Living in Bournemouth
Sunday, October 31, 2004
[ 2:14 AM ]

University
Classmates
Church
Shopping
Water
Moisturising
Webcam & Phone cards
Halloween
O Roundabouts O
British Words & Phrases
Daylight Saving
More Travels...
Next...


University
Impressions from the past:
• Alma mater University of Sydney, a beautiful building modelled after the traditional universities of the UK.
• Romantic Cambridge (well, I was on my honeymoon then...), even more historic and ornate architecture.

Back to the future:
• Bournemouth University, reminds me of the University of New South Wales - no character. (Oops did I really say that? *ducks imaginary fists*. For the benefit of non-Aussie grads, there's long-standing rivalry between UNSW and Sydney Uni. But hey, I married the enemy. And he's the smart one - he married me didn't he? :)

Yes, the clump of buildings that make up BU are drab, nondescript and functional, excusably so since they weren't designed to be a university. BU began life as a Municipal College, then a College of Technology, an Institute of Higher Education and aPolytechnic. It was conferred university status in 1992. There are a sizeable number of similar conversions across the UK. Assuringly, The Guardian's University Guide 2004 reports that these former polytechnics are fast out-performing their more established rivals in terms of quality of teaching - pretty much our arguments in favour of polytechnic education in Singapore.

So why BU? Well, there are only 2 postgraduate courses in the UK specialising in radio production (as opposed to radio journalism), the other one being the more prestigious Goldsmiths College. Of course Goldsmiths would have looked better on the CV. But radio has to be hands-on and Goldsmiths does not share this philosophy. Mind you, had I not joined Ngee Ann Polytechnic, I may not have had this mindset. Then again, I probably wouldn't have ended up in the UK either.

BU has 2 campuses. Mine, Talbot Campus, is in the borough of Poole (not Bournemouth) and is in more wooded surroundings. The Lansdowne Campus in spread out in the town centre. There's student accommodation on both campuses.

Like many universities, there are a lot of student-run outlets on campus. Profits go back to the Union so there's some pressure to patronise them. The Students' Union shop sells stationery and snacks at exorbitant prices. SU also runs several pubs and a nightclub (this IS the UK! Some trivia – Bournemouth has the highest concentration of pubs and clubs in the UK, more even than London's Soho district). Other outlets (non-student run) include Barclays Bank, Endsleigh Insurance and Waterstone's Books.

Being back in a temperate setting has certainly brought back familiar sensations - the aroma of coffee and hot food wafting through the cafeterias, lunching on a grassy patch in the occasional sunshine, stale air in lecture theatres, dusty ancient tomes buried in some forgotten corner of the library and one of my pet peeves… sandpaper disguised as toilet paper. Somehow those undergraduate days seem not too long ago (*nostalgia*). Just remind me not to look in the mirror.

Classmates
(Apologies if you've already read my blog on this.)
There are 13 of us. As I write this, the 14th is expected to join us tomorrow from Nigeria. This brings the number of internationals to 3 - Nigerian, Spanish and Malaysian/Singaporean. There are 3 Toms and 2 Abbeys. We're still trying to figure out which Tom/Abbey is on the discussion board and how to distinguish them verbally.

3 of us are mature students. One of them travels from London weekly, joining us from Monday to Thursday. He's just had a baby so I really take my hat to him (and his wife!). The younger ones are from all over the UK, and they are all undoubtedly passionate about radio (though beer definitely ranks first for some of them). Some of them are really wickedly creative – those of us who are in the teaching profession will recognise these characters; there's bound to be at least one every semester. One of them, Tim, is incredibly anal about everything, so he's ended up being the butt of jokes.

There's also a doctorate student from Vietnam who joins us for certain sessions. Her thesis - Internet radio stations in Vietnam. When I asked her about the state of radio in Vietnam, she said there's only one and it's state-controlled. She's totally closed to the notion that there should be any other kind of station. Hmm... what was that thesis again?

