tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67073072342883449412012-03-06T21:16:08.844ZCulturally shocked in Crewe.Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-59864011467348970982012-02-27T12:03:00.000Z2012-02-27T12:03:37.504Z

As I sat having my hair cut last Saturday I reached to unwrap the biscuit given to me with my coffee. It was a speculoos. Just a silly biscuit made me think of the days when I bought the very same biscuits for my children for their packed lunches - not a touch on the ones bought from Dandoy, but then, you wouldn't buy biscuits from that shop for your child's lunch box. And as I sat there with

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-52837056812774541972012-02-07T16:22:00.000Z2012-02-07T16:22:29.636Z

Now that Christmas is out of the way despite the odd decoration still hanging up - I mean, how lazy do you have to be not to have taken down your Christmas kitsch by 7 February, I can report on the weird goings on in this corner of the world. We spent Christmas at Richard's parents, down in Ashford, Kent. I missed the children enormously but was able to speak to all but one whose phone was

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-41062273209755473772011-12-05T23:01:00.001Z2011-12-05T23:01:42.084Z

Coralie, Mum, Tatiana - washing up., a photo by zoeinbrussels on Flickr.Coralie, me and Tatiana, washing up after a lovely roast on the Saturday evening. I still find it strange that my daughters are twins as they are so different - although Richard didn't think so.

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-62697913459202960112011-12-04T14:08:00.001Z2011-12-04T14:12:46.683Z

We had a lovely visit from the girls, despite the weather and the short duration of the stay. Both Coralie and Tatiana managed to come over without any Sterling whatsoever, so when we went shopping I had to forward money to them. They were as surprised as I was to see christmas decorations up in shops already as well as hearing the faint jingle of christmas songs, but apparently it's quite

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-8008539871753105902011-11-16T20:45:00.000Z2011-11-16T20:45:06.020Z

Belgium is now high on my shit-list as it fails miserably to give me or tell me anything that I need to know. And that is after I ask for it. Nicely. What will happen to my pension is anybody's guess, what will happen to the few euros left in my bank account over there is bleak and yet my lawyers are still chasing me for money. These requests from them leave me cold as I have told them the

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-83769658649888230612011-10-24T21:42:00.000+01:002011-10-24T21:42:57.613+01:00

This country has started to drive me absolutely mad. The house is almost ready to live in as all rooms bar one have been decorated and just need the final polish and eventual hanging up of pictures etc, etc. I went and signed on at Crewe's wonderful Job Centre where it seems to be cool to be seen hanging outside, covered in tattoos, cider in hand, dressed in a tracksuit while trying to keep a

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-72013904661026807782011-09-21T12:25:00.001+01:002011-09-21T12:34:36.917+01:00

Eulogy at Honey's funeral by Patrick Devitt (I have taken the liberty of substituting Honey for her real name.) My friend Honey lived an extra-ordinary life. She died before her time and we miss her. Trying to sum up such a life is impossible. Honey could be remembered as anyone of the following: Honey the Artist – who sought to bring beauty to world, who sought to challenge and confront her

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-65065221280752940862011-09-04T22:09:00.000+01:002011-09-04T22:09:01.367+01:00

I have been lazy and ignored this little corner of the internet while I carry on wishing that I win the lottery week after week - if only I gambled my money away in such a fashion, allowing me to get professionals in to finish off my house and landscape the garden properly. As it stands, the main bordello bedroom has been completed, including lighting. So far there are no pictures on the wall

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-24212480643286753062011-09-02T22:24:00.000+01:002011-09-02T22:24:47.935+01:00

Richard: Zoe, I tell you something and 5 minutes later it's gone, hasn't it. It's like fucking Mission Impossible in this house, isn't it. I feel like adding "This message will self destruct in 5 seconds" after everything I say. I do love you though.

