Milford Close

St Albans

ENGLAND

 

10 March 2002

 

Dear Margaret and Neville

 

Thank you so much for all those lovely postcards.  You must think I am absolutely awful not to have heard from me for so long.  I did actually start a longhand letter to you some time ago during my parent interviews.  I then decided the writing was shocking because it was written in a hurry between interviews so I threw it away meaning to begin again on the computer.  I have finally got to it.  I am a SHOCKER!!!!  I tend to do the emails first because I can send them immediately then get tired before I get to the others.  Wish you had email!!!!

 

All your recent travels sound wonderful and it was great to receive all those lovely cards.  The day your Whitianga one came I came home to find two postcards from Whitianga on my mat waiting for me when I got home from work.  Would you believe it!!!  What are the chances of that here in England.  Genevieve was in Whitianga the same weekend!!!  I have really enjoyed getting all these lovely pictures from home.

 

The last few weeks have been pretty hectic.  At the end of the holidays my classroom was flooded (six inches of water all through it and most of my resources ruined).  I got the joy of doing the clean up followed by a few days off sick with a lung infection for doing it., the Yr8 parent interviews  About ten days later the LEA assessor came to see if I was suitable to teach in the UK.  As you can imagine the time in between was pretty frantic as I tore soaked displays from the walls, tried to dry out the room (which absolutely stank) and all the while teaching children in there and then getting all new displays and resources so I could do my job.  I worked very long hours and all my lunch hours but managed to get it done in time.  The assessor came, was delighted with my work, even though the room still smelt and there is a huge gaping hole in the ceiling!!  I got “outstanding” as my report, which I was delighted with.  The boss says nothing I have lost is covered by insurance but I have just seen in the School Board report that the school pays 37,000 pounds per year in insurance so goodness knows how he can say that.  I think I have been taken for a ride.  A bit peeved about that actually.  My teaching resources have been destroyed but nothing at all has been replaced.  I am just expected to teach without it.

 

Our landlord got us another sofa and fridge – at last.  The settee is much more comfortable than the other one but very small – a VERY small 2 seater so Ewart and I cannot sit without touching each other; it has a since sprung bed which is actually more comfortable to sleep on than the other one.  The fridge we now have is new and silent.  What a difference not to wake up all night to the sound of that damned fridge!!  Anyway, we both got sick of all the waiting so went looking to see if we could buy a flat so we wouldn’t lose so much money in rent.  Property values here are leaping up at an astronomical rate.  We have managed to find a nice little flat in the Larches (the block behind us).  We have spent the last couple of weeks trying to make this idea work.  We have been approved as suitable for a mortgage and are currently awaiting the mortgage offer.  Property purchases are VERY SLOW in this country.  The flat is in good condition – a studio – which means we have one large open plan room plus bathroom and kitchen plus a loft which is the same size which in time we should be able to convert into one or two bedrooms.  There are large shared grounds which are covered by a maintenance contract so we won’t have to worry about mowing lawns which will be great if we want to rent the place out and do more extensive travelling or if it doesn’t sell immediately when we come back to NZ.  Property around here seldom stays on the market for more than a week so we should be pretty OK.  We are looking to be able to use our rent payments as our monthly savings for our retirement.  It is in good decorative order so shouldn’t need too much spent on it in the short term though we have some appliances to buy.  We have been having fun going around the shops and sales getting quotes.  You will just have to come again and stay so you can see it!!! I am on holiday 23 July to 2 September – our summer.

 

We had coffee at Costa yesterday morning with Gail.  It was warm and sunny when we left the flat.  We went into the bank and when we came out the sky was covered in thick grey cloud and there was a freezing cold wind.  The weather is really changeable at the moment but everything looks gorgeous as the blossom trees are now in flower (pink and white) and the streets are lined with thousands of crocusses and daffodils.  The colours look lovely and bright after the months of all the trees with no leaves and the grass is now a really bright green.  Ewart mowed the grass yesterday for the first time since the beginning of winter.

 

Next weekend we are off with Iris, Ivor, Pam, Tom, Gail and other friends for the opening Dine and Dance for the new De Havilland Bowls Club clubrooms at Hatfield.  These evenings are always great fun, have good food and a live band.  It is a long dress affair so we both have hair appointments for Saturday morning.

