Yesterday was an absolutely ba-yoootiful day. There was not a cloud in the sky and it must have been at least 26'C. I whipped on the most summery outfit I had and literally skipped up the street. And then it descended. Hundreds and thousands of cubic meters of of pollen invisibly yet insidiously crept up my nose and into my throat and set up camp. I suffer from hayfever but this was a whole new level. Within minutes my eyes had become slits and the back of my throat was sore from sneezing.
Apparently hayfever sufferers have a particularly hard time in London because they have to deal with a combination of pollen and the city pollution.
Bring on the non-drowsy anti-hestamines.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
I'm a nut
I have to say that I am going a bit mad here at home. I'm not sure how well I could work from home in the long run. Every day everyone goes to work and I look for jobs. I send emails, I phone people, I look through recruitment sites with only the workers redoing the stairwell of our block of flats and my other personalities for company.
The other day I actually phoned myself. A recruiter emailed me and said that she wasn't able to get through to my mobile. To check, I rang my cell phone from the land line. As my cell phone started ringing I quickly got off the landline in order to answer my cell phone! It reminds me of the chorus of a song we used to sing at school.
CHORUS
I'm a nut, I'm a nut,
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut.
Called myself on the telephone
Just to see if I was home.
The other day I actually phoned myself. A recruiter emailed me and said that she wasn't able to get through to my mobile. To check, I rang my cell phone from the land line. As my cell phone started ringing I quickly got off the landline in order to answer my cell phone! It reminds me of the chorus of a song we used to sing at school.
CHORUS
I'm a nut, I'm a nut,
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut.
Called myself on the telephone
Just to see if I was home.
Mind the Gap
Today we were getting onto the tube and someone fell through the gap. The gap between the platform and the train is very small but suddenly it became clear why the automated lady monotonously tells you to "please mind the gap" at every station. I don't think this is a very frequent occurance. I was with Alaistair and Brian at the time. Alaistair has been in the UK for nearly 8 years and he says he has never seen anything like it.
The poor girl was obviously far too engrossed in talking to her friend and literally stepped into the space between the train and the gap. She didn't fall all the way through but far enough in that she lost one of her very lovely shoes. You can imagine how mortified she was as she hobbled to a chair with one high heel and one bare foot. I was all keen to fetch it for her until I was told that the railway lines are electrified. Note for the future.
The poor girl was obviously far too engrossed in talking to her friend and literally stepped into the space between the train and the gap. She didn't fall all the way through but far enough in that she lost one of her very lovely shoes. You can imagine how mortified she was as she hobbled to a chair with one high heel and one bare foot. I was all keen to fetch it for her until I was told that the railway lines are electrified. Note for the future.
Money, money, money
London with the GBP is obviously quite a bit more expensive than at home. What I am struggling to get to grips with though, is the equivalent prices.
eg. 1 block of cheddar = 1.5 blocks of brie = 6 hangers = 1 coke = 1 tube trip within zone 1 and 2 = 1 hour at an internet cafe = 1/3 of a glass of wine at the pub = 2 tape measures = 1/2 punnet of beans = 1 avo = 4 tomatoes = 1 mielie
So the morale of the story is become a tee-totaller, cut fruit and veg out of your diet and wile away your weekends buying hangers and tape measures.
eg. 1 block of cheddar = 1.5 blocks of brie = 6 hangers = 1 coke = 1 tube trip within zone 1 and 2 = 1 hour at an internet cafe = 1/3 of a glass of wine at the pub = 2 tape measures = 1/2 punnet of beans = 1 avo = 4 tomatoes = 1 mielie
So the morale of the story is become a tee-totaller, cut fruit and veg out of your diet and wile away your weekends buying hangers and tape measures.
Traffic
Pedestrians are not king in London. You cross the road and even a pedestrian crossing with aprehension and an enormous awareness of the oncoming traffic. A far cry from Vancouver where if you as so much as point your toe in the general direction of the road all the cars come to a grinding halt.
You really can walk everywhere in London but there are things that you have to consider that wouldn't even cross your mind back home eg. do I want 1 or 2 litres of milk, keeping in mind that I have to carry it home and still have a couple of other things to do on the way home?
