That time of year again!

Yesterday was the annual work Christmas lunch held at the Guildhall. It was fun, we didn't have to go back to work afterwards, and it was great to see the inside of the Guildhall once more. We all turned up early so we headed downstairs into the amphitheatre. I had been meaning to see it, so you can imagine I was very excited to see it all. And with my new camera to play with as well. The display is very well done. The drains are on show under glass which I love, as well as lines were placed to show where drains etc were under our feet.

As for the lunch, it was great. Nice food, great company. And we didn't have to go back to work afterwards!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guildhall,_London Info on the Guildhall
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/leisure_heritage/libraries_archives_museums_galleries/guildhall_art_gallery/ampitheatre.htm The Roman Amphitheatre

Tonight we had Christmas drinks in the bar next door to work. It was also my last day as a duty manager. My boss thanked me in front of everyone, and raised a toast to me. :-D Another person will start the job in January. I am sad to give it up. I have really enjoyed the role. But hey, that's life. I will keep my eye out for jobs in the new year, and I will try to create projects to do within the museum itself. We shall see!





Scott and I are off to Northern Ireland today (it's past midnight so it's today!). I am really looking forward to it. It should be a nice, relaxing holiday. 8 days of knitting and relaxation.

I hope everyone reading this has a lovely Christmas and New Year!

xxx
Alex

Our flat - an update

We have been pointing out to our landlord (a real estate agency) that the paint has been peeling off the walls in our hallway and other places since we moved in more than 18 months ago now. It was only after I sat in the hallway next to the peeling paint while on the phone to my parents that I realised it was worse than I thought. At first I thought it may be rising damp, but I had no idea what that might look like. I have never seen it before, so I googled it to see what it looked like.

I emailed the photos below to the landlord so they could actually see what I was talking about (even though the people who do the inspections said they were going to talk to them about it!!)

They took action then, and sent out a damp specialist to take a look. His opinion was that it probably wasn't rising damp but rather it could be a leaking pipe under the floor (concrete, we are on the ground floor) that is making the damage look like damp. The upshot of it is, to fix the problem completely they would have to give us our notice to move out. So the plan is to get us to run dehumidifiers to dry the place out. The once the walls are completely dry, painters will come in to strip back the peeling paint, and repaint the walls. They will also strip the mouldy wallpaper off the bathroom walls. Who knows how long it will last. But we will get a freshly painted flat. AND they won't put the rent up when we renew the lease next year. I have no idea how inconvenient it will be for us when they are in the flat (the agent reckons they will be in for 2 days, but I doubt that!!).

Have a look at the walls yourselves...

Ta da!!!

I have finally popped my head out after the mess of work, uni, conferences, and lots of tea to realise that I have not updated this in too long. So I will endeavour to remedy this, here and now!

I have a three week break from uni studies, which makes a lovely change! The last unit was a tough one. And I am happy it's over with!

My friend Nicole arrived from Australia to work in London for a year or so. It has been great to hang out with her, like old times. :-) The two of us headed to the Museums Association conference in Glasgow at the end of October. It was a three day conference. I took the train up there on the Saturday, and arrived after a 7 hour journey (!!!). The conference itself was great. Interesting to listen to the various speakers, chat to people, and I enjoyed seeing Glasgow. It's a nice city, small, but plenty to see. We did many of the museums in Glasgow - of course!! I took my camera, but without my batttery recharger, so no piccies to share. :-(

On the 11th November, 9 of us went to high tea at the Dorchester Hotel - Scott and I, Nicole, Sarah and her husband Jake and Orlaith, my friend from work Giulia, her partner Clive and her friend Valerio. The decor was sumptuous and lavish. Tea began with deciding whether we wanted afternoon tea or high tea. The difference was high tea was more of a main course and the afternoon tea had scones. I figured that scones were a necessity for tea, so afternoon tea it was for me! The scones though, were a little disappointing. The tea was really tasty though. I chose Paris tea, which was black tea with bergamot and caramel. Bergamot is in Earl Grey tea, so I figured it would be tasty. The finger sandwiches were amazing, as were the chocolate-y desserts. It was an expensive afternoon, but I am really happy that we did it, and with friends to share the experience with!

