So, I had my very first Canadian visitor a few days ago. A friend from Calgary, who I know through my involvement with CIRI (Canadian Investor Relations Institute), was vacationing with her family in Amsterdam and popped up to England to see me and another friend of hers in the Midlands. Debbie came on Sunday night and stayed until Wednesday noon. I took Monday off and we went to Harrods and Hyde Park and Kensington Palace and the Princess Dianna Memorial and Covent Garden. It was lots of fun.
Harrods is an experience in itself! It's not just a store, it's a big theme park! Each room has lavish decorations and amazing specialty items. There is a heavy Egyptian bent to it, probably because it is owned by Egyptians. The food rooms were absolutely amazing, both in their selection and their displays.
Kensington Palace was a bit of a disappointment. It is, of course, where Princess Diana lived from the time of her marriage to Charles until her death. It is less of a palace and more of a very large brick house. We didn't want to pay the £11.50 ($25.00) admission to go in, so just went around the outside. It is right on the edge of Hyde Park.
We then walked through Hyde Park, found a lovely little "secret garden", and made our way to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. At first, it seems very plain - just a big marble oval in the grass. No spectacular geysers or anything. But once you get close to it, and walk around it, it is quite beautiful and interesting. I think it is a good indication of the public image of Diana. When she married Charles, she seemed very ordinary and "vanilla", but once she became comfortable with the public, we saw her for the interesting and passionate woman that she was. I thought it was a very beautiful and appropriate memorial.
Covent Garden was brilliant, as always. We went to the Maple Leafe pub for supper then and back to the flat. I had to work the next day, so Debbie went off sightseeing on her own. There is a brilliant tour bus that allows you to hop on and off within a 24-hour period, and so she spent the day doing that and got her money's worth! It was so nice having a familiar face and, more importantly, a familiar accent! I didn't have to ask her to repeat herself once!! lol
So, life goes on. Paul is home from the hospital and healing well. We bought a small used car, which he is picking up today, so now I have wheels, although he'll be doing all the driving for the next while. A week from tomorrow, I have some more friends coming to visit, and right after they leave, my Uncle Jac is coming up and we're going down to Greece. Life is about to get busy!!
22 June 2006
12 June 2006
My First Shoot
I attended my first ever clay pigeon shoot on June 7. A very English thing to do!
The shoot was arranged by RAFT, a charity organization that does research into and treatment of facial and other deformities resulting from burns or birth defect (the name stands for the Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust) - www.raft.co.uk. The shoot is one of their main fundraisers. Stratic decided to enter a team, and I thought I would volunteer to help out. Turns out, volunteerism in this country is somewhat unheard of, and they were all surprised and excited! It was quite amusing, since volunteering is so taken for granted in Calgary!
So, I helped out here and there throughout the day and had a lovely time. They let me do some shooting myself, which was brilliant as I had never worked a shotgun before. I even hit a few clays! The day was beautiful and hot, and we raised approximately £60,000 for the charity, which is entirely funded by private donations and fundraisers.
There were a number of oil companies represented there, and I ran into a couple of people that I knew from the industry. It was a great day and lots of fun! A couple of pictures are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/RAFT%20Shoot
The World Cup started on Friday, and on Saturday Paul dragged me to the local to watch England play. Can't say it was too fascinating, but it was fun to get out and with a group of people cheering on their team. Kind of like when Calgary is in the playoffs, and suddenly there are a lot more hockey fans in the pubs. You just kind of get caught up in the spirit of it. Anyway, England won, despite a dismal and boring second half. Those guys sure get paid a lot of money to play that badly!!
We're in the middle of a heat wave here - it has been 25 to 30 celsius. The tube has been almost unbearably hot, and buses are hellish (literally!) I have started wearing bare legs and flipflops with my suit to work and changing into nylons and heels once I get to the office (which is gloriously air-conditioned!). My flat isn't air-conditioned, so the windows are all open trying to catch a breeze and a fan is going 24/7 in the bedroom. Being on the 5th floor, I get a bit more of a breeze than the lower floors, so it's just bearable. I didn't go out much on the weekend because it was just too sweltering! Paul and I did venture out to pick up a couple of things yesterday and spent about 45 minutes in the air-conditioned Starbucks with iced coffees and treats! I love doing that on Sunday - walking down to WHSmith, getting a paper, heading into Starbucks for a coffee drink and lounging in the oh-so-comfy chairs reading the paper and chatting.
Some more cool English terms:
Stropy - sulky or pouty. Paul always teases me that I'm being stropy when I don't get my own way!
