Today sadly is my last full day in the UK before I leave to travel home to Sydney, Australia. I am genuinely sad to be leaving London. A short two and a half year stint doesn’t feel long enough to do this city justice, but I am not sure that ten years would. London is an amazing city filled with interesting things to see, people to be inspired by and opportunities that few other places can afford. Yet it is sooo far from family and the life I grew up with. So with many mixed feelings Elizabeth and I will board a plane tomorrow  to start an extended tour home.

We will be back without a doubt, but will it be for an extended stay again? Difficulty to say, life has a habit of spoiling long term plans, but I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if one of my future locals sold warm beer.

In the tradition of my English friend, Alan, who has recently returned to the UK after spending three and a half years living in Sydney, I will list the ten things I will miss about the UK and the ten things I definitely won’t miss.

Like Alan, the miss column was populated much more easily than the won’t miss one.

Miss:

1. Warm beer – almost sacrilegious for an Aussie to say, but I have grown rather partial to an English ale
2. The BBC – worth every single penny of the TV licence charge
3. British creativity – there is a certain braveness and confidence that Brits have in forging ahead with a locally sourced solution that Aussies could learn a lot from
4. Proximity to Europe – a two hour flight from Sydney might land you in Bathurst, which is a nice enough spot, but it is hardly Rome
5. Northern hemisphere – things just make much more sense when you reside in the northern hemisphere, not least Santa’s attire
6. London Underground – people who complain about the tube obviously have no idea how bad public transport is everywhere else
7. Wit – they may not be good looking, they may not be the fittest, but by god English blokes are funny
8. British postcodes – weird I know, but it makes locating something so very easy
9. Twilight – having light until 10.30 pm in Summer is bloody brilliant, worth the darkness in Winter? Not sure, but perhaps
10. Flamin Hot Monster Munch – strange I know, childish without a doubt, but oh so tasty

Won’t miss:

1. Bureaucracy – getting things done in this country can often times be tough, hampered in no small part by cost cutting measures that have meant you deal with people half a world away, rewarded on quick call times rather than providing a customer satisfactory solution
2. A spade is a shovel, or a pick axe isn’t it? – a spade is a spade peoples, be a bit more direct with your communication and you might find people understand what you are after
3. The stiff upper lip – may have meant something in the past, but tends to mean moaning about things without trying to fix them today
4. Victorian plumbing – though in all fairness Australia could benefit from the reduced water wasted with minimal water pressure
5. Summer – it really should last longer than a weekend
6. Daily Mail – a scary, scary newspaper made scarier when you understand the influence and readership it commands
7. No surf – it isn’t much fun for a die hard surfer to be living in a city without a decent break
8. Aussies in London – there are a lot of young Aussies here that seem to have come with no other purpose than to tell the English how shit their weather is and how bad they are at sport – I apologise on behalf of all of them
9. Boozing – British pubs have a siren call that can grab you any night of the week regardless of your other good intentions
10. Misplaced sentimentality – the enormous outpouring of public emotion after the Cutty Sark burnt down or when Woolworths shut its door were really a bit too much – there are much more important things to mourn the passing of

And so with that I will bid you farewell London. Next post will be from Istanbul Turkey.

The image at the top was stolen from Bellyanz1 here.

We had our farewell party last night at The Metropolitan Hotel. It was a great night that continued on at ours afterwards. A lot of fun, perhaps a little too much fun…

For all the images go to my Flickr page.

I get a lot of traffic to this blog due to posts I have made about the EEA2 visa. The posts I have realised don’t provide much information and the amount of traffic suggests people are desperate for information, so I have prepared this more comprehensive post about the EEA2 visa and the process for applying.

What is the EEA2 Visa:

The EEA2 visa is available to family members of an EU national that aren’t EU citizens themselves. Under current UK law EU citizens have the right to abode and work in the UK. The visa is granted so that family members of an EU citizen can also live and work with the EU citizen in the UK. N.B. The visa only grants right to reside and work in the UK whilst the EU citizen is also in the UK, so you couldn’t work in the UK whilst your wife lives in Poland.

