How to (not) get a UK visa

Like many Australians, I have family roots in the UK. My mother is actually still a British citizen, which entitles me officially to a "Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode" in the UK. I've had one of these in my passport, ever since I got my very first passport. I've never actually lived there, but it does give me the right to stand in the shorter queues at Heathrow, and it's kind of cool to think that I could just pick up and move to the UK any time I want.

Now I've renewed my passport (one of my 101-1001 goals), it seemed only sensible to renew that bit of paperwork, too. Here's how it worked for me. I'll also give you 1998 for a comparison.

The Procedure, 1998
* Take old and new passports to UK High Commission.
* Wait in waiting room for 15 minutes.
* Helpful gentleman at counter says "Oh, a renewal. No fee then, love."
* He puts a new sticker in my passport, stamps and signs it, and I'm on my way.

The Procedure, 2008
* Take old and new passports to UK High Commission.
* Discover from gate guard that they've moved the visa office out to Brindabella Park.
* Ask the gate guard for directions, discover that he's so new to Canberra he doesn't even know where he is himself. Commonwealth Avenue is a mystery to him.
* Go home, check on the website.
* Discover that there's a whole mass of forms available there, and the new procedure is to fill them out first and take them in.
* Fill out lengthy online forms, including the funky bit where I say I'm not a terrorist. This is really deep security, because of course terrorists would never lie.
* Print forms, sign them, acquire photo.
* Worry a little that it's the wrong from, because it's an application, not a renewal form.
* Following instructions on the website to take paperwork to visa office, drive out to Brindabella Park in their posted opening hours.
* Be informed by security that they will see nobody without an appointment, and no, I can't make one from there.
* Go back home. Search website for contact to make appointment. Find none.
* Call High Commission, select option for visas, get recorded message telling me to go to the website.
* Select option to return to menu and get operator. Call times out on hold.
* Call again to get operator; get through. Am given 1-300 number to call.
* Call the 1-300 number, get recorded message saying this call will be charged at $9.90, have credit card ready.
* Roll eyes, swear, fetch credit card. Plenty of time to do this as I'm on hold for 15 minutes.
* Speak to intensely polite call centre person who responds not an iota to my mildly expressed frustration. (And it was mild and friendly, I'm not stupid!)
* During conversation, learn that I have filled out the right form. There is no renewal form; you have to reapply every time now. And it costs $486.
* Try to make appointment. None is available on the day, so I try for next Friday, a full week away. She offers me 9.00am.
* Knowing how unbelievably awful the traffic to BBP is, I ask for a later one, such as 10am. There are none. It's 9am or 9.15 am. I settle for 9.15am.

That's where I'm up to. Who knows what might happen at 9.15am next Friday? But one thing that might happen is that I stand them up. After all, I can't call to cancel the appointment without paying another $10 for the privilege. And this new procedure means that there's no great advantage to me doing it now. If I ever do decide to move to the UK, I can deal with the bureaucracy then. Should I pay close to $500 for an idle sense of freedom to move somewhere that I don't really want to live, and shorter queues at Heathrow immigration? Perhaps not.

Dance, dance, dance

Have I gone mad? I've signed up for so many dance classes that my legs may be in danger of falling off. The bush dance is only for 5 weeks, and not on public holidays, but all the others are potentially ongoing. I might skip swing now and then, if it gets too much.

Sunday: Charleston/Burlesque
Monday: Bush Dance
Tuesday: Belly Dance
Wednesday: Swing Dance
Thursday: Singing lesson & choir practice (That does work the abs, so it's almost exerise.)
Friday, Saturday: fall over in small heap going “what was I thinking??”

Hmm, so where do I put the yoga and walking and cycling?

At Tetsuya's

I finally made it to Tetsuya's. This was a gimme for my 101-1001 list, as we had it planned already. But it's something I'd been meaning to do for years, and I consider myself lucky that Tetsuya is still there. He could so easily have retired, or moved to London or Tokyo. But he's still there - moved from Rozelle to the city centre, in a heritage building that used to house a Japanese restaurant. The Japanese gardens are lovely - we had a view onto one with a large water feature - and the old stone house has several separate rooms, with modern artworks scattered around.

It cost a bomb, and it was worth it. Although the atmosphere and service were not quite up to the ideal of 100% perfection, the food and wine were incredible. Not being wine experts, we chose the wine flight to go along with the dégustation menu, and were very glad of it. The food was spectacular, and extraordinary, and delicious. The wines were always a perfect match, and the sommelier was charming and funny in a very Australian style.

