Claire Plaisted lives in New Zealand with her husband, three children. She is a Indie Author and runs a company 'Plaisted Publishing House Ltd,' helping Indie Authors get their books online and looking professional. We are happy for people to submit their work for our team to look through.
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First of all I’d like to apologise for my lack of posts since I arrived in September 2017. Part of it was due to lack of internet, some due to ill health due to anxiety and stress which I hadn’t anticipated from my family. It seems we’ve all changed alot over the last 28 years, not just got older.
Anyway. I’m going to do a catch up with images from where we’ve visited so far. Of course I’ve been to more places due to my job, and they’ve been mainly in the south of England, Kent, London, Susex, Berkshire & Dorset.
I am going to be updating posts which should have gone out nearly a year ago. You’ll see images of places we’ve visited, family, friends and old buildings. Look out for churches, cathedrals, castles, animals…we can’t forget them, and you may also see Oxford Bear who generally travels with me when I’m away from my family.
Thank you for your reading this blog and I hope you enjoy the posts which will start with Lichfield, when I was visiting my best friend Tina.
Yep we are getting back to normal…well as normal as life can be when you are getting used to a new country.
This week the girls and I are at Tina’s place along with her three adorable dogs. Spud and the pups are lovely and lively to say the least. It took a couple of days for them to calm down. Spud is the same …still stealing things and four years older. The pups are four and a half months and bigger than Spud.
Had some time out with Tina at a little village called Pelsall after dropping her mum off at a meeting. (Mum is as adorable as ever).
Pelsell is a wonderful little village with the typical village shops and cafes. We had a late breakfast in one cafe. It was lovely and friendly with great food. Then we walked around, going into a few shops, buying a few things. Of course i forgot to take photos however google is our friend. This village even has little museum. They also have a huge village green which reminded me of Cambridge in New Zealand. It is a lovely place, though so much older.
Here is a little history about the town from Wikipedia: Pelsall
Pelsall was first mentioned in a charter of 994, when it was among various lands given to the monastery at Heantune (Wolverhampton) by Wulfrun, a Merciannoblewoman. At this time it was called Peolshalh, meaning ‘a nook’ or ‘land between two streams belonging to Peol’. The Domesday entry of 1086 describes Pelsall as being waste, still belonging to the church.
A chapel of ease was built in about 1311. The medieval population was small and a return of 1563 lists only 14 householders. The original centre of the village was the area now known as Old Town. In 1760 the remaining open fields were enclosed, but some holdings survived into the next century in Hall Field, High Ley, The Riddings Field and Final Field. The tithe map of about 1840 records some evidence of the medieval strip farming system.
In the second quarter of the 19th century clusters of houses were built on the fringes of the extensive commonland and at the Newlands. The greatest concentration was in what is now the village centre. This area gradually developed; a Methodist Chapel and school were opened in about 1836, in the modern day Station Road and a new St Michael’s Church was built in 1844 – the old one in Paradise Lane had been considered too small for the growing population. Towards the end of the 19th century shops became established in Norton Road and High Street. The population in 1801 was 477 and by 1901 had grown to 3,626.
Pelsall had become a mining village; in places deposits of coal were found only a few yards from the surface and by about 1800 the shallow and deep seams were ‘much worked’. The cutting of the canal in about 1794 opened up the area for industrialisation, with entrepreneurs and landowners quickly exploiting the mineral wealth. Nailmaking, traditionally a cottage industry, was also carried out locally; in the census of 1841 thirty men stated this as their occupation.
On 14 November 1872, 22 miners died when the Pelsall Hall Colliery was flooded.[2][3] 21 of the 22 miners were buried underneath a polished granite obelisk in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels Church.[4]
An ironworks[5] was established on the North Common which grew into a sizeable concern under the ownership of Messrs. Davis and Bloomer. This, together with Yorks Foundry and that of Ernest Wilkes and Co. at Mouse Hill, gave Pelsall a share of the heavy iron trade during the 19th century. Ernest Wilkes and Co. survived until 1977, but the others ceased trading in the 1890s and the pits became unworkable, mainly due to continual flooding problems.