The visa I have was granted for five years and allows me to enter and leave the UK without restriction and allows me to work in the UK. It also allows me to register for a NI number and access NHS services.

Who is Eligible:

I believe any immediate family member, be that a wife, husband, child or parent of an EU national is eligible to apply for the visa. The visa also recognises civil partnerships (gay and lesbian relationships) and defacto partnerships. It is more difficult to establish you are in one of these relationships obviously, though it is not impossible – I was granted the EEA2 visa after proving that I have been in a marriage like relationship with m girlfriend for more than two years.

To prove that I was in a marriage like relationship with my girlfriend I had to provide the following documents:

• Wills dated from two years ago that bequeathed belongings to each others
• Lease agreements with both our names on them dating back more than two years
• Joint bank statements dating back more than two years
• Mobile phone records recording calls to each other from more than two years back
• Digital photos that showed us together over a long period of time

Excerpts from the UK Border agency Website that highlights more information on the EEA2 visa are pasted below:

Registration certificates

A registration certificate is a document issued to EEA nationals that confirms that person’s right of residence under European law. You are not required to have a registration certificate to enter, live or work in the United Kingdom.

If you are a national of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia or Slovenia you are not eligible to apply for a registration certificate until you have completed 12 months of continuous employment in the United Kingdom.

Applications for a registration certificate should be made using application form EEA1. You can download it from the right side of this page.

Residence cards

Family members who come to the United Kingdom with an EEA national but who are not themselves a national of an EEA country can apply for a residence card, with some exceptions (see Family member residence stamp). The card confirms that person’s right of residence under European law. Residence cards are normally valid for five years and take the form of an endorsement that is placed in the holder’s passport.

Applications for a residence card should be made using application form EEA2. You can download it from the right side of this page.

Family member residence stamp

Residence cards are not immediately available to all family members. Family members who are not themselves nationals of an EEA country and who are in the United Kingdom with a national of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia or Slovenia are not eligible to apply for a residence card until the national of those countries has been employed continuously in the United Kingdom for 12 months. Until the 12 months is completed, a family member who is not an EEA national can apply for a family member residence stamp to confirm his/her right of residence under European law.

Applications for a family member residence stamp should be made using application form FMRS. This can be downloaded from the right side of this page.

Permanent residence

After you have lived in the United Kingdom for a continuous period of five years you can apply for confirmation of your permanent residence. You will need to have been living in the United Kingdom and in employment, self-employment, studying or self-sufficient throughout the five-year period.

For your residence in the United Kingdom to be considered continuous you should not be absent from the United Kingdom for more than six months each year. Longer absences for compulsory military service will not affect your residence. Additionally, a single absence of a maximum of 12 months for important reasons such as pregnancy, child birth, serious illness, study, vocational training or posting overseas will not affect your residence.

EEA and Swiss nationals will be issued with a document that confirms they are permanent residents in the United Kingdom. This document has no expiry date. Applications by EEA and Swiss nationals should be made using application form EEA3. You can download it from the right side of this page.

Non-EEA nationals will be issued with an endorsement that is placed in the holder’s passport. This endorsement is valid for 10 years. Applications from non-EEA nationals should be made using application form EEA4. You can download it from the right side of this page.

Making an application

There is no charge for applications under European law. You should make sure you use the correct application form. All application forms are available on the right side of this page.

The application forms contain details of all the information that you must supply to support your application. You must send the original documentation with your completed application form.

From 01 September 2008, all completed European application forms should be sent to:

European Applications
Home Office
PO Box 306
Dept 45
Liverpool
L2 0QN

Applications for registration certificates from EEA nationals can be made in person at our public enquiry office in Croydon, but this service is in high demand and appointments are booked up approximately two months in advance. You will need to make an appointment before you visit.

Details of the location of the public enquiry office, opening times and how to make an appointment can be found in the Contact us section.

Processing times

The time it takes to process your application will depend on the type of application you make and how you submit it.

If you make your application in person at Croydon public enquiry office, we will usually process your application on the same day.

Transfer of residence card or stamp

If you are issued with a new passport and want your residence card or family member residence stamp transferred you will need to make a new application. You should complete the appropriate application form and provide the required supporting documents.