The new gallery at my museum opened early this month. I am wary of writing here what it is on, as it is easily google-able. I am happy to email you the details if there are nay interested parties!! I attended the gallery preview as I had worked directly on the gallery with the picture research. I dressed up (skirt!! shock horror!!) And some people didn't recognise me - including the head of security who told me a few days later that there had been someone at the preview who looked like me!! Ha! I enjoyed the evening, as it was great to see the gallery all finished, my images on the wall (not images of me, but the images I organised and ordered!!!). And to be a guest in my own workplace as fun too.

Not sure what else there is to say. I am counting down til Christmas now - not because we do Christmas, but because we are going on holiday! We are heading to Northern Ireland and I am looking forward to a completely relaxing week. :-)

I hope everyone is well

xxx

I'm not dead, nor have I forgotten this blog. I am just really snowed under with uni work etc at the moment. I will update again soon, promise!

Alex
xxx

Prague!

Last Saturday morning we got up before dawn, caught a cab to the airport and began our trip to Prague. We took two planes to get there, from City airport. A long way to get there, but novel! And in small planes. 100 seaters this time, not like the 50 seater we took to Amsterdam.

We arrived at Prague airport, after our stopover in Geneva. We changed our money, bought travelcards and hopped on a bus to the centre of town. We changed to the metro (very similar to the Budapest metro, but the escalators were not as fast!) then to a tram, and waked 100 metres or so to our hotel. Our hotel was almost touching the Charles Bridge, which was a great location. This is the view from the end of the Charles Bridge:



Then it was time to explore the town!




We had dinner in a restaurant and sat outside to enjoy the warmth. This is what we ate:
Pork Knuckle for me, duck for Scott.
Sunday we did a tour of the Jewish Quarter. We sadly chose the wrong tour to be on, as our guide gave only basic information, and we were the only ones on the tour! Anyway, here are some photos from the Jewish Quarter. The area itself is fascinating, and we did learn a little from the tour (and the tours passing us as well!!). The old Jewish Cemetery was an amazing place. There was limited space for burials, as it was within the ghetto walls, so the bodies were buried up to 12 deep. And the headstone are all squished in together.

This is the Old-New Synagogue.

This is the Spanish Synagogue.


After looking in the Old-New Synagogue, we meandered towards Petrin Hill, which is a lovely large park overlooking the city. We took the funicular railway up the side of the hill to the top. We wandered through the rose gardens, and generally mooched about. Ate ice creams while sitting under some lovely trees, and enjoyed the sunshine.
That night there was a fantastic tropical storm. A huge downpour with lots of lightening and rain. I really miss storms form home, so a proper storm made me very happy!! Here is a photo I took as we left the hotel, just before the rain began.

Monday we headed to the Castle. We took the tram to the top of the hill. Prague castle is the oldest continuous castle in the world. And very impressive. Great views of the city below and heaps and heaps of tourists!!



And now, to bed! :-)

We have concrete chunks falling off our building. Yep. Great huh? We had scaffolding put into our yard yesterday and I spoke to the scaffolders this morning as I was really annoyed that they did not ask our permission to come into our yard. Apparently they do not need permission as it is a health and safety thing. Fix away, boys! I don't want any lumps o' concrete a falling on my noggin! :-)

My computer is clever. It remembers the fact that I changed the keyboard from Australian to British just to get the pound sign. Now when I press shift 3 I automatically get the pound sign. Good computer!

The girls went home yesterday. I was sad to see them go. It was great to have them in London, and although we didn't really spent a huge amount of time together, I enjoyed getting to know them better. We did a lot of fun stuff and Scott and I were able o how them our London - mudlarking, Brick Lane, Canary Wharf, etc. Photos soon!

Oh, and there was a correction I had to put in here, from Zsuzsi. She does not like punk music. I had said that BOTH the girls like punk music in a previous entry. A thousand apologies.

I am back to studying. Currently looking at objects of interpretation and material culture.

Work goes well. The designers of the exhibition are annoying me though. I found out today that they need to save money, so they are ditching a couple of the panels. Fine. But they are also ditching images that don't fit, but that we have already paid for! Hello? We have paid a vast sum for them, can't ya squeeze them in somewhere? It's not like I can get a refund...

That's about it really. :-D Hope everyone is doing well. Comment to say hi!

Had a lovely dinner cooked by Eszter and Zsuzsi last night. We went to their flat in Barons Court. We all got along very well, and it was nice to get to know the girls a bit better.

