SaffasintheUK

No it’s not the opening line to a bad joke, this is the story of our ancestry and how we came to live in the UK.   The ancestral visa is one of the most well-known visa options available to the citizens of the Commonwealth, and many of us find (or already know) that we had a grandparent (or more!) born in the UK.   But growing up in the dry heat of the Witwatersrand, Ireland and England were just a blob on a map and it never entered my head to learn where my grandmother originally came from.   Granny as we will always remember her Even as we started to consider a move to the UK, I still didn’t think too hard about actually seeing where my Gran was born but as I started to research her birth and that of her parents, we unravelled a startling and really quite colourful story.   That is for a blog on a different day but our journey to the UK started with my belief that my Gran was actually Irish, or of Irish descent and our first efforts at research went into fi...

How I wish I could relive this holiday    With York wrapped up, we prepared to head to Scotland for a few days of exploration.  The thing is, Scotland is massive so how do you choose where to start?  We settled this easily with the discovery of the Central Rover train pass . Three days of unlimited train and tube travel around central Scotland for a fair price sounded like a bargain.  After looking at the stations covered by the pass we realised we could see the important tourist highlights and that settled that. We also discovered that Scotland has a Heritage Explorer pass that includes entry into some of their most famous castles and sights for 5 days, but also so much more.  Buying two passes was an easy decision once we worked out that entry fees for just two of the castles we wanted to see would cost the same.  Armed with this knowledge, we headed to Scotland. What can I say about this country? It is one of the most magical and s...

During our whirlwind of farewells, my sister joked with me that I should “come back when you are paler than the milk”.   I laughed but didn’t think much of it, I mean how pale can a Saffa get really?   We haven’t spent decades indoors, that must count for something, right? I have fair skin so I’ve never been brown as a berry but I’ve also never really had anything less than a soft caramel colour on my arms and legs. During my first summer here I had a secret giggle at the earnest conversations in the office about self-tan, the recommendations, the advice, the DETAILED discussions on application.   I shook my head and just spent as much time outside as I could, I even got sunburnt that first year! *note to newbies: do not underestimate English sun - wear your sunscreen! Fast forward 3 winters and I am facing a real conundrum.   In 40+ years I have never felt the need to self-tan – sure we all feel a little pale when we enter Spring in South Africa bu...

This week has been particularly auspicious for us, as we carefully marked 2 ½ years since we touched down in our new country.   As we are on a five year visa, this is the half way mark to us applying for ILR and making our home permanently here in the UK.   It’s a weird feeling, so much has happened and yet it feels like it passed in a blink.   The next 2 ½ years seems so long but we know it will be filled with learnings and experiences as we settle ourselves even more. Along the way we’ve learned plenty so to celebrate the milestone, I thought I’d share something we’ve learned for every month we’ve been here (I’ll keep it short, I promise!). So here’s my list of 30 things we’ve learned in 30 months of living in the UK: The sun shines more than you think. Discussing the weather is a national sport and you quickly learn the rules of engagement. The weather is constantly measured in record terms - in other words, every weather system is breaking so...

No English holiday is complete without ruins and a red phone box.  Peferably both! I have a confession to make.    I have a bad case of the travel bug, but I’m mostly broke.   Well, I’m not THAT broke but I certainly can’t afford lush holidays and wanton spending.   Every single penny gets turned over and considered before we can spend it, and this naturally includes holidays.   It’s only because of very careful planning that we get to travel and explore as much as we do, but if you look closely, you’ll see that I’m self-appointed queen of cheap and free activities.   Which basically means I do great research. And I absolutely love it!   Little did I know that my slender wallet would lead me on a path of travel that I didn’t consider…the jam packed, penny pincher, cultural experience holiday.   I’ve shared my tips on travel in the UK before, you can read it here , but this series of posts is a few months overdue.   Today I ...

The best piece of advice I got when we first arrived, was be a tourist.   You might now be living in the UK (or planning to), but you will be a foreigner for a very long time.   You have no knowledge of the area, you don’t know the history or the landmarks.   The best way to integrate yourself into your new country and your new life…is to explore. The person who told me this also told me to buy a travel guide for the part of the country I was settling in, but of course you can’t buy English travel guides in England!   Go figure.   So I had to get creative. I am well aware of how expensive this can be and I have become queen of cheap outings and budget tourism.   Unless you are fortunate enough to land a high paying job, you will find making ends meet a bit of a struggle at first, which means luxuries such as travelling and exploring are not on the priority list at all. And yet it can still be done! As a family, we take at least one day per...