[Magdalen] Safely home

[Sally Davies]

A very large number of people do this, we used to call them "swallows". In
Somerset West there were a great many more - owing to location close to the
winelands as well as the Cape Town city culture. Not so many here in PE but
there are a few.

They're a great addition to our communities as they bring welcome
investment that's much more than just finance. Most come from the UK but
there are also some from Germany and from Sweden. I didn't meet any
American swallows though I've heard stories of the occasional celeb buying
a house by the sea in Cape Town. Maybe because the USA is big enough to
 accommodate swallow weather requirements within its own borders!

The one old guy really made me laugh, he'd ordered some "vanity plates" for
his car. Said that in the UK they would be far too expensive but he'd
always wanted them. Never yet met a swallow who missed the Northern
Hemisphere winter one tiny bit.

You can rely on most swallows arriving by late November and they're usually
gone by May, sometimes earlier. Don't want to miss the Chelsea Flower Show
or the Boat Race, dontcha know...

In some jurisdictions there's even a tax advantage, if you can arrange to
be somewhere that's neither here nor there for a week or two thus making it
less than 6 months in either residence.

Sally D

On Monday, 10 November 2014, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com> wrote:

> I've often thought it would be best to switch hemispheres every six
> months...I'd opt for spring and summer up top and then spring and summer
> down under.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On Nov 9, 2014, at 11:15 PM, Sally Davies <sally.davies at gmail.com
> <javascript:;>> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Roger!
> >
> > South Africa is always good if you want to get away from the Northern
> > weather...! We have mountains, sea, game reserves, friendly people and
> lots
> > of interesting history. November is still early enough to see the whales.
> >
> > Sally D
> >
> > On Monday, 10 November 2014, Roger Stokes <roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com
> <javascript:;>>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Jay, I was sorry to miss you and your jewellery this year when I was in
> >> Virginia. I recall a very warm late September evening standing onb the
> >> platform at Portland last year which assures me that that part of the
> >> country is temperate.
> >>
> >> Roger
> >>
> >>> On 10/11/2014 00:29, Jay Weigel wrote:
> >>>
> >>> The Pacific Northwest is not all THAT cold in November, and you could
> >>> visit
> >>> two countries at once....see listsibs in both Vancouvers and then
> perhaps
> >>> drive down the coast into California. That's one thought. Texas and New
> >>> Mexico are another, although we do not have as many there as we once
> did.
> >>> If you wish to see your northern brethren and sistren, you will have to
> >>> visit earlier in the year.
> >>>
> >>> On Sun, Nov 9, 2014 at 7:19 PM, Roger Stokes <
> >>> roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com <javascript:;>>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Thank you, as you know I have gone West from you but I need to
> determine
> >>>> where is worth exploring and then where is the best place to fly to.
> >>>> Houston was good but I found Atlanta to be superb.
> >>>>
> >>>> Roger
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On 09/11/2014 23:48, Lynn Ronkainen wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Glad to hear you're safely home again Roger!  How fun that you hope to
> >>>>> make plans for your 4th annual  'once in a lifetime' USA trip <big
> grin>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> It will be interesting to hear about what you might explore next
> time -
> >>>>> you're becoming such a seasoned US traveler that you can rely on
> skills
> >>>>> and
> >>>>> experiences you've gained over time to circumvent some of the pesky
> >>>>> details
> >>>>> that have popped up.   If you're in 'the southern' part of the US and
> >>>>> find
> >>>>> your plans bringing you in/near/through Houston, my guest-den will be
> >>>>> available again.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Lynn
> >>>>>
> >>>>> website: www.ichthysdesigns.com
> >>>>>
> >>>>> When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I
> have
> >>>>> not a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You
> >>>>> gave
> >>>>> me." attributed to Erma Bombeck
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Thomas Merton writes, "People may spend their whole lives climbing
> the
> >>>>> ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the
> >>>>> ladder is
> >>>>> leaning against the wrong wall."
> >>>>>
> >>>>> "What you seek is seeking you." - Rumi
> >>>>>
> >>>>> --------------------------------------------------
> >>>>> From: "Roger Stokes" <roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com <javascript:;>>
> >>>>> Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2014 5:37 PM
> >>>>> To: <Magdalen at herberthouse.org <javascript:;>>
> >>>>> Subject: [Magdalen] Safely home
> >>>>>
> >>>>>  I landed back safely in England Friday morning
> <x-apple-data-detectors://33>
> >>>>> <x-apple-data-detectors://44> after another enjoyable
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> trip to the USA.  Touchdown was ahead of schedule, but would have
> been
> >>>>>> earlier still had it not been for congestion at Heathrow
> necessitating
> >>>>>> a
> >>>>>> loop around.  I did manage to remember how to drive a stick-shift
> car
> >>>>>> but
> >>>>>> the temperature and the price of gas were unwelcome.  The latter had
> >>>>>> continued to fall while I was away but 1.209 GBP (about $2) a litre
> is
> >>>>>> very
> >>>>>> cheap here even if expensive by US standards.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Having just got back my thoughts are naturally turning to "where
> >>>>>> next?".
> >>>>>> I am thinking of November 2015 so I would think not too far North
> but
> >>>>>> I am
> >>>>>> aware that there is a vast chunk of the USA I have not yet been to
> >>>>>> which
> >>>>>> hold new delights to explore.  I need to come up with a tentative
> >>>>>> itineraru
> >>>>>> before I visit my travel agent to organize it.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Roger
> >>
>