Help, the packers are here and they want my computer!
- Thread starter Sankari
- Start date
Thats right, I have the weather chart still saved on my computer for the week. It got hotter then they predicted though on every day!
it was a week or 2 between 42 and 47 Degrees. And i had to work each damm day of that
(now image being in a open pit with nothing but 30 or so metre rock walls right around you)Even though we only did half days i was completely drained and ****ed after each day that it took the rest of the day to recover
My boss can shove it up his arse if he expects us to do that again this summer
Bloody 27 in adelaide today!
Would have been alright if i wasnt at work
Isnt that nearing heatwave Temperature in the uk?
yup thank goodness I don't live there. I hate the heat brings me out in hives
Good luck with the job hunting Evangelion.
Soldato
- Joined
- 30 Sep 2006
- Posts
- 5,278
- Location
- Midlands, UK
I need to take a testosterone shower.....i just stopped listening to Radio one to listen to your song (which i remember from a kid), then scrolled down the pics and let out an unshamed AAAWWWWWW!!!! at seeing your sleeping baby.Damn! Where are Duke Nukem and Mr.T when you need 'em.
Good luck fella
Well, we've been in Australia for 11 days now, so it's time for an update. I'll start by saying thanks again for all the kind comments and good wishes.
Ah good you're back. Just so you know, someone set multiple fires in your old threads and we had a mild spate of spam and hysteria. Also, we've been overun by zombies. Here's a shotgun, see you on the other side.
Preface.
After nearly 6 years in the Mother Country, Evangelion (Australian) moved from the UK to South Australia on 16.10.09 with his wife Mrs Evangelion (English) and Numpty Bub (dual Aussie/British citizen). Here follows a brief account of his OUTRAGEOUS ADVENTURES to date, which will no doubt SHOCK THE NATION... or something.
After nearly 6 years in the Mother Country, Evangelion (Australian) moved from the UK to South Australia on 16.10.09 with his wife Mrs Evangelion (English) and Numpty Bub (dual Aussie/British citizen). Here follows a brief account of his OUTRAGEOUS ADVENTURES to date, which will no doubt SHOCK THE NATION... or something.
Part #1: movers.
After a few market comparisons we eventually settled on Allied Pickfords. Our decision was largely based upon the fact that they have branches in the UK and Australia. Their sales rep (Martin something) was friendly, courteous and informative. He visited us twice before we made our commitment, and discussed every aspect of the move in detail. I was very impressed by his professionalism.
We had originally been quoted a base price of £2,500 for 560 cubic feet in a shared container. The insurance premium was going to be 4% of the insured value. This was too expensive for my liking, particularly since our house had failed to sell. My goal: reduce the overall cost by at least £800.
I deliberately left our shipping contract documents unsigned, and let Pickfords sweat for a few days. Meanwhile, I secured shipping insurance with Letton Percival for the same level of protection at 1.6% of the value. Then, with just one week before our departure date, I phoned up Pickfords and told them that their shipping quote was too expensive; I wanted a reduction, and I wanted to speak with Martin. They told me that he was sick at home, but would be informed via email and might contact me on the following day.
To his credit, Martin phoned me within the hour (though he sounded pretty rough!) I told him I had taken insurance with Letton Percival, and wanted £400 off our shipping price. After some negotiation, we agreed on a total of £2,165 for half a shared container and a single-day collection on our actual departure date. Between the insurance and the revised shipping quote, I managed to save us about £900. 
The packers (a team of three) arrived at 08:45 and left at around 16:30. Like Martin, they were friendly, courteous and professional. There was a good deal of banter between them, which we very much enjoyed. They took three cartons for air freight and the rest for shipping. They worked extremely hard, with great efficiency. If we had been better organised, they could have been finished by 14:00 or even earlier.
After a few market comparisons we eventually settled on Allied Pickfords. Our decision was largely based upon the fact that they have branches in the UK and Australia. Their sales rep (Martin something) was friendly, courteous and informative. He visited us twice before we made our commitment, and discussed every aspect of the move in detail. I was very impressed by his professionalism.
We had originally been quoted a base price of £2,500 for 560 cubic feet in a shared container. The insurance premium was going to be 4% of the insured value. This was too expensive for my liking, particularly since our house had failed to sell. My goal: reduce the overall cost by at least £800.