Tintinet - northern-speak for the internet.
Egg Mayonnaise - Egg salad, as in a sandwich.
OAPs - old age pensioners. What we would call "seniors".
Charity Shops - Thrift stores in Canada, like Salvation Army or WINS.
The shoot was arranged by RAFT, a charity organization that does research into and treatment of facial and other deformities resulting from burns or birth defect (the name stands for the Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust) - www.raft.co.uk. The shoot is one of their main fundraisers. Stratic decided to enter a team, and I thought I would volunteer to help out. Turns out, volunteerism in this country is somewhat unheard of, and they were all surprised and excited! It was quite amusing, since volunteering is so taken for granted in Calgary!
So, I helped out here and there throughout the day and had a lovely time. They let me do some shooting myself, which was brilliant as I had never worked a shotgun before. I even hit a few clays! The day was beautiful and hot, and we raised approximately £60,000 for the charity, which is entirely funded by private donations and fundraisers.
There were a number of oil companies represented there, and I ran into a couple of people that I knew from the industry. It was a great day and lots of fun! A couple of pictures are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/RAFT%20Shoot
The World Cup started on Friday, and on Saturday Paul dragged me to the local to watch England play. Can't say it was too fascinating, but it was fun to get out and with a group of people cheering on their team. Kind of like when Calgary is in the playoffs, and suddenly there are a lot more hockey fans in the pubs. You just kind of get caught up in the spirit of it. Anyway, England won, despite a dismal and boring second half. Those guys sure get paid a lot of money to play that badly!!
We're in the middle of a heat wave here - it has been 25 to 30 celsius. The tube has been almost unbearably hot, and buses are hellish (literally!) I have started wearing bare legs and flipflops with my suit to work and changing into nylons and heels once I get to the office (which is gloriously air-conditioned!). My flat isn't air-conditioned, so the windows are all open trying to catch a breeze and a fan is going 24/7 in the bedroom. Being on the 5th floor, I get a bit more of a breeze than the lower floors, so it's just bearable. I didn't go out much on the weekend because it was just too sweltering! Paul and I did venture out to pick up a couple of things yesterday and spent about 45 minutes in the air-conditioned Starbucks with iced coffees and treats! I love doing that on Sunday - walking down to WHSmith, getting a paper, heading into Starbucks for a coffee drink and lounging in the oh-so-comfy chairs reading the paper and chatting.
Some more cool English terms:
Stropy - sulky or pouty. Paul always teases me that I'm being stropy when I don't get my own way!
Tintinet - northern-speak for the internet.
Egg Mayonnaise - Egg salad, as in a sandwich.
OAPs - old age pensioners. What we would call "seniors".
Charity Shops - Thrift stores in Canada, like Salvation Army or WINS.
06 June 2006
England and the English
I've been reading a book lately entitled "Watching the English", written by an anthropologist after extensive research into what makes the English so...well....English. It is very interesting, and explains a lot of my experiences. Here are some of my own observations.
Pronounciation of place names seems to be very topsy-turvy. Some they pronounce every syllable, such as Herefordshire, which is pronounced "hair-e-ford-sure", but then other ones they skip most of the word, such as Towcester, which is pronounced "toaster". Berkeley is pronounced "barkley" and Pall Mall is pronounced "pal mal".
When I first came here, there was some confusion with where I should be walking on the street. In Canada, of course, you walk on the sidewalk, which is right beside the pavement where the cars drive. Here, you walk on the pavement, which is right beside the tarmac where the cars drive!
Banking is another interesting thing. Most payments that are not done online are done by direct transfer from one bank account to another. This means that you are giving banking information out to everyone and their dog! It is strange in a country that is so fanatical about security! And, it takes 3 working days for these transfers to take place, as opposed to a few hours in Canada. So, for instance, my rent comes out of my bank account 3 days before it is actually due, so it will be in my landlord's account on the day it is due. So, I actually get paid about 4 days before payday to account for this, and my salary comes out of my company's account 3 days before that!! It's all quite silly, really!
The English line up, or queue, for everything!! The queue is a long-standing tradition, and is strictly observed. Although the English are too polite to actually tell someone to get to the back of the queue, they will let them know they are queue-jumping by all sorts of subtle little signals. The queue is always orderly and straight, even when waiting for a bus! I, of course, hate queues and often refuse to wait in one, choosing instead to come back later. It's very un-English of me! Queueing is very important to the English, and is considered by some a national past-time. Someone shoot me, please!!
