I’ll be called miserable over this post… infact I quote “a miserable old tosser” ….. unromantic, sad etc. I don’t care !

I have such a hatred over this day I can explain in words how much I despise the day !

If you are that sad that you have to traipse off to Hallmark Cards, buy a card and a bunch of flowers for your woman because society tells you that you should .. shame on you !

If you think the 14th is a day to make that special dinner, go out as a couple or slip on that sexy underwear …. shame on you !!!!

True romance is when you do any of these things… just for the hell of it, just because the feeling takes you… just because you get the urge to do it for the one you love. Romance is surprising your loved one, doing something they didn’t expect, making them feel special ….

Do me a favour, take a look at yourself if the 14th is the only day you decide to treat your loved one a little special !!!

So.. following my last blog, I’ve had an up turn in moods, coupled with some more positive news in life…

So, yesterday, with Miska at work, I decided to take the camera out and go for a snowy walk up to the Vine Yards. It was bloody cold !. We are having a normal winter apparently, but I think a month when the temperature doesn’t get above -5 Deg C and my life consists of getting out of the bed at 5.30am to sweep the driveway (I am a good husband aren’t I… well, the wife has to get to work) …

Anyhoo…. I took what was going to be a short walk up to the Vineyards, and on my strolls I took a few pictures.. Once up on the top of the hill I looked across the snowy fields and I could see Domi’s house (Domi is our cousin and Vet .. remember .. ?). So, bugger it, I was out, in the fresh air, so I took the decision to walk to her village. It was perfect for the soul, and blew some cobwebs out of the soul.

So here you go, a few pictures for you all ….

Most people that know me know that I am an up and down kinda character… heart on sleeve, emotional soul, and my blogging frequency will back this up, When I am in a good mood the blogs flow, when I am low… well, they just dry up.

Also, I am beginning to realise that people don’t want to hear your woes on a blog, they want excitement and incite into someone else’s life .. not a moan and whinge …

So, at the moment I don’t have the time or more importantly the desire or temprament to blog on the things I love. So, rather than carry on about life, I shall not be posting for a while. I am still here, and who knows, tomorrow is another day, but right now, my mind has far more pressing issues than Blogging.

So… what do you do ?

You and your wonderful wife have a ‘great’ idea.. a winner.. something that you KNOW the world is waiting for….

How on earth do you go about getting this idea to the world ?

Well, I have run the idea past a couple of people, and with reservations they all think the idea could work. So, I am busy filling my time designing 2 website (no, I am not going to tell you what the idea is, and neither, on pain of death will the couple of people I have talked to about it either !)…

Once the websites are done, then I guess I have to show the world and see if there is the possible interest that I feel there is. Now, I have invested hardly anything so far, and I don’t think I have to invest too much apart from my time (for now). But, what I do have to do is get my site to as many people as possible, and to advertise, get recognised on Google and generally make people aware of my site and, as Wallace would say, “my cracking idea” to as many as possible !

Any ideas on a cheap (and I mean cheap) way to get a web address to as many people as possible ?

I have a feeling I might be the next Gates or Branson ( I promise to employ a spellchecker/proof reader first)

I first stumbled across the ‘film’ / book about 7 years ago, I think (don’t quote me on that time scale). From the second I started watching it I was transfixed on the story.

It is a ‘film’ about 2 mountaineers that start out on the climb to be the first people to sit upon  summit of the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. Joe Simpson and Simon Yates started the accent from their base camp, and after 2 days of extreme ice and snow climbing achieved their aim and dream. It was on the decent the troubles began, and one of the most amazing stories of self motivation and instinct to stay alive began. On the decent Joe Simpson fell though a snow overhang, and fell not far, but managed to break his leg. At 22,000 ft this is a disaster, and they both knew it. To sum up the situation, it meant certain death for Joe, and if Simon had stayed to help, probably would sign his death warrant to. Joe thought Simon would leave, saying he would ‘go for help’… but no, Simon decided to do all he could to try to lower Joe down the mountain and to safety. They fashion a length of rope but tying two lengths of 150m rope together, and Simon could then lower Joe up to 300m at a time. All was going well, if not excruciatingly painfully for Joe, for the 1st three drops of 300m each time. As they attempted the 4th ‘drop’ Joe slid over a vertical drop. With Simon 100m up the mountain, blizzard howling in, he could not hear the cries of the now suspended Joe. He waited and waited for Joe to be able to take his weight off the line so he could start his own decent. With Joe ’swinging’ in mid air, there was no hope of this ever happening. With the cold biting in, and Simon gradually began being pulled off the mountain, he had to make a choice. The only choice he could make…

He cut the rope.

Simon knew Joe would fall to his certain death, he also knew if he just stayed there, they would both die, so he made his choice. Bunkered down for the night, and in the clear morning, he managed to make his way off the mountain to base camp. In shock and of course with the obvious guilt.

Joe had indeed fallen, about 100 m into a deep crevasse, and he lay, alive, in agony and no chance of a recovery. The choices he made then were both brave and amazing. The story unfolds, over the next 4 days how he managed to motivate himself to escape from his ice grave, and decent the mountain suffering from his shattered leg, hunger and thirst. How Simon for some bizarre reason stayed on at the camp rather then descending further, and how, on the brink of death Joe crawled the last few steps to within hearing distance of the camp.

It’s a remarkable true story, told by the climbers themselves. Joe with obvious emotion, but from Simon with a matter of fact narration……

I urge you to watch or read this amazing true story, and if you ever wanted to find motivation and drive.. this is the true story for you.

From my last post, you can pretty much tell I am a huge animal lover, in fact, I think I have missed my vocation in life, and I am sure I should be running an animal sanctuary, and helping the wonderful animals in the world, either that, or I should be Sir David Attenborough’s sidekick in everything he films.….

So, I come to a massive dilemma in my life, and one I knew I would have to face at some point living here in Slovakia. Miska’s family, on her Father Milan’s side they own a pig farm. I am cool with that, everyone makes a living. Part of the family thing is they donate two pigs for Milan and Anka to raise and ultimately slaughter. The first time I was here, they had two 6 month old pigs getting ready for the slaughter. Again, I have no issue with this, when I saw them, they were just pigs in the yard… I never had to even think about the consequences of eating the Klobasa (sausages). Out of respect for my views, and the fact they are a lot of hassle, when we moved here, Miska’s parents do not have pigs this year, for that I am thankful, however, her Uncle and family (now my wonderful friends and family) do have them, two of them, and they have been ‘fattening’ them for 10 months now… and you can kinda see where this is going ……

Two things here, it is a family ‘occasion’ when the time comes to pass the pigs onto piggy heaven. The main reason for this is that it does take a very long time to do the deed and to prepare the meat and finish the job. You need as many hands as possible. So, yesterday the day came, and we were all expected to be at the house for 7am sharp.

This causes me huge problems. I discussed this openly with Miska, Milan and Anka… and they did understand that I really could not bring myself to participate. I think they feel I am a little strange, but that is the way my mind works. They are not food, they are pets…. Weird, wrong and strange… but that’s how I view them. So, the night before, it was decided that they would go, and Miska would call back for me later and I would help as best I can. I did not sleep to restfully…..

But, I lay awake thinking about this, and my contradiction whizzing through my head… and one I can argue forever in my own mind.

I eat meat… I love meat, I have eaten many different types of meat around the world, and I love it. From the huge steaks in America, to Guinea Pig in South America, Camel, Kangaroo .. the list goes on… so… how can I not be part of the preparation ???? Easy … why should I ?? .. we are not all butchers are we .. ? in some bizarre logic I tell myself.. I drive a car but I can’t fix one.. I use the PC but I can’t build one ….. bizarre I know, but I am trying to justify this .. maybe I don’t need to …

I am also very keen to experience new things, and to be able to comment and have an opinion on things that I can. Some experiences in life are not pleasant, but they are experiences all the same. So, when the alarm went off at 6am, Miska was surprised to see me rise, and join the family for the day. I couldn’t be part of the actual killing. I stayed inside with Miska and Filip until I was assure the deed had be done, drank lots of coffee. I decided to venture out and to face my fear.

