Frustrations

All quiet on the home front for a few weeks now. John has been travelling back and forth from Switzerland, France and America. Just as well I do not mind my own company. We move to our apartment in Switzerland on the 3rd of November, two companies have given us quotes for the move the prices are absurd but John’s company pays for it. They come in and pack it all up for us then ship it over to our new house and unpack it again. I get to supervise. The apartment does not have built in wardrobes. So we will have to purchase some wardrobes and a chest of drawers.

Immediately on arriving in Switzerland I plan to enrol in some French classes, but we will be going back to Australia for two weeks soon after our move, so I will delay my class until I return. Funny I feel anxious and excited about the move. My only worry is the language problems I will have to overcome, and lack of proper communication skills.

This past week has been filled with problems, I took a suit of Johns to the dry cleaners in Tadley. I picked it up only to find a note attached to it when unwrapping at home. The note said “sorry but we have tried several times to get the stain out of the coat, and are unable to get it out with out damaging the garment”. John said there was no stain, but sure enough there was a mess on the bottom. I was furious and was going to ring them. Maybe it was time to get banned from a Uk dry cleaners. John said it would serve no purpose it would be our word against theirs, so very begrudgingly I let it slide and promised myself in future to check all garments in front of the sales person.

Now I had to find another dry cleaner, so I took the train to Reading. It was a cold day and I stopped many people and asked if they knew where a dry cleaners was, the first lady sent me to one that had closed down way out of the main shopping drag and I was on foot. Lots of other pedestrians had no idea, so by the 5th person I was directed to the other end of town and it was tucked down a very narrow ally, I almost walked past it. So here I was asking the lady to check the garment for stains. She said “there does not appear to be any!” Good I said keep it that way and left.

Time for a little shopping, many sales seem to be on. I purchased some stocking socks three for 3 pounds and decided to get two packs. Getting back to the station the train to Mortimer was cancelled some sort of signalling problem. The later train should be available so I hung around the station, ate some lunch and got a coffee. Slowly I wandered back to my platform to see people getting on the train, run run run coffee in hand. Just in the nick of time the doors were closing my coffee hand was in. The doors shut and jammed my hand I had visions of being dragged along a railway track, oh sugar I don’t want to die……. but then the door re opened and let me in, my coffee still upright and un spilled. Whilst sitting on the seat I swear I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. I tried to relax and drank my coffee.

At home I unpacked my stocking socks only do discover I did not get three for a pound I got 2 for a pound, by now I am getting really annoyed it has been one annoyance after another, not to mention a whole long saga at the doctors surgery. Yes just ask me about a doctor Rock (ignorant so and so). Well I guess we all have to have these weeks every now and then, just so we can appreciate an uneventful week.