World Cup fever has hit big time over here. I have never seen anything so fanatical, except perhaps when Calgary was running for the Stanley Cup two years ago. There are English flags everywhere - not British ones, mind you, with the red and blue - but St. George's Crosses, which specifically represents England. Wales and Scotland have their own flags. The whole of Englad has been gripped in the agony of whether their best player, Wayne Rooney, will be fit enough to play after breaking his foot or something a number weeks ago. He was declared fit last night and everyone is so excited. Me, I'm planning my shopping trips during England's world cup games so the stores will be nice and empty!
Here's some more words, a lot of them from Paul, who is from Lancashire in the north of England:
Chook - affectionate name for a woman, could be daughter, wife, close friend, etc.
Skive - procrastinate, such as "skiving off work".
Brew - tea, as in "would you like a brew?"
Kit - clothes, as in "I need to change me kit". Which brings up another interesting colloquial, the use of "me" instead of "my". It's very addictive!
Our - Mostly used in the north, families refer to children and siblings as "our" something, as in "Here comes our Diane". Paul even refers to his niece as "our Danielle".
Stone - weights here are all done in stone and pounds, with a stone equalling 14 pounds. It is quite inefficient, but that's the way it is. Most of the English I asked didn't even know how much a stone was - I had to find out from Google! So, somone who is 148 lbs would be 10 stone, 8 lbs.
Well, that's it for now. I hope I haven't offended any of my English friends by my mini-rant. Despite what it may seem, I am absolutely loving it out here. I'm having the time of my life and there is so much to do and explore! I'm happier than I've been in a very long time!
Cheers!
Pronounciation of place names seems to be very topsy-turvy. Some they pronounce every syllable, such as Herefordshire, which is pronounced "hair-e-ford-sure", but then other ones they skip most of the word, such as Towcester, which is pronounced "toaster". Berkeley is pronounced "barkley" and Pall Mall is pronounced "pal mal".
When I first came here, there was some confusion with where I should be walking on the street. In Canada, of course, you walk on the sidewalk, which is right beside the pavement where the cars drive. Here, you walk on the pavement, which is right beside the tarmac where the cars drive!
Banking is another interesting thing. Most payments that are not done online are done by direct transfer from one bank account to another. This means that you are giving banking information out to everyone and their dog! It is strange in a country that is so fanatical about security! And, it takes 3 working days for these transfers to take place, as opposed to a few hours in Canada. So, for instance, my rent comes out of my bank account 3 days before it is actually due, so it will be in my landlord's account on the day it is due. So, I actually get paid about 4 days before payday to account for this, and my salary comes out of my company's account 3 days before that!! It's all quite silly, really!
The English line up, or queue, for everything!! The queue is a long-standing tradition, and is strictly observed. Although the English are too polite to actually tell someone to get to the back of the queue, they will let them know they are queue-jumping by all sorts of subtle little signals. The queue is always orderly and straight, even when waiting for a bus! I, of course, hate queues and often refuse to wait in one, choosing instead to come back later. It's very un-English of me! Queueing is very important to the English, and is considered by some a national past-time. Someone shoot me, please!!
World Cup fever has hit big time over here. I have never seen anything so fanatical, except perhaps when Calgary was running for the Stanley Cup two years ago. There are English flags everywhere - not British ones, mind you, with the red and blue - but St. George's Crosses, which specifically represents England. Wales and Scotland have their own flags. The whole of Englad has been gripped in the agony of whether their best player, Wayne Rooney, will be fit enough to play after breaking his foot or something a number weeks ago. He was declared fit last night and everyone is so excited. Me, I'm planning my shopping trips during England's world cup games so the stores will be nice and empty!
Here's some more words, a lot of them from Paul, who is from Lancashire in the north of England:
Chook - affectionate name for a woman, could be daughter, wife, close friend, etc.
Skive - procrastinate, such as "skiving off work".
Brew - tea, as in "would you like a brew?"
Kit - clothes, as in "I need to change me kit". Which brings up another interesting colloquial, the use of "me" instead of "my". It's very addictive!
Our
Stone - weights here are all done in stone and pounds, with a stone equalling 14 pounds. It is quite inefficient, but that's the way it is. Most of the English I asked didn't even know how much a stone was - I had to find out from Google! So, somone who is 148 lbs would be 10 stone, 8 lbs.
Well, that's it for now. I hope I haven't offended any of my English friends by my mini-rant. Despite what it may seem, I am absolutely loving it out here. I'm having the time of my life and there is so much to do and explore! I'm happier than I've been in a very long time!
