Oh people, it has been so difficult and I'll tell you why. About ten days before I was due to leave France for the UK I had a bit of a turbulent morning where lots of things went wrong, culminating in me attempting to do an Ubuntu upgrade - yes, even when it said 'this installation will take approximately 3.25 hours', it still did not ring those bloody warning bells that should have been belting out like Biggius Bennius. It all went terribly wrong and I was completely without the net for the remainder of my time in Brittany, save for the Wii (on which I was able to view emails/blogs etc but not respond at all), Thus I have kept up with most of your news but not been able to leave my mark.
We have settled nicely into our house here (mid-Kent is as much as I will say), it's been wonderful being back in my mother tongue again, I've joined the library (yay, a library - it's the simple things one misses the most as an expat), job hunting will seriously begin in a week or two.
Over the next few days I will be back in full flow on here. I've missed you all so much and I'm sorry to have been out of the loop for so long.
40 comments:
Good to have you back, FF, and hope you've settled in beautifully even sans t'Internet...
All my very best to you for your future happiness mid-in-Kent! xox
Ah welcome back....to England and to Blogland. You have been missed. Good luck in your new home and with the job hunting x
Nice to have you back - blogging and in the UK.
Looking forward to hearing all your news and hope Poppy and Misty have settled into their new Kentish life:-)
Yes, yes. That loop can be quite intriguing, cosmologically speaking, that is. Glad you are back.
A new life in Kent! I'm jealous already. Bonne chance!
It's nice to have you back - both online and in blighty! Looking forward to catching up with all your news!
Great to *see* you back, dear FF, and hope you're all settling in. Good luck with the job hunting too...
XOXO LOLA:)
My dear, welcome back!! I hope that things will settle down eventually. It's soooo good to have you back online here. Good luck with your job hunting. I hope the sun is shinning in the garden of England today. Have a lovely weekend xxx
I wondered what had happened to you!
Anyhow, I may not live there any more, but I was born and bred in Kent... I trust you're in the nice part!
Sx
Welcome back FF. Hope Misty and Poppy have settled in well. Good luck with the jobhunting!
Good to hear that you are settled into your new home and enjoying life in England.
Hurrah and Hussar! You're back!! Missed your blog presence so much. Glad you and Mr FF and dawgs are well. All the best with the settling in and job seeking. Mwah!
PS: While you have been away I have discovered Delena's blog through yours. Seems a fun lady who is having adventures in the South of France.
So pleased that the move went well!
So jealous that you have a library!
Oh FF Welcome back. I was a wee bit worried about you...it's not like you to be away so long. Best of luck in your new adventure. I can't wait to hear. What sort of job are you looking for.
P.S So there's this guy Phil. Claims to be English but I don't believe a word of it. Writes in a completely different language. :)
So glad to hear you are safe and sound and back in the arms of green green Kent!
Yay!!!(But... where can you get bagels in Kent?)
;)
x
Best of luck in the job search!
It is totally wonderful to have you back honey!! (There is nothing much worse than having no internet and feeling really cut off from everyone!). I know exaclty how nice it is to be back speaking the mother tongue (and how much easier life is!) and I'm pleased to read that your settling in nicely!
I look forward to many more posts :-)
C x
Ps. I worked in recruitment in a past life (In house and agency)...you probably don't need it but if you want me to cast an eye over your CV I'm more than happy to :-)
So glad that you have reentered the blogosphere....
Kent, no less......
I must say being an ex-pat is fun
but being home is good too
until one gets itchy feet again......
do keep in touch
So are you living here again now? Does this mean you'll be near London on the 4th October?
Joining the library was one of the first things that I did when we returned. I'll look forward to reading your Kentish adventures.
Two good bits of news:
1. Relocated to Kent, and lived to the tell the tale.
2. Joined the library!
YES!
(We'll forget the computer ugliness from Brittany.)
AWONI - I'm back online but it is a bit of a dodgy connection and I am working with French IE which is not reallly my ideal thing - still, it's better than nothing
Thanks Selina
Lane - they are not used to so much activity outside - people passing, kids calling out. There has been a lot of barking going on and I am slowly becoming a bit of an anxious owner
Will - glad you are still in the blogosphere as well - I always wonder if you will pull the plug in my absences
Dumdad - we are not in the posh and grand part with the beautiful big houses unfortunately. Still, it's a sweet place and it's not for the rest of our lives
Steve - thank you matey
Nora - I tried to leave a comment on your blog yesterday but the 'leave a comment' box would not highlight for me - this happened with Ayak's blog recently too.
