Only in the UK could you be sitting on a Tuesday night watching a clip of Bananarama singing 'Robert DeNiro's waiting'.....brilliant! or maybe that's just me being a pov Aussie who grew up with the maximum five channels of the regular Aussie household (everyone laughs at me when I tell them we only have five channels at home). I'm trying to convince Paul to switch over to the grand finale of Beauty and the Geeks but he's having none of it (god I love crap UK TV).

Today I faced the challenge of organising my holiday to Croatia with my partner-in-crime who is soon to arrive in the UK and increase my Aussie-London contingent - Simone. Who would have thought it was so difficult to find out how to get from Trieste in Italy to Rovinj in Croatia, when I speak neither Italian or Croatian? Do tiny bus companies in regional Italy not cater for annoying British/American/Australian tourists like myself - how inconvenient! :) I found myself today translating bus timetables from German, but I think I have finally figured it out and I'm getting somewhere. I'm going in May and really can't wait - as I also can't wait for my beautiful blonde buddy Sim to join me in all the London craziness.

It's getting late and Beauty and the Geeks is really not doing it for me! (yep i convinced him). Everything in the UK is played about a million times a week so I'm sure I can catch it soon (the OC is played six times a week here - love it! Channel 10 in Sydney could take a few tips)

Cheers guys - will write more soon - including updates on St Pat's celebrations...

Lazy London weekends are the best - you always intend to get so much stuff done and it never ever happens cause you end up just sitting around drinking tea. I went to a house party near Clapham last night then Thai Square, a thai restaurant in Putney which is the only place that stays open until 2, so attracts everyone after 12 and turns the little restaurant into a packed bar. It's pretty good, and practically next door to my house so very handy. The house party was cool too - although we felt a bit like 16-year-olds getting our booze from Tesco then hopping on the train with clinking bottles.

Today I wanted to get out of the house so got all geekified and went to the Natural History Museum with my brother, which was actually quite good (could you go wrong with a giant animatronic T-Rex, complete with smoke, lights and sound effects?? hmmmmm). It was the first touristy thing I've done in a while, so it got me back to my backpacker roots (and it's a free museum which is always a plus).

Here are my long-awaited photos from Venice It's such a beautiful city - shame the sky wasn't a bit bluer in some of the photos though! You can also tell how cold it was!

For all my loyal subscribers - sorry you haven't been receiving any of my posts. There was something wrong with the feed, but I think I've fixed it so it should be working now!

Venetian adventures

How appropriate that when we woke up at an obscene hour for our trip to Venice on Friday morning, we looked out the window and found that the Thames had flooded and our road had literally turned into a canal. Our building was completely surrounded by water, and we had to wade through the water and jump over a couple of fences to get to our taxi which was waiting a block away. Although it was 4am, bloody freezing, and we were all barely awake (but jogging through Putney to make the cab that was parked a block away), it was really one of those times you couldn't help but laugh at the stupidity of it all :)
And of course, we were all excited because we were going to VENICE! On the whole I loved it, and although we had some questionable encounters with not-so-hospitable Italian hospitality staff and yes, the city is a little bit squiffy (and those pigeons??!) , I definitely recommend it to anyone. It is a beautiful, fantasy city, and getting lost in the winding Venetian passageways, crossing blue canals manned by hunky gondola drivers, and gorging on massive portions of Italian pizzas, pastas and risottos, and fine Tuscan wine, is just divine. We were there for three days, which I think was enough to see most of the sights (although I could have definitely stayed to eat Italian food forever). Piazza San Marco, the Basilica and visits to the islands Burano and Murano are a must if you only have a short time - and if you're anything like me, you'll need quite a while to sample the delights of the shopping (I was quite restrained and only bought one bag and some beads, as my budget didn't quite stretch to Louis Vuitton and Dolce and Gabbana - ah, i can always dream though). I think the most important Italian lesson I learnt was 'Quanto costano delle scarpe?' (how much do these shoes cost?)
The city is expensive if you're not careful. I don't even want to think about how much money I spent. On Saturday I almost hit a grinning little Italian waiter when he gleefully brought us our bill with my SIX EURO cokes on it. Who checks the price of coke on a menu? I had two, so in total spent 12 euro on coke, that's about 8 pounds and almost 20 Aussie dollars. I still feel a bit sick :) you can tell i'm still a little bit bitter.
On the plus side, we had the best hot chocolates and wine I've ever had and our hotel was the cutest little gem (see the photo). The thousands of pigeons in Piazza San Marco grossed us out a bit, but the view from the top of the tower is amazing. So I guess there were a few negatives, but dozens of postives to outweigh them. And it's Venice! No trip to Europe would be complete without seeing it and now I can tick it off my (very long) list!
My photos will be coming here soon....

Snow in the newly sprung spring

I was elated when I woke up this morning. The sun was shining through the window, it was light when I woke up (which has not happened for about five months), and it's the first day of spring. I had made it through winter, and surely it can only get better from here? Then I got to work and it STARTED TO SNOW. No joke, an arctic shift has hit the UK and London is absolutely bloody freezing. I'm not just talking snowflakes here and there, I'm talking heavy, falling snow. Here am I thinking that Spring is immediately going to be green paddocks, new flowers and gambolling lambs, and it's snowing outside! I think i'm going to have to wait a little longer than I thought for that suntan! But it will come eventually, I'm sure of it!

Tonight I just couldn't be bothered cooking (that happens a lot when you move out of home for the first time), so Paul and I went out for Wagamamas, which has become a favourite. I think we are slowly but surely eating our way through Putney and Fulham :) There's a new place called The Sea Cow in Fulham, which apparently has 'the taste of the Pyrmont Fish Markets in Sydney' which is very exciting for me as a Sydney girl who has spent many a lazy Sunday eating fish and chips from Pyrmont in the park by the water watching everyone play soccer. There's just so many places to eat, and not enough time to eat at all of them!
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Hi all,

You may remember a few months back on this very blog a photo of a grinning Aussie decked out in green and gold and proudly holding up a Socceroos poster. Well, that was me! I’m Michelle, Pru’s friend from Sydney, and I’ve come to London for the wonderful experiences this city has to offer… and to hang out with Pru of course!

Today is actually my two-month anniversary in London. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed, it seems like only yesterday my boyfriend and I were dossing at Pru’s - which brings me to my first point, finding a place to live! I didn’t think finding a flat would be the difficult task it was. After seeing studios the size of my bedroom at home, share houses in various states of disrepair and a flat where we weren’t allowed to watch the television, we finally found our pad. Those of you who have run the flat hunting gauntlet will understand the feeling you get when you know the place is right for you. Not having to step over scaffolding as we did at one place was a good sign, but as soon as I saw the bright open living room (which is also the kitchen, I never said it was big!) and courtyard outside our room I knew this was a place I wanted to live. The only mistake we made was not meeting our flatmates before we moved in. It’s not a major problem, but let’s just say they’re not ‘our kind of people’, i.e. tidy and friendly. But, if you’re going to flat share I guess you have to prepare yourself for fights over the remote and complaining about other people’s mess.

The next major task has been finding a job, which unfortunately is still a work in progress! I’ve been applying for just about every job that looks vaguely like what I want to do and am still waiting for a phone call or an interview. I can’t wait to start work, mainly so I can start earning pounds! At the moment I’m technically still spending Aussie dollars and checking my bank statements is possibly the most unpleasant thing in the world.

But I’m here for the full experience, and if that means unemployment, fights with flat mates and living on a budget, then so be it. Besides, Pru and a whole bunch of us are off to Venice on Friday for a weekend of friends, food and wine. What do I possibly have to complain about??

Sunday and I'm hungover....always the same!

My brain has the consistency of mashed peas today, and I'm feeling somewhat intellectually challenged, but I haven't written in awhile and thought i should update. This weekend has been nothing special, but we've had a good couple of nights out in Putney and I'm slightly hungover today (but not too hungover to go up to the French Market and get a chocolate crepe, nice). Saw a movie Friday night, Goodnight and Good Luck, which was really good, but to everyone's disgust I kind of fell asleep. I maintain though that this was because I have been a little bit sick and needed to catch up on some napping (the movie s really good, honest!)

We've been interviewing potential new housemates all week too, as our lovely Jemma is leaving us to move to New York with the family she nannies for (very sad for us, but what a great opportunity for her!). So we're losing the lively South African element of our house, and have been looking for something good enough to replace! The fact that Glen (I think somewhat creatively) described our flat in the ad as a luxury riverside mansion flat, has meant we've had a steady stream of people coming to look, and I'm currently torn between a few girls I really like. Flat hunting is so like a job interview with people sizing eachother up - and I always feel under pressure to act really cool so the people will like me and want to move in! Pretty sad hey :) But it's also funny when you can tell within a couple of seconds that the person really won't fit in, but you still have to go through the whole spiel and tour of the flat! There's a couple of girls who have been really nice, but I feel bad that we're going to have to reject a few... (yes I remember the rejection when I was flat hunting in London, it's not nice!)

