Monday, August 13 – Friday August 17 2018

Lois and I spend 4 nights in Haslemere with our daughter Alison, Ed (Alison's husband), and their 3 children, Josie (11), Rosalind (10) and Isaac (8).

The family moved back to their house in England one month ago after almost 6 years' residence in Copenhagen, and their lives are currently dominated by their efforts to get used to their new circumstances.

Ed has not found a new job yet. He spends a lot of time "networking", either by phone or in person: he was in London on Monday, meeting with former colleagues and other promising contacts in the legal world, making himself known and going on the hunt for suitable job opportunities. His former employer has assigned him a career counselor who lives near the town of Basingstoke, not far from the family's home.

Meanwhile, he also has gardening to do: the house has a massive back yard, with many tall bushes and hedges that need to be cut back and other jobs in the house.

Ed and Ali have also begun to form, or resume, friendships, old and new, in the neighborhood, and to help their children to find friends among their future classmates when they start their English schools next month. Josie, the eldest, may have the biggest problem in this process - she is a little shy. I sympathize with her: I started at my eighth (and last) school when I was 14 years old because of my father's frequent job changes and moves to different towns - yikes, nobody knows how much I suffered: poor me !!!!

It is a peculiarity of British and Australian schools that all children have to wear school uniforms, and not just in private schools. Alison has already bought the necessary uniforms, but the children also have to be able to tie their striped school ties. Lois and I were lucky enough to be able to witness Ed's first master class in tie tying, which he gave the children in the family kitchen. In Denmark children can wear whatever they choose to wear.

Ed's master class in school tie tying

All in all, a difficult period for the family: the excitement of discovering new or forgotten experiences, but also a lot of insecurity for all of them in one way or another. And if Ed comes across an unmissable job opportunity in another part of the country or abroad, Lois and I suspect he will take it: which will mean that the whole family's life will once again be changing in unpredictable ways, and they will have to say goodbye to their new-found friends and classmates.

Ali's efforts to find new sports or other groups that children can enrol in, plus efforts to form or resume friendships both for themselves and for the kids, means that there is not a lot of free time this week that we can spend on going on excursions or outings.

However, Lois and I, Alison and the kids drive into town on Tuesday to visit the library and swing by Dylan's ice cream parlour.

Wednesday is Alison's 43th birthday and the whole family visits Petworth House, a large 17th century mansion, to celebrate the birthday.

Tuesday: We drive into town and swing by Dylan's ice cream parlour

Tuesday: Ed gets going on making Alison's birthday cake

Wednesday: Alison's 43th birthday. We visit the 16th century Petworth House

Alison's birthday cake

All in all, a very enjoyable week for Lois and me. Now it's back to reality and our quiet and peaceful life as two old crows in our huge house with its huge backyard. We are a bit like 2 broomhandles thrown into the KB Hall - yikes!

Danish  translation

Lois og jeg tilbringer 4 nætter i Haslemere hos vores datter Alison, Ed (Alisons mand), og deres 3 børn, Josie (11), Rosalind (10) og Isaac (8).

Familien flyttede for 1 måned siden tilbage til deres hus i England efter næsten 6 års ophold i København, og deres liv for tiden bliver domineret af deres indsatser for at vænne sig til deres nye omstandigheder.

Ed har ikke fundet et nyt job endnu. Han bruger en masse tid på at ”netværke”, enten i telefon eller personligt:  han var i London i mandags, i gang med at mødes med tidligere arbejdskollegaer og andre lovende kontakter i den juridiske verden, at gøre sig selv kendt, og gå på jagt efter passende jobmuligheder. Hans tidligere arbejdsgiver har tildelt ham en karriererådgiver, der bor i nærheden af byen Basingstoke, der ligger ikke ret langt fra familiens hus.

I mellemtiden har han også havearbejde for: huset har en massiv baghave, med mange høje buske og hække, der trænger til at klippes, og andre opgaver i huset.

Ed og Ali er begyndt også at danne, eller genoptage, venskaber, gamle og nye, i nabolaget, og at hjælpe  deres børn med at finde venner blandt deres kommende klassekammerater, når de næste måned starter i engelske skole. Josie, den ældste, kommer måske til at have det største problem ved denne proces – hun er lidt forlegen. Jeg sympatiserer med hende: jeg startede i min ottende (og sidste) skole, da jeg var 14 år, på grund af min fars hyppige jobskifter og flyttelser til forskellige byer – yikes, ingen ved, hvor meget jeg led: stakkels mig!!!!

Det er en ejendommelighed af britiske og australske skoler, at alle børn må bære skoleuniformer, og ikke bare i privatskoler. Alison har allerede købt de nødvendige uniformer, men børnene er også nødt til at kunne binde deres stribede skoleslips. Lois og jeg var heldige nok til at kunne vidne Eds første mesterklasse i slipsebinding, som han gav børnene i familiens køkken. I Danmark kan børn bære, hvad som helst de vælger at bære.

Eds mesterklasse i skoleslipsebinding

Alt i alt en besværlig periode for familien: begejstringen over at opdage nye eller glemte oplevelser, men også en masse usikkerhed for dem alle på en eller anden måde. Og hvis Ed falder over en jobmulighed, for god at gå glip af, i en anden del af landet, eller i udlandet, mistænker Lois og jeg, at han vil benytte den: hvilket vil betyde, at hele familiens liv endnu en gang vil ændre sig på uforudsigelige måder, og de vil måtte sige farvel til deres nyfundne venner og klassekammerater.

Alis indsatser for at finde nye sports- eller andre grupper, som børnene kan melde sig ind i, og for at danne eller genoptage venskaber både for sig selv og for børnene, betyder, at der denne uge er ikke ret meget fritid, man kan bruge på at tage på udflugter.  

Imidlertid kører Lois og jeg, Alison og børnene på tirsdag ind i byen for at besøge biblioteket og smutter ind i Dylans isbar. Onsdag er Alisons 43. fødselsdag og hele familien besøger Petworth House, et stort 1600-tallets palads, for at fejre fødselsdagen.

Tirsdag: vi kører ind i byen og smutter ind i Dylans isbar

Tirsdag: Ed går i gang med at lave Alisons fødselsdagkage

Onsdag: Alisons 43. fødselsdag. Vi besøger det 1600-tallets Petworth House

Alisons fødselsdagskage

Alt i alt en meget fornøjelig uge for Lois og mig. Nu er det tilbage til virkeligheden, og vores stille og rolige liv som to gamle krager i vores enorme hus med dets enorme baghave. Vi ligner 2 kosteskafter, der er blevet smidt ind i KB Hallen  – yikes!