34 Days in England
First month has flown by, truly it has. It seems as if I've been here longer than a month, however. And I'm so glad I've much more time to go. I don't feel I've scratched the surface.
A couple glitches, however. First, I needed to take a real estate document to the American Embassy in London to be notorized by the U.S. Consulate. I'm merging the empty lot next door to the theatre complex in Cambria, making it part of the already developed lots. It has been approved by the County and now needs my signature to file. Well, it might have to wait till I return to Cambria, it seems. There are no appointments available, according to the consulate information on the web site, but I'm going to telephone them anyway, to see what can be done. I don't understand why San Luis Obispo County won't accept a regular notary here in Weymouth. They would in the States. Glitch number one.
Glitch number two ... I'm still waiting on a bill from the telephone company (BT) here at the apartment. I need an actual bill mailed to me at this address to open a bank account, proof that I live here. They didn't accept the piece of mail that BT sent regarding the order for service when I first arrived. The other utilities go to my landlord which I will pay directly to him. So the only mail coming to me that is on the bank's requirement list is the BT statement. I called them again last Wednesday and was told it would be here this week. I sure hope so! I need to set up a direct debit for my rent each month, the cash payments to my landlord makes him uneasy. But, as I suggested, he's got my witnessed signed lease to ward off any government inquiries, tax department, etc. The scrutiny is high level over here. And not only that, to order some things online, especially grocery delivery, can't be done without a British credit/debit card. The address forms online, billing address, won't accept an American billing address. Caught between a rock and a hard place, I am. I can go to the merchant and use my American debit cards or cash, but not online. Thank goodness, Argos, who I use for some items, do accept my cards.
So you might want to make a note, if you plan to live a few months in another country, prepare for those particulars as much in advance as you can.
Since my last posting, I spent an afternoon in quaint Dorchester, the County Seat of Dorset and also the home of one of my favorite Classic writers of all time - Thomas Hardy. Perhaps you've heard of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Jude the Obscure, The Woodlanders, and there are many more. The town was very busy, but this time I didn't go to the museum that is devoted to Hardy, I've visited it several times before. Instead Ali and I did some shopping and had lunch at my favorite cafe there -- The Napper's Mite. (See photos to the right.) I've taken other friends there on previous trips, Trish Alden when we came here before going to Port Isaac for a week, and Babs McKee when we came here after we'd spent a week in Paris. So gals, I had lunch there again. Yay!
And I must mention, if you haven't already read my Facebook post of the incident, when later that evening I was having Prosecco with my friends on their guesthouse patio, watching seafront passers by, I met one of the speakers appearing at the Thomas Hardy Festival that was going on that week in Dorchester. Two of the speakers were staying at the Channelview, where we were sitting. I had seen the banners earlier that day across the lanes in Dorcester. So, as it turned out, we had a lovely late night evening discussing the festival and the professor's and my feelings of Hardy and his works, etc. It felt like what I would have imagined of the era of writers and artists congregating in cafes, and over drinks, talking about their craft and the politics of the day. It was that kind of night at the Channelview Guest House, with my friends Ali and Martin Weller, and their neighbors. Loved it!
Speaking of authors and books ... THE BOAT TRIP, my latest novel, is writing very well. I'm into it. (I'm still trying to get access to MIDNIGHT IN VEGAS, the novel I just finished writing, but in need of a final edit. I forgot to email it to myself before I left. So I don't have access to a copy. But I may have discovered a way ... More on that later.). Anyway, THE BOAT TRIP, is a stand alone contemporary romantic story of a woman on a Christmas European River Boat Cruise, trying to rid herself of guilt and grief still lingering from the suicide death of her husband four years before. What happens? Well you'll have to read it to find out. Lol lol
Okay, that's it for today ... Much more to come ...
A couple glitches, however. First, I needed to take a real estate document to the American Embassy in London to be notorized by the U.S. Consulate. I'm merging the empty lot next door to the theatre complex in Cambria, making it part of the already developed lots. It has been approved by the County and now needs my signature to file. Well, it might have to wait till I return to Cambria, it seems. There are no appointments available, according to the consulate information on the web site, but I'm going to telephone them anyway, to see what can be done. I don't understand why San Luis Obispo County won't accept a regular notary here in Weymouth. They would in the States. Glitch number one.
Glitch number two ... I'm still waiting on a bill from the telephone company (BT) here at the apartment. I need an actual bill mailed to me at this address to open a bank account, proof that I live here. They didn't accept the piece of mail that BT sent regarding the order for service when I first arrived. The other utilities go to my landlord which I will pay directly to him. So the only mail coming to me that is on the bank's requirement list is the BT statement. I called them again last Wednesday and was told it would be here this week. I sure hope so! I need to set up a direct debit for my rent each month, the cash payments to my landlord makes him uneasy. But, as I suggested, he's got my witnessed signed lease to ward off any government inquiries, tax department, etc. The scrutiny is high level over here. And not only that, to order some things online, especially grocery delivery, can't be done without a British credit/debit card. The address forms online, billing address, won't accept an American billing address. Caught between a rock and a hard place, I am. I can go to the merchant and use my American debit cards or cash, but not online. Thank goodness, Argos, who I use for some items, do accept my cards.
So you might want to make a note, if you plan to live a few months in another country, prepare for those particulars as much in advance as you can.
Since my last posting, I spent an afternoon in quaint Dorchester, the County Seat of Dorset and also the home of one of my favorite Classic writers of all time - Thomas Hardy. Perhaps you've heard of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Jude the Obscure, The Woodlanders, and there are many more. The town was very busy, but this time I didn't go to the museum that is devoted to Hardy, I've visited it several times before. Instead Ali and I did some shopping and had lunch at my favorite cafe there -- The Napper's Mite. (See photos to the right.) I've taken other friends there on previous trips, Trish Alden when we came here before going to Port Isaac for a week, and Babs McKee when we came here after we'd spent a week in Paris. So gals, I had lunch there again. Yay!
And I must mention, if you haven't already read my Facebook post of the incident, when later that evening I was having Prosecco with my friends on their guesthouse patio, watching seafront passers by, I met one of the speakers appearing at the Thomas Hardy Festival that was going on that week in Dorchester. Two of the speakers were staying at the Channelview, where we were sitting. I had seen the banners earlier that day across the lanes in Dorcester. So, as it turned out, we had a lovely late night evening discussing the festival and the professor's and my feelings of Hardy and his works, etc. It felt like what I would have imagined of the era of writers and artists congregating in cafes, and over drinks, talking about their craft and the politics of the day. It was that kind of night at the Channelview Guest House, with my friends Ali and Martin Weller, and their neighbors. Loved it!
Speaking of authors and books ... THE BOAT TRIP, my latest novel, is writing very well. I'm into it. (I'm still trying to get access to MIDNIGHT IN VEGAS, the novel I just finished writing, but in need of a final edit. I forgot to email it to myself before I left. So I don't have access to a copy. But I may have discovered a way ... More on that later.). Anyway, THE BOAT TRIP, is a stand alone contemporary romantic story of a woman on a Christmas European River Boat Cruise, trying to rid herself of guilt and grief still lingering from the suicide death of her husband four years before. What happens? Well you'll have to read it to find out. Lol lol
Okay, that's it for today ... Much more to come ...
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