Cheers!
31 May 2006
Spring is coming....slowly....
Hiya! Thought it was about time for an update.
I have stayed in town since my Malta trip. I have a very busy July planned, with trips to Greece and Paris, so figured I should lay low for a while. Paul and I have spent a lot of time together lately.
Paul and I have so much fun together. We are on the same wavelength so much of the time, and like a lot of the same things (like popcorn and U2 and rollercoasters and travelling and...). He makes me feel safe and loved and completely comfortable. There is nothing we can't or won't talk about. Having both come from marriages where communication (or lack thereof) was the downfall, we are committed to keeping the lines of communication open and always being honest with each other. He makes me laugh all the time. Although it may seem that we've just met, we have actually known each other for almost 4 years and when we parted, we had already started planning our future together. So, we have just picked up where we left off, and in so many ways, it seems like we were never apart for all those years. Ok, I'll stop being sappy now! Suffice it to say, things couldn't be better on that front and I hope I will be able to introduce you all to him at Christmas (provided he doesn't ship out to Iraq in November - start praying!!)
The weather has been rubbish lately - lots of rain and changeable weather. I will never again say that Alberta has changeable weather - it's nothing compared to here! We can have rain, overcast, sun, and wind 5 times each in the same day! You never really know what to wear, so I layer a lot now! It's supposed to be sunny this week, so I am going to try to get to the park during lunch for a while (yes, the park that Buckingham Palace is in!). They rent beach chairs there by the hour, so I may part with a couple of quid for one.
Work is going really well. Our new accountant starts tomorrow and we all can hardly wait - especially me!! I am looking forward to handing all the accounting over to him.
One of my trips in July, the one to Paris, is for a board meeting. The meeting is on a Thursday, so I am going to stay in for the weekend. With any luck, Paul will be able to join me - it just depends on his surgery date, which he doesn't have yet. It would be great to explore Paris with him!
My other trip is at the beginning of July to Greece. My Uncle Jac has a couple of conferences down there on two different islands, so he is flying up to London for a couple of days and then we are flying together down to Greece; to Chania for a couple of days, and then to Kos for another couple of days. I am flying back by myself early so I can get ready for the board meeting the next week. I am really looking forward to it - Greece has always been at the top of my list for places I want to travel to. And Jac is a blast to travel with, so it should be lots of fun.
Just before I go to Greece, I have some friends from Alberta coming to visit for a few days. We're going to see The Lion King down in Covent Garden and I'll show them around London. It will be nice to see some people from home! I'm looking forward to taking them to my local and showing them my little community! My July is busy!!!
Anyway, gotta run. Love you all!!
I have stayed in town since my Malta trip. I have a very busy July planned, with trips to Greece and Paris, so figured I should lay low for a while. Paul and I have spent a lot of time together lately.
Paul and I have so much fun together. We are on the same wavelength so much of the time, and like a lot of the same things (like popcorn and U2 and rollercoasters and travelling and...). He makes me feel safe and loved and completely comfortable. There is nothing we can't or won't talk about. Having both come from marriages where communication (or lack thereof) was the downfall, we are committed to keeping the lines of communication open and always being honest with each other. He makes me laugh all the time. Although it may seem that we've just met, we have actually known each other for almost 4 years and when we parted, we had already started planning our future together. So, we have just picked up where we left off, and in so many ways, it seems like we were never apart for all those years. Ok, I'll stop being sappy now! Suffice it to say, things couldn't be better on that front and I hope I will be able to introduce you all to him at Christmas (provided he doesn't ship out to Iraq in November - start praying!!)
The weather has been rubbish lately - lots of rain and changeable weather. I will never again say that Alberta has changeable weather - it's nothing compared to here! We can have rain, overcast, sun, and wind 5 times each in the same day! You never really know what to wear, so I layer a lot now! It's supposed to be sunny this week, so I am going to try to get to the park during lunch for a while (yes, the park that Buckingham Palace is in!). They rent beach chairs there by the hour, so I may part with a couple of quid for one.
Work is going really well. Our new accountant starts tomorrow and we all can hardly wait - especially me!! I am looking forward to handing all the accounting over to him.
One of my trips in July, the one to Paris, is for a board meeting. The meeting is on a Thursday, so I am going to stay in for the weekend. With any luck, Paul will be able to join me - it just depends on his surgery date, which he doesn't have yet. It would be great to explore Paris with him!
