The Esligers

Welcome! We thought this would be a great way to chronicle our UK posting and for everyone to be kept up-to-date on our adventures. We hope you enjoy!

Busy Week

I knew this week at work was gonna be busy. I have two projects on the go for Adult Social Care that has been hoarding all my time lately. The projects are due to complete mid May so as the deadline approaches it's picking up momentum. I racked up almost a full day of flexi time with the extra hours I worked. This is perfect as I can use the hours for next Friday when I'm off and not take annual leave. I did this last week too for the two days I took off to go to Malta. It works well as I don't have to touch my annual leave. Annual leave in this country starts at 24 days! That's double what we get at home starting out! Not all companies offer 24 days but many do. When I go back home this will be a negotiation to be had with a new employer!

I was able to speak to Keith a few times this week as he was alongside in Scotland for two days. He's doing really well and keeping super busy. He doesn't seem to mind it so far but it sounds like he doesn't have time to think about it. There are a few ships sailing together and the carrier, Ark Royal was briefly retasked to go to Spain to pick up stranded Brits. Keith's ship wasn't needed so they have started their transatlantic crossing. It'll be a fortnight now before a get to speak to him on the phone when they get into port. They have satellite phones on the ship but they're painful to talk on, so this early on we'll probably minimize talking on them. I'm doing well with him being gone. I have kept myself really busy and every time a thought of how long he's gone for creeps in I immediately dismiss it. It has worked so far. The worse thing I could do is dwell on it so I'm not. Of course I would much rather him here but that isn't an option!

After work I went shopping in Truro then went to Rach & Speedy's for dinner. Her sister is down so poor Speedy was surrounded by women watching a chick flick - 'He's Just Not That Into You' - grumbling obscenities at the TV. Haha. It was nice to spend some time with Rach and her growing belly. 3 weeks to go!

Train Back to Cornwall

Last night it was confirmed my flight back to Cornwall wasn't happening. UK airspace was still closed. I booked an early ticket on the train and was on my way at 8am this morning. Just my luck - I always travel to London via train and this was the first time I flew! Flying is much nicer when you can be there in an hour rather than a 5 hour train journey. Thankfully, Rach came and picked me up at the train station and drove me to the airport to get the car. What a nuisance! The train station is 30 minutes from home and the airport is a further 30 minutes! So after a 6.5 hour train ride (had to switch trains from April's) I had to back track to get the car. I eventually got home at 4pm. I really hope mine and April's trip to Crete in two weeks isn't like this one!

Hampton Court Palace

After much deliberation on what to do today - mostly which palace to visit - we decide on Henry the VIII's Hampton Court Palace. April and I spend 5 hours touring the palace and the amazing gardens. She has the same camera as I do so the two of us were like the paparazzi! Mid afternoon there is wine served from the fountain in one of the squares. Can't pass up that offer! How nice sitting beside a fountain at the palace, basking in the warm sun and drinking a glass of wine. My kind of day! After the palace closed we headed back to April's for supper and more wine.

I'll have to try and figure out how to compress my photos to upload some here.

Busy London

What a sleep! I feel like a new woman! So what does today bring? I found an internet cafe where I could chat with April on msn to make plans for the evening. She's one of the Canadians here that I met on one of the Xmas Markets trips and lives just outside London. Once a plan was made I headed to St Paul's Cathedral. At this point I have already thought I should never have left Cornwall - cancelled flight, mobile phone running out of credit and the top-up system is down, my phone is now almost dead because I used it so much yesterday and I didn't bring my charger as the charge normally lasts a week and now there are significant delays and many routes on the underground trains are halted due to a person under one of the trains! It takes me over an hour and 4 tube rides to get to where I want to go rather than 20 mins and 2 tube rides. The disturbing thing was the announcements at the tube stations stating a person is under a train! Grim!

St Paul's Cathedral is beautiful. I've been here before but not inside. It is amazing to stand inside and look up the aisle imagining this is where Princess Di and Prince Charles were married. I tour the cathedral and buy a few trinkets. I have to say it is beautiful but not as impressive as Westminster Abbey or St Peter's Basilica in Rome. After my tour I decided to catch a bus to my destination as the tube is still experiencing delays. I haven't used the London bus system before - how hard can it be. After figuring out on the map where I am I see the bus should run almost the same journey as the tube I need back to my hotel. So I walk to that bus stop and am on my way. I have to make one switch to get to my hotel and it was that easy. Minus the mass amounts of traffic! I know now why I take the tube - traffic doesn't slow it down! The bus was great as it was a double decker so I could easily see parts of London I haven't seen before. But because it's London it's always busy then add on that it's a Friday and it's sunny! Way too many people for my liking! It is great to be here but doesn't quite compare to a warm Mediterranean Island! I know, poor me 'stuck' in London but for those at home it would be like traveling to Halifax then finding out your Dominican trip is cancelled so you end up spending the time in Halifax - a city you travelled 5 hours to and have been many times. It's just not the same is it?

