4 posts tagged “abbie”

We arrived on the bridge just in time for it to open... Which was an absolute blast. Apparently it's lucky or something (I got that from a recent episode of Bones rather than a guidebook so make of it what you will).

Once across the bridge we walked back up the Thames past the tower -and traitor's gate. Traitor's gate really struck me. Because we've been so busy we haven't really done anything remotely fun so this was the first place I could point at something and say "ooh! I know things that happened here!"


The Queen
Wednesday was a day of many interviews. The first one was outside London in Surrey (see below) which necessitated catching a national rail train from Victoria.

As usual I got us into the station preposterously early on a rainy Wednesday morning.

We actually hadn't seen Buckingham Palace yet and it was just around the corner so I figured a little looky-looing would kill some time.


Off we trot through the sea of black umbrellas (it looks just like London! Oh, wait).

I'm anxious about how wet I am getting as I have to look presentable for my several interviews. And then as we walked along the side of the palace to the main gates I started thinking about the Queen and the troubles with her leaky roof and not having enough money to repair it.

And then I started to feel a little bit of sympathy regarding the roof issue.

Think about it:

If there was another government building in Britain where an 82 year old, female war veteran was forced to live (it's not like she can leave) with a leaky roof then there would be a red top uproar. Surely the money can be found in a country as over-taxed as this one.

It was in the middle of these noble, lofty thoughts that the footpath beside the palace collapsed under me and my right leg sank up past my shin in filthy, muddy, rain water. I'm pretty sure the large flagstone was somehow floating on it -that's how gross it was.

My noble thoughts vanish.

Screw the roof! Fix the frikking footpath!!


Surrey
Ah, Surrey. Now forever associated in my head with maths. Here's why:

The string of un-awesome interviews continued. For this one I actually had to leave London and sit an aptitude test.

Here's something I learned from the test:

I can no longer do long division.

Seriously. It's impossible. I can work it out in my head almost instantly, which means I can't actually 'show working'. I have completely forgotten long division.

Other than that, the interview was for a great job that I hope to get called back on -assuming my maths scores aren't too dismal.

Note the actual job will be based in London (thank god).


Ikea
I thought I would be happy to finally have access to this soul-destroying, planet-destroying, multi-dimensional brain trap again.

I mean, we managed to furnish our entire room (and I mean furnish) for 212 pounds... It looks like an ikea commercial.

But Family Guy said it best when they said ikea had won the contract to rebuild Iraq... It's almost like you can't live up to your own furniture's brand promise:
Wine
Getting used to the wine thing is proving difficult. It's laid out in the supermarket by region/country rather than by variety because of the frog custom of doing the exact same thing.

Which is fine except that I only really know Bordeaux and.... 'other'.

Now, I want to be "about" French wine in the same was I was "about" NZ wine when living there... And Australian wine before that.

So not twenty four hours ago I was whining to anyone who would listen (James, Abbie, flatmates) that I need some kind of Idiot's/Beginners/Women's Weekly guide to being aspirational middle class by only buying French wine in supermarkets and still thinking that I will get an adequate understanding of it book -and that this book does not exist.

When Lo!

Guardian to the rescue with this handy series of booklet inserts about just that! It's probably even a bit handy on the other side of the world.

There's some Antipodean stuff in there, as well, but I can just ignore that.

Even I had heard of Spaniard's Inn (thank you, Time Out: London). It was named after a highwayman (presumably Spanish) who terrorised  the road leading into London (definitely Spanish, then).

Anyway it still looks exactly like this:
Except where those guys are standing left of frame has now been christened 'death corner'. (By me and Abbie. The official name change is pending.) It's almost completely blind, it shrinks to one way, there is no room for pedestrians (you have to run/duck around the corner) and expensive cars hurl themselves at it from both sides.

Oh the other major change you probably need to be aware of is that it has the world's most awesomest beer garden. With blue fairy lights for when the sun goes down. Very classy.

I can't get mine yet because HSBC hasn't found the time to send me a card... But they haven found time to print my name on several hundred pages in cheque books and giro books -neither of which we will likely ever use.

Anyway, it doesn't matter. It was James's birthday and he got an iphone. Which he managed to find uses for in every conversation at last night's party at Abbie and Tan's place.

Seriously. Every conversation. There was some wikipedia action, a bit of facebook, google maps, you name it.

Nerd. Happy, happy nerd.

Note that it was also good to catch up with Shashma (friend from high school) after spending my first two weeks in London successfully avoiding her. In fact, I can say it was really shit catching up with Shashma because she told me last night she never reads blogs and is scared of them like a whiny little girl.

We're catching up with some prospective flatmates at a pub that could be my new local this afternoon. The weather is rubbish for it... Hopefully that doesn't sway the judges opinion of us because I really want this house. It's on a street that looks like the sort of place Captain Cook would have lived. (Even though he wasn't from London -he was born in Yorkshire but is best known in Whityby. Now who's the nerd?)

I'm too scared to look for more flats today because I am afraid it might jinx these 'potential flatmate' drinks. The process of securing a room in a share house is difficult and stressful, with multiple stages and events -like Miss America but for ugly people.

The other reason not to is that it's carnival today. If we find a place they may want us to come look at it... During the biggest street carnival in Europe. Pfff. Pass.

However, I will look for jobs. You never know.

It's little people left to fend for themselves in London! And there is a book coming out.

They're celebrating the book launch later in the month with a treasure hunt. I get the feeling I may rather like it here. In the meantime somebody is more than welcome to buy the badges. I think they'll go on the list with the book picture frames as semi-regular gifts for acquaintances.