Four Become Three

Today we leave the UK and return to Tanzania. We’ve spent a fabulous time in the UK for just about seven weeks. In that time we have travelled the length and breadth of England, visiting friends and relatives along the way, but now our time here is coming to an end. Perhaps because our stay has been fragmented between different locations (our longest stay in any one place was 13 days) time has flown quickly. We have taken a lot in and caught up with most (though sadly not all) of the people we wanted too. Being a visitor in our former homelands has been strange but friends and family have been generous and kind, we have had many meals and shared good times across the land.

One of our purposes here was to prepare our eldest for University. In just over three weeks from now he will start at his favoured University to study a degree in English Literature, History and Drama Studies. The next phase of his life is starting and so will ours. 

Our family has been four for almost 16 years, since our youngest was born. It’s difficult to remember a time when we were three, but even then he was there as a toddler – a part of our family for 18+ years. Now our family must change, readjust, re-balance to reflect the changing dynamic of daily life. It’s going to be wierd, disconcerting, challenging even.

Our son does not cease to be part of the family, but the relationship will change. New experiences for him and for us will undoubtedly separate us a little. This was always going to happen, it’s inevitability established on the timeline from the moment he was born. We have brought our son up from baby to toddler to child to teenager and now to a young adult. We have done our bit and set him up for the next phase of his life. 

The fact we are 4000 miles away rather than 400 miles  or 40 miles (the distance I moved away from my parents) makes this departure more geographically stark, but in truth when you leave home, you never quite return the same person. The next few years are going to be exciting and life changing. We must embrace it and look on the positive side. For today there will be sadness as four become three but we look forward to our reunion in time to come and the stories we will be able to share.

Familiar Haunts: Nottingham University

Our time in England has been a time of reminiscing, firstly back in MK and now in Lincoln. These two places where I lived for 38 years in total are so familiar, but for four years in between these two places I lived in Nottingham so it was good to visit the place I spent my University Years.

Nottingham University

I spent two years living on Campus in Halls and a total of four years studying my degree and PGCE – the place is familiar, yet in 28 years the place has changed a lot.

Once place which has changed little is the University Park

 

 

 

Familiar Haunts: Swanholme & Hartsholme

Our time in England has been a time of reminiscing, firstly back in MK and now in Lincoln. These two places where I lived for 38 years in total, so familiar. As well as visiting old friends it has been a chance to revisit places – familiar haunts.

Swanholme & Hartsholme Lakes

Right on our doorstep in Lincoln is an area of woodland and gravel pit reservoirs.

Familiar Haunts: Whisby Nature Reserve

Our time in England has been a time of reminiscing, firstly back in MK and now in Lincoln. These two places where I lived for 38 years in total, so familiar. As well as visiting old friends it has been a chance to revisit places – familiar haunts.

Whisby Nature Reserve

An opportunity to catch up with family and visit Whisby Nature Reserve. A wetland reserve on the edge of Lincoln.

 

Familiar Haunts: Grand Union Canal

Our time in England has been a time of reminiscing, firstly back in MK and now in Lincoln. These two places where I lived for 38 years in total, so familiar. As well as visiting old friends it has been a chance to revisit places – familiar haunts.

Grand Union Canal

A place of many runs in combination with Caldecotte Lake. Narrow boats and wildlife. This pictures from recent and past visits.

Familiar Haunts: Caldecotte Lake

Our time in England has been a time of reminiscing, firstly back in MK and now in Lincoln. These two places where I lived for 38 years in total, so familiar. As well as visiting old friends it has been a chance to revisit places – familiar haunts.

Caldecotte Lake

Probably the place I visited most often in my time in MK – place of countless runs and walks over the years. We walked it On one of the hottest days of the U.K. this year. A large lake on our old doorstep when we lived there.

 

A Trip to the Seaside

Yesterday we paid a visit to the seaside – part of a longer trip to the place where we hope (results depending) our eldest will be living over the next few years whilst at University.

Then it was down to the beach for a afternoon at the British Seaside (West Witterham). It was a lovely afternoon and though it was never going to match the temperatures of Zanzibar or Tanga- the sea was pleasantly warm as indeed was  the breeze – a fabulous way to enjoy a sunny afternoon. We even took a paddle in the English Channel (part of the Atlantic Ocean).

Then a short drive along the coast to Bognor Regis for “fish and chips” – (though as a non-fish eater it was Saveloy) on the shingle beach in the evening sun. All very British!

Slipping Right Back In?

I am not sure what I expected upon our return visit to the UK this summer but I’m pleasantly surprised that for me at least it is very much a case of picking up where I left off in 2014. I imagined that there might be a greater discontinuity or even culture shock but it hasn’t as yet been manifest.

