As the title of this entry says, that's exactly what I did today. I walked down the Dulwich Village to buy a present for the parents. I wrote them a card while sitting in the Crown and Greyhound, drinking bitter lemon. As you do. And as I was sitting there, I noticed a booklet on family history. So I picked it up. Turns out, the BBC is putting on a family history fair this weekend at the National Archives. Good timing, huh? It will interest Scott more than me, but we are going along tomorrow to see what the deal is. My ancestry is more to do with Scotland and Ireland. I have only one ancestor to trace. All I know is his name, that he was born in London, and his parents names. And it is a common name - Stone. Great.
Scott had his assesment thingy today. He will find out about the job on Monday or Tuesday. Fingers crossed!!
As for me, I have work for next week. I am happy. I was really happy today, for no apparent reason. I like days like that.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Thursday, December 02, 2004
A job!!
Of sorts. I got a phone call today from the first agency I had an interview with on Tuesday telling me they had a position for me, and that it was all mine. It is only for a week, but it sounds good enough for me! And its for an agency that has many branches. They prefer to have temps in their offices who have worked for them before. So there is always the possibility of further work.
As for Scott, he went for an interview today for a call centre position. He was then called this afternoon by the interviewer from the agency, who asked him if he would like to be put forward for another position within the same company. This position would be more suitable for him as it deals with the written side of communication rather than on the telephone all the time. Sounds good, and I am happy for him. The job is a permanent one too. Depending on whether he gets the job or not, travel plans can be changed, etc. We don't have any firm travel plans at the moment anyway. I want to go visit an uncle in Belguim, but I should do that on my own Ithink. He is 85, and I want to go asap.
Life in London is fun. I am enjoying just being here. Today we went on a bit of an adventure. Scott had to be in a place called Mill Hill today for 11am. I went with him, as I didn't have an appointment to go to today. We left at 8.45am and walked for 20mins to the train station (as opposed to the tube). We got off at London Bridge, changed to the tube to Kentish Town, then got on the Thameslink to Mill Hill Broadway. Mill Hill itself was boring, but I had less than an hour there. I read the paper in the library, and wandered around a bit. Scott met me after his interview and we headed back towards the city. We got off at Bank, then took the Docklands Light Railway. That was really creepy. The carriages are kind of a combination of a monorail and a tram. There are no drivers, as they are controlled from some central point and its quite strange. We went to the end of the line, and got off to look around. Had lunch, then got back on the DLR to get home. Took a while, as we took two light railway lines, and two trains to get back. Then the 20 min walk back to the house. But it was an adventure which I enjoyed.
And it gets dark here, like pitch black, at 4.30pm!!! Quite disconcerting really!!
As for Scott, he went for an interview today for a call centre position. He was then called this afternoon by the interviewer from the agency, who asked him if he would like to be put forward for another position within the same company. This position would be more suitable for him as it deals with the written side of communication rather than on the telephone all the time. Sounds good, and I am happy for him. The job is a permanent one too. Depending on whether he gets the job or not, travel plans can be changed, etc. We don't have any firm travel plans at the moment anyway. I want to go visit an uncle in Belguim, but I should do that on my own Ithink. He is 85, and I want to go asap.
Life in London is fun. I am enjoying just being here. Today we went on a bit of an adventure. Scott had to be in a place called Mill Hill today for 11am. I went with him, as I didn't have an appointment to go to today. We left at 8.45am and walked for 20mins to the train station (as opposed to the tube). We got off at London Bridge, changed to the tube to Kentish Town, then got on the Thameslink to Mill Hill Broadway. Mill Hill itself was boring, but I had less than an hour there. I read the paper in the library, and wandered around a bit. Scott met me after his interview and we headed back towards the city. We got off at Bank, then took the Docklands Light Railway. That was really creepy. The carriages are kind of a combination of a monorail and a tram. There are no drivers, as they are controlled from some central point and its quite strange. We went to the end of the line, and got off to look around. Had lunch, then got back on the DLR to get home. Took a while, as we took two light railway lines, and two trains to get back. Then the 20 min walk back to the house. But it was an adventure which I enjoyed.