I really enjoy class discussions because everyone has an opinion and is not afraid to voice it. We can be quite rowdy. So far, so good. We seem to be gelling quite well.

Church
Did an internet search and managed to find an evangelical church nearby,
Moordown Baptist (http://moordownbaptist.org.uk) about 7 minutes' drive away.
It's pretty similar to Adam Road Presbyterian Centre (ARPC) back home. Shorter sermons for sure - service begins at 11am and ends by 12.15pm. Very Bible-focussed and so far the messages have been solid.

It's also good that Sunday School for children is available so I can attend service without any distraction. One good practice here is having the children join us at the beginning of the service. The speaker has a story for them each week.

Same rationale as ARPC - no elaborate crosses (nor stained windows - ARPC's private joke) nor any other "unnecessary" icons. They've also recently started a communal lunch once a month to encourage fellowship, so I was sharing with the pastor about how effective these meals have been in ARPC.

I must say that the people are here are genuinely warm. Maybe I happen to be the target because it's kinda hard to miss the only Chinese family here! As with most churches in the UK, the majority (80%?) of parishioners fall into the elderly category.

Bradley and Erica are amongst the youngest children here. Erica is starting to enjoy Sunday School for children aged 3 upwards (she's definitely the youngest). Bradley still prefers the battery-operated train at Crèche (sigh).

Last week was Harvest Service and it was heartwarming to see children bringing harvest offerings and laying them at the "altar". UK churches hold harvest services throughout October.

There's a missionary here who works for the Far East Broadcasting Association in Kenya. The church elders were quite taken that I knew about FEBA and were quite excited when I told them about Ruth Song (ex-student) working in FEBA's Singapore office.

Shopping
Bournemouth is not as "ulu"[backward] as I thought it might be. My place, Gleneagles, is a mere 5-minute walk from the shops at Winton. Winton is a middle class suburb with lots of charity shops, 2 butchers, 2 grocers, budget shops and major banks. Sort of an Ang Mo Kio. Getting essentials is not a problem. Paying for them is! But if I keep converting everything into Singapore dollars, I'll be a manic depressive by the time I leave the UK.

The most upmarket supermarket here is Waitrose (my mum's favourite haunt). I prefer LIDL where I can get most essentials at 50% off Waitrose's prices.

Charity shops are wonderful. You can find charities supporting concerns from pets, children, single mothers to the aged and the heart foundation. The goods are really in pristine condition, unlike the trash we often see at the Salvation Army bins in Singapore. I managed to get 2 feather down quilts (£12), a study table and shelves (£25), and a TV (£45). "Don't convert, don't convert..."

Unbelievable, but I can't find chocolate milk in Winton(yes, the twins share Mummy's weakness for chocolate), though there's plenty of choc milk shake. So, I have to make a weekly trip to ASDA (second largest supermarket chain in the UK, apparently voted the cheapest) about 6 minutes' drive away. The best thing about ASDA is it's open 24 hours. The variety's phenomenal.

If I have more time to spare, there's the newish Castlepoint Mall (American-style malls are catching on in the UK) 10 minutes away. It's got most of the major outlets – Sainsbury supermarket (which by the way is making huge losses due to mismanagement, no choc milk here either), ARGOS (anything you can't find elsewhere, you can find here), Marks & Spencer, W.H. Smith books, B&Q (DIY warehouse) and a few smaller outlets. Best feature is the huge carpark where parking is free.

Btw, British Sausage Week came and went without much fanfare.

Water
Bournemouth water is hard water. When we first arrived we had to buy descaling tablets to get rid of the hardened lime on the shower heads. What minerals were entering our digestive system from the tap? Well, I wasn't too keen to find out and so rushed out to get a water filter. There certainly is a marked difference in taste. Psychological? Who knows?

Quite troublesome initially but we've gotten used to popping a descaling tablet into the washing machine with every wash.

