London Life - part 1
When things come together they really come together huh?
All my frustrations and tears (so what if I cry easily!?) associated with finding the children a school evaporated last Friday morning.
I rang several schools, only to be stopped in my tracks each time with stories of waiting lists, and out of zone refusals. Foulds School was one I had shortlisted, it has very good ratings, is a public school, and within walking distance from the apartment. Foulds also happened to be the last school I called before starting on the list I didn’t want to call.
Initially I was told that Brannan could be accepted, even though we were living just outside their catchment area, but that Petra would need to go on their waiting list. The desperation in my voice must have struck a chord because after a long pause I was asked how quickly I could get down to the school office….well we were in the car in a flash, drove the 15 miles from Tewin at lightening speed and had acceptance papers in our hands by early afternoon. The Head Teacher (principal) is so lovely and she took Bran and Pet for a tour and to meet their new teachers after laughing off my offer of a hug :-)
Then it was a mad dash to the uniform shop, to get kitted out for Monday. There was so much to get, school colours are green, black and white and I’ve discovered that there’s even regulation swimming gear (including speedos and swimming cap for Bran!!)
They set off proudly for school on the Monday morning, four months to the day after leaving school in NZ. It was an easy 20 minute walk (Petra speed) and we had the obligatory ‘first day’ photos. I was surprised to see that the children must line up in the courtyard outside the classrooms and only enter with their bags and coats when the teachers arrive to lead them inside – makes sneaking into class late a little obvious :-)
‘School dinners’ are quite a novelty for us. It costs £10 each child per week. We’ve since found out that it’s not compulsory, you can elect to bring your own sandwiches, but you must give a half term’s notice. Brannan’s classmates thought he was lucky not having school dinners in New Zealand. Bran and Pet can’t understand why, they are thoroughly enjoying hot meals such as meatballs, cauliflower cheese, pasta, chicken pie, and curry and the desserts at school.
By Wednesday the initial excitement had worn off Petra was asking to stay home because she needed ‘…some peace and quiet…’, and Bran was upset that the boys at school only seemed interested in football. Still they finished their first week and were back bright and full of smiles again after the weekend.
We managed the move into the apartment easily, we’ve been here a week now. It didn’t take more than an hour to pack up the car and drive here, and then we were unpacked and wondering what to do next by early afternoon. Our eagerly awaited shopping spree nearly broke the bank as we needed to buy linen, duvets, pillows, towels and tea towels. Didn’t realise there was so many choices or that there was a difference between plain old white goose down and Siberian goose down! I can’t bring myself to look at the visa statement at the moment!! The children also got their trip to ‘Toys-R-Us’ to choose something to go in their bare rooms. Pretty predictable purchases… Bran bought lego and Pet a sister for Baby Jesus, Baby Annabel!
Since moving in we’ve been very happy here. It’s easy to keep tidy and so small you can vacuum the whole place in less than 10 mins. Our only gripe is that our neighbour downstairs, Norma, seems to have taken a dislike to us.
She phoned to complain about our noise on day 3. Phoned the ‘President’ of the Tenant’s Association, who phoned our landlord, who phoned us, on day 5 and phoned us again on day 7. I am terrified to open a drawer, and I swear we are not making any unnecessary noise, just going about our business. The kids now tiptoe around in socks. Weren’t we pleased that they had a grandchild come to stay on the weekend, we could hear footsteps running up and down their hallway. We’ve also heard a woman somewhere in the building shouting at her husband on several occasions. Sight of the week must have been me standing on the kitchen bench tonight, head poking out of our third floor window desperately trying to figure out which apartment the domestic was coming from – we now have ammunition and are eagerly awaiting her next phone call!!
All my frustrations and tears (so what if I cry easily!?) associated with finding the children a school evaporated last Friday morning.
I rang several schools, only to be stopped in my tracks each time with stories of waiting lists, and out of zone refusals. Foulds School was one I had shortlisted, it has very good ratings, is a public school, and within walking distance from the apartment. Foulds also happened to be the last school I called before starting on the list I didn’t want to call.
