One of the first things that I did on arrival in the UK was to head down to Schumacher College in Devon for a course: Strategies for Creative Social Change. This was a deliberate plan, and my arrival in the UK was timed around the dates of this course with the aim of connecting with like minded people and finding out about initiatives in the UK that I might want to get involved with. It was brilliant course, I met some great people and ended up volunteering at the college for a few weeks.
I did think that I would like to live in Devon, but I found that I actually preferred the Fens! Crazy I know, but after a life time in the desert and the flat lands of Cambridgeshire, I have grown to love big open landscapes, and Devon just felt claustrophobic. Also, the whole reason behind returning to live in the UK was to be close to my parents for a while, so really Devon was not the place for me to live. It is however a beautiful place to visit.
It took me a while to come to terms with the idea, but eventually I realised that March, the town where I went to school, was actually the best place for me, for a while at least. After you have lived in the desert for 10 years, this little old market town is actually quite a pretty place. It that has all I need, property is cheap, it's close to my parents, and has a good road and rail connections when I want to escape.
I also spent some time trying to find myself an interesting career. Everything just seemed so boring after the work I was doing in Central Australia and nothing really caught my attention. I applied for a couple of teaching jobs, but when I found out more about the the UK education system I withdrew. I tried to get involved in my dad's farm, started to investigate setting up my own business and looked in to creating a social enterprise but all ideas were met with negativity. I had forgotten just how pessimistic and negative attitudes can be. In Australia people seemed so much more encouraging, and everything was possible, but here it seemed I would be better of banging my head with a rock!
I tried to find my inner Aussie and ignored the rest of the country for a while. I bought a house and set to work renovating and eventually I found a job that didn't require selling my soul. I work part time as a maths tutor and am really enjoying it. I have also started a one year course at University College London to become a 'proper' specialist maths teacher. I am thinking that in the future I can work from home as a private maths tutor. The ideas of running my own business and social enterprise live on!
Once I had finished the house and got used to my new job I faced a new challenge. For the first time since I started working for a living in 1988, my work did not consume my life. I now had weekends, and evenings, and days off! Suddenly I was one of those 'normal' people, that work to live rather than living to work. After a brief time of wondering what other jobs I could do, I realised that this meant I had time for a life, so I set about making one!
As a result of all of this I am quite a different person to the one I was 2 years ago. Instead of working too hard, sleeping too little and being totally consumed by my work, I do my 25 hours a week and come home. Having never had 'a life', it was a bit hard to know where to start, but after a while I began doing those things I always wanted to do. I have created a garden, made chutneys and jams from my own produce, and started a worm farm. I spend more time with my family, knit, and go for walks. My most exciting recent addition is my 3 chooks, Vera, Amber and Speckled Hen.
I did think that I would like to live in Devon, but I found that I actually preferred the Fens! Crazy I know, but after a life time in the desert and the flat lands of Cambridgeshire, I have grown to love big open landscapes, and Devon just felt claustrophobic. Also, the whole reason behind returning to live in the UK was to be close to my parents for a while, so really Devon was not the place for me to live. It is however a beautiful place to visit.
I also spent some time trying to find myself an interesting career. Everything just seemed so boring after the work I was doing in Central Australia and nothing really caught my attention. I applied for a couple of teaching jobs, but when I found out more about the the UK education system I withdrew. I tried to get involved in my dad's farm, started to investigate setting up my own business and looked in to creating a social enterprise but all ideas were met with negativity. I had forgotten just how pessimistic and negative attitudes can be. In Australia people seemed so much more encouraging, and everything was possible, but here it seemed I would be better of banging my head with a rock!
I tried to find my inner Aussie and ignored the rest of the country for a while. I bought a house and set to work renovating and eventually I found a job that didn't require selling my soul. I work part time as a maths tutor and am really enjoying it. I have also started a one year course at University College London to become a 'proper' specialist maths teacher. I am thinking that in the future I can work from home as a private maths tutor. The ideas of running my own business and social enterprise live on!
Once I had finished the house and got used to my new job I faced a new challenge. For the first time since I started working for a living in 1988, my work did not consume my life. I now had weekends, and evenings, and days off! Suddenly I was one of those 'normal' people, that work to live rather than living to work. After a brief time of wondering what other jobs I could do, I realised that this meant I had time for a life, so I set about making one!
As a result of all of this I am quite a different person to the one I was 2 years ago. Instead of working too hard, sleeping too little and being totally consumed by my work, I do my 25 hours a week and come home. Having never had 'a life', it was a bit hard to know where to start, but after a while I began doing those things I always wanted to do. I have created a garden, made chutneys and jams from my own produce, and started a worm farm. I spend more time with my family, knit, and go for walks. My most exciting recent addition is my 3 chooks, Vera, Amber and Speckled Hen.
Now that I have managed to catch up on the last 2 years in 200 words, I will endeavour to keep you up to date...
So interesting to read more about your life journey. I'd love to hear more about the social enterprise aspiration. I started one a few years ago, very much on the back-burner now with little ones in the mix. But I'm wired to appreciate other people's societal aspirations.
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