I reach the end of my ancestry visa in early April of next year, so the time has come once again to start thinking about making sure I can stay in the UK, the country I now consider home. Truthfully, I've been thinking about this since roughly January of this year: I wanted to know the costs involved so that I could start saving.
My plan is to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which means I won't have to apply for another UK visa again and can apply for citizenship in another year, if I wanted. In a lot of ways it is much simpler than the other visas I've applied for. I won't have to go back to Canada to apply, for example, and I just re-use a lot of the documents I gathered for my ancestry visa. The only new document required (apart from updated proof of employment and financial independence and security) is proof that you have passed the official Life in the UK test. The Life in the UK test is also really simple, both in terms of the booking process and the test itself. You will have 45 minutes to answer 24 questions about life in the UK. They are all either multiple choice or true/false questions and I completed it on a computer at the testing centre. The questions are all drawn from the Official Life in the UK Handbook, so don't worry - there won't be any totally random questions. Unless you don't bother reading the handbook at all. Otherwise they will absolutely seem totally random. The topics include history, politics, law, art, sport, geography...much of it is easy stuff but it is a lot to remember. You need to get a score of 18/24 in order to pass the test. You can also do it at any point before your ILR application; there's no expiry or time limit on it. And you can re-use the same pass for citizenship application in the future. If you don't pass the test, it's no big deal either. You just have to book another one. You can take it as many times as you need to pass. You can book your test through the government website, all you need to do is create an account and choose your closest testing centre (apparently there are over 30 across the UK, so in theory you shouldn't have to travel too far). It costs £50 to book and you will need a government-issued photo ID (a driver's license doesn't count. It'll need to be either your passport or your biometric residence permit, basically). Make sure that when you create your account, you use your details EXACTLY as they appear on your ID. They won't let you take the test if they don't match perfectly. Make sure to take that particular ID with you on the day. They won't accept a different one either, even if the name matches. As soon as lockdown lifted, I booked my test for early August; I figured that I would have plenty of time over the summer holidays to study and I didn't want to risk there being another lockdown in the winter months and being unable to do it ahead of my ILR application in February. In terms of studying, you have a couple options. You can buy the handbook from the government website for £12.99, but you can also get loads of second-hand copies online. Just make sure that you check the most recent edition before you buy, as you might risk a question coming up that wasn't covered in an old edition. For example, the most recent edition had to address the fact that the UK is no longer in the EU. You can also get a digital subscription instead, which is what I went for. It is the same price as the handbook, but it gives you access to practise questions and loads of mock tests without having to pay extra for the testing booklet. I paid for a 6-month subscription (the minimum) in late June and only started using it properly in mid-July, but if you're worried or have a hard time retaining information you can also buy a year-long subscription for an additional £4. On the day of my test, I blithely headed to the testing centre, feeling confiding and aiming to arrive about 30 minutes before my scheduled test time. This was going to be a no-brainer. Well. Funny story. When I booked the test way back in June, I read the address of the testing centre, had a quick look on Google maps and thought, 'Yeah, I know exactly where that is.' Then didn't bother to look at it again. It was only about a 15-minute walk from my flat. Easy days. That morning, Sean and I set off, walking a bit more slowly than usual because of the 35 degree heat, but timing it perfectly to arrive exactly 30 minutes before my scheduled test time, as the email stipulated. It wasn't until I got to the building I thought it was supposed to be, which really didn't look right, that I thought I better check the address again. I'm not great with maps. Turns out the testing centre was actually only about 5 minutes away from my flat. In the opposite direction that we'd just walked. I was now twenty minutes away and absolutely not poised to arrive exactly on time. Sean and I speed-walked in that sweltering heat, me panicking the entire way and Sean reassuring me that they couldn't not let me in, especially since my test wasn't technically starting for another 35 minutes. I made it to the actual testing centre with 25 minutes to spare, though very sweaty and frizzy and frazzled. They did let me in, and I even had time to splash some cool water on my face and mop the sweat off in the bathroom before they did the security checks. Lesson learned. Always, always, double- and triple-check the address. Because of COVID I had to wear a face-mask the entire time, and sanitise my hands after touching just about anything. They were really socially distancing everything as well. All my personal belongings (save my ID) went into a security locker, and they used a wand to make sure I wasn't sneaking in any audio devices or technology into the testing room. They had me turn out my pockets to check for notes or the like and they even checked my ears and hair for earbuds or cables. After that I was ushered into a silent computer room and shown to a screen already set up with the test. There were a few practise questions to start, all labelled as such, and then the 24 test questions (none of which were the same questions as come up on the mock tests in the e-learning programme. Sorry to disappoint - I know I was). A few of them tripped me up a bit. I was relatively confident, but not totally sure, and there were at least three that I just took an educated guess. I checked all my answers, agonised over the guesses a bit longer, went through it again to tally up the ones I was completely confident on and, happy that I should have scraped a pass, signed off and left the room to collect my things. It took me about 15 minutes. Less time than it had taken to get to the testing centre in the first place! Though not less time than is should have taken me to get there.... As I left, the staff told me I should have the results emailed to me in about 10 minutes and, as promised, 10 minutes later, I had an email with a link to the government's test booking site, with a little 'Pass' notification. Wahoo! Step one of ILR complete.
