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Published: October 1st 2006
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The flight from Portugal to London landed me at Luton airport in the late afternoon where I exchanged my Euros for some local British currency. The notes here are ridiculously when I couldn't fit them in my wallet, I thought for a second that I had put them in sideways.
My embarrassing wallet situation was eased as I exchanged a few notes for a shuttle bus ride into London's Baker Street station. Pete (who I met on Contiki) picked me up and kindly let me stay at his place. It was great to be around the familiar faces again and to be shown around by some locals. I didn’t want to outstay my welcome so after a few days of bumming I scanned the web for a decent share-house and was lucky enough to find a perfect flat near Regents Park. I rang the ad, checked it out and had it all sorted within a few days which was remarkably easy for London. From the stories we’ve heard from friends, some have spent weeks searching for a place that is liveable. Most flats are old, cramped, run-down, poorly equipped and hard to access by public transport and not to mention
Pakistan smashed the Poms
Q. What do you call an English batsmen putting on sunscreen?
A. Optimistic very expensive for what you get. So to find a newly renovated flat that’s clean, spacious and reasonably priced was extremely lucky.
I still had a week to wait before I could move in and Belinda offered to let me stay at her house until I could move in. One of her housemates had gone on holiday so I had a room to myself.
Over this time, Pete had some time off work and volunteered to play Tour Guide as he chauffeured me around London. He has a remarkable knowledge of history and now he had the perfect excuse to show off his talents to a naïve first timer of Ye Olde Londone Towne….”and on the left here we have the River Thames which flows…..” 😊
To get around I needed to get myself an Oyster Card. It’s an electronic public transport swipe card that allows me to catch buses and trains without having to buy a ticket for each trip. The first week disappeared with more sightseeing and a few pub visits to down pints of warm ale, a famous icon of Britain and it was soon time to move into my new place and finally unpack the
backpack for the last time.
The share-house is in St John’s Wood, just above Regents Park and famous for Abbey Road and Lords Cricket Ground. It’s a beautiful part of London; safe, green and ideally located to get to any part of London easily. Our flat is on the second floor in a small block of flats. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a very narrow kitchen (which Mary deems adequate) a roomy lounge and an outside shared lawn for BBQs. We share with another Aussie couple, Sam and Brooke and an English guy James who actually works at Lords. They are great flatmates, especially James as he got us tickets to see England vs Pakistan at Lords a few weeks ago! 😊 The Poms got smashed which is a good for the Aussie confidence leading up to when we (Australia) re-claim the Ashes. 😊
The next week went the slowest as I was counting down until Mary's arrival. When the day came I caught the train out to Heathrow using my new Oyster card and waited patiently in anticipation at the international arrival gate. She had the biggest smile on her face and ran towards me with
Lords
The poms lost thats all that matters :) open arms. It was so good to see her after such a long time apart and we chatted about the last few months from either side for the next few hours without much break. The very next day Craig arrived in London after a two-week surf camp back in Portugal. Us three amigos, Craig, Mary and I, went in search of cheesy tourist things to do while Craig was here for the weekend. We settled on a guided tour atop a double-decker bus which had promised a spectacular ride around the city. Our high expectations were demolished as the bus was hot and humid and the traffic jams on the road were slowing us down to the point where we would be stuck in traffic for ages, leaving us to stare at the same London icon as the audio guide raced ahead and described the monuments we were expecting to see ahead. At least Craig got to rest. I caught him sleeping, but then again the rest of the tourists had the same thing in mind. 😊 We cut the tour short and just roamed the city at our own accord.
Craig had planned to hang out with another mate,
squirrel
These little guys are everywhere. :) Clint (G-Man), so we met up at Leicester Square for a few drinks. Mary had been up for over 24 hours and was feeling quite jet-lagged so after a few beers we left them to it and that was one of the last times I saw Craig before he flew out for the States.
After Mary had settled in and we had done the touristy sights (we checked out Abbey Road last weekend and being the posers that we are…took this pic!), the next step was to get a job and get back into a normal sort of life. I would have to say goodbye to the casual traveller lifestyle and get prepared for the daily tube ride and the working week...not something I was really keen to get into but as the cost of living is so high here, my Australian dollars were on the decline, fast!
My resume was in a pretty good shape especially after working at the Australian Smorgon Steel for over five years and getting the experience that I did. Every day I scanned the Internet for jobs and uploaded my CV to every IT recruitment company I could find. Within a few
Abbey Road
I'll go over and get a better shot with four of us next time. days I had calls from recruiters who said I had great skills and experience but my working holiday VISA status may be an issue and that I didn't have any UK experience. I didn't let that get to me and I just kept looking and applying for jobs for what seemed like months. It was only two weeks since I first signed up with the online recruiters when the phone rang again and a guy said he had a job for me. I answered a few questions and that was it....I had an interview. The call was on a Thursday and the interview was for the next day, so I quickly brushed the dust off my best suit and researched a few facts about the prospective company. The next day arrived, I put on my suit and I headed out for my first UK interview. Inside the building I waited for about 10 minutes before I was collected and was quickly taken through to face two guys behind the boardroom table. I am pretty calm when it comes to interviews so I sat back and waited for the barrage of questions to be fired my way, but I was not
prepared for what was to come. The next half an hour was a blur and I was hit with personal assessment and technical questions from both parties. My brain was working overtime to construct instant answers and to retrieve the solutions to complicated technical scenarios that had been pushed to the back of my mind recently in favour of sun and surf. Overall I thought the interview went well, but I was soon escorted out the door and back out onto the streets to regroup with the millions of Londoners going about their daily routines. I blended in, no one knowing what I had just gone through... I went home and within a few hours the phone rang....
To be continued...
Darren
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mum
non-member comment
london
this blog is really good darren, The photos look good of You and Mary. you both look well and happy,