Moisturising
I have renewed respect for Vitamin E. E45 is the miracle moisturising cream we can't do without. The dryness here is so acute that we have to smear E45 liberally on the face and body to prevent eczema. I don't even bother buying supermarket-sized tubes now; only industrial-sized tubs will do.

Webcam & Phone cards
How did people cope with being apart all those years ago (Veronica, I'm thinking about you here)? As far as I'm concerned, the webcam is the best gadget of the 20th century, once you get used to the grainy pictures and occasional hanging. The kids were rather apprehensive at first, not daring to speak those first few sessions. Gradually they've got used to speaking into the microphone, although Bradley still looks into the camera to see where Daddy's hiding.

Phone cards are cheap too. My Discount Jeff £5 card gets me 250 minutes for a call to a Singapore fixed line, less for a call to Malaysia. And if Belinda calls the Philippines, she gets a measley 28 minutes.

Handphone usage is pricey though. 20p for an overseas SMS! That's 60 Singapore cents! The irony is it works out cheaper for me to call instead of texting.

Also love Singapore's 1511 service at 5 cents per minute off-peak. So no worries about long, loo... ooo... ooooong, long-distance calls from Singapore.

Halloween
I thought Halloween would be big here but there was no tricking or treating tonight. Lots of pumpkin going cheap this week though - stock clearance. Halloween does seem to be a big problem in recent years, with teenagers wreaking havoc under the influence of alcohol. Apparently some of them go round the neighbourhood insisting on "trick" instead of "treat" because they simply want to be destructive. This has led to some people locking their doors and turning off their lights. Thank goodness my front door is concealed.

O Roundabouts O
This country must have a record number of roundabouts! I remember making the same observation on my first driving trip to the UK in 1995. Some don't even look like roundabouts so you need to be really alert on unfamiliar roads. There's even one intersection somewhere in the UK that has 8 roundabouts within another huge roundabout. It's meant to be more efficient in managing traffic, but I really don't see it working too well at the very busy roundabouts near home.

Still on the roads, I must say driving here is a thoroughly pleasant experience. Drivers are absolutely courteous. In peak hour traffic, I hardly have problems cutting in because people always give way. I've even learnt how to flash the car lights - an indication that you're letting them through. Totally unlike the Malaysian habit of flashing to warn of a police speed trap up ahead. Do I detect a possible programme here - flashing lights taking on different meanings in different cultures?

British Words & Phrases
"Bear with me": used often when you're holding the line or if you need to wait for something.
"Can I help?": usually uttered by the cashier to indicate you're the next person to be served.
"Pound": it doesn't matter whether it's 1, 2, 500 or a million; the plural form does not exist e.g. "That will be 10 pound 47 please."
"Chav": the buzzword for 2004. Basically British Bengs and Lians. Flashy gold jewellery, white trainers, fashionable clothes with prominent logos (Burberry checks especially popular), ultra short skirts, dyed hair.
"Cheers": thank you, or generally uttered if you have nothing better to say.

Daylight Saving
This is the last weekend in autumn, so we had to push the clock back an hour, a practice dating back to 1916. The way to remember this is "fall backwards, spring forwards". So when I woke up this morning at 9am, I adjusted the clock to 8am effectively gaining one hour. In spring, we'll have to push the clock one hour ahead.

Anyway it's starting to get dark early. It's great because it's less of a hassle getting the kids to sleep earlier than their usual midnight hour. We're so used to the brightness of Singapore street lights that it's quite an experience getting used to total darkness. I love the dark but had to eventually get a night light when Bradley fell off the bed and I couldn't see where he was!

More Travels
...while the weather holds (Shutterfly UK Album 2)

Corfe Castle
Magnificent ruins in the Purbeck Hills. Corfe Village is at its foot, a preserved stone village which boasts the smallest town hall in the UK. We took the steam train here much to the delight of the children. I was transported to the train murder mysteries of Agatha Christie in those period carriages.

Christchurch
A picturesque harbour and an ornate priory.

