Last Saturday morning, we took a short drive to South Hill Park and fed the birds! There were geese, swans, ducks, seagulls, moor hens, and (my favorite) coots! So pretty!! Got pics to post as well, soon as I get them off Ploes’ phone.

Then we headed to The Lookout and took a short walk through the woods before heading off to meet Ploes’ family. It went well, so I was stressing about it for nothing! I had flapjacks for the 1st time. Yummeh!

We bought a King Size (Queen Size in Canada) bed last Sunday! YAY!!! For the last month in Ottawa I was sleeping on a sofabed mattress on the floor, so the futon we’ve been using here was certainly a step up, but it’ll be nice to lie on a real mattress again! We got a silver frame, and got a free set of burgundy coloured bedding for free! It’s not my absolute favorite pattern, but a damn sight better than the other 2 choices. Between beige flowers and lavender, I CHOOSE DEATH!

I don’t get the idea of having a plain white comforter and having the patterned comforter cover over it. Makes it easier to wash, but why not have a coloUred comforter and ALSO a cover, that way you have 2 options for your bedroom decor?

Also, why are topsheets optional here? You do not know joy until you’ve tucked in the sheet halfway up the side of the bed, so that when you slide into bed you’re all nice and tight and cocoony under the covers! We definitely need some, unless I get permission to wrap the entire comforter around me at night, instead of having to share it.

- Eggs are not refridgerated at the store, they are just put on the shelf.

- Ingredient labels will say milk (from cows). I don’t yet know what you get if you just ask for “milk”.

- There is no such thing as Instant Rice. It boggles the mind!

- Sainbury’s makes a margerine spread called Butterlicious. I can’t say ‘butterlicious’ without sounding like a major perv. Mmm.. butterlicious.. See?

- They don’t sell cans of frozen drinks. The UK equivalent is squash, which is concentrate that you can keep unrefridgerated. You combine 1 part squash to 4 parts water, et voila!

- There are more varieties of HP Sauce than I have ever imagined.

- Same thing goes for baked beans.

- As I suspected, ‘English muffins’ are just called ‘muffins’!

- I am not mature enough to have a camera phone.

30 *what* sausages?!

Last Friday, Ploes had to do some work on a customer site in Littleboro, so I went along with him. It was a nice chance to see more of the country, even if just from the passenger side window!

I got to meet 2 friends of his in Manchester, and they were kind enough to put us up for the night. Had a fun evening chatting, eating pizza, and drinking Guinness. I tried Guinness Bitter for the 1st time. It was alright, but I don’t think I’ll be having it again. You can see through it, which breaks my second rule about beer. (Rule number one is: It must be Guinness. LOL!)

We visited the Trafford Centre, The Lowry, and the Imperial War Museum North. We even went up the tower at the War Museum. The elevator lift was out of service, so we took the stairs. I don’t know anything about architectural design, but I thought it was pretty amazing that the tower was designed to have 4907430594390 flights of stairs going up, and only 3 flights on the way down. It sure made me glad I quit smoking, I tell ya!

Not much else new. The kitties got a treat of wet foods last night. Sir Kismet ate too fast and then got sick. I was not impressed. Neither was the couch. Ploes even less so, as he’s the one who came to my rescue and helped with the cleanup! Mr. Pukey has been getting dirty looks and a fair amount of verbal abuse from me today.

Some photos of frost on the ground in Buxton, taken today on the way back from Manchester.

Last Thursday afternoon, we went to the giant Swedish maze in Brent Park and got Christmas decorations, a few random little things we needed around the house, and the prerequisite bag of 100 tealights.

They seem to have pretty much the same things as in Canada, and the prices are very similar. There were a few coloUr selection differences here and there, but nothing major.

Heard the JCB song on the radio while stuck in traffic on the way back. It’s cute beyond words!

Didn’t get anything fun at the computer fair on Sunday, just a boring surge protector. I know which PC case I want for my new rebuild, though! I may also need to get the horribly overpriced mouse I saw, because it’s pink. There weren’t any speakers that really caught my eye, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find decent black or silver ones.

I’ve only unpacked 2 boxes so far, as I’ve got nowhere to put all my clothes until we put together the wardrobes we bought from Focus (a DIY store). I miss my 3-sliding-door built-in closet. *cries* Lack of built-in storage space is something easily remedied once we decide to buy and not rent, though.

