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Greetings everyone,
I can barely believe that I now have less than a month-and-a-half left in London. How time has flown! Before launching into the post, a quick announcement that I have finally booked the second - and final - leg of my flight HOME! I will be flying first from Malpensa Airport (Milan, Italy) to Singapore on Monday August 22, scheduled to arrive the following morning.
I look forward to catching up with the family and friends who are based there, as well as fitting in a trip to Malaysia over the weekend to visit my other maternal relatives, before flying out of Singapore late on Sunday evening August 28, scheduled to arrive in Melbourne at 9 a.m. the following morning. Funnily enough, both flights cost me 294 pounds each!
Plans for rest of time in London
After the end of my stint at Queen Elizabeth Girls School, my main agency Vibe offered me guaranteed supply work until 4 July which I decided to take up in order to have some sort of stable income for the rest of my time here. I didn't really draw up a list of things to do before coming, and I'd like to think I've done most of the main touristy stuff now, especially when Vanessa was here.
However, two things that I still haven't done yet which are high on my priority list are: 1) Go see a West End musical; and 2) Watch a day of cricket at Lord's, which I live close to. There are of course tons of musicals to choose from, and my cousin Vivian recommended Book of Mormon, which I might catch when I get back to Melbourne, but Aladdin has caught my interest.
There are also of course things I need to sort out before leaving, which includes paperwork, notifying bank and internet / phone provider of my impending departure, and planning - and paying for - my summer holiday, which leads perfectly into the next part.
Summer holiday plans
During the second half of July, as the school year gradually comes to a close and supply work dries up, I will take the chance to visit parts of Britain I haven't yet got around to. Depending how much time and money I have, the main places I want to see are Bath (pictured below), the Cotswolds, Cardiff and Snowdonia.
Once my pay from last week comes through, I will book my flight from London to Hamburg for August 1st. I will then have three weeks traveling around before flying out to Singapore. My basic itinerary looks like this:
- August 1-4: HAMBURG, then take bus to Dresden
- August 4-7: DRESDEN, then take bus to Vienna
- August 7-13: VIENNA, during which time I hope to enrol at the Institut EWI for a week-long intensive German course
- Take bus or train to Salzburg
- August 13-15: SALZBURG, then take bus / train to Kitzbühel
- August 15-17: KITZBÜHEL, meet up with Greta, one of the tour guides from MUCS Choir Trip back in 2014
- Bus / train to Kitzbühel to INNSBRUCK, then stay overnight in Innsbruck, then take bus from Innsbruck to Milan on August 18
- August 18 - 22: MILAN, including a day trip to Como. Flying out at 12 pm on the 22nd, taking the Malpensa Express
It's voting time!
There probably hasn't been that much news about it back in Australia, but over here the time has almost arrived for the people to decide. This Thursday there is going to be a referendum on whether the UK should stay in or leave the EU. There are strong arguments on both sides, and the question of whether to leave or stay has divided the public. Although the government's official stance, according to their website, is to remain, there are a number of ministers and MPs who have gone to the other side. Although as a Commonwealth citizen I could have voted, I have decided not to since I'm not staying here much
longer, and would most likely not return to live here unless I could afford it. Whatever the outcome of Thursday's referendum is, it will be interesting to observe the consequences.
However, there is something else that has got my attention, which is of course the upcoming Australian federal election on 2 July. Over here, we have the option of either postal vote or going to Australia House until July 1 to submit our vote. Although some people I know who are overseas have opted out of it, either because they can't be bothered or they can't see how their vote is going to make any difference, I nonetheless wish to exercise my civic right and responsibility to have a say in who should run our country. Whichever party is elected, I hope and pray that as always they will govern wisely and ensure that Australia will remain a place of peace and prosperity for future generations.
Cheers and God bless!
Greetings dear readers!
After a busy few months, I'm glad to have the chance to sit down and update you on how things have been going in London. As always, there's a lot to catch up on, so let's get straight into it.
Vanessa's visit
As mentioned from my previous post, my girlfriend Vanessa flew over to London to join me for the Easter holiday. Annoyingly, the Piccadilly line - which goes directly to Heathrow Airport - was on strike the day of Vanessa's arrival, which meant I had to pay extra for a return trip to Paddington via the Heathrow Connect. But it was great to have her by my side again after doing long distance for seven months, and even though she was only here for two weeks, it was better than nothing. After all, it is common knowledge that London is an expensive city, and I certainly didn't have space to accommodate her at the house I am staying.
That being said, we were only in London for about five days; the rest of the time we were in Europe. We had a wonderful time travelling to Berlin, different parts of Holland, and Paris, although we both encountered some difficult moments there!
But the main thing for me, besides getting reacquainted with places I had already been to, was that Vanessa was able to meet most of my friends and family in the UK and in Europe.
My time at Queen Elizabeth Girls
At the start of the last week before half term break, i.e. nearly two weeks ago, I was summoned for a word by the deputy headteacher and told that my services would not be needed after half term. This is because, similar to back home in Australia, the higher year levels (10 to 13) will be finishing early after exams, so the other language teachers, who all take at least one or two of those classes, will take over my classes.
The first feeling I had when I heard this was one of relief, as the workload had been starting to get the better of me. I can appreciate now just how INSANE the workload is for full-time teachers in England, and although it has been tough, I will look back on my extended stint at QEGS with fond memories. Besides teaching some wonderful students, I also had my first experience of the dreaded OFSTED, sat in for parent-teacher interviews and participated in the school's Commemoration Day services. Although there are quite a number of people to thank, special mention must go to Helene, the deputy head of languages who was effectively my boss, without whose help I would have been completely lost, and Denise, whose experience and support was critical throughout my time at the school.
Choir Stuff
Shortly after Vanessa's departure, the London Philharmonic Choir (LPC), which I joined last September, performed Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach at the Royal Festival Hall. This was my second time performing the piece, the first time being back in 2013 with MUCS. While it was probably slower than the first performance, it felt more intense, and it certainly helped having our resident German member Susi Underwood to sharpen our pronunciation. The reviews, of the choir at least, were gladly very favourable.
A month later, we had a concert at the same venue performing two of Sir Karl Jenkins' works - The Healer and his Requiem, being conducted by the composer himself. It's fair to say that Jenkins' music doesn't appeal to everybody, especially among LPC members, but there were parts which I enjoyed, especially the Japanese haiku movements in the Requiem featuring the haunting sound of the shakuhachi flute.
The LPC's next concert is on Tuesday under the baton of its president, Sir Mark Elder. It will be a semi-dramatised performance of Weber's Der Freischütz, which unfortunately I won't be able to attend. My final concert with the LPC before I return to Melbourne will be on July 24 at the Proms, during which we will be performing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall. That is going to be some departure!
As much as I have enjoyed my time with LPC, I look forward to singing again with my friends at the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic (RMP) choir and being back in time for what should be my first-ever Messiah concert as a performer, hopefully the first of many!
Before I finish, let me just quickly say I can't believe how fast time has flown! We are technically now into summer here and I'm amazed (and grateful!) I didn't come down with hay fever during spring. Look out for Part Two soon!
Cheers and God bless