Perhaps the effects of Social Media, FaceTime, the BBC News App on my phone and a 4G has meant that a tenuous link to the UK remained even though I was well off the beaten track in Mwanza.
We are in the midst of a week long return to MK and yesterday had a great time catching up with old friends at St Mary’s Bletchley. Whilst much had changed in the Church Yard, it seemed to us that it was very much the same SMB we left in 2014. It was good to be part of that community again.  MK itself seems little different – a few new buildings in this ever changing new city but familiar nonetheless. 
We have all got older of course and the changes are most apparent in the friends of our children and in the older folk we have met. Even so most people are as they were. Here lies the most obvious difference. 

I suppose the past two years for us have opened us to a very different way of life and a plethora of experiences. Yet perhaps outwardly we have changed little too other than a slight tan and the use of a few expat colloquialisms. Yet sitting here in MK, we are visitors, curious onlookers no longer residents.

I wonder whether the longer we are away from Britain, the bigger the differences will become.

MK Bound

Today we arrived back in MK my home for 26 years prior to moving out to Mwanza. We are staying on a campsite to the north of the city.  A picturesque landscape of woodland and lakes near Olney.

It’s the first time back in MK and a great opportunity to catch up with old friends. 

We’ve actually been back in the UK a week now. Surprisingly it has not been the culture shock we anticipated – for me I have slipped back into the UK environment with no real surprises, though it has felt a bit cold. Maybe the 40+ years of UK living have made the experience much more ‘normal’ than I expected after two years on the equator. ​

Having initially stayed with family near Abingdon it gave  an opportunity to visit ex-colleagues in Thame and it was good to catch up and see them. Life has changed little, it seems, though perhaps I detect a slightly greater pressure on all as they embrace the challenges of the British Education Reforms – something I am glad to have escaped.

This week a chance for the kids to catch up with school friends and us all to meet church friends and wider MK friends as well as family. It also gives us a chance to sort out things for our son’s impending entry into University. MK’s reassuring familiarity is a real bonus. 

Trick of the Light

One of the strangest things to us about our return to the UK has been the sudden exposure to the extended daylight of the northern hemisphere summer.

Waking up first thing and heading to the bathroom emerging into the light to realise that it’s only 5:30am.

Sitting in the lounge and realising it’s 9pm even though it’s still light.

It’s only two years since this was the norm but you get used to the consistency. If it’s dark it’s either before 7am or after 7pm. The pattern is virtually fixed with limited changes as you move through the year. 

We took the opportunity to go for a walk after our evening meal last night and it was strange to walk through a local nature reserve at 8pm. Twilight here is also significantly longer here than in Mwanza where the sun sets quickly and the transition from daylight to night is less than an hour. It is nice to have the long nights, but I’ve got to get used to sleeping through the early morning light whilst we’re here.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Floral Partners

A submission to this week’s photo challenge – from a different time and place (UK 2014) – before we came out here to Tanzania – our old English Garden had a floral partners which in May produced the most stunning display of blue and white.

My Music: Power, Corruption & Lies

This is the first and possibly the last of a series reflecting on some of my music collection which may or may not resonate with life here.

Power, Corruption and Lies is one of the first albums I ever bought, on tape for my Walkman – the iPod of it’s day,  a portable music player which allowed you to insert a cassette tape giving you up to 45mins of unbroken music (whilst it’s batteries lasted).

The album by New Order was amazing and even today 33 years on I like to listen to it’s tracks. On the cassette version there were a number of extra tracks, the most famous track  is Blue Monday which is a classic. Mum used to hear the thumping intro (dum dum d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d dum dum) and call up the stairs to “turn that music down”. The song incidentally was the biggest selling 12″ of all time.

Sadly the tape eventually wore out and a Vinyl album was bought later to be replace by MP3 versions.

Why do I share these facts? In truth life here in Tanzania can often resonate with the title of this track. I mostly share the positive side of life here, to do otherwise would be depressing, but sometimes it seems like we’re living  in the title of this particular album – “nuff said”.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Millennial Future

Another submission to this week’s photo challenge.

Each New Year we towards the Future with hope and anticipation. No New Year was more anticipated than that of the new millennium which as far as we were concerned was Dec 31st 1999/Jan 1st 2000 (I know there is debate about whether it really should have been a year later!).

We travelled with the family to Penzance in Cornwall for a family celebration. This was early in the days of the Internet, before Social Media and Smartphones (we had one mobile phone between us and it was a Nokia 8210, on which the most advanced technology was texting!). We still used film in our cameras and played music on the newly invented CD or old fashioned tape/vinyl.

Looking to the future in 1999 we thought hopefully on the future – the Cold War was over and we had not imagined the horrors of 9/11 or 7/7 etc.

We were a family of three and lived in the UK – little did we anticipate that we would be living and working in Africa  with two teenage children less than 15 years on.

Millennial Candle

New Year’s Eve 1999 – Family Celebration in Penzance, Cornwall

New Year’s Day Walk 2000 – Cornwall

Who know  what the future holds – it is an  unknown factor over which we have only a little control.

