F e a t u r e s
Beware! Man in the Kitchen Would You Swap Roles?
Ray Hitchen is married to a serving sergeant in the RAF and reports on being the ‘husband of’ and house husband in another land.
Arrival
My wife and I moved from our private UK home last summer from a quiet, rural cul-de-sac into military quarters which came as a bit of a shock. Communal living requires a greater tolerance for neighbours and their habits, especially when everyone owns at least one barking dog. In the UK, weeks could pass between speaking with a neighbour, but it is much more integrated here in Cyprus. Our social life has never been so active, which is probably a good thing.
House
Who decided to fit MDF kitchen cupboard doors in a high humidity environment like Cyprus? The moisture has penetrated the MDF and caused it to swell in places, very pretty, and why is one door blue yet the rest are pink? Why would someone use industrial cleaner and remove ¾ of the enamel from the bath and toilet, which looks dreadful? Household repairs vary from good to almost
comical. One repairman located and rectified a gas leak – 3 times; another fitted a hook to keep a window open rather than repair the catch but we have now learned that repairs
I’ve also found myself in a strange and unusual place. The kitchen. I can cook a little but don’t expect me to keep up with Jamie or Gordon. My trusted copy of ‘Cooking for Blokes’ is taking a beating. Under the sink are a whole host of products that are used for something called cleaning. I am fairly well acquainted with the concept, having done many a bull-night in my time, but this is doing it voluntarily! Vacuum cleaning and dusting more than twice a week, what’s that all about?
must be ‘like for like’ and no longer accept shoddy workmanship. The proxy Move-in was also poorly done with no cushions or covers on the sofa and chairs. An extremely overgrown and scruffy garden was the simplest thing to correct. If someone else takes over the quarter and accepts it, why can’t the occupant then refuse to occupy if it is not up to standard. We were advised to use the 14-day report form if we had any grievances, which we did.
House Husband Since we arrived in July, I have found
10 Spring 2009
myself in the new role of ‘house husband’. Nothing kills a conversation like the words house husband. “Hi Ray, pleased to meet you. So what do you do then? House husband…really, so what did you do before that?” I am resigned to the military still being surprised that a man follows his wife through her Service career. I am often referred to as ‘Wife of Sgt Hitchen’ but I’ve never been invited to the Ladies’ Lunches!
Employment
Before coming to Cyprus I discovered on the Army Families Federation website that I am entitled to Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA) and that it could be exported to other EU nations. Normally just resigning from your job and asking for JSA would not wash with the authorities, however as the spouse of a Crown Servant in the Armed Forces and posted to a new duty station, this is not a voluntary resignation, so there is an entitlement to contribution based JSA (Contribution based meaning the National Insurance payments you’ve contributed in previous employment. If you haven’t paid National Insurance I don’t know what happens).
Job Seekers’ Allowance
The bottom line is that on the posting of my spouse I am able to resign from my job and claim JSA until I find work in the new location or for up to 3 months. Wish I’d known that 10 years ago! The really good bit was that by getting this all sorted before we left the UK, I was able to ‘export’ my claim to Cyprus, which equated to an average of €370 per month. This cannot be done after posting overseas. The Job Centre at my local town of Richmond near Catterick Garrison was very helpful. They processed my claim, gave me all the forms I needed, and a covering letter in both English and Greek for the Cyprus Labour Office. The letter explained they should process my claim even if all the paperwork had not arrived. Naturally it didn’t arrive, but they processed it once I pointed out that the covering letter requested they should.
www.raf-families-federation.org.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48