Living in England- Same, Same- but different!

You can tell a tourist by their clothing can't you?
 The local fashion may not be very complicated, but bless the tourist- they just can't put two pieces together in a convincing fashion.
I am that tourist. I packed for our trip really poorly- my wardrobe looks like it was put together by someone escaping a house fire or drunk and wearing an eyepatch.
 It seems hysterically stupid, but I am having trouble just trying to casually stay dry and warm beyond pajamas. And the angle of the sun up here- it's lower on the horizon and gets right into your eyeballs. Why did no-one mention that? I need sunnies more than I did in Australia.

While I struggle with staying dry without looking like a fisherman, the boys (big and small)  have their own difficulties. Money is one of them- they cannot get their head around the plain looking paper notes and alien coins. At the shops they tend to dump a handful of coin on the counter and get help from a patient cashier.
Alex obsessively converts every price to dollars before he decides to buy it. Most of the times its a bargain because clothes are cheaper, as is food and public healthcare.
In England I can afford to buy mostly organic food from the supermarket. There is a much bigger range to choose from, with very clear information given on packaging. In fact there is a far greater range of everything to the point of things being overwhelming. Doing the groceries here does my head in.
  I would guestimate there is between two and three times more choice than back in Australia. In the preprepared area you need never cook again. Supermarkets here can be E-normous. Your trolley may contain butter, a bike, drycleaning, your mended shoes, a formal dress, and your prescription made up for the anxiety of shopping .
And, 10% of your supermarket isles are dedicated to liquor from around the world. By the time you reach it you are are too thirsty or stressed to ignore it. You have to recycle glass at the supermarket. I think this has replaced confession.
Far from what I have grown up with, my little local store is as cheap as chips, often cheaper than the supermarket and having a good turnover, is quite fresh. If I wasn't interested in variety I could almost do my groceries there.
Health here is also very affordable. I am on a visa so I am lucky to recieve care like a local. Most over the counter medicine is extremely cheap and public doctors gap-free. Prescriptions for many people including children are free. A flu shot will set you back 8 pounds and can be administered for free by the chemist. Unheard of!
A causal appointment at the Doc can take far longer here to get, but the serious are given priority and for the unsure, there is a very good phone service to acertain how unwell you are, or to give free advice, which I think is great.
Coming here you may not formally need vaccinations, but in fact as Australians we are very succeptable to all European virus strains, because we have never been been exposed to them. One such virus got us all and really hung around. Poor Fil had to take 3 days from work, and was very surprised to fill out his own doctors sick note- which everyone does for up to two weeks sick leave.
 In Australia there are I think different rules with various employers, but my last job every day off- even one- needed a doctors note for which I had to pay a $26 gap.
Furniture and household items I find to be similarly priced to Australia, but council rates and utilites more expensive. Services are often slow (it took nearly 4 weeks to get a phoneline) and I hear people complain about trades people overcharging and certain services having a monopoly they use to exploit people. I guess each country has it's ups and downs and all things balance out more or less in the end.
Houses and rent seems fairly comparable. Where we are here the locals find expensive but we find reasonable. Wages here though are lower than London as would be expected and so amny people communte there to work by car or train, just over an hour away.
Public transport is very good here and the vehicles quite luxurious but it is also very expensive and mostly privatised, though booking ahead makes a big difference.

 There are bargain flights to be had to Europe all the time( but not always for four people and not necessarily to the exact city of the country chosen). Petrol is dear- you pay in pounds what we pay in Australia in dollars.
Schools in this area are quite prestigious. What we call private in Australia are called public here and vice versa or something like that- quite confusing, but essentially my boys attend free schools as they did in Australia, but the ones round here look and feel like the private ones in Oz and all have waiting lists a mile long. Schools in general here seem to be overflowing.
For Alex attending college (senior high school), being Australian is a novelty that initially caused some ribbing, but with other students from all over the place, its all in a type of fun that I think he  enjoys. People over here expect Australians to be sporty and he is. No uniform and being treated as an adult is a bonus too.
For Flynn in a highschool where 99% of kids seemed to be English, he is finding being Australian a bit trying at times. His nationality is such a novelty that people constantly ask him to 'say things' so they can wonder at his accent. He finds the comments are very stereotypical and annoying. Australia is a long long way away and apparently still in the 60's. Also he isn't sporty and teachers tend to use that as a conversation icebreaker which falls flat.
Fortunately both boys have made friends, making school life easier. And they both like their teachers. In some areas the boys find subjects easier, some a bit harder. Both school are much bigger than anything the boys attended in Sydney, but are extremely well organised. It is assumed you are very familiar with the English system and this does sometimes cause some hiccups.
Fils work has been an unexpected culture shock. Employees at his work are much older on average and mostly anglo saxon. Many people are 'old school' something Fil had little dealings with before.
The sense of humour here is odd. There definitely is one, but people are quite proper, at least where we live. If you say something self depracating, they will often keep a straight face as though in serious sympathy. There are less out-going wacky colourful people and more odd and eccentric. People are just more self-contained.