I deliberately left our shipping contract documents unsigned, and let Pickfords sweat for a few days. Meanwhile, I secured shipping insurance with Letton Percival for the same level of protection at 1.6% of the value. Then, with just one week before our departure date, I phoned up Pickfords and told them that their shipping quote was too expensive; I wanted a reduction, and I wanted to speak with Martin. They told me that he was sick at home, but would be informed via email and might contact me on the following day.
To his credit, Martin phoned me within the hour (though he sounded pretty rough!
) I told him I had taken insurance with Letton Percival, and wanted £400 off our shipping price. After some negotiation, we agreed on a total of £2,165 for half a shared container and a single-day collection on our actual departure date. Between the insurance and the revised shipping quote, I managed to save us about £900. The packers (a team of three) arrived at 08:45 and left at around 16:30. Like Martin, they were friendly, courteous and professional. There was a good deal of banter between them, which we very much enjoyed. They took three cartons for air freight and the rest for shipping. They worked extremely hard, with great efficiency. If we had been better organised, they could have been finished by 14:00 or even earlier.
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Part #2: Heathrow.
We booked a taxi and took our baby seat with us for the journey, since the cab company could not provide one. Our cabbie was a nice young Pakistani lad who entertained us with stories about his vast extended family and their peculiar personal lives. He seemed to have an endless array of cousins, one of whom was busy ripping off his uncle in some sort of dodgy property deal, and had not paid his mortgage for nearly 9 months. I suppose we were meant to be shocked, but I spent most of my time trying to stifle my laughter. Eventually I went to sleep in self defence.
Remarkably, our cabbie whisked us to Heathrow in less than three hours (including a brief stop to change Numpty Bub's nappy) and agreed to take our baby seat off us (since we could not bring it to Australia). He said he would present it to one of his colleagues at the taxi depot, whose nickname was "Baby." Since "Baby" appeared to be one of the few British citizens to whom our cabbie was not related by blood or marriage, I decided it was safe to laugh at this one, and did.
Heathrow was just as shabby and filthy as it always is. A small huddle of cleaners were valiantly trying to polish a pile of dirt, but with limited success. Watching them, I began to itch unaccountably, and longed for a shower. After thirty seconds I developed a strange crawling sensation in my left nostril, and had to look away.
Heathrow security confiscated half of Mrs Evangelion's baby food, leaving us dangerously short of supplies for Numpty Bub. The security woman responsible seemed incapable of understanding that if you break the seal on a non-reusable container of baby milk, it cannot simply be left in your bag to slosh around with a ripped spout for the next 6 hours or so. It never ceases to amaze me that people like this have no trouble finding employment. Is there some sort of union, maybe? Perhaps they're all Masons? Who knows?
We booked a taxi and took our baby seat with us for the journey, since the cab company could not provide one. Our cabbie was a nice young Pakistani lad who entertained us with stories about his vast extended family and their peculiar personal lives. He seemed to have an endless array of cousins, one of whom was busy ripping off his uncle in some sort of dodgy property deal, and had not paid his mortgage for nearly 9 months. I suppose we were meant to be shocked, but I spent most of my time trying to stifle my laughter. Eventually I went to sleep in self defence.
Remarkably, our cabbie whisked us to Heathrow in less than three hours (including a brief stop to change Numpty Bub's nappy) and agreed to take our baby seat off us (since we could not bring it to Australia). He said he would present it to one of his colleagues at the taxi depot, whose nickname was "Baby." Since "Baby" appeared to be one of the few British citizens to whom our cabbie was not related by blood or marriage, I decided it was safe to laugh at this one, and did.
Heathrow was just as shabby and filthy as it always is. A small huddle of cleaners were valiantly trying to polish a pile of dirt, but with limited success. Watching them, I began to itch unaccountably, and longed for a shower. After thirty seconds I developed a strange crawling sensation in my left nostril, and had to look away.
Heathrow security confiscated half of Mrs Evangelion's baby food, leaving us dangerously short of supplies for Numpty Bub. The security woman responsible seemed incapable of understanding that if you break the seal on a non-reusable container of baby milk, it cannot simply be left in your bag to slosh around with a ripped spout for the next 6 hours or so. It never ceases to amaze me that people like this have no trouble finding employment. Is there some sort of union, maybe? Perhaps they're all Masons? Who knows?