ASD - oh it's good to finally be here after all the uncertainty. It is still a novelty - I suppose French homesickness will kick in eventuallt.
Scarlet - If I say that I am one of the few people round here without a tatoo and I couldn't find The Observer at the local supermarket yesterday - well, that should show you the part of Kent we are in. A snob? Me? Heaven forfend.
Ayak - I am just browsing now for dog sitters/walkers etc. It will be a big shock to them once I start working to be alone for the day - unless I am lucky enough to find something where I can pop back at lunchtime. Yes. it is the newest worry. I think I am just feeling a little anxious and focusing on things.
hiya Cheshire Wife - oh, it is such a novely seeing things like lemon grass and exotica in the supermarkets. I've been to Tesco every day since arriving and have amassed about 1200 points in less than a week. I'm trying to have a week now without going there.
Phil - good to see you again too mate and I can thoroughly recommend Delana's blog - and indeed every single blog down the side here. Each and every one (and everyone) is great.
Fly - how good to be back in touch in the column as well as our private stuff. I know I owe you a mail but I am a bit all over the place still. As for the library - it's very small but the people working there seem lovely and I can take out up to 30 books a time - yes, 30 books.
Delana - it was awful my last week and a half in France without being able to go online. I'm dreading the phone bill = everything I had to do for the move ended up being done in phone calls to the UK - and not quick ones either.
Fi - thank you. It's farewell to our view though, still I am sure there will be other benefits
Hiya Val - I'm on my third packet already and they are much fresher than the ones that Lidl sold. Still, I've signed up at the local weight watchers now and bagels do seem to be quite a lot of points so not a daily food thing really
e- thank you. Of course being in my early fifties and out of the uk loop for seven years does not exactly mean I jump to the top of the pile of job applicants. Still, I must stay positive
Carol - yes, you must understand how I am feeling (although of course you returned from a far more different sort of country and thus it must have been much more of a shock coming back). It is suh a joy though to make chit chat once again.
Elizabeth - we are planning on a couple of weeks back in France in October - that is if whichever job I manage to find (oh please let it not take too long to find) will let me take time off so soon.
DJ - I might be in France for the first two weeks of October - if I am not and the dogs are sorted and things work out - well it could be arranged - whatever 'it' is, Den.
PLIF - The little village shops here are so cute and it is still a novelty finding them open on a Sunday (you know what I mean)
Rob - that moment when my screen back in France said (words to the effect of) 'we are unable to reconnect your system', was truly awful. Cue for frantic phone calls to Mr FF who tried his best over the phone to tell me what to do - but it was not to be.
hiya Cheshire Wife - oh, it is such a novely seeing things like lemon grass and exotica in the supermarkets. I've been to Tesco every day since arriving and have amassed about 1200 points in less than a week. I'm trying to have a week now without going there.
Phil - good to see you again too mate and I can thoroughly recommend Delana's blog - and indeed every single blog down the side here. Each and every one (and everyone) is great.
Fly - how good to be back in touch in the column as well as our private stuff. I know I owe you a mail but I am a bit all over the place still. As for the library - it's very small but the people working there seem lovely and I can take out up to 30 books a time - yes, 30 books.
Delana - it was awful my last week and a half in France without being able to go online. I'm dreading the phone bill = everything I had to do for the move ended up being done in phone calls to the UK - and not quick ones either.
Fi - thank you. It's farewell to our view though, still I am sure there will be other benefits
Hiya Val - I'm on my third packet already and they are much fresher than the ones that Lidl sold. Still, I've signed up at the local weight watchers now and bagels do seem to be quite a lot of points so not a daily food thing really
e- thank you. Of course being in my early fifties and out of the uk loop for seven years does not exactly mean I jump to the top of the pile of job applicants. Still, I must stay positive
Carol - yes, you must understand how I am feeling (although of course you returned from a far more different sort of country and thus it must have been much more of a shock coming back). It is suh a joy though to make chit chat once again.
Elizabeth - we are planning on a couple of weeks back in France in October - that is if whichever job I manage to find (oh please let it not take too long to find) will let me take time off so soon.