Most exciting aspect of the beginning of the next working week is that we're going to Venice on Friday! I'll be cruising a canal on a gondola and gorging on Italian food before I know it.

On the trail of JACK THE RIPPER

"Twilight creeps through the narrow alleyways and hidden courtyards of the old, old city. It's gnarled fingers unlock secrets of dark deeds that lie entombed behind crumbling walls. It whispers into the shadowy recesses of a forgotten part of London, disturbing the sleep of the long-departed, and the City of Dead stirs once more into ghostly, ethereal life....."

Yikes! I'm scared already! I'm gong on a Jack the Ripper tour tonight with a few people from work. I work in Aldgate East which is just near Whitechapel where Jack the Ripper murdered (and disembowelled!) five prostitues in the 1800s. It's one of the best ghost tours in London (apparently) and should be pretty cool. It's freezing in London at the moment, so it will be interesting to see how we all cope walking through the ghostly lanes of Whitechapel in the wind and chill! Have a look at the spooky website. Probably not the best thing for a budding cold but I can't resist.

hello everyone.

tonight is Kate's birthday and we're going out on the town! We're currently warming up in Putters, but the night will soon be kicking on. Kate would like to say a few words as a celebration of her birthday.......

Hello everyone, cocktails at my house in Putney are going off thanks to Bec. We're going to Crazy Larry's, a club in Fulham, and I'm very glad my dear friend Pru can be with us!! Hi to everyone at home - i miss you all and wish you were here for my birthday..... rock on, love Kate xxxx

Well she's having a lovely time and now i have to go and meet my drunk brother Benno at Putney station.

To all in Oz and all over the world: bless you all and have a great Saturday night.
Cheers big ears,
Prudence Louise xxxx

Fabulous Friday

Well, yesterday was a pretty eventful day. Not only did I visit an Immigration Consultant who thinks I will be able to stay in the country (yay!), but had a lovely morning off work cause I had to go to the doctor (free doctors and prescriptions, yay again!) then came to work where we had a charity event last night where I spent £170 in the auction (not so great for my wallet, but yay for the Kenyan people we are helping!)

So, I forked out a consultation fee to see an immigration consultant (£75), but I really think it was worth it. I'm an intelligent person (I'd like to think!) and I did my research (thinking I knew everything there was to know about work permits etc), but it really helps to speak to someone who processes applications all the time and can tell you the information you won't find on any official website. Apart from a few niggling factors, a work permit or a HSMP visa are now looking to be much more likely (and achievable) possibilities for me since I am not technically able to work after October. It's all quite expensive, but I suppose it's a cost you have to bear if you really want to stay, If i apply for a work permit I will have to return to Australia while the application is put through (which could be a problem with work), but it could only have to be for two weeks (instead of the month that I originally thought). So I'm going to try and get a HSMP visa, but we'll see. The consultant was very helpful though and said he's processed applicants for people in heaps of fields (even a chef from a takeaway store). So the bottom line is, if your company is willing to sponsor you and will let you leave for a few weeks (and you get a good agent), it's quite easy. Anyways, I'll keep you updated...if all else fails, the golden shores of Oz would definitely not be a bad place to return to...! :)

So with the consultant and my surge of generousity at the charity auction, yesterday turned out to be quite expensive! But I bought some DVDs and a day off work at the auction (as I have already booked up most of my holidays), and seeing as I am horribly inactive in any sort of charity work, I decided it was worth it. Check out the charity all my money is going to: Plan International - we raised just under £5,000.

Going to see the Strokes tonight at the Hammersmith Apollo - gotta love Fridays...!

NATIONAL INSURANCE NUMBER NOTES

Just a quick one - I was reading TNT magazine this week, and they had a bunch of Aussies and other travellers lamenting how difficult they found it to get their National Insurance Number. It's really not that hard guys! Yes, if you call the number you will be on hold for AGES so make sure you have some time to spare (I think I waited, in true UK-customer-service style, about 30/40 minutes). But there was another thing mentioned in the letters that is a good point - it's a lot quicker if you just email the NI people and set an appointment up that way. SO, to save you all some stress - this is the e-mail address you will need london.ninocallcentre@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk And spend the time you save at the pub instead...

St Valentine's Day
In the UK you just can't ignore the fact that it's Valentines Day today - it's even harder than in Australia where there are gross cutesy cards in every store and really tacky white teddy bears holding red 'I love you' hearts. I'm definitely not one of those girls that gets excited by pointless gifts someone has just given you because Hallmark says they should. Although I will accept the heart-shaped marshmallow our MD presented us with this morning.
Even if we were to go out for dinner (which is a compromise I'm willing to make), all the restaurants around us have absurdly increased their prices, are having set menus and making you buy horrible pink champagne to drink as you gaze lovingly into eachothers eyes - talk about cornfest! Am I sounding really nasty? I'm not really - I just thing the whole thing is pretty ridiculous! I think I just might make Paul cook me a nice dinner :) or maybe I should do one for him...or not! (I'm also willing to accept the tradtion of boys doing nice things for the girls!)
Yesterday they had a thing in the Metro where you could text the Metro Cupid if you fancied someone you catch the Tube with everyday - then today they published the messages. Talk about embarrassing! If you're too shy to actually go and talk someone, why would you want every single person on the tube reading your declaration of love? Unless you made it so obscure that the 'guy in the blue shirt I see on the station every morning' wouldn't have any idea it was actually directed at him! Please.....

Our little house in the country

We're all back in London after a lovely weekend in the English countryside, staying in our very own little cottage! You can't get much more English than the little Cotswold houses and those little men in their grandad caps walking with their dogs and gumboots down the country roads on misty mornings (they seem to be everywhere!) Much beer, wine, and general country frivolity was had... we had a gorgeous meal at an ancient Cotswold pub (apparently Prince Will goes there, but I guess it wasn't his turn for a night out on the town), and we spent a day in Stratford-upon-Avon where we saw Shakespeare's Birthplace, and the highlight of the trip (wait for it)...the Butterfly Farm!
I may sound like the biggest nerd here, but it is actually better than it sounds! I made friends with a little chameleon (how cute is he?!) and ventured into ARACHNILAND and INSECT CITY (ok, so maybe they need to be a little more creative with the names!). It was great though, and would be even more brilliant when it is a bit warmer (although the chill is a great excuse to stop off for a coffee every five minutes). Stratford is obviously built on the River Avon, and it would be lovely to go on a boat ride like we did in Windsor (back in balmy September!)

Which brings me to our plans for our French canal trip in Summer. There's been some obstacles (mainly that every other person in France apparently wants to go the same time as us!) We will persist though - and my vineyard cruise dream will happen

Belated birthday cake...
It may have taken awhile for me to give the credit, but just look at this brilliant birthday cake Bec and Kate made me back in January...(I kept meaning to put a photo up). It probably doesn't look that impressive in a photo, but if you can tell, it's a Cadbury box of chocolates with the lid open and real choccies coming out. I was pretty impressed, these ladies know the key to my heart :)

Monumental occassion today was that the sun didn't set until AFTER 5pm! Yes, Spring is on it's way! And I may be getting prematurely excited but when you're used to the Aussie sun but you've had two winters in a row (and your first in Europe) all the cold and darkness can get a little tough! Although it really hasn't been all that bad I suppose. I booked my holidays off from work today (must have been excited about all the daylight), and now we can start planning our canalboat trip through the South of France in June. French vineyards in summer...mmmmmm, heaven. We're also heading to Venice soon - am so excited about gondola rides, Italian food and fake Louis Viutton handbags I can hardly contain myself. Gotta love rip-off Italian merchandise..:) Ciao for now!

Just also wanted to say thanks to everyone who has left a comment on my blog ever or who has signed my guestbook! It's nice to hear from you all, and lovely to hear I may have even helped some of you out with my incessant ramblings about London etc! Remember you can subscribe (in the sidebar or at the bottom) and get updates emailed to you (but of course, then you would never be able to escape me, and I understand that is a little scary!). Thanks guys - until next time...!