And it gets dark here, like pitch black, at 4.30pm!!! Quite disconcerting really!!
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Job search begins
Hello there.
I forgot to mention, that I set up a mobile phone here, so I can now be reached on that too. Please email me if you would like the number. I can send international text messages too!!
I am still in London at my cousin's house. She has been incredibly generous taking in a very distant relative (she is my mum's third cousin) whom she has never met, as well as Scott.
Scott and I went to see an exhibition today called "Hungary's Heritage". Twas quite good really, but my only disappointment is that most of the objects in the display were merely owned by the particular Hungarian family, not actually made in the country. But the collection (not the Hungarian bit though) included quite a few micromosaics. These are amazing. The pieces of marble etc used in them are so small (we were actually given magnifying glasses at the beginning), I would say the maximum length is 4mm. Quite stunning really, and they were mostly of scenes like the Roman Forum, as people in the 18th century used to buy them as the modern equivalent of postcards. It was lovely to be able to recognise the buildings in the mosaics, and be able to say "I've seen that!!"
Apart from that, life rolls on really. We are keeping our fingers crossed about jobs etc tomorrow. We will keep looking for jobs, chase up employment agencies, talk to people etc etc.
Bye for now!!
I forgot to mention, that I set up a mobile phone here, so I can now be reached on that too. Please email me if you would like the number. I can send international text messages too!!
I am still in London at my cousin's house. She has been incredibly generous taking in a very distant relative (she is my mum's third cousin) whom she has never met, as well as Scott.
Scott and I went to see an exhibition today called "Hungary's Heritage". Twas quite good really, but my only disappointment is that most of the objects in the display were merely owned by the particular Hungarian family, not actually made in the country. But the collection (not the Hungarian bit though) included quite a few micromosaics. These are amazing. The pieces of marble etc used in them are so small (we were actually given magnifying glasses at the beginning), I would say the maximum length is 4mm. Quite stunning really, and they were mostly of scenes like the Roman Forum, as people in the 18th century used to buy them as the modern equivalent of postcards. It was lovely to be able to recognise the buildings in the mosaics, and be able to say "I've seen that!!"
Apart from that, life rolls on really. We are keeping our fingers crossed about jobs etc tomorrow. We will keep looking for jobs, chase up employment agencies, talk to people etc etc.
Bye for now!!
Thursday, November 25, 2004
in london.. again
Yes, I am here again. We have had a nightmare of an adventure over the last few days. My last post I think spoke of our future of working in a pub. Well, as I sit here, back in London in the lounge room of a distant relative, I can safely say that I think I don't even want to start!! We have been led on a wild goose chase, crossing three counties of southern England, and we are back on London, four days later and some 10 miles away from where we started on Monday morning!!
Let's start at the beginning shall we???
So on Monday morning Scott and I head off to Guildford for our first pub job. To get there we have to catch a tube to Waterloo, a train to Guildford and then a bus to a place outside Guildford to the pub. We get there, after some two and a half hours travel time, only to find out that the people who were supposed to leave decided not to only the day before. So there was no job there for us. We rang the company who placed us, and they arranged another placement for us. So we had a noght in an English pub. The pub itself was great, real character. The staff there were so helpful too.
So the next day we travelled back into Guildford, then caught a train to Havant, where we were picked up by our second employer who took us to the pub in a place called Emsworth. Nice enough town, but the pub had a funny feel. It was kind of a yuppy bar in the middle of a seemingly sleepy riverside village. I didn't feel comfortable there at all. We met the wife of the guy who picked us up form the station. The guy was really nice, but his wife was an absolute bitch. She basically told us that they were under the impression that we had experience, and that she did not have time to train us. In other words, for the second time in as many days, we were told that the place that we had lugged all of our luggage to, had no job for us.
We made the most of the day though. We headed into the next town and organised our mobile phones. So I can be contacted now! And I can send smses home which is fun too.