Several working farms survived in the village until after the Second World War. Since then much land has been used for housing development but the ancient common remains.
Pelsall previously had a railway station and line that ran along the fringes of what is modern day Pelsall, though these have now closed. Only the main road bridges survive as evidence.
I wish I could introduce you to my niece, however she is camera shy. What I will say is this lovely young lady decided to do a fundraiser for Charity on behalf of a gentleman who passed away a while back. She organised a small Dinner & Dance with a raffle and auction.
The dance took place at the Masonic Hall in Sandbach, the meal was a Hot Pot of steak and Apple Pie for dessert. The Bar was open and even the Mayor of Sandbach attended. The ladies looked amazing and the gentlemen were all happy dancing and talking with the occasional drink.
This was the first time my girls had attended a real Ball. In New Zealand they have High School Balls for those who graduate, though usually the music is not waltzing… They dressed up for the occasion and looked amazing…there again so did my niece.
Below are a few photos taken by Isabelle throughout the evening.
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Somehow we managed to win the raffle and my niece raised 325 pounds for charity. I think it was a Cancer Charity and the Heart Foundation.
A bit behind on the travel blog with having to find internet to use. Needless to say it is better late than never.
Sunday the 24th September my mother – who was still on holiday, had arranged for the girls and I to attend the Harvest Festival Dinner at their local church along with my niece. It was a wonderful meal with greeting from many friends from last time I was in the UK. Sorry no photos due to a shy niece and a forgetful jet lagged me who forgot her camera and never thought to use her phone.
Talking about phones I bought new sim cards during the week only to find two our of our three phones were still locked. I’d been told by Spark mine was unlocked…most annoying to say the least. Glad we have one working anyway, it makes life easier. The other two are still used as cameras and internet compatible which is great.
My parents arrived home on the Sunday afternoon. We were at my sisters at the time, when my sister arrived saying they had been dropped off in town for supper. So me and the girls went back to their home to await their arrival. Huge hugs all round, drinks and bedtime called.
Nights aren’t my friend at all. Anxiety and Panic attacks hit each night. I hated it and ended up buying some sleeping tablets and taking them, it seems to help and I am a lot calmer now though missing my husband and son a lot. Us girls have huge hugs each night and morning, it is so cool to have them with me I think I’d be a lot messier if they’d still been in New Zealand. Here is hoping it will get better as the days progress.
On Monday we went to a group called Oasis for a coffee morning. It was lovely to see familiar faces, though sad that the one I wanted to see didn’t turn up. (She wasn’t there today either) I hope to catch up with Kath in a few more weeks. Never mind it was a lovely morning and they celebrated two birthdays – one been my mothers. The cake was rather nice and some went home with her. The rest of the day was the usual visit to Wetherspoons for us to get online and try to update things. Of course the darn battery ran out of power and we couldn’t find any plug sockets (did a few days later) During the afternoon I took my dad shopping to buy a present and card for my mother. He was so sweet, not always understanding what was going on but knowing he had to do something special for his wife. I love my funny dad, he’s like a little boy in adult clothing or as he used to say – In his third childhood.
During the week I showed the girls St Mary’s Church and the Old Hall which is now a great restaurant after which we moved back into town to buy bread and walk home. I think the only odd thing was the brand new house on the street my parents live on. Totally modern and totally doesn’t fit its surroundings. It looks more like a home you’d find in New Zealand. I’m getting used to seeing it now, though still find it a bit odd. There seem to be a lot of renovations going on along the street. Another big house I remember a school friend lived in is getting an extension. It’s so close to the neighbour now you could knock on the neighbours wall. In New Zealand houses have to be a certain distance away from each other. Obviously rules have changed a lot in the UK since I’ve been away.
