Ten years.

Lorcan

Lorcan

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I don't remember the exact date, just that it was November 2013 when I moved to England. Ten years of pretending to be English, but I don't think my accent's quite up to par just yet :)) weirdly it feels like yesterday (I can still remember that journey) and also like it was twenty years ago instead. Time's weird like that.
 
Play me a specific song and I have an entire album of memories flood into my head of one particular Christmas period. And that was at least 13 years back, but the trigger still works every time. But there's very little could convince me to go back now, I don't even miss the food and the places I'd visit like I used to.

Well. Okay. Maybe I miss the food, lol. But it's not home anymore.
 
Lorcan said:
Play me a specific song and I have an entire album of memories flood into my head of one particular Christmas period. And that was at least 13 years back, but the trigger still works every time. But there's very little could convince me to go back now, I don't even miss the food and the places I'd visit like I used to.

Well. Okay. Maybe I miss the food, lol. But it's not home anymore.
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After two decades, Switzerland has changed too much to still feel like home (that happened about 5 years in) but some of my food cravings have remained although I have incorporated what I can get hold of into my new life - the cravings are no longer as physical as they were during my first year here but I can happily pig out on my unavailable specials when in Switzerland.

However, I wouldn't want to go back, either - you develop and grow into a different person that would not fit back into the same pigeonhole anyway. Having grown up between two cultures (German and Swiss) before I emigrated, I can actually be more my true self here in the UK without having to switch between the two separate family and public identities I have grown up with.
 
Even the last time I went back in 2015 it felt alien. There'd been a lot of work done to Belfast city centre and again in Newtownards and it showed - for the better - but it looked wrong, too. That scruffiness had character, shiny new streets and roads and footpaths do not. To quote that song, "...life goes on."

I've also now made myself hungry thinking about a pastie supper with a side of champ, lol. I do this to myself.
 
Lorcan said:
Even the last time I went back in 2015 it felt alien. There'd been a lot of work done to Belfast city centre and again in Newtownards and it showed - for the better - but it looked wrong, too. That scruffiness had character, shiny new streets and roads and footpaths do not. To quote that song, "...life goes on."

I've also now made myself hungry thinking about a pastie supper with a side of champ, lol. I do this to myself.
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I feel the same with Switzerland. The only thing that has not changed is the number of construction sites everywhere... but a lot of the buildings and train and bus stations have as traffic arteries into urban cenres. And so have many shops.

Going to bake more of our own favourite Christmas biscuits from next week, including my beloved aniseed ones - they are the kind of 'marmite' of the Swiss; you either love them or hate them... :)
 
Aniseed is great, but so is Marmite (a dollop of Marmite into a green Pot Noodle is amazing too).

Shops have changed too, maybe. They repaved a number of the streets and roads, but there's a lot of the old shops are gone with nothing to replace them even before the pandemic hit. The town centres got decimated, the city fared better at least. But the character's shifted, and it feels uncomfortable to step back into it.
 
Yes, Happy Anniversary @Lorcan

I moved down to Cornwall from Harrogate in 2012 when OH took early retirement, it was an opportunity not to be missed. It was a big step selling our lovely home and living on our boat in York for several months while we waited for the house chain to complete down in Cornwall. At times I never thought it would happen.

I still miss the company of my dear friends, we are in touch every week and nothing has changed. We have shared our lives since 5 year olds. I have only 2 distant relations living in Yorkshire now.

My main reason for the move was seeing and “being there” for my two gorgeous granddaughters, it’s been such fun. They are now 13 and 10 and we have such a lovely relationship with them. I’m so grateful we had the opportunity to move here. We also love beach life and boating, summer is a blast. Winter is when I get homesick as the weather is so “dreek” as the Cornish say! But If the suns out and you are walking along a beach then it‘s the most wonderful place to be.
On the whole its been a very positive move😊
 
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Bill & Ted said:
Winter is when I get homesick as the weather is so “dreek” as the Cornish say!
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I used to live by the coast, and I know exactly what you mean about winter weather :))

weepweeps said:
Glad you stayed @Lorcan
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Claire W said:
Happy 10 year anniversary of moving to England 🙂
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Thank you :)

VickiA said:
Happy 10 year anniversary. And here’s to the next 10. Or 20…

In October I completed 30 years up here in the freezing North!
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I was going to make a joke about being old in 30 years til I realised I'm an idiot and it'd be 20 years from now instead, lol. Counting's apparently not my strong point. :))
 
Lorcan said:
I used to live by the coast, and I know exactly what you mean about winter weather :))





Thank you :)



I was going to make a joke about being old in 30 years til I realised I'm an idiot and it'd be 20 years from now instead, lol. Counting's apparently not my strong point. :))
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Happy you - I've now got the 'old' bit...
 
I was looking through my phone earlier and found old photos of me from 24-25, so before and after I came out, and the change is massive. I don't mean just from the coming out sense, just that it's hard to believe that was ever me, lol.
 
Lorcan said:
I was looking through my phone earlier and found old photos of me from 24-25, so before and after I came out, and the change is massive. I don't mean just from the coming out sense, just that it's hard to believe that was ever me, lol.
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Cherish how far you have come and who you have grown into despite all the social restrictions and pressures. We cannot choose where we start out but we can make choices about the person we become. 🥰
 
Well, since @Betsy had said it wasn't possible to share the Battenberg (okay that's hilarious, the dictionary won't recognise it unless it's capitalised) cake I ate the chocolate cake I bought for myself. But I could get more cake. Hmm. I haven't had a golden syrup cake for a while...
 
Oh wow! Time flies so fast @Lorcan eh. 😁 It was 12 years on 30th Oct. for me since I moved from Manila, Philippines to North Wales, UK. And up to now, I'm still not a fan of winter. A day of snowing is fine with me (but never more than that), but strong wind and constant rain make me want to hibernate! 😂😂 I don't know if I still have the American accent that we learned as kids in the Philippines, but hubby said that I do have a bit of Scouse accent at times. Guess he taught me well! 🤣🤣🤣
 
To be fair I don't think anyone's a fan of the weather right now, it's been howling a gale half the night :)) It's my birthday at the end of the month too, I'm loving all the excuses for cake that aren't Christmas!
 
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