I am happy to report that my PC and other breakables have arrived intact! Ploes’ little Deskie PC is nice, but no match for my beloved COMPUTARMACHINE. I’ve still got 8 boxes to check, but they’re just clothes, shoes, CDs, and stuff, so aside from a few broken jewelcases, I’m not overly concerned about anything having gotten damaged in transit.

Lovely weather here lately! Sunny with clear skies, and apparently 10°C right now. It drops to about 0 or thereabouts overnight though, ’cause Ploes had to scrape the windshield this morning. It was a bit chilly last night after dark when we went out for a walk, so I had gloves on, but I can still wear my spring/fall jacket. In November!

My kitties seem way happier here than they were in Ottawa, which is reassuring. There are more windowsills to sit on and look out the windows, and a birdfeeder in the field outside our livingroom window that provides hours of entertainment.

Updated List Of Strange Men I Have Invited Into The House While My Fiancé Is At Work:
1 Cableman
2 Stove repairmen
1 Gas inspector
2 Argos deliverymen

I used Pac-N-Save Shipping and Moving Ltd. (based out of Edmonton, Alberta) to move my belongings from Canada to the UK.

Their local contractor came to collect my boxes in Ottawa on October 21st, and I was told to expect them to arrive as my requested destination (High Wycombe) within the next 7 - 14 days.

I got a letter on November 5 from the shipping company handling the UK side of things (Box Consolidators Ltd.) saying that my boxes were expected to arrive in Basildon on November 6th, and that I could collect them from there. Basildon is a 2 hour drive from here, and nowhere even close to High Wycombe. I emailed Pac-N-Save right away on November 5th to find out what was going on:

Hello,

Bill of Lading : [removed]

Unit #/MAWB: [removed]

Box Consolidators Ltd’s reference #: [removed]

With regards to the recent shipment you sent for me from Ottawa to the UK, I have just received word that it is expected to arrive Nov 6th in the UK. The notice I got from Box Consolidators states that the port of discharge is Thames Port, London. The “Collect from and devanning point” is given as: BBC Global Ltd, Unit 5 Quatro Park, Basildon, Essex, SS14 3GH.

In the PNS contract I was given (that I have attached to this email) however, it specified (as I had requested) that the Destination Centre/Port would be High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.

Is this not where my goods were sent?

Why am I being told to collect them from Basildon instead?

The distance from High Wycombe, where I have asked you to send the goods, to Basildon, is about 2 hours on a good day without traffic.

Please confirm the address in High Wycombe that I can collect my goods from.

Thank you,

The president of the company emailed me back on Saturday, November 7th with:

The shipments are sent to the nearest port of final destination, I will check with the shipping company on Monday to see if this destination is the nearest port, the price did not include to door service in the United Kingdom.”

I know what I paid for, however the details on what my price included wasn’t my question, was it? The issue was: Why did they say the destination was in Wycombe if it really wasn’t? They had even put Destination Centre/Port: High Wycombe right on my invoice!

Being a shipping company and all, and having contacts at the UK shipping companies here, one would THINK that they would have known what port it’d be going to ahead of time, and shared this information with a paying client. Apparently not.

If there’s no port closer to Wycombe, why not TELL people this before they confirm the booking? They should have told me that my things would be sent 2 hours further away than indicated on my shipping invoice BEFORE taking my money.

Oh, and we’re now Friday, and still no follow-up from Pac-N-Save Shipping & Moving. Great display of customer service there!

It’s a good thing we contacted Box Consolidators Ltd. ourselves, and collected my items yesterday. Lucky for me, we had access to a van, and Ploes was able to book the day off to drive out there.

Why would the president of a company respond to a valid customer enquiry with what amounts to be a total and complete brush-off?

Imagine if I’d movers booked, and a truck rented here. It would have really altered the final cost to me, having the items so unreasonably far away from where Pac-N-Save told me they would be sent.

I would not use Pac-N-Save again, not even for moves within Canada. You get what you pay for, indeed! Now I understand why their prices are a bit lower, when I see the completely unacceptable quality of service they provide.

I should have known I’d have issues with them when it took them an entire week to get back to me in August 2005 to even book this move. I emailed them on August 5th and it wasn’t until several emails and telephone calls later on August 11th that I get an email — from a Yahoo email address — from the president’s assistant. It seems that although he handles all the email correspondance, and was on vacation until September 2nd, that it was not deemed necessary to put an auto-responder on his email account, or to have his email correspondance forwarded to someone who would be attending to business matters in his absence.

