Settling Into the Ol' Dart
April 25, 2003
Hello All, This is my first installment of what will probably start out to be frequent updates but most likely dry up to a line here or there after a month or so. Anyway, if you don't know how you ended up on this mailing list then by all means, delete NOW! Otherwise, It's been nearly two weeks since arriving in London and things have been moving along slowly but surely. The flight on BA was rather painless with three rows to myself from Mel to Sing (SARS impact!!) but then the flight filled up for the remainder of the journey (definitely SARS!!). The hour in Changi Airport was very surreal with every second person wearing a surgical mask and looking suspiciously at anyone who was not. Managed to catch highlights of the cricket world cup final a lazy six times on the flight - Ponting's knock just gets better with age. Headed from Heathrow into Sth Kensington were we had a room at the Imperial College running off Hyde Park and within touching distance of the Royal Albert Hall. Truely spectacular surrounds in which to get over jet lag. Dumped my bags and headed to see my Dad who happened to be in town. Spent the day snoozing in his hotel room which had an even better location - I could touch the Tower Bridge from his window almost. Normo arrived that afternoon and we proceeded to discuss what we should do first. I proposed an afternoon nap and when we awoke it was 3.30am the next morning. A little distressed by our body clocks we managed to stay in bed until 6 and were at the breakfast table at college as soon as the doors opened. With FULL stomachs (English breakfasts will end up taking years off my life) we attacked London on foot. The old girl put on a special day with the mercury pushing 25 degrees and sunny. Heading along spectacular Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace, shrugged our shoulders at its ordinariness and trudged on. Westminister Abbey our next stop we checked out some famous dead dudes... they were the same dead dudes I saw five years ago so I was pretty over it but Normo seemed to be in awe at the history of the surroundings. Up to Trafalgar Square, through Piccadily Circus, along Regent St until we got to our primary destination of the day... Soccer Scene in Carnaby St. Every top you could possibly hope to see was availble for purchase and if it wasn't for the poor exchange rate then we may have added to the mass of luggage we already managed to get through customs. A dinner date with dad saw us make our way along the Thames from Embankment Station to Tower Bridge. For those who might check that on a map, it doesn't seem that far, but let me tell you that me feet f*@%king killed upon arrival at the Thistle Tower Hotel. A lazy boat cruise and carvery buffet was followed by the highly anticipated clash between Man U and Aresenal that saw one Andrew J Norman, self-confessed soccer fiend extraordinaire, fall asleep before half time in what proved to be a delicious match. Yes it was a big day. That was the first day! The next day was spent in a suit as I attended a job interview in town and am now on the books of Prolaw which sounds promising. At the moment, I have to call each morning between 8.30am and 9am to "put my name on the board" and basically sit around and see if they call me back. Not the best situation. Normo, Dad and myself then proceeded to ascend St Pauls cathederal... a truly wonderful tourist attraction with a view to kill, however I would not recommend one does it while atired in a suit, especially when the weather is balmy! Farewelled Dad and headed North to Finsbury Park (from where this email originates) to my cousin's for dinner and to meet the housemates we would be living with in a week's time. To say it resembles a run down Sydney Rd, Brunswick on crack is an major understatement. We are certainly living in a squalor but for �100 for a month it couldn't be passed up, especially with the current state of unemployment seemingly set to continue until next week. Easter was spent with family friends, the Merrimans, in their lovely Putney terrace house in the leavy green south west. We were truly fortunate to fall across this kind of hospitality: hot meals nightly; fresh linen; internet; invitations to the rather swank Hurligham Club where we sipped Pims in the sun and admired croquet lawns as far as the eye could see; nice surrounds; friendly daughters who took us out occassionally. It turned into a week in their hands and we were sad to leave yesterday afternoon. So there you have it, the first ten days in the UK. We're currently in this internet cafe following up some promising leads from recruitment agencies and will hopefully have a reason to wear the suits early next week. And make some pounds... lots of pounds. Because that was supposed to be the reason for coming here in the first place... wasn't it? Love and Respex, Sam