The company arranged a third placement for us in a place called Newdigate. Spoke to the boss, who sounded nice on the phone. Basically it was his idea for us to be there and get trained and then start getting paid when the other staff member left. Sounds good in theory right? Okay, so we get there, after catching two trains to get there from Havant (and going through Guildford where we had been some two days previously). So we get there, meet the boss. We were basically ignored by the guy and his wife all day, which was fine as they were busy. So we try, much later that evening, to do some washing. We asked another staff member about the washing machines etc, and placed our stuff in one of them. I have never used a front loader before, so i mentioned it to the boss. He then told us that it doesn't work. So we asked if there was a trick to get it open. Apparently I looked at him funny (and who wouldn't at the prospect of losing all of your underwear to a hungry washing machine, and given the previous few days), and he decided that because of that, that we were no longer welcome. WTF? I still don't get it. So I rang a cousin of mums and explained the situation to her. I had spoken to her the previous day from Emsworth. She said that we will have to stay with her. Bless her! I had not met her until today, but she is just lovely. So we have a roof over our head, we are back in civilisation and on our way to getting jobs. And not in pubs!
We have been turned off pubs, and I think this whole debacle has proved to me that I am a city girl at heart. The countryside is nice, but only if you have a car. Not if you have to deal with public transport.
I am falling asleep here though, so I shall sign off. I hope all is well with all of you. :-)
Let's start at the beginning shall we???
So on Monday morning Scott and I head off to Guildford for our first pub job. To get there we have to catch a tube to Waterloo, a train to Guildford and then a bus to a place outside Guildford to the pub. We get there, after some two and a half hours travel time, only to find out that the people who were supposed to leave decided not to only the day before. So there was no job there for us. We rang the company who placed us, and they arranged another placement for us. So we had a noght in an English pub. The pub itself was great, real character. The staff there were so helpful too.
So the next day we travelled back into Guildford, then caught a train to Havant, where we were picked up by our second employer who took us to the pub in a place called Emsworth. Nice enough town, but the pub had a funny feel. It was kind of a yuppy bar in the middle of a seemingly sleepy riverside village. I didn't feel comfortable there at all. We met the wife of the guy who picked us up form the station. The guy was really nice, but his wife was an absolute bitch. She basically told us that they were under the impression that we had experience, and that she did not have time to train us. In other words, for the second time in as many days, we were told that the place that we had lugged all of our luggage to, had no job for us.
We made the most of the day though. We headed into the next town and organised our mobile phones. So I can be contacted now! And I can send smses home which is fun too.
The company arranged a third placement for us in a place called Newdigate. Spoke to the boss, who sounded nice on the phone. Basically it was his idea for us to be there and get trained and then start getting paid when the other staff member left. Sounds good in theory right? Okay, so we get there, after catching two trains to get there from Havant (and going through Guildford where we had been some two days previously). So we get there, meet the boss. We were basically ignored by the guy and his wife all day, which was fine as they were busy. So we try, much later that evening, to do some washing. We asked another staff member about the washing machines etc, and placed our stuff in one of them. I have never used a front loader before, so i mentioned it to the boss. He then told us that it doesn't work. So we asked if there was a trick to get it open. Apparently I looked at him funny (and who wouldn't at the prospect of losing all of your underwear to a hungry washing machine, and given the previous few days), and he decided that because of that, that we were no longer welcome. WTF? I still don't get it. So I rang a cousin of mums and explained the situation to her. I had spoken to her the previous day from Emsworth. She said that we will have to stay with her. Bless her! I had not met her until today, but she is just lovely. So we have a roof over our head, we are back in civilisation and on our way to getting jobs. And not in pubs!
We have been turned off pubs, and I think this whole debacle has proved to me that I am a city girl at heart. The countryside is nice, but only if you have a car. Not if you have to deal with public transport.
I am falling asleep here though, so I shall sign off. I hope all is well with all of you. :-)
Sunday, November 21, 2004
back in london!!!
Oh my God!! The last three weeks have flown by and Scott and I are back in London. We made it back to London this evening. We were caught in traffic. We left Amsterdam this morning. It seems like so long ago already! We left early and drove almost to the border of Belgium to stop at Macca's. Had 45 mins there and drove thru Belgium straight to Calais to the ferry. We had to go through UK customs and I GOT A STAMP!!!! Now I have four. Liechtenstein (which I had to pay for, but it was so worth it!), Heathrow, departing Australia and now entering the UK again. Small things...