I was surprised at my feelings and reaction. Yes the pigs were ready to be cut and portioned, and I was quite comfortable with that. As the cleaning process began, I was happy to help, and joined in with the preparation. I found myself dressed as if I was ready for the film ‘Hostel’. Wellies, white plastic apron and doing all the things I should. We cut the meat, moved it inside to be cut, slice and diced into all the relevant  cuts etc. I found myself learning, watching and helping when needed and before long, we had the meat inside for the next stage. I did not have any issue with this. The pigs are meat, raised for that purpose and eaten for food. Nothing different from any piece of port or beef we all eat every day. ALL of the pig is used for various things… and that also sits very comfortably with me.

I stirred the boiling bits of fat (which there is a lot).. making oil and pork scratching.. thinking that I was glad I had gone through the experience. Trust me, I am not saying everyone who eats meat should do this … def not, each to their own, but to see how it is done, to watch father and son ‘feeding’ the family.. well, that is life… that’s how it should be, and I don’t regret a second. The thing that got to me in the end was the smell. The constant smell of fresh meat… I could never be  a butcher for that reason !

I also will NEVER eat the form of haggis having seen what is minced into that, and for now only, I am none too keen on bacon or sausages… I am sure that will change !

Well, here I am again telling you all of another dog rescue attempt. I really think it is terrible weakness that I cannot and will not leave any animal in distress.

We had a great afternoon, early night at friends, and as always I had a few to many shots (seems to be the norm in Slovakia) and driving out of Levice Miska says we need petrol. Cool, being the decent husband I am, I get out and fill the  car in the cold. As I stand there, I notice a fella standing with the HUGE German Sheppard by his side. No lead, but happy to be stood with him, coming back to him if he strayed. So, after filling up, Miska goes and pays, and my love of dogs get the better of me, and I slide over and gentle ask if the dog is friendly… Now, bearing in mind my Slovak is none to clever, I assume he says it is. It was nearly a classic case of

“Does your dog bite?”

“No”

Chomp, Chomp, Chomp ….

“You said your dog didn’t bite !!!”

“It doesn’t, that’s not my dog!!!”……

The dog isn’t his at all, but it has been hanging around the petrol station for a while now. So, I stroke the dog, and I can tell you, he is a HUGE monster of a German Sheppard, ears upright, big head, bigger teeth and the real deal. However, he is very friendly, in very good condition, claws short, well fed and groomed. He is no stray, but likely a guard dog or a outdoor pet. As I stand there, his ears are very alert, and he is watching ever car going past on the very busy main road… he is looking, waiting and getting quite distressed. suddenly he is off into the traffic, chasing a car.. how he was missed by the driver I don’t know…. shaken, I call, whistle and he does come back half way, only to head onto the road again. Heart in my mouth, I am now running, calling whistling in my best Slovak, and luckily, he avoids being hit again, and come back to me …. I am scared to grab his fur, not a clever idea with a dog this side, so lucky, the garage fellas produce some blue string, and I fashion a loop and secure him next to me.

Now what ??? .. well, he is calm, very happy for me to talk to him, stroke him etc … but he is getting anxious. Unlike England, there is no real RSPCA or the like, so the option is the Police … might as well call Mary Poppins for all the good they are !!.. Not our problem…. WHAT ?!?!? tossers … my heart is with the dog getting hurt, but my brain says he will cause an accident… and that will be their job to tell families about a fatal road accident. So, after a while of me soothing the hound, Miska arguing with the police, they say they won’t touch him, but if he gets in the boot of the car, they will take him to the kennels. So, the fabulous fellas at the garage and I try to temp him into the boot … not a hope in hell. He is not a happy dog, we get his front paws up, but any movement further.. growls and snarls a plenty … seems he does have quite a nasty streak. I naturally have the ’snappy’ end.. and I’m not having that. However, when the Police say sorry and drive off… I still have this nervous, huge hound with me, and NEVER in a million years will I just leave him., I just can’t do that. So, we have another great idea, and one of the fellas agrees, lets see if he will ‘happily’ get onto the back seat of a car…. (Not ours I might add… for some reason he is no fan of Miskas, and he HATED the Police Uniform of the particularly shitty officer.

So, we open the back door, fella goes round the other side, and in he leaps (the dog, not the fella) and Bob’s your Uncle, we now have a safe, happyish, secure hound. The Police return, and the fella takes said Hound off to spend a night in the cells until the rescue place can collect him. On saying goodbye and thanks, the hounds seems very happy until he sees Miska again…. not the friendly pup he was with me, but nasty …..

I guess he is a guard dog, and he gets protective… yet he was a nice as pie with me … still, job done, I went home sad, but content we had done all we could for the Dog and for the safety of the road …..

Now, 2009 has been a very eventful time for Miska and I, ending in our move to yet another country.. wonder what 2010 will throw at us, and in what ways we will cope with anything 2010 decides on doing

HNY Everyone, hope your dreams come true xx

So, today begins mine and Miska’s three days of celebration .. I won’t go into every detail, maybe after Christmas I will ..

But, today, we celebrate completion of 2 years of marriage. So happy, so content and looking forward every second to a wonderful future. We have achieved so much in our 3 years together, seen more things than most do in a life time, and now we move into 2010 with a new world to find, explore, create and enjoy.

Tomorrow I celebrate my first Slovak Christmas

and like most of you, on the 25th we celebrate my Christmas. This is my third Christmas away from home in a row, and will tough esp as DBM and Mr DBMhave made the trip to England… but I am excited to experience my first here.

Also, a special note to a friend I met pretty much 2 years ago, not knowing he would become a true great friend. I met Cortes in my sisters kitchen, with a beer in hand, and from that moment, with me being stuck in Canada twice for 3 months each time.. we became firm friends. We both share many of the same ‘joys’ in life.. a great sense of humour, a passion for Beer, Football and mostly golf. The miles haven’t dented any part of this friendship, and when I find peace and quiet to watch the football from the prem… I can guarantee that Cortes will be on the end of an email to mock me at Spurs latest disaster.

A good day... Furry Creek

So, one particular friend is having probably the worst time of his life right now, my thoughts go out to him, for those of you having a tough time, stick with it, it does and always does turn around. For those you having the time of your lives… enjoy every second of it.

Happy Christmas, and may 2010 make your dreams come true xx

Ok, I have a VERY broad sense of humour.. I think I can find fun and humour in pretty much any situation. Maybe a nervous humour, but in general, I think it’s ok to laugh at most things, starting with myself. but …………….

I am sure you all get them, emails that somebody copies and pastes to their whole contact list… and currently, I am getting bombarded from a friend of a friend shall we say ( I am not going to out them on here). I find these emails … well, quite simply Racist and Offensive (which to offend me is not an easy thing to do).

I think if I had to name one thing I detest above all else is Racism and any kind of discrimination. I can laugh at or hate somebody for what that individual is… but not class the whole of that race, sex etc because of that person. Traveling has sorted that out for me, I can meet a despicable Aussie, and then a delightful one… an awful Christian followed by the nicest Muslim the world has ever met….. you take individuals as they are … I am very adamant about that. I can’t stand people that judge others by a small section … for example.. “I hate Americans… they are fat and all shoot each other” … “All Muslims are terrorists” … you know the kind of thing … I also hate what I would call reverse discrimination .. the Gay Olympics for example .. (so gay people should be excluded from the regular Olympics should they …?)