It's currently $195 for the food, and $95 for the matching wine flight. The menu is fixed, but they consult with you about any individual allergies or strong dislikes. The meal stretched out over four hours, with 14 courses, with 10 accompanying wines - in 60ml serves. Full glasses would be very excessive! The service was very good for 95% of the time - professional and unobtrusive delivery, with friendly and helpful information about the details of each course.

Menu and details are below the fold.


0. Bread rolls with truffle & parmesan butter.
Mmmmmmmmm

1. Cold Corn Soup with Saffron and Vanilla Icecream
A half martini glass of velvety, savoury, and delicious soup. The icecream is not sweet, of course. The bloke, who hates corn, got a mushroom consomme.
2. Smoked Ocean Trout and Avruga Caviar
Accompanied by chilled Tamano Hikari Sake, Kyoto region.
This was a disc of chopped trout, with a smooth layer of tiny caviar on top, and a poached quail egg. A lovely mix, simple and classic. The waitress said it was a scallop mousse on top, but it wasn't.
3. Leek and Crab Custard
Accompanied by a very floral riesling; I don't have a record of which.
A very delicate, almost junket textured, savoury custard with little shards of caramelised leek and a large chunk of spanner crab at the bottom. A divine variant on chawan-mushi.
4. Scallop Carpaccio with red wine vinaigrette
And a 2007 Maverick Hill Riesling, Eden Valley SA, more citrussy and spicy than the previous.
The single scallop was shaved thin, and served with a microherb salad. The texture was almost crunchy, and the vinaigrette included some pearls of finger lime which highlighted this beautifully.

5. Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Daikon & Fennel; Green Salad.
2007 Henschke Joseph Hill GerwurtzTraminer, Even Valley SA.
Tetsuya's signature dish, by all accounts. This was a more substantial chunk of fish than the previous mouthfuls. Crusted in konbu powder, layed over the daikon and fennel shards, it was divine. The konbu is quite assertive, and adds a meaty umami edge to the fish. The simple green salad was very welcome as a refreshing balance.
6. Raviolo of Queensland Spanner Crab with tomato and basil vinaigrette
2005 Pierro Chardonnay for Tetsuya's, Margaret River WA.
This one was very nice but not mind-meltingly brilliant. The single raviolo was more like a steamed wonton than pasta. The crab was fresh and sweet and the light tomato salad dressing was delicious.
7. Steamed Baby Abalone with Braised Oxtail in Orange
2006 Felton Road Pinot Noir for Testuya's, Central Otago NZ.
A real wow in the mix of textures, an ultimate surf'n'turf. The chewy abalone with a hint of the sea and the soft braised meat with the subtle orange flavour, and the pinot noir melded the flavours brilliantly. But abalone is still tough, it's an overrated ingredient in my opinion.
8. Twice Cooked Deboned Spatchcock with Caper and Olive Jus
2003 Parker Estate Terra Rossa Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra SA.
A pillow of baby chicken leg meat, in my opinon rather overwhelmed by the very sharp and salty jus. Some strips of eggplant softened it and helped the blend, and the rich red wine also helped meld things. This one was only "good", and the wine arrived a bit too late.
9. Grilled Wagyu Beef with lime and wasabi
2005 The Steading Grenache/Shiraz/Mataro, Barossa Valley SA.
A return to amazing! The wine was possibly the most delicious red I've ever tasted - I want a bathtub of it. The beef was utterly tender and rich, and the classic japanese pairing with wasabi was beautifully enhanced with a sliver of ponzu jelly.
10. Comte with lentils
A single spoon of sweet puy lentils, with a fluff of grated cheese. A slightly odd termination of the savouries.
11. Marinated Peach with Vodka & Peach Sorbet; Summer Pudding
2005 Tamar Ridge Botrytis Riesling, Tamar Valley, Tas
A small martini glass of perfectly ripe white peach and a divine soft pink sorbet. Heaven. And a second glass of deconstructed summer pudding - tiny cubes of soaked bread and berry jelly, mixed through actual berries, with a soft tangy sweetened cream on top - perhaps a crème fraîche? Lovely. Better than mine, though I guess Tetsuya doesn't resort to frozen berries.

12. Banana Mousse and Caramel Icecream
(dessert wine continued) I can't say much about this, as I hate banana, but it looked good! My substitute was an amazing chocolate mousse, served with a soft compote of cumquats and some citrussy jelly.
13. Chocolate Terrine with Marscapone and Cognac Anglaise
Romate Perdo Ximinez Cardinal Cisneros, Jerez, Spain
A powerful, knock your socks off, dark, sweet, raisiny sherry matched the thick dark chocolate terrine to perfection. This was a very rich finish.
14. Tea, Coffee, petit fours
They forgot our petit fours! We didn't bother to remind them, as we were so very, very stuffed full. I had a lovely fresh mint tisane; the less caffeine-affected tell me that the coffee was good but not outstanding.