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313387849115278988noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-49033783627952921512011-08-13T20:43:00.002+01:002011-08-13T20:50:21.594+01:00

The World Worm Charming Championships were, despite all my own preconceptions, great fun. We were shown to lot 116 and once the 'charming' got going, it felt as if a mini-earthquake was taking place. The entire ground beneath us was vibrating in a manner that we were quite unexpecting, and worms crept out at quite an alarming speed - almost as fast as they disappeared underground again. But

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-60523590961743868202011-08-12T10:56:00.000+01:002011-08-12T10:56:28.814+01:00

I've been away again, atop ladders, under ladders, standing in hallways, bedrooms and stairways brandishing a steamer as if it were a weapon of mass destruction, which of course it is - if you are a piece of wallpaper.  I haven't reported on the worm charming in which a worm entered the Guiness Book of Records, although not physically, I don't think, nor the Wrenbury scarecrows, although I may

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-85514898188845157252011-07-14T19:29:00.001+01:002011-07-14T19:46:15.882+01:00

Sorry to have neglected you all, chickadees, but things are moving quite well here and we're both rather busy.  I finally have all my belongings out of storage and have only managed to empty the boxes with kitchen utensils etc in.  I was delighted to be reunited with my Hello Kitty mug - the last thing that the Twat gave me, so it holds a lot of sentimental value - although Richard isn't so fond

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-42424809110891833532011-07-05T08:17:00.000+01:002011-07-05T08:17:12.902+01:00

Just. When you get thrown into a playpen with a steam stripper and a scraper time just flies until you find the end of the day approaching and the layers of paper that were once on the walls are now stuck to your legs, as far up as your thighs.  Not quite the look that I was going for, but this is Crewe. Must rush to the house for a delivery and prepare the floorboards to be re-floored this

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-29143882204565033112011-06-29T15:36:00.000+01:002011-06-29T15:36:59.880+01:00

Thanks to thecatofstripes for helping me with my Flickr issues. The beer was actually in celebration of the receipt of the keys to my house last Friday - so it's thanks all round. I have rather a lot of spare underlay going free if anyone's interested.

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-6597426653067885212011-06-28T23:08:00.001+01:002011-06-28T23:08:44.546+01:00

Keys!, a photo by zoeinbrussels on Flickr.I'm going to be slightly busy these coming weeks as the floors are to be done, the wallpaper has to be taken off, my stuff will come out of storage as walls are painted and so on.There is a lot to be done to make it my home so the exciting results of the Worm Charming Championships will have to wait a bit.In the meantime, if anybody knows how to get your

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-82259647688069073032011-06-21T22:23:00.001+01:002011-06-21T22:23:03.513+01:00

Charming with chop-sticks...., a photo by zoeinbrussels on Flickr.Some people will try anything.....Via Flickr:Richard is taking on these Championships very seriously. Here he is trying a method using chop-sticks. (It didn't work.)

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-51658251066859282592011-06-20T19:40:00.002+01:002011-06-21T16:33:43.874+01:00

Earlier this month we visited Wybunbury to watch the rather strange, annual Pie Rolling, or Wybunbury Fig Pie Wakes which was taken very seriously, including one little boy chasing after his pie after he had let it go to roll rather sadly not one metre from where he was standing.  After a while the judge let him take it back as he obviously thought it was meant to be eaten, while other

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-6239969581958816552011-06-17T18:47:00.002+01:002011-06-17T19:08:54.577+01:00

Z (cleaning teeth): Ow... R (in shower): What have you done now? Z: Almost poked my toothbrush in my eye. R: How on Earth did you miss that mouth?

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313387849115278988noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-84496853832103445342011-06-14T19:19:00.000+01:002011-06-14T19:19:17.131+01:00

After almost 2 months in this country and several 'Bank Holidays' I am still confused by the fact that supermarkets stay open until really quite late, are open on Sundays and even 'Bank Holidays'.  Gone are the days when I'd realise that the weekend was to be preceded or followed by one or two 'Bank holidays', thus having to remember to buy enough food to cover the days when the shops would be

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-21278291166218099022011-06-08T15:10:00.001+01:002011-06-08T15:46:44.851+01:00

Not having had fish 'n chips since 2008, a delicacy that is hard to find in the Heart of Europe, I was delighted to have this fine meal served to me a few weeks back, even if we did have to go and get it ourselves.  The fish 'n chip place where we collected our dinner had been awarded prizes for being so good and just the smell of chips being fried up next to the battered fish soon had me

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-71601979994043201472011-06-06T16:30:00.000+01:002011-06-06T16:30:56.060+01:00