So, I am getting a lot of emails from this person keeping on about keeping England English. I love my country, anyone who knows me knows that, I am never call British, I fill all my immigration docs in as English, the same way the Scots, French etc should do. I am a firm believer in “When in Rome” principle. I am also so very proud how tolerant and multi cultural England has become, and how we can embrace ALL religions and customs. Never to say the English should not be able to celebrate our own traditions first. If you don’t like the way England works, simple… get on a plane. When we were in America, there were many things I disagreed about, and in fact hated about the country and society. I never once said that American Society should not do what they do… If I hated it that much.. I could always go home. That’s the way it is….. and eventually, in a roundabout way… I did go home.

If we took all the positive celebrations that people have all over the world, all embraced them and celebrated them wholeheartedly.. what a wonderful thing .. these celebrations are good things, people smile, have fun.. so let celebrate them all.

So, back to my issue… when I get an email that says ‘This is not politically correct, but who cares” and then a racist joke follows, it offends me… when I get emails telling ‘them’ all to “go home” it offends me. When the emails say keep England 100% English… it offends me. When I get e-mails blaming the Muslim faith for so many issues and telling them to go home … it OFFENDS me !

So, how do I go about this.. do I email the friend of a friend, fearing some backlash against my friend, do I just simply take the two cowardly actions and either block that persons emails or just delete them ….

Blogging is funny, like Buses… you don’t blog for ages, then they all come in bunches ….

My stuff has arrived from the UK, most things have be stored again, but finally I have some things that I adore. I am a book addict. They are not all classics, some are trash… but they are mine and Miska’s and they show alot about the characters we are. When Miska 1st came to my flat over 3 years ago, I mentioned you could tell alot about a person from their books .. she looked a little worried ….

In the main, our books fall into 4 categories (no, they are not indexed or in any order… I am not NERD … take note DBM)….

1 – Sport… mainly autobiographies.. I love the mentality that makes a sportsman/women the best at what they do…

2 – Religion. Not mine, but Miska’s.. she love to read about all religions, the good and the bad.. and make her mind up about each and every one.

3 – Travel. Our true love, and I have Lonely Planet and other guides to pretty much every place we have been … I love them and they hold wonderful memories for us.

and the worrying part …

4 – True Crime. inc Serial killers, the physiology behind them, what makes them what they are, and how profiliers catch them. Also, Life behind bars, how the prison system works and people cope with spending 60 years in hardened prisons. …. thats where Miska got a little worried !!!

My favourite book.. thats tough … but I will always say Lord of the Rings. My Fathers favourite, and I read it when I was trekking in Nepal, the perfect place to read all about Mordor… I also love the trilogy Emperor by Conn Iggulden… just a wonderful read. I love ‘The incident of the dog in the night’ by Mark Haddam and finally, a book everyone should read ‘The Holocaust” by Martin Gilbert… Horrific, but people should read it.

What on your bookcase… and your favourite reads ..  ??

Well, I haven’t updated the blog for a few days … again …

It’s not easy when you are an international jet setting like myself … !

Well, I took a short jaunt over to cold and wet Northchurch and spent a week in the bosom of my family.. well, 1 hrs with my brother, no sign of DBM, but Ma, Sister Rach were around to spend valuable time with me. Chilli Boy had decided to get a hernia so that ruled him out of lifting and drinking .. grrrr. Sister R was amazing. she is not a well person, but from Friday am until Sunday pm she marshalled me, bossed me, nagged me and generally organised the whole packing and moving to Slovakia thing. She was brilliant, and we got everything pack and ready for the moving truck by early Sun pm. Wonderful, I couldn’t of done it without her xx

I then had the fella turn up on Monday, packed all aboard and sent him on his way to Plave Vozokany. I managed to do all my Christmas shopping in 30  mins in Watford, had coffee with Auntie Janie in Aylesbury,  curry with the boys on Thursday, and a wonderful Curry with EM and the boys. So, a week was just about enough time to see as many as a could, have some time to relax before heading back to a week-end of Opera and relaxation back home.

Landing on Thursday pm, Miska collected me and we checked into our hotel in the middle of old town Bratislava. We got glam’d up, Miska looking stunning, and had a couple of beers before heading to the Opera. I am not Opera nut, but I do wonder at their voices, occasion and the ability to portray a wonderful story by music. Miska loved it, and after we strolled through the town centre, and looked at the Christmas lights .. a perfect night.

The next day we headed about 2 hrs north to finally use a wedding present given to us by our great friends here in Levice.We spent 2 nights being pampered and looked after by one of the best Spas in the World. Not that many people know how Slovakia have the best natural hot Spas in the world. We have one only 20 mins from home, and there are plans afoot to build one not 100 yrds from Ma and Pa home. We had massages, Saunas, hot tubs.. you name it, we had it.

So, it has been a great few days and to cap it all of, Miska started her new job today !!…..

All is good in Cold Slovakia x

So… if you were to drive through Plave Vozokany you probably wouldn’t give the village a second glance.. you might cycle a little quicker because of the small yappity type dogs that insist on snapping at your heels, but in general it is no different from another Slovak village. We took the cameras out a few days back, and the results are on facebook, we found a beautiful lake and some swans… they make super subjects for photos …

We spent the day as a family laying a new driveway for Milan and Anka, surprises what language you can pick up from a days hard yakka. We needed to borrow the neighbours tractors, so we called round and had our usual introductions etc….. small surprises await… Slovaks seem to love to show you everything, so I was given the tour, saw the pigs, the chickens, the tractor and met the dog.. cocker spaniel called Betsey, I felt sorry for the  pig who is due for slaughter soon and wonderful surprise and a true gem. I have driven past, walked past this small ’shed’ so many times. I have assumed it is for storing garden tools, work boots etc, and to my wonderful surprise it houses something quite special ….it’s an old wine cellar… dug into the hillside, underneath the vines that produce the wine !! How wonderful !

The barrels have been past down through the families and are over 100 years old, and the wine that comes from them every year is pretty bloody good. Slovaks are very proud, and rightly so, of these things, and I was ‘forced’ so sample the wine from the three full barrels at least 4 times. It taste good .. really good, and with the natural temperatures the cellar holds.. perfect.

So, fo a normal Sunday, I spent 4-5 hrs tidying the yard, sweeping leaves, laughing and joking with Milan and Miska. I am trusted with the Tractor, and had lots of fun driving up to the top fields to dump the leaves. To finish it off, to meet more warm, friendly Slovaks who have such a wonderful wine cellar just next door .. cool… really cool !

Job hunting is not much fun as some of you know, and I have not been trying too hard due to my lack of Slovak. I have 2 good opportunities and they will hopefully develop into a role sometime in early 2010. So on Weds we embarked on a round trip of about 500kms for 2 job interviews for Miska.

We made a long day out of it, and took the chance for me to see a little more of my new country. The first job interview was speculative, and using a contact from a old friend of Miska’s. I mention this because the girl is quite a celebrity, and I am all for name dropping. Barbara Franekova is a girl Miska met in London a few years back when she came to England to help her with her English, Miska became firm friends with her then, and despite the miles, they remain that way. Now, if you go google Barbara, you will see that she is currently in South Africa, waiting for her chance to become the beautiful woman in the world. She is in the finals of Miss World 2009, as the current Miss Slovakia… and yes, she a bit tidy I can tell you. I am not a huge fan of this competition, but now I ‘know’ a contestant, and I see her family, I can see what an amazing experience it is for a 21 yr old, she has had a years modeling contract, and a chance to see some of the world. What she will do after the competition, who knows, but she will have a career in modeling if she wants it, now that can’t be bad …

So, we met up for lunch with her mother who runs a Magazine company, publishing 5 magazines and the idea was for Miska to help write a magazine for ideal homes, and a-z of eco, green homes. We will see how that develops. The drive was a long one, but it took us to a new part of the country I haven’t seen, and another chance to see the beauty of the north of Slovakia. currently all a bit grey, as the leaves have gone, but the snow has not yet arrived. The road was wonderful, the villages far nicer than the local ones near us, the three hours seemed to fly by.