I must tell you about Amsterdam. On our first night we had a "cultural" evening. We (as in most of our group of 51) went to a live sex show. 'Twas a bit lame really, as it looked pretty much like an Aerobics Ozstyle display. Then we had free time to wander the streets of the Red Light District. There was porn everywhere, really in your face. It was an eye opening experience to say the least. As for the marijuana, that too was everywhere. There were quite a few in our group that tried it. So there were many giggles on the bus back to the hotel. WE spent the rest of the night packing as we had to fit everything into as few a bags as possible. We did it, only just though. And tonight we are staying at the Generator in London. We are starting work in a pub in Guildford,Surrey in two days time, so we head out there tomorrow. Anyone who would like the address, please email me and I will gladly send it to ya.
The tour overall was great. There were bits I would change or do differently, but it was a fantastic way to see some of the many sights of Europe. It was hectic, with late nights, early mornings, drinking, sleeping in the bus, taking lots of photos, meeting new people and making friends, laughing with and at people, climbing stairs, squeezing into hotel lifts, enduring cold showers, being hounded by black men with rip offs of designer bags, beggars, public transport systems, foreign languages, post cards and stiff legs from hours on the bus.
So that is it from me for now. I will next update from our new home of Guildford in Surrey. Take care peoples, and I would love to hear from y'all!! :-)
Thursday, November 18, 2004
The Rhine Valley
Hello from Germany! We are staying in a place called St Goar, which is very close to the Lorelei rock. It was dark as we drove past, but I can still say I have seen it. Today we travelled from Switzerland to Germany. We took the cog railway down early this morning to the base of the mountain. From there we drove about three hours to the border of Germany/Switzerland. Stopped at border control, then drove 20 metres for our first stop. We got lunch of schnitzel and potatoes which was pretty good. They had lemon mentos there too, but I didn't buy any. I love just looking at all the different stuff that is in the shops here, the different versions of the stuff we have at home.
We went to a Bierstein shop today too. Under the hotel (Contiki seems to be big on group deals and kick backs) and it was a little tacky, well not tacky, but I didn't want to buy one. There was also a teddy bear shop. And for Caroline and Delicia, they had Stief teddy bears, the MEGA expensive ones. So again, no purchases made.
Tomorrow we head to Amsterdam. I am looking forward to that I tell ya what! We get to see clogs and cheese! I want a pair of clogs. Well, not really, but I want to try some on.
We went to a Bierstein shop today too. Under the hotel (Contiki seems to be big on group deals and kick backs) and it was a little tacky, well not tacky, but I didn't want to buy one. There was also a teddy bear shop. And for Caroline and Delicia, they had Stief teddy bears, the MEGA expensive ones. So again, no purchases made.
Tomorrow we head to Amsterdam. I am looking forward to that I tell ya what! We get to see clogs and cheese! I want a pair of clogs. Well, not really, but I want to try some on.
switzerland...
again...
well, i had spare swiss francs to spend so i pumped them into the computer thingy. why not hey? still have not found the shift key though
we had a day in lucerne today. to get there from the top of the mountain, we had to take two cable cars and a bus. unbelieveable!! the views were spectacular. the first cable car was large, fitting about 25 people in it. the next ones were small with only four. i think i had a grin on my face the whole way down!!!
day in lucerne was spent wandering around, taking it all in. bought sme post cards, a gorgeous watch. lucerne is beautiful, with the swiss alps surrounding it. stunning
oh and i bought a tee shirt too, with the characters from south park on it, dressed in leder hosen etc with swiss park on it. funny
ok, thats it from me, take care people, and hopefully i can update from amsterdam...
well, i had spare swiss francs to spend so i pumped them into the computer thingy. why not hey? still have not found the shift key though
we had a day in lucerne today. to get there from the top of the mountain, we had to take two cable cars and a bus. unbelieveable!! the views were spectacular. the first cable car was large, fitting about 25 people in it. the next ones were small with only four. i think i had a grin on my face the whole way down!!!
day in lucerne was spent wandering around, taking it all in. bought sme post cards, a gorgeous watch. lucerne is beautiful, with the swiss alps surrounding it. stunning
oh and i bought a tee shirt too, with the characters from south park on it, dressed in leder hosen etc with swiss park on it. funny
ok, thats it from me, take care people, and hopefully i can update from amsterdam...
