Wall of confusion

My oh my, a wall of confusion today bought on by lack of sleep, too much sugar, too much activity, I don't know what - too many beers ?

I've stretched myself so thin without enough planning, spinning like mad.

It's set to continue for a while, tommorrow I need to get packed, get some of my stuff over to friends, do a rekkie to Woking to check out a B&B and then get up at 5.30am to get to the office and after a long day, over to the new place I'll be staying at, assuming it's ok.

I signed up with a 3G phone contract - a moment of madness I suspect, geek gadget desire.
I'm now with Vodafone and am sporting a shiny new Nokia 6680 - this phone has all the bells and whistles, including a highly dangerous 3G internet connection option, which can also work as a modem for my laptop.

Why is it dangerous ?

Simple really, at £1.25 a meg the potential to eat up cash is massive, so I need to exercise extreme caution. Bottom line, text only surfing and very minimal surfing and email.

Luckily, the B&B I'm moving to has internet access, so the phone connection won't be required that often. I just tried it now via the laptop and it works well - too damn well.

Added to my confusion is the fact that my DVD drive on my laptop packed in after I tried to install the Nokia connection software - bam, it no longer will read any disks. I have no idea whether it was the nokia disc or just a general failure. I also don't know how to fix it - maybe a CD disk cleaner will work ?
Maybe new firmware ?
I don't know. All I do know is that the laptop set me back £700 - it's under guarantee, so I now have to make time to get into London to take it to the shop I got it from.
That will require me to back up all my data and wipe the disk drive - but how can I back up the data without a DVD drive ?

I really don't know.

It's at times like this when I miss the relative simplicity of a stable home to live in.
Lord only knows when that will happen.

At least I'm working.

At this stage, the money I have left will last just enough to get me to pay day and I'm still not sure where my next job will be or when.

Doing the math, I have enough money to pay for accommodation, food and transport for the next 3 weeks and that's it. If my pay doesn't arrive on time, I'm screwed.

In addition, my backup plan of selling the laptop to survive is now screwed, because the DVD drive is bust.

Nasty, very nasty.

Taking the laptop back to where I got it will require them to send it away for repairs or whatever, which will most likely take at least 2 weeks.

An external DVD drive is going to set me back too much cash.

Damn Damn Damn, I'm just too overloaded with info, I feel like a hard drive that hasn't been defragged for years.

What to do ?

I have to move to Woking, it's essential for my sanity. Commuting 5 hours a day is going to do some serious damage to my planning.

My big hope is to land that good permanent job starting ASAP - I should make at least £1500 from the two week contract job, which will see me through till the end of Jan, however, there's not much chance of being able to get my own spot until Feb if I do land a job. For a reasonable pad, the initial outlay is going to be £1000. Expenses for a month will be in the order of £500.

Time to tighten the belt buckle a notch further, get down to work and live in the cheap seats for the next few weeks.

The contract job was perfectly timed to be honest, if I had waited another week or so, I would've been in dire straits.

I now realise exactly how laid back and relaxed I've been for so many years and how much complete freedom I had - but there is a cost for that freedom, a lack of security and a comfort zone bordering on being in a rut.

I don't regret my decision as I'm really experiencing things in a big way. I also don't miss Joburg yet, two months on. I just miss family and friends and the freedom of more spare time than was good for me.

My 2 month short term plan is to get my own pad - a place I can walk into and sing, cook, throw my stuff around, shout, talk to myself.

The long term plan is to further the career with an aim for an Australian move in a year or two.

The even longer term plan is to form another business, buy a small cottage/flat/bedsit near the coast hopefully with the whole family around.

If New Media is to be my continuing career, I have a LOT of catching up to do, I've coasted for a few years. By now, I should either be a programmer or a 3D artist. Instead, I sit between the two positions of web designer and web developer.

The method to my madness of going contract or permanent is to get thrown right in the deep end, sink or swim. That is the ONLY way I seem to be able to pick up new skills.

Left to my own devices I flit from idea to idea without ever completing anything.

I need deadlines, hectic deadlines. "You don't do it, you don't get paid" deadlines.

Wall of confusion.

A whole new reality ?

So my second day at work was great, but the commute sucked and always will do - have to live with it.

Today, I left the office at 5.30pm still not really sure how the hell the buses work in this little town.

There's a bus stop just on the corner near the office, but the timetable is completely whack.
It turns out that the 200 bus, even though it is listed as arriving at 17:39, never actually stops there, but rather, a few minutes walk away at the traffic island which spins traffic to various other villages.

I found myself standing at a bus "shelter" in a blustery and rather chilly rain storm cursing when the bus failed to arrive on time. 10 minutes late, 15 minutes late - what the hell ?
I then saw a 200 bus nipping along the other way and quickly ran across the street to chat with the driver. As he told me "there should be another bus along the way now", suddenly there it was on the other side of the road.

I acted quickly and got the driver to flick his lights to get the other bus to stop.
I thought my luck was out when he told me he couldn't stop at Hook because the main road was closed due to a festival, but he dropped me 5 minutes walk away.

You must understand that the weather is really rather foul at the moment - 9c, blustery wind with all sorts of rain, dark. On the train to work, it only gets light toward the end of my journey. When I leave the office at 5.30pm it's been dark for an hour already. That's ok, I kinda like it.

Walking in the rain and pitch black would be close to suicide.
It's all very well walking in the morning light with a mild drizzle, but on a dark evening, walking on muddy country sidings along busy roads is best left to foxes, badgers and nutters.

It's a new reality for the next 2 weeks - about 5 hours commute there and back door to door.
It leaves me train time and weekends to get bit 'n pieces done.

And now, I suddenly understand the concept of bad diet, or at least, food on the go.

For the last two nights, after work, I've got to The Swan around 8.40pm and ordered hot food - it's essential to my survival I think.
In the mornings, it's a cup of Amt coffee at the station and one of those energy bar/oat bar type things.
Lunch is a quick snack - I've found a great deli that serves organic stuff.

For the commute, music and a book are essential.
This evening I got myself a few cans of cider for the journey, cranked up the music on my cheap 'n nasty CD mp3 walkman and chilled.

I've been playing at living in London until now, the new reality is working and commuting.

That's ok, it's a means to an end - I think ? - whatever.

Put on the Gorillaz loud and tune out for a while ...

First day of work and the joy of public transport, namely, buses

First day of work and the joy of public transport, namely, buses

I'm tired now, having a pint in the pub and a much needed plate of hot food - I went for an all day breakfast - I need it. It's 9.00pm and I've just relaxed after 14 hours on the go, after having had a rotten nights sleep, typical.

Don't feel like blogging at all, but I'll make this entry anyway, for the sake of it.

Working in a small village 40 miles from London central is not easy if you don't have a car.

Morning :-
Up at 5.30am
Walk to station
Get 6.30am train to Surbiton
Change at Surbiton for train to Hook
Get to Hook at 7:49am
40 minute walk to Odiham
Arrive at office 8.30am

Afternoon :-
Leave work at 5.30pm
Bus doesn't arrive on time, as I'm inquiring in a shop, it goes by 20 minutes late
Order taxi from pub and wait 30minutes
Get taxi for £6 to Hook station
6.31pm train to Surbiton
Change at Surbiton to arrive in Wimbledon at 7:44pm
Walk back to B&B

It's for 2 weeks and I'll have to get used to it - can't think, brain dead.