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It is very unlikely that we'll be going very far this year; it's August already and international travel is still a very fluid avenue in the wake of the global pandemic. It was safe to travel to Spain a couple weeks ago, and now it isn't. You might book a holiday in France, Greece, or any of the other 'air bridge' or 'travel corridor' countries, only to have the rules change partway through your holiday and find yourself needing to self-isolate for two weeks when you come home. Even worse, it might change as you board your plane, and you'll find yourself spending your vacation in quarantine instead. Not what you'd call a good use of holiday time and money!
Hopefully we can make up for the lack of travel next year, assuming conditions improve, but in the mean time I thought I would write some throw-back posts to the places I visited last year but never got around to writing about. First on that list is last August's day-trip to our Emerald Isle neighbour, a stop-over before we headed to Northern Ireland to visit friends.
This trip did not get off to a very promising start. A very early flight, horrendous airport queues and a sleepless night meant Sean and I were snipping sharply at each other at Luton airport and by the time we dropped our bags off at the hotel in Dublin, we were barely speaking. Despite that, we headed to Trinity college first thing, walking about 20 meters apart the whole way there. Sean wasn't all that interested in seeing the college or the library in the first place, and I was too angry and upset to appreciate our surroundings or summon the patience to wait in the queues. We lost each other (unconsciously deliberately, perhaps?) as we wandered around the grounds, choosing not to buy tickets and reaching a boiling point. Ultimately, we had a blow-out row in the square (in hushed voices and restrained body language, in true British fashion) and, still feeling a little prickly but decidedly less angry, left to find breakfast - together this time. #couplegoals
Dublin castle was next on our list, and we were much more relaxed around each other for this tourist site, though still subdued and tired. Dublin castle was a strange building, not really resembling a castle in the way you would normally expect. Much of it was relatively new (compared to the original stone keep) and painted in bold primary colours on the outside that in no way resembled any castle I had seen before. It was a really interesting historical building though, and I enjoyed learning a bit more about Ireland's political and social history. I know plenty about Ireland's folklore and not much else, so I learned plenty new on this trip.
When you travel as a couple, it's a very different experience to travelling with friends or on your own. I don't know about anyone else, but I spend a lot of the trip worrying that we're not getting to do things that Sean might want to do. I tend to choose the sites we visit, how we get from place to place, the order we do things in. It's mostly because I like to have an itinerary when we travel and for me, part of the build-up of excitement before the trip comes from the planning and working out of how to do and see all the amazing things. Sean tends to book the flights and the accommodation, as he's much better at finding great deals in lush places than I am. He's rarely involved much in the itinerary side as he's much more relaxed when he travels: he likes to arrive and see what looks good or interesting, to leave things open to do what might take his fancy as and when. I love the idea of this, but in my experience (with both friends, and even travelling on my own), this inevitably leads to endless loops of 'what do you want to do?' 'I don't know. What would you like to do?' The flip side to planning an itinerary though, is that I feel like I'm dragging Sean all over to places he's not really interested in seeing. It has led to a lot of tension in the past when we travel, and unfortunately Dublin was no different, because he's happy to go with the flow and I'm constantly hounding him to tell me what he wants to do.
I can often be paralysed with indecision over silly things and don't have a lot of patience. Sean and I are both very stubborn too, which usually makes our arguments impressive, to say the least. I also don't do well on very little sleep, nor do I say what I want to do because I don't want to inconvenience anyone else, which, understandably, drives Sean crazy. None of this makes me an easy person to travel with - especially not when I care very much about my partner enjoying his holiday too. The two of us have got quite a bit to learn about reacting to each other before we can have a blissful totally tension-free holiday. Though perhaps I'm just doing that classic social-media thing were I assume everyone else has those blissful tension-free holidays so I must be doing things wrong. Do other people argue with their partners over missed trains, unpurchased tickets, and confusing airport queues too? Despite our lack of sleep, we packed a lot into our single full day in Dublin. After the castle we made our way to St Patrick's Cathedral, where we wandered with hushed steps and voices around the cool stone building, lingering in patches of coloured sunlight from the stunning stained glass windows. If you only have a day in Dublin, I definitely recommend St Patrick's Cathedral over Christ Church. Especially if you're a Literature fan - St Patrick's is where Jonathan Swift was Dean and there is a whole section devoted to his history and involvement with the church.
Next on our list was the Guiness Storehouse, the only site in Dublin that Sean had added to our itinerary. Certainly it was his favourite bit of the Dublin day, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was mine as well. The tour was really interesting and well worth the ticket cost (€25 for the Guiness Uncovered package) and there was so much to see in the building itself that we wandered back through it after the tour. The ticket we bought included a 60 minute session with a 'taste specialist' and a tasting session. I found it fascinating to listen to, but wasn't as keen on the tasting part (I am not a beer drinker). I did sip it before passing my portion on to Sean though. We also got a drink ticket which we could redeem at the Gravity Bar on the top floor, with panoramic views of Dublin. We enjoyed the views and the drinks, moving downstairs to the restaurant when it got too crowded in the Gravity Bar, and ordering a few more drinks to enjoy at a window table, with a still-stunning view of the city. It felt wonderful, and is probably where we both finally completely and utterly relaxed around each other again. I highly recommend a visit to the Storehouse if you're in Dublin and you or your partner enjoy the Irish stout.
