Ahoy me hearties,
Monday: On Sunday night, got a text from an old friend from Invercargill, Mike Gane. We used to live on Anglesey street and play heaps of cricket together. Anyway, he was taking an early morning trip to Rye, a small and extremely quaint town in Kent County.
Once I managed to convince him that an 8am start was not a good idea, I agree to tag along and go for a catch up.
It was a two hour train journey and we had a good old catch up. I was about three or so years older than him at school and my last year of uni was his first, so I hadn't seen him much in the last decade or so, apart from once in Invercargill.
So we got to Rye and it was very English. We strolled around the cobblestone streets which were pretty painful to walk on, actually. We saw a small castle and a few clock towers and generally soaked in some Englishness.
Highlight of the day would probably have to be the Shepherds pie I had for lunch at the Old Bell pub, which was built circa the 1500s. The plate was probably a foot in diameter and there were heaps of chips and stew. Bloody delicious. Mike had a cod that looked like it weighed a ton.
Carried on walking after lunch, checked out a lookout point and then saw a few shops. There's not really a lot to do in Rye. You can see the whole place in a couple of hours easy walk. Bit of an old lady's town but worth going to.
Found a wee shop called "Simon the Pieman", named after the old nursery rhyme. Bought a bag of fudge with myriad flavours (chocolate is still the best) and scoffed them, letting the sugary goodness begin the assault on my teeth.
After that, there wasn't much else to do. So we went back to the Old Bell, which we thought was the best pub there and had a couple before heading back on the train at 6pm.
Was good to have a catch up with Mike. He works in the financial department at ITV (who make Coronation Street). If I get pressed for work, it's possible some graphics work might open up there.
Once I got back to London, it was back to Raynes Park (near Wimbledon) where I was staying with Craig and Linda, friends I met in Australia through Scott. I had been staying with them since the weekend, but neglected to mention that earlier in this blog.
Tuesday: Caught up with Tim Dove for lunch and got keys for his house as I will be house sitting for two weeks while he goes on holiday. Met up in Tower Hill, so I took a stroll across Harbour bridge and could see a few of London's sites. Didn't have my camera with me, so I decided I'd go back and do it properly another day.
Wedsnesday: Went into Craig's work to do some portfolio stuff. He owns a small film production company that make a few TV ads as well as some documentaries for bands and musical acts. They do a few videogame related ads/promotional things as well. Recently they filmed a short horror film and currently have three films in the formative stages.
Craig actually used to work as a foley editor, (i.e recording the people in recording studios who create sound effects for film), among other things, on a number of Hollywood flicks, such as Face Off (John Woo), The Village (M Night Shyamalan) and Kill Bill (Quentin Tarantino) but has branched off on his own.
So yeah, went in there and did a bit of portfolio work. Later on, went to catch up with Nick Jones in Hammersmith. He was having a get together as he leaves today (Monday) for home, via a big European trip. Caught up with him and his friends.
Thursday and Friday: Again, took it pretty easy. Did a few chores that needed doing. Bought a new phone as my last one had given up the ghost. Couldn't turn it on, so was unable to get numbers as they were stored in phone memory, not the SIM card. Doh! Didn't get a super fancy phone, as there's no real point. Stayed at Mike Gane's house for a night as Linda's parents were stopping through from Italy to the USA and needed a room for the night.
Saturday: Nick was having a BBQ for his leaving do. Before that, we went to a pub to watch the All Blacks lose. Lots of South African's cheering in the bar, which was teeth grindingly annoying. I comforted myself with the knowledge that SA is still a third world country and NZ isn't. Ho ho ho. Still, the AB's made a lot of basic errors although it was exciting to see them throw the ball around again. Had the passes stuck, it might have been a different result. Still, can't remember the last time I saw such a strong Springbok team. Maybe '95 when they won the world cup. They're very, very good. But the AB's can only improve.
So later on, went back to Nick's and the BBQ kicked off under the overcast British sky. Was a good night, met a few new people and had a good old chat to Jonesy and a bunch of other Kiwi's. Stayed there overnight as I missed the last train.
Sunday: Said my goodbyes to Nick and Leigh as they head for a 60 day trip around France, Spain and the Greek islands before going home. Went back to Raynes Park and shouted Craig and Linda some dinner as a thank you for putting me up for the week.
Monday: Today I'm off to stay in Camden Town at Tim's place. The same place I stayed in my first week of London. Tim and his GF are going sailing in the Greek Islands for a week before doing a small trip to Holland. No real plans, except to eat a bit better than I have been and carry on with getting stuff ready for the job hunting.
Hope all is well with everyone.