Tomorrow night the four of us are off to Brick Lane, the home of fabulous curry houses! The girls also want to look at all the spice shops. The shops have some amazing things to buy, and they smell fantastic.

I saw a girl on the tube who I swear I went to St Margaret's with, although she was a year ahead. She did glance a me several times on the journey, but I'm not sure if that's because she recognised me, or if it was because I was knitting a sock!

My deadline for all the images to be with the designers is Friday. I will spend Friday chasing images and generally phoning people about the images. I had a three and a hlaf hour meeting today. Torturous, but helpful.

That's it really!

Ok. Yep it's been a while again between updates, so here goes!

Two of my Hungarian cousins are in London. I organised for them to do a work experience placement at my museum, which they are really enjoying. :-) They are honorary Visitor Assistants for two weeks, basically doing everything that VA's do, but without the responsibility - ie no money handling, and not being on their own in galleries for the purposes of evacuation. As part of the placement, they will be doing a project, which they started today - an exhibition type project on London and Budapest 1939-1945 (all their idea by the way!!). I am looking forward to Friday when they show everyone what they have done.

Last weekend we went mudlarking. I think it was completely alien to the girls, but they had fun - even found a live crab! They found some pottery, Georgian glass, and lots and lots of oyster shells.

On Saturday the girls, Eszter and Zsuzsi, and Scott and I headed to Camden market. I love Camden market, there is so much to see, and there are all kinds of people there. I bought a funky bag with huge strawberries on it. the girls were in heaven as well, I guess there is nothing like it in Budapest - either that or it was all that punk wear that they love!! Doc Marten's galore!!! ;-)

Scott and I went to see the Transformers (better than I thought). Last night we met the girls in Leicester Square and saw the Simpson's movie. Very funny, well worth it. The girls enjoyed it too. Their English has improved a lot, as has their confidence. Being forced into an English speaking environment has been worth it for them. :-) And, they are cooking us dinner tomorrow night. YUM! I am looking forward to it. Thursday night we will go to Brick Lane for dinner (where all the Indian/Bengali restaurants are). Sunday there is a country fete on in one of the parks which we shall go along to.

And now for some pictures!

An update, and some pics thrown in from Stonehenge

The pub we stayed in in Salisbury. 15th Century, with crooked floors and low doorways.
Dickens World in Chatham, photo thrown in for good measure.
Me at Stonehenge.
Stonehenge.
Today I had a fun day. I was a volunteer steward with an organisation called Thames21. Each year, for one weekend only, they, along with COLAS (the City of London Archaeological Society) and the Tower of London, open up the beach in front of the Tower to the public. The beach is not normally open to anyone, so it's a great opportunity. The main activity on this beach is not sunbathing. It is mudlarking. I have mentioned mudlarking before I'm sure.

I wore a fluorescent vest, so I was visible to everyone. There were 10 stewards or so I think. We were there to primarily answer questions and point out where people could go for more information. there was also plenty of time for me to wander about, talk to people, as well as find a few things as well.

Last night Scott and I met two of my Hungarian cousins, Eszter and Zsuzsi at Victoria Station. They are here for three weeks, and will spend 10 days doing work experience at my museum. Zsuzsi's suitcase was picked up by someone else. Hopefully by early next week we will be able to get hers back. I am meeting the girls tomorrow for a spot of shopping (mainly for clothes for Zsuzsi), then mudlarking again (well again for me anyway!) and I will show them the museum. The girls will need to get there by themselves on Monday morning, so we will do a trial run so they are familiar with the route.

Bought Harry Potter very early this morning. It was released at midnight, I had my copy by 1am.

Catch up

Hello! Yes it's been a while, so perhaps a few bullet points will help.

1. Spent the weekend just gone in Salisbury. It is a lovely town with clean streets and a lot of history. We stayed in a 15th century pub, with low doorways and wonky floors. Took a trip to Stonehenge. We had a bus tour of Salisbury with live commentary from a very entertaining guide. Part of the bus tour was a tour around Stonehenge itself. The site is smaller than I imagined and quite close to the road, but it was quite exciting to be there. Due to the age of the site, there is quite a sense of achievement in the placement of the stones and the sheer weight of them. All in all an amazing place. The guide had dousing rods which he held out and walked over the east-west axis of the site. As soon as he crossed the axis, the rods crossed over (they started out pointing directly in front of him). When he moved away from the axis they went back to straight out again. I am a skeptic, so I gave it a go. I had no idea where exactly the axis lay, as it was not marked and I could not see it as I walked. The same thing happened. The rods crossed then uncrossed. Weird.

