Dear all,
Katie went to the UK on Weds 17 June for a three week trip to catch up with family and friends. Here is her account.
What Katie Did in Yorkshire. I arrived on Thursday morning and Chris was there to meet me; it was so lovely to see him and Julie. They seemed really happy and settled in their new home (well, new to me) and I was very impressed with their new kitchen, furniture and garden. He still lives in Yorkshire in a tiny village called Stutton which is only about 10 minutes’ drive from Bramham where we grew up. I spent the first few days there and we had a great time. Chris and I had a few days out, visiting old family friends and my godmother Annette, having long lunches, a shopping day in York, drinks at the local village pub, and I also took a plant to Mum and Dad’s gravestones.
On my second evening, we went out with two of Chris’ friends into Leeds and then on to see Paulo Nutini in concert in Leeds City Square. He was really great although I was surprised to discover that he is Scottish as I had been expecting him to be a suave Italian. I knew quite a few of his songs and it was an excellent concert, but it was ridiculously cold for June and I had to borrow a warm wool coat and gloves from Julie and even then needed to be fortified by a few glasses of wine (for warmth).
On Sunday 21 June Chris and I went to the Polo. It was the Toulston Polo Club Silver Jubilee Plate and was actually a great day out. We were collected in a minibus with other people on Chris’ table, then straight into the champagne reception. The event was formally kicked off when the Red Devils skydiving team parachuted into the grounds. It was very impressive. There were eight of them altogether and they all landed pretty much on the large red cross. Two of them had enormous flags attached to their ankles and two others came in tandem, one on top of the other. They looked pretty amazing in their tight red jumpsuits so I rushed over for a photograph (for the kids).
After that was a three-course lunch in the marquee, then we all sat down outside and watched the polo match. It was very exciting to watch the beautiful polo ponies charging around at top speed but was a bit chilly in a sleeveless dress, as it was only 14°C. At the break between the Chukkas we had to go out and stamp down the divots and pat the ponies. One of the ladies at our table won a rather fabulous watch in the raffle so we celebrated with a bit more champagne before our minibus came to drop us off at home.
On Tuesday 23 June I made an impromptu visit to my old family home, High Toynton. My Dad had owned the house for almost 40 years and both Chris and I grew up there, but when it was sold a couple of years ago I had not had the opportunity to visit it to “say goodbye” to the house, which contained so many happy memories. I had been thinking about going for a long time and decided to just call on spec. I was worried about whether the new owners would welcome a visit from me or not, but in fact it turned out to be a great decision. The new owner couldn’t have been nicer and showed me all around the house and garden, with her two young girls. They have made lots of quite big changes (extensions, stairs, new master bedroom etc) but all in a really good way and very sympathetic to the existing house. I know that Dad would have really liked what they have done, and would have been so pleased to know that it is a happy family home again and that it is loved and respected. The owner was very interested to hear about the history of the house and invited Chris and I to call again the following week.
Chris had a wine tasting the night before I left, to top up his wine supplies and to try out his new garden furniture. It was still a little cool, so he had also bought a patio burner to go with it. It was a nice evening and we tried out lots of lovely wines and Chris spent a small fortune.
What Katie did in Hale. I borrowed Julie’s car and drove to Hale on Wednesday morning and then had two madly social days, staying at Kate West’s house. It was 3½ years since I’d been to Hale and it seemed to have a whole new range of restaurants and wine bars for me to try out! In the space of just two days I managed to visit CafĂ© Gourmand, Costa Coffee, the newly renovated Altrincham markets, the new Moose Bar, went for a dog walk along the Bollin… so, all the main social highlights.
I saw Sandra, Kate W, Sharon and Jill on my first day and had lots of glasses of champagne to celebrate. Sandra’s house is looking just beautiful, with an amazing kitchen extension and wonderful green and lush garden. It was great to see my old partners in crime Kate and Sharon again, not that there was any secret plotting going on or anything.J Really enjoyed the Altrincham markets… a foodie’s delight with vintage-style gourmet food booths and open central courtyard, very cool.