Apart from the little service glitches mentioned, the other minor annoyance was that the room was too loud. But I still feel that it was worth it for the sheer artistry of the food and wine. Would we do it again? Oh yes indeed - but I'm not in a great hurry at those prices. Maybe for my 50th birthday...

101 things in 1001 days

It's a simple plan: make a list of 101 things that you want to do in the next 1001 days. They must be specific, measurable things - you need to know exactly whether to check an item off, or not. Some should be easy, and some should require more effort. You can include habit changes, but only if there is a specific measure of success. I stumbled on this idea and liked it immediately - and even more when icanhascheezburger mystically endorsed my plan! Best of all, I worked out that if I start tomorrow, 4th January 2008, then I can finish it on my birthday, 1st October 2010.

It's surprisingly hard to think of 101 things, so number 1 will be "finish making the list"! I'll make that my first achievement for tomorrow... Maybe. I still need to specify success criteria for some of the vaguer ones, so I won't cross that off until I have it on my spreadsheet.

And now I've learned how to hide bulky posts, the list is hidden below the fold.


The List
Arts
1 see 12 movies in the cinema
2 go to a Blues festival each year
3 see something at the Erindale theatre
4 see Spamalot
5 see an art exhibition
6 go to live theatre 12 times

Cleanup
7 learn how to put posts “below the fold” on blogspot First! (4/1/08)
8 give away 101 things (not books or clothes)
9 get my taxes up to date
10 tidy and discard unwanted old food magazines
11 make a will
12 get my personal papers filing system sorted out
13 fix & update choir website regularly
14 clear out all the stuff behind the couch & on kitchen bench
15 give away 101 books to good cause
16 do my taxes on time each year
17 take 101 items of clothing to the charity bin
18 sort out my digital photos – labels, albums

Fitness & Health
19 get under 80kg
20 get under 85kg
21 walk the two bridges 3 times
22 cycle round the scrivener dam basin
23 walk up Mt Ainslie
24 go for a walk 6 days a week for a month
25 do a season of yoga classes in 2008
26 jog around block without stopping
27 swing dance regularly
28 get under 75kg
29 try some new physical activity
30 do a season of yoga classes in 2009
31 do yoga outside of class
32 walk up Mt Ainslie without stopping
33 go for a day walk in a National Park
34 go without sweets & desserts for one month

Foodie
35 eat at Tetsuya's - Jan 5th, 2008.
36 go to 6 Slow Food events
37 make my blog recipe & review indices
38 attend some sort of food festival
39 make marmalade or jam
40 maintain my food blogging - at least 101 new posts!
41 try 10 new (to me) restaurants in Canberra
42 take a cooking class
43 do a wine tasting class
44 make a Christmas pudding

Home
45 have a bath in my house
46 mulch side garden beds
47 prune dead & annoying tree branches

Meta
48 donate $10 per unfinished task to Amnesty International
49 review list of 101 things in Jan 2009, allow swaps
50 think of 101 things to do (with criteria) - finalised 6th Jan 2008.

Music/performance
51 learn a blues/jazz classic
52 go hear some live music that is not blues, folk or choral
53 do an AMEB voice exam
54 learn to play a simple blues piano piece
55 learn to sing with a microphone
56 learn music typesetting
57 learn a classical aria
58 do an AMEB theory exam
59 sing in 5 choir concerts
60 appear in a burlesque show

Private
61 private
62 private
63 private
64 private
65 private
66 private
67 private
68 private
69 private

Recreation
70 read or re-read 24 popular science books
71 improve my chess (GK rating routinely over 1400)
72 do a motorbike rider skills class
73 have a professional massage 5 times
74 learn better photography
75 make some candles
76 ride my motorbike around the Cotter loop
77 add 101 books to my facebook library

Travel
78 have a long weekend in Melbourne
79 go snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef
80 have a quiet weekend away with the bloke
81 renew my passport
82 travel in Tibet and China
83 visit Kakadu
84 have a weekend down the coast with the girls
85 swim in the ocean, with surf
86 go camping somewhere
87 learn some Mandarin (101 words/phrases?)
88 take a longer motorbike ride
89 take a train across the Nullarbor

Work
90 get better at SQL
91 tidy work computer desktop monthly
92 spend time properly learning a topic
93 get better at Java
94 learn to use Eclipse for web services
95 read 3 tech books cover to cover
96 go one whole week without procrastinating
97 make a work plan in Jan 2008
98 clean private stuff off work computer
99 do 3 monthly reviews of work plans
100 be more outgoing in asking for help
101 recover fun of programming