I can't quite remember exactly when we went back to the hotel for a shower and a nap - it was either before or after the Guiness Storehouse. Probably before, as I think our check-in time was 3pm. Those two things went a long way to soothing any residual tension between us. Have I mentioned I'm really not great on very little sleep? The afternoon nap is probably a significant factor in why I found the latter part of our day in Dublin so much more enjoyable.
Meal times are always a tricky one for us when we're on holiday. I think I mentioned how indecisive I can be, but it's usually down to me to pick a place to eat - and food is the one thing I always neglect to include in my research and itineraries. You see, I'm a bit of a foodie so Sean likes me to choose restaurants because I'd care more about the food than he would, but I then agonise over whether or not there is something he can actually eat and would enjoy eating on the menu, given his intolerance. After some agonising indecision and menu perusal on my part, we settled on a French-style market shop with a café that served a surprising range of hot food called Dollard & Co. The food was really tasty and, by a stroke of luck, they had a singer and musician who started performing shortly after we sat down. And they were celebrating their birthday and served free cake to all the dine-in customers there that evening.
The other thing both Sean and I really wanted to do was have a few drinks and listen to some live music somewhere on Temple Bar. After all, what trip to Dublin is complete without a visit to Temple Bar and some good live music? I We may have stopped at our hotel again to change before making our way to this famous street. I think we actually ended up in The Temple Bar - titular pub on the street. We were lucky and got there early enough that we could get seats right in front of the band, and settled in for a couple of hours of listening and slow, casual drinking. Though we didn't stay out particularly late, it was a really mellow, iconic way to end our fractious but generally wonderful day in Dublin. Tags
Hever Castle has been on my to-go-to list ever since I discovered how close it is to where I (and now we) live. The Tudor period is probably one of the areas of English history I know the most about, so the thought of visiting Hever Castle, home of Anne Boleyn - the second wife of Henry VIII and the woman who helped encourage him to break with the Catholic Church - was very exciting for me. As you may know by now, one of the many things I love about living in England is being able to stand in the places that I have read about and studied in school.
Hever station is only a short train ride from where we live - about forty or fifty minutes direct from London Bridge - and from the station it's a relatively short, easy walk to the castle. It takes a little over ten minutes if you take the public footpath through a couple of fields (make sure you don't mind dodging sheep and their poop), or about twenty minutes if you walk along the roads, though there are no pavements and the roads are fairly narrow. Trains along the London - Hever route ran hourly, making it a very easy day trip for us. Hever Castle also did not disappoint. I'd read about it's award-winning gardens and then, of course, there's the historical side, but there was actually a lot more to keep us busy that I expected. The first thing we did after buying our tickets (only £16.75 each) was to walk through the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry Military Museum. It's a tiny little building immediately by the entrance - hard to miss thanks to the tank parked outside and the delicate red poppies growing along the outside of the building. The Castle is much smaller than I expected, only a portion of the main building open to the public. Still, there was enough to see: exhibits ranged from the Boleyn's story, both the improvements Anne's father and grandfather made to the castle, and a bit about Anne and Henry's courtship, to the various films that used the castle as a site and setting, right the way to the Astors, the American family who bought Hever Castle in 1903 and spent $10 million restoring it. Some of the rest of the Castle and outer buildings have been converted into luxury accommodation, as apparently Hever is also a wedding and event venue. There was actually a wedding reception at the castle that afternoon, down by the lake. Sean and I scoped it out before they closed it to the public, and it would make for a stunning venue though probably a horrendously expensive one.
The lake is actually where we made our way after the Castle, having paused briefly to have some of our picnic. We went through their Italian garden, where Sean told me he would patiently walk slowly while I took all the photos I wanted, and came down to the portico where they were setting up for the wedding and also where they had rowing boats and pedalos for hire. We then wound our way back up to the main castle via the rose gardens.
Sean was particularly excited to try the mazes. The water maze was our favourite. Though it was completely open, the aim was to reach the tower in the middle without getting wet and there was only one dry route through the maze. So Sean and I channeled our inner Indiana Jones and negotiated the slick paving stones between the little streams, dodging water jets and pretending to step on the pressure blocks just as the other was stepping over the fountain spouts. Children in bathing suits dodged around us, delighting in getting wet. One generous boy was pointing out all the bits we wanted to avoid if we didn't want to get wet, and showed us how to avoid tripping the jets on a few of the bridges. We made it to the middle dry, but Sean insisted we do it again since we had technically cheated and not actually found the dry route through the maze. It was a lot of fun. The second one, a 100 year-old yew hedge maze - was much more straightforward. I think we only dead-ended twice before we found our way to the middle. Definitely not like that time when I was sixteen and got lost in a corn maze on Halloween. I'm not sure if that was just because this maze was smaller or because of Sean's better sense of direction. We did end up in a debate along the way over whether 'labyrinth' would be a more accurate name for the two puzzles. I thought both were technically labyrinths, because you were trying to get to the middle and not get to an exit. Sean argued that a maze had multiple routes, some of which dead end where a labyrinth has only one route you can follow. Does anyone know what the real difference between the two is? Let me know if you do!