Wimborne
The church here has a strange collection of giant books chained to the shelves. Pity the library was closed the day we went. Wimborne has the biggest market in the south of England. The markets operate from Friday to Sunday, and if you have time to browse, you can find some unusual vintage masterpieces.

Upton Park
A manor on huge grounds. Nice for walks but nothing spectacular to tempt us back.

Southampton
Whiled our time away on a rainy day shopping at the massive Westquay Mall. didn't get to see the city at all. Great shopping though and there's even a crèche service, at a price, of course, at £4 an hour. Found a Primark outlet – can finally afford to buy some children's clothes.

Burley
A quaint town within the New Forest Reserve where ponies graze freely. Apparently it's also a centre for witchcraft. The only visible sign of this was a shop displaying a huge witch-on-a-broomstick signboard.

Next...
A lot of friends have been asking about Gleneagles, so that will be the subject of my next instalment.

(logged by Anita)

Getting to Bournemouth
Friday, October 22, 2004
[ 1:50 AM ]

Changi - Heathrow
Gleneagles, Talbot Woods
Birthday Boy
Berserk Kids
International Students Orientation Programme
Bills, bills, bills
Car
Travels

Changi - Heathrow
It was a relatively easy journey. The kids were surprisingly well-behaved, except for the odd occasion when they decided they needed some exercises to prevent DVT (deep vein thrombosis). It didn't help that we had a very crotchety woman just in front of us who kept glaring back at Bradley every time he moved. And yet when her grandson did the same bouncing exercises she merely beamed. Yes, the joys of travelling.

Being September, the SQ flight was full and there were quite a few passengers returning to the UK from Australia. 4 infants onboard, so we couldn't get the bulkhead. We had the misfortune of sitting 3 rows back (thank goodness I did not request for anything nearer the front) from a very fidgety baby who cried through the night. I was about to offer the mother some of the children's Benadryl (yes, I came prepared, though the children didn't need it after all) when I saw her snarling to another passenger (obviously a mother) who had gone up to speak with her. Nope – don't think her baby does drugs.

At Heathrow we had just avoided the arrival throng. Trust SQ to be kiasu [Hokkien for afraid to lose]– we were expected to arrive at 0550hrs but, according to the captain, planes are not supposed to land at Heathrow before 0600hrs, so we spent some time cruising.

Just as well we were early. I didn't realise that we had to go for a medical inspection due to the nature of our visas. Belinda and I were subjected to a chest X-ray. Now, if I had known this, I would have brought my X-ray along since Ngee Ann Polytechnic insisted I did a medical just prior to departure. 2 X-rays in the space of 2 weeks? Who wants to go down the way of Marie Curie? The children were too young, so they were let off.

Perfect timing though. Just as we passed through customs, we met the driver of the airport taxi I had booked, and Mum appeared 5 minutes later. Her MH flight had arrived 20 minutes after SQ.

So far, so good. The taxi, well minibus really, was huge enough to accommodate all our barangs [Malay for things]. A note about our luggage – we were 50kg overweight but the somewhat blur airport check-in staff let us through (thank the good Lord). It was quite entertaining seeing the incredulous looks of the SQ staff. You could almost hear them think aloud "What? A folding mattress for check-in? And how many bags?" Oh, just 5 bags, 2 boxes and one mattress. Robin the seasoned traveller (thanks Rob, Christine & family members of course, for coming to the airport) nearly had a fit, I think.

We were well on the way…yawn…to Bournemouth... zzzz...zzzz...

Gleneagles, Talbot Woods
It was a dark and stormy night... ok, ok, maybe not quite as dramatic, but it was a bleak, dreary, rainy day when we arrived at the flat. In the UK, flats may not be the typical high-rise apartments we're used to in Singapore. Our flat is actually part of a huge house. It had been converted years ago into 6 units with 6 separate entrances.

Cecil and his mum were there to greet us with loads of food to tide us at least for the first day. (Now, how I met Cecil and his sister Bernice is quite another story. But to have found such lovely Singaporeans who run the semi-Asian Straits Bistro 5 minutes walk from me, is a blessing indeed).

