Here I am in the call centre again. I am going on lunch shortly. It has been raining the last few days on and off so I hope it does not start as I am on my way over to Canary Wharf! The days are much shorter now - it is getting dark at around 7.30pm, compared to 9.30 at the height of summer. And the nights are cooler. Winter trudges towards us! I don't mind the cold weather over here. Which reminds me I must chase our estate agents about putting up new curtain rails so I can hang some heavy curtains for winter. [Hmmm. Just rang them. They will get back to me. They said that last week!]
I have asked for holidays for the weekend before Christmas. I think Scott and I will try and fly somewhere in Europe. Perhaps to Prague? I cannot get holidays over Xmas, but I will have four days off because of my roster and the bank holidays. Hopefully whereever we go will have some Christmas markets and some snow!
In knitting news: I just have to sew together the toe of my first sock! Then it's on to sock number two. I am really impressed with myself. I will have to post pictures asap. It actually looks and feels like a sock, which is always a bonus!
Not much at the moment, perhaps I shall write later on...
:-) xxx
Monday, September 25, 2006
An update
It is Monday and I am in the call centre. I seem to be in here a lot lately, but at the moment that is because one of my colleagues has had to go back to Peru where he is from. I don't mind doing the odd day here and there really. It gives me a chance to catch up on emails, talk on messenger (sounds unprofessional, but if there is nothing else to do... and my boss does it so he can't complain!).
I worked on the weekend. The museum was pretty quiet. Nothing too exciting happened. But that's ok. :-) We had a storyteller in on Saturday as well as the usual guided tour of the museum. On Sunday we had a careers day for an outside organisation.
Scott and I went to see Little Miss Sunshine on Friday night. It is excellent. We were still giggling a couple of hours later. I highly recommend it to everyone. I even said to Scott halfway through the movie, which is highly unusual of me, that it's one for us to buy on dvd.
Tomorrow is my day off. I am catching up with Miss Sarah and Miss Orlaith for houmous and knitting. And odd combination I know. :-) But we are both odd and proud of it, so there! There is a place in soho called the Houmous Brothers. They do - surprisingly - houmous and other things like tuna, vegies etc. But their main staple seems to be houmous. YUM! :-D As for knitting, well Sarah and I are both addicted so we shall find somewhere to knit. Seeing as though we had a tropical-like downpour today I am sure the ground will still be wet tomorrow so perhaps a cafe, but there will be knitting!
Speaking of rain, my museum leaks. So every time there is a huge downpour, which admittedly is not very often, the place leaks like a sieve. We had sinks backing up in the staff room, water gushing down the sides of the downpipes (on the outsides and not on the insides where the water should be!!). It is a nightmare. At least it wasn't too bad this time. It is quite bizzare working in a museum that leaks, as the collection is at risk, which is why the museum exists in the first place!
So there you have it. My not-too-exciting-at-the-moment life.
:-)
I worked on the weekend. The museum was pretty quiet. Nothing too exciting happened. But that's ok. :-) We had a storyteller in on Saturday as well as the usual guided tour of the museum. On Sunday we had a careers day for an outside organisation.
Scott and I went to see Little Miss Sunshine on Friday night. It is excellent. We were still giggling a couple of hours later. I highly recommend it to everyone. I even said to Scott halfway through the movie, which is highly unusual of me, that it's one for us to buy on dvd.
Tomorrow is my day off. I am catching up with Miss Sarah and Miss Orlaith for houmous and knitting. And odd combination I know. :-) But we are both odd and proud of it, so there! There is a place in soho called the Houmous Brothers. They do - surprisingly - houmous and other things like tuna, vegies etc. But their main staple seems to be houmous. YUM! :-D As for knitting, well Sarah and I are both addicted so we shall find somewhere to knit. Seeing as though we had a tropical-like downpour today I am sure the ground will still be wet tomorrow so perhaps a cafe, but there will be knitting!
