasting Pizza I have EVER tasted, not just processed either, the best ever, ---- it tasted so so good,
It was made in GeGermany|_Another example, frozen steak pies, ------ now I wont go through all the iningredientss there are about 12, but basically wheat flower, corn starch, British beef, vegatables, gravy, and the rest are all stuff that is related to food, with names of food as adadditivesnot one single chchemicalith a name you never heard of, --- now im wondering if it could be the EU's ininfluencemaybe they impose strict guidelines on what CRAP a manufacturer can put in there prprocessedood, Regulations, Hmmmmmm what a good Idea
In US we have our regulations but I dont think they are too serious on the prprocessedood,
Rodney.
Sorry about the mixed up words but when I try to correct them it wont let me for some reason,
for desert we had apple pie and custard, mum liked the whole roast so much she asked if I could do it every Sunday just like we used to do with the whole family when we were young, I said OK no problem,
Mums way too old now to do all that work, she makes a lot of the meals though, and I do a lot of cooking too, Ive always enjoyed cooking, but it is so much more enjoyable when you have someone to cook for who appreciates it, Mum has lived alone for many many years and so have I, and you dont bother with a Sunday roast on your own do you? I never did anyway,
Next week its roast beef & yorkshire pud, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes and parsnips with gravy, beef & pork joints are quite reasonably priced really, but you have to shop around --- I ve noticed that the prices changes dramatically from store to store, more so then in the U.S. --- small example, a 4 pint container of milk at co-op is £1.75 and at Iceland £1
You know while we are on the subject of food the thing I have noticed the most is comparing processed food between U.S AND U.K. I have found that in U.S they ababsolutely pack products with so many iningredients that are mostly chemicals and preservatives-- most that you cant even begin to pronounce,
But here in UK everything I have bought these days in bottles/cans/packets you name it --- you read the iningredients and you are delighted to find that you are just reading the actual food ingredients, and you may now and again find something with one or even two preservative additives, so all your babasically eating is the real food, --- I was always really scared to eat processed food of any kind in the U.S. I would look on the back and see all those chemicals,stuff that you have no idea what it is, stuff with so many letters that you cant possibly pronounce them --- you would have more luck trying to pronounce a city or town or steet in Wales
So for a small example I used to love Toni's Pizza, frozen in box, until I decided to look on the back once, and I counted the ingredients of a supreme pizza,after all the food listed there was another 34 ingredients I think thats right? and all stuff that I could not pronounce or heard of --- chemicals ---- I call them poison !!!!
and I would then look at other pizza brands and they were the same, ---- last week I bought a couple of hawaiian izas in liddles, the only place Ive seen my favorite ham&pinapple so far, ---- I looked at the back at the ingredients and I am now going to read out all of them to you, --- wheat flower,chopped tmatoes ozzarella eese,water, pipineapplehunks,smoked ham,pork,salt,spices,glglucoseysyrupipineappleuice ,vegetable oil,yeast, sugar, salt,dried onion, dried garlic,wheat malt flour,oregano pepper,dried carrot basil, herb extract, ---- thats it folks !!!! not one single prpreservativend no poison chchemicalshat you cant prpronounce|_And no word of a lie this Pizza was the best tasting Pizza I have EVER tasted, not just processed either, the best ever, ---- it tasted so so good,
It was made in GeGermany|_Another example, frozen steak pies, ------ now I wont go through all the iningredientss there are about 12, but basically wheat flower, corn starch, British beef, vegatables, gravy, and the rest are all stuff that is related to food, with names of food as adadditivesnot one single chchemicalith a name you never heard of, --- now im wondering if it could be the EU's ininfluencemaybe they impose strict guidelines on what CRAP a manufacturer can put in there prprocessedood, Regulations, Hmmmmmm what a good Idea
In US we have our regulations but I dont think they are too serious on the prprocessedood,
Rodney.
Sorry about the mixed up words but when I try to correct them it wont let me for some reason,
I agree with your comment about all the preservatives. Everything here - food-wise - is poor quality.
