Vash's Update Thread
Oct 27th 2009, 1:15 pm
#1
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Location: Adelaide, South Australia
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Vash's Update Thread
Preface.
After nearly 6 years in the Mother Country, Vash the Stampede (Australian) moved from the UK to South Australia on 16.10.09 with his wife Mrs Stampede (English) and Numpty Bub (dual Aussie/British citizen). Here follows a brief account of his OUTRAGEOUS ADVENTURES to date, which will no doubt SHOCK THE NATION... or something.
After nearly 6 years in the Mother Country, Vash the Stampede (Australian) moved from the UK to South Australia on 16.10.09 with his wife Mrs Stampede (English) and Numpty Bub (dual Aussie/British citizen). Here follows a brief account of his OUTRAGEOUS ADVENTURES to date, which will no doubt SHOCK THE NATION... or something.
Oct 27th 2009, 2:52 pm
#2
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Re: Vash's 11-day update
Part #1: movers.
After a few market comparisons, we eventually settled on Allied Pickfords. Our decision was largely based upon the fact that they have branches in the UK and Australia. Their sales rep (Martin something) was friendly, courteous and informative. He visited us twice before we made our commitment, and discussed every aspect of the move in detail. I was very impressed by his professionalism.
We had originally been quoted a base price of £2,500 for 560 cubic feet in a shared container. The insurance premium was going to be 4% of the insured value. This was too expensive for my liking, particularly since our house had failed to sell. My goal: reduce the overall cost by at least £800.
I deliberately left our shipping contract documents unsigned, and let Pickfords sweat for a few days. Meanwhile, I secured shipping insurance with Letton Percival for the same level of protection at 1.6% of the value. Then, with just one week before our departure date, I phoned up Pickfords and told them that their shipping quote was too expensive; I wanted a reduction, and I wanted to speak with Martin. They told me that he was sick at home, but would be informed via email and might contact me on the following day.
To his credit, Martin phoned me within the hour (though he sounded pretty rough!
) I told him I had taken insurance with Letton Percival, and wanted £400 off our shipping price. After some negotiation, we agreed on a total of £2,165 for half a shared container and a single-day collection on our actual departure date. Between the insurance and the revised shipping quote, I managed to save us about £900. 
The packers (a team of three) arrived at 08:45 and left at around 16:30. Like Martin, they were friendly, courteous and professional. There was a good deal of banter between them, which we very much enjoyed. They took three cartons for air freight and the rest for shipping. They worked extremely hard, with great efficiency. If we had been better organised, they could have been finished by 14:00 or even earlier.
After a few market comparisons, we eventually settled on Allied Pickfords. Our decision was largely based upon the fact that they have branches in the UK and Australia. Their sales rep (Martin something) was friendly, courteous and informative. He visited us twice before we made our commitment, and discussed every aspect of the move in detail. I was very impressed by his professionalism.
We had originally been quoted a base price of £2,500 for 560 cubic feet in a shared container. The insurance premium was going to be 4% of the insured value. This was too expensive for my liking, particularly since our house had failed to sell. My goal: reduce the overall cost by at least £800.
I deliberately left our shipping contract documents unsigned, and let Pickfords sweat for a few days. Meanwhile, I secured shipping insurance with Letton Percival for the same level of protection at 1.6% of the value. Then, with just one week before our departure date, I phoned up Pickfords and told them that their shipping quote was too expensive; I wanted a reduction, and I wanted to speak with Martin. They told me that he was sick at home, but would be informed via email and might contact me on the following day.
To his credit, Martin phoned me within the hour (though he sounded pretty rough!
) I told him I had taken insurance with Letton Percival, and wanted £400 off our shipping price. After some negotiation, we agreed on a total of £2,165 for half a shared container and a single-day collection on our actual departure date. Between the insurance and the revised shipping quote, I managed to save us about £900. The packers (a team of three) arrived at 08:45 and left at around 16:30. Like Martin, they were friendly, courteous and professional. There was a good deal of banter between them, which we very much enjoyed. They took three cartons for air freight and the rest for shipping. They worked extremely hard, with great efficiency. If we had been better organised, they could have been finished by 14:00 or even earlier.
