Sunday, October 14, 2007: Moving to Bedford
Has it just been three days?? It seems like we’ve been here much longer than that, we’ve done so much!
We’re staying in a rather rustic B&B, the Hertford House (pronounced Hart-ford) on de Parys (d’Paris) Avenue – it seems like the pronunciation of a word is rather different from its spelling, which means that we often have to ask someone how to spell a street name so that we can find it on the map!
Thursday was spent settling in, lugging all our duffle bags into our room, and renting a car. We found the public library, got a temporary card, and logged into their WiFi – something we’ve been able to do even when the library is closed. You can find us most evenings sitting on a bench across from the library checking our email., fortunately the weather has been mild.
On Friday we went over to the Putnoe Medical Center to meet with the staff and get a tour of the facility. Everyone seems very nice, the doctors are all rather young, energetic, and all seem very happy – I think Den is going to fit in very well, and enjoy his time there.
On Saturday, one of the docs, Ruppert Bankart (who was born in Germany, lived the first three years of his life in Pakistan, then his childhood in England) and his wife, Uli (born and raised in Germany) had us over for lunch. Then, Uli drove us around Bedford to suggest which neighborhoods would be good, and which would be bad. It’s really not all that big a city, there are parts that are quite lovely, others that are rather shabby. Most buildings are brick – and I think we’ve walked a good portion of it.
We’ve talked to a couple of estate agents – you have to go to the agent that has the place for rent, rather than find an agent who can look for places for you. Also, the person living in the property pays the “council tax” (what we would call property tax), rather than the owner, so that can add another 100 pounds a month to the cost. That meant we had to re-adjust our range lower than we had first anticipated. Uli drove us to several quaint villages, but although several are only a couple of miles out of the city, we decided that we want to be closer into the city center.
Perhaps the most challenging thing is driving on the left – whoa, am I glad Den is behind the wheel! We’ve only come to blows a couple of times, and that was today when we drove to Milton Keynes to go to IKEA and Tesco, the local mega department store. Although Milton Keynes is less than 20 miles away, it takes quite a bit of time to drive there – mostly due to the traffic, partly due to the round-abouts.
Ah, the roundabouts – these are terrifying, but are actually quite reasonable ways to turn corners without having to stop for turning across traffic. Stay left…stay left….stay left! Our mantra!
It’s true that things are expensive – I see the prices in pounds and think, oh, that’s reasonable, but then have to double them to get the US dollar amount, and then it’s: oh, that’s expensive!
Tomorrow we’ll get to see the inside of several rental units – I’m anxious to see what they look like. It’s interesting that “mixers” (which we think are faucets that combine the cold and hot water) seem to be a selling point! I’ll be glad when we find a place to live – so, more tomorrow after we’ve seen a few places.
October 15, Monday: $1000 Gets You THIS?
A rather depressing day – we saw one place that would be OK, it was on Hartington Street in the Minister’s (?), but the rooms were so tiny, I don’t think a single bed would fit into the second bedroom, and the ceilings were low, but it was clean, there were wood laminate floors, slate floor in the kitchen, which was long and very narrow, but had fairly new appliances, and there was a small back garden. It was the best of what we saw.
October 16, Tuesday: This Will Do: Flat 4 – 60 Castle Road
We saw a couple more flats today with Robert from Lenwell. One would be perfect, if we could wait two months for it to be completed – but, we decided on a one-bedroom on Castle Road, a lovely area close to everything: shopping, the embankment, Den’s work. Although it has only one bedroom, the rooms are larger than any we’ve seen and the kitchen is OK, an icebox (will we never have ice cream??), there’s a single fluorescent light bulb hanging exposed from the kitchen ceiling, and a few other funky things. But, this will do. It’s time to move out of the B&B.
October 17, Wednesday: WiFi’ing at the Library and Setting up Banking
Each day we spend time at the library checking email and researching things we need – we’re in a quandary about what to do about getting home broadband, there are so many options, schemes, and companies, and it’s difficult to compare them.
We met a very nice woman at HSBC who has helped us quite a bit in setting up a bank account with debit and credit cards. We had heard horror stories of getting this done, but I think things have improved a bit since we read about those on the expat web sites. Although, it was a lot of paperwork and took most of the morning, we walked out with an account, and checks, credit and debit cards on order.
