Open Writing

...We had watched the contents of our home in Bailiff Bridge, 12,000 miles away and just a day short of only a month ago, vanish into the maw of a removal van. We had been in New Zealand for only three and a half weeks. You know what? Thinking back over all the water that had flooded under those burned bridges, several megalitres of which have necessarily gone unmentioned in this summary, it felt like longer, a LOT longer – and then some...

At last the Serotskys move into their new home and begin to settle into a new life 12,000 miles away from their native Yorkshire.

This is the final chapter of Paul Serotsky’s account of emigrating from England to “start afresh’’ in New Zealand. To begin at the beginning please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/a_tale_of_the_unexpected/

Continue reading "Part II - Paul and Pam’s Excellent Adventure: 19. - The Gods Enter Valhalla!" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 10:01 AM | Permalink

...Receiving the glad tidings that the sale was completed triggered not elation but a campaign planned with military precision. It had to be thus – our schedule was tighter than a Victorian corset. We had two strategic objectives: firstly to get the bank loan facility activated (otherwise the house would be forfeit), and secondly to get the balance of funds transferred as quickly as possible (otherwise we’d pay more interest)...

At last the Serotskys have a home to call their own on the other side of the world.

To read earlier chapters ofr Paul Serotsky’s account of migrating from the UK to New Zealand please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/a_tale_of_the_unexpected/

Continue reading " Part II – Paul and Pam’s Excellent Adventure: 18 Reality Roller Coaster Ride" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 10:01 AM | Permalink

Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam find themselves enmeshed in the complexities of house-buying in New Zealand.

To read earlier episodes of Paul’s account of the anxieties involved in going to live on the other side of the world please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/a_tale_of_the_unexpected/

Continue reading "17 - Complications And Cash-flows" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 10:01 AM | Permalink

Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam, having launched themselves into a new life at the far side of the world, go house hunting in New Zealand.

To read earlier chapters of Paul’s story please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/a_tale_of_the_unexpected/

Continue reading "Part II – Paul and Pam’s Excellent Adventure: 16 - House-hunting – And A Bit Of Commuting" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 10:01 AM | Permalink

At last! After long months of planning, and what seemed like a million frustrating delays, Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam are re-united with their family in New Zealand.

To read earlier chapters of Paul’s tale of emigrating to the far side of the world please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/a_tale_of_the_unexpected/

Continue reading "Part II – Paul and Pam’s Excellent Adventure: 15 - Mobility And Mobilisation" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 10:01 AM | Permalink

....And there we sat, in that pub, musing, over a plate of potato wedges, that we were, by all official definitions, homeless itinerants. There was a faint whiff of smoke, not from my pipe, but from the imagined by-product of the line of burnt bridges smouldering in our wake....

At last! Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam board a plane at Manchester Airport and head off to a new life on the other side of the world.

To read earlier chapters story of the the frustrations and anxieties associated with migrating to another land please click on A Tale Of The Unexpected in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "Part II – Paul and Pam’s Excellent Adventure: 14 - Departure and Arrival" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 10:01 AM | Permalink

...For it was at this very pub that, in 1971, Pam and I had first clapped eyes on one another. We’d also spent that entire evening arguing like cat and dog. Yet, over 36 years later, and quite contrary to the expectations of several persons of little faith, we were still together (and still arguing like cat and dog). In a manner of speaking we were, on the eve of our departure for the remotest end of the Earth and entirely by accident, right back where we’d started! Some might say this was auspicious, as “the start” was clealy the best of all possible places to make a new beginning...

Paul Serotksy and his wife Pam are almost on the point of flying off to a new life in New Zealand – but there has to be a final snag.

Continue reading "A Tale Of The Unexpected - Part I: 13 - Final Farewells – And An Unanticipated Trip Down Memory Lane" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 08:50 AM | Permalink

The removal men arrive. Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam walk away from their home of 33 years. New Zealand here we come!

But this was no time to relax. There was still an outstanding problem...

Paul continues his account of the trials and tribulations of emigrating to the far side of the world.

Continue reading "Part I - On The Futility Of Life-Planning:12 - The Point Of No Return" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 10:10 AM | Permalink

...Meanwhile, the “agreed” date for the exchange of contracts was starting to slide down the slippery slope that’s liberally lubricated by bureaucracy. You know the sort of thing: “The paperwork’s been delayed because we’ve run out of goose quills, our regular goose quill plucker is on holiday, and the temporary plucker has rung in sick, with hay fever brought on by the smell of goose feathers. And anyway there’s an ‘R’ in the month.”...

