Two years on......

So, as 2020 comes to a close, what's changed/improved/developed since I last updated my blog in May/June?

I thought for this blog, I'd do a month by month update, for a change.  

July

Start of Term 3 (we have four terms here a year, each of 10 weeks) saw me starting a keto diet - basically no carbs, just protein and veg. I quickly got very used to it and combined it with intermittent fasting - no eating before 10:30am, no eating after 7:30pm - to lose 11kg by December. I'm really pleased with the results - I've maintained a healthy level of fitness alongside the keto and I've never felt hungry. I allowed myself a break between Xmas Eve and today (New Year's Eve) - back to it tomorrow! I also cheated most weekends with a cheeky Moscato on a Friday & Saturday night - and STILL lost weight :) 

At work I took on a union representative role in the Middle Leadership review; after many years of being the one creating such a structure, it was fascinating to be on the  "other" side of the table, checking the structure against the Enterprise Bargaining Agreements, etc.  I really enjoyed the strategic exercise for my brain, pretty much unused in recent months and thought the end result was a fair one.

August

In August I plucked up courage to find a new hairdresser - always a risk! But I was lucky and found one in walking distance of my house, in Dicky Beach. I also had a fair chunk chopped off - it's so hot here and my hair is so thick!  

I also enjoyed Sunday morning lie-ins, knowing that in September, my lifesaving season would start again - that 6am alarm is never welcome!

September

Springtime here meant that I began to experiment with plants in the garden at my beach house, both natives and traditional English plants. I've found it very rewarding to see them flourish in my sandy soil! I was particularly delighted to have some David Austin roses (from South Australia) flower here in Queensland, so close to the sea. They are a constant reminder of my lovely gardens in the UK.

Lifesaving started up again - it runs September to May - and it began with our Awards meeting. I was totally blown away to be given a trophy for my enthusiasm towards training! I was just grateful not to have drowned in the many watery sessions! I also achieved my Bronze Medallion, my IRB (boat) crew and of course all the CPR, First Aid and Defib qualifications. I do feel much more useful this season than last, when I was still learning so much.

October

In October I tried to be one of the Turtlecare volunteers - 180 of us applied for 30 places, and I wasn't lucky this year. I'll definitely try again - the work involves walking the beach at 5am from November to March to check for turtle tracks and nests.

We had a State election and I took on the role of Election Issuing Officer. It was really interesting - I'd never really understood the election system of preferences until I was involved in the counting. I had to learn a new software system within a couple of days, ready for the election day. Elections here are on a Saturday (very sensible!) and of course are compulsory. I'd done my own voting by post two weeks in advance; it was interesting to see how many people didn't take advantage of early voting (you can vote in person for up to 2 weeks before voting day) or postal voting.

Keto continued with me gently losing about 0.4kg a week in a good week - and I was given a great set of recipes by a colleague at work, who was also doing keto. I made strawberry icecream with a chocolate sauce, as well as bagels! Totally keto but yummy.

I joined the Rotary Club - they meet on Tuesday mornings at 6:30am - yes, you read that right! They are a great bunch of people, many who are retired; there are guest speakers and they undertake many charitable activities, more in non-Covid times.

November

Remembrance Day here was well honoured - I was teaching Year 9 and showed them all of my remembrance souvenirs, including the terracotta poppy from the Tower of London display. 

At work I was given an exciting new role for 2021, to be the staff coach and mentor for the early careers teachers, alongside my teaching role. I'm really looking forward to that; I've always loved looking after developing colleagues.  I'm also putting together my portfolio of evidence for Lead Teacher - a bit like the UK's AST programme from many years ago. It's designed to keep good teachers in the classroom and to use them to coach others - it should fit well with my new role.

I finally took the step to leave the Transformation Trust (now called the Talent Foundry) after nearly a decade on the Teachers' Advisory Group. Sad to leave such a lovely crew, but I felt I'd given all I could and wasn't being as productive or helpful as when I was a headteacher. It was a big wrench - I've been working with them since the days of BSF and Partnerships for Schools, after all. I will stay in touch with the individuals, though and catch up when I'm next in the UK.

December

At lifesaving I've now qualified as the ATV driver, so I can drive the jeep up and down the beach, towing the trailer with the boat. I am also learning to be the boat driver (!!) - I'm finding that I can't even look at any waves now without thinking where I'd position the boat ....!! 

We had some very high tides and spent much of one shift moving all of our rescue boards from under the clubhouse into it, safe from the water. 

I attended my first Australian beach wedding. Much more low key in terms of dress/etiquette than the UK ones I've been to, very relaxed and a lovely, loving atmosphere. The bride was one of the car poolers, who share my journeys to and from work every day - so it has been an interesting set of journeys where we discuss shoes, hairdressers, etc!  I also caught the bouquet though it was pretty staged!!

Over Xmas, I did a half-day shift every day of the four day weekend - it was great to feel useful and to spend time with the lifesaving crew. On the day itself, after my shift, I drove out to Mooloolah Valley to be with the cousins and the little cousins, in their new pool - I went in full lifesaving uniform and they were stoked to have a real lifesaver in their pool!!

