Not much has happened in the last week. We went for a walk through the square mile that is the City of London. It was really interesting, and I learnt a lot about the City. I think my favourite place was an alley way called Change Alley. It's not your typical alley way as it has 5 entrances.

Work is going well. We went out for dinner last night at a restaurant. There were 12 of us and it was really lovely.

Sorry it's so short!! :-)

Moving House!

Hello! Yes, it's that time again, to move house. Scott and I decided to move closer to my work, which also means a shorter journey time for him as well. So we decided to move to the east of London. And we will be travelling to work on the Docklands Light Railway. This is a tram-like train that travels above ground (a nice change from the underground). We are taking the opportunity to send a lot of things home. We seem to have accumulated quite a bit over the last 11 months, so it is high time that we sent it home! And it's better not to move it to the other side of London. Our landlady has said that we can leave the stuff we are shipping home in our room until necessary, which is a big help. Judy is coming to help us move the rest of our stuff on Sunday afternoon. She kindly offered, and I am very grateful.

We are moving in to a house near to a DLR (see above) station, about 20 mins from my work. We will be living with three Polish guys, who all seem really lovely, and all seem to be neat freaks! No cleaning is expected of us, other than cleaning up after ourselves and keeping our own room clean (easy).

Work is going well. I am still enjoying it. I have interesting conversations with people at work, which is great. I am happy there at the moment. The money is not great, but our new place will be cheaper for rent, as well as travel costs (for me anyway). Work has been quiet of late though. It has given me the chance to write some snail mail. So if I have missed anyone out who would like an email please let me know! I will be happy to write you a proper letter. I figured that people get very few letters these days with emails etc, and I love getting mail (hint hint!!).

Today is the first day of Open House London weekend. Basically, for one weekend each year many buildings that are not normally open to the public open their doors so we can see what's hiding inside. Scott had a look through the booklet I had brought home from work. He found a building in there that he had heard of, and really wanted to see. It was called 19 Princelet Street. Not very imaginative I know, but it was built by Hugenots in 1749, and has been used by many different peoples over the generations. Its uses by the French Hugenots, the Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia as well as the Bangladeshi immigrants of recent years truly reflects the character of the East End. It is a fascinating building. http://www.19princeletstreet.org.uk We have stopped in at an Indian restaurant that has internet computers. We are currently in Brick Lane, which is a very famous part of London with more Indian restaurants per square inch than anywhere else!!

Toodles!

It has been too long since I last posted. I mentioned in my last post that we were going to be having a really busy weekend at the museum. Well, my expectations were well and truly fulfilled! On a "normal" day at the museum we have about 100-150 visitors. On the Saturday of the weekend we had 2311 and on the Sunday we had 3208!! It was absolute bedlam. I was on the ground floor all weekend so I was in the thick of it all. We had free entry all weekend, so a lot of people came in just to see what was inside. It was good publicity for the museum really. And hopefully the people who came in will come back to see the rest of the museum. It was a fun weekend, but I was absolutely exhausted by the end of each day.

I had the Tuesday off and spent most of it in bed as I think one of the 6000-odd people who filed past me at the front desk on the weekend had given me the flu. I called in sick on Wednesday as well, then went to work on Thursday. I lasted all of two hours, when I was told to go home!! They rang me later in the day and told me I was not to come back to work until Monday! That suited me fine as I really was not well and slept quite a bit. So I effectively had 6 days off work. I lost only 1 days pay too which was a nice surprise.

On the weekend we met Judy at the Imperial War Museum for coffee. They have a new exhibition that I wanted to see, so it seemed like a good point to meet at. The exhibition is on the second world war, but all about how children were effected by the changes, rationing, etc. It was very interesting. They even had a house that you could walk through. Coffee (well, tea) was lovely, 'twas good to catch up with Judy. We were telling her about the fact that we have to move house. She suggested we move closer to the east of London. It makes sense really. We had thought about it before, but now it just seems quite logical. My life seems to be in the east at the moment, with work and the gym being over there. And it would make my days shorter at least! And coming up to winter that is a big deal, considering it gets dark so early in the evening.

Saturday we went on an adventure. We went to Shadwell, in the east, to try and find a church that ancestors of Scott's got married in in 1855. We found the church which was very exciting. It is now in a run down area, but it's nice to know it's still standing. The area would have been very different back then. At work we have a reconstructed 1840s street, which is dark and smelly, called Sailortown. It really gives you an insight into how the area would have been back then. And I am sure the smells are accurate too!!

Now it's back to work. They asked if they could change my roster on me. That's fine. I will now have alternate Wednesday and Fridays off instead of Tuesdays and Thursdays, but that's okay with me. It was the roster I agreed to in the first place, it was only when I got here that they changed it on me!