Camden Markets, London

For once I actually got up early on Saturday morning, and we took ourselves off to Camden Markets, which were amazing. The markets are a brilliant eclectic mix of people, food and cultures - a definite must-see, it's a London institution! There is absolutely everything there you could possible imagine - everything from designer jewellery and art, to punk and goth wear, antique clothes and shoes, funky T-shirts, beanbags, unicycles, jongleur shops, furniture, clubbing-wear, candles, scarves... you could honestly be there all day and get lost in the mazes of stalls. And the food - we went to a little food market by Camden Lock for lunch and could choose from Indian, Cypriot, Venezuelan, East African, Japanese, Greek, British, Moroccan (talk about my heaven!). We had Japanese pancake, which I'll definitely be going back for (in the photo you can see it's pretty cold here at the moment though!)

So we finally left Camden Market, although I could have spent hours more there (the boys kept losing me cause I tend to wander off on tangents when I'm in markets - then we had to do the whole stupid 'where are you, I'm over here!' thing on your mobiles all the time..) It's really different from Portobello, but I loved it and can't wait to go back (and next time I'm taking more cash!)

Tonight we're off to Henry's in Covent Garden for Octavia's birthday..hopefully I won't be too damaged by alcohol tomorrow and will write more then (I heard a rumour we were having another of our infamous 'Poker in Putney' nights though...so we'll see!)

Hello from London everyone! I have a new guestbook (see to the right-hand column) so feel free to leave me a message/comment/helpful suggestion/compliment! (or everyone from home - just to tell me you miss me!) It was horribly cold and windy yesterday, so this is what I spent my time doing (yes, I'm turning into a blogging nerd...)

Just got back from Heathrow and am a bit sad cause had to say bye to Greg who as we speak is on a flight back to Australia. It's been a fun six months with him, and it's sad that our London adventures with him are over! It's weird that he's left, and it's made me think about if/when I'll come home this year - technically I'm not supposed to work after October (because of the 12 month thing) so it will be interesting to see if I can work something out so I am able to stay and keep some sort of a job (although I could just be a lady of leisure for a while - having brunch and coffee all day and rely on my lovely English boyfriend...hmmmmm tempting, but perhaps not so practical!). Getting sponsored with a work permit is not really looking like an option, as unfortunately for moi, the UK is not short of editors, and even if my employer decides to sponsor me I have to go back to Australia and apply from there (and of course they can't tell you how long that will definitely take). I can maybe get a HSMP visa, but not too sure about that yet, have to do some investigating!

Well I was only a little bit hungover today so the Gods were not too evil! It was probably all good because due to our utmosat efforts we couldn't get in to a Walkabout ANYWHERE last night! (shock, horror, tragedy!). No, we really did want to go, but apparently every other Australian in London had the same idea (although some were a lot more willing than others to stand outside waiting in the freezing cold for an hour - which I certainly wasn't!)

Anyways, we went to the Jolly Gardener In Putney and had a great night wearing our garish Aussie scarfs :) The rest of ork yesterday was actually quite good - and even the singloang eventuated. One of the Aussies I work with is apparently a professional singer, and sang 'I still call Australia home' to the rest of our whole office (about 60 people) - fair play! All the Poms were a little bit miffed as to why we were all so patriotic about celebrating the day that australia actually got invaded by the English (and yeh, it does sound a little bit stupid when you put it like that), but we had to explain that Australia probably loves it so much because it is a chance to have a day off work in the sun and have a barbie. Ah, i miss the beach! Australia Day just wasn't the same without the beach and a barbie!

"We are one....but we are mannnnnyyyyy" - and yes, for the SECOND year in a row, I find myself in London for good old Australia Day. Last year I was only here for a four week sojourn, but who would have thought I'd be back here for good this year, to sing Waltzing Matilda in a dirty English Walkabout with a bunch of drunken louts in thongs (ok, here I'm just forseeing the rest of my night, once I leave work, but you get the drift!)
I was a little homesick this morning when I got out of bed and got my Australian scarf (we had Aussie Dress Up day here at work - I think they feel a little sorry for the nine Aussies in the office here who are pining after sun, sand and surf). But even though I'm not sunning it up at home (thanks everyone for the text messages telling me stories of BBQs and 38 degrees,by the way), I've had a great day so far, and think that I am now even more patriotic on Australia Day since I am now officially an expatriate. And my boss even bought me some Tim Tams so it can't be all bad! We had everything: Tim Tams, Minities, Fruit Tingles, Burger Rings - there's even talk of a national anthem singalong later in the afternoon. Yes, we are truly bringing the Aussie spirit to London! Strewth!

Work is almost over and I'm off to the Walkabout (cringe- but it must be done). If I don't have too much of a hangover tomorrow, I'll let you know how it all goes!
Many happy returns to everyone back home and Happy Birthday Australia! (I hope some joker didn't get Australian of the Year this year? And who won Triple J's Hottest 100?)

A wee matter....

I was walking through Soho on Friday night and was faced with another reason why this country is sometimes just a bit strange - public, very public, urinals on the side of the road!!! I'm sorry, what?! Apparently they have such a problem here with men urinating in the street, that they install these four sided trough-like things on the side of the road for drunken people to pee in! I found it very, very disturbing, especially when a couple of guys we saw apparently couldn't be bothered crossing the road to use the specialist peeing area, so just went in the gutter anyway! eeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww....! (apparently in Bristol they have peeing troughs that are installed in the ground, and stay hidden during the days, and are elevated at night for the drunken masses - can just imagine that happening on Oxford Street Sydney!!???!)

Anyways, after an obviously respectable night out in Soho on Friday night, had a lovely weekend out of London on a little one-night trip to the countryside, but still no snow :( We're at home watching the soccer at the moment (I'm still yet to start getting excited about this game - but I'm trying!). It was another lovely sunny winter weekend in London, am looking forward to some summer days but can definitely cope in the meantime!

OK, this is cheating a little bit, since i haven't ACTUALLY been to Edinburgh yet - but my friends went for Hogmanay, which is the awesome New Years festival there where everyone kisses in the street at midnight, and I wanted to put a couple of their photos here! Before I came to the UK, I had never really considered going there (as everyone wants to go to Europe first), but I've heard such good things about it, and from the photos, it looks really beautiful (especially the old city). You can get really cheap train trips there, and flights as well, so it is next on my list (we might even drive up there for the weekend- it only takes eight hours or so I think).

Would you believe it's actually a tad warmer in London at the moment? (I think the city is in excited anticpation for Australia Day next week). I honestly got excited yesterday when it hit ten degrees (how sad is that!). I had some comfort from home though, when I was told that the weather in Sydney hasn't been brilliant.

In celebration that some of my favourite TV shows are back on TV (bring on the O.C and Desperate Housewives!), my favourite site of the week is www.lowculture.co.uk. Check it out, it can brighten up a boring day at work (and teach you a bit about the beloved trashy parts of UK culture!!

What you've all been waiting for!

Pics from my first New Year's Eve in London - I claim responsibility for everyone's state as I made some fairly lethal punch. But it was all in good fun :)
I love the mo on my friend Ray (he's an 80s Wimbledon player)

Look here!

For the past three years I've spent New Years in a different country (Australia, Germany and now England) which I think is quite cool (and very worldly of me!)

Tomorrow my birthday festival comes to an end with a night out in Chelsea. It's always a bit depressing the few days after your birthday isn't it? Now I have to wait a whole another year! Oh well - I think I can still milk it for another few days at least.

In traveller news: I think I said here a while ago that working travellers were not able to claim back their National Insurance Contributions they made while working in the Uk (which is what I heard). BUT my friends who arrived a couple of weeks ago have been told that you can do something when you apply for the number which means you can transfer the funds you contribute back to your superannuation fund in your own country (which means your contributions are not wasted!). So, I'm on the case to find out exactly what is going on. Watch this space!

Also, with my technical genius I have worked out how to put news headlines at the bottom of my site for your viewing pleasure - hope there's something interesting there!

Birthday girl!


I'm going to be completely self-gratuitous and tell you all that it's my birthday today (and I've been milking it all day!)
Have had a brilliant day, and just want to say thanks to all my wonderful friends and family from Oz and here, who have made it such a wonderful day. Thanks for all your emails/phone calls/messages - I love you all!
Just got home - we have been out for dinner at a beautiful Thai restaurant by the Thames and I even got cake! (thanks to the Putney girls!). The birthday celebrations are not over yet though - I think I can get another week out of this yet! Saturday will be more parties, more drinks and more partying to celebrate my 23rd (everyone at work keeps telling me how young I am? makes me feel good about having moved to another country when I'm apparently I'm so young!)
Anyways, it's really sad I know, but I've got to go now to watch the final episode of Lost (I missed it back in Australia). I do love Jack and he is calling me...:) (The OC is also back this week - wooohoo!!)

New Year's photos are still on the way - plus updates on my pending trips to Venice and Greece!