At least I did well on my first day contacting - thrown right in the deep end with no time to "settle in", you just have to get in and work. I'm using a very temperamental old PIII with 512mb ram which is a dog.
I've had to figure out a few other peoples way of working and work along in that style.
Not easy when you feel like you just want to curl up in bed and sleep - I got about 4 hours kip last night, too many thoughts racing around in the old noggin.

I was going to go out and about Saturday, fuck that, I'm going to get up late and about all I'm going to do is my laundry (woooohooo) and some online stuff and visit friends for an hour or so.
Sunday I have to go up and meet Mom in Stratford before she heads off to South Africa, drop of a few bits and have a coffee then it's Monday work.

Anyway, it's all gone mad.

I have to try and sort out this damn Umbrella company for tax reasons - without it, I don't get paid.
Now I'm furiously trying to sort out when I get paid, because right now, the Umbrella company reckons end of Jan. The agent is furious and will sort it out. It's all really rather complicated, but standard practice. I get a job via the agent, if I don't have a limited company, I have to get hired by an Umbrella company for tax reasons. The company I contract at pays the agent, they take a cut. The agent pays the Umbrella company, they save me money because they use offshore bank accounts, but they also take a cut.
I sign a contract with the Umbrella company.

Then I got 4 calls today about different job contracts and actually couldn't take them for obvious reasons. I told all of them to call back after 5.30pm. None of them did. Suprise suprise.

I also noticed I got an email sometime from a company who wanted animated flash banners done for around £25 each. I just noticed that this evening, sent me files and everything. I'll have to send a polite reply back and say I'll get it done on Sunday I suppose - on the train. Lord.

No worries tho, busy arranging an interview for a permanent job at a way cool web agency close to where I'm on this contract. If I land it, I will have to relocate.
To be honest, I'd prefer the possible 6 month contract in Soho starting in Jan.
But how to arrange that interview if they need to see me soon ?
I'll have to sacrifice 3 hours of pay I suppose.

If a do get a perm job 2 hours commute from London, I'm getting a car ASAP.

Spin spin spin goes the head.

Too tired to even research anything online right now - bleh.

Somewhere, not London

I've landed a job, or at least, I'm going to work on Thursday and will take it from there.
It's a 2 week contract for good money, near Hook.

After a few hours of furious searching and working out, I've made a preliminary booking into a £45 a night hotel within a mile of the place I'll be working, from Sunday to the next Sunday.

Ouch.

Doing the math, however, the return journey from London is £10 a day. With a rail card, that will work out at maybe £8 a day. I'm paying £18 a night now, add on £8 and we're at £26. Add on a decent breakfast and it's £30.

Then there's the obvious commute time - an hour and twenty minutes to Hook and a 2 mile walk to odiham which will take 30 minutes, or I can catch an hourly bus.

Ain't that all totally boring ?

Fuck yeah.

The interesting thing is I'll arrive here :-

http://www.odiham-web.co.uk

http://www.astoft.co.uk/odihamhouses.htm

http://www.astoft.co.uk/odihamcastle.htm

If your a totally hopeless dreamer romantic pisscat like me, it all looks rather interesting.

And so ends the most flat and tedious blog ever to grace these pages !

I'll leave you with a famous quote, see if you can guess who it is :-

"Drink, girls, arse, feck"

Anywhere, London

It's got to a point now where I'll get a train to any arbitrary station in central London and just walk randomly in any direction.

Today I decided to hop on the Piccadilly line and get off at Leister Square with a notion of a bit of shopping later on Regent Street, after my random walk.

I haven't much of a clue where I am now, not that it matters. Ok, I lie, I do have a reasonable idea where I am. I'm in a pub somewhere inbetween Covent Garden and China Town. (I'm not even sure if it's called China Town in London, but that's what I call it)

The pub I'm in is called The Roundhouse and I've found it has a very worthwhile Ale called "Old Peculiar" which I'm consuming along with an unimaginative but adaquate baked potato with cheese.

They have internet here, but via one of those proprietry ISP's who have decided to do their own thing - Bulldog. I can get to the Bulldog page, obviously stored on the router, but no further.

From the window of the pub, I can see I'm on the corner of Garrick and King street. The streets are busy, but not manic like the main shopping streets which is really why I'm here. I avoid all of the pubs on the main throughfares simply because they are usually overpriced and crowded.
I can spot an another interesting pub called the Lamb and Flag up a side street which I may wonder over for a final quick pint before the serious business of shopping.

I'm was reading L4yer cake on the journey in, almost finished now and it's interesting to note the locations I'm getting familiar with in the book and also a little disturbing. It really brings home that these types of things are going on under your nose - maybe at the table opposite, or in a room above your head and your never any the wiser, which is definately for the best.

Anyway, things are looking good today - very good.

On Sunday I got turned down by WHSmith - my potential £6 an hour job vanished. I was more pissed off than anything else but reality sunk in, I'm far too overqualified and they know as well as I do, as soon as something better comes along, I'm offski without a backward glance.

Something better has come along, but lets not be too rash, I'll know for sure after 5pm today.
It's a 2 to 3 week contract for £20 an hour, normal working hours, starting either Thursday or Monday week. The client will be phoning for a telephone interview and we'll take it from there. I'm the prime candidate for the position so far, so I can't muck this one up.

I have already researched the client via their website and will spend an hour this afternoon going through my skills. I'm really hoping I don't get any curve balls here.

This would see me through perfectly into the new year, as I stand to earn around £1500 in two weeks.

---------------

20 minutes later, at The White Lion ...

This still freaks me out, writing like this - disjointed, on the move, edit it all later.
The Lamb & Flag was the size of a small pocket hanky and crowded, so I ducked and dived through a few alleyways and ended up at a pleasant and warm pub, The White Lion. I passed 3 pubs on the way and across the road is The Nags Head.

I think Londoners are rather fond of pubs, God Bless um.

I left my laptop installing some software while I walked and when I opened it up here in the pub, it had discovered no fewer than 10 wireless networks - most out of range now. I can see 5 from here, but can't connect to any - there's also someone with an apple within 30 to 50 metres of me, but not in this pub. I can see them as "airportthru", a computer to computer network.

London truly is a war drivers dream - actually, a "war walker" would be more to the point.
It would require a geek with the know-how to hack into the networks and either a coffee lover or a beer lover, because they are the most comfy ways of hooking in, especially when it's under 5degrees outside.

It also occurs to me that if I can see them ...

I'm on the corner of James and Floral Streets, where roads have been converted to pedestrian walkways. I'm bang in the middle of Covent Garden it would seem.

Time to finish up the pint, get some shopping in and head back to cool the head before the big telephonic interview, which reminds me of an Open Office spell check - Telephonically was marked as incorrect, with a suggestion of "Telephonic Ally" - I rather liked that, but I think I'll stick to Microsoft Word from now on ...

... posted without editing from Regent street Apple store - nice nice !
29 November 2005, 15:05

WHSmith - The Return

Crazy days indeed.

While applying for jobs that will net me a good four times more cash than WHSmith will pay, at £6 an hour, I went along to my first interview anyway.