Overall 

What sort of a year was it? Well, as for everyone else on the planet, things did not work out as I'd planned. My daughter and her husband didn't get out here to have their year in Melbourne.  Instead, they've moved from London back to Leeds to buy their first house together.  I didn't get to fly back to the UK in June to meet baby Nell in person - we are still not allowed to leave Australia and certainly can't return without a two week mandatory hotel quarantine at my own cost. But I have seen her most weekends on Facetime, she responds well to my voice and sometimes I get to read books to her, if she's not too busy with her toys. I also sent Xmas boxes, instead of stockings, to my children, to Nell, my mum and my sister and they all opened them "live" with me on Facetime or Whatsapp or Viber. It was brilliant. And it felt like I was there.

There have been many sad moments, of course. Missing my cousin Will has been tough. I've tried to be supportive to my two cousins here. Xmas has always been my favourite time of year and it's sad not to be with special people more. I am still single - and I know I operate better, am happier, in a relationship. Being "trapped", as in not being able to fly or travel, is hard, it's not what I'm used to.

But there have been many more happy moments. 

I've made great friends at work, who are a brilliant boost to my own support network. 

I've made progress with my Australian teaching career. 

I've been successful in qualifying as an IRB crew person at lifesaving. So far this season (since September), I've pulled 15 people out of the water and into the boat, with 3 different drivers. 

I've been part of the local community in the State elections, the Bushcare group weeding and planting each month at Shelly Beach, at lifesaving during our Twilight Markets when we are fundraising, at Rotary Club. I'm making friends in all of these areas.

I can walk down the main street here in Caloundra and I will see someone I know. 

I've re-built my support network which I find essential - leg wax, nails, hairdresser, yoga, doctor, dentist, vet. 

I've embraced the Australian life with all of the energy I have. 

I feel safe and well and at home.

So, despite covid19, despite changed plans, despite the isolation - geographical, relationships - I am happy.

I gave myself two years to decide if this move was permanent. It's clear to me now that it was the right step to take, way back in April 2018 when I made the decision. My family are all thriving in their different parts of the UK; my financial situation is stable; my life is very rich with joy.

Happy New Year to everyone from my UK life. Here's hoping that 2021 brings us all relief from this terrible virus and restores our ability to globe-trot.

2020- what are you doing to us?

Well, so far 2020, apart from the gorgeous little baby girl in my family, you've been pretty poor!

What a ridiculous situation with the Covid. Or as we Australians call it, the Rona. It has been madness in all aspects of life. Here, each state/territory is doing its own thing; initially we were all following the federal line but then the virus evolved or whatever it does and we are all doing lockdown things differently. My state, Queensland, has closed all borders and we can only travel 150 km for a visit with 10 people only. No pubs, restaurants (apart from takeaway), no gyms, cinemas, yoga, pilates..... that's my whole life gone!  It's been tough. But work continued - here in QLD the schools did distance learning for the first five weeks of this term; we went to school every day and sat in classrooms and delivered everything via Teams online. Children of essential workers could attend (100 of those, out of 1200) but most didn't. Then Years 11 and 12 (sixth form) came back; then last Monday everyone else came back. So far, so good. Kids can't social distance, obviously; but I'm using my hand sanitiser every hour and washing my hands furiously all day long.  And in this country, the total deaths so far are 102. Yes, 102. Only 8 in my state of 5m people. So for me, it feels like a massive over-reaction. However, I have seen what it did in the UK, USA etc. So I guess we were lucky here. Being a big island, the borders closed to every flight in March and every passenger who landed had to do 2 weeks' isolation in a hotel. I think the hardest thing will be the economic recovery. Here, Virgin Australia has gone into administration (with $2K of mine...) and as yet, no buyer has said they'll take on the debt. I've got a voucher for my ticket (which was for 26 June, for our school holidays, to come back to the UK and see the baby) - but I'm not really expecting it to turn into a real ticket in the end.

Yes, I am now a grannie - or as I like to call myself, a Glamma (obviously). My friends at work decorated my desk in pink to celebrate her arrival on St George's Day - and all of those balloons and streamers are STILL THERE! She is delightful - a healthy little girl called Nell (official name Ellen) and the new parents have coped brilliantly by themselves in lockdown London. Poor guys. I do feel so sorry for them but they've been amazingly calm about it all. My ex-husband has seen her and the other grandmother has, but not many others. I get to see photos via Whatsapp and I get a video call via Facetime some weekends. It's hard - but it was always going to be this way, once I'd moved overseas  My gorgeous daughter and son-in-law were supposed to be out here now for a year's social/working here, but of course that has had to stop. My son-in-law had a visa for a year's work (my daughter has a passport like me so she can come anytime) but that visa has expired and Aus Gov don't seem inclined to renew it for him. They're thinking maybe 2 months here towards the end of this year, but again, it all depends on the Rona and what situation we're all in.

In terms of life, I'm pretty good (apart from the social life and the lack of travel or being able to plan anything). Work is busy - I've just been made permanent after a year's contract, which is brilliant - means I'll get paid in the holidays all year long. And I finally got my "full" registration as a real Australian teacher - they wouldn't give it to me until I'd done 200 days of teaching here (teaching anywhere else in the world doesn't count) and put together an evidence portfolio. My principal had to sign it off... 22 years I've been qualified!! I am loving being back in the classroom and only worrying about that. No other stress really. I am teaching Year 11 (sixth form) English Lit, Year 10 and 9 English, Year 10 History and Year 9 Humanities (History and Geog). All lovely. I'm leading Year 10 English and Year 10 History which just means I do the planning, co-ordinate cross-marking of assessments, write the assessments and help anyone who needs it.  I'm thinking I will probably go for the next stage up which is Highly Accomplished Teacher, for which I need 2 years of appraisal and a much bigger evidence file. Something to work on. Longer term, I'm thinking that I'll do 7 years (aiming for the paid long service leave of 9 weeks - for every 7 years of public service here, you get about a term off, fully paid - to encourage you to stay in the public sector I think) and then retire. By then I should probably have sold my UK house and hopefully be receiving my UK teacher pension, and I'll be ready to do nothing but volunteering in my "spare" time.