How do I apply:

The link to the EEA2 visa application for is here – http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/eea/eea2.pdf

Some of the links below may be of use for people looking into the EEA2 visa:

I have just returned from the weekly walk to the local Sainsbury’s, where Elizabeth and I do our shopping, and by god it is cold. The trip up wasn’t too bad, but coming back, where our hands were out of pockets holding our reusable shopping bags, was rather less enjoyable. It is only now, having been back for 20 or so minutes that my hands have lost their blue hue and returned to normal colour.

MSN’s weather page is currently reporting it is –3 Celsius, but due to wind chill will feel more like –8 Celsius! So why is it so cold? Well, according to BBC, the cold snap has been caused by icy winds travelling across Scandinavia and the North Sea and hitting the British Isles. Weather is expected to warm up again tomorrow.

But it isn’t all bad. My sis Rochelle who lives in Biarritz received some snow and the water freezing over in Trafalgar Square is pretty cool.

Check out a video of the frozen lakes here – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7813406.stm 

Rochelle in the snow:

Since coming to the UK I have grown quite partial to drinking the odd ale and bitter when at the pub.

Not sure why all our beers in Aus are lagers. The odd ale or bitter wouldn’t go astray in my mind.

A few posts down I detailed how I had my photo taken by Mario Cacciottolo as part of his project to capture people holding a a large notebook with something someone once told them written on it.

Well mine is now live. I have pasted the image below, but if you want to listen to my commentary you need to visit the site – http://www.someoneoncetoldme.com/gallery/10122008 

Pic grabbed form Mario’s site:

Twitter, the lovely little service that it is, introduced me to Mario Cacciottolo today. You see, we met up so that Mario could take my photo. No, not in a model sense, though with my looks it wouldn’t be out of the question – ahem…

Instead, Mario took my photo as part of a project he is undertaking where he takes a photo of a person, at least one a day, holding up a hand written phrase someone once told them.

You can read more about it here – on Mario’s page for the project.

Mario only planned to do the project for a short period of time, but now a couple of years in, is not really sure where it will end up. He has no desire to make money out of the project, though would like one day to host an exhibition in a gallery. I think it is a wonderful idea and would encourage anybody interested get in contact with Mario either on twitter via @marioSOTM or via his email – mario[at]someoneoncetoldme[dot]com.

Mario will post my picture on Friday and I even recorded an audio message that I assume will be posted next to it. What did someone once tell me? Well you will just have to wait won’t you.

UPDATE – It will actually be next week not this Friday that Mario will post the picture.

Elizabeth and I journeyed west to Richmond today to enjoy the sun beside the river. We found a sunny little beer garden and enjoyed a roast and a few bevies. We only took a few shots, but I think they are delightful all the same.

The fact the fat bastard is in this photo is Elizabeth’s doing…

A fine filly by the river

Nothing like a 13 metre high mechanical spider walking through the streets to get you blogging.

Elizabeth and I trained our way up to Liverpool last night to check out La Machine’s latest creation that was commissioned as part of Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture.

The pics and the videos speak for themselves, but so, so very cool and nothing like you can imagine. It reminded me of a toy I had as a child –Spydor from the He Man Series (thanks to Toy Archive for the image).

Videos of La Princesse - http://www.new.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=37963021220

Getting closer

Spitting out venom

The mechanical stuff

Turning the place over

Me with the Superlambanana (we have a mini version at home on our shelf)

Elizabeth getting arty with me at Albert Dock

Well the temperature hit the high 20s today and boy did it feel good. I am not sure if it is just that I am acclimatising to UK weather, but I swear 27 never felt this good or warm back home.

The last week or so has been utter bliss in old London town and this weekend has been nothing but spectacular – hardly a cloud in the sky (except for the moment I took the shot below after ten minutes of rain – it is London still). The girls are wearing not much, the pubs are empty whilst their footpaths are packed, there are sunbakers in the park and in some cases on the roof – and us well we have new deck chairs for our roof terrace – ok, ok terrace might be going a bit far, but it is ours and we love it all the same.