Never be too proud is what it's all about - a job is a job and when you need the dosh, you do what you have to do !

It was a group interview with 12 other candidates. The process was uncannily like the Office episode where they get a motivational trainer in - Brent plays guitar.

Nobody was strumming guitars and there wasn't any tears and drama, but it had that certain feel about it.

The scary thing is, there were 3 saffas out of 12 people, one of whom was the guy interviewing us. Racially and Culturally, a mixed bag - this is London after all. I used to think South Africa was diverse !

We sat in a line of chairs and listened to a quick overview of WHSmith. After that, it was a very "team work" driven exercise. We paired off and had to "interview" our partner, asking specific questions. Later, we got into groups of four and had to discuss questions about customer service while being appraised by the interviewer.

It was all done exceptionally well and is definately something which works. It was clear immediately which people were "the weakest link"

Apparently, 12 people were chosen out of 200. Hmm, I'd hate to have seen what the other 188 people were like.
Out of the 12, there were about 6 people who I think made the grade - heh - yes, obviously I was one of them. Whoop-de-doo, a 37 year old designer can get a job as a stockroom assistant or checkout robot, I should bloody well hope so.

I managed to raise a few laughs as did others, always important in any social situation.

Initially, I felt terribly out of place doing this, until I saw the group of people - all ages, all walks of life. Then it was easy.

I found myself leading the group of four I was in into discussion, which is what we supposed to be doing. I'm not sure what would've happened if I didn't because there was an initial gap of silence I just had to clear. It went well after that and we spent most the time joking about.

London is a great place to be humble about your place in life, but also a great place to forge ahead. I like that. The fact that you get uni graduates, posh old ladies, bruvers and, er, web designers all vying for the same type of job in the never ending battle for moola.

I may be working for £6 an hour for the next few weeks, but pretty soon, I'll land that job which makes me £20 to £30 an hour - that's the way it goes and I have no problems with it.

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Weather - I wish we could Trade in it !

My God it's cold in Britain right now and it's not just me - everyone is on about how bloomin' cold it's suddenly got.

After an incredibly mild October, days as warm as 22c and an absolute lucky break for my arrival, the cold has arrived.

It's been clear for a week now, not a spot of rain, frosty bright days and brrrrrr cold.

This morning when I went out, it was around 3c and foggy, which makes it feel even colder. It topped a balmy 6c by mid-afternoon and will hit -3c tonight.

Tommorrow will see a maximum temperature of 5c, minimum of 4c
Tuesday "warms" up a bit to 10c, then we're set for fog and light rain at around 7c for other bits of the week.

If truth be told, however, since leaving my spot at 8.40am this morning, I've only been outside for around an hour. It's now 5pm.

It can be handled, but if long term forecasts are right, we're in for a wicked cold winter.

Time to seek out some additional warm gear. I think thermal socks of some type, because my feet are cold even sitting inside the pub. Gloves I also need, but I really hate the damn things. Fumbling around taking gloves on and off to get things out of your pockets is irritating.

How about a trade ?
Lets take 7c off the Gauteng average day/night temperature and boost up Britain with a bit of warmth.

Wishful thinking.

Oh well, only 5 months to go before spring ...

... if it arrives ...

Coffee Shop "hogging"

How long can you sit in a coffee shop ?

Answer : About 4 hours.

Without ordering ?

Answer : Depends on your attitude.

Freezing cold Sunday, really don't want to sit in my room at the B&B as there is no net connection, so what am I to do ?

Well, I started off at the Natural Cafe at 9.00am and actually ordered a skinny latte - excellent coffee.
I managed to stay there until 10.30am by which time the place had been invaded by a few too many families with little-uns. I can handle 3 or 4, but when it goes over 6, critical mass has been reached. It's also a bit impolite to stay too long, as by 11am the place is packed.

Right then, lets head down to Coffee Society but not actually order anything. This isn't difficult because I've gone right off the coffee here. The last two I had tasted terrible and I took the second one back and got a replacement which was equally icky.

They've got new staff and I don't think they are cleaning things properly. It tastes like someone is using soap but not rinsing properly, which is a massive error when it comes to coffee.

Anyway, I topped up my little bottle of Evian which I carry on me for such purposes, as it is the water that is served in most coffee shops.

Quietly enter the coffee shop, get a good table, haul out the laptop, plonk the bottle of evian on the table as if to say "I just bought it here" and away you go.

I've been here since 10.40am, it's now 12:30pm - I'll be here another 30 mins, doing my net surfing.

Regarding coffee, I intend to get to know more about it when I'm finally settled - start buying different beans, roast my own - that type of thing.

I found a real gem of a coffee shop in The Borough (altho I'm sure there's more of them), selling fresh coffee beans from around the world. I tried the house expresso blend without sugar or milk, which is apparently the best way to drink good coffee.

It was fantastic - not bitter at all. The coffee had a good natural foam on the surface and a great kick. After the 2 pints of natural cider (10% proof) I'd consumed that afternoon, it sobered me up a bit. £1.20 for a double shot - not a bad price.

I still don't really rate Starbucks, I find the shops lacking in character, the queues too long, the seats uncomfortable and the prices too high. It's best to hunt down the smaller independent places and sample the coffee. Natural is the best local one I've found, their coffee is excellent.

Anyway, almost time to venture back out to snag some cheap lunch, head back to the B&B, do a quote and get busy on a freelance job.

Then, as always, it's down The Swan for an evening pint.

At least I had a small social yesterday afternoon - visited friends and watched the Rugby.

Tommorrow I apply for a job at WHSmiths and find out about another freelance job.

On a walk about, foxes and loneliness

I'm sitting in The Barley Mow, down Horseferry Road after the first part of my walk from Waterloo Station to Victoria station. No wireless here, so this won't be a "live blog" as in post 'n run, it'll run over several hours ... here we go.

The morning was one with a quick reconnaissance mission to check out a new digs for £90 in Wimbledon Park. The area is perfect, 2 minutes from Wimbledon Park Tube Station, bus stop around the corner, 10 minutes walk from friends in Earlsfield and only 15 minutes walk to Earlsfield station for national rail to Clapham Junction & Waterloo. To get back to Wimbledon high street will take 10 minutes max by tube and to my favourite pub, The Swan, it will be 25 minutes at most.

A quick visit to the library to check up on job prospects, then over to the Job Centre to "sign in" and look for jobs. I got heavily depressed after this and not a little bit pissed off. This silly "signing in" every two weeks business is irritating. I got asked "So what did you do to find work" and replied "This and that", signed a piece of card and that was it.

I could've said "I sat on my fat arse for two weeks drinking beer and eating crisps while watching the telly and waiting for someone to give me a job.", for all the difference it would've made.

I looked through some depressing job roles, like shelf packer, leaflet distributor, trainee bus driver, kitchen porter, pigeon dewormer and other dire prospects and decided to get away from this horrible job center before I broke down in tears of frustration.

Right, lets phone my contact I've been waiting on for a while - Charlie Hyde.
Well, he cheered me up no end. I should know by this afternoon whether I get an interview. There's a 1 in 6 chance. He told me to just chin up and keep at it. I told him I'll be in a cardboard box in a park soon, he thought that was funny.