My other trip is at the beginning of July to Greece. My Uncle Jac has a couple of conferences down there on two different islands, so he is flying up to London for a couple of days and then we are flying together down to Greece; to Chania for a couple of days, and then to Kos for another couple of days. I am flying back by myself early so I can get ready for the board meeting the next week. I am really looking forward to it - Greece has always been at the top of my list for places I want to travel to. And Jac is a blast to travel with, so it should be lots of fun.
Just before I go to Greece, I have some friends from Alberta coming to visit for a few days. We're going to see The Lion King down in Covent Garden and I'll show them around London. It will be nice to see some people from home! I'm looking forward to taking them to my local and showing them my little community! My July is busy!!!
Anyway, gotta run. Love you all!!
17 May 2006
Malta
Well, I've been back from Malta for a couple of weeks now. A very eventful couple of weeks!!
Malta was brilliant! The weather was windy, but warm, and my balcony was cement, so it protected me from the wind. I lay in the sun for a couple of hours every morning. I did some sightseeing, mostly just walking about the ancient cities and marvelling at the rich history of the place. It's been "conquered" by almost everyone at one time or another! And the Maltese people just keep on doing their thing. The island is mostly rock, so things don't grow well. Their main source of income seems to be tourism, because I couldn't find anything that they export! In fact, during busy tourist times, they have to import water!
Malta is actually a collection of three islands; Malta, the largest and most settled one, Gozo, smaller and more scenic and untamed, and Comino, a tiny island with only a hotel on it, but a beautiful beach. I stayed on Malta because I only had three days, but I would love to go back and do some more exploring. The Maltese people are very nice, and all the buildings are very old and interesting. There is a bus service that gets you pretty much everywhere you want to go, and a taxi from one corner of the island to the other is only about $30.
On the plane down, my seatmate was from Calgary, believe it or not! Her name is Donna, and she was going down for a month, for a stress break. We spent a day together touring around and whatnot. It was nice to have someone to do some things with.
Pictures from my trip to Malta are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Malta
So, I got back from Malta and went straight into the office. There was a phone message waiting for me from a Paul. Paul and I had met almost 4 years ago in Calgary. He is in the British Army and they were on exercises down at CFB Suffield. We had fell in love, but there were complications, and he went back to the UK. We both tried to forget each other, without success. He decided to try to find me a few months ago, and placed some calls that tracked me down here. He was very surprised that I was living in his country! So, we have started seeing each other again, and I am very happy! He is very sweet and we are just as crazy about each other as we ever were! Not to worry, this doesn't mean I will be staying here, it just means I'll be bringing him back to Canada with me! He is currently down near London, but will be rejoining his regiment back up in North Yorkshire in a few months, after he recovers from back surgery.
So, things are going swimmingly! Work is good - spent a day and a half in Toronto last week for some meetings - it was very exhausting flying all that way for such a short time, only to fly back again. Now I'll be able to stay put for a month and a half, until July, which will be busy with visitors and a company meeting in Paris.
The weather has been dismal, but not too cold. Not nearly as nice as in Calgary! Looking forward to some sun, but not sure when or if it's coming!!
Ciao for niao!!
Malta was brilliant! The weather was windy, but warm, and my balcony was cement, so it protected me from the wind. I lay in the sun for a couple of hours every morning. I did some sightseeing, mostly just walking about the ancient cities and marvelling at the rich history of the place. It's been "conquered" by almost everyone at one time or another! And the Maltese people just keep on doing their thing. The island is mostly rock, so things don't grow well. Their main source of income seems to be tourism, because I couldn't find anything that they export! In fact, during busy tourist times, they have to import water!
Malta is actually a collection of three islands; Malta, the largest and most settled one, Gozo, smaller and more scenic and untamed, and Comino, a tiny island with only a hotel on it, but a beautiful beach. I stayed on Malta because I only had three days, but I would love to go back and do some more exploring. The Maltese people are very nice, and all the buildings are very old and interesting. There is a bus service that gets you pretty much everywhere you want to go, and a taxi from one corner of the island to the other is only about $30.
On the plane down, my seatmate was from Calgary, believe it or not! Her name is Donna, and she was going down for a month, for a stress break. We spent a day together touring around and whatnot. It was nice to have someone to do some things with.
