Apple muncher's number crunching

smallholdingsister

Hope the party is a blast (and Watty makes it).

apple_muncher

Thank you all! Dd had a lovely time and we were all cleared up quickly afterwards. The girls all seem to have had a great time together.and were all collected promptly - very important! The peg doll making and colouring in were both very popular and musical bumps and keepie uppie with balloons got rid of a little energy.

Now to relax with a recorded Father Brown and some proper food.

apple_muncher

Step ds is geting wed in Oz in August.

We have booked our tickets to go out there.

Step dd out in Canada (she who has the gson) is now not going to the wedding - work and costs and dates all being an issue. The dates thing could have been mentioned earlier when step ds suggested some dates to us all, as those of us restricted by sch hols could have made it for the end of July... However, one cannot argue with issues regarding costs.

So we felt rather deflated today when we found this out. We were looking forward to seeing the gson in the flesh, and having all of dh's family together for a few days at least. Nevertheless, we'll have time with step ds, step dd2 (not seen her for several years - she also lives in Oz, so v keen to catch up) and we're not going to change our dates and will have a jolly good time regardless.

And will need to start a 'saving for canada' fund!

A_Frayed_Knot

Awwww, what a shame, need to get step dd in Canada onto MSE. Shame about the date and a shame for her DB who was trying to get everyone together for his happy occasion.

It is difficult to get everyone together all at one time, my dad had 3 sisters and 2 brothers, and think they managed 2 photos of them all together once they were up and married, like your family, 1 was in aussie and 1 in Vancouver, but they managed it.

Hope you have a lovely time, pity you couldn't go via or come back Canada way.

apple_muncher

Going via canada would be awesome, but is faaaaar beyond our ability to pay. And prob beyond our ability to keep travelling!

I was skimming through an 'east coast Oz' book and getting some good ideas. 3 places are definite, with fixed dates: our arrival, departure and the wedding. Now we just need to fill in the gaps...

I'd love to learn to paddleboard (have long since given up on the idea of surfing as my eyesight is pretty poor withour specs (can't get on with lenses) and I have a dodgy shoulder, dodgy knee...!)) as it looks super fun and awesome exercise.

Given that we are east-coasting it, we'll be on the coast so can do plenty of swimming too.

Heading further and further north we may well get up to rainforest and croc territory...

And I think that airbnb is the best way to get accommodation. Or hire a campervan...

So many variables! So many possibilities!

Might need to set ourselves a budget...

smallholdingsister

Have you done airbnb yet? Can I refer you? I think we might both get a few quid from that.

apple_muncher

We have just booked our accommodation for the wedding as it was 50% cheaper than anything else so we wanted to get it now! (and since step dd1 won't be there, we don't have to try and coincide with anyone except the bride and groom :rotfl:) We have previously used airbnb in America, so dh had his log in, but he has invited me so that the next booking we do - and we will surely be using it for more of our stay - means I get a discount.

Not sure if I can be invited twice? Might be worth a try - thank you

apple_muncher

Sooo, the wedding ain't happening. None of step ds's friends can make it. So they have taken the tough decision to cancel it. So hard for them. They will still get married, as that is definitely their intention, and they put it on hold so that ds could get his degree. They may well do a super small wedding and then travel to visit people and have lots of parties with them to celebrate. Bizarrely, months ago I joked about them getting wed in a dingy registry office on a gloomy wet afternoon, then travelling around the world to party.

And step dd1 is now planning to come to Blighty in June with gson.

Step dd2 - who lives out in Oz - is as yet unaware of all this. I expect her to feel rather gutted as she must have been looking forward to seeing all her family. So we have told ds to tell her that we'll give her £500 to come over here in June. I think he'll add to it too.

Now we have to cancel our tickets. We reckon we'll lose about £1K. Ouch. But so be it.

And then we'll need a plan of action for the summer to soften the blow for dd...

apple_muncher

In other news, v1rg1n have said that they will refund me the whole cost of our travel after cmas. Yay! And I need to claim back my dec expenses. So that may amount to £300+.

Dh has done the groundwork for his tax form for 16/17 which he'll write up soon. Then he can claim the marriage tax thingy.

apple_muncher

At one point when we went to cancel the tickets, it seemed that they might be non-refundable and that we would get NOTHING back at all. :eek: So grateful that that was not the case.

With all the fees + possibly some taxes + the travel insurance we'd bought (were good mse-ers buying it as soon as we bought the flights as recommended by you know who...) + the airbnb booking (will get some back but cancellation fees will be incurred) = we are down about £1400. Sigh.

The travel agent did suggest that we book a different holiday to another destination served by the carrier, as it 'might' incur lower charges. Yep, we're really going to want to spend several thousand. Not. But the complication of sorting our where and when. And the fact that if it cost less than the Oz flights we would not see a penny of the difference. Easy decision. We want the refund!

And we'll try the insurance to see if we can get any pennies back there. But we're not holding our breath.

However, I found 9p roadkill today. A bumper haul :rotfl:.