You really can walk everywhere in London but there are things that you have to consider that wouldn't even cross your mind back home eg. do I want 1 or 2 litres of milk, keeping in mind that I have to carry it home and still have a couple of other things to do on the way home?
Louise goes to Ireland
I decided to take advantage of my unemployed mobility and head over for a bit of a road trip with Dave and Lee Lee in Ireland. I fell into the new Londoner trap of thinking that Stanstead airport, London is actually anywhere remotely close to London. It suddenly became quite clear to me why the 6.30am flight was so incredibly affordable - because I had to wake up at 3am to get there on time! Luckily the Stanstead express bus stops just round the corner from our house so it wasn't too bad but it was still a REALLY early morning.
The airport itself was a bit overwhelming at 5.30am. It was a bank holiday weekend so it was packed, particularly with Hen and Stag parties. I knew this because of the matching outfits they all insisted on wearing. The amount of groups I passed on the way to my gate wearing matching pink antenae or tight tees with "Lucy's hen weekend" or some equivalent splashed across the front was ridiculous.
Dublin itself is very cool. When I arrived it hadn't rained for a full 10 days and everyone was getting very concerned about a possible drought! I was loving the sun though. We of course headed straight to the Guiness Brewery where we were treated to the most amazing 360' views of the city and I confirmed that I really don't like the taste of Guiness. Lee lee, Dara and Dave treated me to a true Irish welcome. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg8sMM1VJVg. Lee lee even got dressed as a Leeannprechaun for the occasion.
We went out to "Howl at the Moon" on the first night and I was a bit taken aback when quite a number of people asked if I had any crack. I was just beginning to think that I obviously looked like an Irish drug dealer when it was cleared up for me. 'Craic' is Irish for fun or good times, much like 'jol' in Afrikaans I think. So when someone says "Have you any craic?" , they are not asking if you have any drugs but rather if you are having fun. You could also say "the craic is mighty" or "was it good craic?". "Are we going to have a craic?" Is not correct, I discovered after trying to be clever and introduce myself to someone.
Our road trip took as to the seaside in Tramore where I almost swam but didn't and for a night in a castle in Kilkenny. Folksroth Castle was huge, old and riddled with ghosts according to the dubious claims of one of its semi-permaent guests. In Kilkenny we also went to an amazing old round tower which was built in 849. It's over 100 feet tall and has a mere 2 feet foundation. The countryside of Ireland is really beautiful. Most of the time, I felt like I was off on an adventure with the Famous Five driving down all the country lanes and between the impressive hedges.
The airport itself was a bit overwhelming at 5.30am. It was a bank holiday weekend so it was packed, particularly with Hen and Stag parties. I knew this because of the matching outfits they all insisted on wearing. The amount of groups I passed on the way to my gate wearing matching pink antenae or tight tees with "Lucy's hen weekend" or some equivalent splashed across the front was ridiculous.
Dublin itself is very cool. When I arrived it hadn't rained for a full 10 days and everyone was getting very concerned about a possible drought! I was loving the sun though. We of course headed straight to the Guiness Brewery where we were treated to the most amazing 360' views of the city and I confirmed that I really don't like the taste of Guiness. Lee lee, Dara and Dave treated me to a true Irish welcome. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg8sMM1VJVg. Lee lee even got dressed as a Leeannprechaun for the occasion.
We went out to "Howl at the Moon" on the first night and I was a bit taken aback when quite a number of people asked if I had any crack. I was just beginning to think that I obviously looked like an Irish drug dealer when it was cleared up for me. 'Craic' is Irish for fun or good times, much like 'jol' in Afrikaans I think. So when someone says "Have you any craic?" , they are not asking if you have any drugs but rather if you are having fun. You could also say "the craic is mighty" or "was it good craic?". "Are we going to have a craic?" Is not correct, I discovered after trying to be clever and introduce myself to someone.