Since January I've been part of a car pool to work - there are four of us living close by each other (on different beaches in Caloundra) and we share the driving. So one week it's my turn, and I drive everyone there and back every day - and then I don't have to drive again for three weeks. Just brilliant. It saves lots of fuel and miles on the car, but also it's a great way to de-stress from the day and also to ask questions about stuff I don't know!

You'll remember I moved in Jan to my new place which is right by the beach - I can hear the surf every night which is very soothing and my garden is mainly sand for soil! I'm learning about new plants and what grows when, because everything I do know about is English. It's weird to be thinking, ah winter is here (1 June here is winter) when I am used to that being summer in the northern hemisphere! And it's weird to plant my hyacinths now....!

I've enjoyed a great season with the volunteer lifeguards, where I've learned first aid, CPR, defib, board rescues, boat rescues etc. I've really liked learning brand new skills and being part of a little team where I became increasingly useful as the season wore on. We have most of the autumn and all winter off, so we finished early May and we will start up again in September, all being well. It was tricky keeping social distancing when we were doing first aid! I have thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of my non-work life and feeling useful.

The cats have settled well after their mammoth journey. I've had a cat enclosure fitted in my new house, called Alcatraz by the builder and they can spend all day outside in the sandy flower beds, in the sun or the shade and beetle in through their cat flap whenever they feel like it. Heaven for them, I think. They have both developed an aversion to loud noises/motors, which I think comes from their flights here, but their vet visits have shown they're doing fine. Both have lost a little weight but are happy.

ANZAC Day here was interesting - usually it's a big service led by all the veteran soldiers but because of Covid, we all did our honouring memories on our driveways, with candles and the radio playing the Last Post. It was actually quite poignant and I felt it was superb. My landlord, at the end of our street, got us all together at a safe distance to share some Drambuie at the end of the service! I made my ANZAC biscuits to share at school; they're getting better quality!

A couple of weeks ago I did a Zoom meeting with my lovely colleagues at the Talent Foundry (formerly the Transformation Trust). It was so good to see everyone on screen - it was a 9pm start for me, midday for them. What's interesting is how many of the issues in schools/education overlap, despite the physical distance between the UK and Australia. I do find that interesting.

I've taken a more active role in the union at our school; it's an independent school (Catholic) and I've become part of the union executive. It means that as the executive we have fairly regular meetings with the school's leadership and raise concerns on behalf of the members. Pretty similar to what I did as a headteacher, in a lot of ways. And it's good to feel useful. 

I'm still cycling most weekends and doing beach walks most evenings, although recently it has been dark by 5pm so unless I'm home from school in good time, it's too dark to walk. There was a cold snap last week and the temperature dropped to 9 deg C - unheard of for May, apparently! The great thing about our aircon systems here is that you flick a switch and they give you hot air instead of cold. Brilliant. And of course I've got plenty of socks and sweaters from the UK!!

Lots of people here have become great home bakers over the lockdown; for weeks we couldn't buy flour in the supermarkets, then last week, it was eggs that were missing. Pasta, rice and toilet paper are all back on the shelves after months of limits and scarcity. Hand sanitiser is also available now; it's just baby wipes/cleaning wipes that seem to be missing now.

Petrol here has become super cheap in the last few weeks; something to do with global prices? This week it's dropped below 99 cents per litre for unleaded petrol. The exchange rate is also in my favour going from Aus to UK - $1.85 per UK pound. This means that the fuel is about 53 pence per litre here. Amazing! And one of the car poolers showed me how to use my cruise control on the Corolla, so I've been playing with that when I drive.

The saddest news of the year so far is that my gorgeous cousin Will passed away in mid January. He was only 67. He'd fought hard against stomach cancer, thought he'd beaten it and then it came back. My cousins asked me to write and deliver the eulogy which I did, though it was so hard. The funeral was transmitted live to the UK so that everyone else could be part of it - I was impressed with that technology, I didn't know that sort of thing happened. Will was a tremendous bloke and like my older brother; he lived with my family for a while when I was growing up here, so it's been incredibly difficult without him. My cousins are great fun and super company; we meet up a couple of times a month usually and it's been lovely to be part of an extended family here with little cousins aged 7, 5 and 2 having birthdays etc. 

Fingers crossed that all of this Covid madness is soon ended, that there is a vaccine or at least some positive treatment and outcomes.  2020 - you need to shape up or ship out.

A year on!

So now it's a whole year since I took the plunge and moved out here to the Sunshine Coast.  Since my last blog, I've had a great trip to the UK for Christmas and New Year. I found it to be very restorative - lots of hello and goodbye moments, lots of hugs, lots of meals with friends and family.  It was great for my soul and very healing, after four months of heartbreak pain. Even though I was away for 25 days, it felt very whistle-stop and there were lots of people I didn't get to see this time.  It was great to spend five days with my mum and sister, to have every meal with my mum for all that time - I don't think I've done that since I left home at 17! Such a privilege.

And seeing everyone happy and healthy made it much easier to leave the UK again on 5 January - I'm back again at the end of June to meet Nell, my first grand-daughter, in London, but it will only be a short trip as it's the Australian school holidays (2 weeks).