Speaking of rain, my museum leaks. So every time there is a huge downpour, which admittedly is not very often, the place leaks like a sieve. We had sinks backing up in the staff room, water gushing down the sides of the downpipes (on the outsides and not on the insides where the water should be!!). It is a nightmare. At least it wasn't too bad this time. It is quite bizzare working in a museum that leaks, as the collection is at risk, which is why the museum exists in the first place!
So there you have it. My not-too-exciting-at-the-moment life.
:-)
Friday, September 22, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Had a fab weekend. Scott has been working very long hours these past weeks, so it was lovely to be able to spend some time with him on Saturday! We went to the Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe. They were running tours of Brunel's tunnel udner the Thames. It was the first tunnel in the world under a navigable river. Started in 1825, it was not finished until 1843 due to several floods and a dwindling interest from the public. It is now owned by the East London Line, a branch of the underground system in London. The train driver slowed the train down as he drove through so we could all see the archways between the two halves of the tunnel. We had a guided tour from Rotherhithe to the other side of the river at Wapping and then back again. All free as well. It was fantastic, really well organised and a credit to the Brunel Museum.
The tunnel was originally built to transport people, troops mainly, underneath the river, as the river itself was crammed full of traffic (I sound like one of the videos at work) and to get from one side to the other was a complicated and sometimes costly exercise. By the time the tunnel opened, the congestion had not eased, but the tunnel became more of a tourist attraction. A white elephant, like the Milennium Dome, we were told. It was sold to the East London line after both father and son Brunels had died, so they never saw the tunnel go on to good use. It's a shame, because that is of course why it was built - to transport people. And that is what it is doing to this day - 163 years later!
After that we took a train to London Bridge station and walked to the Rose Theatre, or the remains thereof. They are in the basement of an office building. The remains themselves are completely covered up by mud and water, and are environmentally monitored by English Heritage. The outline of the inner wall and the outer wall as well as the two stages (two because it was remodelled twelve years or so after it was first opened as a theatre) were lit up by a line of red lights. This was explained to us by a guide they had there, who also gave us a lot of information on the site and what was where. I am really glad I went to see the Rose, as I had proof read a masters dissertation on it the previous week at work.
Yesterday was a quiet day. Scotty went off to the football with two mates from work. Had an absolute blast and really wants to make it a regular thing. I think it's great. He came home really happy and bouncy which is nice to see after several long hard weeks at work. He even bought a West Ham jersey so he would not look out of place. :-P
TodayI am working til 7:45pm as we have corporate people in til 7.30 or so. Then it is off drinking with work peoples as someone is leaving and it is a good excuse for a drink!
The tunnel was originally built to transport people, troops mainly, underneath the river, as the river itself was crammed full of traffic (I sound like one of the videos at work) and to get from one side to the other was a complicated and sometimes costly exercise. By the time the tunnel opened, the congestion had not eased, but the tunnel became more of a tourist attraction. A white elephant, like the Milennium Dome, we were told. It was sold to the East London line after both father and son Brunels had died, so they never saw the tunnel go on to good use. It's a shame, because that is of course why it was built - to transport people. And that is what it is doing to this day - 163 years later!
After that we took a train to London Bridge station and walked to the Rose Theatre, or the remains thereof. They are in the basement of an office building. The remains themselves are completely covered up by mud and water, and are environmentally monitored by English Heritage. The outline of the inner wall and the outer wall as well as the two stages (two because it was remodelled twelve years or so after it was first opened as a theatre) were lit up by a line of red lights. This was explained to us by a guide they had there, who also gave us a lot of information on the site and what was where. I am really glad I went to see the Rose, as I had proof read a masters dissertation on it the previous week at work.
Yesterday was a quiet day. Scotty went off to the football with two mates from work. Had an absolute blast and really wants to make it a regular thing. I think it's great. He came home really happy and bouncy which is nice to see after several long hard weeks at work. He even bought a West Ham jersey so he would not look out of place. :-P
TodayI am working til 7:45pm as we have corporate people in til 7.30 or so. Then it is off drinking with work peoples as someone is leaving and it is a good excuse for a drink!
