After Tooting in South London, we moved as a group of 6 yobs to Colindale, North London. It was once again on the Northern line tube (subway) and yet again, one hours uncomfortable journey to work. The location was even more remote than Tooting and besides the Kings Arms pub there wasn't much to do. Truth be told there was nothing to do - boring as HELL!
The house had a garden which was a luxury, but it was English weather, so it didn't get used that much. I remember tube strikes which made travel to and from work a challenge. I remember really bad pizza delivery and trips to the supermarket (Asda) to buy a weeks supply of boil in the bag rice and boil in the bag fish - yeuch! - It's true my culinary skills had yet to be honed!
I had ditched the shi-te construction company and landed a good spot in a telecommunications company, where I met some great people that I'm still in contact with. I think this is where the travel bug kicked in. I was bored of London and I had a few pounds to spare (money - not kilos and a beer gut as now!) , so I spent it on long weekends to discover nearby European cities. I found some old photos recently of a weekend in Amsterdam where we couldn't find a hotel so we resorted to renting a Volkswagen van to sleep in (5 of us).
In London, I kept moving to different neighbourhoods in search of ...I don't know what... To Archway (Northern Line), then Hackney, followed by Camden (Northern Line) before I made my 'BIG' exit from the UK altogether to Australia. I had scored a 1 year working holiday visa to the 'Land Down Under!' - The world was indeed my oyster - (whatever the frick that means?)
More to follow.....
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I. Hate. London.
ReplyDeleteI now how 'I am the Walrus' stuck in my head 'Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun, if the sun don't come you get a tan from standing in the English rain' :-)
ReplyDeleteYeh, Clare found London a bit dull after a couple of weeks and once the tourist stuff was over with and was hard pressed to find anyone English living there! Always amazes me why people in wet countries don't build houses with verandahs or decks and pergolas so they can enjoy the outdoors even when it rains! And the parochial in me is looking forward to the Aussie escapade!
ReplyDeleteYou've had a quare few life experiences.....how old are you........ 110?
ReplyDeleteBaino, good point. Why don't the British build verandahs??
ReplyDeleteSounds like the trouble was you were stuck in the more suburban (but cheap) parts of London where there's f*** all going on. There's a bit more life in places like Islington but you need to win the lottery to live there. Not surprised you got the urge to travel around to somewhere more exciting.
Hmm I wasn't drunk when I wrote that honestly. I think I meant 'I now HAVE I am the Walrus' stuck in my head. And having gotten over it I have just managed to put it back there again....
ReplyDelete@ Maxi: Ditto!
ReplyDelete@ Conortje: LOL! - commenting when you're drunk is fine. - Posting leads to trouble as I discover constantly - I posted this drivel twice!
@ Baino: Verandahs or decks and pergolas - splendid idea!
@ Roy: I'm a born again wanderer
@ Nick: True - I just couldn't afford anywhere inside Zone 2-3 at the time
During some of my wandering years (and how far did I wander? oh, five or ten miles) I had to take buses to work. You can get a lot of reading done on the bus.
ReplyDeleteEven after these comments I still want to go to London...