So that is my life to the present. I hope I have enlightened you somewhat. :-)

I feel like I am not updating this journal as often as I could, but sometimes I feel that the things I do are just everyday stuff. Not really exciting stuff to write about!!

Last night was our last lesson of our Victorian London course. I really enjoyed it. The lecturer was really interesting. We continued the class afterwards at the local pub, with discussions of more London history and other topics. We got home really late, but I had a really fun night. Perhaps even made a new friend! You never know...

We will be having a really busy weekend at the museum this weekend. There is a festival out the front of the museum, and entry to the museum is free. So, should be a busy weekend!! Sleep in on Tuesday. I keep telling myself that!!

I hope all who read this are happy and healthy. I would love to hear from you all!!

:-)

Brighton!!

Brighton was a really lovely place to visit for the weekend. I have decided however, that I do not like beaches with rocks on them. They really really hurt my footsies, so I was not impressed. But I did make the effort of getting my feet wet once in the English Channel, so now I can say I have. So there. :-)

We stayed right opposite the beach, which was great. We couldsee the pier from our room, and up to the old West Pier, which was burned down some years ago now, and all that remains in the iron framwork. Quite good to take photos of really. :-) The pier is fun, there are lots of rides, and many places for you to lose your money playing arcade games. Teach the kids early I say! We played a few, and ended up with some soft toys. Not sure what I will do with them, but we'll see! :-)

Saturday was spent wandering the beach, looking at shops, the people, enjoying the sunshine. We headed to the pier, had a look around, and spotted a train on the other side of the pier. Apparently it is the world's longest running electric train. We boarded the train and took it up to the marina at the other end of the beach. There they have a shopping centre, and it kind of the modern end of town, as it is all newer developments. They had a display of sand sculptures which were based on Egyptian designs, so there were pyramids, and pharoahs and mummies. I was very impressed with it all though. Excellent to look at, very well done. Took the train back, and spent some time on the beach on our picnic blanket and watched the sun go down behind the buildings about 8.45pm. Then it was back to the hotel to get changed for dinner. Brighton has a section of the town called The Lanes, which is basically the restaurant section, but no cars can drive in it. Handy for those who like to drink! We found a little cafe called The Mint Leaf, and had a lovely dinner there. I tried Pimms, which I like very much. :-)

Sunday we headed to the Royal Pavilion. It is an amazing building, so oppulent inside. The main design style is Chinese, but there are pillars disguised as palm trees, and dragon wallpaper, and an obscene amount of gold. I could not take photos inside, but it is definitely a place I shall remember!

Not happy Jan

I have no idea how I can get spam as comments on this journal. I will just delete them as I get them I think. It's bad enough that I get spam in my email!

Anyway, worked the weekend. So did Scott. I think it will be the last weekend Scott works in a while, as he has worked the last three in a row. This weekend we are spending the weekend in Brighton for our two year anniversary. We leave London on Friday evening after work. Brighton is only an hour away by train, and is supposed to be lovely. I am really looking forward to our weekend away. Our next one shall be in Amsterdam I believe. :-)

Interesting...

In a shop the other day I came across rubber band balls. My mum used to make them at work when I was younger and bring them home. Are these ready-made rubber band balls a sign of the times - a convenience product when one really isn't needed?

Just a random thought.....

Day off

I had the day off yesterday - but I still came into work. Why, you might ask. Well, I asked the conservator at my museum if I could find out what she does for the day, and follow her around. She is lovely, and she agreed. So I spent the day drinking tea with them and the curator. I also spent time in the galleries finding marks on the walls, which we painted over in the afternoon. So all in all a fun day. Then I had my course in the evening at the Museum of London.

I am working all weekend too. :-)

So, Scott and I joined the gym behind work. We are heading there tonight for our first class - aqua aerobics. I am looking forward to making myself gorgeous (slowly but surely).

:-)

Well, I think it has been a little too long between posts, but sometimes I just think that there is nothing to say. I am feeling a little low today. I am feeling broke, and just a little depressed in general. But I will snap out of it. I think it's just one of those days you know? I will be fine later on.

I have decided to join the gym across the road from work. Scott will probably join with me, and we may go together after work, and I may go in the mornings as well. I want to do aqua aerobicss on a Tuesday night which will be good. As for the rest of it, just a general level of fitness and toning will be fine thank you.

Scott had to work all weekend. Well, he was asked if he would like to work at my museum and he said he would, as he too is feeling broke I think. So I had a quiet one, but I did have things to do and buy which was nice. I spoke to the parents on Saturday morning, and spent some time on the internet trying to catch up on the emails I have been so slack with.

I have become a volunteer at the Jewish Museum. I wanted to get some contacts with the Jewish community here, so it is a good way really. More about that later. But now I have to go back to work!