Oct 27th 2009, 2:53 pm
#3
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Re: Vash's 11-day update
Part #2: Heathrow.
We booked a taxi and took our baby seat with us for the journey, since the cab company could not provide one. Our cabbie was a nice young Pakistani lad who entertained us with stories about his vast extended family and their peculiar personal lives. He seemed to have an endless array of cousins, one of whom was busy ripping off his uncle in some sort of dodgy property deal, and had not paid his mortgage for nearly 9 months. I suppose we were meant to be shocked, but I spent most of my time trying to stifle my laughter. Eventually I went to sleep in self defence.
Remarkably, our cabbie whisked us to Heathrow in less than three hours (including a brief stop to change Numpty Bub's nappy) and agreed to take our baby seat off us (since we could not bring it to Australia). He said he would present it to one of his colleagues at the taxi depot, whose nickname was "Baby." Since "Baby" appeared to be one of the few British citizens to whom our cabbie was not related by blood or marriage, I decided it was safe to laugh at this one, and did.
Heathrow was just as shabby and filthy as it always is. A small huddle of cleaners were valiantly trying to polish a pile of dirt, but with limited success. Watching them, I began to itch unaccountably, and longed for a shower. After thirty seconds I developed a strange crawling sensation in my left nostril, and had to look away.
Heathrow security confiscated half of Mrs Stampede's baby food, leaving us dangerously short of supplies for Numpty Bub. The security woman responsible seemed incapable of understanding that if you break the seal on a non-reusable container of baby milk, it cannot simply be left in your bag to slosh around with a ripped spout for the next 6 hours or so. It never ceases to amaze me that people like this have no trouble finding employment. Is there some sort of union, maybe? Perhaps they're all Masons? Who knows?
We booked a taxi and took our baby seat with us for the journey, since the cab company could not provide one. Our cabbie was a nice young Pakistani lad who entertained us with stories about his vast extended family and their peculiar personal lives. He seemed to have an endless array of cousins, one of whom was busy ripping off his uncle in some sort of dodgy property deal, and had not paid his mortgage for nearly 9 months. I suppose we were meant to be shocked, but I spent most of my time trying to stifle my laughter. Eventually I went to sleep in self defence.
Remarkably, our cabbie whisked us to Heathrow in less than three hours (including a brief stop to change Numpty Bub's nappy) and agreed to take our baby seat off us (since we could not bring it to Australia). He said he would present it to one of his colleagues at the taxi depot, whose nickname was "Baby." Since "Baby" appeared to be one of the few British citizens to whom our cabbie was not related by blood or marriage, I decided it was safe to laugh at this one, and did.
Heathrow was just as shabby and filthy as it always is. A small huddle of cleaners were valiantly trying to polish a pile of dirt, but with limited success. Watching them, I began to itch unaccountably, and longed for a shower. After thirty seconds I developed a strange crawling sensation in my left nostril, and had to look away.
Heathrow security confiscated half of Mrs Stampede's baby food, leaving us dangerously short of supplies for Numpty Bub. The security woman responsible seemed incapable of understanding that if you break the seal on a non-reusable container of baby milk, it cannot simply be left in your bag to slosh around with a ripped spout for the next 6 hours or so. It never ceases to amaze me that people like this have no trouble finding employment. Is there some sort of union, maybe? Perhaps they're all Masons? Who knows?
Oct 27th 2009, 2:53 pm
#4
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Re: Vash's 11-day update
Part #3: flights.
We flew to Australia on Cathay Pacific flight CX105. It was a two-stage journey: Heathrow -> Hong Kong; Hong Kong -> Adelaide. Mrs Stampede had reserved bulkhead seats and requested a bassinet for Numpty Bub. On the first flight we had two seats on the far right row. They were not as roomy as we had expected, and the reclining position was uncomfortable.