There are more delays, and wonderful surprises, as Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam count down their final days in Yorkshire before flying off to a new life in New Zealand.

Continue reading "Part I – On The Futility Of Planning: 11 - Slippages And Surprises" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 07:56 AM | Permalink

...Speaking of “challenges”, we now had a domestic shutdown procedure to implement, and that included arranging the termination of things like utilities, insurances and rates...

Frustrations come creeping out of every corner to irritate Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam as they try to sell their house in Yorkshire prior to emigrating to New Zealand.

Continue reading "Part I - On The Futility Of Life-Planning: 10 - Winding Up And Shutting Down" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 10:10 AM | Permalink

Every imaginable problem – and some that were unimaginable - foiled Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam in their bid to emigrate to New Zealand.

To read earlier chapters of Paul's account of frustration unlimited please click on A Tale Of The Unexpected in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "A Tale Of The Unexpected – Part I - 9 - The Cavalry Arrives?" »

Written by Paul Serotksy - Published at 10:10 AM | Permalink

So you think the house is sold. You’ve put up extra cash to help the deal go through. Then the buyers pull out of the deal...

Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam are plunged into a black pit of despair as their plans to emigrate to New Zealand are again frustrated.

To read earlier chapters of Paul’s story please click on A Tale Of The Unexpected in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "Part I - On The Futility Of Life-Planning - 8 - Snatching Disaster Out of the Jaws of Triumph" »

Written by Paul Serotksy - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

Oh the trauma of trying to sell your house when there’s a deadline date on a move to New Zealand!

Paul Serotsky continues his account of the stresses and strains of migrating.

Continue reading "A Tale Of The Unexpected – Part I - 7 - A Cause for Optimism?" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 09:12 AM | Permalink

The Serotskys are desperate to sell their house in Yorkshire and fly off to New Zealand. And house prices in New Zealand are going through the roof.

Paul Serotsky continues his nail-biting account of seeking a new life on the other side of the world. To read earlier chapters of this story please click on A Tale Of The Unexpected in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "Part I - On The Futility Of Life-Planning - 6. The Birth Of "Plan B''" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

…Good old Hindsight, much later of course, did chip in his four penn’orth: “You should’ve put the house on the market straightaway, shouldn’t you? Then you might have been stringing a buyer along, instead of looking for one.” Yes, dammit, we should have done, and we might have been. But, we didn’t, because it didn’t seem “proper”. Heck – we wouldn’t last two minutes in the jungle…

So all the Serotskys have to do now before winging their way to a new life in New Zealand is sell their house.

That “all’’ turned out to be of mountainous size, as Paul Serotksy reveals in the latest chapter in his tale of frustration.

Continue reading "Part I - On The Futility Of Life-Planning - 5. A Case For Premature Celebration" »

Written by Paul Serotksy - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam begin the process of applying for residency in New Zealand and soon find themselves in the midst of a bureaucratic minefield.

To read earlier chapters of Paul’s account of emigrating to the far side of the world please click on A Tale Of The Unexpected in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "Part I - On The Futility Of Life-Planning - 4. The Wheels Start To Grind" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

There’s many a worry and unwelcomed expense between deciding to emigrate to New Zealand and boarding the ‘plane, as Paul Serotsky reveals in the latest entertaining chapter of A Tale Of The Unexpected.

Continue reading "Part I - On The Futility Of Life-Planning - 3. Batting On A Sticky Wicket" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

Yorkshireman Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam take a monumental life-changing decision – to go and live near their daughter and son-in-law in New Zealand.

No sooner have they decided than obstacles begin to emerge.

Continue reading "Part I - On The Futility Of Life-Planning - 2. Future Imperfect?" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

“Gi’e me a bi’ o’ Yorksher fayre,
A Yorksher scene an’ Yorkshire air,
Whear t’ lads a’ bold an’ t’ lasses fair,
An’ Ah’m contented.

The’s no’ another place in t’ land
A fair comparison c’n stand.
T’ spend t’ rest o’ mi life Ah’ve planned
‘Mid t’ Yorksher Dales an’ t’ mount’ns grand –
Unless prevented.”

Yorkshireman Paul Serotsky first heard these words 40 years ago when he was a university student.

Paul thought he would spend the rest of his life in his beloved native county, put the Fickle Finger of Fate prodded him into an unexpected decision.

Over the next five months, in weekly episodes, he will be entertaining us with an account of the results of that decision.

See also Paul’s wise and informative words on the greatest music ever written by clicking on Views And Reviews in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "Part I – On the Futility of Life-Planning - 1. The Prologue" »

Written by Paul Serotsky - Published at 12:24 PM | Permalink