Get comfy - it's yet another long post:)
We started the month of February out with a Very Wet Man City football match. The running joke around Manchester is that if you're a local, you cheer for Manchester City and if you're a tourist, you follow Man United - of course, there are locals who are Man U fans, but there are definite pockets of supporters of one or the other and New Mills is mostly Man City fans - so when in New Mills... It was Mark's second match (he went with friend, Andy, to one in December) and liked the first row seats he had so much he got the same ones again. The only problem was the rain was just pounding down and the first 15 rows are not covered so we got absolutely soaked! We brought a poncho and used it like a blanket on us and the kids, but by the end of it we were all soggy. The kids were real good about it - they're pretty used to the rain by now, and as long as they have chips to eat, they're fine. The match was great - 3-nil against West Brom and the quality of play was superb - way, WAY better than the MLS league. Tevez was fantastic.
It's not as easy to purchase tickets to EPL matches as it is to get tickets in North America (even Leafs tickets!) For most teams, you must first have a fan membership (some teams charge for this - Man City is free). Then, depending on the team, you can only get membership if you have been to a number of games (like with another member). And again, depending on the team and who they are playing, you have to have gone to a certain number of previous matches in order to buy tickets - for Liverpool v Man United, you have to have gone to 4 matches in the past year. We're working on going to both Man U and Liverpool matches, but we may not be able to swing it. Thomas Cook sell match 'holidays' and we may do this for a game.
Mark hired (rented) an Alpha Romeo and couldn't stop talking about how awesome it was. It wasn't a crazy expensive one - in the same class as a Ford Focus. There are lots of great smaller car models here that aren't available in Canada even though they are made by the same manufacturer and this car falls into that category. He was really careful with it and took out extra insurance!
We enjoyed a short 'n sweet visit from Gramma Barb and Grampa Eric who stayed with us for 2 nights during the second week in February. Mark was working and Liam was at Nursery school in the afternoons so it was mostly up to Krystal and Gemma to be the hostesses with the mostesses. The weather was lovely for them and we were able to do lots of walking (mostly into town for Nursery drop-off and pick-up) but nevertheless, they got a taste for the Peak District and all the hills! Liam had been desperate for birthday cake so we made one for Gramma & Grampa whose birthdays are close enough. (This was Cake #1) We visited the New Mills Heritage Centre and Gallery, and walked along the Torrs trail and Millennium Bridge. We had dinner at the Pack Horse Inn and used our torches (flashlights) to walk home in the dark along the country road (yes, a bit 'alarming' at times, particularly with the pram). They also sampled the fish 'n chips from the local chippy, the Crispy Cod. They didn't arrive empty handed - we requested another Tim Horton's tin as we just ran out of our stash. BTW - the Coarse grind is way better than the Fine when using a French Press coffee maker and also tastes better than Manchester Airport Terminal 2 Spar Machine Tim Horton's. We'll meet up with Barb and Eric again in March for dinner in Manchester and a day out in York after they return from their trip to Africa.
It's been spectacular to see real Spring in February! Bulbs are popping up from the ground, buds are appearing on trees and shrubs, and the grass is green! The temperature averages about 10C for most days, although it can feel warmer in the sunshine and cooler with the wind.
Valentine's Day was full of cupcakes (this was Cake #2), family Valentine exchange (they didn't do one at nursery), flowers and chocolate for Mummy and English chocolate bars for Daddy (Flake, Double Decker & Yorkie). The kids got a few small toys - Gemma got the three Tombliboos from her favourite show 'In The Night Garden' and Liam wanted some more play tools after the crazy winds here blew away some we had left in the back garden (yard) on a run for the toilet.
Liam's picking up quite an accent now from attending Nursery for almost 6wks - particularly his intonation when asking questions "Shall we go outside now?"
He's getting even more confident and conversational with us, other family members, friends, random people - it can get very funny (he will just tell any random person how old he is or that he pees in the toilet standing up now!)
He's also got a whole new crew of boys at Nursery and loves seeing all his new friends in town. There is a boy 'Lukey' that also enjoys 'roaring' so that's great for Liam and he loves playing with his friend Rowan, who he first met at the Children's Centre. Liam now thinks he should know all the kids in town so he always wants to know who everyone is:) Nursery has been so great for him - the only thing he dislikes are the aprons that the teachers make all the kids wear for painting. Liam has never wanted to wear an apron (not for Cooking or Messy Play) so he just doesn't paint at Nursery. We're working on the whole apron thing.
