A lovely long weekend

We had a great long Bank holiday weekend exploring the sights of London. Saturday we went to an unusual small exhibition called 'The Museum of Broken Hearts'. It is quite an interesting concept where people can donate something that was special to them from a relationship in the hope it will aid the grieving process. Each item had a story attached to it and some seemed usual like a photo album or a love note but some were just a little bit different. Someone donated a magnificent antique piano which would be worth a fortune.  Some were really sad, others were just a little odd. There was one piece that I almost cried and it was from a relationship from over 40 years ago. After we left the museum we were in search for a pub so Benny could watch Liverpool play. I will admit I was the only person reading a book in the pub but Liverpool won and Benny was delighted. I have an excuse though there is a UK movie  out with Anne Hathaway based on a great book called One Day and I am desperate to finish it this week so I can see it next weekend. Because I spend so much time on the tube (90 minutes) a day I get a lot of reading done. The book is great I really recommend it. http://www.onedaymovie.co.uk/

On Sunday we were off to explore Southbank as there was a free event under the National Theatre. There is a website that we can search for all events happening so it is great for ideas. That's how I found the weird exhibition. We spent a few hours exploring along the beautiful Southbank river front. There were food markets, second hand book stands and a great museum about the area in 1951. We were lucky the rain held out.

Today we went to the Notting Hill Carnival. What can I say it was interesting. It wouldn't be something I would rush back to next year but it was fun as we spent most of the time at a local pub with friends drinking cider and eating yummy food. The Caribbean carnival has been happening every year since 1966. There was rumours it might have been cancelled due to those 'small' riots we just had here. The police were out in force on the ground and in the air. I couldn't see much as there was so many people and I'm vertically challenged but the music was great. All the streets around were closed to allow for the floats to travel through.

All in all we had a lovely Bank holiday weekend. It is the last one for the year. No more long weekends until Christmas. So sad. Benny starts his first day of work tomorrow after a well deserved break. He'll be working at the University of London in Euston which is the middle of the city centre. Ben will be looking after similar things as he did at RACQ.

A night at the Proms

Benny surprised me with an early birthday present of tickets to the Proms at Royal Albert Hall. He picked me up from work and after a day of rain the sun was just coming out from behind the clouds. We had a lovely walk through Hyde Park to get to the hall.  It is the world's greatest classical music festival which goes from May - September.  Last night we watched a piece by German composer Mahler. It was quite a dark piece, Symphony number 6, it was filled with so much emotion. It was quite a large orchestra with over 126 members. They had a huge percussion section that had cow bells, and Ben's highlight a wooden sledgehammer hitting a big wooden box in the last movement. It is apparently a very primitive instrument. There was also four harps which sounded beautiful.

It was Ben's first time watching something like this so I think he was pleasantly surprised how much he enjoyed it. He generally has to listen to this music in my Corolla which doesn't do it too much justice. Here is a sample of the concert last night as each show is played live on BBC radio. I do encourage you to have a listen even if it might not be your thing. I warn you there is about 2 minute introduction with some background information to the piece.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b013n0g4

Royal Albert Hall was almost full. It is interesting that some people opt to stand to listen to the whole concert which is over 80 minutes. We were sitting up high so we had a great view to observe this beautiful hall. There is a huge range of age groups and people that attend. I just want to go to another one. Benny says he could probably handle one a month. We are going to try and get tickets for the special Christmas event where they play carols. Fingers crossed Emily and her boyfriend Sam will be in London to see it.

Three meals, ten friends and a bit of culture

My first week of work was great. The people are so welcoming. In fine form we celebrated Friday with drinks in the office and at the local pub. Benny greeted me at the tube station where we went out to dinner to celebrate my job and Ben's job that starts next Tuesday 30 August.

Dinner number one was great, at a French place in Notting Hill. They have a cool website in the UK called Top Table which offers exceptional dinner deals. We had the pleasure of having 50% of our two course meals plus some extra wine. We were kind and helped them out so they treated us.

Dinner number two on Saturday night was in China Town, Soho. We met three friends Marty and Gareth from my George Patts days and Marty's girlfriend Emily. Dinner was lovely, we had peking duck and lots of lovely other Chinese tasty treats.