October 18, Thursday: Drew’s Birthday and a Visit to IKEA
We made a list and headed out to IKEA, something we needed to do before giving up the car. It was a grueling day, but we got a bed, mattress, linens, a wardrobe (because there’s not a closet), dishes, glassware, silverware, and a variety of kitchen utensils. At one point, I asked Den if he liked this pot holder or that one? His eyes glazed, he could barely raise enough energy to shrug his shoulder! Poor man! It took at least half an hour to get our US credit card approved, another half hour to get delivery arranged. So, after five exhausting hours, we were on our way home!
October 19, Friday: Anne Does the Laundry
Whoa – this has been the biggest sticker shock of all. While Den went to do some work at Putnoe, I took our laundry across the street to a Laundromat that we had checked out. What would have cost me $5.75 in Seattle cost a whopping $23!! Geez, I guess we’ll be a bit more conservative in throwing things into the laundry!
October 20, Saturday: A World Without Wheels
We returned the car (without a scratch or dent) yesterday, so today we experienced life on foot. Fortunately, Bedford is quite compact, so it’s possible to get around pretty well without a car. The buses are expensive (well, what isn’t?), so walking it will be. We checked out a bicycle shop today – Den’s interested in a spiffy folding bike, I’m more of the sturdy “Miss Marple” bike.
We found a movie theater – cinema, rather – it was a walk, but we enjoyed eating popcorn and watching Ratatouille, which was about the only non-violent movie in the multi-plex.
October 21, Sunday: The Bedford Museum
Today was a sunny, bright day so we headed out to find coffee before going to the museum. We found a sunny spot in an outdoor area across from the Corn Exchange in downtown Bedford Center. There was a large contingency of motorcycles and a few Vespas, so Den was enjoying the scenery.
The small museum has an exhibit called Gold, Coins, and Saxons in Bedfordshire. We learned a lot about Bedford history, which of course, stretches back centuries. Like most things here.
October 22, Monday: Den goes to work – Daily diagnosis: Wind
I’ll miss Claudia, who cooks and cleans at the B&B – she’s a friendly face each morning. Claudia is from Columbia and has been in England for several years, but wants to move to Rome to learn how to refinish antiques. So many people here are from other places, and are married to people from even other places.
This was my first day by myself. I met with the Lenwell Property Management folks to set up the rental agreement, and I got the keys – I had thought we wouldn’t get them until tomorrow. So began to get things arranged for moving into the flat. I had seen a sideboard in a thrift store, and after a couple of days, I just decided to go ahead and get it – I’d be disappointed if it was gone if I went back for it.
October 23, Tuesday: Moving Day and Waiting for IKEA
Last night we packed up all our stuff into the duffels and all the extra bags we had gotten from IKEA, Tesco, and Costco. I walked over to 60 Castle and opened things up, and did a bit of cleaning. Over his lunch hour, Den, with the help of Andy Cunliffe and his van, brought all our things from the Hertford House B&B.
IKEA arrived around 2:00, bringing our bed and wardrobe closet and one of their big blue bags filled with all the other stuff we got. Hallelujah – we’ve got a bed to sleep on! Of course, we had to put it together first.
October 24, Wednesday: Woe be to Wootten
Den was to meet up with Neal, the PA from Portland Oregon who is the President of the UK Association of PAs and was instrumental in getting Den the position over here. His surgery is in Wooten, a small village not far from Bedford. So, I decided to go along with Den on the bus and I’d explore the village while he spent the morning with Neal. After all, we came to England to see it!
After a blustery walk to the bus station, and about a half hour ride through the outskirts of Bedford and through the countryside to Wooten, the bus driver let us off the side of the road – I think he had forgotten to tell us to get off where we requested. So, we walked back to the main road and Den headed off for the clinic. And, I went in search of coffee and quaint shops. Well, as it turns out, the newspaper shop was the only thing open, and the proprietress explained there were no coffee shops, tea shops, just a school, church and cemetery, and a small grocery, and homes. “It’s just a little village, luv” she explained. So, I ended up at the clinic reading my book and checking out some broadband sites on a computer there.
When we got back into Bedford, I took Den over to the British Heart Association thrift store to look at a table and chairs, and we just decided to get them and have them delivered with the side board. At a ?100, it’s probably not that much less than what we’d get it at IKEA, but it’s here and it’s put together and it can be delivered tomorrow, all good things.
