Aldeburgh 27 April 2015

Prolific posting this week - this is only because I'm off to my new client in Framlingham tomorrow and he may not have inhouse wifi. In my time off I may be able to go into the library or some other such place and use their wifi but it probably won't be enough time to update the blog. So don't expect too much until the 21 of May.

Yesterday I caught the bus to Aldeburgh, about a 20 minute drive from Saxmundham. It's a small town on the North Sea opposite Holland.  I thought I could see the windmills in Holland but it turned out to be a wind farm in the sea!

The beach is just pebbles as far as the eye can see.

This is the Moot hall which is apparently still used for town meetings today.

A short walk along the beach is a controversial sculpture called The Scallop dedicated to the composer Benjamin Britten - loved by some, not by others. Its steel, 4 metres high and contains a line of prose from his Opera Peter Grimes.  The sculptor is Maggi Hambling. I like it.

Behind the beach is a conservation area with mud flats and salt marsh areas. Quite lovely.

And then came tea and scones with jam and clotted cream. I was too hungry to take pictures - best scones I've had here. Sorry, next time.

How are you all enjoying these posts? Anything else you would like to see? More words, more pictures?

Saxmundham 26 April 2015

Continuing my week of enforced inactivity, I'm staying at another residence belonging to the Agency and for the most part I've been on my own. It's right in the centre of Saxmundham and I've been able to go on walks in all directions.

On Sunday I went to church! Yes, I know, completely out of character. But there is an enormous freedom to do whatever I feel like at the moment. So, I went to listen to the singing and was welcomed with open arms by everyone there. After that I walked off in a completely new direction. It had been raining during the night but the rain had stopped by then.  In the distance was something that looked like a rising moon - then I saw a sign - Sizewell Nuclear Power Station.

It didn't take me long to realise that my footwear was completely inadequate for the British countryside.

On the way back to town, this is the view from another direction.

And these are some flowers in bloom at the moment. No idea what they are, besides the pine tree cone type thing - very scientific I am - comments appreciated.

Norwich 24 April 2015

While I had a week off I made the appointment for the National Insurance interview on Friday in Norwich - so another train trip. It's pretty expensive to jaunt around the countryside. I am definitely forecasting that a car purchase will be in my relatively near future. The trains are (so far) always on time, really speedy and pretty comfortable, but not cheap.

Norwich is the biggest city I've been in since London but has a completely different feel. There is also a river - the Wensum. The area around the station is just nightclubs and fast food places but as you walk up the hill there is a feel of Pietermaritzburg with lots of lanes and interesting little shops (that said I haven't been to Maritzburg in about 10 years so I may be completely wrong). Also, besides the Cathedral, lots of pretty churches. This is St Gregory's.

Interview over, apparently successfully, we'll see in a couple of week's time when the number arrives. I walked through the city, tried some of the museums which were closed and found the Cathedral - here's a few pics.

The Cathedral is impressively beautiful and the Cathedral precinct is huge. I also found Edith Cavall's grave. Who? You may ask. A nurse from the 1st World War who was shot for treason by the Germans for helping soldiers to escape from Belgium.

I find that I can only sightsee for up to about 4 hours then I want to stop looking at things. I'm not sure whether it's just really early in the season but there aren't any crowds to speak of - nowhere near the number of people you have to wade through in Rome and Florence. I'll let you know how things are in August.  A teller at Tesco just told me today that summer only starts in August - groan.

And then back on the train and home via Lowestoft this time.

Woodbridge 19 to 22 April 2015

I had a few days off between training and starting work so I went off to a small town called Woodbridge - a small, pretty town on the river Deben - the taxi driver this morning said I shouldn't say anything like that, it's a well kept secret.  I'll post quite a lot of pictures and you can see for yourself.

Woodbridge school - established in 1577.  Huge grounds and lovely old buildings.

The Town Council building

St Mary's Church - a lovely garden with an exuberance of flowers.

My second day there I took a walk along the river and saw an amazing amount of birds.  Apparently the Sandlings Walk is a long distance walk between Ipswich and Southwold - definitely on the "to do list" but I need company - any offers?

Then a walk back through town and a peek into hidden corners.  Saw this little old cemetery and these amazing flowers around a memorial in the town.  It's really spring from the flower perspective even though it's not very warm at all - highest the temperature has reached is around 21 degrees C.

