Advertisement
Published: September 3rd 2006
Edit Blog Post
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf at night - Not a bad view of the scyscapers Hi all... Well i have now settled down in London and what a dramatic few weeks it has been... We moved into our new apartment and as a result of not having any heating for the first 4 days we all got sick. I had to take a day off work coz i was in such a bad way. The worst thing about being sick (as a contractor) is that you don't get paid! And being my first week in the job (and the apartment) really needed the money to flow in. In addition to the flu, my wisdom tooth had made its move. It hurt sooo much! I looked like Professor Klump from the Nutty Professor. As for the job itself, well, i think i mentioned in my last email that i was offered a position at the london Borough of Newham. I accepted that position. Its ok (But it's no Casey Planning Department). The place is a crack up. I have the oldest computer in the Country. It takes me around 8-9 minutes to log on each morning... and as for the building itself, well lets just say it used to be a hospital. I share quite a decent
Traffic Light Tree
I don't blame anyone who gets confused with these lights... sized room with 3 other people (2 aussies and a Kiwi). We have punch cards to keep our times and they are still using Windows 98. The work itself is predominantly residential ie rear extensions to terraced housing, loft conversions and Certificates of Lawfullness. Not sure I plan to stay at Newham all that long, but it is a good place to get some UK experience under my belt. I did a site inspection on one of my first days (as you do) and they make you take a bus to get around the Borough (at your own expense). It took me around 3 hours to get to Stratford and back. Hopefully i can claim the costs back through my agency. The weather here has been reasonable, and when i say reasonable i mean cold, but not as cold as i was expecting. It has only rained a couple of times but looking at the sky, it threatens to on most days. The winter woolies have made their way out of the wardrobe and to my disappointment i cannot stroll around in my boardies and a singlet. boo hoo. The football (soccer) has been been a huge plus and Bunna
Tugger
One of the few Aussies cricketers i have admired (Baz's Counsin) is trying to convert us into West Ham supporters. We have watched all their games at the pub and plan on seeing them real soon. The Council offices are only a short walk from the ground. But my heart has always been with the Red Devils so there was no converting me. Although if the whole team did happen to go down in a plane crash, i would no doubt find a place for the Hammers. Our place is a nice 2 bedroom flat located in the Isle of Dogs which is a little horseshoe shaped area just south of Canary Wharf (check out http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/data/discover/data/canary-wharf/index.cfm if you are interested). The best thing about the location of our flat is that it is literally between 2 pubs (and i'm talking shouting distance between them). We do however more often than not venture to a pub a little further away called 'The Puzzle' as opposed to the two surrounding our place, the 'Puzz' is a little more modern and features a big screen and projector for live sports. To put it into context, we generally visit the Puzz 3-4 times a week to watch the football. They also have an
Mum and the Millenium Dome
Mum managed to squeeze a few sights in during her brief stay upstairs section which features a giant version of Connect 4, Giant Jenga, Foosball and Pool tables, so there is never any shortage of entertainment there. Baz is trying to get a job there. (Hopefully he gets it so we get free pints all night). Beside the regular sessions at the Puzz and other establishments, we have been maintaing a healthy lifestyle in terms of cooking our own food and regular exercise such as footy or basketball on the weekends. Cricket season will commence soon so i will be looking to join a local team. The 20/20 comp sounds like the way to go. Hopefull by doing this it will bypass the dreaded 'Heathrow Injection' which i'm assured that everyone that comes to London is injected with. In addition to cricket they also have an AFL league over here, we are looking at playing with the Sussex Swans who play thier home game at Hyde Park. For those of you that know 'Hally' (The silly Pom that caused havok in Oz last year), we caught up the other week for a few drinks. He has commenced uni down in Worcester but comes back for the weekends and and he assures me
Coppers
The cops were quick to control any football hooligans at pubs during the world cup - this was outside our appartment there are many drinking sessions ahead. I'm actually a bit worried after seeing some of his efforts back home. And for those that know Blanky (the aussie that shed half his body weight in one preseason), well we have been in touch via email and plan to catch up soon. He lives on the other side of town and works on weekends but we'll catch up for a beer. Unfortunately there is not much travelling being done, coz i need to pay off a few debts and start saving some cash again. It is good to be earninig the pound though. Unfortunately as the travel plans cease, the emails get shorter. So hopefully when i have visited a few more place i can write a bit more.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.144s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 11; qc: 52; dbt: 0.043s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb