Life in the UK...

Half term went far too fast for my liking... Unfortunately the weather wasn't too flash. This weekend was quite nice though, & on Saturday Will & I had an epic day in the garden. We went out at around 1pm, & didn't come in until 8pm, at which stage I decided I had better cook some dinner! Things are growing nicely thanks to the warm weather & all the rain we've been having. My first petunias & pansies are out which I'm excited about. I do like my flowers...

Over half-term I realised that my work permit expires on the 16th June, & that it wasn't very far away!!! By marrying Will I have a right of abode in the UK, but not necessarily a right to work. Because I have had my work permit for 5 years I am entitled to apply for 'indefinite leave to remain' meaning I can work, & can come & go as I please, as long as I don't leave the UK for longer than 2 years. It is the first step before citizenship, & then I will be able to apply for a UK passport. Before applying for indefinite leave to remain you need to sit a 'Life in the UK' test, which is what I've been swotting for tonight. I'm booked in for it on Wednesday afternoon. Some questions are things that even Will doesn't know (& he knows pretty much everything!).

Sample questions...

1. What is a quango?

A: A local police officer

B: A non-departmental public body

C: Another name for the Lord Chancellor

D: The name of the British citizenship ceremony

2. Why were recruitment centres set up in the West Indies in the 1950's?

A: To recruit workers for textile factories

B: To recruit workers to build canals

C: To recruit workers to build railways

D: To recruit workers to drive buses

3. What is the maximum number of hours that a child can work on a school day or Sunday?

A: eight hours

B: four hours

C: six hours

D: two hours

4. When did the church of England come into existence?

A: In the 1440s

B: In the 1530s

C: In the 1640s

D: In the 1750s

5. What overall proportion of Britain's African Caribbean, Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi communities were born in Britain?

A: about half

B: about one quarter

C: about one third

D: about three quarters

You get the general idea... In case you are wondering, the answers are 1B, 2D, 3D, 4B & 5A

The test is 24 multi-choice questions & I need to get 18 or above to pass. George, another kiwi at school sat his a few months ago, & he wrote extensive revision notes which have been coming in really useful. My dodgiest area is to do with the European Union, European Council, European Parliament & European Commission, & what each of them does! Fingers crossed I pass... You are allowed to sit it as many times as you want, it just costs £34 a pop!

I don't have any other news really... Survived my first day back at school today. The seniors are now all gone, so it's pretty quiet around school. We break up for summer in less than 5 weeks...