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Part #3: flights.
We flew to Australia on Cathay Pacific flight CX105. It was a two-stage journey: Heathrow -> Hong Kong; Hong Kong -> Adelaide. Mrs Evangelion had reserved bulkhead seats and requested a bassinet for Numpty Bub. On the first flight we had two seats on the far right row. They were not as roomy as we had expected, and the reclining position was uncomfortable.
The hostesses were dismal, to say the least. At first they told us that the bassinet was broken and therefore unavailable. Frankly, we were outraged. Then, just as a hostess was attempting to construct a makeshift bed for Numpty Bub, her senior came along and told her to stop, as this was unsafe and illegal. After about 15 minutes of further confusion, we were presented with the broken bassinet, which they strapped in place as best they could. With no alternatives, we were forced to use it.
At Hong Kong airport we found ourselves with 5 hours to kill. Thanks to the advice of some other BEP members, I located one of the private rest lounges, where I immediately haggled with the manager for a better price. She finally gave us 5 hours for the price of 2 (a total saving of £31) which I considered pretty fair. We enjoyed wonderfully hot showers, followed by several hours of free food and drink in a quiet, relaxing lounge area.
Hong Kong security was extremely tight. We were carefully checked by a horde of male and female security guards, all immaculately presented and well armed. Then they caught sight of Numpty Bub, and went completely to pieces! Hefty middle aged men with sidearms bent over her stroller and pulled funny faces while blowing raspberries; tough female guards with truncheons called their colleagues over and cooed "Baby! Baby!" while Numpty Bub revelled in the attention.
To say that Mrs Evangelion and I were fascinated and bemused is to understate the case by several orders of magnitude. I eventually counted about 7 security guards around Numpty Bub's stroller, and guiltily wondered if hordes of drug barons were taking advantage of the disruption to sneak into the country with millions of Ecstasy pills.
Our second flight was excellent. We had a middle row this time, with lots of foot room (though the seats were still narrow and uncomfortable). The hostesses were simply superb, and anticipated our needs with alarming prescience. One of them ("the cute one with the hair", as I came to think of her) devoted herself almost entirely to our care, and was never more than five feet away whenever we needed anything. She brought a bassinet as soon as it was safe to do so (a decent one in excellent condition this time!) and strapped it in carefully. Seconds later she was plying us with extra blankets and would probably have offered any number of additional serviceseek: ) had we not persuaded her that we were fine.
Numpty Bub was much happier and more comfortable on this flight, and so were we. A minor crisis arose when we ran out of milk for her last feed, but after a bit of whinging she settled down in time for our arrival in Adelaide. She did have her bad moments during the flight, but they weren't too desperate. I dropped a blanket over her head and loudly blamed the noise on other people's children whilst gesticulating vaguely at a bunch of seats at least 30 feet away.
We flew to Australia on Cathay Pacific flight CX105. It was a two-stage journey: Heathrow -> Hong Kong; Hong Kong -> Adelaide. Mrs Evangelion had reserved bulkhead seats and requested a bassinet for Numpty Bub. On the first flight we had two seats on the far right row. They were not as roomy as we had expected, and the reclining position was uncomfortable.
The hostesses were dismal, to say the least. At first they told us that the bassinet was broken and therefore unavailable. Frankly, we were outraged. Then, just as a hostess was attempting to construct a makeshift bed for Numpty Bub, her senior came along and told her to stop, as this was unsafe and illegal. After about 15 minutes of further confusion, we were presented with the broken bassinet, which they strapped in place as best they could. With no alternatives, we were forced to use it.
At Hong Kong airport we found ourselves with 5 hours to kill. Thanks to the advice of some other BEP members, I located one of the private rest lounges, where I immediately haggled with the manager for a better price. She finally gave us 5 hours for the price of 2 (a total saving of £31) which I considered pretty fair. We enjoyed wonderfully hot showers, followed by several hours of free food and drink in a quiet, relaxing lounge area.
Hong Kong security was extremely tight. We were carefully checked by a horde of male and female security guards, all immaculately presented and well armed. Then they caught sight of Numpty Bub, and went completely to pieces! Hefty middle aged men with sidearms bent over her stroller and pulled funny faces while blowing raspberries; tough female guards with truncheons called their colleagues over and cooed "Baby! Baby!" while Numpty Bub revelled in the attention.