So what have I learned since I last blogged in November?



School
It was great to have four whole days of planning at the end of the school year - on one day, we had activities to lead (I did Xmas card making and film watching!), but then we had three whole days to work with our subject teams and plan the academic year ahead. What a luxury. It was just brilliant - I managed to plan the whole of the first fortnight back (assuming nothing on my timetable has changed in the holidays!). Working with subject teams also meant that we pooled tasks and knowledge, so that it was easier for everyone. I really hope this is an annual event!

One interesting fact re: pay - in the holidays there is an additional payment to teachers for "leave loading" - another 17.5% on your salary because you are on holiday. I checked online what this was - it stems back to the 1970s when people on holiday complained that they missed out on overtime because they were away - and this is the employer's response to that. I didn't get paid for the whole of the holidays (7 weeks) because I'd only worked at this school for 3 terms, not 4. I think next December/January I will get paid the whole holiday, as I'll have worked a whole academic year.

I also, for the first time in my career, went on strike with my union for 30 minutes (lost $32 in pay) - it's a long-running dispute between the union and the employer and hundreds of staff did the same thing at the same time. The dispute continues, it's hard to see how/when they will reach a compromise.

The House Move
On Monday the removalists came and took all the heavy stuff from my old place to the beach house - the worst part was the bed, an Australian one I bought here - it took them an hour to dismantle it, and another hour to re-build it. They were paid by the hour - $130 per hour - so it did add to the cost. Also in the move the washing machine door lock snapped - that will be another $455 to fix!  Getting WIFI connected has also taken a significant amount of time - Friday to Wednesday - but at last I have it, it's working and I'm back online. I had forgotten how much stuff is connected - TV for Netflix, printer for printing wireless, laptop, phones, ipad. Massive! While I was waiting for connection, I spend each evening in Macca's using their free Wifry. So helpful!

Leaving the old house was interesting- I wasn't sad to leave the area, it's very cramped and suburban, with all the patios backing on to each other. I had a bond cleaning company to do the cleaning - they were fantastic and well worth the $440 to do it. They do everything from filters in the aircon to ceiling lights to windows, just brilliant. Handing the keys back to the agent was a relief in a way - one less responsibility - I just hope my bond ($1680) comes back soon to help pay off all the other costs.

In the new beach house, I go to sleep and wake listening to the roar of the waves. There is a sea breeze most of the time, so I don't have the aircon or roof fans on. I've put felt pads on the back of the metal blinds so they don't bang (thanks Liddy for the tip!) and I'm using clever non-marking hooks on the walls to put up pictures (thanks Bunnings for the supply!).  It is great to feel that I have a place I can relax in, where it's very private and in a lovely location. I have walked to the parade of shops (about 5 mins) and found a little supermarket, coffee bar, burger bar - so that's my immediate needs covered!  I cycled down here last week from the old house, and back - 15km. And there are hills between my new place and the surf club - so Sunday mornings, when I'm cycling to do my shift at the surf club, I'll be burning way more calories!

I've got a huge double garage here which I'm using as storage for the many boxes of UK stuff I never unpacked last time. I've organised it pretty well with labels etc - but I am still amazed at how much I actually have/brought here!  I found my hammers and screwdrivers yesterday, which I hadn't seen since Garforth - such joy!  I'm building little storage units to put things on in the garage, to keep it relatively tidy.

My new neighbours are lovely - the landlord lives in one of the houses, and tenants like me in the other 3. He has popped in a couple of times, told me about the solar panels and the hot water, etc. It's really good to have such knowledge just up the road! The cats are settling pretty well, though they are desperate to go outside. The Council rules are that cats can't roam (otherwise they get "arrested" and you have to pay lots to get them out of Council hands) so when my finances sort themselves out, I'm going to get an external cat run built, to a cat flap in the screen door, so that they can be "outside" but not roam ... and not be a snack for the huge python which John next door says lives in the storm drain outside our houses! He only comes out when it's really hot, apparently - I'm hoping not to see him ever!  The soil here is obviously mainly sand - so I'm looking around at other people's gardens to see what will grow and what won't. I do miss having an English garden with David Austin roses - I have seen some roses since I moved here, but not so close to the sea.


Life
I'm enjoying the surf club on a Sunday morning - it gives me a focus and a feeling of doing something useful, as well as meeting lots of people and having a social life. I've done lots of training on CPR, oxy and Defib, as well as water safety. I feel more equipped to cope with a water incident; my goal is to be qualified to be a crew member on the IRB rescue boat - that will probably take me another 2 years.

I still go to yoga on Thursday nights and to Pilates on a Saturday morning, when it doesn't clash with hairdresser/bush care volunteer/training at the surf club. I love using my bike to get around and enjoy its baskets and panniers to carry shopping. I had an odometer fitted in December, so I can see how far I've traveled.

In late November we had a "hail-nado" here, where the sky turned green and from a blazing sunny day, huge hailstones the size of cricket balls fell on the Sunshine Coast. My poor car was outside (the old house had no garage to use) so it got very dimpled. The insurers wrote it off - it would cost $20k to fix it and car was only worth $15k. So my lovely cousins began the hunt for a new one for me, while I was away - and I picked it up last week. Another Toyota Corolla, this time a 2016 model and a white one. And in the new beach house, she can sit quietly in her garage, all safe from the hail. I need to always find a car park underground in future, just in case!






