Life in Salisbury

Monday 19th October Craig began work at Dstl, and the boys had their first morning at Dinton Pre-School. Both Robbie and Erik thoroughly enjoyed their morning at school are really want to go back again! Craig's work colleagues seem nice, however Craig's security clearance hasn't come through yet, so he has to be escorted while on site, even when going to the toilet!!

Thursday 22nd October we visited the Salisbury Fair, it's a bit like the Adelaide Royal Show, but you don't have to pay (get ripped off) entering. It was all set up in the main square in the centre of town. Lots of rides for the kids, sideshows (complete with dodgy carnies),

and fast food. Was really nice to visit, Craig had a Nutella crepe, and Flo a traditional lemon and sugar. The boys went on a number of rides, they weren't too expensive, ranging from 2 to 3.50 pounds per child.

Sunday 25th October we visited the Salisbury Cathedral, a really impressive structure dating back 1220 when construction first started, and was finally completed around 1330. Contained within the Cathedral was one of only 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta. This year is the 800th anniversary of the writing of the Magna Carta, an impressive document, written in Latin, using a quill pen on treated animal skin. It is amazing to think that this document, 800 years old, is the precursor to modern concepts of due process in law and human rights.

Day light savings also ended here with clocks going back an hour.

3.00pm in the afternoon feels light 5.00pm, and the heat of the day begins to diminish from about 2.00pm, it's going to get cold!!

Friday 30th October we moved out of the Peartree Apartments and into our new home! We're situated in a house in the suburb of Fugglestone Red, which directly in the middle between Dstl and Dinton Pre-School. We got the keys at about 1.00pm and within the hour both our gear from Australia and our rental furniture arrived. Was a bit hectic to say the least! The removalists weren't the brightest crew, they struggled putting Erik's bike back together. Craig didn't trust them with his and he put his back together himself. The furniture rental guys were brilliant and did a great job in installing all the furniture. Now it's just a matter of unpacking!

We have bonfire night coming up on the 5th November, we is

basically Guy forks night. We observed this stand - fireworks - (and numerous others) in the supermarket. We heading to an organised bonfire night on Saturday 7th November near a town called Wilton (not far from Salisbury), where they have a big bonfire and fireworks. Weather forecast is not crash though, so it might be a bit cold!

Saturday 7th November we headed for Spireworks which was being held at a show ground just outside of Wilton, caught a park and ride bus in an attempt to avoid the traffic jam of the car park. The night was entertaining and a little eventful! We met up with friends, Tim and Nikki McKay and their daughter Kate and son Lachlan. Craig had a few beers with Tim, then went onto mulled wine, which Flo had tasted tested earlier. Erik did a runner and was lost for about 5 minutes until Kate managed to track him down! He was then strapped into the pusher for the rest of the night.... Light sticks that looked like light sabres were "THE THING" of the night, and did look pretty cool! The boys totally loved the fireworks, which were pretty good, but it was all over come about 8.00pm (it does get dark from about 4.30pm). We all had an enjoyable night! BUT the bus did get caught in the car park traffic jam!

Monday 9th November Craig went to London for the Innovate 2015 conference, saw a few interesting sights on the way to the event everyday! London Bridge, even if it was a bit misty.... St Peter's

Cathedral.... Monument to the Great Fire of London....

Thursday 19th November we ventured into Salisbury for the turning on of the Christmas lights, it seems to be a big thing in many places around England. They constructed a large stage in the town square, lights everywhere and a massive Christmas tree! The town square was totally packed!! It was an interesting night, but we all had higher expectations. They had a music playing, Santa turned up, and there was a C grade celebrity from East Enders. Lights were displayed on some of the buildings in the square (similar to what they do on North Terrace), there was a countdown and some minimal fireworks (apparently a few people got burnt last year with fireworks). Most people then left, and we were home by 8.30pm.

Sunday 22rd November we visited Old Wardour Castle just outside of Tisbury. The castle was built in the late 14th century, upgraded in the

15th century to a more formidable fortification, and saw much fighting during the civil war in the 1600's. Unfortunately during the civil war the castle was besieged by the Royalists attempting to re-take the castle from the Parliamentarians, the castle was significantly damaged and largely became "romantic ruins". Visiting the castle, you can imagine how grant the castle would have looked during its glory days. Was a great afternoon exploring the ruins, the boys enjoyed the exercise, just had to watch Erik's over-enthusiasm and his "slow developing" coordination! Was a bit cold as well so were all rugged up, I don't think the temperature gauge nudged much past 2 degree Celsius!

Wednesday 25th November Ben "Ugs" Wilkinson visited for the day from London! Was good to see a familiar face and to catch up! We took Ben on a tour of Salisbury, culminating in a visit to the Salisbury Cathedral. We were actually able to walk through the cathedral today,

as (1) the boys were quite well behaved, and (2) I was told that the suggested donation of 7.50 GBP was just a suggestion.... The cathedral dates back in construction to the early 1400's, but there are tombs within the cathedral that date back to the 1100's.

One of the photo's following is of Robbie in front of a tomb, Robbie said that it was from Dr Who, as it had "Weeping Angels"!!

We also visited the copy of the Magna Carta (the most complete copy of the 4 remaining original copies), which was drafted in 1215. The Magna Carta parchment was drafted on animal hide and written in Latin. It is amazing to see this document, which represents the beginning of our current day democracy.