Friday, September 15, 2006
A few days after we came back from Scotland I ran three workshops at the museum. They were archaeology workshops, bascially about mudlarking, which I have mentioned before. We have a reconstructed beach/foreshore area in the children's gallery, in which I planted some 90 artefacts such as pottery pieces, clay pipes etc. The kids then had to find these artefacts and identify them and date them using large books we have.
All three sessions went well. In one of the sessions I asked the kids if they had any questions for me. One kid puts up his hand and asks.....
"How come you know so much?"
Best question ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Made me feel on top of the world.
All three sessions went well. In one of the sessions I asked the kids if they had any questions for me. One kid puts up his hand and asks.....
"How come you know so much?"
Best question ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Made me feel on top of the world.
I am in the call centre today. It's not too busy at the moment (now that I have said that of course it will get busier!!). I am covering for someone who has today and Monday off work.
Last night I went to a Masters final show. A friend from work, Linda, has completed her Masters degree in fine arts, and her subject was interior design. The show was her (and her fellow students') chance to show off what they had been up to for the last two years. Very interesting stuff. Her project was on interior design of spaces that people use for both living and working. She had made four models of the apartment she designed and had four different ideas on how the space could be used. There were about 8 of us from work who turned up to have a look. The other students' work was interesting as well - everything from furniture design to jewellery.
I met Scott at his work afterwards and we caught a cab home together from there (he gets a cab home from work if he works til 9pm, paid for by the client on whichever case he is working on!). I used this opportunity to have a conversation with him, as he has been working very hard and very long hours, and I have not seen all that much of him of late.
At the end of October it will be two years since we left Australia. I can't belive it has been that long. I am really enjoying my time here. I am used to living in Lodon now, travelling when we can. I am used to the millions of people on the tubes, so squashed in that you can hardly breathe, the fumes, the smells. I am also in a way not used to the history. I mean that in the sense that things still amaze me, that things have surviced for so long. Many of the streets in the City of London (the square mile east of Westminster) have the same layout and the same names from around the time of the Great Fire in 1666.
Last night I went to a Masters final show. A friend from work, Linda, has completed her Masters degree in fine arts, and her subject was interior design. The show was her (and her fellow students') chance to show off what they had been up to for the last two years. Very interesting stuff. Her project was on interior design of spaces that people use for both living and working. She had made four models of the apartment she designed and had four different ideas on how the space could be used. There were about 8 of us from work who turned up to have a look. The other students' work was interesting as well - everything from furniture design to jewellery.
I met Scott at his work afterwards and we caught a cab home together from there (he gets a cab home from work if he works til 9pm, paid for by the client on whichever case he is working on!). I used this opportunity to have a conversation with him, as he has been working very hard and very long hours, and I have not seen all that much of him of late.
At the end of October it will be two years since we left Australia. I can't belive it has been that long. I am really enjoying my time here. I am used to living in Lodon now, travelling when we can. I am used to the millions of people on the tubes, so squashed in that you can hardly breathe, the fumes, the smells. I am also in a way not used to the history. I mean that in the sense that things still amaze me, that things have surviced for so long. Many of the streets in the City of London (the square mile east of Westminster) have the same layout and the same names from around the time of the Great Fire in 1666.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
I had a lovely day off yesterday. I had a chat to dad on the phone, dyed my hair (not red enough though) and went off to Romford in Essex just out of London to meet Sarah and Orlaith. I met a very grumpy Orlaith and a tired Sarah, we bought some lunch and had a picnic on Sarah's loungeroom floor. Twas fun. Orlaith smooshed avocado all over her face and into her hair which was very amusing. Sarah and I knitted (me some more on my funky stitch scarf, her on a pair of gloves) and generally hung out and chatted. Yay!
Today and the rest of the week I am hanging around at work. I am looking forward to the weekend. It is Open House London again and tehre is plenty on to see. Hopefully we shall go see the Brunel museum and then see the remains of the Rose theatre from 1587, which are under an office building. Scotty is off to watch football on Sunday (ie soccar for the Aussies reading this). Hopefully I shall get soe knitting done as well as some sightseeing!