Our road trip took as to the seaside in Tramore where I almost swam but didn't and for a night in a castle in Kilkenny. Folksroth Castle was huge, old and riddled with ghosts according to the dubious claims of one of its semi-permaent guests. In Kilkenny we also went to an amazing old round tower which was built in 849. It's over 100 feet tall and has a mere 2 feet foundation. The countryside of Ireland is really beautiful. Most of the time, I felt like I was off on an adventure with the Famous Five driving down all the country lanes and between the impressive hedges.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Louise goes to London (and Dublin, a little)
So I´m safely in London. I say "I" because Brian was unavoidably detained due to some last minute issues with his visa and will only be joining me on Wednesday. There was a moment of panic when we weren´t sure how long it was going to take but it all seems to be in order now.
The more trips we go on, the more I realise the limitations of the ¨Green Mamba¨ aka the South African passport. Everywhere we go, our friends with EU and other non-South African passports blithely stroll through passport control whilst we have to start sweating about a month beforehand getting all the necessary documentation together for whichever, inevitably ridiculously expensive visa we need. It doesn´t help that my brother has an Irish passport and I am not eligible for one.
In my opinion the next "Amazing Race" should be set in South Africa. Each contestant will be provided with a South African passport and access to certain documentation and then told to go and get a Schengan, Canadian and American visa. I would be willing to bet that none of them would be able to accomplish that in less than ten days.
Leaving SA was rather sad but luckily I didn´t have too much time to think about it as I was madly trying to sell my car, wrap up everything at work, see everyone before we left and do all the last minute admin that always seems to be far more time consuming than you originallly expect. Our farewell was awesome and the touch of Britannia theme helped us to acclimatise. We were obviously all on the same wave length because there was a tea cup, a tea pot and a queen!
I´m quite proud that I managed to get to London safe and sound without losing anything - you may recall my almost phone loss on the way to Chicago and the almost passport, credit card and forex loss two years ago. I did have a bit of a panic when I realised that I´d left my camera at the internet cafe and rushed back to get it only to find it wasn´t there. It ended up being a false alarm as it was still sitting ¨safely¨ at the bottom of my bag.
Our house is amazingly situated and is literally AT the Edgeware Road tube station ie. 20m away which makes travelling around a breeze. It´s a big old flat with high ceilings and more than enough room for Marissa, Jus, Mems, Brian and myself. Our house is also
* a 5 minute walk from Hyde Park
* a 7 minute walk from Oxford Street
* a 10 minute walk from Regent´s Park
* around the corner from a pub called the Green Man (for if we are feeling homesick although it is a good deal smarter than its South African equivalent)
* 50m from Marks & Spencers
* 150m from Tescos
* 250m from the second story of the building where Alexander Flemming discovered Penicillin in 1928 (according to the plaque)
The job search is going somewhat slower than I expected. The weather has being playing along nicely for all my missioning around with sunny skies and only a slightly chilly wind. My first priority was setting up a bank account and getting a cell phone (my new number is +447872167544 by the way). Setting up a bank account was infuriating as only bank bureaucracy can be. I didn´t have proof of my address in London so then had to prove my residential (not postal) address in SA. Now all my post got sent to my PO Box at work or emailed to me so I didn´t actually have anything sent to my residential address. Luckily after much searching I managed to find the little address slip that they put inside your ID. Although decidedly outdated, it seemed to do the trick. The irony of the whole thing is that I actually have a bank account at this bank already but apparently that doesn´t count as a proof of address- just smile and nod!
Then I had to go and find bedding and other essentials. My wanderings took me into Debenhams and when they announced over the loudspeaker that there were free giveaways on the fourth floor in the kitchen department I couldn´t resist. It turned out they were giving away free garnish knives with which you could make watermelon baskets and kiwi flowers. ¨Free¨ as in ¨free if you sit through this demonstration of our new and amazing, all-purpose vegetable cutter¨. I figured I was unemployed so I may as well sit through it. The sales guy completely enthralled me. He didn´t stop speaking for the entire demonstration and was so convincing that I almost bought the veggie cutter (it was a special price just for us you see). Luckily common sense and my unemployed liquidity prevailed. The whole experience ended rather messily that night when I gouged a huge whole in my hand whilst trying to impress the girls with an apple flower made with the surprisingly sharp garnish knife.
In regard to working in my chosen field, it turns out that 50% of the working population of London want to get into the area of Social Development/Corporate Social Investment. I´m gradually making progress but by the looks of things I might be unemployed for at least another few weeks.
