I’m done with International travel for a while
I’m free to blog now as it has all been sorted now…. but boy was it scary.
I went to the Australian IWBNet Conference 30 Aug- 1 Sept. I presented a couple of times as most of you are aware from my odd little posted, with random videos.
It was not until I began my return trip did it all begin to go wrong. I was picked up by a shuttle at 4.45 am to take me to Brisbane Airport- they dropped me off 6.00 ish. Which was fine. I went to check in and my ‘Permanent Residence Visa’ was not quite as permanent as I thought…. It had expired ONE WHOLE YEAR ago. With a title like ‘Permanent Residence Visa’ you’d of thought it was ….. well not so… 2 years you get and that was 3 years ago for me. So I have to sit, panic stricken about being picked up by customs at the other end. I had visions of being sent back to England. So did my wife when I called her. But equal to that fear was appearing on Border Patrol a few shifty looking fellas from Bangkok or somewhere weirder. So I sit for three and a half hours with all this rolling around in my head. Then I think, “Ok, its going to be okay. I’ll sit on my 747, find some episode of CSI or Will and Grace I haven’t seen, take my mind off it for a couple of hours, worry about it all when I land at Auckland.” That was my plan.
Air New Zealand had another plan, which involved a 737 with no TV screen in the back of the seat but one between 8 of us embedded in the overhead thingy, plus we had some Ben Stiller nonsense on, so really it was good that I also had a set of faulty headphones! So instead of having aimless comedy to distract me I’m left flicking through my passport, shaking my head and muttering to myself about the flexible use of the word ‘permanent’.
As I arrive at Auckland, I present myself to the customs, explain the situation and… I kid you not the guy presses a button and I hear…”Pick up on aisle 13″….. I thought I heard “Someone from produce, please, customer waiting” but perhaps not.
Anyway, a nice NZ customs official asks if I could collect my “luggage and wait over on those seats, please.” The first wave of relief washes over me as I see there is no TV crew anywhere in sight. But I’m still panicked. Desperately thinking of possible character references. Maybe now is not the best time to mention all my ‘virtual friends’ as my wife calls you all. (I used to have an imaginary friend when I was a kid, they were a real person, I just imagined they were my friend, I digress) Long and short of it is, by the time I got my luggage, the guy had stamped my passport with a months visitor permit and gave me a sheet which effectively read, “You a plonker, get yourself sorted out!”
Here ends my tale.
uniform, manners of th boys, opportunities available even when I got down with the Junior Teachers and talked reading plans and frameworks, provision for special needs and gifted and talented I remained impressed. But then I got thinking about the whole ‘boys-only’ education what are the pros and cons to that approach? At what age and stage does it have most impact, for character development and academics. Thoughts on the subject are most welcome. 