Town and shops are a 5-minute walk away through tree-lined avenues. The full glory of autumn has not quite hit. Summer is struggling to keep its hold; sometimes it succeeds but there is that hint of orange-gold in the leaves.

Birthday Boy
It was Mason's birthday the day we arrived. So exhausted as we were, we went out to buy a cake from Waitrose supermarket. The kids chose a psychedelic caterpillar cake which was sickly sweet, much to their delight.

Berserk Kids
From Day One, the kids went wild! Overstimulation! They obviously loved the space and the adventure of discovering new experiences like seeing squirrels scampering on the front lawn. They were squealing, running about, being demanding – every parent's nightmare. Of course it must have a real treat having Mummy and Daddy spending so much time with them. It was a trying time settling them and, as I was to discover, it would take a month before they finally toned down. (WARNING: DO NOT TRAVEL WITH 3-YEAR-OLDS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE ARE 2 OF THEM!)

Introduced them to their nursery, Talbot Woods Nursery, which is conveniently located on campus. Again they loved it from Day One. They'd better. I'm paying £12 ($37) a day for each of them for a half-day programme. And this is the students' rate. It's a good thing that they've already been exposed to playschool, so being in a school setting was not an alien concept. They were so well adjusted that the teacher said they would not need the recommended 4 "settling-in" sessions. Hmm… she remarked they were very active, so maybe she secretly just dreaded having to deal with them, ha-ha! She really has the sweetest nature, so I hope the kids won't traumatise her too much.

Btw, Bradley is starting to sound British. He pronounces Mummy "Mum-may", rather than "Mum-mee".

International Students Orientation Programme
If you're a mature student, this is the best way to feel old! The activities are all geared towards the younger generation, obviously with the assumption that they're having to adapt to being away from home for the first time. It was a good thing I had done my research and had made that earlier trip in August – imagine having to wait 2 months for a bank account to be opened!

Some sessions were useful though, like having the National Healthcare System (NHS) explained ("We find a lot of students need contraceptives.") and getting our email accounts ahead of the locals. The NHS is another nightmare. First, I wasn't allowed to register with the campus surgery because my kids didn't qualify. Second, I didn't realise that different surgeries had different policies. The medical centre closest to home did not accept new entrants in the country till 6 months after entry. When I finally found a suitable surgery, I thought that would be the end of the story. Alas, that was not to be.

Surgery: We need a letter from the university. Just ask your Programme Administrator and they'll know what to do.
Uni: What letter? I've never been asked for a letter. Just show them your student card. If there's a problem, ask them to call me.
Surgery: No, your student card is not good enough. No, giving us the phone number just will not do. We need a letter stating the nature and duration of your course.

And so that finally got sorted out after 3 weeks. I can't even bear thinking about dental surgeries…

Bills, bills, bills
These are thoroughly confusing.

There's the council tax, which was due before I got my student exemption certificate. There are 2 water bills, one for water, one for sewerage. Then there's the gas (do I have a gas stove or is it just for the central heating?).

I could change service providers depending on the deal I like. If not I would have to sign a contract with the existing provider. There are lots of pamphlets and letters "to the resident" to confuse you further. You could choose to pay by direct debit (GIRO), which could be cheaper for certain providers but more expensive for others. You could pay at the post office for free or for a fee, depending on what bill it is. Some bills are monthly, others quarterly, though they don't necessarily tell you which one it is.

For the phone service, even if you choose a provider other than British Telecom, you still have to get BT to connect the phone line. So, I had to call BT first, then subscribe to the cheaper NTL, get NTL to cancel the BT line while retaining the number. But there's a cooling off period, so it takes a week for any activation to be done.

Confused yet?

Car
Here's more confusion. Well to buy a car is not a problem. In order to drive the car, I had to get car insurance. All very well indeed, except the premiums can vary a great deal.

