Geoff
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UK News 29 May 2003
On Thursday I went to a job interview at Law Laboratories, in the Great Barr
area of Birmingham. I hadn't realised how far away it was! Birmingham is about
the same distance north:south as Auckland, but there is no 'southern motorway'
to quickly get you from here to there! The mighty M6 motorway (this photo is the
famous spaghetti junction) cuts across
west:east, but that's no help most of the time! In fact, the one time we got on
the M6 by mistake, we had to travel a huge distance before we could get off it!
It pay to be very alert, and to have comprehensively planned your journey long
before you start the car. Intuition does not work! Didn't get that job, which
I'm a little relieved by - it would have been a tough commute every day, for
much less salary than I hope for.
Tuesday:
have just had my interview at SCH. This was a screening interview with the
personnel manager. Phew - it feels like I've been standing in front of a machine
gun for an hour. It was a quite rigourous and interrogative interview = very
well organised and effective for them, exhausting for me! If they are interested
in me, I will return for a 2nd interview, at which I will have to do a 15 minute
presentation (on any subject I choose). This job will involve lots of travel, in
a company car, promoting their e-Commerce system to their staff and clients,
throughout the UK. Hope I get it!!!
If I don't then I've found a way to make my fortune: we saw a £120 ponga fern in local nursery - about 4 feet tall trunk with a tiny frond
starting to emerge from the top. There's obviously money to be made,
importing and selling NZ native plants! Every since Joseph Banks started the
trade with Captain Cook, the demand is quite high. There's lots of cabbage trees
and hebes here. And not much gorse or privet!
We visited Swindon for the weekend.
The performance of "War of the Worlds" was well done, quite
effective for a low budget show. The band was on stage, behind a huge gauze
curtain. This allow us to see glimpses of the band, during the concert. The rest
of the time, the curtain acted as a huge movie screen - which mostly still
images projected onto it. Smoke, strobes and lasers were used to increase the
effect.
A highlight of Swindon was seeing "the
magic roundabout". This is a road intersection that is quite bizarre! What
used to be one huge roundabout has been turned into five small ones arranged
about one medium sized one. There are cars going in all directions!!!
Swindon is, I'm sad to
say, a rather dreary place that is overrun by yobs. The best bit of the city is
a huge new shopping centre, built in what was the railway workshops. They have
left a few bits and pieces of the workshops, eg huge gantry cranes that would
have lifted quite a few steam engines in their time!
The following day, we meandered around the Cotswolds area, and stopped for a
while at Bibury. This village of stone buildings (including the roof) includes a
flour mill that has been operating on that site for at least 1000 years (is
mentioned in the domesday book). The photo on the left is of the 'Arlington Row'
cottages built for weavers, and on the right is the rather lovely Swan
Hotel.
This
picturesque little village has a trout hatchery - so first the first time in my
life I was able to purchase a trout, being illegal to sell in NZ. That was
served up for George the following night, to his great pleasure. He doesn't get
out to do fishing any more, which is a great shame, as it was his passion.
Floating on the stream were a family of swans. Mummy & Daddy & eight
babies. Mother was busy pulling up weeds from the streambed, for the others to
fossick through, when one sygnet drifted away and could not swim back. After a
few plaintive cries, mother swam over and tried to encourage it to return. After
a while, the baby climbed onto the back of the mother, disappearing completely
under her wings. A while later, up pops the baby's head, out from mum's
feathers. The contrast of the grey signet against the mothers white, was a
really pretty sight! Damn I wish I had my camera with me!
Driving back, we saw a fox cross the road, and a badger (dead) at the side of
the road. Well I suppose it makes a change from seeing dead possums!
Another lovely Cotswold village we visited was Cirencester.
It was pouring with rain, so we didn't get to see the roman amphitheatre nor the
remains of the city wall, built by the Romans. Instead we spent time in the
impressive cathedral, known as a wool church, with faint remains from the huge
murals painted on the walls.
We drove past Fairford USA Air Force Base again, this time it was deserted.
Last time, there were all the American B52 bombers, getting tanked up with fuel
and bombs, with Iraq set in their sights. I plan to return there in July for
their huge air tattoo. Hopefully
Concorde will be there.
The
UK is becoming even more worried about terrorism, with parliament buildings now
surrounded by a concrete barrier - to prevent car bombs being driven into it. We
hope that Birmingham is safe and sound from such things...
Watching '6 feet under' made me feel a little homesick - Nate was sitting on
a pacific ocean beach, watching the waves roll in, as he contemplated his
misfortune. Oh to be at Raglan, wrapped up warm, blowing the cobwebs out of my
head!
We're really looking forward to seeing Miss Saigon on 31st May.
Heard on the radio (not the BBC!),
a new ecclesiastical dairy product: Cheeses of Nazareth
Woops, I'll burn for that one, so how about this to redeem me?
Forbidden fruit creates many jams! more
Until then...
Cheers,
Geoff
Geoff
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