I’ve arrived..

My time up until now has largely been spent unpacking and carrying out the huge amount of admin involved with moving from one country to another. The Isle of Man, another country? Yes, it really is, and you really find out just what the differences are when you move back to England. For instance, I can’t drive the car until it is Mot’d (no Mot required on IOM) – done; then the car has to be re-registered with DVLA and Uk vehicle tax paid (pending); then I have to wait for the log book to be returned with the new registration number (pending); then I have reinsure the car (eventually) with new number plates (eventually); change IOM driving licence to UK driving licence (pending) – then I can finally drive my car. I am insured on my IOM insurance meanwhile, but technically it is illegal to drive until the process is complete.

Then there is the issue of getting a bank account – ideally, I wanted a bank with a branch in easy reach of Matlock and that means Nationwide, as everything else has either closed down or is about to close down. This seemed easy, until I tried to make my new current Nationwide account my nominated account for my NSandI account and my Skipton International account – and both refuse to verify Nationwide. NSandI can’t say why, or how long it might take for it to be verified. So, if IOM Bank decide to close my accounts, which they usually do when a person moves off-island, I shall have no direct access to the money in NSI or Skipton. And considering NSandI currently has my house sale money, this somewhat displeased me. The only way I could withdraw it in order to get a better interest rate in the short term was for them to send me a Banker’s Order, and indeed this is the only way I shall be able to withdraw money from NSandI until the Nationwide account is verified or I open a new (pointless) current account! If it’s good enough for the government to pay my pension into it, I can’t see what makes NSandI or Skipton any different.

Everything I have touched over the last two weeks seems to have had the same complications – and you can imagine the endless hours I have spent ‘on hold’ trying to sort out one issue or another.

BUT…. I am almost there, except this nagging nominated account problem. So, on Friday, on a lovely sunny afternoon, I put all this on one side and walked along the valley bottom to Darley Bridge and back along the other side of the river. It is taking time to get used to the noise of traffic, but it’s not as bad as I expected it to be. I really like Matlock, as a small town, with quaint shops and streets, and the river winding through it. And the countryside is just beautiful, in every direction. There are some wonderful footpaths not too far away from my apartment, including this one and just 5-10 mins in the car opens up a huge range of options for walking.

The valley walk was a good tonic. I know I shall be happy here, and there will so many footpaths to explore when I need some calm or a pick-me-up. Even better was a lovely walk I did yesterday around Elton, which I shall write up tomorrow.