The Big Move

Six years ago today, we said goodbye to some dear friends at Málaga Airport before flying to London to prepare for our biggest move yet.

Saying goodbye to Andalusia was hard, but our five-year "vacation" had to end some time.  On reflection, I'm not sure if, when we had decided to retire to the Costa Del Sol five years previously, that we really thought that we would spend the rest of lives there.  It was certainly good while it lasted.  The weather was amazing compared to the dull, gray days which seem to prevail in Norfolk since my retirement.  The Andalusian culture, when not spoiled by the many ex-pats from northern Europe, was a delight and we made many friends, both Spanish and English.

 Ronda - a must for our many visitors

The wonderful city of Málaga. I never tired of this view from Gibralfaro

Our granddaughters spent their summer vacations with us, as did friends from England. As for us, well who could resist the delights of Seville, Cordoba, Granada and Ronda, all on our doorstep.  But after visits to our son, who was by this time, living with his American wife in Durham, North Carolina, we both realized that the beautiful Old North State would be a better place to make our forever home.

So, for the second time in five years, we sold our home with all it's contents and on that early morning, with all the possessions that mattered to us in two (large) suitcases, flew to London Gatwick, booked into a hotel in Horley to spend the rest of the day preparing for the biggest move of our life.

More tomatoes - conclusion

My original thought on starting this blog was to record the differences between living in the USA and England. To a degree I think I have achieved this, albeit with many deviations along the way.

Now well into our sixth year living in the beautiful state of North Carolina, I've come to realize how many things are similar while, thank goodness, many things are very different, even within this state.

Twenty years ago I asked a visiting technician installing new equipment at my workplace where his work took him. "Europe, North America and occasionally the Far East," he replied. "That's interesting, you must see a lot of sights and experience cultural differences?" His answer made me aware of this changing world. "Do me a favor mate, one Holiday Inn is exactly the same as another!"

That's probably simplifying the global world, or rather the economy we live with, but apart from the language and the prices, that statement rings true. I find it somewhat sad, that any Main Street / High Street / Alameda Principal or whatever, can look very much the same wherever you are.

One branch of one of my many interests is the study of transit buses. I view many photographs of these from the world over. What is more noticeable as each year passes is that not only that the vehicles are becoming so similar looking (even the individually owned, unique and quirky buses of Malta have been replaced overnight by the corporate giant of "sameness"), but the street furniture and the store fronts could be anywhere - one KFC, Best Buy, Starbucks is the same as another. There are exceptions of course . . . . . . . . . . .

 A typical Starbucks strip mall location in the US

This Starbucks is located at the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City, Beijing.

Bringing the peoples of the world together to work in harmony must be a good thing, but can individualism survive on Corporate Earth? 

I for one hope so.

Footnote - I have nothing against Starbucks, believe me (well perhaps the prices). I just prefer a strong regular at say, a Waffle House (no, that does not make me a redneck)!

Decisions, decisions - part 4

Decisions are made virtually every second of our lives. Even when we sleep, decisions are made which effect our lives.

My first life-changing decisions were previously posted separately. This post combines three major ones within five years.

In the summer of 2000 we were to take our three (at that time) wonderful granddaughters on individual vacations of their choice. We always tried to have quality one-on-one time with them individually. So a great time was had with with 9 year-old Josie in historic Northumbria. A couple of weeks later, an equally great time with 7 year-old Asha in East Sussex exploring "Pooh Bear" country. On return, and before we had a chance to take dear Caitlin, then 5, anywhere, I suffered a mild, but nevertheless frightening, heart attack. Don't jump to any conclusions here - it was nothing to do with our girls - if anything, they helped me relax from the stresses of my work.

On recovering, thankfully fairly quickly, I was fortunate to be given the chance to take early retirement. An easy decision? I now think it was, but I'm not so sure I felt so then. After all, nine years early? With the support and encouragement, as always of Gail and our son and daughter, decision number 1 was made.