Ok, back to the B&B, haul out the camera and lets go walkabout. On the train to Waterloo I got another lead for contract work starting at the end of the month. Got most of the details until the phone cut off due to a bad signal, but I will get a call back on this one - I bloody hope so anyway, as I was told I would.

It was at Waterloo that I decided to walk to Victoria station for no other reason than "Why the fuck not ?" - ok, there was an underlying reason, if I get a call back from that lead, it wouldn't do much good if I was on the underground at the time.

It's a crisp clear day and the sun is shining. I'd decided to give the thermal undershirt a try that my brother gave me before I left Joburg and it works damn well, except for one small problem, I'm rather over warm here in the pub. Outside it works a treat though.

From Waterloo station I walked past The London Eye and decided to rather walk down to Lambeth Bridge. I wondered into the St. Thomas hospital grounds and took a few silly arty shots of The Clock Tower, then I veered off down Albert Embankment. The HP Sauce Buildings were picture perfect - no boats on the river, sunny day. Absolutely amazing.

I even got a photo of a cozzer complete with a tit on his head with the HP sauce buildings as a backdrop. Sorted.

The Lambeth is serene compared with Westminster or Tower Bridge and has some great touristy river photo opportunities. On the other side of the bridge I consulted my aging AtoZ map (1990 edition, from my Mom) and decided to wiggle my way through the streets of Westminster to Victoria station.

Half time at The Barley Mow, only because the sun was shining on it and told me to walk through the door and order a pint. I had to obey.

Right, lets consult the AtoZ and see what winding route I can find for the next part of the walk, which to be honest, isn't exactly a major hike.
In fact, all told, I'll be lucky if the walk is any more than 2 miles.

The walk to Victoria was far closer than I thought through the winding streets of Westminster. There's some stunning old buildings intermingled with modern trash, which is typical London. They are like gems amidst the cold harsh modernism. Westminster Catherderal is visible at every turn, which is something to really like about London as a big city. Many of the views have been spoiled over the recent decades, notably, the Millenium Bridge has spoiled one of the few remaining glorious views of St. Pauls from the Thames. A small window opportunity for a view now lost. You need to be Walking on the bridge itself toward St. Pauls.
This is the price of progress.

I arrived at Victoria and decided to forgo the Underground to get back to Wimbledon and took a national rail from Victoria to Clapham Junction and a train from there to Wimbledon. You get an excellent idea of the extent of the rail network around London going from Victoria to Clapham and the Junction itself has 15 platforms with trains constantly moving.

-----------------

Sometime later ...

Sitting in The Woodman in Wimbledon Park, just down from the station, killing 20 minutes before going to see this new spot to stay at 6pm.
I don't like this pub much - very smokey, no wireless, not very welcoming or comfy.
I don't mind pubs with games rooms and pool tables, but I do know that these types of pubs are not usually the best for sitting alone. They are the types of pubs you go with mates for a pint and some pool. First and last time here regardless - lots of pubs to choose from, this one doesn't make the grade. You have to check these things out. Don't think much of this half pint of Abbot Ale either.

The local high street looks good, not that it matters with Wimbledon 5 minutes away.

It's odd writing like this, haul out the laptop as the hours go by and add bits and bobs till a story builds up, edit it a bit to make it flow a bit better and post it rough as a Blog, ready for a rewrite at some point in the future, maybe to fit into a fictional story. Who knows.

Oh yes, I never did get a return call from that lead I got when the phone disconnected on the train. It's now the third time it's happened to me and once again, call register has (no number) - fucking T-Mobile. As soon as I can, I'm ditching it in favour of Vodafone or Orange.

Phoned Charlie Hide back - he still hasn't heard from the client. This has now been going on for three days. I really hope to hear positive news tommorrow before the weekend sets in.

--------------

Time goes by, back at The Swan.

This new spot is OK, I'm undecided but I think I will go with it. The lady who owns the house is Nigerian, which is cool. She has two teenage kids that seem to be the type who just mind their own business. The location is great, the price is good. Definately not as comfy as my current spot, but I can no longer afford to stay there.
Damn pity really, if I knew a job was starting within the week, I'd stay where I was.

On the way back, waiting at Wimbledon Park station, I saw my first city fox.
Out of the corner of my eye I thought at first I saw a large cat, then out of the darkness a fox was walking swiftly on the outside edge of the tracks near the bank. He paced back and forth for a few minutes, then vanished into the bushes.
Nobody on the platform paid the fox much mind, it's a common site around these parts I've heard. (excuse the pun)

I had a tinge of loneliness walking from Wimbledon Village down to The Swan as the place was partying. Outside one of the sidewalk wine bars, a Jazz band was playing and people were dancing on the streets. It was really great. If I were a more gregarious outgoing person, I probably would've popped in. Ah well.

Just ordered myself some fish 'n chips to try and cheer up. I'm "gatvol" of the type of food I've been mostly eating since I arrived - salad sandwiches, pita bread with humous & fruit.

Can't be arsed posting any photos for this blog, nothing much worth posting - general touristy type snaps and the photo of the cozzer with the tit on his head didn't come out all that great. I'll have to try that one again ...

--- unedited blog, full of spelling errors,typos and disjointed clumsy time changes, 17 November 2005 ---

Albert & Victoria job search lunchtime break

Phew.

Another mad day job hunting. Up at 7am, down to Coffee Society by 8am and the search began.

It's led me to Victoria Street, as I had a hair cut on Tottenham court road and then nipped to Victoria station and decided to get online and start phoning.

Got in touch with 4 new recruitment agencies, sent out 6 job applications, spoke to about 6 people and emailed a buddy here kinda semi-begging to see if there's anything workwise his company can offer - they do PC hardware stuff.

Got two calls to make this afternoon, one has me holding thumbs that I will actually be given the chance of an interview - I'm steeling myself for the worst.
The other is a brilliant temporary opportunity if I can just prove I'm the man for the job - 3 days a week, £100 a day for 2 months. That'll get me through December and Jan until the Web Design scene picks up again.

For the love of good beer, all this effort has to pay off at some point. Hauling myself out to search again today was just so much of a mission, I have to overcome a cloud of despondency each day and just get out and keep trying.

My actual mission today was to personally visit a few agencies in London city - I've been to a number of them down SW London over the weeks. I wrote down 3 potential candidates and decided to phone them first. Fired off a few CV's - got a response, if they like what they see in my CV, I'll pop over to meet them.

It seems that the agencies don't like to meet people off the street - that makes sense.

I've also learnt that you cannot rely on the big jobsites that all the rectruitment agencies use, to get your details to the right person in the agency. You absolutely have to follow it up the traditional way and not rely on all the automation that these job portals offer. I've learnt that the hard way, discovering that agencies that should've had my details never actually received them.

Live and learn I guess.

Oh yeah, another thing, the Brits do actually take lunch, so from 12.30 till around 2pm it's often hard to get hold of the right person. Many of them also seem to go down the pub for a bite and a beer - I think they are allowed to drink a pint at most. Good idea, I say !

I just nipped in here at 1.10pm and will be out just before 2pm after a slow pint of Directors, then it's another 2 or 3 hours job searching and the commutte back to Wimbledon for a break and an evening at The Swan following up on things.

