Our home in the very convenient Ealing has become the central force of all activities. It has a tube station at either end of the street, both on the Piccadilly line, eight stops West takes you to Heathrow, 8 stops East to South Kensington (the Science Museum, The National History Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum). The buses also take us to the very pleasant areas of Chiswick ( Mr Darcy lives here and my favourite antique store, I regularly stalk the streets for a glimpse of either of these attractions) and Richmond ( shop till you drop!). The location is so convenient that I have not yet driven in London, and our trusty "People Mover " only gets taken out once a week for a drive to Tescos to do the grocery shopping, the biggest stress of the journey is hoping our carpark won't get pinched while we are out.
It is great having Anna and Kerry just around the corner and love the get-togethers with Anna for a coffee a movie or Sav Blanc at the pub. As Anna and Maya share the same Birthday we had a lovely party together...Anna and Kerry are stars at musical statues and I am sure it is a rare occasion for them to return home having overindulged in sugar and not wine....also shared a great night with the Stoves and mutual friends Fid and Hazel....Hazel entertained us on the piano with yet another of her talents...there is something wonderful about having your dinner accompanied by a piano recital...could not convince John to share his lovely tenor voice with this, even when the aphrodisiac effects of this promised.
The local schools are very oversubscribed and we had fears that Maya may not be accepted into a primary school, however we were very pleased that a place became available at 'the Grange". We are actually out of zone for this school, but it is only an 10 minute walk and across the road from the tube station. This can seem a long walk on rainy days- most mornings, with Maya, Will and Piper all in wet weather gear and groaning all the way, as there is no drop off place for cars. The School has just reopened after being completely rebuilt following a fire. Maya was very timid and reluctant to start this new school and sadly latched on to the most popular girl in her class as a friend...a recipe for heartache... however, 1 month on she has become friends with 'the popular girls' and had a marriage proposal from a boy.. Way to go girl!....it took me nearly thirty years to achieve this.
Will is loving the one on one time he now gets and there are many handy activities to fill our days. Our street is adjacent to a huge sprawling park, which has an excellent playground, and a playgroup with all sorts of facilities and activities for preschoolers.... and is free. On the corner is the library and our local cafe has a childrens area as well as making a good cappuccino...this is not an easy find in London....note to all....never...never....buy a coffee at tourist attraction in London....it is either instant or machine dispensed - and a barista is someone that works at the Old Bailey.....
Air New Zealand has done a deal with the Health Insurance company used.... they have done a deal with a local gym to us...basically the more we go the cheaper the subscription, and beyond this if you use it very regularly they send you a cheque at the end of the year.This is an attempt to get the English moving and reduce the burden on the NHS. It is also very flash, has everything...yoga, weights, swimming pool, beauty clinic, CRECHE and cafe ( have been known to swipe myself in just for a coffee when passing by). They even have 'splash Sunday' where you can take your kids and use the swimming pool. Fabulous. It is 20 minute walk from home and has become a big part of our life. It was certainly not on our agenda to become fit and healthy whilst in London, the great thing about getting older is that this is the first time in our lives we have actually joined a gym and been below average weight and above average fitness for our age.
I have become quite busy as I have joined the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers as a 'Mother Supporter', and have started my course in breastfeeding counselling. I had my first study day last week which was very interesting and very surprising. The team is great has a broad spectrum of women and it has been great to get to know new people and also challenge myself again. I am stunned by the situation in the UK and the care of women and infants postnatally, where unpaid volunteers without the supervision of a health professional offer advice and care for women and newborns. So far have heard no discussion in terms of 'Standards of Practice' "Guidelines' Bestpractice and 'Evidence Based Medicine'......pretty scary and made me proud of what we achieve in New Zealand. Inadvertently I have also become involved with the National Childhood Trust, this is an organsiation that also trains volunteers to assist mothers and infants antenatally and with breastfeeding. Our local cafe has a coffee morning were mothers can meet the NCT breast feeding counsellor, I have got to know her quite well and was invited to their AGM...don't think that could believe there was a breast nurse looking for some volunteer work who has also been involved in funding raising work.....well, I am now a member and we have our first fund raising day on the 11th December...guess what, I am taking prints of childrens hands and feet......some sleeping dogs will just not lie....
But I shall temper my fervour...my days of sweat and tears for fundraising not distant enough a memory for me and particularly for my husband...but am keen to learn as much as I can about these organisations whilst here and meet some great people.
I have also enrolled for studies in lymphoedema management for 2008...this has been very difficult to arrange as all the academic institutions require a large clinical aspect of the course...and as I am not practicing in the UK this is impossible for me to achieve. I have found an excellent course run by qualified practitioners near Birmingham and look forward to attending the courses next year. There are also all sorts of cancer courses and the European Breast Cancer Conference in Milan.....so much to do, so much to see and so much to learn....I feel myself back in my comfort zone again.
We have all been making the most of all the sights of London when we can...and the museums here are incredible, offer so much and are free...we have visited Windsor and Eton which is gorgeous and the castle stunning...I hope to get back there soon to really have a good look.
Anna gave me tickets to the British House and Garden Fair ...( my favorite magazine) and enjoyed a day with the ladies that lunch looking at lots of gorgeous and fabulous things. As far as fabulous things go....I have been very slow to visit the great shopping places of London, such as Kings Road and Oxford St, Harvey Nichols...John is happy about this, as the shopping in London can be a busy pastime in itself, but I must say I have been to lots of shops ..but have found very little that inspires me. Lets face it the 70's fashion that has made a comeback, only ever looked good on someone who was 20 and less than 50 kg's..(I have only seen one person like this so far in London.) It is easy to see can see why in the UK Trinny and Suzannah have made an industry out of 'Fashion Disasters' and also why the Charity Shop is to London what the $2 Shops are to Auckland...they are everywhere, and full of previous fashion disasters.....every ailment, group, organisation has a charity shop...there is even one for cats (did buy a fabulous leather skirt for 12 pounds though...so not all bad news!) We have taken the family to Harrods..this was to visit Santa's Grotto it was all decorated with Christmas decorations and lights and had the magical spirit that only Europe can provide at Christmas time.
I am very embarrassed to say ...after six months in a tiny village in France, without television and newspapers that you know you've been living in the back and beyond for too long and out of touch, when last week after living in London for 6 weeks exclaimed to John...is Tony Blair no longer the Prime Minister here?....apparently this has been the case for sometime....sadly even after reading English newspapers it had taken me a month to discover this....but I do know who is winning 'Strictly Come Dancing' and' The X-Factor'...as this is all that is on TV or in the newspapers. They are celebrity crazy in this country..and a celebrity does not have to be someone with talent or achievements...Big Boobs on page three will suffice..
John is enjoying work from our new base...which is sooooooooooooooooooo much easier for him. With Christmas lists completed he may now have some time to enjoy his layovers in LA or Hong Kong. He heads to the east tonight and returns Wednesday, we are then packing up the people mover and heading to the North East for the weekend. Can't wait. Really looking forward to seeing the family again, and some of the old haunts ..the Tynemouth Antiques Market, the Priory and the sea and gorgeous countryside...and of course some good Fish and Chips which believe it or not have not found here in London yet.....
Our lives become much like everyone else's as we settle into life in London and find ourselves working around school hours and rosters and studies. We are loving all we have seen and look forward to exploring so much more until we have more news, love to you all, a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday time.
(Double click image for better clarity)
