Hello All
It has (thankfully) not been too long since our last update, and once again, never a dull moment in the Bowen household. We have settled in very well in our new flat, but unfortunately, our washing machine decided to refrain from spinning ever again. Our friendly landlord is buying us a brand new washing machine which we was promised last Monday. Can you believe that repair men are the same wherever you live? Well, you should have seen grumpy Gwyn when the machine did not arrive as promised after I arranged to work from home in order to receive it. We should be getting the machine on Tuesday, a week after the original delivery date, but I think that I made myself clear now. In the meantime, Lawrence and I have been traipsing down to the local Laundromat to do our washing twice a week. On Thursday, I took the washing down myself (2 huge bags including a blue IKEA bag…some of you know how big that is). I think that the neighbours thought that I was leaving Lawrence and taking all his clothing with me. However, I did return later with Lawrence and clean washing in tow.
Lawrence is into his last week at Sky now. He will be starting at Unilever on Thursday. I think that the move is bitter sweet for him. He is going to a fantastic company in a great position, but he learnt so much at Sky and met some great people. I suppose, career progression is why we are here.
I was invited on a trip to Aberdeen this week, to visit a client. I was able to fly there and back in a day…which is the way that like to travel for work. I enjoyed the trip, and met some interesting people in the oil business as well. Lawrence was quite impressed with my professional look when I left the house before the crack of dawn. I was a bit disappointed that it was not snowing in Aberdeen. Everyone warned me how cold and miserable it was…not at all! At least, nothing like Edinburgh over Christmas.
Today, we took a coach trip to visit Stonehenge and Bath. The coach was full of students, but luckily everyone on the trip was there to see the sights, so it was not like the average University trip. Our guide was a different story. She came across as a nervous squirrel. Repeating everything three times, not quite the guide that you should put with a group of young people, but she was a source of entertainment regardless.
When we arrived at Stonehenge, it was misty and cold. I thought that it was ideal weather in which to view the stones as you can just imagine a procession of druids walking across the valley at sunset. Lawrence was disappointed that the stones were not bigger…I thought that they were large enough, but I am smaller than him.
From the stones, we made our way to Bath. What a beautiful city. Similar architecture to Edinburgh, but with brighter stones used in the buildings. The tour included entry to the Roman baths, which were interesting to see, and then we had a couple of hours to wander around. We found a quaint coffee shop for lunch and Lawrence managed to find the only Fly Fishing shop (Orvis), which we had to visit.. he has eyed out a 9 piece rod. I was convinced that we were going to have Cream Tea in the Pump house ( formal tea room next to the Roman bath), but £14,95 per person for tea, scones and sandwiches sounded a bit extravagant, so we bought the best cookies and walked around the town instead. I definitely want to go back to Bath again, but on our own time. It’s a bit difficult to appreciate a place fully when you are working on someone else’s timetable.
So, that was the week for us. We hope that all is well with everyone across the globe. One more month to our visit home…can’t wait.
All our love
L&G