When I finally heard back from his assistant, I’d thought the issue was just a one-off, so I let it slide, and booked with them despite their oversight. However this latest mess really makes me wish I had given my money to any other company. It is disappointing that they are able to remain in business with despite their obvious lack of business ethics and customer service skills.

On a related note: A little while ago, someone on the Expat forum I belong to asked about ways of moving her things back to Canada. I’d mentioned Pac-N-Save to them, as a possible method of shipping her items.

Yesterday, after I’d made a post about the whole destination city issue, she told me that she had contacted Pac-N-Save a week and a half ago, asking them for a price quote — and had yet to receive a response! One slip-up is an accident. Twice raises concerns, but three times?! I’m glad she won’t waste her money booking with them, the way I did!

On the bright side, despite Pac-N-Save’s questionable business practices, my boxes are now sitting in our livingroom waiting to be unpacked.

Had workers in today to repair the stove. The gas burners worked, but the oven didn’t. They said they didn’t actually repair anything, but then what were they drilling in there?! Either way, I’m glad it’s working now, so I can stick my head inside of it on bad days.

The gas company also sent someone to do the yearly inspection, and now I have a lovely green copy of the Gas Safety Certificate.

Strange Men I Have Invited Into The House While My Fiancé Is At Work:
1 Cableman
2 Stove repairmen
1 Gas inspector

Not bad for being in the country only 9 days, eh? I think next week we’ll try to get a policeman and some firemen in here.

In other news, I had to send my mobile phone back, which also means I lost the number that was assigned to me. It was a really nice number! The phone was ok, but the only way to get pictures off of it was to send a picture message. I’d rather use bluetooth or a cable to retrieve photos for free, so we sent the phone back.

I’ll be using one of Ploes’ old phones in the meantime, with my newest mobile number. The number is craptastic beyond belief, and I will never in a gazillion years be able to memorize it. In fact, if you say my number out loud too many times YOU WILL GO MAD, it’s that bad. *sulks* When I get a new phone, we’ll see if the number on the SIM card it comes with it any better, and then I’ll just switch!

We go to Basildon tomorrow to collect the things I had shipped. It’s at least a 2 hour drive if the traffic is good. I am really not impressed with the Canadian shipping company I used. The cost was reasonable, but their customer service skills are sorely lacking. I now understand why it was so cheap! While I’ve got no need to ‘know better for next time’ as I have no intention of returning to Canada, at least I can warn others planning a move to this side of the pond about the company, and perhaps save someone else a bit of frustration.

I just hope the PC and the other delicate items made it in one piece! We’re going to a PC fair this weekend (the kind without rides or midway games, I think) and while it’d be nice to find a new new parts, I have missed COMPUTARMACHINE so much, I just want him to get here intact!

We went to Portsmouth on Saturday!

It’s a seaside town, about a 2 hour drive from Bracknell. The sun only came out briefly, but even with the wind, it was still warm enough for a nice day out. The beach is rocks, not sand, and was really clean. No cigarette butts and garbage strewn along the waterside like at Ottawa’s Britannia beach — and without that horrible fishy smell, too! I found 5 little shells, which have been washed and are now sitting on a shelf in the washroom until I decide what to do with them!

It was pretty quiet when we went, as it’s out of season, but there were midway game places still open, so we lost a bit of spare change there. During the high season, I’m told that it can does get quite crowded, with the underlying trashiness typical of any touristy place. Having been to Niagara Falls several times, I do have a certain appreciation for tacky, so it’d be nice to go again when one can actually go swimming!

We had fish & chips for lunch! As a mere tourist in April 2004, I was not given the chance to sample this delicacy. Although I saw no reason for this oversight, in time I began to accept the the fact that more drastic steps would be needed. Apparently, along with a promise of marriage and moving everything you own across the ocean, one is welcomed into the secret society of people taken out to fish & chip shops! It was well worth the wait, though! (I was also taught the secret handshake.)

There’s a hovercraft that goes between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight! We got to see it arrive and then depart a few moments later.

There’s a ferry that you can take your car on, but it’s not nearly as cool as a hovercraft.

We also saw a ferry bringing people over from France. Unfortunately, there was no way to stop it.

YELLOW STRIPEY BOAT!!!

Finally, the Spinnaker Tower!

A millenium project that opened 5 years too late. It’s comforting to know that some things here are the same as back home. If I was going to build a giant structure that would serve no real purpose right near the waterfront, I would want it to look JUST like that!

Except mine would shoot things towards France.