I sat politely through Miska’s meeting, amazing how you can look interested for an hour or so, not understanding a word !.. then a more informal lunch. Very nice. The trip concluded with a tour of an eco friendly house, and then a coffee at her house, where they continued on in Slovak, and happily sat watching Bear Grylls on the biggest TV I have ever seen…. Miska.. we need one of those !!!

The drive home seemed a long one, and as we got closer to home, and Miska’s second interview, the fog descended, and we were running out of time for her to get changed and make the second, 8.30pm, interview. We just about made it, and I sat in the car reading and waiting to see if good news followed. She emerged after 1.5 hrs, with some goodish news… they would make her an offer. That is good, but of course, only if that offer is a reasonable one. Since then, they have asked her to return for a third time on Monday.. fingers crossed. We drove back in a real ‘pea-souper’ I could hardly see more than 10m in front of me. 3 animals escaped with their lives flashing in front of them, a cat, a wabbit and a large deer… all just escaping from the car bumper !!!

So job hunting is a nightmare, but sometimes it takes you to meet some good people, and see some great places …

It’s a dark and wet day here in Plave Vozokany, Miska is having a sleep in, and rather to go and wake her, I am trying to find things to do. A few months ago, I would have been sitting out in the back yard, reading a book, or most likely watching the football from back home, swearing loudly as Spurs let yet another goal in… how times have changed, and I don’t think it could have been more radical in the changes. It has not just been moving back to England, but to move to Slovakia… and then, to be living in a small village in Slovakia. Of course there are things I miss from Newport Beach … this being one of them …

 

And it is great that I do miss such things as the 2 years in the USA have been so important for me and Miska, and we both have such mixed feelings of leaving it all behind. We miss so much of the place and the few friends we became close to. We miss our friend Jeff, and we are sad that as his trial approaches we cannot be there to support him. We write on a weekly basis, and keep in touch with his wonderful sister. We know what is going on, but that is nothing compared to actually seeing him and talking with him, so that makes us very sad.

We obviously miss the weather, and the wonderful geographical wonders California and the surrounds have to offer. We were very sad to have not seen Yosemite, but that will always be there for our return. I personally am very sad not to have put a ‘finish’ to our adventure. To leave in the circumstances that I did, not to say a final ‘goodbye’ to certain things and people… ah well, that can’t be helped. One final thing that I miss is the relationship I developed with my sister DBM. Sounds weird doesn’t it, however, to finally be on the same time zone as her, to be able to pick up the phone her whenever I wanted, and to be able to see her 3 times a year was great. We finally shared the same feelings about home, and living so far from home….. Now, we have to ‘book’ a time when we will both be about for skype.

I am sure you all heard the news today about the Major who gunned down 13 serving soldiers (I won’t go into all of that) but, it did remind me as to one of the reasons I am pleased I do not live there anymore. Again, this does go on in other countries, Dunblane, and Port Arthur and others… however, it does seem to happen in the USA on a yearly basis… that has to tell you something about the gun culture of the USA.

So, that brings me back to Plave Vozokany…. We walked around the village two night ago. It is not a pretty village like those in England, but I feel it does have a certain charm to it. In the surrounding fields, everyday we see some beautiful birds of prey (watch this space because we are going out with our cameras very soon), The old houses, the wonderful smell of the open fires coming from each house as you pass, and a feeling that gun crime and drugs would never come into these homes. I am not naive, I know Slovakia has it’s problems, drugs, gangs etc… but I am 100% convinced, it’s a million miles from LA, California and the USA.

On our walk, we called into see Granny. in her old, scruffy, but always warm kitchen. She was sat there, wearing her shawl, old apron with two other ladies from the village. They were sat with piles of Walnuts (all fresh from the garden) shelling them. Cracking the shells away, and talking at 1 million miles an hour. I sat there, not understanding a word, but I can guarantee they were talking about Coronation Street, or the girl down the road who has started seeing so and so from another village, or the very strange English Guy who was sitting and looking into space as they discuss the world economy … I’ll never know… but what I do know is this, California is a million miles from here, and I am pleased about that. I wanted a new experience.. and here I am…

It looks as if the rain will stay for the whole week-end, I will be able to watch my football, talk to my sister and then get to grips with Past and Present Tense … and that is not ****ing easy I can tell you..

 

Laters ….

After being treated to some of the best cooking ever with Anka supplying meals left right and center, I thought I should at least cook the one meal I can cook.. Chilli !!

As some of you might know, my inspiration to start blogging comes from the very top in terms of the Blogshere, English Mum, http://englishmum.com/ . I am sure this will make her spin in her pink Wellies, as 50% of her blog is all about scRRRRRRummy recipes and foody stuff and my attempt at a simple chilli will make her smile, but tough bollocks, I’m gonna give it a go !!

Also, it is worth noting that the best cook in the world, just ahead of Gordon Ramsay, is my gorgeous wife, Miska. She is not a huge fan of my chilli for two reasons. She is not a fan of my meat … oh er … She feels that I make my chilli too meaty, and it sits too heavy on her. Also, She gets a little fed up with the fact I can only make chilli for an army Squadron… and we end up eating the damn stuff for about 4 days on the trot !!!! I love the stuff, and I can eat it for days.. but she, understandably gets the hump !!!

So… this is what I do, laugh, mock and shame me into your better ideas … I know chilli is not rocket science or the hardest dish in the world, however, it’s bloody lovely !

Onions, chilli and Garlic ….. Chop them all, and add to light oil, and brown it all off…… I don’t make the onions too soft, but enough for them to be brown’d off and they soak up the Chilli and Garlic. Note the onions from the garden !!! I haven’t added huge amounts of Chilli, two reasons, I like to be able to taste my food, not have my ginger nuts blown off, and I am making this for Milan and Anka as well.

I then add the Meat, Beef. Again, browned off with the onions etc, and the chilli soaks into the meat…. I will sometimes add some Worcestershire sauce here, but not today.

Once the meat is browned, I just very simply chuck the rest of the stuff in. Tomatoes, Peppers… after these have been added I wash out the tins from the tomatoes (no, I don’t use them fresh !) and add some stock. I simply use some oxo gravy. I like my Chilli to taste of meat, so I happily add this to the mix. Let it all soak and cook for a long time, as long as I can be arsed to keep stirring it all. I would sometimes add some cheap red wine to the mix as well, and I always have a beer on the go as I cook !!!

Finally, I add in Kindney beans and lots of mushrooms… I always add these last as they can become a little mushy if they go in to early. Ready to serve, however, I still think it tastes best on the 2nd and third day !!!! Miska does not !!!

Ok, here we go trying to explain two new celebrations to me .. both wonderful ideas, and one everyone should embrace in my humble opinion …

Oct 30th has now become a special day for me, it’s my Names Day. I have been aware of this ever since I met Miska, but when we were in the USA she forgot the day really, being away from home it’s an easy thing to do, this year, I forgot it was my Names day, so at about 4pm, after my Slovak lesson, I was greeted by a smiling wife presenting me with small gifts… It’s not as important as a birthday, but everyone has a second ‘birthday’ here is Slovensko. What a great idea !!!! It’s just a day where every Simon in Slovakia and Simone gets celebrated. If you ever go to a put on Joesph’s or Michaela’s names day, you can guarantee the pub will be full of Joe’s and Michael’s !!!.. Go on the 26th Dec…. and ask for Stefan… you get a huge reply ! So, any excuse for me to have a few shots of Slivovica, some cokolada and some of Anka’s fine cakes .. Woo Hoo … everyone’s a winner with this one …. Go look when your Slovensko Name’s day, I’ll raise a glass for you !!!!

On a more serious note, the 1st Nov is a very important day and a family celebration on a different, but very important note. It’s all Saints Day. While America goes all out in celebration with their children of Halloween, which they did incredible well in Newport Beach and I am sure all over the US. The UK barely grasps the idea of Halloween, and really, it’s something as a child really just passed us by, we were far more interested in getting to celebrate the 5th Nov….. The Slovaks, and others I believe, take the 1st to celebrate and remember those that have passed away.

