Arriving in the UK

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 2^nd 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 3^rd 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!