It's odd; this is a country with the highest earnings (supposedly) but the poorest quality of food and most other items.
Feb 2nd 2011, 2:56 pm
#2616
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
It's true. We live with 4 cats and it's clear they see this as their house which they generously share with us. That's why it's so hard for me to think of leaving while they are still alive. I know that whatever I tell myself, they would truly hate to leave and would be traumatized by the experience.
Feb 2nd 2011, 2:58 pm
#2617
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
That's what I am looking forward to more than anything, I think - the peace, the rest, gone with the rat-race. England is a different world entirely. My body feels as if it is breaking down after living in this "country", the USA, for all these years.
Feb 2nd 2011, 3:02 pm
#2618
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Talking about cooking, I watched a British cooking show (thanks to ITV/BBC players) the other day. I forget the name - something like "Making Cooking Easy or Easy Cooking and hosted by, I think, a young Jamaican or Bahamian perhaps). It reminded me how many fewer ingredients we use in our cooking than most American recipes call for. It also made it look so easy - and TOTALLY delicious!
Feb 2nd 2011, 3:04 pm
#2619
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Location: Used to be New York, now North Yorkshire
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
That said, I don't think any of us know how cats feel. We can only guess. But I do know of several cats who have left their owners to return to their old homes, so I don't think we can assume they view us they way we view them.
Feb 2nd 2011, 3:08 pm
#2620
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
I have to admit I'm uncomfortable when we start idealizing the UK too much. I am trying very hard to prepare myself for the bad as well as the good because life is never all one or the other, no matter what a romantic poet might once have written.
Feb 2nd 2011, 3:10 pm
#2621
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Hi, I'm one of those "lurkers" you all have mentioned from time to time in the past and have taken great interest in this thread in the past few weeks. I would like to say a big "thank you" to all of you for sharing your thoughts, aspirations and experiences - I have a big journey of my own coming up very shortly and I have to say you have provided great reassurance to me at a time when it would be all too easy to become overwhelmed by this monumental life changing decision I have made to return to England. I hope you won't mind me telling you a little about myself...
I'm a single (never married) woman in my early 50's who came to Canada with my parents from South Shields, England nearly 45 years ago. I've lived in different parts of Canada in both large cities (Calgary and Toronto) and in remote northern Ontario. I've always felt very English and yes, Geordie despite being so young when I arrived here and over the years I've come to realize that I never really felt as though I fit in here. Looking back, since coming to Canada I've always been something of a loner. I've toyed with the idea of returning to my roots over the years but last year after my life took an unanticipated twist I made the decision to take the plunge. I wondered if I was crazy for even contemplating this move but after discovering this site a few months back I was amazed to discover there were so many people like myself, who left as children, migrating back to where it all began. Last October I returned home for a visit to see what it was like after all this time - 33 years after my last visit and I wasn't sure what to expect. By the time I returned to Canada my mind was made up and two months from today I will land on British soil for good. I am fortunate in that there will be someone waiting for me there - a wonderful man I met when we were both children in our first class at infant's school. We will be living in the south of England (Kent) and I can't wait to get on that plane!
Well, that's enough rambling from me, just let me say thanks again for sharing your own stories and I hope in turn I can be of some assistance to others who are contemplating an exciting new beginning of their own!
I wish you all the very best in your own new lives.
I'm a single (never married) woman in my early 50's who came to Canada with my parents from South Shields, England nearly 45 years ago. I've lived in different parts of Canada in both large cities (Calgary and Toronto) and in remote northern Ontario. I've always felt very English and yes, Geordie despite being so young when I arrived here and over the years I've come to realize that I never really felt as though I fit in here. Looking back, since coming to Canada I've always been something of a loner. I've toyed with the idea of returning to my roots over the years but last year after my life took an unanticipated twist I made the decision to take the plunge. I wondered if I was crazy for even contemplating this move but after discovering this site a few months back I was amazed to discover there were so many people like myself, who left as children, migrating back to where it all began. Last October I returned home for a visit to see what it was like after all this time - 33 years after my last visit and I wasn't sure what to expect. By the time I returned to Canada my mind was made up and two months from today I will land on British soil for good. I am fortunate in that there will be someone waiting for me there - a wonderful man I met when we were both children in our first class at infant's school. We will be living in the south of England (Kent) and I can't wait to get on that plane!
