Bon Voyage

John has just left for the airport, chauffeured by Jason, who, it turns out, is much less expensive than limousine service.

We've all been buzzing around over the past two days, helping John make lists and find his sunglasses and weigh his suitcase. He's allowed 30 kilograms, so there were several solomonian choices to be made. Which to take: umbrella or a fistful of photos of our grandson, Hayden? (Photos.) Cql manual or sweater? (Manual.) Extra pajamas or Tim Horton's coffee? (Coffee.) We talked him out of the sunscreen, but we couldn't talk him out of taking along a ziplock bag half-full of English coins, even though they must've weighed nearly a pound.

I think John is excited; I know he's nervous, and I suppose he has every right to be. He's got a lot of hard work to do once he arrives in Halstead - finding a place for us to live and getting ready to meet his new students and colleagues. We're looking forward to hearing from him tomorrow about his trip, and I'll try to post again then. In the meantime, you may attribute any typos in this post to the fact that the little red line under misspelled words is hard to see when you're feeling a bit weepy.

House Hunting

Ever tried looking for a place to live from over 3000 miles away? I have to tell you it's not easy.

We've been scouring the websites of numerous estate agents and letting agents (love that Britspeak) and have even phoned a couple of them. On the whole I'd have to say that these people are not forthcoming with either their interest or their help. One of them, however, Marquis Estates in Halstead, has been a pleasure to talk to. Jonathan White, the Sales and Lettings Manager, has even telephoned us with information, and has faxed us the necessary forms to request accommodation.

As I write, there are two properties available in Halstead that might suit us. One of them is quite spacious (though what we will need space for I don't know, since we will have absolutely no furniture or possessions to accommodate.) It is a two story flat located on the high street in a conservation area (like our 'designated heritage neighbourhood' I'm guessing.) It's over a bank - we'd have good security for sure! The other property is an end terraced, two floor house, located off the main street, with rooms of a much smaller size than the bank flat.

Both are withing walking distance of school for John; this is good. Neither have appliances; this is not good. We can rent said appliances, along with a tv, at a fairly reasonable cost. (Needless to say, we are becoming much more aware of how spoiled and comfortable we are in our Canadian circumstances!) Now we must examine the pros and cons, make a decision, and then figure out how we're going to survive with a fridge that holds only two days worth of groceries at a time.

In which I experiment with colour and layout

I am trying to get a good balance between text size, text colour and layout. It's not as easy as it should be - too much bouncing back and forth between tools and finished product. Oh well, it's free.

I have figured out how to add a photo to a post, witness this lovely photo of Tyler's Wood, near Halstead. I am looking forward to walking there next spring.

So far, so good. I'm pleased with the colour scheme and the layout. I'll probably begin posting officially at the end of December, when John leaves. He can keep me updated on his progress in getting settled, and I can then include reports and photos from him.