I Hate Embassies

We leave for Paris via Euro star on Sunday and consequently spent most of today in London in the French embassy, we had to wait 6 weeks for this appointment slot.

We joked on the way in that we would NOT mention

a) That Stephen needs a separate visa for each of his personalities
b) That Sophie has two hearts, slime for blood and is actually an alien (as in out of this world)
c) The tragic reversal French socialism with the recent election results.

Little did we know, none of this would be our undoing.

It was hell.

It turns out that birth certificates we have for the three children are "abridged" certificates IE. they are missing the parents names.

Stephen and I dashed to the South African High Commission - and yeah they can provide the full birth certificates - we just have to wait 4 months.

Result no visa for kids.

These birth certificates have in the past been used for visas to the USA (multiple times), the Netherlands and UK but they now NOT good enough for the French.

So we have three children with the same last name, we have their passports, their abridged birth certificates, they even look a little like us, they will testify that we are their real parents but this is just not good enough.

My computer is crippling me

So how is it that I can pull myself up using my right arm without pain but an hour of mouse movement, while using the computer, or of picking up a kettle causes me intense pain. The pain is in my forearm.

The last few days at work work have been hell. I have one of those mouse pads with a wrist bump that I think contains a used and discarded silicon breast implant. (No I am not in a position to perform a real comparison). Using this is worse - at least it is more painful to use.

Perhaps I'll have to move into a career less demanding on my body. Damn, got to reach for the mouse to click publish for this post

Ecomomics

A few nights ago I started reading "The Under Cover Economist" by Tim Harford.

It is making me feel a little bit "suckered", these sneaky, manipulative supermarkets - the lengths they go to. For instance I did not know that they make the store brands look deliberately unappealing on purpose - I thought they were just saving on the graphical design costs. No they want you to spend more on the other brands. These are just there for people who are price sensitive and they would loose these shoppers otherwise.

I did not know that they "discount" some items and increase the price of other items just to create price confusion and increase the amount we each spend. That organic and fair trade items have a far higher mark up than needed to cover their supply cost. Reaching for these items is like saying to them "I am price insensitive, charge me more if you like".

sigh ...

Day out - Swanage

Yesterday we made the 2.5 hour trip to Swanage, on the Dorset coast to do some sight-seeing and climbing on the sea cliffs. This largely trad-climbing area, ie no fixed bolts, and with access only by abseiling down to just above sea-level.

This means that taking kids is a little more complicated as it is far better to have children running around below the cliffs than above them.

This is above the cliffs

I wasn't able to get many pictures of the actual climbing as the logistics of getting Emily tied in on the cliff edge was to much of challenge.

This is what is over the edge

I dropped an ATC device over here - fortunately it didn't hit Annalise below and Emily could give me her one.

Now she is happy - although a few minutes previously she was shouting from the bottom trying to make herself heard over the crashing waves.

After we had climbed enough we explored Swanage and took an impromptu boat trip to examine the cliffs from below.

This is a view from the sea. This is not that same cliffs we were on as these have nesting birds using them and thus they have climbing restrictions during summer months. Note the lines on the cliff run horizontal and then vertical - a result of plate techtonics.

The rest of the pictures from the day are here

Climbing, Tintern Abbey and Stonehenge

We rose early on Saturday as we took my niece and nephew climbing and sightseeing in Wales. It was Justin and Tamarin's first time rock climbing so we looked for something doable but with good views and an adrenaline rush. Symonds Yat, where we first climbed on arriving in the UK, had potential as it had very accessible climbing, great views and was close to Tintern abbey and Chepstow Castle. We made a full day of it - mixing climbing with sightseeing.

We did an initial small climb to sort out the safety issues and see how people handled the rock and heights.

Tam descending after her climb

Justin at top Sophie doing the same climb Then we moved onto the what we call "the pinnacle". After the lead we set up a top-rope and brought people up one at a time so that we were all on top of the pinnacle, and the world it seemed, - tied onto webbing around the edge of the table top. I got the opportunity for pictures from above as Tamarin, Sophie, Justin and Annalise climbed it. From the top one can see kayakers on the rapids below on the winding Wye river. Tam first Justin next View from the top After a late lunch we drove to Tintern Abbey - this abbey dates from 1131 - more pictures and information here Followed by Chepstow Castle and lastly Stonehenge All the pictures can be seen here, Click the image below. symonds-yat-rock