For once Claudia has matching socks and Belle is the odd sock person…lol
Not much happened during the rest of the week. I tried to keep up with work via free wifi in town though that didnt’ always work and sometimes my computer battery died, which of course doesn’t help. Now i’ve found a plug socket I should be fine.
Cya next time…… all about the Dance my niece organised
Well, it has been a weird couple of days with jet lag, sleep, sleeplessness, anxiety…and the non-arrival of my books for the book signing. Peeved off? Yeah, definitely.
The best part of the day so far is meeting lots of UK authors, sharing information, skills and how we work. I’ve also seen some of my friends. Some I can’t believe I’ve not seen for 26 years or more. It was awesome to see Emma, Julie, Anne, Christina and her son. It is also wonderful to see my daughters being social, talking to the other authors with enthusiasm; especially considering they’re usually rather un-social girls.
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You can now watch the slide show of the book signing and the meeting of old and new friends, twenty plus authors who were all wonderful to chat with. Looking at the displays and the genres on sale. Isabelle found a new favourite author with Laura Morgan. They had a fantastic chat. It was great seeing them so socialable.
We ended the day with my cousins Sarah and Simon who drove up from Boston, Lincs to see us. We had afternoon tea with them. It was a huge laugh. Looking forward to seeing them again at some stage.
Ceejay’s POV
The past couple of days have been…weird, to say the least. I have discovered that I only like planes when I’m not on them…the motions of the plane puts my equilibrium all out and makes recovering from jet lag harder than it has to be. I’m determined to not get on another plane unless it’s a short trip; that includes when I decide to go back to New Zealand…I’ve decided I want to take the long way back and travel through various countries and find the shortest (but safest) plane trip back to New Zealand.
And speaking of the two countries; I have found that England is similar to New Zealand in some ways but also very different in others; for example, the air in New Zealand smells clean and fresh and…well, young. In comparison, the air in England smells old and musty, combined with the pollution of car fumes. The food is good, some stuff tastes the same or similar and others taste odd; like fruit pretty much tastes the same but things like bread from the supermarkets tastes different enough that my tastebuds don’t really agree with it.
On the first day, we went out around 8-ish and then came home around about 2pm and just conked out after intending to only nap and slept until around 6.30am the next morning though there were a couple of breaks in the middle of the night where we woke up. Thursday and Friday were much the same aside from the fact we managed to stay up later.
Today is the book signing. It’s been pretty fun so far despite the numb bums rather frequently. I did have to comfort mum last night as she was being sick and I also had my own panic attack before I fell asleep properly. I also woke up with a wave of homesickness washing over me which was exacerbated by the lack of contact with my online friends and family. I never really knew I needed their support that much and it makes me even more grateful that they’re there for me; so thank you, Amy, Sara, Meg and Kelsi…I love you guys!
I now honestly hate flying. Though Qatar Airlines were amazing some things weren’t and not all of it was due to them. As I posted on the 18th, Auckland Airport has a Oil Line Burst meaning an earlier flight for us so we could stop over in Melbourne.
Great take off, good flight…The plane was like a ruddy sauna, talk about dehydration and a 19 hour headache. It was horrible, the entertainment, steward/ess were great, food ok. Next time I fly will be in short bursts. I feel sorry for my daughters.
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A skyline image of the city of Doha in the day time. Cleare blue sky with skyscrapers of various shapes and sizes in the centre of the image…Grass at the front.
Once we finally hit Doha we worked out it was a large airport. There was no tunnel to get off, it was walk down the steps and get on a bus to the terminal. Outside the airplane for even 1 minute at 11.15 pm and 32 c OMG Slammed with ‘superheat’ as Claudia called it and ‘soupy’ as Belle said. It was horrible. Anyway, the airport was huge and pretty cool, not that we stopped to look or take photos, the girls weren’t feeling to great and nor was I. This place had a train..wow
The second part of the flight to Manchester was much better. Newer plane, seats still uncomfortable, meals good. One steward apparently thought I was Belles sister…LOL. Belle corrected him. Great kids movies to watch (typical me) sleep, and we all swapped seats for landing. I have never seen such excitement on Belles face as she saw the lights for Manchester, especially considering she is scared of heights. It was delightful to see. Then it was ENGLAND...we had arrived. Next we had to tackle getting out, which once again was a positive experience. We werent’ sure about a couple of things re- delcaring so checked them out on a phone (I was surprised that there were no declaration forms to fill in anymore on the plane) to find all was fine and we walked out to find Mr Anders (our driver) who was wonderful.