A Day of Packing

Tomorrow we head to Dar on the first leg out our holiday (vacation) to South Central Africa. A journey that will hopefully take us to Malawi, Zambia and Botswana. We’re going to be traveling by Boat, Train, Coach and Plane and if you are interested you can follow our journey on a dedicated blog Victoria to Victoria.

Today has been a day of packing and as we are planning to save costs by camping, we need to squeeze in our recently purchased tent along with the clothes.

It’s probably a good thing as it limits the clothes we will take (I am never good at choosing what to take!). Once in Dar we’ll re-jig  for our onward journey, but planes have rules and needs must.

Almost a year ago we were packing in a much bigger way as we were approaching moving day and leaving England for Tanzania – time has flown fast.

Weekly Photo Challenge: ROY G BIV in an English Garden

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “ROY G. BIV.”

Following on from my earlier post from our Tanzanian garden I decided to look through the archives and do the same for our former English garden back in Milton Keynes.

The next best thing!

Here in Tanzania there are many things we have to go without entirely – cinema for example (although rumour has it the new shopping mall will have one). Other things have needed to be substituted.

Anita and I used to enjoy a ‘coffee’ at Costa while in the UK, but the nearest Costa is thousands of miles away.

There are some good coffee shops in Uganda – notably in Jinja and Mbale, but what about Mwanza. Here at home the next best option is the Coffee Shop in the Gold Crest Hotel. Here you can get a Mocha Shake and Iced Spiced Macchiato, Cappuccino etc.

   It’s not Costa but it’s the next best thing.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Early Kite

A submission to this week’s photo challenge: Early Bird

A Black Kite in the Garden this morning.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Early Bird on a Frosty Morning

A submission to this week’s photo challenge: Early Bird

Taken on a frosty January morning in 2014, these shots from Waddeston, Oxfordshire,  on the way to work but caught in traffic as I waited to cross the junction, the sun rose and caught in its amber light the hoar-frost coating the trees turned orange.

 

I managed to snap these on the phone as I waited in the traffic jam – a different life in a different world!

 

If we were living at GMT

It’s strange to think that as I finish my afternoon at school, my erstwhile colleagues will just be starting their lunch break.  It is amazing to think that somewhere in the world some one is waking up at this moment, somewhere else at the exact same instant someone is going to bed. Someone eats breakfast at the same instant as another eats a midday snack, yet another has their evening meal. 

Currently (for the next two  to three weeks at least) there is a three-hour difference between UK time and Tanzanian time, before the UK lurches  forward into BST.  So here is my daily routine converted into GMT.

The alarm goes of at 2:50am and by 3:15am we are up and about. Sunrise is at 4am or there abouts.

 

After a shower and breakfast we leave the house by 4:30am at the latest. It’s a short walk to school which starts at 4:55am with Assembly or Tutor. Lessons start at 5:15am with a break from 7:45am to 8:05am – a time my old colleagues are getting into work in the UK. Lunch is at 9:45am and afternoon sessions begin at 10:30am. The school day ends at 12:15pm after wich there are meetings or clubs until 1:30pm. Then home and for me Language school (Tue-Thu) from 2pm to 3pm. We tend to eat our evening meal by 3:30pm and sun sets by 4pm.

If we are out at night from 4:30pm until 7pm. If I am working of an evening over a similar time period or an hour later. I tend to go to bed about 9pm , sometimes 9:30pm (which means that sometimes I am blogging /posting from tomorrow as far as the UK is concerned).

Weekends, we get a lie in until 5am on a Saturday when I either head off to Prep (5:30am until 7am) and Saturday School (from 7am until 8am). Then we are often in town shopping until 11am. If the children are off to youth group then it runs from 12noon until 2pm.  We might watch a DVD if we are in  (from 5pm until 7pm). Even though we could watch some UK TV on iPlayer most of the good TV will be on after 11pm.

Sunday church runs from 6:45 am until 8am. Then home for lunch (10am), a phone call home can be as early as 1pm or as late as 6pm varying from week to week. We might go out for a walk from 12noon to 2pm. An evening meal and some TV (DVD’s or iPlayer downloads). Then it’s to bed by 8:30pm or 9pm ready for an early start!

So here is our life as lived as if at GMT. If you live elsewhere in the world what is yours?

Visitors

Today we welcomed our first visitors from the UK since our arrival in Tanzania. Although we did not know Steve and Judy well, they were members of our old church in Milton Keynes.

They are in Mwanza for a month visiting various NGO’s whom they support in their charity Wabia Network. These organisations within Mwanza and the surrounding areas are Tanzanian run but supported through their organisation.

We spent about three hours chatting over tea. It was great to hear news from the UK as well as to share some of our experiences here and to hear about their work too. All too soon it was over but it was a good time. For those at  St Mary’s, we have given to them a gift for you, which they will bring back when they return, we hope if will find some use and remind you of us.  

For now we have welcomed our first guests and though I appreciate we are off the beaten track here, hopefully we will have other visitors from home over the years.

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A year ago this is what I was blogging