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
top of switzerland
helloo
i cannot find the shift key so i hope you can read it.
we are currently staying on the top of mt pilatus, which is about 2300 metres above sea level. the views are aewsome. we caught the cog railway up the side of the mountain. awesome views. all of my photos are of mountaïns...
we also got to go to liechtenstein today too. dad, i sent you a post card so check out the stamp, apparently they are highly sought after...
i cannot believe that in one weeks time we will be at the pub in surrey. we have done so much on the tour and seen so much. it will be sad to leave, but exciting at the same time.
not much of an entry i am afraid, but it is all that mountain air ;-)
i cannot find the shift key so i hope you can read it.
we are currently staying on the top of mt pilatus, which is about 2300 metres above sea level. the views are aewsome. we caught the cog railway up the side of the mountain. awesome views. all of my photos are of mountaïns...
we also got to go to liechtenstein today too. dad, i sent you a post card so check out the stamp, apparently they are highly sought after...
i cannot believe that in one weeks time we will be at the pub in surrey. we have done so much on the tour and seen so much. it will be sad to leave, but exciting at the same time.
not much of an entry i am afraid, but it is all that mountain air ;-)
Saturday, November 13, 2004
No Kangaroos in Austria
Helloo!!
We are in Vienna! We have free time today for a few hours, so it is nice to be able to catch up on emails etc. We could check them at the flash hotel we are staying in (the flashest of the tour) but it costs the equivalent of $4AUD for 10 minutes.
I am having a great time. I am sooooo tired, but it is all worth it. I must admit tha tI am happy that we have left Italy. As much as I enjoyed seeing the ruins of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, it is a really dirty country. Compared to France which was just stunning...
Rome. What can I say? We we staying quite a way out of town, so we got to experience the Rome Metro. That was fun. So many people!! We also got to go on a bus, which had so many people on it that every time we went around a left hand turn the side of the bus would grate along the road. Extremely funny.
We went to Vatican City. Saw the Sistine Chapel. We were standing there and an annoucement came over the loudspeaker, in four different languages and at some volume, telling everyone to be silent. Ironic really.
From the Vatican City we caught a bus into Rome itself for our walking tour of Imperial Rome. I was disappointed, as I was hoping the guide would paint more of a picture of what life was like and what the buildings were like. But I bought a book instead. Then we went to the Colosseum. Oh my God!! It really made me happy to just wander around. Sad as it sounds...
From Rome we travelled ALL DAY to Venice. We stayed on the mainland (in Hotel Vienna, run by Asians...go figure), but travelled there the next day for a full day on the islands. It was supposed to flood in Venice, as it does 70 times a year. So the main square was full of water, and we bought "emergency" gumboots. These are basically plastic bags with soles. Amusing though. And we have embarrassing photos to prove it. Speaking of photos, I will soon be burning my cd of photos from my camera, so i should have photos for you all to see soon.
And now we are in Austria. We had dinner in the hotel last night instead of going into town as we are tired. We had a picnic on our bed. It was fun.
And today is a free day!! A good day to telephone people.
We are in Vienna! We have free time today for a few hours, so it is nice to be able to catch up on emails etc. We could check them at the flash hotel we are staying in (the flashest of the tour) but it costs the equivalent of $4AUD for 10 minutes.
I am having a great time. I am sooooo tired, but it is all worth it. I must admit tha tI am happy that we have left Italy. As much as I enjoyed seeing the ruins of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, it is a really dirty country. Compared to France which was just stunning...
Rome. What can I say? We we staying quite a way out of town, so we got to experience the Rome Metro. That was fun. So many people!! We also got to go on a bus, which had so many people on it that every time we went around a left hand turn the side of the bus would grate along the road. Extremely funny.
We went to Vatican City. Saw the Sistine Chapel. We were standing there and an annoucement came over the loudspeaker, in four different languages and at some volume, telling everyone to be silent. Ironic really.