Initially I was told that Brannan could be accepted, even though we were living just outside their catchment area, but that Petra would need to go on their waiting list. The desperation in my voice must have struck a chord because after a long pause I was asked how quickly I could get down to the school office….well we were in the car in a flash, drove the 15 miles from Tewin at lightening speed and had acceptance papers in our hands by early afternoon. The Head Teacher (principal) is so lovely and she took Bran and Pet for a tour and to meet their new teachers after laughing off my offer of a hug :-)
Then it was a mad dash to the uniform shop, to get kitted out for Monday. There was so much to get, school colours are green, black and white and I’ve discovered that there’s even regulation swimming gear (including speedos and swimming cap for Bran!!)
They set off proudly for school on the Monday morning, four months to the day after leaving school in NZ. It was an easy 20 minute walk (Petra speed) and we had the obligatory ‘first day’ photos. I was surprised to see that the children must line up in the courtyard outside the classrooms and only enter with their bags and coats when the teachers arrive to lead them inside – makes sneaking into class late a little obvious :-)‘School dinners’ are quite a novelty for us. It costs £10 each child per week. We’ve since found out that it’s not compulsory, you can elect to bring your own sandwiches, but you must give a half term’s notice. Brannan’s classmates thought he was lucky not having school dinners in New Zealand. Bran and Pet can’t understand why, they are thoroughly enjoying hot meals such as meatballs, cauliflower cheese, pasta, chicken pie, and curry and the desserts at school.
By Wednesday the initial excitement had worn off Petra was asking to stay home because she needed ‘…some peace and quiet…’, and Bran was upset that the boys at school only seemed interested in football. Still they finished their first week and were back bright and full of smiles again after the weekend.
We managed the move into the apartment easily, we’ve been here a week now. It didn’t take more than an hour to pack up the car and drive here, and then we were unpacked and wondering what to do next by early afternoon. Our eagerly awaited shopping spree nearly broke the bank as we needed to buy linen, duvets, pillows, towels and tea towels. Didn’t realise there was so many choices or that there was a difference between plain old white goose down and Siberian goose down! I can’t bring myself to look at the visa statement at the moment!! The children also got their trip to ‘Toys-R-Us’ to choose something to go in their bare rooms. Pretty predictable purchases… Bran bought lego and Pet a sister for Baby Jesus, Baby Annabel!Since moving in we’ve been very happy here. It’s easy to keep tidy and so small you can vacuum the whole place in less than 10 mins. Our only gripe is that our neighbour downstairs, Norma, seems to have taken a dislike to us.
She phoned to complain about our noise on day 3. Phoned the ‘President’ of the Tenant’s Association, who phoned our landlord, who phoned us, on day 5 and phoned us again on day 7. I am terrified to open a drawer, and I swear we are not making any unnecessary noise, just going about our business. The kids now tiptoe around in socks. Weren’t we pleased that they had a grandchild come to stay on the weekend, we could hear footsteps running up and down their hallway. We’ve also heard a woman somewhere in the building shouting at her husband on several occasions. Sight of the week must have been me standing on the kitchen bench tonight, head poking out of our third floor window desperately trying to figure out which apartment the domestic was coming from – we now have ammunition and are eagerly awaiting her next phone call!!
Petra all settled in her room with Baby Annabel
Brannan ready for homework action!
The whole Tenant’s Association thing makes us smile. We were introduced to the President, Coral, a few weeks ago. Coral is an elderly Australian lady who apparently moved to the UK, temporarily, 50 years ago. Then the morning we moved in we were intercepted by Elsa (also elderly), the Secretary. They are so proud of their designations, its like (chest thrust forward) ‘Hello, I’m the Secretary’… there’s only 13 apartments here, so odds are fairly good at being on the committee! Having said that, the association does a good job of managing everything related to the building. The grounds are immaculate, there are notices everywhere about recycling and refuse, and I was surprised to see a man on my balcony cleaning the windows during the week.
Now all that remains is for me to get a job...
As always there’s plenty more I’ve got to say, so we’ll just save that for my next post :-)
Cheers for now
Hayls
x
Comments