Overall, then, after a year - I'm definitely staying here. This is my home - there is so much about my old life here as a child which is slowly coming back to me. Not just the smells, but the relaxed way of life, how everyone chats to each other, everyone works hard, everyone looks out for each other. I still have a very strong Pommie accent and I doubt I will lose that now. I am proud of the life I have built so far, by myself and with the support of my lovely cousins nearby. I am happy that the cats have settled so well, though they're still hot a lot of the time! I am delighted that my children, my mum and my sister are all hale and hearty, and enjoying their lives in the UK. I count myself lucky that I have experienced two very different lives on either side of the globe, and that now, for my final chapter, I'm living my life how I want, where I want. It's weird in a way to have achieved that lifelong goal - of moving back here - because now there isn't a driving force that pushes me towards anything. I am just relaxed and taking each minute, each hour, each day as it comes. I am being present in my life, aware of what is happening as it happens. I take fewer pictures now, because I'm busy being in the moment, rather than recording it to show someone else later. I am looking forward to the summer, when my little one and her lovely husband move out here to Melbourne for a year's working, and to when my son and his lovely wife finally get to meet Nell when she appears. 2020 is going to be a great year.

TEN MONTHS IN!!

So, it's been more than 10 months now! I can't believe how much has happened in the four months since I last updated my blog. 

UK
So, the most exciting news from the UK is that my lovely son and his equally lovely wife have announced that they are expecting - end of April 2020. Which means that I'll be a grandmum, which is tremendous news. Sadly that will be in the middle of Term 2 here, but I've already booked my flights back over as soon as term ends, end of June 2020, to be able to snuggle the new addition to the family. It's so exciting. My mum will also be a great-grandmother for the first time, which is just brilliant. I plan to be the most annoying user of Skype to view bathtime, bedtime, teething, all of that!

Work
I have been lucky enough to win another year's contract at the Catholic school where I've been doing maternity cover - so for 2020 I'll be doing the 35 min commute again, but hopefully teaching the Seniors (Years 10-12) in History (hurrah!) as well as English (my new second favourite subject to teach).  I am still waiting to submit my folder of evidence to move from Provisional to Full status - I have to teach 200 days in a QLD school to apply, so that will be end of Term 1 (Easter 2020).

At work, together with my friend Abbey, who is also a secret historian teaching English, I led the school's Book Week celebrations, including a Mad Hatter's Tea Party for staff. We put on a wide range of activities and raised $650 for an Australian charity called Share-A-Book, which gives books to underprivileged children.  Abbey and I have also been looking after Year 7 English for Term 4, when the previous person moved on - we've had to write assessments and everything! It has been really interesting to get to grips with the Australian Curriculum and a new subject. 

I've also been active in our union, again with Abbey - and we are both on the Executive of our "Chapter" (what a union branch is called here). Currently our union is holding a state-wide series of actions because the employer is refusing to meet requests - 206 Catholic schools are taking part. Very interesting to be on this side of the table, after all these years. 

Walking to class for the last two weeks, I have been amazed by the scent of gardenias flowering (it's spring) along the walkway. How lucky am I, I think, to be smelling these fantastic flowers when I'm about to do battle with Year 8?!

At work, instead of sending cards and gifts to each other, staff are donating cash to buy a "swag" - like a tent/sleeping bag altogether - for the homeless. What a brilliant idea.  

Life
I have been taking advantage of the brilliant venues near me - I've seen Dave Hughes, the comedian at the Shed (15 mins' drive away); I've seen the Sydney Comedy Festival when it toured to Caloundra (literally 5 mins' drive away); and I went to the Caloundra Music Festival and saw the amazing Missy Higgins (walked along the beach there and back, 10 mins from home). 

I managed to complete my tax return online - and even got a refund! I think the principle here is that they tax you more and then give you a bit back? I was pleased to get it right and I liked the way it was pretty interactive - it already knew my bank account, how much interest I'd had, etc.

I've continued my walking in the rainforests and along the beaches - I've made it to Sunshine Beach near Noosa now with my boardwalk route, and have had to pause my walks so that I can fit everything else in! My cousins want to do the last bit with me, through the Noosa National Park, so we might have to wait til the summer holidays.

Spring has been very dry and there have been many hot days over 30deg. Lots of bushfires have also meant a state-wide fire ban - the land is so dry after years of no rain. Here at the coast, where I am, we get plenty of rain, usually a deluge with a thunderstorm. I did plant lots of bulbs in a big pot in my patio.... however, two furry friends decided this was a big improvement on their cat litter box.... so nothing flowered!!

It's edging towards summer now, with daily temperatures around 27-30deg.... the doona (duvet) has gone back in the airing cupboard, and now I just have the duvet cover over me.... still hot and need the fan on, the window open, the air con on!! The hottest day so far this spring was last week at 37deg... it felt like a sauna!! My school has aircon in EVERY classroom, and the staffroom... we hardly ventured outdoors at all that day!

I've stepped up the volunteering, and am doing two different roles now. One is as a bushcare volunteer, so once per month we spend two hours clearing something for Council, near Shelly Beach. I have really enjoyed this - quietly improving the area for everyone, and being invisible (in the most awful khaki shirts you have ever seen) while we do it!  