We're going to have to find something for Liam to do when we get back to Guelph in April before he starts school in September! We registered him for Junior Kindergarten at Rickson Ridge PS in Guelph and will go for 2 full days a week and alternating full Fridays. I was hoping the school would be on a half-day, everyday schedule to tie-into what he's doing at Nursery, but that just isn't the case.
Gemma is now 18 months and weighs 16lbs - yes, she is very little, but is gaining on her percentile line! She's maybe at 0.5th%, instead of 0.4th;) Poor thing is still in a rear-facing car seat and the more compact cars here aren't particularly conducive to that. She is now taking up to six steps on her own and is raring to go solo. She's got such a "Just Keep on Given 'er" personality - if she falls, she just gets right back up and usually falls again with a big smile.
She's also starting to get attention from boys and got her Pebbles-esque pony pulled twice in one Messy Play by two different boys! As Gemma conquers walking, she's starting to say more and more understandable words - her "hiya" is real cute and she's doing more and more sign language too (her 'Twinkle Twinkle' is killer!)
Mark's long term PE cover in Manchester is going really well. The teacher he's covering doesn't work Mondays and Mark is finding he gets work from the same school those days, keeping him extra busy. The first week of his placement he worked 5 days in one week for the first time since June! Oh, the joys of the Gap Year (what people in UK call what we're doing - it has a name here because more people do it). Mark is also picking up slang from 12-17yr olds (high school starts in year (grade) 7 and Mark doesn't teach the kids who are still in school after they've done their GCSE tests for university qualifications). His fave is:
"init": replaces "isn't it", or is just randomly said in between or at the end of sentences.
Mark turned 33 this month and we celebrated his birthday the day before with a nice walk along the Kinder reservoir (big hill near our house), pizza delivery (only our 2nd time since August!) and birthday cake (this was Cake #3). We spent his actual birthday in his old stompin' grounds of Leigh and had a yummy Sunday Roast lunch at The Gorski's, with birthday cake (this was Cake #4). No tyres were injured during this visit. Don't get the reference? See our first blog:)
I just found out that my Great-Grandmother who passed away in 1942 was born in Altrincham, Cheshire - which is right around the corner from us in Derbyshire! I was delighted to learn this and realize why I've always felt really at home here in Northern England! New Mills is right on the Derbyshire (pronounced - darbih-sher)/ Cheshire border. Cheshire has a certain prestige, much like Oakville or Lawrence Park in Toronto, and is also home to the WAGs - Wives And Girlfriends of footballers. Wayne Rooney and a slew of footballers who play in this area of Northern England live in Cheshire. Since we are so close, we get some Cheshire spill-over - even in New Mills! I mostly notice it with a few really expensive prams, mums who dress up to take their kids to Messy Play and some young wannabe WAGs . Some things just stand out in a small town. But I digress...
As our time here approaches the end, we keep thinking how much we'll really miss New Mills. Everyone has been so welcoming here and in 6 months we've really become part of the community. I love that when I walk by the butcher's or the cafe, I'll get a wave 'hello' from the shop keeper. One of the staff at the Children's Centre, Michelle, who Liam adores, asked if we were still really leaving in April and said she'll really miss us - how sweet! We're also so grateful for the local Children's Centre (I don't know how many times, I've mentioned it!). It's been so great for the kids and me and it's too bad we don't have centres like it in Ontario. With the spending cuts in Britain, our Children's Centre is not sure what the future holds as many will be forced to close, but they are hopeful as they are really busy and draw in from other villages and towns.
The next blog will be on our trip to Barcelona for half-term (yes, we were told to watch our wallets). This half-term, is very different from the one in October when Mark had only worked 5 days before! This time he actually needed a break after all the work at school and all the work on his online course:)
Photos: Facebook
Cheers,
The Nicholson Family
Things Surprisingly Easy to Do From Across the Pond
(thanks to the world wide web and a few phone calls):
- Register Liam for Junior Kindergarten
- Register Liam for Guelph Summer Soccer
- Sign Mark up to be a volunteer coach for Guelph Summer Soccer
- Respond to a Canadian Government Random Tax 'Review' (not audit) - can you believe they questioned our Toronto Daycare costs? And Liam was only part-time for the majority of 2009!
- Get Gemma on the waiting list for Kids Ability in Guelph (for her developmental physical therapy)
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