Highlights of my second year in London

 

I come from a land down under

My first day in Brisbane and the sun is out. The view from the deck...look at all those palm trees!


Christmas lights on Christmas Eve


Christmas Dinner...aah, seafood!


Then the rains came...


...but the sun came back, on my last day (typical!). Who knows when I'll see another blue sky like this!

Happy Australia Day 2010

So last year, I spent Australia Day watching the NFL and thinking that it would be my last Australia Day in Australia for a while. Here I am in London, with my tiny Aussie flag on my wall, set to celebrate the day...very quietly, I guess.

It got me thinking how I have spent Australia Days Past, and the ones that stick in my mind are always the ones spent with family and friends, usually surrounding a BBQ, a swimming pool and then a trip into the city or to the beach to watch the fireworks. With a top temperature estimated to be 3 degrees here in London tomorrow, I can't see me doing the first two things. But fireworks? Surely, with the amount of Aussies that call this city home, there will be some fireworks. You can buy them in the supermarket here so what better excuse than Australia Day.

I made a pit stop at The Australia Shop in Covent Garden last weekend for supplies for the day, but since I have already eaten and drunk them (!), I will need to make do with a packet of Tim Tams...if Tesco still sell them. Please tell me they do!

But what matters most of all is not my location or my lack of all things Aussie, but the fact that I am Australian. Where I live will not change that.

Happy Australia Day, everyone!

(and if you are a fellow Aussie out there, away from home and a whole lot more organised than I am, then have a Vegemite sandwich, a lamington, a lamb chop, a cherry ripe, Anzac biscuit or whatever takes your fancy, for me!)

The Hottest Day of the Year...so far!

OK. I've been here three months now, so I feel British enough to indulge in a truly British past time...discussing the weather.

Today is 30 degrees, and according to Capital FM, the hottest day of the year so far. Since I have been in London, there have been about 6 days that have been the hottest day so far. I am still Australian enough to realise that 30 degrees is not hot. It's just a nice, summer's day.

But it feels hot here. This country is very good at keeping us all warm in winter, but when it comes to keeping us cool in summer...well, not so great. A hot day in Australia sends people into the airconditioned shops to escape the heat. Here, it's often cooler outside. Today, I had to resort to some Aussie summer survival skills. I closed all the curtains early to keep the house cool, opened the windows for the breeze and made sure to drink plenty of water.

While I am talking of the weather, mention needs to be made of that truly scary British male. You know the one. The one who feels the need to wander around shirtless, pale and hairy-backed in the middle of the city at the first glimpse of the sun. Seriously, what is the deal with THAT?

OK, I understand that the sun is not out often here and you have to enjoy it while you can, but please men, put your shirts back on! If you're on the beach, by all means, take that shirt off. In the city, leave it on. Your skin, and most of the people who see you, will thank you for it!

Licence to Drive

Today I had to got to the DVLA in Wimbledon to change my Aussie licence for a British one.

I was prepared. I had dealt with British red tape before.

First up, I drove to Sainsbury's and their photo booth for my recent passport style photos, which I have to say are not too bad at all (shocker!) and then made my way by bus to Wimbledon, somewhere I hadn't been before. I had my D1 form all completed, my passport, my new photo, proof of UK address, my Aussie licence and the princely sum of 50 pounds. I was ready to wait as long as necessary and had no other plans for the rest of the day.

Getting off the bus near the station, I found the office just around the corner and located the licencing section on the 1st floor. I took my ticket, opened the door and prepared to take my seat and wait for my number to be called. I even had a book to read!

The waiting area was...empty! My number was next to be called and five minutes (yes, it's true!) later, I had surrendered my Aussie licence, had my passport and ID checked, paid the fee and was on my way out the door.

I was stunned, to say the least. I thought back to when I first arrived in Queensland from South Australia three years ago and I spent half a day at Queensland Transport trying to change my SA licence to a QLD one. I had expected this experience to be at least that much hassle. But no. It wasn't bad at all.

Then it hit me. I had just given up my Australian driver's licence for a British one. The licence I have had for almost half my life. What does that mean? Am I no longer Australian? I can't explain it, but I feel a bit sad without it. Like a tie to home has been cut off. I know that's crazy.

So this isn't just a holiday, then? I live in London now.

Oink?

I'm sick. Pretty sure it isn't swine flu, but I'm at home, curled up in bed with my laptop, breathing in enough eucalyptus oil to make a koala jealous and feeling like I could really use a new head.

This week is a pretty quiet one for me. On Sunday, I spent the day with my cousin and her kids in the city. After an awesome service at church, we headed to the V&A for lunch in their gorgeous cafeteria and spent some time watching the kids splash in the paddling pool in the garden. That day, I decided to wear some shoes other than my Crocs (just for a change) and paid the price...blisters! So, I'll bite the bullet and just wear the practical, comfortable shoes and be done with it.

Escaping the city, we headed to Westfield for a taste of home. No matter where I am, I feel at home in a shopping mall. Please don't get me wrong, I don't really like shopping much at all, but in a mall, things make sense. The shops may all be different, but the feel is still the same. When I first moved to Crieff in Scotland back in 2003, I remember walking into the mall in Stirling, after a few months of "High Street" shopping and feeling like I had come home.

Anyway, back to this week. The family are off to Devon again this weekend and I get the weekend off...all four glorious days from Thursday on. Originally, my plan was to get up to Manchester to visit my friends, but prefering to be selfish and keep this cold all to myself, the plan has been put on hold.

One thing I do have to do this week is change my Australian licence to a British licence for car insurance purposes. I'm not sure how I feel about it, since I will need to give up my Australian licence to get my UK one. Yes. They will take it away. Gone. Forever? Not sure, but it feels very final. At the end of the day, it's just a piece of paper (plastic?), right?

Well, that's how my week is shaping up. Sorry to disappoint you if were looking to read some glamorous tales of the expat life in London. Please stay tuned. I'm sure future posts will have something more exciting to report, other than head colds!

Now, where are my tissues...?

I Love a Sunburnt Country

I love a sunburnt country
A land of sweeping plains
Of rugged mountain ranges
Of droughts and flooding rains

I love her far horizons
I love her jewelled sea
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me

My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims of the fires in Victoria and New South Wales and the floods in North Queensland.