Pictures from my trip to Malta are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Malta
So, I got back from Malta and went straight into the office. There was a phone message waiting for me from a Paul. Paul and I had met almost 4 years ago in Calgary. He is in the British Army and they were on exercises down at CFB Suffield. We had fell in love, but there were complications, and he went back to the UK. We both tried to forget each other, without success. He decided to try to find me a few months ago, and placed some calls that tracked me down here. He was very surprised that I was living in his country! So, we have started seeing each other again, and I am very happy! He is very sweet and we are just as crazy about each other as we ever were! Not to worry, this doesn't mean I will be staying here, it just means I'll be bringing him back to Canada with me! He is currently down near London, but will be rejoining his regiment back up in North Yorkshire in a few months, after he recovers from back surgery.
So, things are going swimmingly! Work is good - spent a day and a half in Toronto last week for some meetings - it was very exhausting flying all that way for such a short time, only to fly back again. Now I'll be able to stay put for a month and a half, until July, which will be busy with visitors and a company meeting in Paris.
The weather has been dismal, but not too cold. Not nearly as nice as in Calgary! Looking forward to some sun, but not sure when or if it's coming!!
Ciao for niao!!
27 April 2006
Lots to talk about!
I know, I know, it's been a while since I posted! I'm sorry - life has just been getting away from me!
Well, where to start? I went to Bath for Easter weekend, which is a four-day weekend here. It was about an hour and a half train ride from London. What a beautiful city!! I loved it! There are mineral hot springs there that were turned into a temple to the goddess Minerva Sulis and public baths by the Romans back during the Roman occupation of Britian. The structures had all fallen into disrepair and a cathedral was built on top of the temple. The baths were used for different purposes over the years until the 1800s when a entrepreneur decided Bath would become a tourist attraction, so he took it upon himself to build a city (build it and they will come!). So he did and they did! It became the fashionable place to holiday, and actually had a "season" (as in, "We're going to Bath for the season"). Anyway, that means that most of the building was done around the same time in a similar style so it is well laid out and quite beautiful. Everything is made of Bath stone, which is particularly good for building. There is a lovely abbey, with tons of windows, and remnants of the Romans here and there in bridges and whatnot. See the link below for pictures of my excursion to Bath as well as a Bath website with more information.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Bath
www.bath.co.uk
I no sooner got home than I got sick and was in bed for two days during the week. I'm still recovering, and have been told by a frequent traveller that my slow recovery is likely due to the bad air in London. I have a persistent sore throat, and he said that is quite common for newcomers to have sore throats and breathing issues for their first six months.
Last Saturday, I went with a friend to a suburb called Watford. My friend had promised to help his buddy put up a prefab garden shed, so I tagged along. It was a great day - sunny, but not too hot. The wife, Loretta, and I got along famously and had fun. We made supper for the guys and the four of us chatted and played some games. A very nice day out!
This weekend I've booked a trip to Malta. I'm very excited! Malta is a tiny island just south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. It was the place where the apostle Paul was shipwrecked. My birthday is on Tuesday, May 2, and since Monday, May 1 is a holiday here, I took the opportunity for a long weekend and took Tuesday off. So I'm going for 4 nights, staying in a resort hotel and catching some rays! The island has an interesting history and I plan to do some checking out of ancient churches and chapels as well as walking around soaking up the culture and trying Maltese food. Too bad I couldn't bring Chipper, my Maltese dog, with me!! But I think he's happier in his home in Calgary. You can check out more about Malta at this link:
www.visitmalta.com
Not much other news to report. Been working a lot, getting caught up from my three weeks in Canada. They are doing some restoration work on our building, so it's currently covered by scaffolding and plastic, which means we have no view out the window and it feels a bit like a hothouse in here. We've been joking that we should be putting tomato plants in all the windowsills! I hope they're done the work soon, but based on my experiences so far, and the opinions of my coworkers, I'm not holding my breath!
As some of you might know, it was the Queen's 80th birthday last weekend. Lots of celebrating going on here, and I was pleased and touched to see that the British genuinely love and respect their Queen, and far from being outdated, the monarchy is alive and well. Queen Elizabeth is a brilliant monarch and leader, tireless and always gracious. She plays an important role in governing the nation and successive prime ministers from Churchill on have come to her for advice and guidance. A few days before the actual day, she held a birthday party for 99 people who have a birthday on the same day as her. Apparently the attendees were decided by lottery, so if you had the same birthdate (including year), you were eligible. So there were 100 (including her) octogenarians in the room together! I thought that was a classy thing for her to do.