On Thursday morning I went for a walk at the Bollin with Phil Hayton and Rachel McDowell. It was the nicest weather so far, quite a bit warmer and we had a lovely walk along the river and across the fields. They both had their dogs and I also bumped into Jennie Beasley and Nikki Booth out walking their dogs too. The kids’ old primary school near there is being rebuilt and the new building is enormous, at least double the size of the old one, quite impressive. After that I had a coffee, then another coffee that turned into lunch with Heidi, Kate and Sandra and then afternoon tea… then in the evening I went to the Moose Bar for drinks which Jennie had kindly organised, with Kate H, Ruth, Karen, Kath, Vikki, Kate W and Caroline. Really thrilled to see everyone. James Beasley dropped in for a few minutes and I even saw Angus too. Adults had not changed at all, while the kids I saw were almost unrecognizable… They do seem to grow a lot in four years and most of them are now taller than me.
On Friday morning I had a lovely coffee catch up with Jo Turner and was sad to say goodbye, but I did hear that Howard might be out in Brisbane again later this year. I called into the Hale gift shop and then the Trafford Centre for a bit more retail therapy (Marks and Spencer, the White Company, Jigsaw and Hobbs have really missed me) and then drove back to Yorkshire.
What Katie Did in Yorkshire, Part 2. I called to see Jane Hedley, who had been a great friend of Mum and Dad’s and was pleased to see me. We also went to see a drama production that my nephew Ed was acting in. It was a Living History production at Fulford cemetery, with a tour around the cemetery and little tableaux to show how people lived and died long ago. It was a bit quirky and the cemetery itself was actually very interesting. Ed had quite a few lines in his play, which was about Mr Craven who made the famous Craven’s Maryland Toffees in York in the 1800s. There was a bit of toffee eating in the middle of the play, which made the speaking parts a bit tricky. J By this time the weather was mild and sunny and a heatwave was being predicted!
Saturday evening was Nigel and Andrea's wedding blessing to celebrate their 20 years of marriage. Nigel is Chris' business partner at Think Colour and Andrea is the financial controller and together they own the business. They had a full renewal of vows in their very pretty village church, with hymns, prayers and readings. It was a little awkward at the beginning when they walked down the aisle together but was actually a lovely service.
Afterwards there was a party in the village hall across the road from the church. They had gone all out with a delicious hog roast, a dance floor, singer, a bouncy castle, football nets, and lots of Prosecco… a great evening.
What Katie Did In London. The next morning I got the train to London and went straight to Julia’s house for the afternoon. It was so good to see Julia and Chris and their family seems very well. Anna has just done her first year at Durham University and seems awfully grown up. This is quite worrying for me as I clearly remember staying at Julia’s house the night that Anna was born and hearing Julia puffing the stairs at 4am doing her breathing exercises en route for hospital. Eleni and Hector are both at secondary school and Hector is also playing football with Leyton Orient in their Junior Squad and clearly destined for a wonderful Premier League football career. They also have the most gorgeous 9-month old puppy, Millie, who is adorable but has a shoe fetish. She managed to snuffle around in my handbag once or twice but fortunately we located my wallet in the garden before I left.
Julia made a fab roast chicken lunch and then we took Millie for a walk in the park and sat and chatted all evening. We watched the live broadcast from Glastonbury on TV with Lionel Ritchie doing a really fantastic show and we knew all of his songs (and yes we did actually sing along). This is really the best time of year to visit the UK, there is so much happening and I really appreciated the long light summer evenings, which I miss so much in Brisbane.
Monday was a reunion of my OxPoly gang. Julia drove to the Westfield centre and we picked up Eleanor on the way. We had lunch at Jamie's Italian. Mei-Mei joined us for coffee first and then Niki, Clare and Andi for lunch. It was so lovely to see everyone and we had a great time catching up on our lives, kids, jobs etc. The food was scrummy and we had bubbles and photos to celebrate the seven of us meeting up again almost 30 years since our Oxford days, as well as for our 50ths. We drove back via a quick browse in the Boden shop and then I spent the evening at Julia's again watching Wimbledon highlights and playing with the adorable puppy Millie. Summer had properly arrived and it was a perfect warm summer day… a completely different season to the previous week.