The Albert is a great pub, as you can see from the photos I took this very afternoon.
I'm sitting next to the fruit machine - and look ! - a spare wall socket to powerup the laptop, not to mention free wireless ! - super. (although the free wireless was so slow, I hooked into BT Openzone instead)

You get to be good at this kinda thing, although I did get told of in the library yesterday for plugging the laptop in.

"Sorry sir, you cannot plug your laptop in here"
"Why ?"
"Because it's a fire hazard and someone may trip over it"
"Fire hazard ? I'm not going to bury the cable under the carpet and take a nap !"
"Sorry sir, we need to test any equipment before allowing it to be plugged in, this country has strict rules"
"Test ? Test ? - this is a British bought laptop, look at the plug - I'm not trying to draw 330v from a 210v circuit !"
"Sorry sir, you cannot -... " blah blah blah blah.

I said a terse "Thank you very much" and made a mental note to keep an eye out for this small minded drone. I fully intend to plug my laptop in again, if only to see how far I can push it. I will be a bit more sneaky next time. I'll bury the cable under the carpet ...

16 November 2005, 13:51pm, live from The Albert pub, Victoria Street, London.

side notes
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It's mad cold today, I need to buy some gloves. brrr. Warm in the pub though.

Jobs and Sods.

I'm really pissed off today. Once again, I find complete indifference on the job front.

The so called fantastic leads on Friday seem to just vanish after the weekend. I got 3 calls in the space of 2 hours last Friday all with excited agents with fantastic opportunities.

The best one was a perfect role for me, a freelance multimedia designer, specialising in email invites and similar areas for £160 a day. The client liked my CV and the job was to start either Monday or Tuesday - "we will let you know"
Monday arrives, I phone first thing. "Anthony is on leave today" - this was the guy who was dealing with me. Fantastic, absolutely fucking fantastic. Ok, no problem, I'll speak to his colleague. "Sorry, Paul is out at the moment"
I left 6 messages during the course of the day, eventually speaking to Paul, friendly enough "Yeah, we'll let you know"
Phone again today, Anthony is STILL on leave, spoke to Paul again "Looks like the client isn't interested in your CV"

Now wait a minute here ?
Firstly, the client was very interested in my CV and secondly I was prepared to start work Monday or Tuesday. What exactly is the problem with these bloody recruitment people ?

Evidentally, they are adept liars and change their tune when it suits them, one moment turning on the charm, the next trying to turn you away.

I applied for another 6 jobs today, then phoned an older lead about the possible freelance for £250 (the one I prepared a quote and a mockup for).
Now I sit here at 1:30pm wondering what the fuck to do. They have someone else they may go with, no doubt some dumb bastard willing to do the job for £50.

I went down the job centre to look for jobs, but there was nothing new from the last crop of leads I had.

The scary thing is that I've applied online to at least 150 jobs, my CV is out there at countless agencies, but I STILL haven't got an interview.
The agencies have everything wrapped up so tight, it's virtually impossible to find a job without going through them.

My job description also seems to confuse people, Web Designer. Everyone seems to assume your a programmer.
On most job sites, there is no "Web Designer" or "Web Design" category.

I really am starting to hate these agencies with a passion, you can no longer get an interview to sell yourself without being screened by these people first. Back in the old days, you would get a paper, circle 5 or 6 potential positions and actually get interviews. These days, your CV is processed, presumably to seperate the wheat from the chaff. The fact is, they pigeon hole people to such a huge degree, that you end up with a factory situation where people specialise in just one area.

There seems to be no diversity in job roles, or at least, this is the way the agencies seem to operate.

Once again, I find myself feeling extremely dejected and depressed, what the fuck do I have to do TO GET A FUCKING INTERVIEW !

It's not like I haven't tried, I must've spent upwards of £300 on phone calls and net access and have been going for long shots for weeks, or jobs that will require me to relocate elsewhere in the Thames Valley.

Now it's time for desperate measures, working ANYWHERE in the whole of the UK, so long as it is in my chosen profession. I don't want to do that, the idea of coming to London was to actually live and work here. It looks good on the CV and it's a fantastic city to live in. The thought of working in a depressing little town or big city through the winter doesn't appeal to me.

Perhaps I will write another CV aimed at bog standard data capture or desktop support roles to see me through until next year.

Round and Round we go ...

The Ten Bells

After a typical morning job searching and coming up short (I have good leads to follow up this afternoon), I decided to head for the libary and afterwards, to Liverpool Station and Spitalfields market.

I'd joined the Wimbledon Library on Saturday and rented a DVD, L4Yer Cake and took out the book at the same time. I returned the movie today and found to my amazement that they have free wireless access, even though I was told they didn't.
Sorted then, a place to spend a few hours this afternoon doing freelance and job hunting and a bit of blogging.

I got various trains to Liverpool Street Station and walked toward Spitalfields.

The market was mostly closed, so obviously it's best for a Friday or Saturday visit. Very interesting area and more food places than you can spin a plate at.
I will return on Saturday - looks like it could be good fun.

I sauntered down Artillery lane, a small sidestreet in a maze of small sidestreets, through the market and ended up by an old church.

Next to the church was a really rubbishy looking old pub, The Ten Bells, established around 1752. Inside, it looks like most of the furniture was established around the same time. What is clear, is that the fittings and bar are a good 130 years old. What saves it from being a complete dive is that it has no flashing fruit machines and large windows which let the sun stream in. Very relaxing.

It also happens to be a pub most associated with Jack The Ripper. The name was changed in the 1970's from "The Ten Bells" to "The Jack The Ripper", but was fortunately changed back again in the 1980's

http://www.casebook.org/victorian_london/tenbells.html

Actually, come to think of it, this pub has really hit on bad times. None of the signage in the above link exists anymore and there's a host of flies buzzing around the interior. I'm not sure the pint is all that fresh either. Time to leave.

I snagged some great grub at a sandwich shop I'd noticed on my way into the Spitalfields area. A tiny family run place selling Baps and Ciabattas with a wide variety of fillings. There was a queue stetching out of the door and down the street, all of them office workers. I returned when it wasn't so busy and ordered a fantastic toasted ciabatta - big, healthy and cheap.

Always follow the locals to the food at lunchtime in the city - you'll soon see which places have the best grub for the lowest price.

Aside from that brief interlude, another Monday passes. I hate Mondays.

----------

side notes

Feeling despondent. One of my good job leads turned out flat, still waiting on the other one. I'll know about that tommorrow.

Monday is a terrible day for any sort of job activity, especially this close to December, but tommorrow will start hotting up again.

The library free wireless discovery is going to come in useful. I'd passed the library on a number of occassions and until recently, I thought the entire building was closed for renovations.

It turns out, you can enter a temporary library section on a side street - they had added new signage to point this out. Irritating, or I would've investigated weeks ago.

The Natural coffee shop free wireless is great, except for the noise levels. It gets seriously loud in that cafe - dogs, kids, machines, music. Fun if you don't need to concentrate, it's saving grace being the fact that it is a damn cool little spot - bright and cheerful. I do like children and dogs and machines, but not when they are howling at the same time as I'm working.

Silence beckons and the library is bliss.

