99 days to go.... this has been a really reflective week, a week of “last evers”... some very thought-provoking moments. Most of this week, I’ve felt close to tears. What’s that for? I’m thinking it’s because some things are ending, and I can’t yet see the replacements, the beginnings of the next chapter. So probably the tearful moments are spiced by fear of the unknown.

On Wednesday I led my last ever UK Open Evening, welcoming parents, carers and future students to their secondary school. This is my twentieth year of secondary education, my tenth as headteacher. I wonder how many parents, carers and students I’ve welcomed in that time? How many Open Evenings I've fronted? It’s always lovely to see and hear the passion that subject teachers and leaders have for their subject, how they encourage students from before they start with us to love their world.  

On Friday I chaired my last ever meeting of the Teachers’ Advisory Group (TAG), part of the Transformation Trust charity. It’s been a key, non-negotiable part of my working life for the last decade and it has taught me so much. I’ve met so many amazing people at and through TAG, from Sir David Carter to Andy Buck, to Amy Leonard, our inspirational CEO and Susannah French, “Mrs Money”. I’ve worked with so many fantastic headteachers who passionately care about education and who happily give up three or four days a year to help steer the educational programme of the Trust. I’ll miss it enormously - I’ve asked if they’ll let me dial in for the first meeting in 2019 so we can eyeball each other!

In relation to all things QLD, this week I’ve been in touch with estate agents in the area I think I’ll be based, to register with them and to begin getting the paperwork together for being a tenant. Having not been a tenant for well over 30 years, I was curious to know what is required: so far it seems I need passport, bank account details, employment evidence of the last two salary payments, references from employers and/or guarantors in Australia. I emailed and asked what I do when all of that is UK based? One agent kindly got back to me and said she would accept English docs, that I could do it all now and be ready to move quickly when a property comes up. For the cats, I need to do an application page for each about them, with a photo of each!  I wonder if that’s to see if landlord likes the look of the pet?! They also have something called “On the Move” which seems to be a one stop shop for getting utilities turned on in the rental property. That sounds like a great idea but suggests not much competition in terms of providers of electricity, water, internet, etc. Does Martin Lewis Money website extend to Australia!?

Of course, I am not yet sure exactly which town or area of QLD I’ll be in, because the jobs I applied for haven’t closed yet. That’s another three weeks. I saw on LinkedIn today another two potential posts, I’ll check them out in more detail to see if I could add value to those schools.

I spoke this week with my lovely ex-mother-in-law, who has always been a superb supporter of everything I’ve done. She’s so excited for me, but worried how I’ll fit it all in while I’m working and helping my mother to move in with my sister in the Isle of Man. It’s a hiatus of change all round!  She also got me thinking about Christmas, where will I be? I think I’d really like to be in my own house, for the last time.

I also had text/message contact with two old friends, one from my Bradford days and one from Leeds. Both great people, getting on brilliantly with their own lives but both making time to be in touch with me, wish me well, make plans to catch up before I leave. I found that really touching, out of the blue. It reminds me of what a fantastic life and network I’ve built for myself here in the UK.

Someone today said, “you could always come back to the UK if you don’t like it”. My current thinking on that is that I’m giving myself one calendar year to build a new life. If I’m not 100% happier on 7 Jan 2020, then I’ll come back, having had a working holiday. I suppose that’s a safety net; I still have my house as a base and a resource.

So in summary, I would say it’s been an emotional time. And now just three months until that one way ticket. How exciting!

#Queensland #education #secondary #high #BigMove #cats #emigration #Australia #newchapter #restofmylife #goinghome #LeedstoQLD

110 days to go....

So, with the countdown continuing apace, only 110 days til the one-way ticket. Still feeling as much excitement as terror, to be honest!

The majority of people I've told have been excited for me, some quite envious, some openly so - and a tiny minority of people who, as a response to my news, explained why THEY couldn't be doing the same thing. Isn't that interesting. That some people see my next chapter as a threat to their own lives?