Well, that's enough rambling from me, just let me say thanks again for sharing your own stories and I hope in turn I can be of some assistance to others who are contemplating an exciting new beginning of their own!
I wish you all the very best in your own new lives.Like everyone else here, I never felt I belonged. Every single holiday over in Britain resulted in floods of tears on the return flight and three months of depression afterwards. I was delighted to land on British soil and devastated to leave it. Oddly, the USA would have been the very LAST place on the planet I would personally have chosen to move to - if I was going to move anywhere, that is. But . . . fate had another plan.
I will be 62 before I leave here, though, and each day it is getting harder and harder to stay because I now have a firm decision to return. The waiting is dreadful. I planned it this way so I could begin to collect my USA state pension before I leave so that I have an income over there. I will also have a company pension. I am trying to delay receiving either of these as long as I can. Finances have to dictate because I have no relatives over there, other than a distant half-sister. I have to be sure I can make it on my own.
If finances did not dictate, I would be prep my pets (six months) and be on the next plane.
PS: I've even thought of joining a British dating site so I could meet a future husband so I have family to go to over there!!!! Now, don't laugh. It's just something that came to mind at one point as I was trying to fathom a way of moving over there sooner! lol
Last edited by windsong; Feb 2nd 2011 at 3:17 pm.
Feb 2nd 2011, 3:11 pm
#2622
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
I hope England isn't a horrible shock for you after all this time. I think most people who work there also dream of escaping the rat race.
I have to admit I'm uncomfortable when we start idealizing the UK too much. I am trying very hard to prepare myself for the bad as well as the good because life is never all one or the other, no matter what a romantic poet might once have written.
I have to admit I'm uncomfortable when we start idealizing the UK too much. I am trying very hard to prepare myself for the bad as well as the good because life is never all one or the other, no matter what a romantic poet might once have written.
No, I am not idealizing it. I am far too much of a realist for that. Besides, it's "home".
Feb 2nd 2011, 3:13 pm
#2623
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Welcome curleytops. Wow, that's amazing to go back for the first time in 33 years and then decide to move back. I've been away for 30 years, but have been back many many times in the meantime. You must have noticed so many differences. We've actually noticed more differences in the last 5 years than the years before, not sure if that was just our perception, or has anyone else noticed that?
Anyway, looking forward to sharing your move back with you
Anyway, looking forward to sharing your move back with you
Feb 2nd 2011, 3:14 pm
#2624
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Good morning everyone, well it looks like the weather's gone crazy all over the world doesn't it? I hope everyone is safe & that no one with upcoming returns has their travel plans thwarted!
Easterndawn Congratulations on your success, you are a brave and determined lady and hope you'll be reunited with your hubby and your furry pals very soon - thanks for the inspiration!
Beedubya Not long for you now eh? You must be getting so excited; I know I'm at the point now where I'm having trouble sleeping. Let's hope all the snow and storms calm down soon, take care anyone that has to venture out in this bad weather.
Easterndawn Congratulations on your success, you are a brave and determined lady and hope you'll be reunited with your hubby and your furry pals very soon - thanks for the inspiration!
Beedubya Not long for you now eh? You must be getting so excited; I know I'm at the point now where I'm having trouble sleeping. Let's hope all the snow and storms calm down soon, take care anyone that has to venture out in this bad weather.
Feb 2nd 2011, 3:15 pm
#2625
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Thanks SomersetGirl, there were many changes & not all for the good but so many things looked just as remembered. It felt so strange to be walking around my old neighbourhood after so many years and feeling like I'd always belonged there; that I'd just been gone for awhile was all. My Dad had a similar experience to yours, he was going back every year for awhile and said for years things never changed then all of a sudden there were all sorts of changes.