Visa news

England has decided it is summer and I am sweltering in 32 degrees. Seeing the pictures of people flocking to the beaches is a bit of a worry - we are still in a global pandemic. But I can understand the attraction, thankfully there is a breeze today and it is actually bearable!

School rang this morning and have confirmed that they will sponsor a work visa! So I will be heading back to NZ to try and get quarantine done before Christmas and then visa application done in the new year - under the new immigration laws for the UK. School has said they will expect me back in mid Feb so will need to do some kind of remote teaching through January. Good thing we've done a lot of practice these past three months! It is a relief to know what is happening and feel like I can actually plan my future to some degree. I'm finding  it all a little bittersweet as it is committing to be away from family and friends for longer than I had originally thought. But I hadn't factored in enjoying my job, meeting amazing people, and feeling more at home here than I have in NZ. So we'll see what God's plan is for being in the UK for the next three years anyway.

The UK continues to open up with overnight stays allowed from the 4th of July (among other things). It would be nice to do some weekend trips and hopefully a week around Cornwall in August - presuming we don't go back into lockdown.... Last weekend we had a house outing to Polesden Lacey (Esther and I got up at 6am the Friday before to book tickets). National Trust is limiting numbers into some gardens around the country and they had a very good one way system up and running. We didn't feel unsafe at all and is was lovely to be out in the sunshine and see the beautiful roses. I've bought my own telephoto lens so have been having fun getting used to it.

I also met up with Ed on Sunday afternoon for a short walk at the appropriate 2m distance from each other. We still had some stuff to return and I felt like that meet up had been hanging over me. I was glad to have it over and done with, though is was incredibly weird and sad to see him in person. It definitely made me sad all over again and feel disappointed that it didn't work out. But, I'm happy to have it behind me and feel like it is easier to be looking forward now.