Life on the Go.

I am sitting in front of our lovely log burner, basking in its heat and reflecting over the highs and lows of the last month.

The true low was looking around Newcastle and the surrounding areas and not finding anywhere at all where I could envisage living and feeling at home. One month ago I was nearly in tears thinking of what life was to become and questioning everything I could think of about what it is that gives me peace and makes my life worth living. My family, of course, scored highly, as did my faith, but other than that, what makes me tick? I am not sure that I really found the answer, but aesthetics seemed to be high as well and the areas we were looking in scored a negative for that. Fortunately, after much prayer, reflection, discussion and maths, we started to look at a different area and finally decided that if we were careful we may be able to afford to live in the Tyne Valley, a beautiful area to the west of Newcastle with the River Tyne running through a rural valley. We subsequently found several villages that felt comfortable. Right Move led us to a house in Heddon-on-the-Wall which we will be renting from December 1st.

Heddon-on-the-Wall is a village build alongside Hadrian's Wall and has a part of the wall visible in a field near to where we will be living. There is a good school there, a nursery and a somewhat aspirationally named "Shopping Precinct"! There are four shops there, a vets, a nursery and most importantly of all, a coffee shop-come-deli! Hurrah. As soon as Ken saw that, he knew I would be able to find some peace!

Ken started work last Monday and is commuting on a weekly basis. He enjoyed his first week there although was complaining of having a somewhat "fried brain" by Friday evening. He likes his colleagues and is finding the job challenging in that he is looking at areas of engineering that he has not explored before. I think he is also excited by the opportunities he has although he is having to adjust to a company with far fewer resources than he had at Siemens. His new company is, after all, about the size of just his previous department!

The high was last week when Isla reached her first birthday, but that deserves a blog in its own right. Tomorrow night! In the meantime, I have to write lists and work out what little jobs need to be done before we leave; what services need to be stopped; things unjoined; items returned, and so on. Hopefully I won't end up with a list of lists, but I think there are going to be several lists on the go. At least I won't have to worry about forgetting things, just making sure I don't pack the lists!

Summer highlights

Now I know that it is well past summer so this is a bit late, but let's just say that I have been otherwise occupied!

I still don't know how to load up a slide show, so you will just have to tolerate inbedded photos and a large posting. The photos are from a somewhat delayed flying lesson which was for my 40th last year, our annual summer vacation in Scotland with the family, the Great Dorset Steam Extravaganza where my brother was showing his steam engine, Angus's birthday in Swanage with Grampa Steam, and a rather lovely day onboard Waverley paddle steamer for Grampa's 70th birthday and Ken's 40th.

Queen Victoria, my brother's engine, spent the five days powering a saw bench in a demonstration arena. Below, a four year old girl with the saw bench, decided that Isla needed accessorising!

Dad and Angus on QV. Angus is wearing his first boiler suit and is very proud of it! Needless to say, it had to be red.

Being Tom Cruise after my flyinh lesson. It was a gorgeous day and I had a fantastic time. Thanks Mum!

Angus and Isla blowing out birthday candles. As this was the day after the steam rally, a bakery had arranged the cake for us and a restaurant kindly let us have a small party there. People can be wonderful!

Earlier in the day we had been on the Swanage railway with my Dad, Jen my sister, Jackie, Ken and Isla. Angus did enjoy himself.

Angus and Graham on the beach earlier in the summer, and below, Ken and Isla taking a break from climbing with the Big Boy Cousins. We had lovely sunny weather for most of our hols this year and have already booked to go back. Christina, a neighbour from Germany joined us - I can highl recommend taking a nanny on holiday with you!

Angus's New Bedroom

Just a quick one as Ken is out playing squash.

Angus was talking about what he wants his new bedroom to look like. He has decided that it has to be red and that he wants bunk beds with Daddy sleeping on the top bunk. Isla and I are to sleep in the pink girls' room. "But," I said, " what if Isla and I don't want pink? What if we want, say, green?" He replied, "Good, because then I can have red and pink, with a stripe in between. I can have red dinosaurs on the pink bits with green eyes, and pink dinosaurs on the red bits with green eyes. Will that look pretty Mum?"