October 25, Thursday: Our first evening out: Jazz Night at Fresco’s Coffee Shop
Right at the stroke of noon, two nice fellows delivered the sideboard, table, and chairs – they really had to maneuver it around the narrow stairwell, but I think they must be used to such spaces. It’s great having real furniture, and what a joy to sit down on a chair at a table! The simple things in life!
There’s a small neighborhood coffee shop that has jazz once a month during the evening hours, and serve some nice entrees (the dessert left something to be desired). It’s a nice venue, but we hadn’t thought of I Left My Heart in San Francisco as a jazz tune.
October 26, Friday: A Conversation Over Toilet Bowl Brushes
Almost everyday, I get up and have some project to do. It’s all about problem solving. We need to have some way store all this paperwork, how will we store silverware and cutlery without any drawers, how can I read at night while Den is sleeping. So, I start out with a list and look for good buys, often in thrift stores or TK Max (just like TJ Max) or Tescos. Then, I carry way too much stuff home – I’m beginning to feel like a pack horse, and my shoulders are feeling it, too!
Today, I was in search of a toilet bowl brush and bathroom wastebasket. And so was a little old, rather regal looking lady (typical British?). She immediately began talking about how expensive all this was. All she wanted was a nice toilet bowl brush and it was 97p, really wasn’t that outrageous? I commiserated with her, although I thought it seemed fairly reasonable compared to some other things I’d been pricing. Soon, I was hearing all about her doctor-son, doctor-daughter, and geophysicist-son, as well as the polite little boy that lives in her flat, what with so few nice polite little boys these days. All of a sudden I realized this was the longest conversation I’ve had with anyone in days! We both bought those 97p toilet bowl brushes.
October 27, Saturday: Broadband Bruhaha or in a Cyber Dilemma
The WHOLE day spent trying to figure out how to get broadband to our flat – what an exhausting day! We had finally made the decision to go with Talk Talk, using a BT phone line, but then found out the British Telecom wanted ?124 to activate the line, and we decided that was way too much, considering that we may not be in this flat for more than 6 months. So, we had to go back to square one, and we finally just went with Virgin, the only provider that does not need/use a BT phone line. No wonder that’s what was in this place when we moved in. That should have been a clue!
October 28, Sunday: Packing Home a Tesco Vacuum
Another day spent fitting out the flat. I needed Den to help carry home a vacuum!
October 29, Monday: I See Flat #2
Susan lives downstairs in flat #2. The day after we moved in, she slipped a card under our door to welcome us to the house. She’s been very friendly, and invited me into see her flat. Well, it is soooo much bigger than where we are. It’s on the ground floor and probably gets a bit dark as it doesn’t have windows on all sides, but it’s large, has a gas hob, new kitchen cabinets with drawers! Also, a guest bath, as well as an in-suite bathroom with a shower off her large bedroom. AND, a walk-in closet! I bet it even has a bathroom sink with a mixer!
We’ve now met all the people living in the flat, except for Peter in #1, who is here only a weekend or so each month. There’s Emily and Kirsten upstairs in #5, and Mechelle and Bernard in #3, which is also on our floor. Evidently, Susan is moving out of #2 (wonder why she didn’t tell me?), but the same person who owns our flat also owns #2. Hmm….
October 30, Tuesday: Yes, They’re Canadian Geese
I stopped at Lenwell to see if there was any chance we might be able to move into flat #2 when it is vacated in December. It would be sooo nice if we could have a bit more room, and a closet, and a shower, and a gas hob, and access to the garden. I would, however, miss our lovely views of the backyard garden and surrounding trees. I find I’m often looking out those windows to the fall colors, the squirrels that leap from tree to tree, the birds – it’s really nice.
I walked to Tescos (again today), which takes me through the park at the embankment. The days have been wonderfully sunny and crisp; people are often in the park with prams and dogs. Today, as I walked over the bridge, I stopped to admire the swans, geese, and ducks. And, once again wondered if these were Canadian geese. There was a cute grey-haired couple sitting on a sunny park bench, so I stopped to ask about the geese. And, indeed, these are Canadian geese! Who would have thought! This has now become my longest conversation.
October 31, Wednesday: Halloween, really?
Our flat is at the back of the house, so we didn’t anticipate any trick or treaters, and only one time did our door buzzer get buzzed. Den said there were quite a few costumed kids out and about, even well after dark.