OK Computer

The computer appears to be working ok today - the slowness I encountered previously may have had something to do with the fact that we were trying to load 4,000 tracks off our CD collection onto the ipod at the same time.
It took a while but it was definitely worth doing, unfortunately though the majority of my music collection is on ye olde cassette and vinyl (I've got rid of all my wax cylinders) which is going to need replacing (might not bother replacing the Transvision Vamp Album though - however I may keep the sleeve).

Wendy and I had a great time last Friday - we met up with Pete and Hayley in Huddersfield and took a time machine back to our student days. We even went back to one of the (many) pubs we used to frequent. It had been turned into an Irish theme bar (Scruffy O'Neills or something like that) but has recently been converted back into its former guise - 'The Zetland'. And but for the fact you could see more than a yard in front of you due to the lack of smoke, and that it was largely empty even though it was Friday night, and that there were no last orders, and that the students don't look like students any more(mainly because they were all fat - how can students be fat? they aren't supposed to eat)... apart from that it was exactly the same.

Oz news... Surprisingly, its still destination Perth. And its looking like there's an excellent chance of being there some time in February...we'll have a better idea after the medicals.

Adelaide definitely...maybe?..ok, Perth it is.

You know how we were keeping hold of the house and moving to Adelaide... well, we appear to have sold the house (in less than a week) and we are now heading for Perth.
Wendy has received a definite job offer from the people that were at the emigration show. Basically, even though the cost of living is more expensive and there are a large number of ex pats there already, its too good an opportunity to miss.

Obviously, the Adelaide Crows cheerleaders are going to be gutted - It's my understanding that two of them have already put in a transfer request in order to move to the West Coast.

Previously, we had come to the conclusion that we needed to sell the house to get a sound financial footing over there and give ourselves the best start possible. In order to get to that point, Wendy calmly went through all the figures with me, explaining everything using spread sheets, diagrams and playdough (she knows the level I work at). And less than a week later I was able to see that her calculations were indeed correct and she was able to admire my very large snake(multi-coloured and made of playdough).

We are now waiting on some advice from the agency on whether we should now go for a employer sponsored visa or wait for the full visa to go through. Which means there may well be a blog update later in the week if the computer is alright... the kids are away so I had to load everything up myself and it seems to be running incredibly slowly - it may have something to do with the fact that I've mislaid a large chunk of the hard drive. Oh no, I've lost the cheerleaders pic.
H

Harry...back by popular demand

Due to the great response I had for my August blog I have been given the controls once again.
I have picked out a couple of examples of the extremely positive feedback we got after my last effort...
1) "I read your blog" - Jacky in York
2) "My husband laughed so much his head fell off" - Barbara in Tring. Actually, that was a bit unfortunate because his head did literally fall-off, it was made worse by the fact that he was live on his web-cam at the time. I think the events that followed are best described as a media frenzy.
Anyway, the police have decided that I wasn't at fault at all - which is just as well seeing as they are carrying out their checks on us at the moment. Does owning a copy of 'The Anfield Rap' constitute having a criminal record?

As we get closer to going, we have compiled a list of places we want to go before we leave. We have already been to Saltaire and 'The Forbidden Corner' (I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to tell you what that is - I'm not allowed). We had a great time visiting these places, and we were joined by Pete & Hayley for both trips and by Pete's mum and dad for the latter.

We also have a trip lined up with John, Bron and the kids to Blackpool to see the illuminations, eat chips, candy floss, shellfish and sweets and be very ill on the journey home.

So, if you think there's somewhere we should see before we go please let us know. You should bear in mind that we are limited by budget, time constraints and my general lethargic attitude.

You may also wish to consider that if we go somewhere on your recommendation and it turns out to be rubbish then we will track you down and make your life hell - No pressure then.

Seriously, all suggestions welcome - hope to hear from you all soon (well, from at least one of you).
H

Another step closer...

We have finally received official acknowledgement of our visa application today (this is the bit that was taking 6 weeks, but due to the huge volume of applications, has actually taken 15 weeks!!). Still, it's nice to know it's being dealt with, however there will now be a further delay until we get a case officer - then we're getting much warmer!

We've moved the medicals back to 31st October and the police checks should be through by the beginning of November. So, for now, it's back to the waiting game!

Adelaide it is...

We went to the Emigration show at the racecourse on Saturday - it was really good and we got loads of information. Our heads were buzzing by the time we got home and we were exhausted! It was well worth the visit though and we have definitely decided to move to Adelaide!! Spookily, one of the stands at the show was the firm of accountants who carried out a telephone interview with me for a job in Perth back in April and the two people on the stand were the very same ones I had spoken to and emailed! I went across & introduced myself and they remembered who I was, which was great! I had a long chat with them & the Partner (Richard) guaranteed me a job if we decided to move to Perth - arghhh! So we started to compare Adelaide and Perth and, having sifted through all the info, decided on Adelaide. It mainly comes down to the cost of living, as the house prices in Perth are now the second most expensive in Australia. It is also the most isolated city and the most popular for Brits to emigrate to. Richard also said that he could put me in touch with his contacts in Adelaide as well, so I shall be following that up over the next few weeks.

We have booked our medicals for 17th October and we went to the Police Station last Wednesday to send off for our police checks, which can take up to 40 days.

So, for now, we will continue with the preparations and wait patiently for news of our visa...