I shall try and post some photos of my mad colleagues who I went out to dinner with on Monday night. A very entertaining night was had!
Today and the rest of the week I am hanging around at work. I am looking forward to the weekend. It is Open House London again and tehre is plenty on to see. Hopefully we shall go see the Brunel museum and then see the remains of the Rose theatre from 1587, which are under an office building. Scotty is off to watch football on Sunday (ie soccar for the Aussies reading this). Hopefully I shall get soe knitting done as well as some sightseeing!
I shall try and post some photos of my mad colleagues who I went out to dinner with on Monday night. A very entertaining night was had!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Hello All!
Today is my day off, so IthoughtI would write a quick post. I will be having lunch with Scott today. He is working very long hours at the moment (home well past 10pm) so it is a chance to catch up!
There have been a series of walks run by staff members of my museum this year. They are very interesting, and the most recent one was on Tuesday this week. About 18 of us wandered about Wapping, a riverside suburb in East London, learning about the goings-on there in history. The area is interesting, and is one of the areas that used to be filled with docks, sailors and general bawdiness, but is now being gentrified. The docks closed, the sailors and dockers moved away and now the yuppies and the immigrants have taken their place. Scott and I love the area, as there are some great riverside pubs. And I have been mudlarking down there. I invited my mum's cousin Judy along, and she enjoyed herself. She met all my crazy colleagues!! I genuinely believe you have to be mad to work in a museum, not quite padded walls mad, but almost!! :-)
Off to get ready for the rest of the day. Exciting things to do! :-)
xxx
Today is my day off, so IthoughtI would write a quick post. I will be having lunch with Scott today. He is working very long hours at the moment (home well past 10pm) so it is a chance to catch up!
There have been a series of walks run by staff members of my museum this year. They are very interesting, and the most recent one was on Tuesday this week. About 18 of us wandered about Wapping, a riverside suburb in East London, learning about the goings-on there in history. The area is interesting, and is one of the areas that used to be filled with docks, sailors and general bawdiness, but is now being gentrified. The docks closed, the sailors and dockers moved away and now the yuppies and the immigrants have taken their place. Scott and I love the area, as there are some great riverside pubs. And I have been mudlarking down there. I invited my mum's cousin Judy along, and she enjoyed herself. She met all my crazy colleagues!! I genuinely believe you have to be mad to work in a museum, not quite padded walls mad, but almost!! :-)
Off to get ready for the rest of the day. Exciting things to do! :-)
xxx
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Haggis, neeps and tatties!! Or to the uninitiated/non-Scots amongst you - haggis, mashed potato and mashed turnip. YUM YUM YUM!!
Part of Edinburgh Castle, I think. :-)
I love this view. This was on our drive to where we stayed the night beside Loch Ness. The heather on the hills is reflected in the water. Everything looked double.
This is Urquhart Castle on the side of Loch Ness.
More stunning Scottish scenery.
The Scottish flower, the thistle.
The grave of Rob Roy, which had money sprinkled all over it, including an Aussie 50cent piece. I do not know why there was money on a grave though, I have never seen it before. Can anyone shed any light on it for me?
Sir Scotty! In the Bannockburn visitor centre you could dress up, so I helped Scott into this outfit. He really did need help as the chain mail quite literally weighs a ton! Well, maybe 15 kilos or so.
Stirling castle. Really lovely place to visit, again with great views..
Scotland Pics - No order whatsoever!
Statue of William Wallace on the side of the Wallace Monument (is there anything under yer kilt Wallace??)
The Wallace Monument, taken from Stirling Castle.
The inside of Rosslyn Chapel. Almost every surface was carved.
The protective roof over the chapel.
Bye bye Edinburgh! This was the rain on our first day in Scotland.
So many posters!! All of these are advertising something to do with the Fringe Festival. Not sure how many layers are there, but the shape is rather bulbous!
The dog cemetery at Edinburgh Castle - mascots and regimental dogs were buried here.
Ooops!
Our cabin in the sleeper.
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