Uhhh, maybe, but I am not sure...

The Decision - again!

So, we had it sorted: Ken had decided Germany. We told Siemens; we told Newcastle; and naturally, we told Germany. We told everybody else.

You just know that something has gone wrong, don't you!?

The short version of the story is that when they (Siemens and Ken) started to negotiate the nitty gritty, it all fell apart. Siemens were inflexible on certain issues and so was Ken. The differences were too great and so Ken declined. I was gutted. Although I could understand Ken's perspective, I didn't realise until he declined just how much I had been looking forward to moving back to Germany. Of course I was aware that it wouldn't be the same as last time as our experience there was to a large degree a result of those whom we met and befriended, some of whom are no longer there, but all the same the lifestyle and climate were enviable compared to Macclesfield!

Now we are moving to Newcastle. Or just south of there at least. There are some benefits: The climate is certainly much drier than Macclesfield (actually, I believe that rainforests are probably the only places on earth wetter and damper than here!), but it is significantly colder. I grew up in South England so even here feels cold: Newcastle is colder still! However, on the plus side housing is cheaper so we should be able to buy a larger house which will ameliorate the situation somewhat.

Do I sound somewhat negative about the impending move? It's partly prejudice on my part. Growing up in the south, anything beyond Bristol was up North (crazy when you look at a map but we had to travel past or through Bristol to go anywhere) and all the North was uncivilised and industrial in my mind. When you hit Scotland all was well again. Psychologically there was this geographical blank, except London and where Dad lived, which was very nice and surrounded by beautiful countryside. Macclesfield seemed very adventurous at the time and now this will be considered southern compared to where we will be living. Take a deep breath, count to ten and then slowly exhale...

Then there is the motive for the move. Ken has an exciting new job to go to and I don't. This isn't pity, just that whenever I have made a move before there has been an inner motive and this time there isn't. I will have to make a life there and I am not really too sure what I will be doing. I may eventually return to teaching but I sincerely doubt that. I will probably have to pursue something else. In the meantime I will have to find alternatives to all the things that I value and enjoy here. Could be exciting, could be disappointing, could be draining. And then there will be the people who will no longer be such a significant part of my life.

Sorry if I sound glum today, it's just that the "For Sale" sign went up this morning and I spent all of last week getting the house ready for prospective purchasers. It's not home any more, it's a show home. Of a kind. Actually, that has been a really good motivator to get lots of little jobs done! Thank you Ken, Mum and Parents-in-Law who have all helped! And now we are leaving.

I'll let you know how we get on.

The Decision...

has been made. Well, Ken has a plan anyway!

Over the last couple of months the strain of making a decision, coupled with a various family events has been interesting! But you don't want to hear that, you want to know what Ken has decided. It really was a difficult decision as the comparisons weren't exact - each of the three offers had different strengths and different weaknesses and different issues attached. Finally the only criteria that allowed the three to be separated was this:

Which one would I regret?

Which of the three would Ken regret not taking in six or seven years' time? Obviously there are events that can't be predicted which could alter the answer to that in hindsight, but as far as can be forseen there was only one choice that Ken would regret not pursuing:

Germany.

So that is the decision. The offer from Gateshead is still open and they still want him but Germany would not be so easy in a few years' time as it would be too disruptive on the children's education. And Ken and I did have a wonderful time there last time. Obviously it won't be the same as we won't be living in the same village near the same town with the same friends, both German and American. We can't replicate, but we both loved the lifestyle and want to offer the children the chance to speak a foreign language and experience a different culture.

So, I said that we have a plan. This might not come about. They have laid off 400 folks in Erlangen where Ken would be working and the unions are so strong in Germany that he might not be allowed. They also have to allow for Ken's inability to speak German having said that he must work in German. In reality that won't happen. Then there is the package they are offering to make it worth our while to move over there. If all that does not tie up then we pull out of the plan and take Pete up on his Gateshead offer. If that doesn't come about for whatever reason then Ken stays in Congleton and we look at buying a larger house on the local council estate and support the Church in its work there.

Plan? Sorted - I hope.

You were right weren't you? We followed as the poll predicted. Holidays in Bavaria anyone?