What a special, emotional, and wonderful thing to do. I have not done too well with deaths in my family and certain close friends. I lost all my grandparents before I was 18, I was 8 when my first Grandmother died, losing the others as I can barely remember and my eldest Grandfather passing as I turned 18. Today was a moment to celebrate their lives, remember them, and to think about a special friend I lost when I was only 23, he was 24 and taken so quickly for no reason. The biggest loss was obviously my wonderful Father. I won’t go into all of this now, but to lose your Dad when you are 19 is a huge part and influence in my life. I was so lucky to have a father who was a wonderful role model, who worked hard, and spent the rest of his time with Ma and the 4 of us. Sad, so sad to lose him, for him not to be around to see us all succeed, grow old and to celebrate the victories we have in life. Sad he has not got to meet Miska and to look on my travels and success. I won’t go into my beliefs, but, I am sure I will get to discuss this with him one day (he has got a lot of photos to catch up on !!!!) so, the whole family, children up to the eldest visit, tidy, clean the cemeteries and to place flowers and light candles in memory of those dear departed. The graves are beautiful, the candles burn and people meet and greet. We visited our 1st cemetery in the village, and spent time, lighting candles for Miska’s Grand and gt Grand parents. Very emotional, but in celebration. My Father is not buried in a cemetery, or Church graveyard. He is buried under a tree in a place where we spent so much time as children, a very happy place, and I often walk the dog there, spend a few mins just being there. Now I am far away, I lit my candle, stood for 2 mins and thought of the man I call Dad. Tears flowed for a few minutes, and my new family embraced and fell silent for a min. We then visited graves of brothers, Uncles, Aunts and I was learning my new roots and the history of the family. We ended up visiting 4 cemeteries and seeing 2 sets of family I have never met. As always, food aplenty, Domanca flowing and we got home very tired, but in celebration. As night fell, it was a beautiful full moon, the temperature dropped to well below freezing and Miska and I walked back to the cemetery one more time to see the candles flicker and ‘enjoy’ the silence and wonder the home of our departed family.

Remember when you were 3 years old … remember when you parents first started to teach you your a,b,c’s… now try to remember how you first said ‘a’ …. hard to show in a written blog, but a is pronounced by a 3 year old as ‘a’pple … got it ….

 

Well, I am 100% sure you won’t remember when you first spoke your native language, I certainly don’t. I was born speaking English, (not very well, and VERY badly written)  some of you readers were born speaking American, Australian, Irish and of course my Slovak readers.

I am also sure that some of my readers will be fluent in a second or even third language, I doff my cap to you !!!

 

I am learning Slovak. I have had my first two lessons, and I can tell you, it’s not an easy language to learn. (I am sure my Slovak friends will tell me that English was tough too) However, I feel there is no logic behind the language. I can understand how to pronounce certain letters, soft, long etc.. thats ok, I can cope with that, what I can’t cope with is the ‘male’ ‘female’ side of things …. ?? How am I supposed to know that a Dog is Male, and Spring is female … ?!?!? There is zero logic, and no way I can know this, I just have to learn it !!

Also, for us English speakers it is logical for the words “I am going to Bratislava today” to come in that order, in Slovak (and I am sure many other languages the direct translation is “I go today to Bratislava” .. kinda makes some sense, but alien to me !

 

I am starting to pick up on certain words in conversation, but it scares me how far I have to go. Milan and Anka are very patient with me, and Miska is a saint… however.. Miska cannot be my teacher. We just argue !! Strange, I cannot take criticism from her, and I argue over the logic of what she is trying to teach me !… terrible from me !… however, Miska forgets that in this sense (and in a few others) I am a child, and she tries to make me run, in fact do a marathon, before I can even toddle along. It will help me no-end to be here, and being forced to learn the language, everyone is supportive and my teacher, a 55 yr old from Levice has her work cut out I can tell you. For 8 Euro’s an hour… my god she is a saint to be trying to teach me.

I will give it my all, and I am sure it will click in the future, but for a stubborn, non academic Englishman, they could seriously be taking Greek to me !, in fact, I understand The Clangers better then these guys sometimes !… Question, when foreign speakers hear the English language, does it sound as though the speaker has just rubbed 2g’s of Speed into their gums ?????

So, it’s back to my best teacher, the fella I get on best with and the little man who never loses his patience with me, always smiles, is very happy to go back to “Jeden, Dva, Tre” time and time again, as long as he gets some Cokolada…..

 

 

Ok, As you all know, I no longer live in Sunny California, but have taken the plunge to move here to Slovakia. Most blogs hide behind anonyminity, I respect that, and of course, I would never reveal who my commenters are.. that is their choice. However, with links to Facebook here, It’s fairly obvious who I am, and having spoken to the former Mrs M, I have decided that no longer will the people in my blog be anonymous (again, others who appear in my blog from the blogsphere will ALWAYS remain anonymous , EM, DBM etc …)

Me… well, everyone pretty much knows me as Moon, so that won’t change. I was called it from 2 yrs old

Slovakian life currently is full of surprises, small things, like Slovaks don’t share a double or kingsize duvet, two individual ones ….. I can’t get Coke in a 330ml can !.. At the house we have ****ing Chickens and a bloody noisy Cockerel (who may well up in the soup very soon). Milan has a large garden, with wonderful Paprika, paridika, all sorts of fruits, wonderful Walnuts some of the most amazing pickles you could ever ask for… far better than Tom Goode ever had it ! Soon we will be getting pigs to fatten up for bacon etc (no, I will not be part of that, but thats the life, and I will certainly be eating the bacon)One thing you will never be short of is food, drink and love in Slovakia, puts us English to shame !

Milan (even though he never drinks) makes ‘interesting Wine (Vino) from the Sadovski’s own Vineyard, and Domanca that tastes of Deisel ! .. The Pivo is cold, and the kavu is strong … life is good !!!!

The mountains are a 2 hr drive, so snowboarding is back on for this winter, Hungary and Austria are a matter of a short 1 – 2 hr drive and Croatia beckons

So, here is the B E A Utiful Michaela… Mrs M, Miska or ‘Er indoors’ .. she hardly ever reads the blog, which is good….The most amazing wife a man could ask for !!

And here are the rest of the family …..

Evka and Julius…

Their two boys, Filip and Victor… superstars in my eyes !

Pa Slovak, or Milan …

And you have all met ‘The Vet’ before.. or Domi, and her fella Pavol ….

Finally, I will never be far without a hound.. he is the Barking Mad, Debo of a dog … Benny !

So, there are the people that have opened their hearts to me, welcomed me into this strange country, and given me the start of the hardest, but most wonderful adventure ever.

There will be tears, excitement, laughs, Domanca and many more laughs … I haven’t forgotten Canada, that will be my next few posts, but this is now my new life… hang on for the ride of my life !!

Ha, thought if I put the word “Porn” in the title I might get your interest !!

So, once I avoided any more cakes, no more soup please, refused further helpings of meat, got away from another glass of Diesel (Domanca, just ask English Mum what it tastes like) and managed to excuse myself from the ongoing Sunday chat that all families have ( I really am not that interested in the fact that Grannies neighbours Daughters friend has married outside the faith.. and to be fair, I don’t think Mrs M is too bothered to translate it all either) I managed to get to the sofa and I am allowed to search through the TV channels to see if I can find the Sunday arvo game from the Premiership…. shouldn’t be a worry….