The hostesses were dismal, to say the least. At first they told us that the bassinet was broken and therefore unavailable. Frankly, we were outraged. Then, just as a hostess was attempting to construct a makeshift bed for Numpty Bub, her senior came along and told her to stop, as this was unsafe and illegal. After about 15 minutes of further confusion, we were presented with the broken bassinet, which they strapped in place as best they could. With no alternatives, we were forced to use it.
At Hong Kong airport we found ourselves with 5 hours to kill. Thanks to the advice of some other BEP members, I located one of the private rest lounges, where I immediately haggled with the manager for a better price. She finally gave us 5 hours for the price of 2 (a total saving of £31) which I considered pretty fair. We enjoyed wonderfully hot showers, followed by several hours of free food and drink in a quiet, relaxing lounge area.
Hong Kong security was extremely tight. We were carefully checked by a horde of male and female security guards, all imacculately presented and well armed. Then they caught sight of Numpty Bub, and went completely to pieces! Hefty middle aged men with sidearms bent over her stroller and pulled funny faces while blowing raspberries; tough female guards with truncheons called their colleagues over and cooed "Baby! Baby!" while Numpty Bub revelled in the attention.
To say that Mrs Stampede and I were fascinated and bemused is to understate the case by several orders of magnitude. I eventually counted about 7 security guards around Numpty Bub's stroller, and guiltily wondered if hordes of drug barons were taking advantage of the disruption to sneak into the country with millions of Ecstasy pills.
Our second flight was excellent. We had a middle row this time, with lots of foot room (though the seats were still narrow and uncomfortable). The hostesses were simply superb, and anticipated our needs with alarming prescience. One of them ("the cute one with the hair", as I came to think of her) devoted herself almost entirely to our care, and was never more than five feet away whenever we needed anything. She brought a bassinet as soon as it was safe to do so (a decent one in excellent condition this time!) and strapped it in carefully. Seconds later she was plying us with extra blankets and would probably have offered any number of additional services () had we not persuaded her that we were fine.
Numpty Bub was much happier and more comfortable on this flight, and so were we. A minor crisis arose when we ran out of milk for her last feed, but after a bit of whinging she settled down in time for our arrival in Adelaide.
We flew to Australia on Cathay Pacific flight CX105. It was a two-stage journey: Heathrow -> Hong Kong; Hong Kong -> Adelaide. Mrs Stampede had reserved bulkhead seats and requested a bassinet for Numpty Bub. On the first flight we had two seats on the far right row. They were not as roomy as we had expected, and the reclining position was uncomfortable.
The hostesses were dismal, to say the least. At first they told us that the bassinet was broken and therefore unavailable. Frankly, we were outraged. Then, just as a hostess was attempting to construct a makeshift bed for Numpty Bub, her senior came along and told her to stop, as this was unsafe and illegal. After about 15 minutes of further confusion, we were presented with the broken bassinet, which they strapped in place as best they could. With no alternatives, we were forced to use it.
At Hong Kong airport we found ourselves with 5 hours to kill. Thanks to the advice of some other BEP members, I located one of the private rest lounges, where I immediately haggled with the manager for a better price. She finally gave us 5 hours for the price of 2 (a total saving of £31) which I considered pretty fair. We enjoyed wonderfully hot showers, followed by several hours of free food and drink in a quiet, relaxing lounge area.
Hong Kong security was extremely tight. We were carefully checked by a horde of male and female security guards, all imacculately presented and well armed. Then they caught sight of Numpty Bub, and went completely to pieces! Hefty middle aged men with sidearms bent over her stroller and pulled funny faces while blowing raspberries; tough female guards with truncheons called their colleagues over and cooed "Baby! Baby!" while Numpty Bub revelled in the attention.
To say that Mrs Stampede and I were fascinated and bemused is to understate the case by several orders of magnitude. I eventually counted about 7 security guards around Numpty Bub's stroller, and guiltily wondered if hordes of drug barons were taking advantage of the disruption to sneak into the country with millions of Ecstasy pills.
