Work has begun on our garden - repaired fence posts, new seating area, railway sleeper borders, planter boxes, power-hosed patio slabs, shingle centre ...it's all happening (slowly!)
JD and I spent the day up in London yesterday (Jiajia was ill). JD's first choice was to revisit the HMS Belfast - we were last there 6 years ago [see photo below!]. We arrived via Paddington Station, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.  After five hours onboard (full audio tour, 2x talks, a craft session and picnic) we walked and tubed to Borough Market, St Paul's, MacDonald's for an ice-cream, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and St James' Park. Finally, a late train home for a well-earned rest!
I wasn't expecting to get a name check in the Garden Centre!  So lovely to be visited by my old College mate, Claire, yesterday. Having not met up for 8 years or so, we had a lot of catching up to do! 
A lovely day yesterday as we drove to my Uncle and Aunt's for the day. We haven't seen them on over a decade. We chatted, visited Stourhead (using our newly bought National Trust membership cards for the first time) and ended with a meal at a tasty Indian restaurant. And despite some early morning rain, we enjoyed blue skies throughout our visit.
  We still haven't got bored with our weekly visits to local Car Boot Sales. JD bought a Star Wars pencil case the other day (50p) and when he got home he found a tiny dongle inside [see right]. After some research we listed it on E-bay and received a sweet £15 profit when it sold within hours! So JD is now scouring car boot sales for bargains that he can sell online (such as the Star Wars sleeping bag, centre photo below).
My focus is on Gerry Anderson memorabilia to add to my collection. Every week I find something cool and vintage that gets my heart beating a bit faster [see annuals above and craft/characters below].
JD gave his R/C boat an outing on the River Avon that runs through Chippenham today, scaring fish, ducks and paddle boarders alike!
 There are many things that are different about life in the UK from what we were used to in China. One is water.
Tap water can't be drunk in China, but it's safe enough in the UK. However, Chippenham's water is very hard, with a strong taste. So, before we bought ourselves a Brita filter, we were buying bottled water. In China, we would buy 5 litre bottles for our water heater/cooler machine for 80p. Here, half a litre can cost over a pound! But then we discovered "own-brand diet lemonade" - 39p for 1.5 litres. Cheaper than water!  We spent a really lovely afternoon yesterday in Stratford Park, Stroud, listening to the Dodington Brass Band, which includes our good friend Stuart on euphonium [right in picture].
I went on my first Park Run for six years this morning. 240 people were out running today and I came 150th, 12th in my age range.
I was actually happy enough to get through the 5km without stopping. I finished between a blind man and a lady pushing a stroller ...I kid you not!
 Twenty packages arrived from China yesterday; boxes we sent three months ago (by sea). So now begins the slow task of opening them and deciding where everything goes. Thankfully, we got our attic boarded last month - just in time - so at least we have somewhere to store the boxes whose contents we don't need right away. It's a timely reminder of our past life, and how far we have come over the last couple of months! Six more boxes to come sometime later...
We had a lovely trip out yesterday to meet up with Jeremy and Becky - old College friends who only live half an hour's drive from us now. Jeremy and I used to play Dungeons and Dragons together and share(d) a love of sci-fi and music. It was great to meet up with them and reminisce, as we shared a yummy lunch together.  My best purchase at today's Car Boot Sale was a handful of Thunderbirds collectible cards dating back to 1966.
I bought all 13 cards for £1, but later found similar ones for sale on e-bay at £1-3 per card! So I got a pretty good bargain.
Chippenham's greatest claim to fame? Possibly the site of a 1960 car crash which took the life of 50s/60s heartthrob Eddie Cochran. The :Summertime Blues" and "Cmon Everybody!" singer was only 21 years old when a taxi taking him to Bath for a concert, lost control and crashed, ending his life. There is a memorial to Eddie Cochran not too far from where we live.  |
 AuthorPaul Hider started this blog to share his rather odd life living in China for over 20 years. Since returning to the UK in 2024, the blog now records his more "normal" lifestyle! Past blog entries
December 2024
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