 

Just over a week ago our friend Shayne from Auckland came back over for a short stay.  He arrived early on the Saturday morning then we got up at 3am on Sunday to return him to Heathrow. During the day we had sunshine, hail, sleet and snow – four seasons in just one day.  It was really weird and Shayne loved it.  We went up to Frosts Garden Centre at Woburn Sands, saw canal boats at Leighton Buzzard and the churches at Wing and Stanbridge before going to the market at St Albans and bartering for clothing and shoes for Shayne to take home for his family.  We packed a huge amount into just twenty-four hours and spent a lot of time laughing, but it was all very enjoyable.

 

In July a couple I know from Hamilton (ex senior inspector from our Piopio days) are coming to stay for a couple of days.  Patty Doull ex Waitomo is trying to get out for the new school term to work for 2-3 years too so I should be able to look forward to a bit of NZ company.

 

Christine next door has been very unwell and has had to have quite a lot of time off work so we have been keeping a bit of a watching eye on her.  A few short weeks after a trip to the USA she developed Deep Vein Thrombosis and has been a very sick girl – injections in the stomach every day for about three weeks, .....yuk, and that is only the beginning.  It has been very scary for her but she has taken it all in her stride.  We had a catch up over a coffee in here with her yesterday.  Karen has moved into her upstairs flat now and is currently building her own kitchen from a kitset.  I am not that keen.  Florence and Hillary moved back to Malaysia – left while we were away.  We didn’t know they were going so didn’t get to say goodbye.  We have a lovely young couple up there now called Simon and Helen.  They are very quiet and you would never know they are there most of the time.

 

It is now just 2 ½ weeks until my half term holidays and I will be off for two weeks.  I am hoping that we will know more about the progress on the flat purchase so I can use the time productively.  In any event I am taking Jennie to Watford for the day to the Harlequin Shopping Centre.  Ewart and I discovered it just last weekend and it is modern and huge – a bit like Pacific Fair in Australia. It is very pretty and has a central escalator system.

 

We are keeping pretty quiet now to save money as we are also waiting for tax bills both here and in NZ inside the same timeframe....  Have to be a bit sensible and careful.

 

Had a bit of a sad week last week.  Some very close friends of ours from Pokuru lost their son suddenly in a car accident in Tauranga.  Ewan was over there for a wedding.  They were on the way there when his cousin Naomi lost control of the car.  The others are OK, but hurt. However, Ewan died in the ambulance on the way to hospital.  We have rung and spoken with Kaye and Merv, sent flowers, and Mum and Dad attended Ewan’s funeral on our behalf.  Ewan and Genevieve were the same age and Kaye and I spent a lot of time together when we were carrying those children.  Kaye and I have been friends since we were 7yrs old and I was bridesmaid at Kaye and Merv’s wedding so we were devastated when we got the news via email from Mum last Saturday morning.  Since then it seems as though it has been a very big NZ week.  

 

We also received what appears to be a hoax letter about our farm the same day so that wasn’t very nice either.  We have had friends in Te Kuiti trace it for us as the street didn’t ring a bell and we understand that neither the person nor the street exist.  The letter says our farm looks a real mess from the road.  Is that true?  Do we need to look into getting someone hired to do some tidying for us?  Do you know of anyone who could be trusted to do some maintenance gardening as a one off contract?  I don’t have that many local contacts these days as a lot of people we know have moved on.  I know the rockery needs some work as Genevieve has told us that a little while ago.  Mary has not touched it since she moved in.  Depending on cost I would quite like to hire someone to dig it up, put down some weedtex and bark and replant the plants.  That would make that garden much more manageable for tenants.  What do you think?  The last thing we need is for the house to be vandalised because it looks uninhabited.

 

Where did we go to get that soapdish for you?  I can’t remember and haven’t seen anything like it again though I have looked.   Can’t for the life of me remember where we went shopping that day.  My mind is a complete blank!!!  I have found the Lordship and Ladyship mugs.  8 pounds each. Is that Ok?  How many do you want?

 

Oh yes, I must tell you, the pukeko you sent over looks fantastic on the wall of my kitchen here and all the dangle footed creatures sit between the pot plants on the kitchen window sill.  They look great and keep me happy while I am cooking and cleaning.  We use the little dish for our cookie breaks when we are using the computer in the lounge.  Thank you so much. They are lovely.

 

I must away and do some marking and get Ewart some dinner.

So sorry to have been such a slack letter writer.  

 

Have a great week.

 

Love from Elaine & Ewart

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