Apart from the mazes, we went for a forty-minute walk around the lake, stopping at the Japanese tea house built over the water and at the two WWII pill boxes we saw along the route. We also paused to admire the gorgeous meadow flowers that were blooming everywhere and then again at the waterfall we passed, which had Sean clambering over tree roots and rocks to get as close as possible and me following and taking lots of photos of him (and the waterfall, of course. But mostly him.)
The afternoon wound down with the two of us finding a bench on a stepped patio with a stunning view of the castle and picking at what was left of our picnic lunch while he tried to explain to me what makes a castle a castle (given that Highclere Castle is not, apparently, actually a castle). If you think you have the answer to that one too, let me know in the comments! On the way out of the grounds, we did a quick walk-through the playgrounds, specifically the Tudor Towers playground, which is an enormous wooden castle with slides, ropes, nets, and swinging punching bags with knights painted on them. Sean and I lamented the fact that they didn't have those sorts of playgrounds when we were growing up, and we jokingly agreed that we'd have to bring his nephew with us when he was old enough to give us an excuse to play in the castle as well.
Another short walk through the sheep fields (and an unfortunate, painful brush with stinging nettles) and we were back at the train station, headed home. It was a fantastic way to spend a Monday, and a relatively inexpensive one as well. Weekends would have been better as they have jousting and archery demonstrations on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer months, but even without that it was still well worth the trip. Tags
This year I seem to be making a habit of going along with a trip, with no specific idea of where I’m going, only to find that I’m consciously planning to go back to that same area about a week later. It happened over the Easter holiday, where a bus tour I had booked skirted the villages around Stratford-Upon-Avon instead of the originally advertised, more widespread locations, and then I made my way back up to Stratford-Upon-Avon a few days later for an overnight visit.
This past May holiday, it was the South Downs, an area of outstanding national beauty in the Souh towards the coast. It started with the celebrations for Sean's mum's birthday: his sisters organised a weekend in Chilgrove at a cottage in the middle of the woods in the Kingley Vale Nature Reserve. We had to drive along a deeply rutted and uneven dirt road that seemed to be taking us nowhere, twisting through heavy green trees until we finally came to the end of the road and the high, thick, rabbit and deer-proof gate that protected the 11th Century cottage (fortunately much renovated and modernised since then). It was a slow weekend, as there was not much to do in the area given that I am not insured to drive in England (or in Canada anymore, for that matter), but it was beautiful. There were multiple public footpaths and bridleways that spread, web-like, around the cottage, and the fields and woods surrounding us were home to roaming pairs of deer. Mostly we stayed in the enormous garden, though, reading, chatting, and entertaining Sean's toddler nephew. There were lots of games played, much sunning, and even more pastries eaten. We were all debating the relative merits of actually owning a cottage in the middle of nowhere and, while we all thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet, all agreed that we could not happily live in such a quiet retreat all year long. I think that's partly why the unexpected highlight of the weekend was our stop at Arundel Castle on the way home. We'd had enough of the silence of the woods and cottage and were ready to be doing something and surrounded by busy people again.
Why was it so unexpected? Well, because of rail replacement services, Sean and I had to catch our train home from Arundel rather than Chichester, and since Jackie and Jo were giving us a lift there anyway, the whole family detoured to visit the castle. It was only fifteen or twenty minutes by car, and well worth the visit. The best part for me was how excited Sean got, and the way all his stress and frustration seemed to dissipate as we entered the main castle and made our way to the original section and its battlements. As much as I love visiting castles for myself, I enjoy them doubly so because I get to watch Sean be excited and delighted.
We had a quick wander around some of the grounds as well, but since the others weren't quite as interested in touring the extensive castle and grounds, we cut it shorter than we would have otherwise, out of consideration for the fact that they all also still had a very long drive ahead of them. If we had gone on our own, we could very easily have spent an entire day there. When my summer holiday finally arrives (hopefully with the return of some of the twenty-plus sunshine that we had this past spring) I am considering hopping on the train back down to Arundel to explore the grounds and gardens much more thoroughly. There is so much else to see in England though, so we shall have to wait and see if I do, or if I decide to go somewhere new instead!
