February 2012

The local pub

Our house

Chickens in the snow

Our house

The landlady of the local pub wants an invitation to the rave that she says my wife is organising as soon as I go away! The witches, spinners and weavers are waiting for me to go as well so that they can have dying (dye) days here. I don't have BO! My daughters have been trying to get me to camp in the garden in all the snow and cold weather that we are having, saying that it will be good practise for me. I may be old but I am not that daft!

I have sent in the application for a Pakistan visa and now wait for the outcome. I had everything ready to go to Travcour when I received an email advising that the Pakistan High Commission had changed their requirements and that I had to prove that I was retired with a copy of a letter from the Pensions Agency showing that I was retired. Oddly enough that was easy to find! This was in addition to a copy of my bank account showing a balance of at least £3000, which everyone has to provide if they want a visa. This is meant to show that a tourist has the funds available to get out of Pakistan if there will be problems there but as being in the country is months away then it seems pointless, and there are such things as credit cards! And, as far as I know, the £3000 does not have to be taken as cash to Pakistan anyway.

My wife is sewing name tags into my clothes, tags that were bought for my daughter 30 years ago. They have been cut in half so that 'Jane' is not sewn on the clothes, only the 'Watkins' part. 

All vaccinations have now been completed at a cost of about £500. Hepatitis A, polio and yellow fever were in date, typhoid, diptheria and tetanus required a booster injection and hepatitis B, rabies and Japanese encephalitis were new vaccinations. Apart from sore arms there were no other effects from the vaccinations. Anti-malaria tablets (doxycycline) have also been purchased.