The cats have now got their quarantine booked in - ten whole days together in Melbourne, with a flight then on 14 January up to Brisbane when I'll get to see them. So in all, they're leaving me early on 2 January and I won't see them until the 14 - a whole 12 days of flights, take-offs, landings, new smells and people and maybe not even seeing each other when they're in quarantine! I do hope they'll be OK. They've got used to me working away Monday to Friday over the past 3 years, with their lovely cat-sitter visiting them twice a day - thank you, Sally. But how will they be when there's NOTHING familiar? And when I pick them up, I'll have to buy new pet carriers because my belongings will still be in transit - so again, it won't smell of our house. But I suppose they'll have me, that should be enough!

I applied for a job last week - in QLD, obviously. And as a Deputy Principal. I'm not sure if I'd maybe be over-qualified but it could be a good way to learn the QLD rules and what's different from the English system. The closing date is really far away - 18 October - that's a long lead-in time? I've re-drafted my covering letter and application paragraphs, so fingers crossed.  

I'm continuing to check off items on my month-by-month "to do" list.... September and October are relatively quiet in comparison to November and December! And it's amazing how many little things come to mind - what will I do with things like the hoover, the carpet shampooer and the handheld Dyson, when I'm not allowed to take anything with dust/dirt/earth etc into the country? Answer - give them away to family and friends who haven't got one/need a spare!  And what about the wine, beer, cider I have in my wine racks at home? The removal firm's guidelines say I can't take alcohol into the country, because I'd have to pay duty on them.... OK, so I drink it or give it away!!

The photo above is of a fantastic beach in Caloundra, very close to two of my cousins in Golden Beach. I stayed there in Jan/Feb 2017 and found it had changed and improved since my earlier memories of it. It really is the place I want to be and to set up my new life.

And the photo to the right is of a beach called Currimundi, which is where I learned to swim in the sea as a child. When I went back in Jan/Feb 2017, it was exactly as I remembered it. There were lots of families there enjoying the weekend, and teaching their children to swim. Full circle, then?

When I've tried to explain my plans to move back, I often say "it's the smell". There's a beachside plant in QLD called banksia, lots of them growing wild along the sand dunes. It has a particular smell - a bit like rosemary but stronger and more like eucalyptus I think. It's the smell that I think of first, when I think of my homeland. And soon - 110 days - that smell will not be a memory, it will be an every day smell. I'm so very lucky - and I know it. 

#Australia #memories #childhood #Caloundra #cats #quarantine #GoldenBeach #Currimundi #Queensland #education #jobs #BigMove 

120 days to go....

So now it's 120 days to go....

Still so massively excited about this Big Move - it's a whole new way of life, with undercurrents and memories from my childhood which was incredibly happy and settled. And I'm excited about creating new memories for me in this time of my life.

I'm working my way well through the lists - about four months ago, I started creating a page of things to do per month, leading up to the big day, which is 6 January. So each week I've been ticking things off each list and removing them as they're completed. I have them pasted up near my desk at home so I can see them, add to them, tick things off, etc. I've also now created a list of post-flight... so from 7 January onwards. That makes it so much more real too!

The cats have now had their provisional clearance from the Queensland quarantine team, so now we're just waiting for them to guarantee the dates. I can't believe how helpful the team at www.PetairUK.com have been, particularly Emma and Rachel, who have answered every query an anxious cat-owner could have! I'm so glad I went for the Gold standard on the export, which means that the team at PetairUK do all the organisation and get the clearances. Brilliant!

Now that my Queensland College of Teaching provisional registration has come through, I can apply for jobs in Queensland. The education terms are different, obviously - in QLD there are four terms of 10 weeks each in an academic year and it starts towards the end of January, around the 24th. So I'm actively looking for work. I've registered with agencies - I did this when I visited QLD in Jan and Feb 2017 as my preparation visit, so I'm registered with SmartLeaders and Hays, as well as with Seek and using LinkedIn and Adzuna, where I get daily alerts of potential posts.  I've updated my CV and been researching carefully for the geography of where each post is - QLD is a massive state and I'm aiming to be somewhere close to my three cousins who live on the Sunshine Coast.

I've organised the letting of my house too via Purple Bricks, with a full managed service, which means that for a while I'll have security in the UK, just in case anything happened and I decided not to remain in Australia. I'm not sure how long I'll keep it - probably up to two years I think, but it could be less. Trying to sell it now, alongside packing and moving, would be too stressful I think - also the sales market in the UK is quite stagnant, it seems.

All systems go then!

#Queensland #BigMove #cats #quarantine #SunshineCoast