Before this, on various vacations, we had fallen in love with the southern Iberian Peninsular, and had talked about retiring there, either the Algarve or to neighboring Spain's Costa's. We now had an opportunity to do so, but would we take the plunge? It may have been brave, it may have been foolhardy, but finding on retirement that during my previously working hours the sun really didn't come out all that much, and that perhaps our finances could go stretch a little further in Andalusia, I started the research. There, decision number 2 made. Following our visit to North Carolina for our son's wedding, we did for a short time consider the possibility of moving to the US. However we stuck to our original plan, put our home on the market, sold most of our belongings and took a flight to Spain to check out the property in and around Málaga. UK property sold, Spanish property purchased, legal work completed and decision 2 carried through.

A good decision? Yes, although after four years and having visited North Carolina for an extended stay (Leslie, our daughter-in-law deserves sainthood for putting up with us), we realized we could never have made Spain our permanent home, even though we managed to have the quality time with each of our girls in turn, . . . so, let's start preparing for the big one - Decision Number Three!

This really was a big one. We really liked NC and after spending time here in the summer and winter months, checking out property (and the locals, and liking both), I still wasn't convinced. It took Gail quite a bit of persuasive argument to win me over. There was a great deal of agonizing, but eventually Gail's logic was spot on.

I have not regretted any of these decisions. Yes, we miss our family in England terribly, how could we not? But which one of our granddaughters spent nearly a month with us this past summer? If you are a regular reader you know the answer . . . . Caitlin had her quality time with Nan and Granddad after all.

Funny old weather

"Dew yer know, thas funny old weather". For those who must be wondering what on earth Mick is rambling about, I will explain. It's what a Norfolk (England) native speaker (very rare nowadays) would say about the current weather we are enjoying here in North Carolina.

Translation: "Do you know, it's strange weather". I'm using this bit of squit (Norfolk speak for "trivial information" or "nonsense"), to report on the amazing changes in weather this past week. Exactly a week ago we were having winter storm warnings. Indeed on Monday we woke up to between three and four inches of snow. Schools closed, many workers took "snow days" and kids had a great time playing their own versions of the winter Olympics. With a wind chill factor it was barely 12-14F (minus 10C). Today temperatures are in the mid eighties - 85F (30C) as I write this at 5.45pm and shorts and tees are the order of the day.

I'm convinced that wonderful North Carolina is the only place on God's earth where you can experience all four seasons in one week. The bonus for today is that we have an extra hour of daylight to enjoy it. Daylight saving came into effect at 2am this morning - a few weeks ahead of the change in Europe.

My weekly report on the success(?) of my Lent fasting is: "so far, so good". Being a dessertaholic, it's extremely hard for me (that's the point after all). Today is not a fast day, so I allowed myself just a couple of Annie's tasty muffins at Fellowship this morning. Then no more, so I'm relying on dear Maria to come up with the goods next Sunday to satisfy me for another week.

In like a lion?

Just a couple of postings back I was rejoicing that Spring looked on it's way. I spoke too soon (as usual). Friday saw a daytime high of 69F. Today, Monday, we woke up to a couple of inches of snow!

One similarity (about the only one) of winters in North Carolina and England, is that authorities of neither seem ready for a snowfall, or for that matter, cope with it well. To be fair, for the frequency and amount that normally falls in both places, the cost of providing enough clearing equipment just to be used for half-a-dozen days a year, if that, would soon have the taxpayers baying for blood. In more northern states of the US they do cope much better as heavy falls are regular.

Still with today's carpet of the white stuff, there are still daffodils, crocuses and the like making a brave effort to bring some cheer. It's the second day of March for goodness sake, so it must be all downhill from here and I'm confident that in a few months time when we are "enjoying" temperatures in the high eighties and nineties, together with high humidity, I will be wishing for a snowfall to cool things down a bit! The old saying regarding March weather of "In like a lion, out like a lamb" bodes well for a joyous spring to look forward to.

Likes and Dislikes

The current edition of Our State magazine, a wonderful publication that celebrates North Carolina, has essays on "Why We Love North Carolina". The editor-in-chief had posed that question to a lot of folks prior to the publication of the February issue. A lot of the responses were exactly my reasons for loving the Old North State. Here a few I can totally agree with:

I love ripples of blue mountain ridges.