London Walks, Bubble Cars Part 1 - the "I'm knackered" Blog.

London Walks, Bubble Cars Part 1 - the "I'm knackered" Blog.

I decided to go on one of the famous London Walks this afternoon, as it is clear that to truly get to know central London, you need a guide.

London Walks have been operating since the 60's and have a solid website with all the info you'll need, http://london.walks.com/

Today I did the "This is London - the Flash-Bang-Lightning Highlights Tour!"

£8.50 including a boat journey. A real bargain it turns out, as it was a really good day for walking.

The sun was shining on a crisp autumn day, blue skies and smiling people. Weather that puts wings on your boots.

I arrived a little early outside the meeting place, Tower Hill station, overlooking "Her Majesty's Palace and Fortress, The Tower of London"

How would I know exactly where the walk started ?
The website indicated that you will see a guide with a clutch of London Walks leaflets.

Ah, there she was, but no other customers ?
I did the usual "British" thing and sat on the sidelines to see if many people would arrive. It started with a trickle, so I quickly paid my £8.50 and suddenly a Flash Mob appeared - the Belgians had invaded !

Our guide handled this invasion with the confidence of experience. A great deal of change was bandied about followed by a quick headcount. I'm sure two people got away without paying and I'm sure the guide noticed this, but I suppose that's part and parcel of these types of immediate tours.

All told, there were 39 of us including our British guide, a fair amount of people to herd across busy intersections.

I was the only other Brit, so it made things interesting. We had Belgians, Dutch, Americans, a French Londoner (20 years standing) and a guy possibly from Poland who managed to smoke 10 cigarettes in two hours. He may have been from Belguim, but as he was permanently wreathed in smoke, it was hard to tell.

So what did we see that made anything different from any other walk ?

It was the small things which counted, seeing part of The Lord Mayors Parade from the boat right through to a van advertising a handyman company with bubbles billowing from it's undercarriage.

There's always so much happening in London, that at any given time, you seem to be involved on the outskirts of an event or slap bang in the middle of it.

I'll save the Meat 'n Potatoes of the walk for tommorrow, along with a host of boring tourist type photos. I'm tired and need to sit and reflect over a pint of Youngs Bitter.

12 November 2006

... I'll have to Blog part two tommorrow or Tuesday, been too busy today doing exotic things like laundry, freelance work and wasting time going to Chapel Street Market (I arrived as they were closing - clever cloggs)

Off to supper just now with friends - will be a nice change, been on my puff for the last 6 days. Yes, I'm trying to pepper my language wiv a bittova twang - blame it on L4yer Cake.

Here are two photos of that walk, nothing touristy just yet, London isn't exactly the most camera shy few miles of real estate..

-----------
Side notes

The days are getting colder, this evening, by the time I leave Earlsfield to get back to Wimbledon, it will be around 6 degrees centigrade.

Although I'm still suprised when I see people in tshirts when it's only 11 degrees during the day, they are very much outnumbered now.

I went out this morning in a warm light sweater with long sleeve tshirt underneath and it was chilly. I went out later with my scarf and leather jacket, brrrrr.

It's not the same type of cold as a gauteng winter, which tends to cut through to the bone in those chilly winds. It's a more insiduous sneaky cold. If you were outside after 11pm for a few hours, it would freeze your nether regions off, however, no sane person is outside for long periods of time. Your constantly on and off buses, into shops, back home, in a coffee shop.

The day is still fine and brilliant for walking - it should stay great for day walks for another 6 weeks or more, or throughout winter if your brave and a bit daft.

Streets in Wimbledon came to a partial standstill today as a parade of the Worple Road army/navy/thingymebob scouts drummed their way down the road. Nothing that odd, unless you consider drummers accompanied by 4 xylophonists a tad irregular.

I had a bag of heavy just cleaned washing, so I hopped on the slowest bus ride I've had in a while, instead of walking and watched the band in front and the steadily growing traffic behind. It was all just a bit surreal.

Britain has an odd respect for pedestrian activities, especially where horses are involved.

A military band of any type has complete right of way (I suppose with council permission)
Horses can just clip clop onto a busy road and the traffic has to stop.
Cars will still stop at Zebra crossings, except Taxis, which like South Africa, have a law unto themselves. It's a more civilised set of rules, but perplexing nonetheless. Get in the way of a cabbie at your peril.

The sheer volume of traffic is nothing really new, except that it persists 24/7. Even joburg has quiet moments on a Sunday afternoon/evening. London doesn't.

The Borough Market Snapshots

I spent a few more hours at the market after my previous blog, such was the sheer enjoyment of life there. Good food, good people, good drink.

I hope you enjoy my quick photo shoot of food and the people selling it, with a few odds and sods thrown in for good measure.

If your in London for even a weekend, you owe it to yourself to spend a few hours here. It truly is a most remarkable experience.

From Wasteland to the Market - Live from The Globe

I'd been online looking for walks around London and happened across a walk which takes you around the Rotherthite area

I was planning to take a packed lunch out tommorrow and make a day of it.

Instead, I decided to go today, for want of anything better to do.

I got off at Canada Water and out of the station and found myself surrounded by shopping centres and tower blocks on a grim grey day.

Hmmm, not really what I was expecting.
I started walking in a direction that felt right, hoping to come across something interesting to look at other than Pizza Hut, BHS and ugly modern buildings.

After 20 minutes of this completely dull experience I decided to hop on a bus, which took me right back to Canada Walk station. I wasn't about to give up that quickly, so I jumped on any old bus that went around the entire area and on to London Bridge.

I more or less traced the same route that the walk would follow, except it didn't run near the Thames, so I found absolutely nothing of interest to make me jump of the bus. Rotherhithe central near the tunnel had potential, but nothing enticing enough.

I realised that to see what was on the walk, I would need to plan my journey more carefully, getting a map or two - I'll leave it for a sunny day.

This is where luck came into the equation, I decided to just sit on the bus all the way to London Bridge and when we were in the area, look for something interesting.

I found it, big time.

The Borough Market !

Just to get a sense of perspective on all this :-

Borough Market has survived for 20 centuries, and remains a centre of food excellence. We are looking forward to another 2,000 years of trading!

Pretty damn amazing.

I'm sitting in The Globe having a pint after eating a delicious chicken wrap made from all organic produce and some freebies - cheese, olives, breads etc.

Once again I find the London I've dreamed about, those romantic notions where the local market is next to the church under the iron bridge. It exists and it certainly can't be found anywhere near Canada Water, although if I get the map out, I'm sure I'll find a more appealing side to Rotherhithe.

So, this is me coming to you live from The Globe pub at the market. I shall shortly brave the crowds and search for something for supper - yum !

I'll leave you with a few photos I took this very day, indeed.

Free wireless access here too ! - make a note for your future travels.

I think that I may try and find my way to The Mayflower after this - it can't be that far, can it ?

Blogging on the move - I could get used to this.

Another day job seeking. Pickles.

Got to the Cafe Natural fairly early and spent a good 4 hours there doing job searching and a bit of freelance for a client in South Africa.

So what did I do ?

Applied for 3 new jobs, 2 via the various job networks and one direct to client.
I've exhausted the various job site backlogs, so it's now on a day to day basis searching for whatever crops up.
Spent the rest of the time battling to get 2300 emails with 534k PDF files attached sent out via a web based mass mailer.