It's very, very disturbing when you can pass by an entire Sunday watching back-to-back episodes of America's Next Top Model. Yet that is exactly what I have done today, sitting on my couch, and I'm now getting motivated to go off to the pub. The reason for my lethargy today is that I am still recovering from a big Friday night (I'm very ashamed to admit that I voluntarily went to a Walkabout! cringe). Despite bad music, embarrassing Aussie paraphernalia (ie signpost marked "11,120 miles to Wee Waa"), and really bad DJing, it was actually a fun night and we didn't manage to get home until after 4. Needless to say, most of Saturday was spent, in true London style, sitting in a cafe, eating bacon and eggs and drinking coffee.
I'm feeling so lazy right now, that I really hate what is on TV at the moment, but the batteries in my remote are dead, and I can't be bothered actually getting off the couch to change the channel. Oh dear.
In other news, my brother has ended his suffering on a casual wage at the Telemarketing centre, and has again found a web-design job in a publishing company to tide him over for the next few months, and possibly permanently. Yay for working travellers!

I promised my friends Shell and Ray, who arrived in London to live about a week ago, that the weather was sunny and not really that cold. Suddenly they think I'm a liar, as this week the big chill has definitely hit - and apparently it will snow tomorrow. It's all well and good when you're wrapped up cosy inside, but it's a bit of a killer when I'm walking home by the river! Ah well - lots of time to enjoy the creme of English TV. Last night we stayed up (well, we just couldn't be bothered moving really) and subjected ourselves to 'Big Brothers Most Scandalous Scenes Ever'. It makes me think Aussies are a bunch of prudes, as if even a fraction of what I saw on TV last night made it on to Aussie television screens, there would be a massive public outcry and letters of disgust in major national newspapers (Remember the Hot Dogs incident last year - absolutely nothing compared to what goes in the English BB!).

I'm reliving the 'newly arrived in London' vibe through Shell and Ray - they are in the throes of flat hunting/job hunting/bank account opening/holiday planning. I just love every bit of it! They've got me inspired and we're all off to Venice soon. Can't wait!

Yes I haven't forgotten the New Year's pics - some have to be censored, but they'll be up here soon.

And on to another year...



It's only now, two days after our party, that I have found the strength and stamina to write about what was an awesome night, and a fantastic way to herald in the New Year. I think for most people the night passed by in a drunken punch-filled blur, but there were some great costumes and at least one person ended up face down on the kitchen floor at 4 in the morning - always a sign of a good time :)
Shell and I were ABBA (obviously coming as Waterloo - see pic), and there were lots of Angels, an Elvis (Kings Cross), St John, Chalk Farm, Maida Vales, Shaft (Shaftesbury Avenue) and Shepherd's Bush. No music was too corny, and I apparently thought my Abba moves were very cool, when they were in fact, not. At the end of the night we all had to fight the drunk people who had taken up residence in our beds for the right to sleep there, but it was all in good fun (everything except the copious redwine stains that still inhabit our hallway).
I can't write anymore now as the computer is in demand but I will write more and add mor embarrassing pics later.
Happy New Year!

The London Underground map: an iconic symbol of London if ever there was one!(apparently the poor lad who designed the map back in the day only got paid the equivalent of one pound for doing it - even though it is world-famous today and helps makes sense of one of the most complicated transport systems in the world - ripped off!) Anyways, I am blabbing! This is the theme for our NYE party tonight- you have to come dressed as a London tube station, and although a lot of people are keeping theirs secret, it sounds like there are going to be some good outfits!

Hope everyone back home has a great New Year. I've heard the theme on the Sydney Harbour Bridge this year is "Have a Heart", which is feelgood-nice. Pretty apt considering the disturbing news of racial riots we've been getting over here. What's going on? Honestly, I leave the country for three months.....

Anyway, must be off as there is punch to make and fireworks to buy. A safe and Happy New Year to all. Here's to 2006!

So this is Christmas...


After a few days of the most (and best) Xmas food and drink that I think I have ever consumed, I'm back in London feeling like a little fat pudding.. and yet I must continue the indulgences, as it is almost New Year and there is still lots of celebrating to be done! (the pic is not from xmas day, but from our orphan xmas dinner at our place last week).

Christmas was lovely and I was rewarded with a gorgeous (but brief) snowfall in the country and in London. (I even did the whole ten-year-old kid thing: "Wake up everyone, it's snowing!!" and then running outside in to the snowflakes in nothing but my PJ's and jumping around stupidly - yes, i was a tad excited). Paul's family were all so nice to Ben and I (us being orphans and all), and we had a very decent present haul, and they didn't even mind when it became obvious that there is truth to the rumour that Aussies tend to drink a lot. (I felt a little sheepish when Paul's 80 year old aunt said to me the next day 'Are you feeling ok dear, it all seemed to hit you at once didn't it?'!). Oh well, I always like to operate on the basis that even though yes, I may have been drinking from midday to 8pm, I still appear to be as eloquent and sober as a judge at all times :)

The extremely exciting development of the last couple of days is that Shell and Ray have arrived to live in London, and they will be the next fabulous addition to our expanding gang of Aussies. Being the London vet/tourguide/expert and all, I'll be showing them all the wonders of this fine city and revelling in the virgin excitement of the newly arrived traveller (awww, it's so cute when they don't know what money to pay with!).

Stay tuned for more exciting news about the NYE party of the century...

Oh, and for more exciting pics from the Xmas party, go here

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

London is getting pumped for Christmas, only two days away! I spent a good ten minutes transfixed by the HUGE Xmas tree in Covent Garden last night, apparently donated to London each year by Norway (or somewhere like that). The famous Xmas lights on Oxford Street and Barnaby Street are also really cool.

This might be my last post before the big day, as Ben, Paul and I are off to the Cotswolds for a country Christmas (and hopefully it will snow!). There has a lot of drinking and eating this week, and not much else. I'm in my office at the moment and it is completely empty since everyone has jetted off early. Probably because everyone has been driven more than a little mad by the insanely repetitive Christmas songs everyone goes crazy for. You can't escape them. I think every crap band from the Spice Girls to the Sugababes have released a Xmas single over the years, which get dragged out and massacred again and again every year.

It's my first Christmas away from home, and it doesn't really feel the same. It's cool being in a big new city though and seeing how it's done over the other side of the world. It's a cool 38 degrees in Sydney at the moment which I'm missing, but I'm also hanging out for some mulled wine and turkey by the fire, with the snow falling outside frosted windows (I'm living the Bridget Jones/Love Actually Christmas!)

Anyways, better get back to pretending I'm finishing up lots of important work before I leave for my little holiday. A very merry Christmas to everyone!!!

Thank God for Coke and Ribena

I'm nursing a terrible hangover at work today after a fabulous night of festivities at our Christmas party last night (what kind of crazy people have Christmas parties on Monday night?!). This morning on the tube I was extremely glum, with a bottle of Coke in one hand, and a Ribena in the other (they are my hangover cures). I may as well have had 'seedy drunk' plastered on my forehead as I tentatively sipped the Coke at eight o'clock in the morning, much to the disgust of fellow passengers (who gave me some dirty, disapproving looks).
This is me at the party with Stacey and Matt - fellow members of my trust editorial team (Matt in the middle is actually my boss, the Senior Editor). It was a really great night, although fairly tame for a Christmas party! I was very well-behaved and in bed by 12 (albeit more than a little bit sozzled). The funny photos have been circulating around the office all day and there are a few red faces - bless Christmas!!!

Getting in to the festive spirit again: my funny Santa site of the week is one that Phil sent me and kept me amused for hours this morning when I was incapable of anything requiring more than the brain capacity of an ant. You can make Santa do whatever you want! Go to http://www.santasez.sig-ad.com/

I went out every night this week and have now been left on Saturday feeling really tired and headachey - how does that work? I should definitely do these things the other way around. Looks like next week will be no different though, as everyone is gearing up for Christmas and there is so much to do! I've got my Christmas party on Monday night (and then i will suffer through work on Tuesday), of course I still have a ton of xmas shopping to do, and I'm also having a Christmas dinner at our flat for everyone one night this week, then heading up to Gloucestershire for christmas...very exciting! :) My bank account has taken a huge bashing but spirits are high AND I found out yesterday that my work is sending me to Greece next year for a week!!! (I have to work there, but hey, it's Greece and I get excited about things like getting on a plane!) There's also talk of Paris but that's not definite yet and just a little too exciting to think about. It's a nice Chrissie present, seeing as I was getting all depressed last night cause my flatmates are off to Switzerland and Australia, respectively, today. But all is well and Christmas is near - wooohoo!