Now for the return visit:
Anneka and I had been talking for ages about booking a quiet country holiday, perhaps at a spa hotel, for a few days over the actual May half-term holiday. We decided to get together after work on the Monday following my weekend in Chilgrove and actually book something. Originally we were planning to head slightly north-west, and book somewhere in the Chiltern Hills, but when we were struggling to find somewhere we liked there, Anneka suggested the South Downs. We managed to find an excellent deal at Goodwood Hotel - we got full access to the spa facilities and gym at this four-star hotel, and a cooked breakfast both days, for less than we would have paid for an AirBnB! Goodwood was where I really, properly unwound and finally managed to switch off. Funnily enough, that's a very similar pattern to my double trip to the Cotswolds - the first visit I was still running on high stress mode but by the second I was completely relaxed. I think it probably helped that I was on school holidays for both of the second trips. In this case, the spa also helped - the sauna and steam room in particular softening all the physical tension, then the hot tub melting away the stress. It was wonderful to be out in the fresh air all day, wandering the parks and woods on the Goodwood estate, and then come back to the hotel and soak away any muscle stiffness. We had such good luck with the weather too - no rain! Just sunshine and balmy skies. The food and drink at the hotel was excellent too. Expensive, but tasty. We couldn't justify eating there all the time, given the cost, but if I could have sampled everything on their menu, I would have. And we didn't even go to the proper restaurant on the estate - just the hotel bar! We did go to the restaurant for drinks on the last night, and I really wish I had taken a photo of their cocktail menu. They were smooth as anything, and dangerously tasty. Again, if I could have afforded it I (and if my liver could have handled it) I would have sampled one of everything. The best cocktail I had was at The Kennels though. Funny story about the Kennels. Anneka and I couldn't find this mysterious bar anywhere on the estate. We could see it on the map, but the map wasn't very good (and neither Anneka or I are very good at reading maps to begin with) and the guy who we asked directions from wasn't very clear either. It was supposed to be a twenty minute walk from the entrance of the estate. Over an hour later, and having tramped through the ivy and rubbish on the side of a narrow road for nearly ten minutes, we finally stumbled into The Kennels. It turns out we'd passed it multiple times, but there seemed to be a wedding party outside so we assumed that couldn't be it! By the time we found the bar and ordered our drinks, we were laughing at ourselves for not having arrived significantly sooner. I had a ginger cosmo and Anneka had a glass of red wine that she is still fondly reminiscing about. I don't drink wine, so we'll have to take her word for it that it was truly excellent. Once again, this trip wasn't all about sightseeing. We had meant it to be days of country walks, and being healthy and gently active, but while we did have a few small walks of a couple miles it was much slower-paced than that. On the first full day there, we were planning to wander the Chichester Harbour area for the day, walking along beaches, through villages, and around the natural marina. We started at West Wittering beach but only got as far as East Head. We only stopped to read for a little while and eat our sandwiches but we ended up reading in the dunes for three hours. We watched the tide come in and gradually lift the boats that had been beached when we sat down before deciding that it was time to walk back and find ourselves a pub for some drinks and figure out what we were going to do for dinner. It was so refreshing to not have to worry about when and where we were going to be, and to not think about much except my book and good food. I did learn something surprising about myself though: I am not a spa person. I love going and having the massages and facials and other treatments, and I love using the hot tubs, steam rooms and so on. But to go to a spa for the day, without a treatment booked, is rather...boring. I had a book I was reading and enjoying, and I did enjoy using the facilities. But I was restless after a couple of hours. Something for me to remember next time I'm planning a spa break: make sure there's more to do than just the spa! Tags
Spring has arrived in England! The sun is out, the days are long, and there's a fresh bounce in everyone's step. Visiting the Cotswolds this past holiday was like taking an undiluted shot of spring vibrancy, leaving me zinging with energy and positive momentum.
The Cotswold is an 'Area of Outstanding National Beauty' in Oxfordshire, so named partly for the gentle rolling hills (wolds) that pop into your mind's eye when you think of rural England. Driving up from London on a coach, early Monday morning, I admired the variegated fields from my window, only half listening to the tour guide talking about the sheep farming industry and its effects on the area. Mostly I was basking in the warm sunlight pouring through the windows. The coach took us to Bampton, which some of you should remember from my blog about Jason and Renée's visit as a filming location for Downton Abbey. While the tour guide walked everyone into the hospital location and church, I wandered off on my own to explore some of the side streets and get some shots of the gorgeous spring flowers. All the villages we visited that day were absolutely bursting with tulips, daffodils, primroses, and fruit blossoms. It was stunning.
As we made our way towards Blenheim Palace, we stopped in Burford for lunch and took a detour to drive through Stow-on-the-Wold (not an easy feat for a 52-seater coach, let me tell you). The highlight of the day was definitely Blenheim Palace though, birthplace of Winston Churchill. It was an incredibly grand stately home, with sprawling grounds and beautiful ornamental gardens. The building itself was impressive, with an exhibit set up just off the library about Churchill's home life.
For all that it was a beautiful, peaceful day, I didn't manage to relax. I still struggled to switch off from my inner to-do list, and my mind was constantly churning over whether to continue with my Head of Year role in September, or let it go and take on only the Key Stage Coordinator. I was also going back and forth over whether or not to apply to Merchant Taylor's School and Berkhamsted School when I got back to London. None of this was fully conscious and I often found that I'd been thinking about both or either for a good twenty minutes or more before I was even aware of it. We also got caught in traffic coming back to London, so I had plenty of time to slip in and out of ruminating as I stared at the back and sides of the red double-deckers the surrounded us in stand-still streets.