Well, where to start? I went to Bath for Easter weekend, which is a four-day weekend here. It was about an hour and a half train ride from London. What a beautiful city!! I loved it! There are mineral hot springs there that were turned into a temple to the goddess Minerva Sulis and public baths by the Romans back during the Roman occupation of Britian. The structures had all fallen into disrepair and a cathedral was built on top of the temple. The baths were used for different purposes over the years until the 1800s when a entrepreneur decided Bath would become a tourist attraction, so he took it upon himself to build a city (build it and they will come!). So he did and they did! It became the fashionable place to holiday, and actually had a "season" (as in, "We're going to Bath for the season"). Anyway, that means that most of the building was done around the same time in a similar style so it is well laid out and quite beautiful. Everything is made of Bath stone, which is particularly good for building. There is a lovely abbey, with tons of windows, and remnants of the Romans here and there in bridges and whatnot. See the link below for pictures of my excursion to Bath as well as a Bath website with more information.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Bath
www.bath.co.uk
I no sooner got home than I got sick and was in bed for two days during the week. I'm still recovering, and have been told by a frequent traveller that my slow recovery is likely due to the bad air in London. I have a persistent sore throat, and he said that is quite common for newcomers to have sore throats and breathing issues for their first six months.
Last Saturday, I went with a friend to a suburb called Watford. My friend had promised to help his buddy put up a prefab garden shed, so I tagged along. It was a great day - sunny, but not too hot. The wife, Loretta, and I got along famously and had fun. We made supper for the guys and the four of us chatted and played some games. A very nice day out!
This weekend I've booked a trip to Malta. I'm very excited! Malta is a tiny island just south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. It was the place where the apostle Paul was shipwrecked. My birthday is on Tuesday, May 2, and since Monday, May 1 is a holiday here, I took the opportunity for a long weekend and took Tuesday off. So I'm going for 4 nights, staying in a resort hotel and catching some rays! The island has an interesting history and I plan to do some checking out of ancient churches and chapels as well as walking around soaking up the culture and trying Maltese food. Too bad I couldn't bring Chipper, my Maltese dog, with me!! But I think he's happier in his home in Calgary. You can check out more about Malta at this link:
www.visitmalta.com
Not much other news to report. Been working a lot, getting caught up from my three weeks in Canada. They are doing some restoration work on our building, so it's currently covered by scaffolding and plastic, which means we have no view out the window and it feels a bit like a hothouse in here. We've been joking that we should be putting tomato plants in all the windowsills! I hope they're done the work soon, but based on my experiences so far, and the opinions of my coworkers, I'm not holding my breath!
As some of you might know, it was the Queen's 80th birthday last weekend. Lots of celebrating going on here, and I was pleased and touched to see that the British genuinely love and respect their Queen, and far from being outdated, the monarchy is alive and well. Queen Elizabeth is a brilliant monarch and leader, tireless and always gracious. She plays an important role in governing the nation and successive prime ministers from Churchill on have come to her for advice and guidance. A few days before the actual day, she held a birthday party for 99 people who have a birthday on the same day as her. Apparently the attendees were decided by lottery, so if you had the same birthdate (including year), you were eligible. So there were 100 (including her) octogenarians in the room together! I thought that was a classy thing for her to do.
12 April 2006
Back in the saddle
I'm back in London, back at work, back to my life. It feels great!!
This morning I decided to stay on my train (instead if changing at Hammersmith), get off at St. James and walk through the park. I go through St. James Park, cut across in front of Buckingham Palace (yes, THE Buckingham Palace) and go through Green Park up to my office. There is a long pond in St. James Park, so I go over a bridge, and there are a lot of ducks and geese and even a couple of swans. It's so pretty. This morning the apple blossoms were starting to fall off the trees and making a carpet on the walkway. It was lovely!
I have to say that the English keep very lovely gardens and parks. They are well looked after and have lots of colourful flowers. Of course, maybe that's just these parks are big tourist spots, but I enjoy them thoroughly! Things are quite green here, despite the lack of moisture throughout the winter. I'm guessing it may dry up in the summer, but it's very nice now.
It's interesting how settled I feel. Since I'm all nice and legal now, I feel like a true resident. I've even noticed a lot more British slang creeping into my language.
I'm travelling to Bath for the Easter weekend. We have both Friday and Monday off, so I'm leaving Friday morning on the train and returning on Sunday night. It's very expensive to stay this weekend because everything is full up in Bath, so I had to get a family room, as opposed to a single. So I decided two nights was enough. I haven't done any research yet, so all I know is that it is the site of the ancient Roman baths and there are some nice spas there (although I won't be going into any of them!). I'll be busy doing internet research so I know where I want to go in my two and a half days.