Check out this funny Santa site that made me laugh - there's some Santas looking like they just got out of jail and some poor scared little kids, what a recipe for comedy.... Scared of Santa??

Aussies in the World Cup!!


Ahh, perhaps Aussie sport is not dead after all! I got sent this photo today - this is my lovely friend Shell from back home celebrating after the Aussies qualified for the World Cup. Seeing the Sydney Morning Herald made me miss home! Shell is also sitting in what used to be my office back in Australia (before the OE adventures started). i'm sure she'll be featuring lots more over the next few months, as she arrives on London's doorstep for a working holiday on the 28 Dec.

Christmas cheer and lots of beer (and how having friends smarter than yourself works to your advantage)

As I sit here and gaze at my tackily decorated office Christmas tree (I can't complain, it was me that added the purple tinsel), I'm missing the sunny build up to an Aussie Christmas. BUT, we are doing enough celebrating to compensate, and today was my team's Christmas lunch which was a lovely decadent three hour booze-up at the delightfully titled Giraffe cafe. Next week is the real Xmas party for the whole office which should be great. In the spirit - here's a letter I pulled from the Metro this morning which made me giggle so much on the tube everyone looked at me strangely...

Letter from Chris in Edinburgh:
"We had our annual office Christmas party the other night. I heroically did my bit for the common person by telling my boss he was a fat slob, two girls had a serious slap fight over a Spanish barman, and another normally quiet guy fell off his seat and vomited all over my boss' wife. Needless to say, it's a very quiet office this week. I love Christmas."

OK, so I've only been working here for a couple of months, so I'm going to be very well-behaved!

In other exciting news, our Trivia/Quiz night team made it's spectacular debut last night, with no help from me whatsoever! The Heathrow Injections (plus one Pom) stormed the Jolly Gardener to take out the £50 bonus round cash prize (but came in a measly fourth place thanks to my poor Charade skills). We didn't even use the old 'mobile phone in the toilet to check answers' trick, and now Ben (my brother) has enough money to buy some groceries this week - woohoo!

Pru's English observations for the day...

They drink so much tea here it's ridiculous! Now I'm not adverse to a nice hot cuppa of Tetley's every now and again, but the UK should adopt tea drinking as a national sport. And it's not just little old ladies sitting down to their afternoon tea, it's the big English blokes, and they all have it so milky and sugary it's horrible!

I've been sucked in to the 'tea cycle' at work - the endless tea runs that have someone coming to your desk every 5 minutes asking if you want a cup of tea while they are fetching their own, will have you drinking gallons before you know it (and have me needing to go the bathroom every five seconds because I've drunk so much). I appreciate the friendly service - but I had TEN cups of tea the other day and it's got to stop! I've bought some green tea now, so I've started getting cups of hot water delivered instead. What I would give for an espresso machine....

The tea thing I can kind of understand (and it's definitely acceptable at work when a trip on a tea run is the perfect distraction) - the English obsession with Neighbours however, is still a completely mysterious phenomenon. A man here can also profess his love of Kylie, Take That and gossip endlessly about the results of the 'I'm a Celebrity..get me out of here!' show and 'X-Factor', and no-one will even question his masculinity. Maybe Aussie men are missing out :)

In the latest news...

I realised today that I have been in London for over three months and have not yet set foot outside of the country! This needs to be rectified immediately, however I just looked at my calendar, and don't have any spare time until the beginning of February!! (just call me Miss Popularity :) I think I may go to Karneval in Germany, but I really want to go to Edinburgh as well, and just about everywhere else! I never even thought about going to the US while I am here, but now I really want to go there too because it is much closer to here than Australia (and people go to New York just for the weekend! crazy). I definitely want to get something organised soon - heaps of people from my work are going away for Christmas and were making me very jealous yesterday with their plans for Morocco, New York, Italy etc. At least I know I have plenty of time - I've just been so happy about being in London that I haven't thought yet about going anywhere else!

In other good news for travellers - of my friends who arrived from Australia about a month ago and settled in around the corner from me, two of them have found jobs they really like (one of the girls is now working for Associated Press), and two of them have found temping work. So more evidence that it can be done.

Last night we attempted to resume our quest for the best 'Quiz night' which has so far been unfruitful due to our complete lack of effort. The pub we went to has theirs on Monday nights (not Tuesdays) so I'm sure we will go soon.


We ended up having a great night at this brilliant pub though (plug here for the Jolly Gardener in Putney) - really cosy pub and they have..wait for it....board games! What could be better than a beer and Monopoly? We actually played Taboo, which can get a little violent once everyone has had a little bit to drink... :)

My photo for the day is this one - This is me feeding a squirrel in Hyde Park - how cute!! (the squirrel, not me :).

Comfortable country living

hey all,

After a lovely weekend of country living in the Cotswolds I'm back in London - all the country villages are looking so beautiful with all their Christmas lights, but getting woken up at 6am on Sunday morning by the cows mooing next door was not that enjoyable. Back in the big city, there's only the ducks in the river to worry about (and the psycho seagulls that divebomb me when i'm on my way to work in the morning).

London is getting excited about Christmas and the shops are manic. And of course, everyone is buzzing about just which song will make the number one Christmas single on Top of the Pops (yes, I thought this was something they just made up for Love Actually but apparently not)
It's late and i'm dreading going back to work tomorrow but this lavish lifestyle of mine must be funded. And there's always the Christmas party which is in a couple of weeks to look forward to....

I'm currently at work trying not to get caught writing something I really shouldn't be - but it's all good because it's 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon and I am SO ready to go home and have a lovely relaxing weekend! We had a little soiree at our apartment last night which has left me feeling slightly hungover and tired from the effects of too much (but very good) red wine. This weekend will be lovely though, as I am going to the Cotwolds for the weekend where everything (hopefully) will be covered in snow. The north of England had a lot of snow at the beginning of the week but I'm not sure if there will be any left. I'm still hoping for that White Christmas! Although in London, it's more likely to be a sleety, dark and wet Christmas:) It was so weird today reading the Sydney Morning Herald online (my favourite Good Living section) and reading recipes for festive seafood dishes, cold desserts and for 'Cooling down on sweltering days with a bright, luscious, juicy chunk of watermelon'. Ah well, I'm still loving it all despite reaching new levels of cold I didn't know existed and dreaming of hot beaches back home! I'm like Albert Camus who said: " In the midst of winter, I finally realised that deep within me there lay an invincible summer". Although I'm sure he didn't mean that quite so literally, I will adopt that slant here for my purposes! Despite freezing on the outside and loving it here, my love of baking in the Aussie sun eating watermelon will never die! :)

This is the story of Pru and Jude....

Well it's now Tuesday and I'm still a little breathless over my amazing, celebrity-studded (and completely above my means) weekend. Although I spent a katrillion dollars, it was all worth it and resulted in not a singular, but a double celebrity spotting and lots of champagne swilling.

First off, I had a delighful (and extremely posh dahhling) afternoon tea at the Dorchester, which is a very swanky hotel on Park Lane in London. We were there for a hens night for one of the girls from work, and after some tea, sandwiches (no crust, mind), scones, 'pastries' and champagne, listening to a choir of Christmas carolers and basking in the adoring attention of the French waiters in tails, we were all feeling quite refined (and slightly sozzled) - see pic.
Then we were on to the Dorchester bar, where for the privilege of paying £10 for a vodka, we were treated to sharing a room with the divine JUDE LAW (neck scarf and all)!! Earlier in the day I had already spotted Hermione from Harry Potter (Emma Watson) which was very exciting in itself, however nothing can prepare you for just how gorgeous Jude is in person :) Although divine, it was all slightly embarrassing as we were all involuntarily reduced to giggly 16 year olds.

Although the weekend peaked there, more fun was to be had that night as we moved on to Zeta bar near the Hilton (where we continued to pay exorbitant prices for cocktails!!). Later on I left the girls and headed to meet more friends in Soho, however by the time I got there, I was slightly worse for wear and had to head home soon afterwards via the dreaded night buses, which never really seem to get you where you want to go (or where you think you're going!).

On Sunday, Paul and I went for shopping in Harrods (quite suitable to round off my indulgent weekend) where we bought overpriced gifts and dined on fabulous sushi and gigantic chocolate sundaes, almost equally priced with the vodkas from the night before. Ahh, i am truly living the hard life of a backpacker in London.....

PS Happy Birthday Greggus!!!

Talking tax
In celebration of the fact that this week I got my first substantial pay cheque since arriving in London(woohoo!), and that I received my National Insurance Number three weeks early, I thought I'd write some info about Tax here (also to benefit my brother who returned to Australia three years ago after living in Manchester for a year, and has yet to claim his tax refund).