From the Vatican City we caught a bus into Rome itself for our walking tour of Imperial Rome. I was disappointed, as I was hoping the guide would paint more of a picture of what life was like and what the buildings were like. But I bought a book instead. Then we went to the Colosseum. Oh my God!! It really made me happy to just wander around. Sad as it sounds...
From Rome we travelled ALL DAY to Venice. We stayed on the mainland (in Hotel Vienna, run by Asians...go figure), but travelled there the next day for a full day on the islands. It was supposed to flood in Venice, as it does 70 times a year. So the main square was full of water, and we bought "emergency" gumboots. These are basically plastic bags with soles. Amusing though. And we have embarrassing photos to prove it. Speaking of photos, I will soon be burning my cd of photos from my camera, so i should have photos for you all to see soon.
And now we are in Austria. We had dinner in the hotel last night instead of going into town as we are tired. We had a picnic on our bed. It was fun.
And today is a free day!! A good day to telephone people.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Florence
Hello from Italy. Italy is a beautiful country, dirty and full of beggars etc, but a nice place. We drove from Nice to Florence yesterday. We stopped at a French perfumerie on the way and had a tour. Spent money in the shop on perfume and some other yummy stuff. Then it was into Italy. Between the border of France and Italy to the town of Pisa which was our next stop we went through a total of 157 tunnels. I stopped counting after about 36. There was a prize for the person who got the correct number.
We stopped at Pisa, which is of course home to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Smaller than I thought it would be. I was happy to see it though, after seeing it in books etc, it is fantastic to be able to see it in reality. And yes, we did the photo with me trying to hold up the tower, but it didn't really work! In Pisa they have a great number of stalls selling fake brand name bags. We bought a carpet bag and I got a hand bag as well. I have no idea what brand they are supposed to be, but the hand bag is really nice and I didn't bring a going out type hand bag with me, and the carpet bag will come in handy for our purchases, as well as stashing our sleeping bags, which we have not used yet.
From Pisa we drove into Florence. Florence is a Renaissance town with gorgeous architecture. Did not really see all that much on the first night however. We had dinner in the hotel, then it was out to some bar nearby for a drink. There was karaoke, so Scott got up with someone and sang. :-)
Today was another early start. We had a group photo taken overlooking Florence, then it was into the town itself for a tour of a leather place. I spent a bit of money today, but considering I have hardly bought anything, I think I did well. I bought a Florentine box, which is a box handcrafted out of one piece of leather. Gorgeous. I also bought a pashmina, really cheap! Some post cards, two leather bracelets. That's it I think.
Tonight is a Tuscan dinner, then to some Discotheque. We are skipping the disco thing, as we are tired, and we have only been on tour for a week. There are still two more weeks to go.
I hope everyone reading this is keeping well. :-)
We stopped at Pisa, which is of course home to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Smaller than I thought it would be. I was happy to see it though, after seeing it in books etc, it is fantastic to be able to see it in reality. And yes, we did the photo with me trying to hold up the tower, but it didn't really work! In Pisa they have a great number of stalls selling fake brand name bags. We bought a carpet bag and I got a hand bag as well. I have no idea what brand they are supposed to be, but the hand bag is really nice and I didn't bring a going out type hand bag with me, and the carpet bag will come in handy for our purchases, as well as stashing our sleeping bags, which we have not used yet.
From Pisa we drove into Florence. Florence is a Renaissance town with gorgeous architecture. Did not really see all that much on the first night however. We had dinner in the hotel, then it was out to some bar nearby for a drink. There was karaoke, so Scott got up with someone and sang. :-)
Today was another early start. We had a group photo taken overlooking Florence, then it was into the town itself for a tour of a leather place. I spent a bit of money today, but considering I have hardly bought anything, I think I did well. I bought a Florentine box, which is a box handcrafted out of one piece of leather. Gorgeous. I also bought a pashmina, really cheap! Some post cards, two leather bracelets. That's it I think.
Tonight is a Tuscan dinner, then to some Discotheque. We are skipping the disco thing, as we are tired, and we have only been on tour for a week. There are still two more weeks to go.
I hope everyone reading this is keeping well. :-)
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