The following Wednesday I took a train back up to the Cotswolds, this time making my way to Stratford upon Avon. I ignored the organised tours and made my own way around this town, and this time I actually managed to be present (at least most of the time). I had a full experience ticket from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, an Air BnB booked for the night, comfortable trainers, sunglasses, and a determination to actually unwind this time. As if to encourage me in my mission, the weather had taken a sharp upward turn and was even more gorgeous than Monday. Not only was it brightly sunny but it was also warm, with temperatures sitting comfortably in the mid-twenties. I spent most of my two days there in a T-shirt and, while walking the mile and a half back from Anne Hathaway's Cottage, wished I had shorts rather than jeans. While the weather played a role in my relaxation (it always has an unreasonably big impact on my mood), the gardens and riverside had their part too. Hall's Croft and Anne Hathaway's Cottage in particular had stunning gardens where I lingered, writing my thoughts and impressions of the trip and generally snoozing in the sun. The Cottage was particularly pleasant because there was a woodland walk, an arboretum, and an orchard for me to wander around in as well. When the train I had planned to catch on Thursday afternoon was cancelled, I didn't even bat an eyelid. I just walked back into the town centre and made my way to the river, where I used my coat as a blanket and my backpack as a pillow and just people watched and daydreamed for another hour and a half.
It's funny that when I tell people I went to Stratford upon Avon over the holiday nearly everyone's reply has been a variation of, 'Oh lovely, what did you see?'
Originally I hadn't planned to see a play at all, but Sean convinced me that it was worth it. So I booked tickets to the only Shakespeare production that was playing at the Royal Shakespeare Company when I was there: As You Like It. The play was excellently staged - fun and loud and rude and generally true to Shakespearean comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed it. In an amusing coincidence, it happens to be the same play that I saw with Jenn over the Easter holiday two years ago, when I went to Stratford upon Avon in Ontario with her. I quite like the fact that I can say I've been to both, and that I've seen the same production. The unplanned parallel really makes me smile. As did the stunning riverside views from the theatre, complete with swans and row boats named after Shakespeare characters. tags
So I'm a little late with the update this week, but my initially gloriously commitment-free weekend became utterly consumed with writing the personal statements for a couple of job applications (and a visit to the cinema to finally catch Captain Marvel), but more on that in a couple of weeks when I (hopefully!) have something more interesting to say about it.
Last Monday was Sean's birthday, so as much as I was able I wanted the weekend to be all about him. That's why Saturday afternoon found me wearing an England rugby shirt, sipping a pint of cider in a sports bar in Victoria station and watching two back-to-back rugby matches. It was the Six Nations final weekend and Sean wanted to see the Wales v. Ireland and England v. Scotland games, so that's what we did. Now here's the part that may shock those of you who know me at all: I actually really enjoyed the afternoon. I have never been remotely interested in watching sport, and I've only dabbled in playing - and that never competitively. I suppose that's one of the beautiful things about love: broadening your horizons and all. But there was something about actually wearing the team shirt (well, kind of...I think it was a touch rugby shirt) and being around so many people who were having a few drinks with their friends and thoroughly invested in the outcome of the match that was incredibly energising. Beyond that, I took delight in watching how much Sean was relaxing and enjoying himself, chatting to his friends who joined us and commenting on the games. His pleasure was at least half of my enjoyment that afternoon. I think it also helped that the England v. Scotland match was absolutely incredible to watch. England dominated the first half - up 30 points and making some ridiculous plays that were practically taking the mick out of the Scotland team (according to Sean, at least). After half-time, Scotland utterly destroyed our lead, making it an absolutely mad dash in the final two minutes of the game to tie it up. It was unbelievable to see. Though I will admit that somewhere in the first half of that match I was checking my emails and Instagram. England seemed to be doing so well that I was taking it as a given we'd win the match. My bad. While my Saturday might have been an unusually out of character pastime for me, Monday evening was certainly right up my alley. Sean had been eager to see the musical Hamilton since before the show arrived in London but tickets have been expensive and difficult to get hold of. Way back in November I managed to get online right as they released the next batch of tickets and bought a pair of stalls seats for his birthday - both as a gift and actually for the date of his birthday.
Hamilton is incredible, deserving every syllable of the hype surrounding it. When Sean and I spoke about it afterwards, we agreed that it's easily the best musical we've seen since we've been together. The music was thrilling, the lines and story so tightly written and rich with subtext and references and humour that I would have to see it a few times to feel like I actually noticed everything. The first half was definitely the stronger half, though there was no point in the show where I felt even the slightest boredom or restlessness. There were moments where I wasn't at all sure where it was actually going, but I don't know the history of America's foundation, nor did I know anything about the musical before we went to see it, so that was more ignorance than anything to do with the musical.
