| THE
HISTORY FILE
(part 1) |
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We
arrived in Sydney airport at 6.30am on Wednesday 23rd June 2005 in the
middle of the 1 day cricket series between England and Australia. A day-night
match, in progress at Trent Bridge, was being shown on all the big screens
around the airport. It seemed very strange to be sitting having a cup
of coffee in Syndey International Airport, watching England beat Australia
back in England, and at Trent Bridge too, Nottingham being my home town.
Having collected the hire car we drove straight to Mudgee, stopping at
Katoomba for breakfast. We arrived at the caravan park at about 1pm in
pouring rain - the first seen in Mudgee for months and months. As we arrived,
the drought broke, typical! At that point we didn't care. We were physically
and emotionally shattered. The feelings defied description. |
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The
next weeks were as hectic as the last ones back in England. The static
cabin on the caravan site, which was to be our home for the next few weeks,
was small but adequate, with a kitchenette and living area combined, bathroom
and 2 bedrooms. It was heated by a reverse cycle air conditioning unit
but had minimal insulation. It was really cold at night with hard frosts
- being the Australian winter, so we resorted very quickly to buying an
electric convector heater and went to bed wearing thick socks and dressing
gowns. However, the days were bright and sunny with deep clear blue skies.
The rain came, went, and returned at intervals, often in torrential downpours
driven by gusty winds. Our priorities were to obtain Australian mobile
phones, open bank accounts, purchase a vehicle, and, not least, a home
of our own. In less than 10 days we had set up a bank account, bought
a Subaru Forester, acquired mobile phones and looked at a variey of properties. |
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Within a few days we had made an offer on a brand-new 3 bedroom villa-style
bungalow on the southside of the town. The northerly aspect means the
rear faces the sun for most of the day. There is rising ground to the
south, and a massive 180 degree open view to the north. It was the view
that helped us decide just where we wanted to be. |
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Having
agreed the purchase price, instructed a solicitor and applied to the Foreign
Investment Review Board for permission to buy, there was nothing more
to do until we had the FIRB certificate, could exchange contracts and
agree the final settlement date. We knew our container from England was
going to take some weeks to arrive in Sydney so we were able to relax
a little. We took ourselves off to Gilgandra to see Jacqui's daughter
and grandsons and went on north to Brisbane to see our friends, Sue &
David. After 10 days, we returned to the caravan park and stayed there
until we finally moved into our new home on 15th August. |
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