I'll let you know how it all turns out!
This morning I decided to stay on my train (instead if changing at Hammersmith), get off at St. James and walk through the park. I go through St. James Park, cut across in front of Buckingham Palace (yes, THE Buckingham Palace) and go through Green Park up to my office. There is a long pond in St. James Park, so I go over a bridge, and there are a lot of ducks and geese and even a couple of swans. It's so pretty. This morning the apple blossoms were starting to fall off the trees and making a carpet on the walkway. It was lovely!
I have to say that the English keep very lovely gardens and parks. They are well looked after and have lots of colourful flowers. Of course, maybe that's just these parks are big tourist spots, but I enjoy them thoroughly! Things are quite green here, despite the lack of moisture throughout the winter. I'm guessing it may dry up in the summer, but it's very nice now.
It's interesting how settled I feel. Since I'm all nice and legal now, I feel like a true resident. I've even noticed a lot more British slang creeping into my language.
I'm travelling to Bath for the Easter weekend. We have both Friday and Monday off, so I'm leaving Friday morning on the train and returning on Sunday night. It's very expensive to stay this weekend because everything is full up in Bath, so I had to get a family room, as opposed to a single. So I decided two nights was enough. I haven't done any research yet, so all I know is that it is the site of the ancient Roman baths and there are some nice spas there (although I won't be going into any of them!). I'll be busy doing internet research so I know where I want to go in my two and a half days.
I'll let you know how it all turns out!
05 April 2006
I can see clearly now...
Well, it's all coming together! I obtained the declaration and faxed it to the British High Commission this morning! I'm now playing the waiting game again. Sigh...but I think I should hear tomorrow for sure.
In other news...I sold both my houses on Monday! The same day! The Linden house went to a guy from Calgary who bought it for his son and his son's friend, who are going to be working at Courtney Berg for the next year and a half. The Calgary house went to a nice young couple - their first house! I got decent money for both and they both close on May 1. So, as of May 2 (my birthday!) I'll be debt free!! How cool! No mortgage, no loans, no credit cards, no nothing!! What a great feeling. So, maybe that's why my visa was taking so long - God was keeping me here so I could get the houses sold and finish sorting everything out.
I am so excited about going back to London! I can hardly wait!! According to my colleagues over there, patiently waiting for me, spring has sprung indeed. The weather is nice and getting warmer, the flowers are blooming and everything is lovely. I am really looking forward to doing some exploring in earnest now that the weather is nicer. So many outdoor things I want to do - wander through Hyde Park, visit Greenwich, take some trips into the country - Brighton, Cornwall, Stonehenge, Yorkshire. Not to mention Scotand and Ireland and the rest of Europe!
I've been doing some shopping here in Canada- stocking up on things like microwave popcorn and deoderant. I also got some more towels and stuff. Everything is just so much more expensive in London, that it makes sent to buy as much as I can here and bring it with me. I just hope I can get my suitcase closed! lol
Well, I should end this epistle. I'm encouraged by the light at the end of the visa tunnel. I'm feeling good - like it's really going to happen this time!
Cheers!
In other news...I sold both my houses on Monday! The same day! The Linden house went to a guy from Calgary who bought it for his son and his son's friend, who are going to be working at Courtney Berg for the next year and a half. The Calgary house went to a nice young couple - their first house! I got decent money for both and they both close on May 1. So, as of May 2 (my birthday!) I'll be debt free!! How cool! No mortgage, no loans, no credit cards, no nothing!! What a great feeling. So, maybe that's why my visa was taking so long - God was keeping me here so I could get the houses sold and finish sorting everything out.
I am so excited about going back to London! I can hardly wait!! According to my colleagues over there, patiently waiting for me, spring has sprung indeed. The weather is nice and getting warmer, the flowers are blooming and everything is lovely. I am really looking forward to doing some exploring in earnest now that the weather is nicer. So many outdoor things I want to do - wander through Hyde Park, visit Greenwich, take some trips into the country - Brighton, Cornwall, Stonehenge, Yorkshire. Not to mention Scotand and Ireland and the rest of Europe!
I've been doing some shopping here in Canada- stocking up on things like microwave popcorn and deoderant. I also got some more towels and stuff. Everything is just so much more expensive in London, that it makes sent to buy as much as I can here and bring it with me. I just hope I can get my suitcase closed! lol
Well, I should end this epistle. I'm encouraged by the light at the end of the visa tunnel. I'm feeling good - like it's really going to happen this time!
Cheers!
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