I've also joined the Ithaca Caloundra City Royal Life Saving patrol team, who patrol at my favourite beach, Bulcock in Caloundra. I did a Grey Medallion course (a whole weekend) - a bit like Bronze Medallion which I did years ago in the police - for fogeys like me who are over 55. I found it fascinating to learn how to treat different stings from a range of "unidentified marine objects". I do Sunday mornings - so I cycle there (I bought a brilliant bike, powder blue with a fabulous wicker basket on the front) to start at 7.30am, until 12.30pm. I've now achieved four "badges" and can use a defibrillator, so I am beginning to feel useful. The uniform is not at all Baywatch - red shorts and a yellow long-sleeved top!

I've been to dinner at Mets on Kings, a surf club restaurant, watching the waves crash on to the sand as I had fantastic food with my cousins. On Friday nights, I've been going along to a little bar near me which does burgers (a very big menu, I'm working through it) and has live music. This signals my weekend!

I also still visit the community church from time to time - we did Xmas shoeboxes (see how many we did in the pic!) - which was lovely, something I have done for years in the UK. What I didn't know, and learned here, was that every single box costs $10 to deliver. That is so expensive. So at the church we've all donated towards it.

I've found a great acupuncturist, who has been boosting my energy levels. I've also found a great healer who does a superb sound bath, which again is to clear out negativity and to tune into positive and healing vibrations. I did a Celtic Reiki course too, which I thought was very interesting although I don't think I've got the skill to get any better at it!

I had my first "bingle" (car accident) when I was trying to get on to the motorway via a roundabout and the person in front just stopped. No damage to him and just a little bit for me. No drama, as the Strayans would say.

I've rediscovered Jeffrey Archer as a writer, and have read all seven of his Clifton Chronicles - I can highly recommend them to keep your brain occupied!  I'm also regularly ordering books and audio books at the local library - they have a fantastic online service and seem to get things in stock quickly.


And I've found a new house to rent for the coming year (my current one runs out mid-Jan). I was really lucky and have found one that is in Dicky Beach (named after SS Dicky which ran aground there in 1893). My new place is literally 20 steps from the sand and I'll be able to hear the waves crashing all night. I'm looking forward to moving in, when I get back from the UK where I'm spending Christmas.

Finally, the very worst news in my world over the last four months has been that the person I thought was my Mr Wonderful, who I'd found again after many years apart, who I was anticipating joining me here - decided in mid-September that he wanted to pursue a different path, one that didn't include me. It has been horrific. No word of a lie. It doesn't matter how old you are, does it, when your heart breaks. My two besties in the UK were the ones who ensured I kept on breathing, with endless phone calls, messages, memes - there have been desperate times, I'll be honest, when I didn't want to survive, the pain was so great. But I have. I'm still here. I'm very, very sad, but I'm still here. I do so wish things were different for that person, that he had chosen to be with me.  But I can't influence what that person wants. And it isn't me.

I am looking forward to coming back to the UK for a 3 week trip - hoping to see my children, my friends, my mum and sister. It will be very cold for me!! But I strategically left clothing, coats and shoes all around my special people so hopefully I will layer up! And maybe the UK won't be super-cold, though I have spent most of the last 10 months somewhere above 25 deg - I think acclimatising will be tricky!

6 months in... half a year!

So for all those people who are following my adventures, you'll know that I like counting things : weeks, hours, days, that sort of thing. So here I am, six months in since I landed, half a year. What have I learned/done/found since I last updated?

Work
True to form I spent the first few days of the Easter holidays planning lessons for the upcoming term so I could hit the ground running in the first couple of weeks. I've got six different classes in Years 7 and 8, teaching Humanities (including Geography and Civics) and English. I've had to learn how to use a MacAir(that's what all the teachers get from the school to use) and to plan lessons from 55 to 70 mins long (it varies on Tuesdays with a shorter school day, finishing at 2:35pm). Students have been really helpful in teaching me how to use a Mac and they laugh when I try to swipe the screen (like my ipad)!

Salaries here are paid fortnightly on a Wednesday - so it's like payday every other week! Some things go out of the bank account monthly so I can't quite work out if I'm ahead or not! But I'm not complaining, as fortnightly income is just great! I treat myself every payday to something: shoes (obviously!), dresses, Xmas gifts for the UK people, smelly soaps from Soap Bar, etc. Loving all of that!

My commute is 35 mins each way on the motorway, which I'm finding just long enough to drink my coffee or listen to the news and then I'm at work. Another bonus has been that a Starbucks has opened near school, and I've discovered that they are selling French Roast beans - these were discontinued in Europe about 3 years ago, so finding these was just brilliant. I bought four bags on my first visit!!

I've joined the union which for our school is the independent Queensland union - the subscription is proportionate to your salary and also includes insurance against injury or accusations.  I worked out that I've been in at least one teaching union (usually two at a time) since 1998 - that must be some sort of record!

At the end of day 1 I had my Mac, a rucksack for it, a name badge which does door opening and photocopying/printing, and keys for the rooms I teach in. Super efficient! Fellow teachers have been helping me with how to make the photocopier staple things, which is great - I think that in the last 3 schools I've led, I never knew how to use the copier!

I'm enjoying being in the classroom with students for the vast majority of my day; it is a 7 day timetable so no two Mondays are ever the same and my four "spare" (free) periods out of 28 are on different days of the week. I've been planning just a week ahead in terms of the detailed powerpoints, but the school required a term's planning in advance (a term is 10 weeks) of learning intentions, success criteria, resources required, learning activities, etc. That sounds quite draconian but I think it's so the heads of department can check that teachers will each cover the curriculum.