Something I really like is that if people bump into you here, they always apologise. Back in Australia it was one of my gripes that if someone bumped into me they would rarely apoligise. I found myself doing it instead and then getting cranky because it wasn't actually my fault. Everyone here is very polite. From the down on their luck, to the teens, to the business people, doors get held open for you and people have lovely social manners. It's something that stands out. And in this area too, I rarely hear young people in groups acting agressively or swearing or yelling out. I'm sure it happens but not like I would hear it back where I lived. Once again, Winchester is only one place in England but the people here are nice. When you go for a walk, people say hello, no matter gender or age. Back home, fifty percent of people would look the other way when you pass, especially younger people.
Once again I have to say I am comparing one area I used to live in with only one I currently live in and neither are perhaps typical of their whole countries. But really, it amazing how very different two largely anglo-saxon English speaking countries can appear superficially similar but are really very different. I can only really admire the folk that switch places to a foreign language and/or a completely different race and culture. That would truly be a very big adventure.

 

A Seaside Holiday

With autumn imminent, the number one pick for our next free weekend was the seaside.
There's a sense of urgency to see as much sun and and outdoors as you can before you grab a crate of Tim Tams and a big doona and hibernate for the winter.
We picked Weymouth in Dorset for several reasons. One- we'd never been there, two- it's two whole counties away giving us some new places to see along the way and three- it's not too far from one of our favourite spots from our holiday five years ago, Lulworth Cove.
I've noticed In England I have a pessimistic/optimistic attitude to packing- you pack the stuff you hope you'll get to use (in this case swimwear), and also the stuff you will probably have to use (rain gear). Invariably the weather is somewhere in between and I will have nothing to wear.
We pack up Minty the wonder car and head off down south, with, it would appear, half of England. It's a slow drive but we're heading off on a beach holiday, and so who cares.
We chose a B & B as we often do. It's something I don't think I've ever done in Australia but I love using them here. 90% of the places we've stayed were great. There was that place where we realised upon retiring for the night, that our hosts have given up their own beds...
Usually it's good however. I love coming down to a little pine dining room in the morning the air smelling of cooked breakfast. You sit there at your little table, scooping marmalade out of those tiny glass pots and smile to yourself listening to other folk around you with various accents, plan their days adventures.If you are lucky your hosts are chatty and helpful and full of wonderful local facts and information. Other times they might hide and you can't really blame them.

Our hosts are in the lovely category this time and direct us to some likely places to get a good supper and the most pleasant route there. It probably wasn't the most wonderful route, but bless them they tried.                                
Weymouth is big old town. It sits on a wide bay facing south, with powdery sand at one end and pebbles at the other.It's full of hotels and amusement arcades and like many seaside places looks a little worn in a loved-to-death way. But the beach is pristine and raked daily and the water is great for families being shallow for quite a way out.
There are Punch and Judy shows, donkeys rides, trampolines, merry-go-rounds and ice-cream aplenty. We had fish and chips for dinner and Fil stated it was the best he's had in England- pretty hefty compliment. We strolled along the waterfront, illuminated with all the restaurants and clubs and then back over the swan dotted river to our beds.
The next morning, forecast good,  we head to the the beach early and for a while have it mostly to ourselves. The very brave menfolk hit the water, albeit very carefully, and I sat on the beach admiring their tenacity and being relieved I had none myself.
 An ice cream or two, and several hours later we drive to Lulworth Cove to visit the Durdle Door, part of the very long Jurassic Coast- loads of chalky fossil encrusted cliffs and beautiful beaches.

We came prepared with a camp stove this time and some sausages and had a lovely sausage sandwich lunch. Always hits the spot.

The kids tried to bury each other with tiny pebbles and I admired the scenery feeling very lucky to have gotten the chance to revisit such a beautiful place. The views from any spot, high or low are gorgeous. There was a kite flying above the cliff (the birdie kind) and I couldn't believe how it just sat on the air in exactly the same spot a few metres above the grass, waiting for a careless rodent.

Our last day arrives too quickly and this time it's raining. We don appropriate alter outfits, say goodbye to our lovely hosts and head to Kingston Lacy, a National Trust property halfway back to Winchester. Because we are members of the Trust, whenever we go away now, we look to see what property is in the area and go see it. Always great value.

Kingston Lacy is a jaw-droppingly stunning manor house on manicured acreage. The house is lovely from the outside but inside- ooh la la! The National Trust is doing a lot towards making properties interactive and child-friendly, but this place is still in the midst of child-frowning and really I can't blame them- it's like a palace inside. It's the sort of place you need to spend all day in to utter the appropriate amount of oohs and ahhs. We got at least an hour until enquires from the kids about leaving began, and then a good half hour after that.

                               
The grounds are nice to walk around as well though I was really annoyed to leave the little shepherds hut behind. Some consolation was found in the very nice cream tea that ended our visit. Unfortunately the wasps were just as enamoured with the strawberry jam as I was. Being chased by wasps was an unexpected and  rather exciting end to our holiday weekend.