I decided to take advantage of my unemployed status and pop over to see Dave and Lee Lee for the bank holiday weekend. I'm actually in Dublin at the moment but I´ll save those stories to regale you with next week.
The more trips we go on, the more I realise the limitations of the ¨Green Mamba¨ aka the South African passport. Everywhere we go, our friends with EU and other non-South African passports blithely stroll through passport control whilst we have to start sweating about a month beforehand getting all the necessary documentation together for whichever, inevitably ridiculously expensive visa we need. It doesn´t help that my brother has an Irish passport and I am not eligible for one.
In my opinion the next "Amazing Race" should be set in South Africa. Each contestant will be provided with a South African passport and access to certain documentation and then told to go and get a Schengan, Canadian and American visa. I would be willing to bet that none of them would be able to accomplish that in less than ten days.
Leaving SA was rather sad but luckily I didn´t have too much time to think about it as I was madly trying to sell my car, wrap up everything at work, see everyone before we left and do all the last minute admin that always seems to be far more time consuming than you originallly expect. Our farewell was awesome and the touch of Britannia theme helped us to acclimatise. We were obviously all on the same wave length because there was a tea cup, a tea pot and a queen!
I´m quite proud that I managed to get to London safe and sound without losing anything - you may recall my almost phone loss on the way to Chicago and the almost passport, credit card and forex loss two years ago. I did have a bit of a panic when I realised that I´d left my camera at the internet cafe and rushed back to get it only to find it wasn´t there. It ended up being a false alarm as it was still sitting ¨safely¨ at the bottom of my bag.
Our house is amazingly situated and is literally AT the Edgeware Road tube station ie. 20m away which makes travelling around a breeze. It´s a big old flat with high ceilings and more than enough room for Marissa, Jus, Mems, Brian and myself. Our house is also
* a 5 minute walk from Hyde Park
* a 7 minute walk from Oxford Street
* a 10 minute walk from Regent´s Park
* around the corner from a pub called the Green Man (for if we are feeling homesick although it is a good deal smarter than its South African equivalent)
* 50m from Marks & Spencers
* 150m from Tescos
* 250m from the second story of the building where Alexander Flemming discovered Penicillin in 1928 (according to the plaque)
The job search is going somewhat slower than I expected. The weather has being playing along nicely for all my missioning around with sunny skies and only a slightly chilly wind. My first priority was setting up a bank account and getting a cell phone (my new number is +447872167544 by the way). Setting up a bank account was infuriating as only bank bureaucracy can be. I didn´t have proof of my address in London so then had to prove my residential (not postal) address in SA. Now all my post got sent to my PO Box at work or emailed to me so I didn´t actually have anything sent to my residential address. Luckily after much searching I managed to find the little address slip that they put inside your ID. Although decidedly outdated, it seemed to do the trick. The irony of the whole thing is that I actually have a bank account at this bank already but apparently that doesn´t count as a proof of address- just smile and nod!
Then I had to go and find bedding and other essentials. My wanderings took me into Debenhams and when they announced over the loudspeaker that there were free giveaways on the fourth floor in the kitchen department I couldn´t resist. It turned out they were giving away free garnish knives with which you could make watermelon baskets and kiwi flowers. ¨Free¨ as in ¨free if you sit through this demonstration of our new and amazing, all-purpose vegetable cutter¨. I figured I was unemployed so I may as well sit through it. The sales guy completely enthralled me. He didn´t stop speaking for the entire demonstration and was so convincing that I almost bought the veggie cutter (it was a special price just for us you see). Luckily common sense and my unemployed liquidity prevailed. The whole experience ended rather messily that night when I gouged a huge whole in my hand whilst trying to impress the girls with an apple flower made with the surprisingly sharp garnish knife.
In regard to working in my chosen field, it turns out that 50% of the working population of London want to get into the area of Social Development/Corporate Social Investment. I´m gradually making progress but by the looks of things I might be unemployed for at least another few weeks.
I decided to take advantage of my unemployed status and pop over to see Dave and Lee Lee for the bank holiday weekend. I'm actually in Dublin at the moment but I´ll save those stories to regale you with next week.
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