I attended a seminar run by Queensland College of Teachers, to learn about moving from Provisional status to Full status. QCT will only accept service in an Australian or New Zealand school, so my 20+ years in UK classrooms won't count. So I have to compile an evidence folder for the 37 competencies that Queensland teachers have to have... and have taught 200 days in a Queensland/Australian school.... and find a principal to review and certify me. My current contract will only give me 150 days, and I've taught 19 days of other contract or relief work, but that still leaves me 31 days short this academic year! So this is something I will have to work on ready for 2020 and whichever school I'm in then.


Family
I was spoilt by my cousins over Easter, having dinner with them on Good Friday and Easter Saturday, and I returned the favour by cooking English Breakfast on Easter Sunday - that will hopefully be a new family tradition!

It's been fun to share out with my cousins English family things from our joint grandparents - so, for example, we now all have a split share of the Queen's ware Wedgwood dining service and I like to think that we're all eating off the same plates in our different parts of the Sunshine Coast!

I've been able to repay cousins' kindnesses by dropping them at Bris Airport for their holidays when I can - they've all been so helpful, not just in telling which shops to go to, but supporting me with finding a car, putting up curtain rails, finding a car service depot, etc.

It's been great to rekindle my cousins' friendship and companionship over these last six months. I've had very special times with them, sharing their grandchildren's outings, having meals together, walking, swimming, going to the cinema, eating their citrus fruit. Such a joy. And something I could never have done if I hadn't made the Big Move.

UK
I get my re-directed UK post each week, via my cousin, and of course I keep in touch by email. I'm able to use both Amazon and Ebay UK versions from my laptop, ensuring I use my UK credit cards to pay any UK bills! The only hard thing is phone calls - the time difference is 9 hours currently (British summer time) and so if I need to speak to someone live in the UK about an issue, I have to wait until 18:00 here and go outside in the dark to make a call! I can't make them indoors - I think it's something to do with the amount of solar panels on the roof blocking phone signals!

My children are doing really well and I get approximately fortnightly Whatsapps or Instagrams. I've found that it's easier in my head to think that they are just in another city here in Oz, like Melbourne, and that I could actually just pop over if I wanted. 

I'm still calling my mum by Skype every Saturday night, which she's doing really well now - great that at 80 she's using Skype! She's also started emailing, which again is brilliant for our communication!

I've also managed to send funds from my Australian bank to my UK bank. This incurs fees and I've used Currencies Direct to do it in the past. Doing it UK to Australia was seamless; however, sending it the other way (to ensure my UK bank doesn't go overdrawn) took two weeks and a failed transaction, with funds coming back into my Australian bank. I think I've got the hang of it now, so I'll be able to do it again when I need to.

Life
Election fever really kicked in mid-April when the current Prime Minister called the election: Scott Morrison hasn't been prime minister long, he replaced Malcolm Turnbull when the party had some sort of reshuffle before I arrived. The election campaign has been quite fierce - a party called Australia Party did lots of TV advertising, with phrases like "give these losers a thong slap and send them on their way" - fascinating! I can't see that type of advert working in the UK!


I had a letter from the Australian Electoral Commission, confirming my right (and expectation) to vote, telling me which ward/senate area I'm in. Voting here is always on a Saturday, and is compulsory - if you're registered, you're voting. There is a proportional representation system here, where preference votes are counted and can make a big difference -very different from the first past the post system in the UK. What I liked enormously was how helpful the parties were in suggesting how you should vote! They had worked out what combination of numbers/candidates they needed and then printed leaflets for voters to use when making the vote.  And for those who needed to, there are two weeks of early voting opportunities - where you can turn up to the voting centre and vote, from 9am to 6pm, for two weeks. This was really helpful because it transpired that school had an open day (recruiting new students) on the Saturday of the election.

Just like in the UK, one day over the Easter weekend is a total close-down of shops/shopping - here it is Good Friday, while in the UK it's Easter Sunday. Lots of visitors descended to the Sunshine Coast so the beaches, towns and pubs were all busy, which is great for the economy. Everything also shuts for "normal" bank holidays (like 6 May) - so you have to make sure you've got food in! Only petrol stations and pubs seem to be open then. And many restaurants charge an additional 15% on all bills on a bank holiday - interesting idea!

I finally received my Tax File Number (after 3 months) - I never did hear why it had been so convoluted but it means that I can now file a tax return at the end of the tax year (30 June). Everyone here has to do a tax return, but the ATO has a good online set of instructions and leaflets for particular professions, like teachers, so I can see what allowances are and how to include them. We have to keep receipts for five years, so my previous habit of shredding everything each month has had to be modified!

You'll remember that I have been following the Barefoot Investor - opening a number of different savings and other bank accounts. I've found that principle to be really helpful as I can began to save up for the next lot of rental bond and advance rent for my next move in January 2020. It's been a good discipline for me - my whole adult life I have used credit cards - sensibly of course - but delaying financial planning. Now I'm living on actual cash banked and only spending if I've got it. I don't even have an Oz credit card and I don't think I'm going to get one just yet. I still have plenty of UK ones at the moment which I can use for UK purchases and when I'm back over for visits. The Barefoot Investor plan talks about taking around 40% of your salary and investing it each time you get paid. I thought that would be too hard to do - but actually, I'm doing it well. And I'm proud to be re-stocking my banking well after spending so much on the Big Move. It feels good!