To say that Mrs Evangelion and I were fascinated and bemused is to understate the case by several orders of magnitude. I eventually counted about 7 security guards around Numpty Bub's stroller, and guiltily wondered if hordes of drug barons were taking advantage of the disruption to sneak into the country with millions of Ecstasy pills.
Our second flight was excellent. We had a middle row this time, with lots of foot room (though the seats were still narrow and uncomfortable). The hostesses were simply superb, and anticipated our needs with alarming prescience. One of them ("the cute one with the hair", as I came to think of her) devoted herself almost entirely to our care, and was never more than five feet away whenever we needed anything. She brought a bassinet as soon as it was safe to do so (a decent one in excellent condition this time!) and strapped it in carefully. Seconds later she was plying us with extra blankets and would probably have offered any number of additional services
eek: ) had we not persuaded her that we were fine.Numpty Bub was much happier and more comfortable on this flight, and so were we. A minor crisis arose when we ran out of milk for her last feed, but after a bit of whinging she settled down in time for our arrival in Adelaide. She did have her bad moments during the flight, but they weren't too desperate. I dropped a blanket over her head and loudly blamed the noise on other people's children whilst gesticulating vaguely at a bunch of seats at least 30 feet away.
Part #4: arrival.
Security at Adelaide Airport was remarkably tight, and the security guards seemed immune to Numpty Bub's charms. Our bags were checked at three different stages, and a sniffer dog successfully located a stray apple in Mrs Evangelion's cabin luggage, despite the fact that it was wrapped in plastic and buried under goodness knows what else.
At passport control we saw two lines: one for Aussie nationals and one for everyone else. We went up to the Aussie nationals counter, expecting Mrs Evangelion to be turned away; instead, a friendly chap told us that Mrs Evangelion wouldn't have to use the other line because "We prefer to keep families together", and processed all our passports in seconds!
Security at Adelaide Airport was remarkably tight, and the security guards seemed immune to Numpty Bub's charms. Our bags were checked at three different stages, and a sniffer dog successfully located a stray apple in Mrs Evangelion's cabin luggage, despite the fact that it was wrapped in plastic and buried under goodness knows what else.
At passport control we saw two lines: one for Aussie nationals and one for everyone else. We went up to the Aussie nationals counter, expecting Mrs Evangelion to be turned away; instead, a friendly chap told us that Mrs Evangelion wouldn't have to use the other line because "We prefer to keep families together", and processed all our passports in seconds!
Part #5: house becomes home.
Some of you may be aware that Mrs Evangelion and I bought our house in Adelaide about two and a half years ago, and have been renting it out ever since. This gave us the advantage of ready-made accommodation as soon as we landed.
By way of comparison, here is our UK house; a 2 bed, 1 bath semi on a block somewhere between 300 & 400 square metres:
We are currently seeking a tenant for this property, so if anyone desperately wants to live in Walsall (WS4) please let me know and I will pass on the details!
And here is our Aussie house; a 3 bed, 1 bath bungalow on an 868 square metre corner block, with an outdoor spa, a private office/study for Mrs Evangelion and a nice entertaining area at the side:
(More photos available here).
We bought this house in 2007 for $225,000 (£126,000). Our mortgage is $158,000 (£88,400) and our repayments are ~$950 (£531) per month. This is all well below half the national average.
Some of you may be aware that Mrs Evangelion and I bought our house in Adelaide about two and a half years ago, and have been renting it out ever since. This gave us the advantage of ready-made accommodation as soon as we landed.
By way of comparison, here is our UK house; a 2 bed, 1 bath semi on a block somewhere between 300 & 400 square metres:
We are currently seeking a tenant for this property, so if anyone desperately wants to live in Walsall (WS4) please let me know and I will pass on the details!
And here is our Aussie house; a 3 bed, 1 bath bungalow on an 868 square metre corner block, with an outdoor spa, a private office/study for Mrs Evangelion and a nice entertaining area at the side:
(More photos available here).
We bought this house in 2007 for $225,000 (£126,000). Our mortgage is $158,000 (£88,400) and our repayments are ~$950 (£531) per month. This is all well below half the national average.
