Two can dine for £10...

Would you believe that includes a bottle of wine and dessert? I'm pretty sure that nobody here can actually cook. I suspected it based on the square footage (or lack thereof) devoted to the kitchen but the more time I spend in grocery stores my suspicions are confirmed. You can get anything in a prepared meal. Marks & Spencer are the best at it but everyone else is in on it too.

Other shopping mysteries include long-lasting milk (too afraid to try this stuff), powdered eggs (why?), and a large assortment of tinned meats (who knew Spam was high-end?). I am assuming some of this stuff is a hang-over from rationing? Thanks to the BBC, I learnt this week that WWII rationing lasted until something like 1954 in England. Isn't that shocking? When WWII broke out, Britain imported 70% of their food supply. Hitler targeted food shipments to try and starve the British into surrender. Too bad they never mentioned these rather interesting facts in history class, huh? I guess the dates of battles are just SO much more important to know.

The rest of the week was rather uneventful. I am systematically running my way down every street in PB. Yesterday, I visited the National Portrait Gallery which was quite enjoyable. There are some really fantastic prices there (and some not so much). The annual competition exhibition is on right now and I have to say that there were several stunning canvases. A couple of them I honestly thought were photographs when I walked in and not oil portraits (which they are).

Short week coming up as I am back in Canada on Friday for a week. It will definitely be very strange to stay at the Fairmont! I honestly don't think I have ever been in one of the guest rooms in my life (note to my smart ass friends: my Grandma reads this blog).

Flat

The last week has really flown by! Everyone at work has been very welcoming and helpful. They are all very concerned about the fact that I am living in PB. My initial assessment that there is nothing here is pretty accurate. There are two main roads (High Street & Darkes Lane) which both run north/south and are about 1 mile apart. Our office is on the High Street and the Train Station is on Darkes Lane. Other than Tesco (UK version of Superstore), most of the shops - not that there are any worth shopping in really - are on Darkes Lane. So, I'm getting in a lot of walking!

The big news this week is that I found a flat! Presuming the lawyers can work out the agreements next week, the deal should be finalized in the next couple of days. The deposit is paid so there shouldn't be any problems. The flat is in the same building as the one I offered on before but didn't get - just a floor up and on the other side of the building. So, instead of a garden view, my balcony overlooks the skyline of The City (which is what Londoners call the financial district). On a clear day, I can easily see the distinctive Gherkin building and it's neighbors. Technically, I'm in Islington not London but I'm at the southernmost part of Islington. London is much like New York in that it is made up of a bunch of boroughs: London, Westminster, Chelsea, Islington, Croydon to name a few. If you are looking at a map, find Angel Underground Station and that is my neighborhood. Or at least it will be on October 23rd. Until then I'm still living in PB.

I am getting used to the trains slowly but surely. Getting out of PB you have to leave the overground train system at some point and switch into the underground (the tube). On the weekend, the trains only run to/from Kings Cross so you can either change there or at Finsbury Park. I was hopelessly lost on the first attempt at changing at Finsbury Park and had to ask a policeman for directions only to find out from him that the entrance to the train platform I was looking for was right behind me. Since then it has been smooth sailing. I have also been getting a lot of practice following a map this weekend as the District/Circle line is closed for repairs (as it seems to be every weekend) and it causes a lot of problems. You end up getting off the train somewhere "near" and walking the rest of the way. In the main areas, there are stations every 1/2 mile or so but out in the suburbs it is about a mile between stations - so again, more walking!

Arrival

So here I am. Sitting in the kitchen of the Canada Life, Great-West owns Canada Life & London Life, flat in Potters Bar (PB for short henceforth). PB is part of what I would call the greater London area. If you look at a map, London looks to have a ring road around it called the M25 - PB is at about 12 o'clock noon. London proper is really just a small portion right in the middle of circle made by the M25. The rest is what were once villages outside of London which have been consumed by urban sprawl. PB is one of these. There is nothing exciting or notable about PB. It is in the county of Hertfordshire (pronounced her-fert-shear) which makes me think of Grandpa's cattle. No sightings of any cattle thus far but I will be on the lookout.

I start the new job on Monday but spent a bit of time today having coffee with my boss. I'm really looking forward to finally getting going next week. Seems like we have been planning forever and now I finally get to get going.

My only outing today, due to jet lag, was to Tesco for some groceries. I had forgotten how exhausting shopping is when you have no brand recognition. Every item is a decision. Some enterprising marketing student should be following me around studying how consumers with no brand recognition choose products! I would say pretty packaging is very effective. Except for the Tesco brand wine. It did have a nice label but I just could't bring myself to buy grocery store chain wine.

For now,until I find a flat in the city, PB will be my home and work location. It's okay for a first step but I definitely need to gear up the flat hunt on Monday right after I figure out how to get a coffee card. Yes, there is coffee...but only foreigners drink it!