London at it’s best

So I’ve been over here for 23 months, nearing 2 years… yet today was my first experience at London Rush hour… and OMG I almost died!

Extreme you may think but crazy all the same.

I finally picked up a job in Essex, it was either there or Birmingham, and I wasn’t too keen on the latter, so Essex it was..

So I arrived yesterday evening around 7pm.. Took me 2 hours to actually find my accommodation, seems they forgot to update the map in the welcome pack to the new accommodation block that I‘m in, and they sent me to where the old one used to be…
not impressed jan, but thankfully people took pity on me and found me my home..

It may have been the I’m carrying a house look on my face, matched with the of so overflowing backpack, and the I’m going to scream in a minute expression on my face! my god why do I have so much stuff!?!

Anyway the accommodation is fantastic… Best yet, remember the good old Preston… this one kicks arse…
I have a lovely little flat, which I share with up to 3 others, I think there’s 2 here, I haven’t met them but I heard some come in late last night.

We each have our own bathroom, complete with shower and toilet.. But no toilet paper… (you’d think they’d leave you a roll to start with initially right!?!) and we share a kitchen, and then there’s this dining room/ lounge area with a TV, in each little flat.. and a washing machine, that we don’t need to pay for…

So I’m impressed, I may just stay here longer just for the accommodation!

Anyways About 5pm last night I got a call from the agency asking if I was still free this thurs and fri, as they needed someone desperately for a client in London..
A glutton for punishment perhaps, or the idea of getting some much needed money had me agreeing to this last minute gig.

So at 7am this morning, I set out from my hospital accommodation, trekking through the hospital grounds in search of the bus stop. before catching a train with what felt like thousands of others to London…
There was a mad scramble for the train as the doors opened, with people and bags going flying all over the place, a mini gauntlet run, where the winners take the seats!

Joined the sea of people in order to get off the train, then into the station, then to the underground, a never ending sea of people.

I do have to say that there’ nothing like being crammed into a tube like a sardine you really have to experience it to believe it… nose to armpit, and strangers feeling you up from all angles
At one stage I don’t think I was touching the ground!

Escaped the tube on oxford street, and found my way to my work…

The clientele was amusing, those want to be Harley street clients, that just don’t quite have enough money to go there… there’s nothing like a proper snotty British person I tell you… and today I met more than a few.

The staff were great fun though, and as there was barely anything to actually do I had fun chatting to them all day..

In total I x-rayed 5 people… that’s not even 1 an hour… and these people were desperate!?!

I don’t get it..

But they are paying me to do it..

There’s another locum there at the moment, and she’s been there 3 weeks now, and she was like today was a busy day!

So there’s plenty of time to play on line, I’ve already read the entire range of magazines they have there too..

I’m taking a book tomorrow… I’ll be prepared.

They do have a good thing going in the fact that there is an EAT café just down the road… I’m a sucker for their Chai Latte’s, they’re drool worthy, so sickly sweet… mmmm

And they are a 2 min walk from Oxford street, so I got to spend my lunch time wandering about, buying cool things for my new room. Like sheets, a doona, and a doona over another pillow cause the one they have was barely there… and some funky soft warm socks… I cant wait for bed! And it all cost me like 10pounds.. Bargain I tell you bargain!

Oh and I finally put my waterproof film camera from La tomatino into get processed, so I get to pick those up tomorrow, hilarious I bet!

I also reallocated hospital funding to my accommodation, in the way of some toilet rolls, only fair!
So all I need now is a shower mat, so I don’t leak water all over the bathroom, and to find the supermarket around here…

The adventures continued as I made my way home.

I was in the tube station waiting for the tube, when that lovely announcement comes over, “body under train” and on the line I needed…
Couldn’t they have waited 10mins… seriously!

So the mass of people turned and pushed their way back out of the tube station, and it started to rain, so I caught a bus.. thinking it would be easy enough…
Have you seen the speed at which the buses travel along at peak hour… it would have been quicker to walk, but I was lazy and carrying huge bags of goodies, so I stuck it out..
1hr it took to go about 4km…

Then half way decided to terminate…. It was the drivers home time, and since we’d taken so long he just decided to kick us off and go home..

So off we got again…

Waited another 20mins for the next bus…

where there was this whacked out lady, screaming abuse at anyone that got in her line of sight! (she hit one old man on the head with her walking stick, because he nodded at her!)

Then the train on the way home, was packed, and stopped for like 20mins in the middle of nowhere because of signal failure.. the guy next to me had that nervous flick for the head, that almost looked like he was having mini seizures, and keep making strange gurgling sounds…
I was thankful to get off.

Only to walk into a full on drug bust at the exit to the station... with sniffer dogs chasing people down platforms, and about 40 bobby's around...

Only took me from 7am-9pm for the days adventures…

it’s a bit crazy when you’re almost travelling as much as you’re working.

And I get to do it all over again tomorrow…

It makes me realise how lucky it is that I can get accommodation at the hospital, no commute, no hassle…

I don’t know how people managed it day in day out.

I guess you’d get used it after awhile, and just accept it.

I think I made the right decision in not wanting to work in London!