Before I rant on about insurance, here's some info about the car. It's a red Renault Megane, 1600cc, 1998 model, bought for £2850. For the 4D punters, the registration number is F536 HO.

It's one of those with clutchless gears (apparently a limited edition), a real breeze to drive. Automatic cars are not easy to come by at second hand car dealers.

There, of course, is a problem with a foreigner getting insurance. Most of the companies considered my licence a new one, since they record it from the date I entered the country – so I'm considered a new driver despite having driven for 14 years. The only way to get round this is was to get my Singapore licence converted to a UK one. For this to be done, I had to surrender my Singapore licence (non-returnable) and my passport (yeah right, on Royal Mail?). I would hear from them in 2 months' time (so what do I do in the meantime?).

Finally found one company which had the lowest rate (still almost £800). They lowered the rate because I decided to register my mum as the second driver (go figure).

Travels
Here's where it gets interesting. Managed to get some travelling done before term began proper.

Portsmouth
Rather disappointing really. It was quite a windy and chilly day, so we were restricted in our movement. Dirty and drab. Pity we didn't get to see the historic ships. There's a huge factory outlet complex though J

Chichester
A quaint Tudor town, but that's all there was really.

Weymouth
Very pretty beach and narrow cobbled stone alleyways with some unusual shops.

Portland
This promontory is a few miles from Weymouth and the views are spectacular.

Isle of Wight
Cordelia's haunt. Absolutely delightful, especially the town of Shanklin. Pretty thatched roofs and scrumptious cream teas. Don't bother going to the overrated "world-famous" Shanklin Chine though.

Shaftesbury
Another quaint cobbled stone street town. To be honest, after a while they all look the same. There's the famous Goldhill that appears in a lot of postcards. Would have been great if we could have done walks in the countryside nearby.

Torquay
Seaside town. Steep cliffs with houses built on them. Sub-tropical gardens. Exceptionally pretty villages along the way from Bournemouth, which I would love to explore further, like Totnes, which is famous for its lace.

Plymouth
Historical. We were really here to stay the night only before going on to Eden Project. Lovely B&B, which had won this year's "Britain in Bloom" award.

Eden Project
Highly fascinating. It's like walking into a mother ship of an alien civilisation. I was particularly impressed with the Malaysian kampung [village] house, complete with scooter. The plants must be fed some top secret nutrients to reach such mammoth proportions.

Dartmoor
Really bleak even in summer but quite educational to see Sherlock Holmes country. Very sparse vegetation and some wild ponies. Some picturesque villages en route to Exeter.

Exeter
The cathedral is the main feature here. It was going to be Harvest Service that Sunday, so we were in the thick of the action as farmers decorated the church with their produce. An interesting structure was a "house that moved" (don't know the story behind this). The quayside was interesting as well with shops that were built into hillocks.

Lyme Regis
Part of the heritage Jurassic coast. The coastline was quite spectacular, and it was great walking on a beach covered with fossils.

Back to Reality
No, no, I haven't forgotten the real reason I'm in the UK. Many GB Pounds lighter now with the exchange rate at £1 = S$3.10 (now why can't that be down on the weighing scales as well). It's early October and soon Mason has to leave for home (sob!) and it will be time to get some routines going.

(logged by Anita)

>>> ANITA KUAN

Anita Kuan is a former radio and television presenter who abandoned hopes of "fame and fortune" for the noble profession of teaching. After seven years of grazing in the pastures of Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film and Media Studies in Singapore, she hopped across the fence into the meadow of studentdom. She is currently spending one year at Bournemouth University in the UK reading – well, there’s certainly a lot of “doing” going on - an MA in Radio Production. Her resilience is being tested as she copes with rusty brains, arthritic pains brought on by the cold and her three-year-old twin terrors, Erica and Bradley. During her saner moments she maintains an academic blog at http://anitakuan.blogspot.com.

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• Living in Bournemouth
• Getting to Bournemouth