Out of the 50 or so channels available to me, most are in Slovak, some Czech and some, like the Nat Geographic channel are in English. I am assured that one channel will show the footie, just need to flick through an find it.  Like any man, I am an expert with the TV remote, and I am so going through the channels.. nope, Slovak, Nope Boring, Nope Czech etc … nearing channel 31 my life and my future in Slovakia is in the balance. Not quite what you would expect on a Sunday afternoon trawl through the channels. I happen to turn onto a porn channel. I am not talking girls in bikinis with their tops off, I am talking top quality, top of the shelf hardcore pornoraphy !!! I am not prude, and neither is Mrs M. I, like with most of the male population (not together you understand, not really a male group sport that!) have seen a little of this kinda stuff… but, with Granny at 76, Mrs M’s Ma, Pa, Uncle and two nephews, one who is only 6 within 10 feet of me .. well, I think you can understand my feelings ..

Life stands still… in my head, the conversation stops, the TV has decided to turn itself onto full volume, all eye are not on me, the cake or Grannies shocking jumper, and of course, as is always the case… the TV remote batteries are DEAD !!!!!! … well that is how it feels …

I am sure my reactions were near perfect, quicker than Linford Christie hearing the B of the Bang… back to Nova Sport and Wigan are 1-1 with Man City …. not one person has realised that Daz are contacting me to pose next to the new whiter than white advert … and the conversation flows ….TFFT !

Never, EVER paly Russian Roulette with a sat system you don’t know…..

We have taken a couple of days off …. Off what you may ask, after all, we are both unemployed ! Well, we have left Ma and Pa Slovak behind and headed into the Tatra Mountains in the North of Slovakia. This is where Mrs M was born, and she has some close family friends who own a mountain cottage that is open for family. So here we are. I have been this way before, on one of my visits to Slovakia. The weather then was shocking, thick mist and fog, and steady rain. We made the best of our time, visited some wonderful caves, and some equally wonderful cake shops (Slovaks do cakes very, VERY well). We saw nothing of the famed, beautiful mountains… not too worry, they will be here next time. So, last week the weather at home was about 25 Deg C, I was in my Californian shorts and flip flops (Being moaned at my Ma Slovak “you catch your death in just those” (My translation)). So we decided to go and ‘see’ the mountains and spend some time alone up there. Cool by me….

However, the weather turned very wet and cold over the week-end, so we swapped the tyres to Snow Tyres (see DBM, we did it immediately !) and headed off. The wind blew and blew, and as we arrived, snow started to fall. Not that we were too bothered, we had some beer, some nice wine, and a cosy cottage to snuggle down in. In the morning, and after a decent night sleep (finally… another long story !) we woke to find heavy snow outside. About 4 inches, certainly enough to stop London in its tracks for a few days. We wrapped up warm and headed out, but it soon became clear that seeing the mountains was not a great idea. The snow was falling heavier, and the viewing distance was only about 50ft, Not great for trying to see the wonderful mountains !! So, yet again I was scupperd in my attempts to see one of the things Slovakia is famous for….. We stopped off in a local town, found my favourite cake shop and indulged in cakes and coffee… perfect.

Once home, we got changed and set off for another thing Slovakia is very famous for… Hot, natural Spa’s !! As you can imagine, the temp had fallen to just below freezing, so in my shorts (not the budgie smugglers the Germans seem to love) and walked as calmly as a man should and dipped into the beautiful hot Spas. There is something very refreshing of 40 Deg C water with snow falling on your face. I loved it, and after 2 hrs of this we decided to head back, open a bottle of wine, cook a nice roast dinner (well, Mrs M cooked, I open the wine and wrote this !!) and got myself mentally prepared for what will be a very important night.

You all know my love of sports, and it hasn’t taken me anytime to realize the importance of the game tonight. Poland v Slovakia. If Slovakia win this one, they will be on their way to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Big deal to an Englishman, fair point… however, again, one of my mottos in life, and certainly in my travels is “When in Rome, Do as the Romans”.. this means that when I am in a certain country, I behave and become one of them, this applies 200% for Slovakia. So, I am desperate for a Slovak win tonight. Also, with Slovakia playing in the World Cup, it means that they will show all the games here, including England …. So, it works out best for all if they win tonight.

So, for now, Mrs M is reading her book, soaking in the bath, I am tapping away, getting up to date with others on Facebook, Hotmail, Skype and Blogs and cracking open a bottle of finest Slovak beer (Kelt), Luchann is fast asleep, and a happy bliss has settled over this Slovak household.

So, here I am …. Starting a new, scary life in a new country. I am sure you all know, Mrs M is a proud Slovak, and after we departed the USA in less than ideal circumstances, it has propelled us into the next chapter of our lives. We have moved lock, stock and barrel to Slovakia. All very scary, and so far, I have been overwhelmed by the change and the friendliness of my new family and friends. We have bought a plot of land, and we intend, once we have found work, to build our own home and live the life of Slovaks.

So far, it has all gone ok. Ma and Pa Slovak have been wonderful. They are so happy to have their Daughter back home, and as far as I can understand, they seem to be pretty happy to have me here as well. We will be staying with them until we get sorted and have built our home. This means a stay of at least 18 months !, so we will see how the relationship lasts….. They cannot seem to do enough for us, and the one thing Slovaks do very well is hospitality. I cannot sit down for more than 1 minute without being offered food glorious food. The first piece of Slovak anyone should learn is “No Thank You”, otherwise you will be a fat as the house we want to build.

We have a separate part of the house to live in, so very important as we obviously need our own space, and this gives me the chance to have time when I don’t have to try to understand, and Mrs M can relax from her translating duties. Ma and Pa Slovak do not speak and English and my Slovak is very limited. I am lucky that we have Him and Her from ‘Upstairs’ (friends of Mrs M I got to know very well when she lived in Highgate, London). They both speak good English and it means we have friends that we can go and share a beer with, and not struggle with the language. Well, me, Mrs M and Him can have a beer, Her is 6 months pregnant, so she is the driver !!! Also, if you remember from my USA Blogs, we have The Vet here, and with her boyfriend, Dave, I have two more friends that I can talk with, and relax with.

It’s going to be a very tough time, and I know that you cannot make any decision about a new life until you have given it a fair go. I think this will be at least 2 years. To start with, the pressure of not knowing the language will be a real struggle for us. Mrs M will get very tired translating all the time, and also having to do all the organizing. I will be enrolling into Scholl as soon as I can, and living here means it should be easier to pick up the lingo … I hope.

Small things will hit us as well. I can’t buy diet Coke in cans here…. Small thing I know, but…. The food is wonderful, but again, it’s the little things, no cornflakes !bottled water only comes in large bottles, so it goes flat too quickly for me.

Levice, the closest city is not an attractive place at all, very 1970 Communist city, tower blocks from the 70’s, very grey.. not really the picturesque city I want to live in… however, the village where we have our plot of land is a lovely old village, traditional Slovak village, and with Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Prague and the High Tetras Mountains all within 1-3 hrs drive, I think my desire to travel will be satisfied for a while yet. We also have some further afield ideas for travel, including Croatia, Ukraine, Russia and Italy. Apart from Rome, I have seen too much of this side of Europe, and now we are used to long drives, the world is indeed our oyster.

I have lots to catch up on with my blog, stories from Canada, a week being a tourist in my own country, and of course, all the new things that are Slovak.. I have some magnificent pictures from Canada to post, and in time, I will go back and complete all of that. For now, until we get the internet sorted here, I am very limited, and being a blog and Facebook Whore, I am missing the everyday ‘contact’ the internet gives me.

Tonight is an important night for Slovakia. They are playing a world cup qualifier, and if all goes to plan, they can qualify for the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa. This is very important for me as well, it means I will have two teams to support there, and it should mean the World Cup is given maximum coverage here in my new adopted country !

We have landed !!!!

And I will be posting all from the land of Slovensko very soon ……

I need to find an Internet provider and I will be back posting soon ..

They do speak funny though !!!!

Bugger …. I had made a decision to be posting again as per normal, but life has got in the way again …..