On Tuesday I set out around 6am heading for the Wimbledon Queue. I didn’t have tickets but thought it was worth trying my luck anyway with The Queue. I got to Wimbledon just before 8am but astonishingly The Queue had closed, with all tickets allocated before 7.30am! I had breakfast at a nearby cafe instead and bought a few Wimbledon souvenirs then headed back to the Sloane Club which Chris had booked for the night as he is a member there. My room was lovely and felt very luxurious. Chris arrived at lunchtime and we went straight to the roof terrace for lunch. Fortunately they had a big TV screen set up showing the live tennis, with lots of Wimbledon theming, so we felt like we had front row seats. Chris texted all his work friends and told them that I had bumped into someone I knew at Wimbledon and we were now sitting on centre court just next to the Royal Box. Remarkably everyone believed him, which has enhanced my reputation greatly with the Yorkshire crowd.
In the afternoon Chris and I had a quick wander around Chelsea to take in the Peter Jones summer sale, so I could do a little bit more damage to our UK bank account. There was a heatwave by this time, with temperature at 28°C …. Winter to Summer in less than two weeks. We went back to the roof terrace to watch a couple of exciting tennis matches, accompanied by Pimms, strawberries and cream and a nice American couple. It was very cool and pleasant on the terrace and probably more comfortable than being on Henman Hill. It was apparently so hot around the courts that several spectators fainted! In the evening we strolled across the road to Carafini's for a fantastic Italian dinner, followed by a drink in the bar after dinner. A very nice end to a lovely day, thanks Chris.
On Wednesday morning Chris and I took the train back to York. It was now the hottest day in ten years, over 36°C. So hot that the air inside the tropical greenhouse in Kew Gardens was reportedly 6 degrees cooler than the outside air temperature!! Train lines across the country were buckling in the heat with several trains cancelled; luckily ours was not affected. What Katie Did in Yorkshire, Part 3. On Wednesday evening we went to John and Julie Vause's house in Harrogate. They were having a little drinks party to celebrate their son's 18th birthday celebration. We got there a little late, just in time for the speeches and were handed glasses of champagne the second we walked through the door. Afterwards we whizzed back to Chris’ house and straight on to more drinks at Chris and Julie’s neighbour’s house. Chris says that his life is not usually this hectic but I am not so sure… It turned out the neighbours were serious hashers and had been to Interhash events in Malaysia and a few other places and have run on the Hong Kong and Gold Coast hashes. His hash name is probably not appropriate for this blog.
Over the next couple of days I did a couple more visits to family friends and my other godmother Margaret. Chris and I went to High Toynton again and had a glass of wine with the new owners, such lovely people who truly love the house. We had dinner to celebrate Julie’s daughter Gabriella's 18th. In fact all of Chris and Julie’s kids have had birthdays while I’ve been in the UK, another good reason to visit at this time of year. I drove around and took photos of all the local villages with their bunting across the streets and paid a final farewell visit to Mum and Dad’s stones. A last visit to the village pub and then I packed my case for the final leg of my trip.
What Katie Did in Hale, Part 2. Chris, Ed and I drove to Hale on Saturday morning for my final two days in the UK. We had a great lunch at Carluccio’s with Kate and Jerry and then I went on to stay with Caroline and John Harris. That night we headed out to Sharon and Chris Kupusarevic’s home for an intimate dinner with just a few close friends. Sharon and Chris are the caretakers of the Hale Barns Methodist Church which has a hall attached. Sharon mentioned that there was an event on in the hall which was the Cocaine Sniffer’s Society of Hale, which was some sort of anti-addiction group. I was a little surprised, as I’d lived in Hale for seven years and never come across any cocaine sniffers but obviously things had gone to the dogs since my departure.