Before moving over here, somone gave me a helpful list of all the things to get done before you leave Belgium, and when.  One of them was contacting the Commune to let them know that you will no longer be living in the country as of the date you leave and the other involved calling the Belgian (or British - I forget now) Embassy to let them know that you will be moving to England.  It was then

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-5219870982096424362011-05-30T01:25:00.000+01:002011-05-30T01:25:45.544+01:00

Hello, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Richard. Some of you already know me at first hand through my own blog. Others may have seen the odd comment by me in another place but to many I'll be a complete and utter stranger even though I've been around for a long, long year. I would imagine though that all of you, every single man jack bar none of you, will have been surprised to see me

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313387849115278988noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-24165688636669270272011-05-26T21:37:00.000+01:002011-05-26T21:37:26.924+01:00

I've been here for about 1 1/2 months now and I'm still not in my new home yet as the vendor appears to be doing up the house, including cleaning all the carpets which, while a sweet gesture, is ultimately pointless as I aim to pull them all up and take them all to the skip.  He has, however, made the garden look beautiful and I can't wait to move in.  This isn't going to happen for a bit though,

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-29908669524798054552011-05-23T21:38:00.000+01:002011-05-23T21:38:39.132+01:00

Z: When did I last have duck? R: Was it when you first came over? Z: Oh no, I was thinking of ostrich.

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-63235938371752740472011-05-23T14:51:00.000+01:002011-05-23T14:51:07.751+01:00

R: What was that, darling? Z: I was just talking to myself R: That constitutes an intelligent conversation for you, doesn't it.

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-10745296383722791662011-05-18T18:44:00.002+01:002011-05-18T21:48:42.541+01:00

When moving, do make a list of items that you really can't do without as it may come as a huge shock when you realise that you can't use your laptop as the battery needs recharging and the recharger is in another country and the house that you have just left is rapidly being emptied by your son.  The same applies when your GSM finally lets out its last signal before going completely blank and

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-54534059178665767262011-05-12T15:44:00.000+01:002011-05-13T21:45:04.374+01:00

Hermie has been enjoying the mild weather in his pen outside in Richard's garden, especially due to the fact that there are so many weeds in the garden.  He doesn't like weeds in general, at least, not Belgian ones, but Hermie appears to love the weeds here.  This may have something to do with the fact that I cannot find chicory, his favourite vegetable, anywhere.  True, I have yet to look in

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-61382838276655629322011-05-11T19:11:00.000+01:002011-05-11T19:11:35.564+01:00

The last time that I paid a visit to a doctor in this country must have been about 30 years ago.  I've registered with a surgery here and have already had to pay a visit to the rather simple building that appears to be older than it actually is.  I was to be seen by a doctor who, whenever he called out for his next patient, could never remember which room he was in, much to the patients' in the

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-41688990916127349032011-05-09T19:28:00.000+01:002011-05-09T19:28:25.748+01:00

So everything was going well and it was just a matter of counting the days until I moved.  I didn't tell many people that I was leaving and spent the majority of my laptop time trying to find out my National Insurance number that was probably given to me when at school at the age of 16 and not thought about since.  I notified the necessary authorities and sat back, wondering about what I had let

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-71323362064507306062011-05-06T22:31:00.000+01:002011-05-06T22:31:49.728+01:00

I had lived in the house for eighteen years; it was the only home that Todd knew of and the only one that my daughters remembered.  I had watched it being built, the Ex had installed a lovely pond that attracted many newts who I loved watching as they played around in the water - we both thought that we had a home for life together until we decided to get divorced.  The divorce allowed me to stay

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-75235840680598310022011-05-05T20:42:00.000+01:002011-05-05T20:42:11.077+01:00

I was feeling more and more miserable as the end of 2010 approached - the job market was pants and the hope of my getting a job proved futile as the interviews dwindled to a virtual stop.  I realised that my house was going to have to be sold in 2011, so the job-hunt switched to a home-hunt which proved that renting anything in Belgium is ridiculously expensive and that nothing required the needs

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707307234288344941.post-87448193506965216572011-05-03T15:13:00.002+01:002011-05-03T19:29:55.038+01:00

Like getting here, this is a work in progress, but I had to make a first post about something.  Seeing as Eastenders is about to start, I'll stick to one of the cultural changes that I have had to adjust to: English keyboards. Hi chickadees - I'm back.

Zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424569671267642504noreply@blogger.com16