A different perspective of Buttrums Mill - did you see the sunset pic on my facebook page?

And time to leave again!  I'm getting pretty good at living out of a suitcase - no shopping allowed without discarding something already there.

Saxmundham 12 to 18 April 2015

Ok, this is what I'm here for.  The Guesthouse is on the edge of town with countryside spreading out around the back.  It's well set up for it's purpose.  Actually the company is incredible well organised and everything works!  Recruitment, training, accommodating people - that's what I've experienced so far.  Now for the next step - well in a few days.

In the meantime - Saxmundham - such a pretty little town.  Apparently it is a town and not a village because it has Tesco and Waitrose - in their terms small, but in our terms pretty decent sized supermarkets, think PnP Waterfront.   The centre of town is old but a new area built around what is effectively a village green is built in a style which fits in really well.

We had 9 people in our training group for the week - 4 South Africans, 1 Hungarian and 1 Polish lady, and 3 English (one guy) - all lovely people.  As with any short intense course like this where you are with each other all day and most are staying in the same guesthouse, bombarded with information from all sides - you tend to bond.  There were a couple of other people staying in the guesthouse as well but not doing our training.  There wasn't time to do more than attend training all day with breaks for lunch and tea, head off for a walk and to buy supper, review work, sleep and then begin again.  But I managed to pass everything - theoretical and practical and I've been given my new booking starting on the 29th.  Confidentiality is  a big thing so I won't be talking much about that side of the job, but I will tell you what's happening in my life.

On Friday it was time to celebrate so a few of us went out for supper to the local Hotel.

Saturday morning was time to leave as a new bunch of trainees was due to arrive. Because my first job is in 10 days time, barring any relief work which they require, I needed to find somewhere else to stay for a couple of days.  Off to Woodbridge, a bigger town a couple of train stations away.

London 12 April 2015

Sorry everyone - so long since the last post.  It's been a very busy week.  Here's a a bit of catch up..

I left London on Sunday from Liverpool Street Station.

This is the Kindertransport Statue to commemorate the children removed from London during the Blitz from this station.  It's a huge station incorporating above ground trains and the underground.  I was a couple of hours early and had time to look around.  It was pretty challenging going to the loo with a very heavy suitcase! Up and down flights of stairs, difficult.

Lunch - the options here are fantastic.  This was Vietnamese pork crystal rolls with a dipping sauce. No comment required for the Belgian chocolate coated nuts.

London was fantastic but it is really hectic so I was pretty glad to be moving on into the countryside.

London 10.4.2015

I made it and after a good night's sleep I'm almost able to string together a few words....

After getting into a minor state of panic, saying farewell to the people I love most in the world (besides the cats that is), having to run so as not to miss the international flight. Only being able to spend 5 minutes with a friend I haven't seen for 16 years who had spent a couple of hours waiting at OR Tambo (thanks Jill, it was lovely to see you and Gordon in mid stride), I plopped into the seat at the back of a very large plane and was able to get some sleep.  Dinner was at 11.30 pm and breakfast was served at 4 am.

Customs was a breeze - a machine verified my photo, no human interaction required, and I was through.  I hung around at Heathrow for a couple of hours to miss the (expensive) rush hour tube trip. Then, in to London and heading East.  My airbnb accommodation is near Whitechapel, not an area I've ever been to.  Quite scruffy but entirely familiar for a Woodstock resident.  After a quick nap I put on my walking shoes and walked and walked. I got lost a few times and found myself again.

So many people. Weather in the high teens.  The Walky Talky building.  Brick Lane. Tesco, Starbucks and then sensory overload and time to lie down and process it all.  Definitely a few moments of "What the hell have you done?"  But after a good night's sleep I'm ready to get out there again.

in or into a state of disorder ...

4 more days to go ....

Yesterday we had a 'bon voyage' picnic at Kirstenbosch.  The weather started out windy but sunny.  By later in the afternoon the clouds descended and it got pretty chilly.  We, as a group are pretty good at picnics but we outdid ourselves this time - the cakes were stupendous.

There wasn't much left by the time we were done.  It was great to have everybody there and by far the biggest picnic a KB yesterday.  I'll miss you guys!