If you are a Londoner and would like to see it, I have to warn you that tickets are still expensive. They're not completely unreasonable anymore if you catch the new batch releases early enough so if you can, I would definitely recommend seeing it. It's the first musical I've been to where I left the show thinking about ordering the soundtrack. In fact, when Sean mentioned that he wanted it too, I ordered it off Amazon that night on the train home. I can't sing it's praises enough, though since I can't really sing very well at all, I will just let the cast do the singing for me; here is the opening number performed and filmed at the 2018 Olivier Awards. It's also the song that has been stuck in my head all week. Enjoy! Tags
Last weekend I wound my way through the tube network over to Acton in west London, where I met Sam and Liana for a much overdue girls’ night out. We’d booked tickets to a show at a pub called The Aeronaut, about five minutes away from Acton Town tube stop. It’s an unassuming building, from the outside seeming less warm and welcoming than the weatherspoon’s over the road. Inside is a quirky pub decorated with red and yellow stripes and murals of fire eaters and trapeze artists. A mishmash of pieces from old carnival rides adds flair, helped by the menu of sticky sweet fair-ground-themed cocktails (I had two candy floss bowls, as much for the sugary garnish as for the fruity mix of gin and liqueurs). Going out back into the beer garden revealed a lengthy stretch of paving and astroturf packed with colourfully painted, heated booths and rows of park benches. March is still too cold for hanging out in beer gardens, but Liana said in the summer it’s so packed they actually set up a BBQ and a bar outside. As fun as the pub’s decor was, the real draw to The Aeronaut is the show; the pub is divided by a mobile wall and thick black curtains, behind which is another bar, a dining area, and a stage with bright spotlights and aerial performer ropes and slings dangling from the ceiling. The Aeronaut hosts its own circus and burlesque performances.
Tickets to the show were £15 (or £18 for front-row), and the area was small enough that there aren’t really any bad seats. Beyond being unfortunate enough to sit behind a post, you would always have a good view of the stage. The show was hosted by a familiar face - a burlesque performer who goes by the name of Lilly Snatchdragon. Sean and I first encountered her at a show in Southbank the summer before last, as an assistant to the host there. She’s good fun, with a beautiful singing voice. The show itself was quite short, lasting about an hour and a half with an intermission, but the performers were all talented. I particularly admired the woman who performed some great hand stands and balances, all while singing beautifully. Even the serving staff were talented singers, providing sporadic entertainment before the show and during the intermission by singing covers. After the show the stage was packed away and the space became a dance floor; the curtain and mobile wall were pulled aside to open the whole pub up for the dancing.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the night, I did think the bar was overpriced compared to the shows I’ve seen at the Udderbelly festival in December and the Speigeltent at Southbank in the summer. Especially given that we weren’t even in central London. While the drinks prices are fairly standard for London, I did think it was a bit steep for a pub in the outer edges of the city. Again though, it was really good fun so I do recommend giving this pub a visit if you’re anywhere near Acton. Just maybe don’t go all the way into London and out again to get to it. There are better spots in central. Tags
Experience bars are the current big thing in London, with various pop-ups popping up around the city for a few months and then disappearing, only to re-emerge a year later in a new location. I was a bit sceptical of them when I saw them on Design my Night, but when Sam suggested this ‘magical cocktail experience’ for her birthday in January, I said sure.
For £35 each we got a two-hour time slot and three quirky cocktails. When we arrived we were given robes, wands, and assigned to a ‘potion’s master’ who gave us the instructions for our first cocktail and the menu for the additional drinks. I had an absolute blast. The drinks all came with a long list of ingredients, pre-measured into potion bottles, and a complicated set of instructions for mixing. It was such good fun! Lots of smoking, bubbling drinks in lurid colours and a steeped heated infusion that I definitely wanted more of. A warning though: they do not skimp on the alcohol in these drinks. They were strong, especially the additional ones you could order, which we also sampled freely. Each cocktail was beautifully presented – including the Dragon’s Breath, which arrived on fire – and was by turns tart and sweet, and all were flavourful and potent. We had a great time, and all left the bar walking a little unsteadily for a Sunday afternoon.
The Cauldron is gone for another year, but Sean and I went through the other experience nights currently available in London and made a list of ones we’d like to try at some point:
The Bletchley Moonshine Saloon The Piano Works tags
Because I’m a bright cookie, in the redesign of the website I managed to delete my original Ancestry visa application post, so I am writing a new one. Consider this an updated version (as costs involved have changed, even if the process has not) with an added benefit of hindsight.
The ancestry visa is a 5-year visa, compared to the youth mobility, which only covers you for two years. I could have applied for this one back in 2014 when I was first moving to England, but it is a more expensive visa and more years also means a higher health surcharge. When I was still insisting that I would only be going to England for a year or two at most, it seemed a waste of money to get a 5-year visa. Looking back, I now regret taking the youth mobility route first. You see, in order to apply for indefinite leave to remain (step 1 towards citizenship), you have to spend 5 years in England on the same visa scheme. I’ve been in England nearly 5 years and have decided to apply for indefinite leave to remain. However I’m not eligible to do so until April of 2020. So if you think there’s at all a chance you might want to stay in England indefinitely, save yourself the wait and go straight to the ancestry visa (assuming you have the option). Right then, on to the guide: For this visa I technically applied from Canada (because that’s where everything gets submitted and where I had to go for my biometrics appointment) but I completed most of the process in England very easily. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, immigration consultant, immigration officer, or anything remotely resembling those. What I'm saying here is all gleaned from personal experience. I hope it helps you, but this information is only accurate as far as I know it and only at the time of writing this post. So. Grain of salt, everyone. To apply for an Ancestry visa, you need to meet these two main eligibility criteria (check out the government of UK website for more specific information).
