Lack of fitness

Since we went on our road trip, tenting every night, I’ve found I’m suffering from a real lack of fitness. Before we came to England, we were going aqua-jogging a good deal, and I normally walked to work. But since we’ve been here we’ve done less and less exercise. There have been occasional patches when we’ve got up and going, like when we stayed with my sister-in-law and her husband. She’s a fitness fanatic, and enjoys taking a bus to the next village and then walking back. This can mean a walk of several miles. Naturally while we were with her, we got up and moving again.

But the long hours of driving while we were moving from place to place over the last month hasn’t been good for me at all. I don’t enjoy the bucket seats that most cars have (our van at home has straight up and down seating – much better for the back), and I find when I get out of the car at the moment that I feel as though I’ve got to unfold. Very unpleasant.

Twice in the last month or so my back has given one of those nasty clicks and I’ve felt very uncomfortable for days afterwards. At present I find getting something up off the floor makes my back cringe, and even sitting for too long at a table becomes uncomfortable. Don’t mention sitting in the average lounge suite. They’re killers on sore backs.

So, the last couple of mornings I’ve gone for a decent walk before everyone else got up (yesterday I walked for an hour). This hasn’t made my back less achy yet, but it will in due course. My legs are complaining that they’re on holiday and shouldn’t be made to work, but I tell them that if they don’t work they won’t work soon, and they grudgingly accept this.

More things that are different between England and New Zealand.

Two-storey houses are the norm, especially two-storey houses joined to others; bungalows are rarer, although becoming more fashionable.
The strange NZ road rule where the person turning left gives way to the person turning right, is reversed here - and difficult to remember.
Drivers seem to be much more courteous here: they’ll let you merge easily, and give way readily in narrow streets (plenty of those). They’ll let someone from a side street get into a long flow of traffic.
Health and Safety is even more severe here than in NZ - at present!
Some additional things - 1 Aug 07
Many of the toilet flushes have handles you have to push down instead of buttons you press.
In NZ, to get a blood test, you either go to your doctor's and have it down there and then (and get the results the following day), or you go to one of the labs and have it done - and still have the tests the next day. Celia had to get a blood test done. She was at the doctor's last week, which was when they said she needed to have one. Could they do it there and then? Nope, they had to wait another week or more. And the results would take another fortnight! Because we moved up to Cromer after the initial visit to the doctor, she asked if she could delay the blood test for another day, to save making nearly an hour's trip back to Attleborough. Yes, if she wanted to wait another ten days or more for another appointment. Ten days! A blood test takes two minutes, for goodness' sake. And once she gets her results she'll have to go back to the doctor's for a third visit to see where things are at.
At least the doctor's visits are free.