Operation – New Friends

I’m blessed with many wonderful friends – the problem is most of them are too far away for a night out. Now that I’ve decided to stay put for a while (6 months, 6 years NFI, the joys of freedom), it was time to get out there are meet new people. Now it might not come as a surprise to learn, that I’ll pretty much talk to anyone, so off I went on a couple of nights out to see a few bands. Tribute bands are huge here – and the couple I’ve seen (Depeche Mode and The Cure) were excellent. And a couple of ska type bands have been lots of fun too. The problem with that was that people are there to watch the band and not necessarily chat to the lone Aussie. Still enjoyed the nights out.

And then I discovered MeetUp and just like that – instant friends!

From Hampton to Southampton

It’s been nearly a year since I packed up my life in Melbourne and flew to the UK.  Hard to believe. The time has flown and yet looking back over the year, I’ve managed to do A LOT!  I remember those last few manic weeks before leaving.  Finishing up at work and literally throwing away everything I owned except for a few sentimental bits and pieces that I put into storage.  It wasn’t easy and there were many WTF am I doing moments.  So many memories and dreams all thrown away.  I’d been talking about downsizing and minimising and suddenly there I was completely free. And unemployed.  Gulp, a little scary but it was time to spread my wings and fly away.

It was a little sad leaving my little house by the bay with my amazing Neighbours.  Mixed emotions.  The last home my beautiful Lucas and Lola knew.  But the last year filled with way too much hurt, pain, and anger to remain.

I arrived on a sunny day in London (yep, clear blue sky and gorgeous sunshine), 27 February 2022 and made my way down to Southampton.  First couple of weeks were spent catching up with cousins and playing tourist.  Lesson number one, it doesn’t rain or is anywhere near as cold as I’d expected it to be. 

Aussie Magpie v Eurasion Magpie

Way back BC (before covid) I decided “Never Stop Learning” needed to be a thing (dementia be gone).  One of the things I had on the things to learn list was to name 20 of Melbourne’s most common birds.  List in hand, off I went for a bit of bird spotting and even went along on a bird watching walk at a local park. I did a little story and then promptly forgot. Whilst in Africa recently, my interest was renewed.   Maybe it’s an age thing.  First you get into growing tomatoes and then you move on to bird watching. Hmm, what comes next? Maybe bingo or bowls.

Now in the UK, I figured time to learn a bit about our local feathered friends.  I found two second handbooks on birds and got myself a new pair of binoculars (old pair MIA).  Bird watching seems to be a popular past time here and lots of people put out food. Living on the 2^nd floor provides limited opportunities for placing bird feeders in trees, but I’ve attached a feeding station to the window, so hopeful that once the trees bloom they’ll pop by.