I'm Staying

  CHAPTER 28 ENGLAND EARNING A LIVING Doing John's washing   We continued to search the internet for jobs. (There seemed to be so many!)   We registered with agencies and scoured newspapers.   Over and over we sent off our CV’s to companies in the hope of their spotting an eager employee.   My husband eventually resorted to writing letters offering his services for free in the hopes of an eventual job offer.   But we had no replies.   Things don’t work that way here.   You have to follow the correct channels, stick to the system.   After all, humans don’t read our applications, and there’s no point in appealing to the compassionate side of a computer! Not wanting to bore you too much I have set out below the incredibly long and intense process of procuring work in this country. Finally an Agent phoned John with an offer.   The position had the important sounding title of Horticultural Team Leader in a large Garden Centre. ...

  CHAPTER 27 ENGLAND IN AN ENGLISH COUNTRY GARDEN   We couldn’t wait to see this cottage that may be our new home, so took a drive to do a little viewing ourselves.   We arrived at a beautiful little typical English countryside village with an old church and a pub and a street lined with old Tudor style houses.   To find the cottage to rent we had to drive down a long, narrow winding lane and about a mile from the village we found our perfect home. A large white cottage set in a beautiful big garden and surrounded by orchards and fields greeted us with a wintery sunshine welcome.   We just knew we HAD to have this place. Bosbury Village Village Church We were so eager to view the inside with the agent the following week that we arrived a full hour early and spent some time looking around the village and inside the ancient church.   We introduced ourselves to the owner of the pub who made us feel very welcome.   When we arrived at what we had ...

  CHAPTER 26   ENGLAND   NEW ADVENTURES IN THE REAL WORLD Verrrrry cold!!!!! In our last week at the estate, we managed to find a holiday home in the village where my sister lives in Gloucestershire.   The owner, being a dog lover was happy for us to bring Paddy and we were able to rent on a monthly basis during the winter months. The Man with a Van transported our furniture to a storage depot in Gloucester and we settled in for the winter in our little country cottage. We decided to register for benefits and visited the nearest Job Centre where we were interviewed and approved for what is known as Job Seekers’ Benefits.   This meant that as long as we were actively seeking work the Government would pay us a small amount to assist with living expenses until such time as we were once again gainfully employed.   At this stage we were still confident that we’d find work quickly.   We had our earnings from our previous jobs and our benefits...

  CHAPTER 25   ENGLAND   FINAL DAYS Growing Chrysanthemums for the house   Naturally the atmosphere became somewhat awkward between us and Sir Duncan after our dismissal.   He obviously didn’t want us on the estate anymore but due to the labour laws he was forced into giving us notice and paying us for work done.   His way of dealing with this situation was to issue lists of duties via email and then send his wife out to ensure that we completed them as quickly as possible.   Working in the cold mist Lady Felicity took her new role very seriously and hounded us throughout the day holding her lists in her hand as she marched around the estate in her wellington boots and tweeds. She must have given up all her normal country lady activities in order to perform this job for her husband.   There was no avoiding her now.   If she couldn’t find us she would call relentlessly on the two-way radio and then the questions would start: “I h...