The tax year here ends on April 5th (I have no idea why?) and if you have earned less than £4,745 in the 2004/2005 financial year, or £4,615 in 2003/2004, then you will receive a full refund on tax paid. If you have earned over your tax free allowance you will get a proportion of the tax you have paid back.

You can claim at any time of the year and expect to receive your rebate within 4 to 6 weeks of claiming, providing you do not work again in the same year, and you can make claims that are up to six years back (lucky for Mike).

When you get a job in London, your employer will ask for your P60 and a P45. A P60 is a statement of income and tax to the end of the tax year, which your employer will give you at the end of the tax year. A P45 is your Group Certificate received when you finish employment.

If you're a traveller new to London, you of course will not have a P45 or a P60. You must make sure you tell your employer you don't have one and they will give you a form to sign so you will not have to go on Emergency tax.

You can either do your tax return yourself online (look at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/) or by going through an agency. Make sure the agency is accredited by the ATA though (http://www.associationoftaxagents.co.uk/). If you think your financial affairs will be fairly straightforward, there is a new 'Short Tax Return' introduced this year you can do. Only four pages long!! Go here for the short tax return

You can quickly check to see if you are due a rebate from previous financial years in the UK by entering your figures here
Hope this is of use to someone!

Since moving here I've picked up an entirely new vocabulary - some great English words and phrases, and some downright annoying ones. Sometimes I just can't help myself and they slip out. So here is my guide to speaking like a Londoner... (if you don't have one, now is the time to come out with a fake English accent).

Chav- this is my favourite new word. Would best be translated in to Aussie as 'bogan' - used to describe anyone trashy. Think dark roots and platinum blonde hair, tight white jeans on not-so-tight bums and ugg boots outdoors. Variations on the noun: chavvy, chavster (They actually use this word in newspapers it is so widespread - I love it!)

Scav/Scavvy - seems to be a variation on the above - but applied to things/people with a more disgusting meaning

Are you having a giraffe?- Cockney rhyming slang translating to 'are you having a laugh' (I like to follow this with 'guv'). Other cockney slang (which appears to make no sense at all) are Apples and Pears=Stairs; Would you Adam and Eve it?= Would you believe it?

You awrite? - Is the Brit way of saying 'How are you'. This requires more than a yes or no answer - but an answer as to how you actually are, ie yes, well thanks. If you just answer yes, people look at you funny.

innit- can be added to the end of practically any sentence 'it's raining, innit'

well-chuffed - as in 'I was well chuffed' - translates to 'i was really stoked'. The word 'well' can be subsituted for 'very' anywhere... ie well smart, well good

crisps - This is the most annoying - they're called CHIPS dammit! Yes, BOTH the hot and cold ones.....

Well I suppose I should be adaptable if I'm going to live here - i DID accidentally call soccer football the other day...

That's all I can think of for now (I had a million earlier and they've all gone from my mind!). Feel free to add to the list.

The weekly weekend wrap-up

Another week, another fantastic London weekend filled with friends, frosty mornings and sunny days, drinking and shopping (and Harry Potter)! After a quiet Friday night in (hey, a girl has to rest sometimes!) I woke up hangover-free on Saturday to go and watch the rugby. While everyone else was interested in England Vs All Blacks, I scored a plum position in a pub where I could see both TVs, and simultaneously enjoy watching Australia come out of its biggest ever losing streak against Ireland, while England got beaten by the Kiwis (revenge from last week!). Then it was on for more drinks, and a mini-housewarming for Kate and the other Aussie girls who have moved into a gorgeous flat just around the corner from us in Putters. The fact that they are all now broke because they had to pay three months rent in advance, plus deposit, didn't put a dampener on the cheese and wine event :)
Then it was on to the Boathouse for more frivolity, which all culminated in a slighty ill Prudence come Sunday morning. But the thought of shopping in Covent Garden kept me going and after my staple Sunday morning bacon and eggs in Putney, Paul and I were off to brave the Xmas crowds (and near-freezing temps) for some shopping which we can't really afford. I LOVE Covent Garden - the shopping is brilliant and it looks gorgeous now that Christmas decorations are out in force and you can stand around all rugged up drinking mulled wine in the plaza (which I am actually yet to try - perhaps when I am not hungover one Sunday?). We then headed to Chinatown and Leicester Square, then back to Putney to see the new Harry Potter! I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoyed every second of good old Harry.
Am on my lunch break and have to get back to work now...Hope everyone back home is enjoying the sunshine, as I'm currently about to burn a hole in my stockings (sorry, pantyhose) because I am shoving my legs too close to the heater trying to get warm. This morning on the tube the Metro actually predicted 'Arctic Blizzards' for Wednesday. God help me....!

OK, so maybe London doesn't get QUITE as cold as this, but this week I have sometimes been feeling like one of these poor little (cold) penguins. Yes, I am the first to admit I am a wussy Aussie and I do know that the thermometer only goes down from here - but I was still a little shocked by the frosted grass when I went to work yesterday morning! The things keeping me going though are images of a beautiful white Christmas, and drinking mulled wine and having a hot turkey dinner, ice skating outdoors and frosty evenings wrapped up warm by the fire. I am missing the thought of hot Aussie summer days by the beach but a little bit of change never hurt anyone - and the beaches will always be there when I get home!
It's actually sunny out today, so I think I'll get out of bed and go and do something! The Wallabies are playing Ireland so I might set up camp in a pub, hopefully they have some better luck this week. Congrats to the Aussie soccer boys - Germany here I come!

Don't forget you can sign up to get regular updates from my blog straight to your inbox by writing you email in the box on the right (or at the bottom) of this screen. Then you'll always be up tp date with what's going on with me and London! :)

London nights...

I had a very swish Londonesque evening tonight, and thought I'd just write a bit before I head off to bed (still a little lagged after the weekend!). I met up with Karen for dinner and we headed out for Asian in South Kensington and then went to a book signing in Chelsea. Nevermind that we stumbled on the book signing by accident, or that we didn't know who the author was, or that we only really stayed for the free chocolate cake and wine, but we still felt like very posh intellectual Londoners (if only we could find a poetry reading too!) Now I'm back to my traveller roots though - sitting in a dingy Internet cafe with Ferris Bueller playing in the background. Although in a couple of weeks I'm going to a Hen's night for one of the girls at work, and we're going to the Dorchester for an afternoon tea (for all those of you not in the know - the Dorchester is a VERY swish hotel in London where Michael Jackson stays when he comes here, and I'm sure heaps of other much better celebrities :) Then that night I'll be off to a club for my friend Greg's birthday - some cool fancy place I should probably know about it but have never heard of (maybe I'm not such a cool Londoner after all?!). Anyways, that's still a couple of weeks away so I'm sure there'll be many more exciting things happening before then.... Night peoples!

Well, I did say this last weekend was going to be about footy and beer - I just didn't think it would involve crazy Germans, shots of whisky and schnapps, mulitple steins, trombone playing, pork knuckles, not to mention the poor losing Wallabies! A party I went to on Saturday night was an unexpected awesome night, one of those parties where you end up dancing around a room with a bunch of people you don't even know, but who have become your best friends for the night. Here's a photo of me with Kate (one of my actual friends who I went with).

As usual the Aussies were a hit, and everyone was suitably sympathetic about the Wallabies (unlike the 15 or so big English guys in the pub where we watched the game, who continuously berated us and made jokes about the Ashes and Ramsay Street!)
I was feeling very hungover and sorry for myself on Sunday morning, but being the trooper that I am,I endeavoured to back up for a 'Novemberfest' day, and I'm very glad I did! It was a fantastic day at a converted Oktoberfest pub in Fulham, complete with bad German accents and crazy dances, and I even got to play a trombone! (see pic - I've found a new talent!). The Oompa band was basically English guys in lederhosen, and they only had a repertoire of about five songs, but by the end of the day after a few steins no-one really noticed. Most of the people there were Aussie TNTers anyway, and weren't really too fussed!

Although i only managed two steins (apparently a disappointing effort, no doubt hindered by my shots of whisky from the night before), I think I made up for the count with my singing efforts and talent for dancing on tables. And when the truly traditional German 'Summer of 69' by Bryan Adams came on, my karaoke days from the Castle Hill Tav really came in to play.

It was a top day, however I'm still feeling slightly off on Monday morning. Oh well, on with the eventful escapades of the little blonde aussie in London! This week we begin our quest for the best Quiz night around (we were going to start last week but lost our English contingent when Paul left us for Texas) - so we shall see how we go. My brother Ben is currently out of a job so perhaps we can earn him some cash and turn him in to a professional Trivia-er.

