After all the excitement of my citizenship ceremony and all the stress of the months leading up to this final step, I was quite worn out….I had also been working the last two weeks and that alone leaves me quite ready for a break. So to that end, I spent the first 3 days of my new found citizenship hibernating…..I didn’t step outdoors at all except once to throw out the trash. Instead I switched off all my social media, left my computer in it’s case and curling up on the couch I read and read and read accompanied by copious amounts of tea
….I’m British now, it’s my obligation to drink tea!!
The first book I read on Friday was by a hitherto unread author: Jenny Colgan – ‘Little Beach Street Bakery’. A delightful romp in a Cornish village on a Cornish island off the mainland near Plymouth (which is in Devon). A comedic light read, I found the story enchanting and found myself yearning to pack my bags and move to Cornwall and open a bakery! The sense of community, albeit with it’s fair share of villains and crackpots, gave me a warm fuzzy feeling that ran from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. I can highly recommend this book for a Sunday afternoon when you can just sit and relax and let the cares of the world fade into oblivion while you slip between the covers and enjoy a delightful journey to Cornwall. Be warned though, there are some tears to be shed!
The 2nd book that I read, on Saturday (I’m a quick reader and usually manage to finish a book in one day), was an old favourite: Ian Rankin – ‘Standing in another man’s grave’, featuring Inspector John Rebus, that curmudgeonly Police Inspector from Scotland. I love Ian Rankin’s books, tight, tense and fast paced but so highly descriptive you feel like you’re almost travelling in the same car as yer man Rebus. I thoroughly enjoyed this story; with enough twists and turns to make you dizzy it raced through the Scottish Highlands at an alarming rate. It always gives me a thrill to read about places I have visited since living in the UK, and this book didn’t disappoint….with a visit to Chanonry Point of particular delight as I spent many an afternoon or early morning at that very place during an assignment nearby a few years ago.
However, I didn’t get to see any dolphins….perhaps a return visit is on the cards.
After reading the two books and returning briefly to instagram, I posted a photo of the books and commented on how much I had enjoyed them. One of my instagram friends then said she had ordered Jenny Colgan’s book for a friend and someone else mentioned a book that had been released by a friend of her that she thought I might enjoy: Clare Harvey ‘The Gunner Girl’. I ordered the book and look forward to sharing my thoughts once I have read it.
I’m heading up to London for the day on Thursday, one to finalise my passport application and please god it gets back to me before my SA trip and to visit the dentist….that I am not looking forward to, but it’s now rather urgent. Other than that I’m heading to Ramsgate on Saturday for the Spitfire 80th anniversary events. Well excited for that. On Sunday of course here in the UK it’s Mother’s Day and apparently my daughter has planned a super surprise which I’m really looking forward to.
Needless to say we had to explore the area, so since we still had about an hour and a half before the ceremony we walked along the riverside of the palace and onto a nearby footbridge for a better view…oh my gosh it’s gorgeous.
And what a location!! We stopped briefly at the College of All Saint’s founded in 1395 by Archbishop Courtenay and admired the nearby Church of All Saints; chock a block with history.
In no time at all we had stood to declare our names and swear allegiance to Queen and Country.
I felt totally bemused and as my daughter said, I looked a bit shell-shocked….I was in a state of disbelief. After all these years, finally I had applied and before I even had time to think about it, it was all done and dusted!!
I got my certificate, posed for photos with a representative of The Queen as well as a representative of Kent County Council and then we all, in good old British tradition, retired for tea and cake 🙂
Who would have known when I bounced through Johannesburg International Airport on the 8th October 2001 for a 4 month holiday in Ireland, that I would less than 15 years later be the citizen of a different country…..but so it is. And I am thrilled beyond words. I am a British Citizen!!
Once I find what I am looking for, I shall be off. I plan to travel and work, work and travel. Mostly in the spring, summer and autumn months and in winter I shall head to Europe. What a plan!!! 🙂 Why not come along with me and see all the wonderful things I shall see.
That aspect is so exciting I cannot even begin to express what it means, except to say that being able to just jump on a ferry and cross to France is beyond amazing. No more stress of having to book appointments and apply for a Schengen visa, to pay for a lawyer to give me a letter to say I am who I am (£85!!) for 25 minutes of his time…I should have an income like that!! And then to make another appointment to collect the visa and meanwhile unable to work or having to cut short an assignment in order to collect it. Being self-employed is great and I love the freedom of it, however it’s very difficult to organise things where you have no control over the schedules/dates made by officialdom.
To be fair I’d say at least 96% of my clients like my cooking…..but now and then we get someone who considers they have a discerning palate and find my meals unsatisfactory. Thank goodness this doesn’t bother me, I know I cook nice meals. 😉
The views out to sea are far and flat. Perfect for a sunrise and sunset. What does surprise me though is that they haven’t built any wind-farms out to sea!! It seems the perfect place really…no shipping to speak of and it doesn’t seem to be on a migratory route for birds.
I saw a motor-home similar to the model I want to buy for myself in 4 years’ time… I quizzed the owner about how comfortable it is to live in for an extended period, how spacious it may be within, how easy to drive, packing space, sleeping space, if light on fuel? It seems to be good from his account. I’m thinking something a wee bit bigger would be good for me. I shall keep looking. Most importantly I have to be able to stand up in it and have space for my computer and a stereo!! Oh and my helicopter camera.
The focus of the exhibition has been these 3 ladies and some of their significant dresses; dresses that were seen at major functions, for state occasions, glittering balls, overseas visits and so on. Every dress had to be carefully considered, made to measure and to suit the event, as well as keeping up with ‘fashion’ trends.
Finally at Dumpton Gap we climbed to the cliff-top and made the rest of our walk with a somewhat different view of the seas; a churned up brown expanse of raging waves.
and the quirky architecture, Ramsgate has many links to the royal family and Charles Dickens. Princess Victoria convalesced at Albion House in Ramsgate for 6 months while recovering from a serious bout of typhoid.
Besides that Ramsgate Harbour has the unique distinction of being the only harbour in the United Kingdom awarded the right to call itself a Royal Harbour; bestowed by King George IV as a thank you for the hospitality shown by the people of Ramsgate when he used the harbour to depart and return with the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1821.
There is no way anyone would have been able to attack very easily.
We moved here in October 2014 and although I wasn’t at first really that keen to move so far from London, as soon as I visited for the first time I just fell in love with this little town.
Going back to the 1500’s there is loads of history linked to Broadstairs – namely Charles Dickens who lived in Broadstairs a number of times and stayed at the Royal Albion Hotel, where my daughter and I frequently have tea and pastries when I come home after my last job,
as well as which, what is now known as Bleak House,
and the Duke of Wellington who apparently had barracks in the town for his soldiers during the war against Napoleon in Belgium. A few months ago in June of 2015 Broadstairs played a leading role in the Waterloo 200 commemorations. After the battle at Waterloo, once Napoleon’s standard had been captured, some of his troops sailed across the channel with the standard intent on reaching London. They were tossed about by tide and winds and landed on the beach in Viking Bay in Broadstairs. There was a reenactment in Broadstairs with the New Waterloo Despatch delivered by boat, reported to the Constable on duty and thence to London by coach…..very exciting it was.
Not Just a Granny 
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