On ANZAC day in April (a bank holiday) my cousin and I went to the dawn service at Kings Beach in Caloundra where the RSL had organised a brilliant remembrance service. There was something really special for me that day: the thunder of the waves crashing on the beach, the audience all holding candles, my father's and grandfather's medals on my lap, and the haunting bugle player, made this an unforgettable experience. If my father, and grandfather who I never met, had been there, they would have been thrilled to see how the Australians are still remembering the sacrifices from 1915 onwards. And of course, at that point, Australia as a nation was only 14 years old. Amazing that such a young nation contributed so many troops and resources to a war being fought on the other side of the planet.

Friends from the church group I've joined invited me to breakfast on Easter Monday, which was delightful -they live right on the coast in an apartment block with superb views - a secure unit, with 3 entry pad doors!! They also took me to the Caloundra RSL (returned services league I think) which is like a massive social club, where we took part in a weekly Trivia competition - at one stage, we won coffee and cake vouchers, which I thought was impressive! I've been back since and we won $50 and then $10 vouchers for the RSL - and that time I joined the RSL for the rest of the year ... a whole $3 for a year's membership! I've also tried out the Mets on Kings bar with my church friend - it is a surf rescue club which does pub meals and drinks at night time, and looks right out over the surf. Amazing. And its membership is only $1 per year! I'm thinking that my next house move needs to be in walking distance of the Mets!

I found that the hardware store I've been frequenting with my cousin (hammer, batteries, etc) also has a garden centre attached - so as you'll appreciate, that has become a regular haunt. I've bought an orchid (which can live outside!) and lavenders, to remind me of England. I've also started experimenting with Australian national plants, so I can learn what they do and where they'd go in a big garden. My current rental house has a very small patio (with plastic grass, which means no mowing - tick!) so I'm adding pots and tubs to that (need to remember to take them with me when I go).

One Saturday afternoon I decided to treat myself to a sunset - it was a clear day and I thought, I fancy fish&chips for supper so I'll go down to my favourite beach (Bulcock) in Caloundra and watch the sun set over the west and also look to the east, before I go to the beachside shop. I was rewarded with a fantastic surprise visit from some dolphins - I put the video on to twitter if you'd like to see it. Amazing! I've never seen dolphins that close before.  I've taken to doing this on paydays (Wednesdays once per fortnight), as a way to celebrate the end of a pay period and to break up the working week!

I'm still doing my weekend walks - usually Sundays, as I'm lesson planning and doing domestic chores on a Saturday - where I'm trying to walk every inch of the coastline from Caloundra to Noosa. Slowly does it! I'm about two thirds of the way up now. As I move further north, of course, I need to drive further to pick up the boardwalk.  I also did a walk along the tramway in Buderim to Palmwoods with my cousin; it was great to hear from the local historians who had been getting themselves dirty digging out water drains all along the line! I've added a photo here of one of the original railway sleepers for the train line, which is still in position.

My accent hasn't changed, I don't think - maybe because I'm so old, I won't lose it! I do pronounce some words in the Australian way now e.g. Australia is Straya - we don't bother with the rest! And I use the Australian words such as fireys, tradies, cactus, crook (translations: firemen, tradesmen, broken, ill!). My best learning is always on the radio - I listen to Sea FM on my way to work and there are so many new words to wrestle with! I also like listening to Hughsey, who is a comedian and has a show at 4:30pm for the drive home, he's brilliant and so irreverent. I've bought a ticket to see him live at the end of August - can't wait to see if he's as funny in person as he is on the radio.

I've also bought a ticket to the Caloundra Music Festival in October - it's at Kings Beach (another reason why I want to move there!) and I've got a Saturday ticket, because my favourite female singer, Missy Higgins, is performing then. I plan to park at Golden Beach and walk along the sea boardwalk to the Festival. I've been checking out other events and now have organised tickets for me and the cousins to see Ross Noble and the Sydney Comedy Tour on different dates in September, again in Caloundra.

Winter weather (June-August) so far has been great - warm days (22-25 deg), light breezes, sunny skies, chilly mornings (say 15 deg). It's still warm enough to dry all the washing in an afternoon! The best part for me is never having to scrape the ice off the windscreen, I always absolutely hated that.

I've also experienced being ill in June - so ill not to be at work for 2 days, which for anyone who has worked with me, will know never happens! I had vestibular neuronitis, which is an ear infection/inflammation. I woke with it one Saturday morning and couldn't move without vomiting or the room spinning for days!  But it did mean that I could begin to find medical support in Oz, which I hadn't needed to do before then. You do it all online, via an app, and appointment bookings are scheduled that way. I got myself to the appointment, which lasted 30 minutes and cost $115. He was very thorough and sent me for blood tests, gave me steroid and anti-emetic prescriptions which I then got filled at Chemist Warehouse (super cheap chemists) for $6.99 and $7.99 (way less than any UK prescription charge I've ever had). What I found bizarre and still don't really understand, is that within a couple of hours of the appointment with the doctor, where I'd paid for the appointment and shown my Medicare card (like NHS), there was a refund from Medicare to my bank account of $72.80.  Very welcome, of course, but I don't know why the doctor doesn't just charge less and miss out Medicare altogether!

So overall, after six months here, I've learned loads about a different lifestyle, climate, pace of life, attitude to work, friendships and family. I feel very blessed, to have been born here in Oz, have had a full and meaningful life in the UK with my children and friends, and then to have my final chapter of my time here in Oz again, surrounded by natural beauty at every angle.  It has taken an enormous amount of planning, resilience, determination and sheer courage to do this - and of course there are times when I am lonely, or miss my special people - but on balance, this is the most perfect step I could have taken.