So much has changed, even though so little has…A weird experience jounrying though countryside and towns, old and new houses…noticing some differences. Mr Anders was great. The fresh air was most welcome, well until they the girls smelt the cow manure and rapidly shut their car windows making me laugh.
“Not as bad as sulphur,” I said.
I’m not sure they were amused.
Arrived at my parents….Looks like they lost control of their garden a bit…even though they do have a gardener every other week. It is weird being back in my childhood home.
Photos to be added once I remember to download them. Meanwhile here is an image of Little Morton Hall – a majestic black and white tudor building in Cheshire which I hope to show to my children on day.
Most people are scurrying to and fro when they are in the last 24 hrs before they fly anywhere, making sure they have packed everything, got their visas and passports, and transport to the airport. With my family something always goes …sideways. It has been one frantic day with sorting last minute details, working with clients, packing, having coffee and saying goodbyes … well for now.
Awake at 7.15 am this morning, having a cuppa char (tea) and my hsuband tells me that there are flight delays at Auckland Airport due to a burst oil line. Would it delay our flight at 14.55 tomorrow. We didn’t know at that stage. Being me I started working with clients, and mobi files decided to be frustrating (oh I’d better tell you I’m an author and publisher) I will more than likely be in the mid-air when the email comes through to say if things have worked or now. By 10 am, my friend arrives, gives me a beautiful gift of a necklace and earrings (thanks Joanne x) and we go out for coffee at McCafe. Once we sat down for a gossip i noticed a newspaper and grabbed one. Yep delays, cancellations etc at Auckland Airport. I decided to drop into ‘Flight Centre’ to see my travel agent (Jade) who had been fantastic. Before this materialised Jade rang me letting me know there could be issues, though still to go up to Auckland etc and she was still waiting on further news.
Saying my goodbyes to Joanne (loves you) we returned home and the research began along with messages to answer online from clients and family. I looked up the flight on the Auckland Airport website and it wasn’t there…anywhere. Panic stations, I left a message with Jade, and went to look at the Qatar Airways, finally finding our flight and OMG. Due to the fuel issue the flight had been moved forward to 12.55pm…Two hours earlier. I quickly emailed Jade with a print screen shot. A new panic in motion, we needed a hire car tonight rather than in the morning due to an earlier start.
Jade rang back and issued new tickets which we printed off later in the afternoon, meanwhile my darling husband went and reorganised a car. A bloody holden…(another story there). Qatar Airways also rang us to confirm the change. I totally love this trip already, never had so much information passed on and so gratefully accepted. I nearly forgot to say we have a short stop in Melbourne to refuel due to the burst pipeline at Auckland Airport which could take up to 10 days to repair.
Thank you to Karen and her sons for taking a mandarine tree off our hands and some jackets and to Nicola for dropping in. Going to miss you all. Be good and stay safe.
Now we are set. New tickets, a holden, bags packed, a few more goodbyes and an early morning tomorrow, so early we won’t get to say goodbye to my son. All that will happen this evening.
On a small note…Hubby and son are joining us later in the year so we can all have a family christmas for the first time ever. My parents haven’t seen my children (young adults) for 14 years. Here’s hoping it will be a blast.
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Photos to be added once I remember to download them. Meanwhile here is an image of Little Morton Hall – a majestic black and white tudor building in Cheshire which I hope to show to my children on day.
Plaisted Travel Blog 