Thanks to my UK Passport, going through
customs was a breeze. I went straight
through the e-gate and cleared customs in record time. After travelling
through a few countries, I think Australia and NZ are the only two countries
that require you to fill out a customs declaration form, everywhere else I have
collected my bag and walked straight out the exit door.
I found my way to the car hire and picked
up my rental for the day along with a Tomtom Satellite Navigation so I wouldn’t
get lost. Or so I thought. I was having a bit of trouble sticking the Tomtom to
my window so I asked the guy at the booth as I was driving out to help me. He
ended up dropping it and as I picked it up I think I might have pressed
‘Alternative Route’ without realizing. I started following directions from
Tomtom, which are not the easiest to understand and to cut a long story short,
the estimated 1 hour drive turned into a 2 and a half hour drive. I was taken
onto the M1, then off the M1, through a few little towns and villages until
eventually I found my way to Milton Keynes where Sarah was waiting for me. We
went out for dinner at a nice Italian Restaurant and I had a couple of beers
after a very long day.
The next day we drove down to Brands Hatch
race circuit to watch Brendon race in the Masters series which involved driving
old F1 cars. Luckily I had Sarah with me this time to help out with the
navigation. We arrived at Brands Hatch without getting lost and met up with
Brendon. Brendon won his race in which he was driving Nigel Mansell's old F1
car and he came 2nd in the Touring Cars race. I felt very spoilt as
I got to hang out in the Pit Lanes and Brendon’s sponsor let us spend our
downtime in a very lavish motorhome. It was such a fun day out at the track and
was great to see Brendon racing. At the end of the day we even got a private
drive around the track!
It was then time to get down to business
and start looking for a job. I updated my CV and started applying for anything
that I might have a chance of getting. I decided my best strategy would be to
cast my net wide and see what happens. The first day I got a phone call about a
job in Milton Keynes but couldn’t make it to the interview stage as the client
only wanted contractors that had a car.
Apart from looking for a job, I also had to
open a bank account and get a National Insurance Number. For the National
Insurance Number interview, Brendon and Sarah drove me down to Bedford where I
had to meet with someone and go through the interview questions. Basically this
was about who I was and why I wanted an NIN, because I would like to work was
my response to that question.After my interview we all went and had
lunch at an old English pub called the Embankment which overlooked a canal. It
was lovely and sunny and a good day out.
The job hunting hasn’t gone too badly
considering I’ve only been here a week. Before the Queens Jubilee Long Weekend
kicked off I had 2 good indications that I might have an interview the
following week. As Monday and Tuesday are both public holidays, I have to wait
until Wednesday to find out so essentially I feel as though I too have the long
weekend off!
On Sunday the 3rd of June I took
my first trip into London City. I took the train from Milton Keynes to London
Euston Station. From there I then transferred onto the London Underground and
took the Victoria line to Oxford Circus and then the Central Line to Shepherds
Bush. There was a Westfield shopping centre here where I had a look around and
picked up some Peanut Butter M&M’s from the Newsagent next to the
Underground Station. I then got the
Central Line to Bond Street and walked along Oxford Street towards Oxford
Circus.
From Oxford Circus I took the Bakerloo Line
to Charing Cross to join more than 1 Million other people that had come out to
watch the Thames River Pageant for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. I
don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in my life. I got a small glimpse of
the actual river but I got there a little too late to secure myself a good
viewing position. I ended up watching most of the pageant on one of the big
screens put up along the Thames. It was a great atmosphere with so many people
and every time the Queen or the Duchess of Cambridge came on the big screen the
crowd went wild! It was nice to see New Zealand represented in the pageant with
a Waka!
After watching the pageant for a while I
made my way up to Leicester Square and walked around to get my bearings. I have
to come back here as there are so many shows I want to see such as, The Lion
King and Wicked. I then made my way back to Euston on the Northern Line and
then onto Milton Keynes.
It is now the final day of the long weekend
so back to work (job hunting) tomorrow! Not a bad first week in the UK!
