Any reason to travel

We both love international travel. Tom loves new sights to photograph and the opportunities to add to his TripAdvisor reviews and I just like racking up the country count. Yes, I am that shallow. At one stage this trip included a ferry ride to the Isle of Mann, not because I am fascinated by all things Manx; no just because it would rate as a new country in my voracious quest to expand my country list. I find myself being quickly overtaken by younger family members (you know who you are!) but while I may be slipping in the total number count I can bask in the glory of knowing that only work colleagues will ever be able to say, like me, that they spent three months in Nauru. Reflecting back on those words I can see this is a very sad gloat, but it is all I have so let's move on.

Cooking school in Chianti 2011 - my sister Leonie and her partner
Graeme (both right) and my nephew Drew (rear) are joining us for this
trip.  Sadly, youngest son Alistair (centre), is being left at home

Our travel in the past has been motivated by some wacky reasons. In 2011 my sister Leonie was adamant that we all join her overseas to mark a significant birthday so we trekked off to Italy and celebrated with her in Chianti, Tuscany. Then there was the 2013 trip to France where I shamelessly got us invited to the Brittany wedding of Tom's cousins' French daughter. Fiji was another wedding when my nephew Drew relocated the family and a small army of friends to marry the lovely Nicole on the beach - the irony being they live five minutes from a perfectly nice beach on the Mornington Peninsula. But a football match ? Is travelling thousands of kilometres overseas for football a valid reason for travel?


So let's get back to the beginning where this trip all started.

Let me tell you more about my nephew Drew who I have already introduced. Drew is half-English, the English half is the one that barracks for England in the cricket. His father's family migrated to Australia in the late 1960s, and although his mother and his three siblings returned, his father Barry remained here after marrying Leonie. Now that Drew has two young children he has decided that it is time to take them to Manchester to meet their English family, and more importantly to meet Rita, their octogenarian great-grandmother. When he announced this plan, Leonie and I, being forever the hangers-on, thought hmmm.... perhaps we should come to. This idle fancy developed legs as we mused on the fact that despite being long time Manchester United supporters we had never been to a match. Leonie recounts that in the time that she and Barry resided in the UK in the 70s he never took her to see Manchester United play as this was at the height of British soccer hooliganism. They went a couple of times to see the more placid Manchester City, but never to Old Trafford to see United. Leonie and I jumped online to look into booking tickets - shouldn't be too hard.  Should it ? This was in August 2015 and the game was not until May 2016 - nine months later - last game of the season - big stadium that holds 70,000 plus. Should be easy.

Are you kidding. To put it in perspective EPL games at Old Trafford are such a premium that for the 2016/2017 (yes, next season) there is already a waiting list to buy season tickets. Yes - season tickets for the season that does not start for months are already sold out. Read and weep AFL. Several hours of late night Internet searching and close to despair it was a matter of giving up the plan or jumping in the deep end. So, closing our eyes when the price of corporate tickets popped on the screen, we dived in and hit the BOOK button. Do we need to justify it ? I mean it will be a once in a lifetime event and we would pay big money to go to dinner and the theatre. Ok - not the same sort of big money but ..... well maybe you just have to be a Jennings to get it. Game booked, it was time to plan the rest of the trip - oh yes and get flights. It is true- we did book the football before securing flights. It is all about the priorities. The rest of the trip will unfold as I roll out this blog, so keep reading for news about visiting England, Ireland, Portugal and Oman (yes, I am adding three new countries to the count - yeah!).

Jack aged two in his first Manchester United strip - we like to start them young

Now - the biggest dilemma on this trip. Not packing, not deciding which telecommunication package to go with, not even Tom abandoning his beloved Doggies for six games during the best season they have had for some years. My travel quandary is what to complete in the Occupation field on the Passenger Card. Since resigning from work in February and starting my new flat-shoe-life I have struggled with the concept of being unemployed and I am doggedly refusing to the use the R-Word (Retirement). But today, for the first time since the resignation, I will be faced with the need to answer the occupation question. If you think this is precious just wait until you come to this crossroad. Tom faced this predicament for the first year we were in India when he was not working. Lucky for him he was enrolled at Monash doing some long distance study so he could label himself as Student. He was ecstatic when on one occasion the band he mucked about with did a gig for which they were paid - it may only have been the equivalent of drinking money but in Tom's eye it put him in the professional class and with glee he labelled himself as Musician on his future passenger cards. Sadly, and if you have ever had the misfortune to hear me sing you will agree, I cannot aim for Musician on my passenger card. Tom has unhelpfully suggested Pensioner. Tom's next suggestion was the equally unhelpful Property Investor, as if during the current political debate in Australia anyone would admit to the pariah status of negative gearer (I will explain later to the UK readers). 

Whilst watering the herbs I planted on Tim's apartment balcony I toyed with the idea of asking Tim to slip me fifty bucks and then I can claim professional Landscape Gardener. Being the consummate bureaucrat I have checked the legislation and there is no definition of Occupation as it applies to the Passenger Card so I am opting for the common use definition:  any activity in which a person is engaged. Having considered all the options I am thinking I shall opt for Blogger.