Sunday we had a bit of a sleep in. We headed out for a very big day of culture and more dinner with friends. We started with exploring another coffee store in London called Bricklane Coffee. It was very tasty. We are gradually getting through the list from the London Coffee Guide. After coffee we explored Columbia Markets. They are a famous for the flower and plant stands.

They have cute little shops off the side. It was very crowded and filled with some very unusual people. There is something quite interesting about the people over here that own dogs but I'll save that for another day.

This man was trying to promote his shop. Not sure whether it worked?

After the markets we walked towards London Fields where we had a lunch/breakfast. It was a cool cafe with a great interior, it had a cute little garden out the back looking onto a small little canal. After, we were off  in search of culture. We were going to the V&A for yet another visit. It is so huge you can just keep going back. This weekend we focussed on the botanical drawings and had a look again at this beautiful bolero made by a designer. Their name escapes me.

After the gallery we went for Sunday roast at Ben's friends house. His friend Cam's mum arrived from Brisbane for a short visit. The roast beef was very yummy.

For an update on DIY Lee. He and Benny finished installing the fence panels. They believe it was raining to hard to continue any further work. All that is left is painting the fence and putting slate in the garden. They use it as a ground cover.

This week I have a quiz night with work and Ben has an early birthday surprise on Friday for me.

First day of work

Today was my first day of work at a great brand agency in London called SAS London. There are about 75 employees and everyone was very welcoming. We went out for lunch to celebrate the first day for me and another newbie. This afternoon we also had an afternoon tea put on to celebrate again the first day. Apparently at SAS they love afternoon teas. I'm the fourth Australian to be working for the agency.

Benny spent the day interviewing for a few different jobs. Fingers crossed he gets a job soon. He has more interviews tomorrow. I'm not sure I enjoy being the bread winner.

On the weekend we went to watch Australia play South Africa and the not so charming Walk About Pub. It is filled with New Zealanders and Australians and way too many TV screens. After the game we walked into Soho and had a great dinner with some of Ben's friends at Korean BBQ. Soho is a cool area, very cosmopolitan. We dropped into a bar called the French House after dinner. It has a bohemian feel and is small with photos of famous French people all over the walls.

Sunday was another day with DIY/Gardner Lee. The boys did the finishing touches to the edging on the path plus dug holes and dropped in the fence posts. Melissa and I were in charge of painting the fence with a second coat. While waiting for the cement to dry we attacked the backyard with a bit of mowing and weeding. Once we finished all the hard work we celebrated with mojitos and a lovely thai dinner outside on the terrace. It was a great end to such a lovely weekend.

Lovely Brighton, terrible weather

It was so easy to get to Brighton. It only took about an hour from the centre of London. The trains are clean and comfy and are express so you only have a handful of stops. Brighton is a charming city on the coastline. It is known for being the gay capital of Britian.

Once we arrived we were relieved that we packed our jackets and umbrellas. The rain thankfully held up for the day but the wind was terrible. We stopped into a cute cafe for an incredible risotto and great cup of tea to warm me up. It was run by an Aussie and streams of Aussie workers were coming in for their lunch time coffee. From here we adventured down to the beach. This below sign was what we saw before the beach so we were expecting very big things. Sadly to say the beach was closed but the lifeguards were there just in case.

These are birds flying around.

After the shock of the beach we went to visit the Royal Pavilion owned by King George  IV. Melissa told us it was a must see and she was right. From the outside it looked like you were entering an Indian temple but the interior is decorated in Chinese decor. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures from the inside but believe us the interior was magnificent, very over the top.

After exploring the palace we were off to explore the lanes which are famous for the cute little shops.  It was lovely to look at all the shops. Most were cute little boutiques. There were a few pubs dispersed throughout the lanes and we popped in for a drink to just celebrate the miserable afternoon weather in Brighton.

After an early dinner we jumped back onto the train for a quick ride home. We've decided we'll be back to Brighton on hopefully a brighter more sunny day. It is such a cute little city.

Riots are over and we're off to Brighton

London has calmed down. We were lucky we were far away from the riots. Tomorrow we're off to Brighton for the day. We will get to see what a 'UK' beach looks like. We're not sure whether it is swimming weather or whether we should pack some togs.

