[denisesykes]

Seems that there are a few of us here in East Kent looking for a new life in NZ.A few people have expressed interest in a local meet :cheers say in Whitstable/Herne Bay /Thanet. (Thanks Wayne, Paul and Laura , Frances and UKiwibird) :cool
Is there anybody else out there living locally who might come along?

[Mildred]

Well Denise,

Looks like just us lot ;) I was trying to think of all the nice pubs in Herne Bay. Could only remember the Plough at Broomfield and Share and Coulter as being reasonable but things change with time. Any ideas?

[denisesykes]

Hi everyone.
I think you are right Frances , just a nice select group then!
The Plough is literally 2 minutes walk from ours (handy!) but I don't think the garden is up to much for the kids.The Share and Coulter is a bit rough as I recall but it does have climbing stuff in the garden but last time we went (about 2-3 years ago admittedly) it was a bit exposed and I was constantly worried about my kids running into the car park.
On the Sturry Road (between Herne Bay and Canterbury, but Herne Bay end) is The Punch Tavern which is a Harvester or something similar but we could just go for a drink.That has an indoor and outdoor play area.
There is another similar place in Whitstable (on the big roundabout) Wayne will probably know what it is called .I don't know if they have a play area .My youngest is a very lively 5 year old so a play area is essential!
We have sent Pauls army file to NZQA today for a full assessment as the PAR was useless.Just fingers crossed for the next 2 months then.We have got a back up plan as Paul has a HGV 1 licence and Kiwidollie has given us a contact for driving jobs but it all takes so long!
We were hoping to be sorted by July but with no NZQA(and therefore no visa) and no offers on the house seems like a faint hope now!
Hopefully by the time we all meet up we may have some news even if it is that NZQA have not dismissed our application immediately upon receipt!
I know that Laura said that she would like to wait until her Paul has a job offer which is fair enough.
Any ideas then from anyone of time span?

[denisesykes]

Hi Wayne , just saw your post re your prospective employer wanting to meet you in August .! How cool! It sounds like it was meant to be!

[Mildred]

Punch Tavern sounds perfect to me. The Beefeater at Whitstable hasn't got such a good garden.

I'm happy to go along with everyone else on making arrangments. My two kids are 11 and 8 (going on 18) so we're pretty flexible along as there is not too much smoke around (daughter severe asthmatic).

Good luck with Paul's NZQA. Didn't realise until today we had to do this before submitting EOI. More money to pay out for :(

[wayne]

:nice1 No kids. Well only hubby Wayne and Ben 22 and Peter 19, so we will go with the flow. I doubt if the boys will want to come along. Regards Trudy

[paul&laura]

Hi All

We went to the punch tavern tonight!!!!..I think the pub near wayne might be the hungry horse..never been there though...we live very near share and coulter which has small garden but good kids play area..only thing is denise is right about garden being open to the car park..might not be very good for 5 yr old.

let us know when you decide to go.and where..and then if Paul knows about his job we'll come.

Frances..our children are similar in ages...eldest is nearly 11 and youngest is 7 on saturday.

Denise...good luck with getting your Paul's qualifications sorted.

Laura

[wayne]

Hi the big pub/restaurant on the whitstable roundabout is the Long Reach, The Barn at Chestfeild is good but not too sure about kids facilities, the Hungry horse at Swalecliffe is good I think there is a kids garden at the back,my choice would be the Plough opposite Wealden Woodlands (although I havent been there in ages) or the Long Reach a good "beefeater " style pub with a family friendly feel
thats my £0.02's worth

[paul&laura]

Wayne

do you mean the punch near wealden woodland?...my choice would be the punch as i think its the most child friendly but i don't really mind... :cheers

Laura

[Mildred]

Laura

I'm happy with the Punch Tavern as well.

[ukiwibird]

:laugh Wayne says he meant the PUNCH. It's nearly opposite Wildwood (I think that's its new name) between Herne and Sturry. Arrange a date and let us know. Regards Trudy :cheers

[denisesykes]

The Punch it is then.How about meeting some time after half term (sorry I work at a school and my whole life is organised around schoool terms! ) say, mid June .By then Paul and Laura may have a job offer, Wayne and Trudy may have sold their house, Frances may be NZQA 'd and submitted her EOI and we may have got NZQA 'd, applied for our visa and sold our house ! Nothing like being positive!
On that note (being positive) we got an unexpected Email today from the Army saying that they have contacted the New Zealand govenment on our behalf and asked what they can do to support our application! It is literally the first positive thing that has happened in the 6 months since we decided to go and very welcome.
Watch this space.

[paul&laura]

Sounds good to us!!!..can it be after 8th june as we are in france until then..we'll come anyway even without job offer as i don't think we'll have heard by then...NZ prison service are taking forever to organise things..it seems to be a long drawn out process..we'll just keep our fingers crossed :laugh !!

Laura

[Mildred]

I'm easy :nice1