A sky of pure cerulean.

Folks who wave to me as they're driving by.

The sounds of words said in a gentle Southern drawl.

The smoky flavor of chopped barbecue, hush puppies warm and golden.

Potluck dinners in a fellowship hall.

Children learning to say "yes, ma'am" or "no, sir."

The sound of lawn mowers on a Saturday afternoon.

Neighbors that bake brownies, stop and chat and give you a hug.

A smiling face of a sales associate, even though they're having a bad day.
Watching hummingbirds feed whilst sitting in a rocker on my front porch.

All very true in my experience. However, the other side of the coin are my dislikes. Few, to be sure, but nevertheless true. Driving habits mainly and to be fair these are probably universal, especially:

Drivers who drive with no lights in rain or overcast conditions (despite State Law which compels lights if you are using windshield wipers).
Public libraries who send repeated notices of unreturned items when you can prove that you have done so, especially when they refuse to apologize for their error.
The many potholes in local roads.
The appalling quality of repairs to such potholes (usually making them worse within a few weeks).
Drivers who inconsiderately share their "music" with everyone else within a quarter mile.

Having got that off my chest, I'm so grateful for the pros, that the cons are really small fry, and I cannot think of anywhere that I would rather live.

Yes, I too, love North Carolina.

History is made - 2nd (and final) update

Okay, it's now official. The North Carolina presidential ballot was won by Barack Obama. Apparently there were not enough remaining ballots for Republican John McCain to close a 13,693-vote deficit. Therefore, the Democrats gained a clean sweep in all positions - Presidential and State

Now I can back to my blog theme of comparing everyday living in NC to Europe in general and England in particular.

History is made - update

Only one state, North Carolina, has yet to confirm whether it's Presidental vote was red (Republican) or blue (Democrat). Apparently 40,000 votes cast were "unconfirmed" and each and every one has to be checked for authenticity. Even though Barack Obama has about 14,000 votes more than John McCain, it's too close to call. Amazingly, it will not be confirmed officially until November 24th!

And I am pleased to report, and I'm sure you are pleased to hear, that the jigsaw puzzle pictured yesterday was completed by my better half - despite the help(?) she received from Nimbus 2000!

Big cat puzzle

History is made

It’s 3pm here in North Carolina and although after all the excitement unfolding before our eyes on TV last evening, we remain one of two states in which the presidential race hasn't been decided. The result is too close to call in this, the Tar Heel state (the other is Missouri).

Despite this Barack Obama piled up a 349 to 162 lead in electoral votes over John McCain. As 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidency we do know that Barack Obama is our President Elect. North Carolina has 15 electoral votes and apparently it could be some time before they are decided, even though Senator McCain trails Obama by 11,000 votes (out of over million).

The Democrats had a clean sweep for other offices in the State Legislature, including the Governor . . . . . and the proposed Food Tax for our fair city was heavily defeated — good news (for now).

Meanwhile, our eleven-year old kitty, Nimbus 2000, pictured below, couldn't give a hoot - she's seen it all before!

Did you really expect to complete that jigsaw puzzle today? =^..^=

Differences in Store

My main reason for creating this blog was to describe my experiences of the differing ways of life between North Carolina and England. I will later probably compare our life on the Costa del Sol, but that's another story. I have already deviated from my main theme in the previous post and I'm sure I will deviate more later, but for now, let me keep to the plot.

A great American pastime is shopping. I know it's fun(?) for many in England, but here it's more than fun, it's a passion. It is also a different experience believe me. I shall translate the terminology of shopping into British English in parenthesis. It was made very noticeable on our last visit to England (in 2005). English sales associates (assistants), although in general polite and helpful, cannot compete with their American counterparts who immediately greet you as you walk into any store (shop), frequently ask if you need help in finding things ("Please don't hesitate to ask - it's no trouble") and upon leaving wish you such a pleasant day, evening or weekend, that you wonder why you even came shopping. They truly are wonderful although it can be overpowering at first, but like a dripping faucet (tap), you get used to it! Politeness is still evident - doors are almost always held open for you - if you return the compliment you are thanked. If someone accidentally clips you with a shopping cart (trolley) an immediate "excuse me, I'm so sorry" is said (and more importantly,meant). Even when a fellow shopper walks between you and the display you are viewing at the grocery store (supermarket) he/she will say "excuse me". Of course, there are exceptions, there are rude, inconsiderate people in all parts of the world. A neighbor told us, "This is The South, don't expect the same courtesy in New York or the Mid-West".