My grandmother was born in Scotland, so that’s the angle I’m applying from. It meant I needed a marriage certificate as well, to prove my dad was actually related to my grandmother (different surnames and all). Step 1: gather your documents
The gathering process here is a little more complicated than the youth mobility, though hopefully no one else has to deal with too many different countries to get their documents. You will need the following documents:
All the documents you submit need to be originals, which they do return with your passport. In my case this was a little complicated for documents 3 and 4. All my grandmother’s documents were in South Africa, and in a very fragile state because of their age. My uncle was initially reluctant to send the originals in case they got damaged in transit. Fortunately for me, getting a new copy of her birth certificate was a simple matter of ringing the National Records of Scotland and requesting a copy get posted to me. If I remember correctly, it took me about 10 minutes on the phone and cost £7. The certificate was through my letterbox within a week. My Gran’s marriage certificate was a different kettle of fish: that was a South African document. I don’t know how much any of you know about the South African Home Office, but getting government documents out of them can be an impossible undertaking, regardless of how many officials you bribe along the way. My uncle agreed to send the original, first laminating it between two sheets of lager paper to protect it. When it arrived I just cut the plastic and the marriage certificate slid out. They weren’t kidding about it being fragile, so the laminating was a good shout. Step 2: submit your online application
Just like with the youth mobility visa, the actual application form is filled out and submitted online. Visit the visa application website and create an account to start the process. Make sure you have the personal details of your parents and grandparents to hand while you’re filling out the form, and that you also have your travel history handy. They ask for a record of every time you came and went from the UK, where you were going, and why.
As long as it’s within three months of the requested start date of your visa, you can complete and submit the application at any time. I did mine at the end of February and scheduled my biometrics appointment for the latter half of March. The current fee for the Ancestry visa is £516, with a health surcharge of £400 per year of the visa (£2000 for the Ancestry). I think you can see now why I was reluctant to splurge on this visa when I wasn’t sure if I actually wanted to stay in England. Comparing it to my post in 2016, you can also see prices have gone up quite a bit. Oh, and remember to double and triple-check all your information before submitting. I forgot to include my middle name on the application and that was a source of some serious panic and tearfulness at my biometrics appointment. Apparently they can potentially deny your visa based on something silly like that. Step 3: make copies of everything
Just in case.
My dad and I had notarised copies of the birth certificates and marriage certificates made, as replacing all these South African originals if they got lost would be a nightmare. With this visa the government does return your original documents to you, but we wanted copies just in case something went wrong. Step 4: attend your biometrics appointment
You still need to schedule your biometrics appointment through VFS Global in Canada.
You will also be given the option of having your documents couriered to your door. It costs $39 but is well worth it (unless you live within easy reach of the VFS Global offices.) Step 5: hurry up and wait
I paid for priority processing and I received my acceptance within two weeks. The government guide says most applications take 3 weeks but that they could take up to 8 weeks to come through. The wait for this visa was much more relaxed than the youth mobility, as this is a non points-based visa. In theory, as long as my ancestry documents checked out I would be granted the visa – especially with a guarantee of good salaried work. That being said, there was still much relief and cheering when the visa finally arrived in the post!
Step 6: celebrate!
You are now allowed to stay in the UK for 5 whole years! And apply for indefinite leave to remain at the end of that! Double yay!!
But there's one more thing you need to do before you can forget about visas and whatnot for the next four and a half years: step 7: collect your B.R.P.
This is a new process from the youth mobility visa. Now, the visa they attach to your passport is only valid for a month after the Ancestry visa start date. You have to provide a contact address in the UK when you apply and they send a letter to you when your Biometric Residency Permit (BRP) is ready for collection.
This is a little plastic card – much like a driver’s license – that is your real visa. I got my letter within a week of returning to the UK and had to go to a post office in the next town over to collect it. Now, any time I travel outside of the UK, I have to carry both my passport and this residency permit. If I lose it while on holiday, I have to apply for a replacement immediately and also pay a hefty fee at the airport to get back into the country. Tags
In August Sean and I got to play host and tour guide to my best friend and her parents, as they came over from Canada to explore London. I loved it; I got to see Jenn, share my love of London with her, get to know her parents more socially, and Sean got to know Jenn better. It was a winning combination.
Aside from pubs and museums and other landmarks, we also took a day to visit Windsor Castle. I’ve been to Windsor before and even if you aren’t interested in the Castle it’s a beautiful town to visit. Great pubs, restaurants, shopping, and a stunning riverside. That being said, the Castle is well worth a visit. As grand and extravagant as the interior is, I enjoyed being out in the grounds much more. The walkways are a maze of roads and paths between buildings and through gardens. The Castle is built into the side of a hill so as you walk along you are at times taking in a stunning panorama of the town and at others hemmed in by towering stone walls and steep hills of immaculately maintained gardens. tags |
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