April meets me for dinner at a noodle bar in Chinatown then we stop into a nice cocktail bar for dessert and a drink. Then it's off to see Mamma Mia the musical! These seats are even better than the one I had last night at Phantom. I may have spent a small fortune on seeing two shows! Mamma Mia was awesome! Very funny and a feel good show the same as the movie. At the end the few hundred people in the theatre were standing up signing and dancing in their seats! Fab! Tonight I'm crashing at April's so we head back to her place in Farnborough.

Malta a Bust!

Another short week at work! Wednesday night after work I flew to London as my flight to Malta was leaving at stupid o'clock Thursday morning. I met Stacey, D'Arcy and the kids at our hotel and the next morning at 5am we were on our way to Gatwick airport. As soon as we arrived we were told our flight was cancelled. Well that sucks! Stacey and family went back to the hotel but I stayed at the airport. I was determined to go somewhere even if it wasn't Malta.

At this point some flights were still departing so I had hope. The queue for the internet computers was painful as everyone was trying to rebook their flights. Once I got on the computer the speed of the internet was even more painful. After looking at several options and trying to get on Eurostar's website without any luck I decided to speak with some of the airline desks. British Airways was my first stop and I quickly learned I wasn't going anywhere quick! He did tell me that Air Malta's morning flight was possibly going so I hoped on the airport bus and went to the other terminal to check it out. The North terminal was more insane than the South! Mass amounts of people, many taking up a spot on the floor waiting on the fate of their journey. I spoke to a random ticket agent about the Air Malta flight and she said Air Malta was deciding at 9am if the flight would go and she wasn't able to give me a price. It's 6:30am at this point. Ugh. I guess I'll find a floor space like the rest.

At 9am I went back to the desk and the flight was on but extortionately priced - more expensive for a one way ticket than my entire return journey with EasyJet! That was a quick decision maker! At that point I came to the realization I wasn't going anywhere. Atleast not abroad. So London it is. I went back to the internet computers and booked myself a hotel. By 10:30am I was on the Gatwick Express into London. If I'm staying in London I'm seeing a show! I went straight to Leicester Square to the ticket agent and bought a decent seat at Phantom of the Opera's evening show. I eventually made it to the hotel and crashed for an hour and a half. Feeling a bit refreshed I headed back out for dinner and the show. Phantom was amazing! I would gladly see it again. I so can't wait to hit the hay after this day!

Ladies Who Lunch

Ah another morning of birds chirping and sun shining. Yay!

I was out of bed at 8:30am and started my many hours of cleaning. I had no intentions of it taking so long but I got in a groove. Bathrooms cleaned, floors vacuumed, floors mopped, house tidied, laundry done and hung out, recyclables taken to the tip, groceries bought and many other things! Whew I need a nap!

Met the girls (Sarah, Stef and Elly) for lunch in Falmouth at Gylly Beach cafe. It was nice to catch up and be around other girls who are all in the same boat. Two of them have their partners away with Keith and Stef's husband is in Oman. It's comforting to be around those who understand life as a military spouse and dealing with our husbands/partners away for extended periods and just getting on living life on your own.

Mowing & Brandy

Glorious sunshine! I absolutely love waking up in the morning to hear the birds chirping and opening the curtains to a bright sunny day with beautiful blue skies.

Unfortunately just because Keith goes away doesn't mean the mowing does! I have fought this chore but have finally succumb. I figure I should do it at least once...I guess. Ugh. So on Wednesday Keith gave me a tutorial! I had no idea how to even start the damn thing! So here goes my first attempt. The most hilarious part was definitely trying to start it! I reckon I could put my back out! Haha. We have quite a large lawn so I got on with it and finished in 45 minutes! This was impressive as it normally takes Keith about that. I was determined to do it as fast! It isn't pristine like his but it looks good and the main thing is - it's done! I was completely knackered afterwards as my scrawny arms had a good workout. I understand now why gardening burns so many calories and I have confirmed that mowing is definitely a blue job!

Last fall Keith and I made apricot brandy and sloe gin. To entertain myself I decided I would start a few batches of brandy today. As I couldn't get apricots, I decided on plum, apple & pomegranate and mango. I now have 3 lovely jars slowly preparing themselves to be consumed in 3 months. It's the easiest thing to make. It's basically fruit, sugar and cheap vodka mixed in a glass jar for approx 3 months. The fruit flavours the vodka and the sugar sweetens it and makes it syrupy. It is so good! Hopefully these ones will be as good as the apricot. Now the painstaking wait to try it!