We had a glass of champagne in the living room and then I persuaded Sharon to give me a quick tour of the house. She suggested we have a quick look into the hall, and assured me that the cocaine sniffers wouldn’t mind. It was quite a surprise for me to discover that almost everyone I had known in Hale was clearly an addict!! It really took about 20 speechless seconds for my brain to process why over 30 people I knew were all in the hall looking at me and how come I hadn’t known that they had all been sniffing cocaine for years.
Once I had got over the shock, I had a wonderful time at my Surprise Party. It was so lovely to see everyone and I especially appreciated the effort at such a busy time of the UK school year. There were lots of people that I hadn’t managed to catch up with up to now and I was really thrilled and very touched by the effort that everyone had gone to. In particular, Chris and Sharon and Kate and Jerry deserve enormous thanks for all the time they had taken in deceiving me, organising balloons, sorting drinks and ice and catering (a fab chilli con carne with just a little touch of coriander). Several people had also produced desserts and I am not sure who was involved but thank you to everyone. It is not often that I am truly lost for words, as I was that night, but fortunately I recovered well enough to make a brief speech later, in which I remarked on my total shock at discovering how many cocaine addicts there are in Hale. I did also warn Chris and Jerry that they might want to question everything that Kate and Sharon tell them now, as that is the second time that they have completely and utterly pulled the wool over my eyes!!
The evening passed by in a bit of a blur and I am not sure how it ended up at 2am with a group of us sitting on the hall stage barefoot spilling our drinks over each other, but that is my recollection and I didn’t get to bed until 3am. But the best thing after a big night out is a full English breakfast the next morning, and John was a total hero and managed to assemble the works complete with tea and a green smoothie. Brilliant.
I spent a lovely relaxing day having a late morning coffee with Alison Jamie and admiring her lovely garden, the afternoon in Caroline and John’s garden and then an early evening pub dinner with Sandra and Caroline. Very sad to say all my goodbyes to the gang and goodbye to the UK after a wonderful social three week-trip, renewing friendships and revisiting old haunts. A really lovely experience and hopefully I will be back before too long.
John kindly dropped me at Manchester Airport the next morning for my flight home. The check-in process did not go as smoothly as I was expecting, as there was an issue with my visa. I explained that there must be a mistake as I am a Permanent Resident and pointed to the visa wording “Permitted to remain in Australia indefinitely”. They explained that yes I certainly was a Permanent Resident, which would have been fine if I had just remained in Australia, but my 5-year Re-Entry Visa had expired and now that I had left the country I was now trying to re-enter Australia illegally. I was utterly shocked as I had absolutely no idea that this needed renewing and it seemed rather ridiculous. The check-in lady called an official, who called another official and they phoned someone in Canberra and eventually, after quite some time, they managed to get me a re-entry code and said that someone would be waiting to talk to me in Brisbane. It all took so long that they had to rush me to the plane. I did manage to text a few of my UK friends and mentioned that I might be back a bit sooner than they thought…
Twenty-four hours later I presented my passport to the Immigration Officer in Brisbane in some trepidation. Ah Mrs Forbes, he said, we have been waiting for you, please come this way. Fortunately this had a pleasant outcome, as the Immigration official had completed the visa application form for me and I just had to sign a few declarations. He did mention that this is a very common mistake and happens several times every week. Fortunately I resisted the urge to tell him what I thought of the visa wording. Anyway I ended up with a one-month extension to my Re-entry Visa and left the airport with the intention of applying for Australian Citizenship to avoid future issues. Australia here I come. Advance Australia Fair.
Love Katie.
A visit to my old family home
With a Red Devil
Enjoying Wimbledon at the Sloane Club
With Sandra and Kate
With Karen James
Kate and Caroline showing the love
Millie the adorable puppy
30 years on but who's counting?
Julie at home
Looking good at 2am after my Surprise Party
Australian flag is raised at Chris' house
Selfie at Paolo Nutini concert in Leeds
With Chris and Ed
Chris and I at the Polo
A lovely English summer afternoon