With Mrs M finally back with me, we have been catching up (ahem…) and spending time as a tourist in my own country. It’s a marvellous thing, and nothing to be embarressed about…

We have spent the last few days with a short break in The Cotswolds, seeing Stow, Bourton, The Slaughters and numerous English Country villages, and the last 2 days seeing old friends, and walking (very important to walk) around my city, around London. It has been marvelous, and the short trip around England continues with a two trip to see my Brother in Leicestershire. Miska has never been to his old farmhouse, and to see him, his wife and the 4 dogs, 3 horses will be a good trip. We will drive slowly via The Battle of Bosworth to a beautiful Hamlet I know, and have traditional Cream Tea for lunch !!… Onto Timbers for a day of seeing the horses, the manor house who’s grounds he lives on, and I am sure to finish off with a cigar and a glass of port with them both.

We then come home, and start to pack for our flight early on Tuesday morning to our new adventure in Slovakia. (More of that to come)

So, I have  a huge amount of blogging to catch up on. I now have my laptop back, and with that comes access to our photos. I will hop abaout a bit with mu blogs, but I need to tell you all about our trip to Canada and our experinces of a breath taking 2 wekk trip to Vancouver Island, Brittish Columbia and Alaska …. so, don’t give up on me readers….. I’m still here !

Where do you call home ? ..

Where you live now ?

The country you were born in ?

I know where I will always call home, and I am sat here right now……. It’s funny… as my readers know, I have been travelling a fair amount, and of course my two year stay in the USA, and no matter who asks, I’ll always reply, Northchurch, Herts, England is my Home. This house, where I am sat now is where I was born 3hirfiurughis years ago. I have found my way back here a few times, After my year in Australia, after my divorce, before going to America, and once again, here I am. I am very lucky I think I have 4 places I can turn up on the doorstep, and I have a home with my three siblings and here. I am hopeful I have a few others, friends, other family, but for sure I have 4…. oh, plus one now in Slovakia with my in-laws.

We are moving to Slovakia in the middle of October to start a new life. To start with, we will live with Ma and Pa Slovak. Won’t be easy, esp as we can’t talk to each other much, but I know they will make it my home, and welcome us back.

So what makes this my home, well, 38 years for starters, but a home is different from a house. We grew up here as a large family, in a small house. I have been told that when Ma and Pa came to view the house Dad’s words were :

Pa : “ok, if you want the house, we will buy it

Ma : “that’s great…”

Pa : “but, we can’t have anymore children though, 3 is all we can have”

Ma : ” Ah… I have something to tell you …..”

So, with 4 of us, with 5.5 years between us, we came to Treetops. The house has changed hugely, and every change, be it with Pa’s DIY (shocking at times) to extentions, has changed with our memories of the place. Smashed windows from footballs, or stones thrown, and missing their targets (me .. thanks sister R !!).. the changes of the lawns, the front and back… really, everything has been changed, but the memories of the whole house are carried with us.

So, that is what makes it a home, and the feel and spirit of Pa everywhere… makes it very special. The glue that holds all this together … well, the unsung hero of the family, My Ma.

She is nearly 70 now, and how many 38 year olds saunter back in, and spend time not only with their Ma, but with their friend. We annoy each other (she bugs the shit out of me at times !!), but we laugh a lot, we help each other about the place, and we share each others day over a glass of wine, and an evening meal. thats a special quality. She welcomes me back everytime with out question or judgement. She isn’t very sympathetic, which is strange for a nurse, but she is full of love and concern for all of us.

I am not a parent, maybe one day, but I guess thats the maternal instinct… you never ever stop being a parent.. and you will always provide shelter, food and love when your children need it. she welcomes my wife here as her own child, for that, I am very lucky. I guess you should love your children… but you do not even have to like your childrens partners … but Mum does. All 4 of her in-laws are very popular and loved…..

We are lucky Children !!!

So …. Where have I been eh ??? To be honest, I have not been in the mood to sit and blog. Blogs for me are for people to smile about, hear new things about the way people live, and to make you think.. “Hmmm, I’d like to do/think/wear/go/eat/never thought of that …. Not to be a sounding board for ones and troubles.

Life has been tough for a few weeks now, well, about 6 to be honest. I lost my job whilst I was stranded in Canada, and rather to stay a wait in Canada for my Visa, Mrs M and I decided to end our USA adventure, and make plans to return to England, and then finally to go to Slovakia. This was not a decision either of us wanted to make, and not easy to have Mrs M in Newport beach, and me leaving from Canada with only my honeymoon clothes, and of course my golf clubs. I stayed on for a while in Vancouver, hoping my Visa would come through I time, but it didn’t, so after a final round of golf with my great friend Cortes, I followed DBM to Northchurch.

I feel very low about a few things, the obvious of seeing Mrs M go back to our home, and me to leave her to pack all out things, memories, sell cars, sort bank accounts… the list of things to do when you leave a country for good is endless, and Mrs M has had to cope with that on her own. We obviously simply miss each other. I feel a huge empty space of not saying goodbye to friends. Leaving Jeff behind as he is now approaching a huge part of life with his trial, and his wonderful sister Penny. To not say goodbye to two other good friends, T and Cyndy… makes me very sad. To not say goodbye to our home we have put so much time into, spent the first 2 years of married bliss in. To not walk around our beloved Balboa Island, and walk the beach in the sunset for one last time …. There has been no closure, and final part. That’s a huge shame, and has put a small dent it what was a wonderful part of our lives, and was a hugely positive time, with amazing experiences, the best part being married to Mrs M and living the dream.

We haven’t had chance to sit and enjoy what was the most amazing honeymoon in Canada. I will blog about this once I have some time, and I can post some pictures (they are on the other laptop). The memories from there were incredible, the wildlife, the scenery, the occasion, and the time together was perfect. If we had known the stress that was to follow, I guess we wouldn’t have gone, spent all that money…. So, in hindsight, I am glad we didn’t know what the immediate future had in store for us.

So, I flew back, straight into the arms of a loving family. I spent 4 days away with DBM, Sister R and Sir Chili Boy and Ma on a canal barge to celebrate Mum’s 70th birthday, and a rare chance for the family to be together. The following Sunday, Ma had a small party, and it was the first time in 3 years, all four siblings had been together. It was great for Ma to have her children all together, and we had some beers and wine, and a good day was had by all. As you can see from English Mum’s blog, I had a short trip to English Towers in Ireland for her Wedding Blessing. On the way, I stopped to see a great friend in Dublin, and then had the huge lift of a family do.

To see EM, Hubby and her wonderful kids, share some time with the rest of the family from old to young was exactly what I needed, and the 3 days were full of laughs, and many beers in the pub/undertakers. Bert being the star !!! The last few days have been spent in France playing golf with my Brother, Cousin and 4 other great friends. Our 7th trip across the weather, and as always a laugh a minute, and a trip to keep my spirits high.

So, what next… well, we have had some good news, and Mrs M is finally coming home at the end of Sept. From there we will spend some time here in England, giving her some much needed rest. She has had to endure some incredible stress levels, and mentally she is exhausted, so we will have a few days to chill, see some of my family, go to my brothers for a couple of days before we start the next step of this journey of life. It has been very tough, but some huge positives come out of these situations. I have a wife who belies her age of 28, who copes with all this in her stride, knows when to have her down moments, and also when to be strong, and when to kick me up the arse when I need it.

Family as always have been there, and friends always surprise you. Thank you all…….

Slovakia calls us…

Well, I should be here, blogging about our wonderful Honeymoon, seeing the most amazing things, with some great photos. I have managed to getting the photos onto Facebook,

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=133595&id=786443948&l=c3f1cbe5be

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=132853&id=786443948&l=a551cb90de

But, real life has taken over, and the lows soon follow the highs.