Our second flight was excellent. We had a middle row this time, with lots of foot room (though the seats were still narrow and uncomfortable). The hostesses were simply superb, and anticipated our needs with alarming prescience. One of them ("the cute one with the hair", as I came to think of her) devoted herself almost entirely to our care, and was never more than five feet away whenever we needed anything. She brought a bassinet as soon as it was safe to do so (a decent one in excellent condition this time!) and strapped it in carefully. Seconds later she was plying us with extra blankets and would probably have offered any number of additional services (
) had we not persuaded her that we were fine.Numpty Bub was much happier and more comfortable on this flight, and so were we. A minor crisis arose when we ran out of milk for her last feed, but after a bit of whinging she settled down in time for our arrival in Adelaide.
Oct 27th 2009, 2:53 pm
#5
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Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 11,948
Re: Vash's 11-day update
Part #4: arrival.
Security at Adelaide Airport was remarkably tight, and the security guards seemed immune to Numpty Bub's charms. Our bags were checked at three different stages, and a sniffer dog successfully located a stray apple in Mrs Stampede's cabin luggage, despite the fact that it was wrapped in plastic and buried under goodness knows what else.
At passport control we saw two lines: one for Aussie nationals and one for everyone else. We went up to the Aussie nationals counter, expecting Mrs Stampede to be turned away; instead, a friendly chap told us that Mrs Stampede wouldn't have to use the other line because "We prefer to keep families together", and processed all our passports in seconds!
Security at Adelaide Airport was remarkably tight, and the security guards seemed immune to Numpty Bub's charms. Our bags were checked at three different stages, and a sniffer dog successfully located a stray apple in Mrs Stampede's cabin luggage, despite the fact that it was wrapped in plastic and buried under goodness knows what else.
At passport control we saw two lines: one for Aussie nationals and one for everyone else. We went up to the Aussie nationals counter, expecting Mrs Stampede to be turned away; instead, a friendly chap told us that Mrs Stampede wouldn't have to use the other line because "We prefer to keep families together", and processed all our passports in seconds!
Oct 27th 2009, 2:54 pm
#6
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Re: Vash's 11-day update
Part #5: house becomes home.
Some of you may be aware that Mrs Stampede and I bought our house in Adelaide about two and a half years ago, and have been renting it out ever since. This gave us the advantage of ready-made accommodation as soon as we landed.
By way of comparison, here is our UK house; a 2 bed, 1 bath semi on a block somewhere between 300 & 400 square metres:
We are currently seeking a tenant for this property, so if anyone desperately wants to live in Walsall (WS4) please let me know and I will pass on the details!
And here is our Aussie house; a 3 bed, 1 bath bungalow on an 868 square metre corner block, with an outdoor spa, a private office/study for Mrs Stampede and a nice entertaining area at the side:
(More photos available here).
We bought the house for $225,000 and our mortgage is $158,000. Our repayments are ~$950 per month.
Some of you may be aware that Mrs Stampede and I bought our house in Adelaide about two and a half years ago, and have been renting it out ever since. This gave us the advantage of ready-made accommodation as soon as we landed.
By way of comparison, here is our UK house; a 2 bed, 1 bath semi on a block somewhere between 300 & 400 square metres:
We are currently seeking a tenant for this property, so if anyone desperately wants to live in Walsall (WS4) please let me know and I will pass on the details!
And here is our Aussie house; a 3 bed, 1 bath bungalow on an 868 square metre corner block, with an outdoor spa, a private office/study for Mrs Stampede and a nice entertaining area at the side:
(More photos available here).
We bought the house for $225,000 and our mortgage is $158,000. Our repayments are ~$950 per month.
Oct 27th 2009, 2:54 pm
#7
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Re: Vash's 11-day update
Part #6: bureaucracy.