Christmas is just around the corner and it is really getting colder in London. Hearing how warm and sunny it is at home is not helping, but freezing one;s little bumpkin off is a small price to pay I think for being in a great city such as this.
PS: I've had a request to put some information about Tax for travellers and how to get your tax back from the Pommy Tax Man when you go home, so stay tuned for my wisdoms..... Auf Wiedersehen Freunde! Brost!

I haven't added any pictures for a while so thought I'd treat you all to some more pictures of my house! (how exciting I hear you all say). Both of these were actually taken from my window - I especially like the one of the Mary Poppins style chim-chiminy-chimchimcheroo rooftops. Here's another one I took last night while I was walking home by the river, after drinks in Kensington...



Yesterday I went to get my National insurance Number, which was a lot easier than I expected. Only annoying thing was having to take half a day off work. All you need to do is collect a few forms of ID, proof of address etc, and it only takes about 15 minutes. Since I had the morning off work, I went exploring in Wimbledon afterwards which I heard has good shopping (and the chance of spotting celebrity tennis players - unfortunately I didn't see any of those though :( Almost got mobbed in H&M though, by hysterical teenage girls trying to grab clothes from the new 'Stella Macartney range' - "designer fashion at high street prices" - WOW. The morning turned sour when I was accosted by a crazy guy on the tube - who after I helped him get the first aid he said he needed, ran off and left the station master to tell me that he tries to pick up unsuspecting girls like me and try and take them home with him. Hmmmm, gotta love the London loons!

Last night I went for dinner at Karen's new pub home - one of my Aussie friends has taken up residence in a pub in South Kensington, where she pays no rent, but has to work three bar shifts a week. Very handy when you can just go downstairs for a drink. She's living with 16 other Aussies though - we just can't get enough of London, it seems.

The theme of this weekend will be footy and beer. Hopefully the Wallabies will be better tomorrow, then we have 'Novemberfest' on Sunday - the beer fesrtival at a new Octoberfest pub in Fulham which apparently is adaptable to different months...

OH - almost forgot - exciting update!! If you sign up on the little box to the right of your screen, you can get emails direct to your inbox whenever I update my blog. So you can be EXTRA up to date with my adventures! What more could you ask for?

I'm at work at the moment - taking a lunch break (yes it's a bit sad that I'm not outdoors socialising, but it's just too damn cold out there!) I have resisted the urge to go shopping (Spitalfields markets is nearby and I've heard they're really good) - because I've realised that Xmas is just around the corner and I should be investing in some presents for people! I also want to fit a weekend away to Edinburgh sometime in the next few weeks, so will need some cash for that too. I'm getting used to the English pound, although I still find myself sometimes with a silly idea of how much everything costs. For instance, today I went to buy a small can of drink for 50p and thought 'hey, that's really cheap!' - but no Pru, it's just the same as it would be at home, if not more - $1.20. Damn exchange rate!

I had dinner with a friend last night who came to London on a working visa, and couldn't get a job in Publishing despite applying to quite a few places. It makes me think how lucky I have been to land such a great Editorial job in London. It does help that I had a couple of years experience in my field from home though. We were talking about the ways you can stay in the country, and one of the girls said she knows a guy who is on the Skilled Migrant Visa and he's worrking in a bar! From everything I've heard it really seems that for those who want to stay here- you'll find a way if you look hard enough!

SHE BU WALKIE...

No trip to London will be complete without a visit to She Bu Walkie (read "Shay boo") otherwise known as the Shepherds Bush Walkabout, second (and sometimes first) home to drunk and jolly Aussie backpackers from all over and bad cover bands from Bondi. This is where I found myself last night to watch the Wallabies lose dismally to the French, then to drink and dance the night away (well as much as you can before the 12pm closing time - still to get used to that one!). It tends to be a bit of a meat market - but will be a good night (as long as you have someone to someone to protect you against any dodgy guys who can get a little fresh - thank you Greg and Paul).

Now it's been a rainy recovery Sunday - I think every greasy spoon cafe around Putney is getting to know us as we stumble in on weekend mornings for bacon and eggs and a giant latte. I have a lovely view of the Thames though from my living room, so it's been lovely sitting around relaxing before I have to go back to work tomorrow. I was supposed to start Xmas shopping this weekend, but a trip to Oxford and Regent Sts on Saturday left me so flustered and irritable at the millions of other people who apparently had the same idea, that I have decided to do the sensible thing and postpone and procrastinate.. May try Camden market next week, which I've heard is brilliant.

I have an "identity interview" on Thursday so I can get my National Insurance Number. I have to take the morning off work which is a pain (so if you can get it done before you start work, it'd be a plus). We don't even get our contributions back when we leave the country, so I'm altogether unimpressed by the whole situation. BUT at least it means that I have a job and have a cash flow now!!

This week has been all about pumpkins and fireworks with Halloween and Guy Fawkes night all rolled in to one exciting costume and cracker filled week - people are going mad with fireworks, I can't believe they are still legal here! I've seen a few close calls - and the Metro on the tube every day (the tabloid everyone reads) is full of people complaining about how they were kept up all night by 'firecracker bandits'. All the little kiddies were dressed up for Halloween looking cute - made me think maybe we missed out a teensy bit in Australia.

My new job is going really well - had induction today and will be putting out my first publication soon. Remember when you're saving to go on a working holiday, don't do like I do, and assume that you will probably get paid as soon as you start working. I started in a bad part of the pay cycle and consequently will not be getting paid until the end of November - argh! Have spoken to HR, I think they can organise my an employee loan or something which is lucky though, but it's something everyone should keep in mind.

While I remember, I wanted to make a note for working travellers coming from Australia who haven't left home yet. As I've said before, you MUST get a bank acocunt before you leave (it will save a HEAP of hassle) - but you can no longer do it through HSBC/Travelex like I did, they have stopped the partnership for some reason. Try out 1st contact - you pay about $60 and they set one up for you before you leave and you get an orientation when you get here, and some other free things too. I'm banking with HSBC and they have generally been pretty good (I got all my money back when my credit cards and debit cards were stolen on the tube - so they can't be all bad!). I've heard bad things about Natwest, OK things about Lloyds TSB - but you're always going to hear bad things about banks aren't you? At least they have no fees like they do back home!

In other news, we've been trawling all our local pubs in search of a Trivia nightworthy of our incredibly brainy team. Being made up primarily of Aussies, I think we may be a little disadvantaged when it comes to those Eastenders questions though...

Today I visited the famous Portobello Rd Markets - definitely one of my London highlights so far. It is just fantastic and I felt suitably cool browsing through antiques and strolling through Notting Hill. It completely lived up to my expectations, not one of those world famous sites you get to and think 'is that all?!'. As is everything else in London on a Saturday, it was completely crammed, but I'm getting used to navigating the crowds(and now post-tubewalletsnatchingincident, am used to obsessively clutching and checking my bag every five seconds).
I caught myself on several occasions humming the 'Portobello Rd, Portobello Rd' tune from Bedknobs and Broomsticks (had similar slightly embarassing experience when visiting the steps of St Paul's cathedral and got caught singing 'Feed the Birds' from Mary Poppins - damn musicals!)
As I'm writing this, fireworks are going off everywhere because people are gearing up for Guy Fawkes night next week. Last night some overzealous Aussies almost set the plants outside our flats alight. You can tell we're not used to it :)

You know you've been in London eight weeks when....

• the tube map starts to make sense
• you order a pint without even thinking about how much beer it actually is
• you get interested in soccer (??)
• you've discovered the heavenly McVitties chocolate flapjacks, and Ben and Jerry ice-cream
• you compulsively stand to the right, at all times, for fear of getting trampled
• you start calling the bus tour-guide groups ‘tourists’ in a smugly superior tone
• you get your first English paycheck and stop compulsively converting when you buy lunch
• you've accepted the English media is trash and yes, there is and will always be, a major national newspaper featuring a semi-naked ‘page three girl’
• you start enjoying 'Wife Swap'
• you look outside and see a miniscule ray of sunshine and think 'what a lovely day!'

Here's to my eight week anniversary!!!!!

Here's a pic of KT Tunstall, who we went to see at the Shepherds Bush Empire, aka fantastic venue that may as well be my beloved Enmore Theatre in Newtown transplanted to London. The Empire is 10 mins from my place, and has great gigs. KT Tunstall was amazing and we had an awesome night- not sure if she has caught on massively in Oz, but she was very impressive! Better than Missy Higgins, and she gives Sarah Blasko a run for her money I reckon. Very cool.

(check out this crazy guy - pity I wasn't in Worchester!! http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1488154.htm )

Chance meetings, friendly thieves and new beginnings...