Keith Deploys

Keith deployed this morning for an 8 month tour! The first few weeks he is off the coast of Scotland then they begin their transit across the Atlantic. The ships will then spend the next 4 months sailing with the Canadians, Americans and many other countries doing exercises. Somewhere between mid July and mid August he'll have two weeks of leave which I'm planning on meeting him home for - or somewhere in North America! If we're lucky we can spend the time in NB with his family. After his leave the ship will sail to the Falkland Islands which are off the coast of Argentina. It will be a very long deployment. To keep myself busy I have booked a few trips over the next 8 weeks. Malta next week, Crete the first weekend in May and Sweden & Norway the last weekend in May. The first two trips will be with other Canadians and the Scandinavian trip will be on my own! It should be an interesting adventure!

This morning was obviously sad to say our goodbyes but my coping mechanism is to not focus on the length of time he's gone for otherwise I'll go crazy. However, while at work I saw the two Merlins fly by my window on their way! I shed a few tears watching my babe leave. :( It was helpful to have a bowling night with work tonight to keep my mind off it all. These months will definitely have their ups and downs.

I think the hardest thing about having him away is the communication. It tends to be erratic with no constant contact. Depending on where they are and what they're doing the satellite can be down which means no phones or email. Each time I receive an email I never know when the next one will arrive. It could be tomorrow, it could be next week. And I just have to assume that everything is okay if days go by as there's no way for him to give me the heads up he'll be out of contact. Not having him here to kiss and hug me when I come home and ask how my day was is tough. I have to talk about everything via email and of course it's just not the same. He only gets 30 minutes a week to call - that's not much time to hear his voice and cover everything from the week. It can be stressful trying to figure out what to talk about - you don't want to spend those few minutes chatting about house stuff like bills/errands/etc. You want to chat about how you're feeling but you don't because you don't want to have an emotional phone call. It's difficult! And what if you miss THAT call! This means showering with the phone and basically carrying it with you everywhere throughout the house so you don't miss it! Oh the things to look forward to!

Anyway, last night we had a great evening. It was sunny and warm so we barbecued a feast and sat outside at the picnic table and enjoyed a few drinks soaking up the great weather together. I will miss those spring/summer evenings together.

The Last Two Years!

So it's been almost 2 years since I updated the blog! Where does the time go!? I seem to be good at keeping myself busy or making excuses to not update. Anyway, here I am! And here's a brief summary of our 2008-2009:

My first trip home to Canada was fantastic! It was so good to see family and friends after a year of being away. I was able to do loads of visiting and hiking and even got in some lobster fishing. What a treat since I didn't get any lobster last year! My cousin Tanya came back with me to the UK and we spent a very busy 2 weeks showing her around Cornwall, Bath and London. We had a blast!

I was very lucky to have a good friend Jamie move to the UK while I was at home. Jamie stayed with us for a few months and we did lots of touring around the UK. We even made a trip to Paris to see Madonna in concert! What an experience! Paris is an amazing city!

In September, I started work at Cornwall County Council as a Programme Analyst. I was originally brought on for 6 months but then I was extended another 6 months. I then moved to an internal 6 month contract. During that internal contract I went through a competitive recruitment process for my job and got it! I'm now a permanent employee. Thankfully as I need to support my travel habit!

End November I went on my second Xmas markets trip to Europe. This year we went to The Netherlands (aka Holland), Germany and Belgium. It was another fun trip but I highly recommend the German markets over the Holland ones. We (including Jamie) spent Xmas in Devon with Dale and Lauren and family.

Most of 2009 was spent wedding planning. It was great to finally be able to have a wedding! We had an awesome day. The wedding and reception were held at the Point Cottages at home in Ingonish.

I was very lucky to do several trips in 2009. In April I met Keith in Muscat, Oman and spent a few days lounging on a beach in 35C temps. After I left Oman I spent a few days in Dubai on my own. What a trip! The Middle East is such a contrast to here and it was amazing to experience it. Keith and I went on a WWI tour with the Canadian detachment to Belgium and France. That was another amazing experience. We hope to do a WWII someday. In August we went to the Lake District in northern England with Dale, Lauren and kids. What a beautiful place! Mountains and lakes as far as the eye can see. Stunning! Then it was home to Canada! Had another great visit although most if it was consumed by wedding planning.

Matthew came back with me this time around and stayed with us for a few months. I took full advantage of having a travel buddy as Keith isn't much of a traveler. Matthew and I went to Dublin, Ireland in November, Frankfurt, Germany for the Xmas markets in December and finally Rome, Italy in January! There was no shortages of stamps in our passports!

In July Keith and I were lucky (along with many other Canadian Forces members) to attend the annual Queen's Garden Party! What a treat to have lunch at Buckingham Palace and see the Queen!

Keith had many trips away last year with his squadron doing the Oman rotation. He spent approx 4 months in Oman over different periods, went to Norway and did some training in Southern England. He was probably gone for a total of just under 6 months of the year.

That's all the big stuff I can think of over the last 2 years. So that's a quick summary of what we've been up to! I'm sure I've missed some stuff! I'm going to try to keep this updated now that Keith away.