I was lucky enough to secure a job. The interview process is very different over here. I interviewed with each company about three times. I start work on Monday and have already been invited to a pub quiz night next Thursday. Exciting times ahead!

'Are you alright?'

One thing we have noticed since our arrival is our version of 'How are you?, is 'Are you alright?'. Now I am finding this disconcerting when you turn up to a job interview a little bit nervous and they start the conversation with 'Are you alright?'. I'm getting used to it now but I'm always worried I look like I'm ill. I'm still in interview phase with a few companies and fingers crossed this week I hear something back.

Saturday morning saw Benny get up ridiculously early for a weekend to watch the rugby with the boys at the Walk About Hotel. Apparently they open for all Australian and New Zealand sporting games. Benny came home at lunch not as happy as I expected as Australia lost.

The afternoon/evening was spent with not DIY Lee but Gardner Lee. We filled the garden bed with many plants both flowers and shrubs. We only took 3 hours at the gardening shops choosing what plants would be best in the garden bed. Ben was in charge of digging holes. There are only a few things left to do in the front yard. We are getting lots of lovely comments on the garden from people walking past. We even met a man with an ACDC t-shirt on, I couldn't help talking to him. Where we are staying is very much the suburbs of London with young families and pretty gardens so seeing a ACDC t-shirt really stands out. The wearer of the t-shirt has been living around here for about 4 years. Melissa was a little shocked as it rare to see an Aussie this far out of the centre of London.

Saturday night Lee and Melissa took us to a lovely local fish and chip restaurant. It was fancy and so packed. You're not allowed to book so we sat down at around 10pm, we waited out the front drinking wine. It is not unusual to eat this late. Some people turned up at 11:30 as we were leaving asking if they could get a table to have dinner. The fish was really yummy. It was funny that they serve fish with mashed potato. I tried smoked haddock. Benny wasn't as adventurous going with grilled cod and chips.

On Sunday I went and met Melissa for a late lunch at Putney. When I left home it was a lovely blue sky with just a few clouds by the time I arrived in Putney it was pouring down with rain. It was horrible. I really need to get used to the unpredictable weather. We take an umbrella and jumper out with us everyday. Now while we were in Putney, Benny and Lee went out on Lee's sailing boat to give it a little sail and clean. What was supposed to be a fun boys day out turned out to be a long wait in an Emergency department. Lee was hit in the head with the boom on the before they even set sail. Fingers crossed the boys might get out soon and actually set sail.

Now in regard to the current riots happening in London we are fine. Very far away from them. So please don't worry.

We hit 30 degrees!!!

Today we hit 30 degrees. It was a lovely summer weather. I'm not to sure whether the Londoners enjoyed it too much. It was funny sitting on the tube this morning listening to people talking about the scorching temperature. One person was saying they should have bought in their battery operated hand held fan. Others had actual hand fans that I haven't even seen people use in Australia.

Now we catch the Central line (red one) into the city each day and everyday it is ridiculously hot. The engines are actually under the seats so you have a very warm bottom when you get off. They don't have any air conditioning on this tube line. So as you could imagine today was horrible. It gets kind of claustrophobic with so much heat and so many people. The Central line is the busiest line out of all the lines. By the end of the day it is horrible even without the scorching 30 degrees. Today was really not enjoyable.

Melissa told us to keep an ear out for the 'hot weather' warnings. Now I was a little skeptical on whether she was just pulling our leg but no it is true. We heard at one tube station reminding people to drink lots of water in these extreme temperatures. On the morning news they also remind people to wear less layers so they don't over heat. We found it very funny.

On another note we have very good news. We have put an offer in to let an apartment in Putney. Here is a sneak peak of it. 1 bedroom apartment It has one bedroom and a great big reception room for all our visitors. It is close to the overland and tube station. It is also close to parks, the river, pubs and lots of shops. We are really happy with it. Fingers crossed everything runs smoothly and we get the place. We'll move in mid September. I'm excited that I get to have planter boxes. We did make sure that it ticked all Melissa's pre-requisite boxes. The water pressure was perfect.