During our first week here, I achieved the following:
We have had no difficulties with any stage of any process. Mrs Stampede has been able to use her passport as a form of ID, which has helped a great deal. Centrelink, in particular, has been extremely supportive (when did they start employing human beings?!)
Since Mrs Stampede entered the country on a Spouse Visa and has permanent residence, she qualifies for a Family Assistance payment. I qualify for Newstart, and Numpty Bub qualifies for some sort of child support thing. Together this comes to ~$1,000 per fortnight. It's not much, but it's enough to keep us on our feet until I can find a job. The best part is that it will cover our mortgage for a while, albeit subsidised by the cash in our savings account.
I think this will do for now. More tomorrow. Hope it's been interesting so far.
During our first week here, I achieved the following:
- Changed my license from UK to Australian (paid up for the next 10 years)
- Registered us with Centrelink
- Re-registered my new details with Medicare and got a Medicare card for Mrs Stampede
- Applied for more than a dozen jobs
- Changed the details on our Aussie bank accounts and activated our new Commonwealth Visa cards
- Registered us at the local medical centre
We have had no difficulties with any stage of any process. Mrs Stampede has been able to use her passport as a form of ID, which has helped a great deal. Centrelink, in particular, has been extremely supportive (when did they start employing human beings?!)
Since Mrs Stampede entered the country on a Spouse Visa and has permanent residence, she qualifies for a Family Assistance payment. I qualify for Newstart, and Numpty Bub qualifies for some sort of child support thing. Together this comes to ~$1,000 per fortnight. It's not much, but it's enough to keep us on our feet until I can find a job. The best part is that it will cover our mortgage for a while, albeit subsidised by the cash in our savings account.
I think this will do for now. More tomorrow. Hope it's been interesting so far.
Oct 27th 2009, 3:57 pm
#8
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 202
Re: Vash's 11-day update
Nice post..waiting for more!
Love the explainations n the pics!! All the best!
Love the explainations n the pics!! All the best!
Oct 27th 2009, 4:07 pm
#9
Account Closed
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 8,913
Re: Vash's 11-day update
Excellent update, very enjoyable.
All the best Vash and family.
All the best Vash and family.
Oct 27th 2009, 4:23 pm
#10
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Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Sparta NJ
Posts: 7,605
Re: Vash's 11-day update
[Heathrow security confiscated half of Mrs Stampede's baby food, leaving us dangerously short of supplies for Numpty Bub. The security woman responsible seemed incapable of understanding that if you break the seal on a non-reusable container of baby milk, it cannot simply be left in your bag to slosh around with a ripped spout for the next 6 hours or so.
Oct 27th 2009, 4:25 pm
#11
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Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Monterey Keys, Queensland
Posts: 96
Re: Vash's 11-day update
Hi
Really enjoyed your post.
Paula
Really enjoyed your post.
Paula
Oct 27th 2009, 6:23 pm
#12
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Location: Robina, GCoast
Posts: 473
Re: Vash's 11-day update
An interesting post thanks
Oct 27th 2009, 6:26 pm
#13
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 92
Re: Vash's 11-day update
love it, keep it coming
Oct 27th 2009, 6:42 pm
#14
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 211
Re: Vash's 11-day update
Hi,
I enjoyed your post. We too are flying with Cathay Pacific next week. It's a bit worrying that some of your baby supplies were conviscated! I need to take 10 ready made bottles of formula with me. I don't mind tasting one if asked to but all 10... they will go off and we will be left with a young toddler screaming for his milk. Not looking forward to it I must say! Glad you are settling in okay.
All the best.
I enjoyed your post. We too are flying with Cathay Pacific next week. It's a bit worrying that some of your baby supplies were conviscated! I need to take 10 ready made bottles of formula with me. I don't mind tasting one if asked to but all 10... they will go off and we will be left with a young toddler screaming for his milk. Not looking forward to it I must say! Glad you are settling in okay.
All the best.
Oct 27th 2009, 7:10 pm
#15
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 211
Re: Vash's 11-day update
I just realised you posted photos aswell. Your little girl is so adorable...