Part #6: bureaucracy.
During our first week here, I achieved the following:
We have had no difficulties with any stage of any process. Mrs Evangelion has been able to use her passport as a form of ID, which has helped a great deal. Centrelink, in particular, has been extremely supportive (when did government deparments start employing human beings?!)
Since Mrs Evangelion entered the country on a Spouse Visa and has permanent residence, she qualifies for a Family Assistance payment. I qualify for Newstart (equivalent to Jobseekers allowance) and Numpty Bub qualifies for some sort of child support thing. Together this comes to ~$1,000 (~£560) per fortnight. It's not much, but it's enough to keep us on our feet until I can find a job. The best part is that it will cover our mortgage for a while, albeit subsidised by the cash in our savings account.
During our first week here, I achieved the following:
- Changed my license from UK to Australian (paid up for the next 10 years)
- Registered us with Centrelink (Australia's combined job centre/social services department)
- Re-registered my new details with Medicare and got a Medicare card for Mrs Evangelion
- Applied for more than a dozen jobs
- Changed the details on our Aussie bank accounts and activated the new Visa cards from our Aussie bank
- Registered us at the local medical centre
We have had no difficulties with any stage of any process. Mrs Evangelion has been able to use her passport as a form of ID, which has helped a great deal. Centrelink, in particular, has been extremely supportive (when did government deparments start employing human beings?!)
Since Mrs Evangelion entered the country on a Spouse Visa and has permanent residence, she qualifies for a Family Assistance payment. I qualify for Newstart (equivalent to Jobseekers allowance) and Numpty Bub qualifies for some sort of child support thing. Together this comes to ~$1,000 (~£560) per fortnight. It's not much, but it's enough to keep us on our feet until I can find a job. The best part is that it will cover our mortgage for a while, albeit subsidised by the cash in our savings account.
I should add a few points about our local medical centre. It is open from 07:00-22:00 7 days a week (including public holidays) and is staffed by 16 doctors. It incorporates a dentistry and is equipped with radiology, x-ray and pathology units.
All of the doctors bulk bill (click here to learn what that means) and no appointments are necessary; you just turn up and wait to be served. If you don't want the next doctor available, you can choose to have a different one. This is a huge step up from the little NHS medical centre that we had in Rushall.
Received a phone call from Bell Total Logistics yesterday, informing us that our air freight has arrived and should be released by Friday. Can't wait for that!
Got my ADSL2+ connection set up yesterday, bundled with a VoIP phone service. It's cheaper than the UK, but capped at 80Gb per month (shaping applies) so I'll have to go easy on the torrents.
All of the doctors bulk bill (click here to learn what that means) and no appointments are necessary; you just turn up and wait to be served. If you don't want the next doctor available, you can choose to have a different one. This is a huge step up from the little NHS medical centre that we had in Rushall.
Received a phone call from Bell Total Logistics yesterday, informing us that our air freight has arrived and should be released by Friday. Can't wait for that!
Got my ADSL2+ connection set up yesterday, bundled with a VoIP phone service. It's cheaper than the UK, but capped at 80Gb per month (shaping applies) so I'll have to go easy on the torrents.
Soldato
- Joined
- 7 Jan 2007
- Posts
- 10,607
- Location
- Sussex, UK
Bloody interesting! I made a thread about moving to new zealand/oz. I really wanna go in a year or two. Just need to finish my primary PGCE and I wanna do my NQT year in England. Then the worlds my oyster!!!
I'm just a little scared about going on my own. Mind you I don't see my mates here hardly, so whats the difference? no mummy to do my ironing, washing and make me din dins. I am 26 though so need to start my own life!
Anyway I'll stop talking about me, I am really jealous! Nice House btw! When can I burn my UK passport and get an Ozzie/New Zealand one?
Do you have a spare room? I could teach Numpty Bub for free! I have been CRB checked lol
I'm just a little scared about going on my own. Mind you I don't see my mates here hardly, so whats the difference? no mummy to do my ironing, washing and make me din dins. I am 26 though so need to start my own life!
Anyway I'll stop talking about me, I am really jealous! Nice House btw! When can I burn my UK passport and get an Ozzie/New Zealand one?
Do you have a spare room? I could teach Numpty Bub for free! I have been CRB checked lol
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