Then there are "the sales". I'm sure there are many more now in England, although not too many years ago they seemed to only occur following the Christmas holiday and perhaps an "End of Season Sale" at the conclusion of the winter and/or summer seasons. Here, there's hardly a weekend when there isn't one - any excuse for a sale (President's Day, Valentines, Labor Day, etc., etc.). The real big one is "Black Friday", that's the day after Thanksgiving (for which there's already been a sale of course), when all that turkey and pumpkin pie is worked off by chasing around the sales. Let's face it, when it's busy like this, you may have to park the car at least twenty yards from the store entrance, and for many this is great exercise! To summarize, no one pays the ticket price for anything - just wait a couple of days for the next sale!

Coupons and store loyalty cards are big here. Most Americans (us included) have a key-ring full of loyalty fobs. They are freely given at the store (okay, you "pay" by letting the store know your shopping habits) and hardly anyone would go shopping without them. If you realize you've left yours at home when reaching the register, some kind soul in the line (queue) will lend you theirs - heaven forbid that you should miss out on the discounts. We, as seniors, even do our grocery shopping on a Tuesday so as to gain a "senior discount" of 5% on top of all the other discounts gained by the card and the multitude of coupons. Every penny (yes, the 1 cent coin is called a penny here, not that dreadful "pee") counts.

Another shock to the European shopping here for the first time is that the price you see is not the price you pay! There is no V.A.T. in the US, but on reaching the register (till or check-out) you will be required, in most but not all States, to pay a sales tax. In North Carolina it's an add-on of 6¾% (2% on food).

You may have noticed I used earlier, the linear measurement of yards. Measurements here are not metric and that's something I am grateful for. Call me old-fashioned by all means but I can actually visualize what a piece of 2x4 looks like as opposed to a piece of 5.1x10.2cm before I visit the Home Depot to purchase my lumber (timber). Well . . . nearly. A 2x4 is in fact actually planed to 1¾x3¾. I can remember calling this a 4x2 in England, here it's called a 2x4. Confused? So you should be.

Yard visitors

An early morning visitor to our yard (garden) is pictured here. Although we often get these delightful creatures passing through,they don't usually hang about long enough for me to get my camera. This little "dear" obliged today.

We are lucky to be visited by much more wildlife that we ever were when living in England (and that was in a country village). In the early eighties, when we moved from the city we were visited by many garden, farmland and hedgerow birds, but by the time we left for Spain in 2001, we no longer saw wrens, chaffinches or hardly a robin.

Here we are visited by a great many colorful varieties, including the wonderful NC State bird, the Cardinal. Summers see humming birds hovering over flowers and the nectar feeding bottle we hang up. We usually have a pair of morning doves picking up seeds dropped on our porch by the fussy finches and chickadees. One morning this summer I heard a crash against our study window and was amazed to see a red-tailed hawk carry off one the doves among a flurry of feathers! I really felt sorry for the dove's mate. American robins are at least twice the size of an English robin (I can almost hear my English friends saying "well, they would be!) and are not solitary but flock onto our grass to feed on the insects and grubs.

Squirrels are plentiful and we usually have a few chipmunks and rabbits scurrying about. There has been evidence of the cheeky raccoon but unfortunately we only have seen these as corpses on the highway, victims of the automobile.

Reptiles are more prevalent than we have been used to. Salamanders, toads and several varieties of snakes are often seen. The Black Racer snake is well named - they are fast!

Now, as we really get into the Fall (autumn), visitors arrive in their thousands. What are they? . . . . . . . . LEAVES! My better half enjoys raking leaves . . . . . I thank Heaven she does!