Daown the pub, innit, lookin' for work.
Got any jobs ?
Sitting in The Swan emailing / phoning after a job search session at the Job Centre.
Been an interesting day and will continue to be interesting from a job & accommodation seeking point of view.
Spent the morning at Natural in Wimbledon Village working on the quotation for the freelance job. Phoned a lady called Julie who is offering a room for £90 a week in Colliers Wood and then had a quick 11.30am interview at the Job Centre to tell them how my job seeking is going.
To be honest, the Job Centre and I both know that I don't really need to sign in, but I'm covering all my bases. If things do go pear shaped it's always good to know there may be some sort of financial cushion.
While I was at the Job Centre I did a detailed search for jobs on their terminals.
These things are nifty - touchscreen job search interface which also has a built in printer. If you find a job that suits you, hit print and an oversized ATM type printout zips out of a slot.
I found five potential leads in 20 minutes, which I'm following up now.
My meeting with Julie about the room in Colliers Wood is only at 6pm tonight, but I like to get familiar with places, so I decided to nip down there from the Job center to find out exactly where it was.
There's method in this seeming waste of time. Another person is viewing the room at 6.15pm so I've booked to see it at 6pm and will have cash in hand if it is a good deal. The last thing I want is to be narking about in the dark trying to find the place. I needed to firstly find out exactly where the place is and secondly, how long it takes to get there. You snooze, you lose.
I'd already drawn up a quick map to Colliers Wood this morning. From the Job Centre, I got the 93 bus to South Wimbledon Tube, then one stop north to Colliers Wood only to find that the number 200 from Wimbledon goes within 2 minutes of the place. It looked ok from the outside and now I know I have to leave my B&B at around 4.30pm to catch the 200 bus from Ridgway near The Swan. I don't mind getting there a bit early. Get there too late and the place will be taken.
I have a bit of a wild hope that it has a ensuite bathroom. The reason for that is that the photos Julie emailed of the bedroom and the bathroom shows two doors in the bedroom. One of the doors could easily be a cupboard, but you never know. It would be a serious luck if it did have an ensuite bathroom.
They have broadband which is a major plus.
So, it all depends what vibe I get from the people - they have cats, a young son and the outside of their house looked neat and tidy. Hmmm, perhaps they won't like the cut of my jib !
My "mental map" of SW18/19 is starting to fall into place now, but London still remains a vast unknown punctuated with a few spots here and there which I've been to.
Think I'll try to plot out exactly how long a walk would be from The Swan, Ridgway to Colliers Wood, after I know if I'm taking the room of course. I already know the 200 bus links this fine pub to Colliers Wood and I noticed there isn't many nice looking pubs in the Colliers Wood area. I personally think the walk, down side streets, would be quicker than the bus. Will have to see !
I like The Swan, it's the most comfortable friendly pub I've visited to date and has become my local. It's never too busy, never empty, has a big non-smoking area, good food and an established feel. It has everything a good pub should have.
Even if I end up living in North London, it's a pub I'll visit every few weeks regardless.
Anyway, back to work - have to revise my quotation for that freelance job after receiving a slightly different sitemap from the prospective client.
Oh yeah, I also have to go see a man about a bag at 7.30 this evening, all in a days work.