Hi all,

I've been off the planet for a few days, and so much has happened in the life of your favourite Aussie-turned-Londoner....where to begin?

Most importantly of all, I started my new job this week and it has just been fantastic! I've joined a young, vibrant company as an Editor, and I have a feeling I'm going to really enjoy myself there. There are four other Aussie girls in the company and they took me out for lunch, or 'Sheila Snack-time' as it was dubbed by everyone else in the company. Having all been in London for a different amount of time, it was interesting hearing everyone's stories, plans and experiences of being a working traveller in London and how they feel about eventually going home. Having only been here for seven weeks, I felt like a bit of a novice! Also excited about the year I have ahead of me though, and all the great things I have yet to experience. Not one traveller I've met has said anything other than that they are having the time of their lives.

Bit of bad news this week as I had my first run in with thieves on the tube. Those who know me will no doubt be surprised that I have managed this long without having something lost/stolen, and until this week, I was in similar disbelief. BUT, my credit card, debit card and 60 pounds cash were stolen from me on the Tube this week (on my first day of my new job - great timing!). At first I was ecstatic at the time, cause they had actually PUT BACK my purse after they rifled through it (don't ask me how I didn't notice) but at least I still had my Aussie cards, license etc. Here was I thinking how nice it was of them to put it back, but (and most of you will probably cotton on here), of course it is so the little buggers have more time to use your card before you report it stolen. In the time it took me to report the cards missing, I lost over 400 pounds (about AU$1000 to save you the math). Today was spent going back and forth from the police station and the bank - still don't know if I'm going to get the stuff off my credit card back - ARGH!! (it is SO easy to use other peoples cards here, even without the PIN, sometimes English authorities are so stupid).

On to happier news - by chance I've run in to four people from home in completely random places on different occasions. If you want to get away from friends from home, don't come to London!! Probably because the Aussies have basically taken over the West and South West of this city. It's a small world after all....

Just a note to say that it is a beautiful, sunny day in London and I'm having a lovely day by the river....!! Am nursing a mini hangover but have ventured to my new haunt (the cafe where the aforementioned smoothie incident occurred), and am drinking a 'detox' juice to cleanse the system (it's got carrot, beetroot, ginger and celery- and you can also get it as a smoothie, gross! what are these people thinking?). The cafe has free Internet access though (if you have a laptop) so I think I can forgive their small smoothie transgressions.

Everyone is coming over this afternoon to check out the new flat so I have to go to the 'offie' (short for off-licence - you get bagged so much here if you say 'bottle-o'), to stock up on beer for a blissful afternoon on the balcony.

I.....GOT....A......JOB!!!

Friends, my six week sojourn of sleeping, shopping and boozing is about to come to an end; at least between the hours of 9 and 5, Monday to Friday; since I have finally gained steady, long term, respectable (and well-paid) employment in London! (Cue champagne corks and celebratory shopping spree...!!) After tentatively leaving my job as an Editor in Sydney, my next career step will be as an Editor for an educational publisher in East London, on a 12 month contract (the maximum amount of work allowed by my stingy visa). Finding permanent work with the new Visa 12 month rule is hard, but obviously do-able (it's much easier for Aussies if you can dig up a British ancestor). The main concern my new employer had about hiring a working traveller, was that they didn't want someone who was going to leave after only a short time, so basically I had to prove my worth and let them know exactly why they should hire me over anyone else and that I'm in it for the long run - so everyone back in Oz, doesn't look like I'll be home for a while!! The fun starts on Tuesday, so I'll keep you posted.

In other spheres of life in Putney, I have discovered something dark, dire and altogether horrifying about London. I've noticed it over the past few weeks, but didn't think it could be true until I experienced it firsthand this morning thinking (and this is always dangerous) "well, everyone else seems to be doing it, it can't be that bad". Oh it is. In the UK, they make ORANGE SMOOTHIES and seem to think this is ok. Not just some kind of orange flavouring, but juicy, citrusy oranges mixed right in with yoghurt and milk and whatever else you want to add to this disgusting combination. I ended up with one this morning when I went in to a juice/smoothie bar and asked for a banana smoothie (I should have run out the door when the pimply skinny guy behind the counter looked blankly at me and said "ah..well, we don't really do those - i can't imagine that would be very nice") Um, sorry, WHAT? Isn't the Banana Smoothie where it all started? Doesn't EVERYONE know what a banana smoothie is and how good they taste? Slightly disturbed and a little confused, I just kind of pointed at something on the menu and ended up with this foul orange combination, that I can still feel curdling in my stomach.
You've all been warned.....

but yay! I got a job !!!

(and Happy Birthday to my beautiful friend Amy back home - have some champagne for me gorgeous!)

Finally - introducing Le Palais Putney (or Putters as it has come to be known)

We have finally moved somewhere permanent, as you can see from the lovely photos! (That's Paul on our balcony). Ours is the apartment second from the top on the right - and we're sharing with an Aussie guy, a Brazilian girl and a South African girl, who all seem really nice. The place is called 'Ruvigny Mansions' - suitably posh for me I would say :) We've managed to score wireless Internet and Sky TV as well which is a plus (although I am developing a dangerous addiction to Sky, since at any time of day you can find either Friends or Will and Grace, or some other popcorn American comedy on). Anyway, it is sweet to finally call somewhere home and I just love it, love it, love it!

Having sustained a battle injury during the Swans Grand Final (don't laugh, but when we won I jumped up and seem to have done some kind of semi-permanent damage to my back)..anyways, I have yet to be introduced to the Health System here and am about to take myself off to my local 'Walk In Centre' because I am guzzling Nurofen like there is no tomorrow and it can' t be good. When you arrive in the UK you need to register with a doctor in your local area (I didn't do this, oops) so you can make an appointment if anything comes up (like grand-final-induced back injuries). If you haven't registered but you need to see a health professional for a minor ailment, you can go to the NHS Walk In Centre near you, and just wait to be seen (which could take ages). Go to www.nhs.uk to find your nearest local doctor or centre.

The myth that London (and England generally) has a crap cuisine has really been disproven since I have been here to be quite honest. Yes, there have been some suspicious looking bar snacks and there is something dodgy about all those pre-packaged sandwiches (the English don't get the concept of a fresh sandwich bar, everything is pre-made and wrapped in plastic), BUT I have to say that on the whole, the restaurants I've been to have been pretty good. I went to a great Lebanese with Karen on Thursday night on High Street Kensington which rivalled even my favourite Al Mustafas on Glebe Point Rd, Sydney. There are also Tapas bars everywhere, to keep my patatas bravas addiction well-fuelled.

Keeping in tune with my record as being the laziest traveller ever when it comes to living it rough, (and being homeless until tomorrow!) Paul and I checked in to a very nice hotel just off High Street Kensington for a couple of days last week (got a great, VERY cheap deal on my new darling www.lastminute.com, almost cheaper than some hostels I looked at actually). Anyways, quickly discovered that there is no quicker way to make yourself feel short, fat and altogther frumpy, than walking down High Street Kensington beside the Kate Moss lookalikes and celebrity wannabes that appear to be everywhere. Although I was on the lookout for Sienna and Jude, it just wasn't to be...but I live in hope. Am finding it very difficult to not blow all my cash shopping, especially since I am still jobless, but there's only so much a girl can take.

We also discovered great chain pub in Lambeth (en route to funky little Cuban bar) - the Camel, which was made even better by the obviously new waitress who forgot to charge us for our last round of drinks - always a plus. Although my mate Greg was very seedy having just returned from his 'Top Deck' tour of Europe (he said it was awesome and heaps better than Contiki - have a look www.topdecktours.co.uk), we had a gorgeous meal and of course, plenty of pints and lovely red wine.

Raining again today - don't want to know what the temp is back home...

This is what kept me entranced on Saturday night - the glowing, colour changing bridge in Newcastle (the amazement was no doubt enhanced by several delicious mojitos). We went up to Newcastle for the weekend to visit friends, and I was pleasantly surprised. There's a decent beach nearby (well, decent for England anyway) and even a mini replica Sydney Harbour Bridge, although they reckon they built it before we did. I tried to refute this but couldn't come up with exact dates? shame on me.

These photos were taken on Saturday night, where we sampled some of the great bars and clubs the city up north has to offer. One with a piranha tank was particularly cool. This is in the Pitcher and the Piano, one of the 'chain' bars that seem to be all over London and England. Anyways, the night wore on and much fun was had by all. If you can bothered to take the two hour train ride, you'll have a fun night (just look at the pretty colours!)

In other news, the interview process is still wearing on and I'm giving myself another little non-income earning holiday :) and the move-in date looms nearer!