London Eye (Attempt #2)

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Myself, Beata and Graham headed back into town today to try and see if we would be able to actually ride the London Eye today.

After the woman at the information desk confirmed that we had been evacuated yesterday because of a bomb threat (not “technical issues“ as we had been told yesterday), our tickets were reissued and we joined the queue for the London Eye. You could tell that security was a very high priority - there were security guards everywhere and before people stepped into the pods for the ride, security staff checked it over for bombs with mirrors to check above and below everything. They also had a helicopter constantly circling the Eye checking that nothing untoward was happening.

Despite the security fears, it was a perfect day to be going on the London Eye, it was a clear and sunny day, absolutely gorgeous weather! We got a great view of the city and I could see just how far we walked on our first day in the city!!

After our flight, Beata and I then headed into Soho to meet with our recruitment consultant to start talking about looking for work. I was quite nervous before the meeting but I needn’t have been. Our consultant Nicole was great, really friendly and helpful. But, during the meeting it became clear just how different social work jobs are in the UK from Australia! I’m not sure what type of position I’ll end up in, but at this stage I’m just trying to avoid frontline child protection investigation. Next week I’m meeting up with some old pals from Sydney Uni that I studied social work with. They’ve been working in London for a while, so I’m looking forward to catching up with them and am hoping to learn from their experiences here.

After our meeting with the recruitment consultant, Beata and I met up again with Graham and Kath. By this time it was well and truly in the midst of peak hour and the underground was packed. So instead of heading back home, we decided to hang out around Oxford St. We found ourselves an awesome little pub, ordered some crispy brie (deep fried brie - it sounds heart cloggingly disgusting but was simply heavenly!) and a couple of glasses of wine. A while later we meandered back to the underground station to head home. Once we got to the platform I realised that all the signs were a little hard to read which prompted me to realise I’d left my glasses on the table back at the pub. We headed back to the pub and luckily they were sitting right where I’d left them! So it was back to the tube for the trip home to Sydenham.

I’m not sure what I’ll be doing over the next few days, I’ve started coming down with a nasty cold, so I might just be taking it easy for a while!

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Photos

London Eye
The weather was perfect! Beautiful clear blue skies!

London Eye
Beata, Kath and Myself

London Eye
Myself infront of the Houses of Parliament

London Eye
Graham and Kath