2. Work goes well, but busy. I have made some good progress with the images for the new gallery. Including the two free images I have managed to acquire. Yay me! Duty managering also goes well. I had my first weekend by myself the other week. I had to cope with a study day, counterfeit notes, a birthday party and we had a child carried off in an ambulance! All in a days work!! :-)

3. We are heading to Prague for our next holiday. It will be our four year anniversary. And coincidentally some friends of ours will be there at the same time so we will be able to catch up for some Czech beer.

4. Essay 1 for the MA is handed in and I guess I will find out my mark one day! The next unit for study starts on August 1.

5. Two of my Hungarian cousins arrive on Friday. They will be doing a work experience placement at my museum, as well as general touristy stuff. It has been about 18 months since I have seen them, so it will be lovely to see them again.

6. Had a facebook reunion with someone I went to school with in Melbourne. It was really great to meet up and chat non-stop for three and a half hours! Hopefully we will see each other again soon

7. That's all folks!! :-)

Training at work - Special Education needs training. I can say Hello, Good Morning, and My name is Alex, in Makaton, which is based on British sign language.

I am busily writing a 4000 word essay on social inclusion in museums.

Facebook is addictive! I have found quite a few people from school/home/contiki tour and it has been great to catch up and find out what people are up to.

The weather is not great in London. It is cool, and has been windy and rainy. Where is summer??

Work goes well. The curator thinks I am a star! :-) Duty managering is fun too, the days go quickly. Next Wednesday I get training on how to rescue people out of lifts (if they are trapped).

A weekend in Great Yarmouth

Scott and I had a lovely weekend. We left early on Saturday morning to catch the 8:30am train to Norwich. At Norwich we changed trains to take one to our destination. A total of 2.5 hours on the train, but we arrived in Great Yarmouth at 11:13am. Not bad!

Walked through the town and found the hotel. We booked this all very last minute, but it was cheap and had no ensuite. But it was a block from the beach and pretty okay otherwise. We checked in, dumped the suitcase, then we were off again to explore. We walked along the sea side to the miniature village. It has been ages since I have seen one of these, and it didn't disappoint. It was a bit tired in places, but to make up for that they had a streaker in the football game scene (see pics below). The village also had penny machines (ie old fashioned amusement machines that used the old kind of pennies!!).

From there we headed back towards the pier, having a look in the shops and generally taking in the atmosphere. People-watching is a great past time. There seemed to be a very high percentage of "oldies" around (they even had beach wheelchairs you could hire - they had huge wide tyres so the chair did not sink into the sand) and a few young parents. And us. That seemed t be the demographic of the area. Great Yarmouth was a booming fishing town up until the 1960s when the industry died. Many people used to go to Yarmouth as kids for a yearly holiday. I got the impression that all the "oldies" who were hanging around were probably the same people who had been going to Yarmouth for holidays for years and years.

Sunday we headed to the Time and Tide Museum. It was a really great museum (I had read about it as one of my readings for uni incidentally) and the local community had a lot to do with the information presented. I learnt a great deal about the fishing trade! The museum is situated in a former herring smoke house, so a lot of the building still smells like smoked fish. It is in the very fabric of the building - much like the industry was to the town.

From there we went to see some old Row houses. Rows were narrow streets, and these houses are unique in that they are the last of their kind. They were bombed during WWII but were restored by English Heritage. Compared to the Time and Tide Museum, the Row Houses lacked interpretation and warmth. It was a shame, but I have noticed that with a few other English Heritage properties. Must be a policy of some kind.

We caught the train back to London via Norwich, and were home by 10pm. A busy, but very relaxing weekend. :-)

A weekend in Great Yarmouth - Piccies!

For some reason, the pics I have selected to put in just come up in html code. In other words, I don't know which is which! But... they are a selection of our trip to the miniature world, the beach, and the main street of Great Yarmouth.

Just a quick one.