DJ - I might be in France for the first two weeks of October - if I am not and the dogs are sorted and things work out - well it could be arranged - whatever 'it' is, Den.
PLIF - The little village shops here are so cute and it is still a novelty finding them open on a Sunday (you know what I mean)
Rob - that moment when my screen back in France said (words to the effect of) 'we are unable to reconnect your system', was truly awful. Cue for frantic phone calls to Mr FF who tried his best over the phone to tell me what to do - but it was not to be.
Good to hear you are settling in FF. Best of luck with the job-hunting.
So glad that you've settled in and that you have the most coveted item of all...a library card! I could not be without mine, I am quite sure. Looking forward to hearing your tales of England...
30 books!
It's almost enough to tempt me to return to the U.K.!
Oh my, that sounds like quite the snafu! Glad you are no longer gagged by the internet!
Hope the unpacking is going well. I'm so bad about that -- whenever we come home after even just a short trip, the suitcase doesn't get emptied for way too long!
Big hug. So happy you're back. As the song goes, "Miss(ed) you like crazy."
Glad to see your move went well and hope your bichons are doing good with the new home!
Nice to see you again FF! Good luck with the new job. We bloggies certainly understand. It will be fun to see you, when we see you! xx
Sarah - thanks for that. I have an interview next Wednesday morning but won't tempt fate by talking about it just yet.
Laura - the ironic thing is that, having craved a library for ages, I am taking forever reading the paperback of Kenneth Williams diaries (which are fabulous and also very sad - who knew the comedian was such a philosopher?). So I went to the library to join and then did not take out any books (or dvds).
Fly - yes - and I can use my card in a lot of the bigger branches in this bit of Kent. If I ever get the time to read that is. I don't often read by day - the only time that is truly mine without the dogs barking or wanting to play is at night (and then there can sometimes be other distractions - 'oo 'er, a bit risque here all of a sudden - must be this English air)
CT - most of the stuff was sent ahead whilst I was still living at the French house. Having said that, when I got into the car with the dogs the day of my relocation -there was not an inch of space left in my little vehicle by the time I had finished.
Oh Ian, it's good to be missed.
bichon - hello you, how lovely to see you here again. The bichons are secure in the knowledge that they are the loveliest dogs in the area. There seem to be a lot of dogs that are walked past our windows (we have two floor to celing windows - all the better for the dogs to get a good view of who or what to bark at).
willow - the job is not an actuality yet - although maybe after next Wednesday morning it might be - fingers crossed and a blog post will reveal all if it's a positive outcome
great to see you back here!!!
life in england, looking for work and joining the library. how exciting.
i joined the los angeles library when i moved here in 2006 but found most of the book i wanted to read constantly checked out, like all of vonnegut's stuff. but i have the library card. i confess: i bought a grimm's book of fairy tales at the bookstore recently. i wish i did all my book business at the library or the used bookstore down the street, but i get impulsive for some items, and if they don't have the book i want, i buy it new.
so great to see you back:)
Good luck with getting settled. I'll be looking forward to seeing pictures of your Kent house. Hope you don't forget your French though.
Hope all is going well for you both.
Ed - cheers for the welcoming words, Ed. As for buying books - it is a novelty now not to have to buy them. Actually, in our tiny rental house, there is no spare room for piles of books. As it is we turned our second bathroom in the French house into a library - couldn't do it here though,
Dedene - oh, we've become more private now we have UK personas - well, in terms of photos of the house that is.
Blu - hiya - I'm about to do a post about the things that have struck me about being back in the UK
Missed you too, sweet friend. Hope you and your darlings are well.
I have been off line myself for several weeks; I just came by to check out what you have been up to expecting millions of posts and find I have only missed two. But what excellent news - back in the UK and in Kent of all places! Wherever you are it can't be that far away from me as Kent is not that big, so perhaps we can actually meet up sometime once you have settled in and sorted yourself out.
Angie - isn't it hard to keep posting when life gets in the way. Back in France when I had all the time in the world to blog, it took up a major part of my day. At the moment it is something to be crammed into the moments here and there.
Alienne - I wish I had been here more over ther last few weeks (months really). It looks like blogging will no longer take up such a major portion of my day.
As for being near you - I'm off to an interview in Tunbridge Wells on Wesdnesday (going to do a dummy run there later today) and I know that is on your doorstep. It would be great to meet up sometime (not just said - I mean it)
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