Hello again, dear friends – here I am, back in London after a nice summer break in Piraeus. And, after another week of collecting the last missing bits and pieces, I’ve FINALLY be able to finish my application for a permit in the UK – just in time before Brexit, phew…
First of all, though, what had we been up to in Greece? Well, mostly we got used to our ‘new’ domicile – my daughter Marianna had done the flat up while we were away; she’s got the major part of it now, and my darling husband and me have got the small room at the back. It was quite cosy, though, once we’d managed to put most of our things in their place and were able to find our clothes, books and DVDs again…
So there wasn’t really much time for outings; only once we went to our lovely little restaurant on Pigada Square which specialises in meals from Asia Minor – we had a wonderful evening sitting out on the pavement in the warm summer air, enjoying some fantastic food! By the time we left, the square had already gone romantically dark…
We also visited my parents, of course, who live close by, and enjoyed some of my Mum’s delicious cooking; I’ll tell you about my favourite Bavarian recipe named Kässpatzen soon, friends!
So, we had a very nice time back in Piraeus; I love Greece, I lived there for more than 20 years; my daughter of course continues living there, and so do my parents, who a few years ago for our sake also abandoned Germany and have now got quite acclimatised in sunny and friendly Piraeus. And they’ve also taken my tomcat Jimmy into their home and into their hearts, since I couldn’t take him with me to London; another one of the many things I’ll be eternally grateful to them for.
But then, the day came to fly back to London, my new home; on the evening flight, we literally chased the sundown westwards…
And now it was time for us to get the rest of the papers together to apply for my permit – a procedure we’d started more than a year ago, just before our wedding… Social insurance number, taxpayer’s number, phone contract, and the bank card which had taken me longer to get than everything else put together! Anyway, on Friday it all went in, and in a couple of months I’ll have an official permit – and in five years’ time I’ll become a British citizen! Can’t wait – I already feel like one…
So now it’s time for a bit of relaxation before I’ll get into my brand-new job as a freelance book indexer; this morning, my darling Ian and me watched Wales’s victorious Rugby World Cup match against Georgia, together with our little Celtic friends from Wales, Ireland and Scotland… More about them next time as well!
Till then, dear friends, take care and enjoy the autumn – and the Rugby!
Roberta Franklin 