At 12.30pm, I walked down to the Job centre and spent an hour searching their database for anything IT related with a reasonable salary, yielding no more results from the leads I followed up last time. Went into Blue Arrow consulting, from there to Office Angels and finally into the Computer People office, where I had a long chat with two of the agents.

They looked at my CV and indicated that it's well written. They were a little suprised that I hadn't landed an interview yet, considering the amount of applications I've sent out, although one guy did reckon it's really slow at the moment for web work - no shit !

I also started looking at the type of bar jobs on offer - well, they are all crap, no matter what. I'm holding thumbs and ears that it doesn't come down to a bar job, although I may see if there's anything available at The Swan in the evenings - I'm there every evening there anyway, so I may as well use that time to earn money instead of spending it.

It's still too early to go back to the B&B, so after a £1.63 triple vegetarian sandwich (egg & cress, cheese & pickle, tuna & celery), I'm having a quick pint in The Alexandra while I follow up with all my various contacts - I have 5 numbers to call today just to say "So, hows it going ?"

Lets start ...

Jason :- Still waiting for client, this client has been asking questions about me, so it's still a very good lead. He's going to follow that up today.

Anthony :- The client no longer needs freelancer. This is fairly typical in the design industry, potential projects often are cancelled etc. - I know this from experience. Agent reckons "hang in there" and keep trying - yadda yadda.

Ben Jewitt :- Same spiel as the last 10 times. "I don't personally have anything, but I will let my colleauges know" - alrighty then, strike Ben off the list for good.

Cairon :- Not available right now

Ian :- Not available right now

... and there we have it, £1.80 in calls.

Back to the B&B just now to do a few hours on another freelance job & then it's up to The Swan to do the emailing and job searching all over again.

Exactly a month has gone by and I'm wondering where my luck has gone ?

I'm now holding out for my closest lead, which will require a relocation to Hampshire. Please God, just let them give me an interview and I'll sell myself without a problem.

*** update ***
I just fired off an email offering to work at a reduced rate to get "my foot in the door" - sounds a bit like "foot in my mouth", ah well, desperate times = desperate measures.

(I would make a terrible barman anyway)

-------------

Side Notes

Sitting in the Alexandra in Wimbledon in a real locals pub. Lots of old farts, everyone with heavy Laaandan accents, innit.
Got a bloke that sounds exactly like Lou from Little Britain, keep expecting to hear Andy saw "I wan tha one"

Some of the banter in the pub :-

"You dan't wanna go in that sandwich place on Broadway mate, you can gerra sandwich for 99p mate. Just go dawn Tesco. You don't wanna get rubbish there, is that what you eat innit ?"
"Yeah, that'll make you fuckin' 'appy"
"Cut yer 'ed off, do the operation, put yer 'ed back"
"Want some chips ? fish 'n chips ? - we'll get yer some chips if yer want, £3, we can get um."
"Give my love to sainsburys then."

Killing Time Again waiting for a Cigar

Ambling aimlessley around Soho considering a pint and a hot meal. I decided on just a pint. Lunch starts at £6.50 in most pubs, which is just a bit too much to splash out on considering I still have supper to sort out as well as my daily two pints down The Swan following up on job leads.

It's been a rather fruitless day so far, no new leads on the job sites, so I spent the morning bugging people on the phone. Had a long chat with a recruitment agency guy, Anthony, who was away on Monday and Tuesday (moaned about this in the last blog) He sounds confident (don't they always) that he will find some freelance for me.

Last night I sent a "to the point" email to a company advertising for web designers directly with no agency involved, following it up this morning with another email and a phone call, they will decide over the next two days. Hope I didn't bungle my chances by being too eager (desperate ?)

If I fail to land a cushdey job, there's no shortage of shit jobs in London. Everywhere you go, there are job vacancy signs. Most of them are offering £5 an hour and below, which is really a last resort. If your lucky, you'll get a 40 hour week at £5 an hour, which amounts to a pathetic £200 before tax, probably around £170 in reality. That would mean shared accommodation at £70 a week, food for a week at around £40, transport for a week at £25, leaving a rather unappetising £35 for entertainment.

I will go that route if I have to, but £400 to £500 a week clear sounds a bit more appealing, which I should be able to get with some effort.

I have about 2 weeks left with my current financial situation before taking the plunge toward the lower reaches of the job and accommodation market.

I'm sitting in a totally non-descript pub, there being so many of them to choose from. I chose the wrong one from the aspect of wireless net access, this is a dead spot. The beer is reasonable - £2.60 for a pint of John Smiths which I'm savouring slowly. I think I shall lunch and dine on, hmmm, pita bread, humous, tomato and possibly cheese. That should set me back about £3 and will also see me through for breakfast tommorrow.

The method of my madness continues. A man cannot exist on bread alone, requiring beer to keep him sane. I have a can of cider at the B&B for later this evening and will probably have 2 pints of Youngs bitter at The Swan.

My daily expenditure will therefore be :-

2 x coffee = £3.60
1 x John Smiths = £2.60
Lunch & Dinner = £3.00
2 x Youngs Bitter = £4.42

TOTAL : £10.02

That is not bad going, however, some days have been worse. I'd say I've been averaging £15 a day on food and drink. If transport and accommodation are taken into account, we're talking around £40 a day. I've also made a number of purchases - an iron, a cheap CD walkman (mp3 capable), a lamp and of course the huge expenditure - the laptop I'm typing this on.

That alone set me back £700 but was absolutely essential.
If I really hit rock bottom and need to survive through till next year, the laptop will need to be sacrificed on the altar of need.

When I do get a good job, I intend to get completely legless in celebration and will most certainly splash out on a slap up feast, unless it's a bar job. If so, I'll "celebrate" with a sandwich and a pint.

Later I will post this for the sake of record keeping and will spend the evening searching for leads. I'm still working on a CV rewrite for data capture / help desk roles, but it is proving difficult to get right.

Tommorrow ?

Same routine, different day. Keep slogging on looking for work.

UPDATE

Just got a follow-up call while writing all this gibberish from Jason at CV screen about a potential position in West Sussex. The client had a few more questions about me, such as whether I've had eccommerce experience and if I'm willing to relocate - yes on both counts. They are offering £26000 PA - not bad. That would be around £1700 a month after tax.

Where-abouts in West Sussex I have no clue yet as the name and address of the employer has not been revealed. To be honest, right now, I'd relocate to Brixton or White City if it meant a solid job. Best get my interview Monkey Suit ironed, as I'm just so close now and hope to be smoking that cigar soon.

============

Side notes.

I'm loving London. I'm alone most of the time, but that doesn't detract from the sheer enjoyment of this city. Even the lack of a job doesn't dampen the spirits that much. I walked here past Trafalgar Square again, witnessed a hilarious verbal battle between a bus driver and an incredibly rude passenger, ambled up into Soho and browsed some book shops getting lost in a maze of streets and people.

It amazes me how little it takes to raise my spirits. Just a simple call from a recruitment agency to update me on a job application and I'm smiling again. My sheer persistence is starting to bear fruit.