Went on a replica East Indiaman sailing ship on Monday night with people from work. Had a guided tour with a nice Swedish lass (it's a Swedish ship). www.soic.se

I have made shiny gallery trails for kiddies tomorrow. They are focussed on Chinatown in London. We have a China-based family activity on tomorrow so these will keep them amused (quiet maybe??).

Spent time chasing images for the new gallery.

I know someone in the new Big Brother 8 which started tonight. We don't have a tv, but it is times like these I would really love one. I don't even like Big Brother!

I have discovered Facebook. I have found all sorts of people I went to school with, including a girl who I remember fondly but had not seen since I walked out the gates nearly 10 years ago. Thank you internet!

That is all. ;-)

Update...

It's been a busy few weeks. The jobs are going well.

Duty Managering is relatively easy, and I have slotted right in. I completed a full evacuation of the building on Thursday. It was a suspicous package evacuation (one that no alarm sounds) and all proceded well until the real fire alarm was activated! It was an accident on the part of a colleague, but it proved to be very confusing for some people and very comical for me. According to my boss I did very well. He was impressed that I went straight to the fire panel when the alarm went off (it shows where the alarm has been set off). I got 67 people out of the building and accounted for in under 8 minutes. Not bad, huh?? ;-)

Thursday was also Scott's birthday! I had arranged with a friend from his work, Dan (I have him as a friend on MySpace which proved VERY handy!!) that we would meet him at a restaurant in Brick Lane. Dan asked around at Scott's old law firm to see who wanted to join us. All in all there were 9 of us. A lovely night had by all.

Picture researching on Wednesday went ok. I did not have the curator around to bounce ideas off, but it progressed well. I have a meeting next Wednesday at 2pm, so I will be able to get more done before then.

New jobs!

I have been offered two new jobs at work. Both are temporary, but will look great on the old CV. And I will be able to squeeze them all in toether.

The first is a curatorial assistant position. I will be researching pictures and negotiating with the institutions holding the pictures to obtain them in an appropriate format for the new gallery being constructed at my museum. 1 day per week.

The second is a trainee duty manager position. I will be boss lady, and responsible for visitor safety. 2 days per week.

I am really looking forward to starting the jobs. Both will be excellent experience for me. The curatorial one relates directly to my studies as well. I will be able to see the process that a museum goes through to put together a new gallery. They have already started, but the demolition of the old one has yet to begin (happens next week i think). Must take pics before it goes.

First Aid Course

I passed!

I am a qualified first aider for the next 3 years.

Yay me!

Today was day one of my first aid course. My brain is very very full. :-P It is being taught by a paramedic. Nice guy, and he knows his stuff too. Very good on the handy hints.

Such as: If you think the unconscious person you administering first aid to is faking it, grab their wrist (looks like you are taking their pulse), then let go. If it falls on their face, they are truly unconscious, if they hold it in position or let it fall away from their face, they are AWAKE!!!

I am the only girl on the course. There are 9 of us, and there is quite a variation in occupations, as you would imagine. There are two guys from the management of Spitalfields Market, several constables (not MET police, but a different kind, I need to find out more), a guy from a music school, a security guard from our sister museum and me!

On Thursday we will be assessed. I am already beginning to stress out about it! We did CPR today. It has changed since I last did first aid, and I think the UK might be slightly different from home.

Wish me luck!

I have begun my Master of Arts (Museum Studies). It is by distance education, so it involves a lot of self discipline. It seems to be a well thought out course, with everything being provided to me. All the readings, textbooks and exercises are all there. :-)

Other than that, Scott and I had a lovely weekend in Durham. We caught the train there on Good Friday, and arrived in the evening. It is a beautiful town, very picturesque. There is a stunning cathedral in the town, a real architectural masterpiece. It's the kind of place that you walk into and say "wow". Breathtaking stuff! We saw the castle, went on a boat cruise up the River Wear (very narrow, and only 5 foot deep! Durham is a university town, but all the students were on holiday, so it was quiet. We also generally relaxed. It was great to relax, and still see everything we wanted to. We also spent a day at the Beamish Open Air Museum, which is out of Durham slightly. A great day there, spent looking in old buildings, enjoying the sunshine and riding about on old trams and buses. We even went down a mine shaft!

I will post pictures when I have a chance. I am more pressed for time these days with my study. Think of me, chained to my computer... slaving away on my degree!!

xxx

People I saw...