In case some of you didn’t know, I’ll re-capped why I am stuck here in Canada. When we left home for Canada, my 18 month visa was expiring, and I had to move my visa from the current visa to join Mrs M on her Visa. Her Visa had been sorted, taken a while as they had to prove her role in her company, and justify that she was running a USA company, and they were employing Americans. Not an easy procedure. So, as her husband (poor girl) I completed all my paperwork, photos, spent the $1700, and had everything agreed with the US Gov’t. However, when you leave the USA, you have to have an appointment with a US Consulate, so they can physically see you, check paperwork, ask you some daft questions, stamp your new visa into your passport and Robert is your mothers brother.

Well, it was about this point life went downwards slope to fuckitsville.

Completed the interview, and at the last minute the girl said, “oh, looks like we have to send your file off to Homeland Security to get your name checked out”……..

I asked how long this would be, she said about a couple of days, no dramas, they would post my passport back to me as agreed. Coolio I thought (should have been thinking cuntybollocks, this could go horrible wrong !) Also, on our honeymoon, we were actually crossing back in The USA. Just going over to Alaska to find Grizzly Bears. I rang them a few days later (the Consulate, not the bears… that would have been silly, you don’t get a signal in Hyder!)….I needed my passport, how long would it be ?

“Well sir, the girl shouldn’t have told you that, it could be today, it might takes some weeks”

me : “You fucking what ?”

So, thats the first bit as to why I am stuck here in Vancouver. Very lucky to have DBM, Mr DBM and Cortes for company, but not great with Mrs M back home. We have been here before. When I first applied for a visa I was stranded here for 3 months, this time we were sure it was a formality, and no hassles.

So, Friday, i get a call from the office, my boss, who I think is a decent bloke, rang me to tell me that they could not wait with the uncertainty, and with current economic conditions, they would have to “let me go” ……

So, thats the shit we are in. nobody has died (well, except Mr DBM’s dad, but thats a different story), and we will get throught it. However, not good, I can’t even get back to the USA to be with Mrs M, try to help sell cars, and try to cuts our costs, and of course to help pay the rent that an Orange County house demands. Unlike anywhere else I have known, there is no such things as redundancy… oh no.. we’ll pay you till the 15th, and feel lucky about that…. so we are screwed.

We are strong, Mrs M is incredibly strong, and we will cope. I will now extend my stay in England, and we will work out what to do from there, but at the moment, I have to get used to the fact, I won’t be going back to the USA for a long time, I won’t be seeing home, and the heartbreaking part, I won’t be seeing Mrs M for quite sometime….

All because the wanky, shitty, ******, Arsebiscuits at the US Consulate decided to “check my name” … they do not realise how they can just fuck up someones life so easily….. but, as I said, we are strong, and everything happens for a reason.

Really too pissed off to blog about our wonderful honeymoon …

 

sorry, but this Visa delay is really effecting us, and my propsects of keeping my job …

 

just crazy how other people just play with your lives …

Go back about 18 months, and anyone who knew me then would have heard all about the stresses and troubles myself and Mrs m suffered trying to get me a work visa agreed for the USA. finally, after 3 months of waiting, away from each other, and days after we got married, my Visa was approved, and I returned to Newport Beach to start our life together in California.

Well, 18 months on, Mrs M has a new visa approved, and with mine expiring, I have to dot the i’s and cross the t’s, prove I am Mrs M’s husband, and I join her on her Visa. All approved in the USA, just need the formality of an interview at the Consulate in Calgary, and Robert is your sister’s brother …..

Well, apparently my name is a bit similar to someone else’s, so my case has been sent to the dept of homeland security, and I am just stranded here waiting for the approval… no time scale, no idea how long it will be. Mrs M has returned back home, and I am very fortunate to have DBM to house me ….. what a joke this all is …. !! I can understand why, for my first Visa it can take time, but this is laughable, and will probably mean I will lose my job. after all, I am due another break at the end of August for a trip home for Ma’s birthday and EM’s wedding, and I cannot and will not miss that. My boss and company can only have so much patience…

so while the wonderful Gov’t decide to ‘name’ check me….. they are fucking abut with my life ……

On a positive note … we are back from our 13 day, 4000km drive into BC, and we had the most amazing trip… over the next few blogs, and via Facebook, I will tell all, and post some of mine and Mrs M’s photos. It was incredible, and we would not have changed one little thing… Canada, esp BC, and the Canadians made our 13 day honeymoon so special. Special mention to the B&B’s in Tofino and Hidden Cove, and to 2 people who we shared many laughs with in Hyder, Jene and Arlene ….. and of course the wildlife, with Monica and Dog Bear being the final highlight.

 

So, get ready for some great pictures, and some poor blogs as I try to explain our visit to Glourious British Columbia !

Mrs M and I are off for a long over due Honeymoon ..

 

Vancouver Island and then to Alaska.. hopefully to see Whales, Orcas and Grizzly Bears

 

Catch up with you all soon

So, after a few hours flying, even less hours getting no sleep in a hotel, a stressful time in the US Consulate, I am nor chilled, in a bar in Calgary airport, with 5 hrs to kill….. The trip has been fairly uneventful. People that know me, will know I ma never late for anything, and I always seemed to time things so I have hours to spare. For two reasons really, firstly, I hate to miss things, and get stressed if timelines are getting close. Also, I think it is terribly rude to be late for anything. A few stresses along the way to get here. Mrs M was stressed at me leaving, just not the best of days to leave her on her own, understandable, but what could I do ? Flights were excellent, on time, and I arrived in Calgary at about 10pm. The only slight troubles started here, and if these are the height of my troubles, then my life is not so bad. Immigration was tough. I really didn’t think it would be an issue, after all, I have papers for my booked appointment at the Consulate, and proof that I am visiting my sister in Vancouver. After a good 30mins of gentle questions, I was stamped in. I will note the immigration people in Canada are always very nice, personable and polite, even with a sense of humour (LAX immigration take note) … it might have something to do with the fact they sadly managed to kill a lost soul in Vancouver about 18 months ago with a Tazar … poor fella…

With the delay, the baggage hall is empty with 1 lone bag sadly whirring round the carouse. That was the strange thing, I had definitely put TWO bags into the system at John Wayne Airport … hmmmm, trouble I feel. So, off I go to report my missing bag, and fill all the paperwork out. I stress, very importantly that the bag MUST get to me tomorrow morning, or they will have to ship it direct to DBM. That actually would have been cool, saved me trying to lug two heavy bags about with me. The guys were nice and promised me it would arrive safely in Vancouver the following day. So, finally, about 12.30am, I get to a room that is about 110F, and try to sleep. It takes me normally about 24 secs to fall asleep, much to Mrs M annoyance (she is normally half way through a sentence when I am counting Baa Baa’s)… so, I finally start to drift off about 1.30am, when my phones goes … fuckers have rung a wrong number, so I cut it off… nope, three more attempts to call me, I angrily answer …..My bag has arrived in Calgary, thought I might like to know !!!! … To be fair to the girl, I had made a fuss about how important it was, so I guess she was doing as asked !

I get up at 6.30, in the cab at 7.20, outside the consulates office at 8am… only 1.5 hrs before my interview (see, I hate to be late). I have a wander around, and discover that the Rodeo is in town. The Calgary Stampede, and every soul is all ‘Cowboy’d” up YeeHaw !… also explain why my Sauna of a room was $120 instead of an acceptable $50 ! Still, I had no choice to go when I did. To get an appointment is like finding a dog that talks … rare. To get one when and where you want it is like finding a dog that talks Norwegian… even rarer !

Interview goes as planned, I knew this time the Visa wouldn’t be an issue, but you still get nervous, have to go through all the checks, and it’s never a nice experience, however, the people here were so polite, with a sense of humour, calm and friendly… (US Consulate at Vancouver take note !) I get back to the airport, and I am re-united with my bag.. lovely.. people have done a great job getting it back to me, I check in.. couldn’t have met nicer people.. wow, this is all going pretty well… and I am all checked in …

Are Canadians always so nice ….? I think so.