Only 10 weeks to go ...

Time is moving on and in a shade over 10 weeks I'll be boarding Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore (obviously) and onward to Auckland. I'm relatively calm about things at the moment but every now and then I think of 20 other things that I need to do before I leave and I panic a little. Never mind everything that can be done before the big day, will I'm sure.

So what can i tell you ? I now have my visa in my passport. Well I've got 2 visas in my passport, the residence visa and the returning residence visa. It feels much more "real" seeing those in the passport. I've met with the Letting Agent whose going to find a tenant and manage the property for me once I vacate. I'm in the process of sorting out the landlord insurance which is necessary to cover all eventualities. I'm sorting out a NZ bank account but I need to have my documents certified by a Solicitor before the account can be opened. I'm also trying to obtain quotes for storage of my possessions but its proving more difficult that I'd hoped as the storage firms don't seem that interested in my business. never mind, I'll find someone soon I'm sure.



What else ? I went last weekend to Anfield with my brother and his son to have a tour of the Ground and a visit to the Museum. This was originally intended for several weeks ago - as mentioned in a previous blog - but the tours were all booked up so it wasn't until last weekend that we made it.



It was a very enjoyable afternoon. The tour takes you to the dressing rooms, officials room, media areas, the famous "This is Anfield" sign and out onto the pitch. We sat in the dugout and then in the Kop.



The Museum was stuffed full of memorabilia as you'd expect along with a rolling DVD of Sky's brilliant "One Night in May" documentary about the Champions League win in 2005. Obviously the 5 Champions League trophies were there along with the FA Cup.




The most alarming piece of memorabilia on display was one of Ian Rush's old Juventus shirts which was actually knitted !! I couldn't believe that Italian teams in the 80's / 90's were wearing woollen knitted shirts.



On Friday this weekend Shorty took me to a Hotel Bistro for tea and then we went to Parkgate for a beer whilst looking over the River Dee to North Wales as the sun set. What a fantastic night ! I'm just disappointed we didn't have a camera to record the event.



You may recall that in my last post, I mentioned that me and Shorty were going to see Ian Brown in Newcastle. Well that was another great night out. The pic at the top of this blog is Shorty & me at around midnight in Newcastle. Ian Brown was tremendous and we managed to get a position right at the very front for good measure. We did get hit by a few thrown water bottles, beer cans and, bizarrely, an ice cream but otherwise escaped unscathed. Ian was a little less fortunate and was hit in the head by a £2 coin thrown by a total jerk!! Jeez, some people hey ?? Anyway, it was a top night and I think I climbed into bed at something approaching 5am that night.



Ghost hunting has taken a bit of a backseat in recent weeks but I've booked Shorty and myself onto a hunt at Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire towards the end of July. That is one freaky building (we've been before) and if you can imagine how a haunted house would look like in say a Hammer film, a Hollywood movie or even Scooby Doo, well that's Woodchester, complete with Gargoyles on the walls and Bats in the roof !. I'm looking forward to it already.

Things I've learned this week :-

a. That my department at work don't have a plan ! (Its official, they told us).
b. That nobody at the afore mentioned work was surprised when I announced I was off (But were rather more so when I told them, where !)
c. That Ian Rush played in a knitted jersey his Granny would have been proud of.
d. That a tasty meal, great company & a beer overlooking the setting sun is a great way to end the week.


John