Photos Now Available

Well I've now posted some photos to my new flickr account. Click here to see them, including some snaps of my day in Nottingham.

Cheers.

The Home of the People of Snot

Not counting the faux stylings of Mr. Disney’s Cinderella Castle, I had never seen a real castle until today.

Well I’ve finally made it to Nottingham. I had a productive day of wandering around and getting to know the place. It’s much larger than Derby and even for a Monday afternoon there seemed to be thousands of people out and about, shopping, eating and enjoying the nice weather.

My meeting with Adam the other night went very well. We went for a coke and played some pool before his friend joined us. We went to the Babington Inn, a Wetherspoon megapub, and stuffed ourselves with proteins and carbohydrates of all types. Then came the massive piece of fudge cake with two dollops of ice cream. We each indulged in said delicacy and I think we all regretted it later, especially Adam, who had an indoor football game to play shortly thereafter.

We watched Adam play in the five-on-five-thirty-five-minute game. It was painful because we knew he was feeling as full as us. We later enjoyed a game of nine ball at a snooker hall that was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night. I caught the last Villager Nightflyer back to Findern. It was an enjoyable day.

The weekend was relaxed. On Sunday, John and Marian took me to Melbourne. The weather was fantastic. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. Before this little trip the oldest church I had set foot in was Holy Trinity at Stanley Mission, Saskatchewan, dating back to 1854. Now I can say I’ve been in a 12th Century church. St. Mary and St. Michael was originally constructed by the Normans in the early part of the previous millennium. It was renovated and added on to a few centuries later. The stone columns were massive. It was quite a sight to see.

Melbourne is also home to Melbourne Hall, a stately home that houses one of the important members of Britain’s higher house of Parliament. We enjoyed a lovely walk around the pool. The Canada geese were a familiar site.

Which brings me to today’s adventures. I came to Nottingham via Derby. There is a coach known as the Red Arrow that took me straight from city centre to city centre in roughly half-an-hour. Findern to Derby to Nottingham to Derby to Findern can be done for the low price of £4.00. Not bad.

Aside from wandering around the city, I enjoyed some Internet time at the local library. Libraries have been my best source for Internet access, as the access provided by my mobile phone is quite limited.

I arrived at Nottingham Castle around 3:30 and saw that admission was a mere £3.00. Of course after I paid I was informed that they were closing at 4:00. The sandwich board clearly said 5:00, but I guess that’ll teach me to read a little more carefully. I buzzed through the place rather quickly, realising that I would have to return for a more in-depth visit sometime. The gallery inside has temporary collections as well as a permanent collection of paintings of local interest ranging from the 17th to 20th centuries. There is also a large exhibit on the story of Nottingham.

Back to the library for a little bit of job and accommodation searching. A few leads. A few calls made. Now I sit in the Blue Bell Inn, enjoying a nice plate of “Honey Mustard Chicken… served on Fresh Leaf Salad” and a nice pint of draught. I’ll catch that coach back to Derby soon enough. Perhaps another day in Nottingham tomorrow… to get down to business.

Cheers.

Road to Somewhere... Hopefully

Fair warning to Canadians thinking of applying for a Working Holidaymaker visa: Consider the troubles you will have in getting a foothold. It certainly helps having a base. I don't know what I would do without the Holmeses.


Last night I sat killing time in a pub in Central Derby, enjoying a half-pint of a Scottish lager waiting for my bus to take me back to Findern. The place was dead except for the barmaid with a heavy Northern accent and her tatooed partner carving jack-o-lanterns. "Road to Nowhere," a gem from the Talking Heads later career played over the speaker and made my foot tap uncontrollably in reminiscence of my years at the Roslyn. It's refreshing to see the appreciation the people of my generation in this country have of the Heads; something that seems lacking in North America.

The afternoon in Derby was generally uneventful, other than getting to know the place a bit and getting in a little bit of Internet time. I went in to get myself a phone plan, but without any bills or bank statements with my UK address I can't get a contract. Bit of a Catch 22 really, as I won't get any bills unless I have something to get a bill for.

Yesterday morning John and Marian took me to Burton-Upon-Trent, a nice town just south of Findern in Staffordshire. We went to the shopping centre there where I visited no less than three telephone places, concluding in the end that a trip to Derby would be necessary. The 3 Network seems to be the one that would suit me best.

Today I'm back in Derby again. I met with the bank this morning to make another attempt at setting up an account. As it turns out, my Manitoba driver's licence is inadequate as proof of identity, as the photo card does not contain my mailing address, even though its paper counterpart does. Now I'll have to wait another week or so for statements from my Canadian bank account to arrive from home. What a bother.

John helped me out today with the phone thing. He was gracious enough to put it in his name so we can forgo all of that proof of identity stuff. Unfortunately I'll still have to pay the bills when they come. This is a great breakthrough though, as I now have my own Internet access. No more trips to the Derby libraries required.

At 5:30 this afternoon I'm meeting, in person, for the first time ever, someone I've known since I was eleven. My pen friend Adam, who lives here in Derby, has kept in contact with me for quite a while now. We had lost contact in the last few years but he recently found me on the Internet. The Holmeses have been wonderful, but it will be nice to speak to someone my own age for a change.

So I'm very slowly getting off the ground here. My CVs should be waiting at the printing desk. The job hunt can now begin.

Cheers.

I'll Figure It Out When I Get There

Anyone who's asked me about my plans knows that this has become the theme of my travels.

I arrived at London Gatwick Airport Sunday afternoon around 12:30 local time after one of the smoothest and comfortable flights I've ever taken. The Zoom Airlines flight, direct from Winnipeg International, was underbooked and 35B was vacant. Luckily I was in 35A, which meant not only did I get a great price on a trans-Atlantic flight, but I got two seats to boot.

My luggage woes turned out to be unnecessary, as all my baggage arrived intact and (barely) fit in the green hatchback car of John and Marian Holmes, the retired couple who have taken me in and given me a place in their home in Findern, a village just outside of the city of Derby in the Midlands of England.

The drive from Gatwick was somewhat stressful. The Holmeses were insistent that the torrential rain was not normal. We took the M25 around London, which took the better part of an hour, especially around the entrance to Heathrow Airport, which was moving quite slowly. We eventually arrived at Findern via the M1, in the dark, around 6:30pm. A room much larger than I was expecting awaited me with a small bed, where I slept away the day's wakefulness.

For the past two days I've been taking it easy. Life in an English village is quite tranquil I must admit. And Findern is, as they would say, ever so English. Everything is still very green here and the sun has been shining much more than I was expecting it would. Derby is in the Peak District of England, so there are many hills and valleys about, and the local folk are quite friendly.

We went in to Derby today so I could get started on my quest for independence. A visit to a bank revealed that my suspicions about the British being very suspicious are indeed founded. I'm crossing my fingers that the bank that I have applied at will accept me as a customer. I likely wouldn't get an ATM card through them, but I would be able to deposit and withdraw money from any post office in the country, which is just fine for now. Once I'm working I can likely upgrade my account.

Tomorrow, a trip to Burton-Upon-Trent to see about some potential phone hookups and possibly another bank visit.

Cheers.