Barbecues, barbecues everywhere, nor any time to think.

"...try to avoid it."

It was a quintessential 'nice house'. Quiet area, garden, near shops and public transport. Not pretty. Not big. I began hoping; my experience taught me that we'd be pretty much be able to settle into whatever we'd arranged in the first month, and that delay only led to despair. "Get over it and get on with it," had helped me settle quickly into new countries in the past. Maybe it would help us here too.

Barbecues. For some reason everything was barbecues in our first couple of weeks. Maybe those around trying to help us settle thought it would remind us of home? Can't think why though.

Giving an impromptu speech at my predecessor's reluctant farewell took the biscuit however. I'm not sure I can give you useful guidelines if you face it yourself, except perhaps to try to avoid it. I didn't know him from Adam and it was hardly tactful to lay out my agenda for changing everything he'd cherished till now. (Maybe there's another guideline for you.)