The only thing I miss about Joburg right now are family and friends. That's it. I don't miss anything else at all. I'd sooner have a crap bar job in London than a lucrative web job in Joburg. It's been a month and I have no real desire to leave.
Even in my deepest depressions of which there have been a few, I never touch on the idea of returning.

I think I really have had enough of the Joburg paranoia. The thought of worrying about being attacked just driving into my house, or hijacked on the road, or being involved in a shoot-out makes me realise that no matter what my situation here is, I'm better off from a mental point of view. For all of Londons mad rush and noise, I'm more at ease than I have been for years.

Yes, London is a dangerous place. I can be mugged here too, or be blown up in a terrorist attack, or beaten up late at night by drunken yobs. The difference is the frequency and rarity of crime not to mention the sheer diversity of life. The gap between the haves and have-nots is far more blurred. The racial overtones are also more diverse, there being so many races, cultures, languages, ideologies, creeds and points of view.

We will see what transpires. All I know at this moment in time, is that this is an adventure for me personally that will have a profound impact on the rest of my life.

Caution is with the winds and I need to pee...

Birmingham Revisited

I'm on the train back to London, once again crammed into a seat with my trusty laptop and a fair bit more luggage than I arrived with. (An awesome knee length soft leather jacket, a Nike day pack, a set of great portable speakers for my laptop, a mini kettle, a cafeteria and a packed lunch.) - Nice to see ya, to see ya nice ! (Thanks Mom !)

It was a very relaxing weekend, with an evening out in Henley-in-Arden for a curry at Arden, arguably the best curry I've ever had. Apparently it's the best Curry place in the Midlands.

Mom and I headed into Birmingham on Sunday and passed through Tysley on the train, a place where I spent a few months on various training courses back in the late 90's
I remember the place always smelling like stale damp dishrags, however, there was just a whiff of diesel and smog so my memories remained in the background.

Birmingham is a completely revitalised place. From the late 60's to the late 90's it really was the brunt of so many jokes, some rather unpleasant. Once a powerhouse of industry, sporting more canals than Venice, Birmingham hit a slump in the 60's which wasn't helped by a spree of rebuilding. Wonderful buildings were torn down and replaced by tower blocks and concrete and a road system so unfriendly to pedestrians shopping became a chore. Prior to the 60's Birmingham was a bustling city and a pleasure to visit. I think something must've been put in the city councils drinking water at the time, because the things they built could only have been designed and approved by raving loonies.

The new millenium has seen Birmingham rise from a mire of concrete and roads into a fantastic city of culture and a brilliant place to shop. In the centre, all roads have been closed to traffic and paved over, leaving tree lined boulevards and a cafe society. The canals have been opened up and renovated and you can walk for miles along their banks, stopping for a bite to eat or a pint.

The change is so dramatic and so heart lifting it has made Birmingham one of Britains major shopping destinations and once again, a proud European city.
As a Brummie, it certainly makes me glad that my city is no longer the brunt of jokes, but rather a great place to visit.

At the centre of it all, is the famous Bullring next to St. Martins church. It has been a bustling market place since the 1200's, however, the 60's obsession with concrete turned it into an ugly place. Only the people made it worth visiting, as brummies are a cheerful lot for the most part. The Bull Ring is now a shining example of how modern architecture can blend with old. The bronze statue of the Bull at the centre of the Bullring is a powerful symbol of the cities new found direction. It was recently vandalised, but such is the love of this symbol, the people of Birmingham paid to have it repaired and nobody will damage it again, such was the public outcry. Of course, this being Birmingham, people are more than welcome to let their kids clamber all over it and have photos taken.

Birmingham sports art galleries, theatres, restaurants, an aquarium and the best shopping experience in the Midlands.

The fact that it has an Apple shop really puts the shopping experience into perspective - a spare £2000 would've come in very handy, those 30" flat screens really are something to drool over.

If your based in London for a reasonable amount of time, Birmingham is a must visit. Considering it is only two and a half hours from Marylebone London on Chiltern rail, it's possible to visit for the day. It will also give new visitors to England a different perspective on British life and culture beyond what London has to offer.
Head out on the first train from Marylebone (£25 return) and you should be in Birmingham by 11am. Enough time to take in the shopping, a stroll down the canal banks and a long lunch before a very relaxing train journey back - there are only a few stops along the route.

November 7 2005 11am

Met up with Mom at the Stratford station and went for a quick coffee in the centre of town. Moms gone off shopping for an hour while I amble around. Good call, I'm not the most patient of shoppers, having a typical blokes attitude toward browsing - love the electronics goods, don't mind the clothes, run screaming from the supermarket.

This is good source matter for another Blog, outlining the various pros and cons of shopping with women. As far as I can see, the best pro is when they say "We'll meet over there in an hour"

I ambled directly to the Dirty Duck, a pub off the main drag that usually sees more locals than tourists. Go down to the roundabout down by WHSmiths, take a right and then straight for 3 minutes past the theatre and you'll find it, fantastic pub.

As I sit here, the coal fire is burning and there's locals enjoying lunch over a drink and a chat.

It would be great to share a pint with my brother right now, but I'm getting used to these solo pub sessions. So long as I have a book, newspaper or laptop handy, I'm happy.

A pint of Flowers Bitter is the order of the day, it's been over a year since I last tasted this most excellent brew. They serve bitter here at the proper temperature. In other words, not chilled. In London they tend to chill the bitter too much which spoils the flavour in my opinion.

Stratford-upon-avon hasn't changed at all, it's a bit like coming home. When I was younger, I used to sneer at the American tourists taking photos of mcdonalds. I didn't see any today unfortunately. It would've been good to take a photo of an American taking a photo of mcdonalds in Stratford. A sneer or two in passing would of course be neccessary, or even a good English kick in the goolies. "Take a photo of that, uncultured clot."

"Gee look honey, they have a macdonalds right here in stratforde, I just have to gedda shot a this for the guys back home."

Damn heathens !

As anyone with taste and culture knows, it's the Dirty Duck you want to spend an hour at, not the bloody macdonalds.

Although there is a lot to see in Stratford, you really need a car to visit all the surrounding areas too. These areas are steeped in history and ... historical pubs !

Just think, as you sup on an ale in a thousand year old pub, you can let your mind wander back over the centuries thinking about all the other people who have sat at the same spot supping on an ale and, er, well I don't really know where I'm going with this, so I'll stop now.

I'm a local today and have a sense of "my people"
Sounds like total bollox, I know, but there you go.
Most likely I'll step out the door and some young local scalliwag will gob on my boot and say "fook you yer bloody saff fafrican."
This is unlikely in Stratford, but not impossible.

If you expected a potted history of Stratford from this Blog, my apologies. Of course, should I manage to consume 3 pints of flowers in an hour, I'll be potted.

As it is, I'm half way through my first one with 20 minutes to go before meeting Mom and heading off to Henly-in-Arden.

We're going out for Indian tonight, think I'll do the completely obvious British thing and have a Chicken Tikkia Masala - sorted !

Following these Blogs of mine, you will possibly have noticed a common theme here. In my defence, pub culture is about the most important aspect of life in Britain. Even if you don't drink, to really get a feel for the country you most definately need to spend a great deal of time in pubs, if only to get out of the rain !

5th November, 12.55pm