Change of venue - change of Continent...

So what could I possibly have been doing in the last 5 months since my last post?

Well, I would bore you with the details, so I will skip them, and rather refer you directly to a new Blog... Yes another...

I now find myself back in London. Living in Wimbledon and having just moved into a house share and finally having a room of my own, I feel I can start sharing my experiences once more.

So follow me, join me, and experience London with me at Living in London... (Name has a ring to it, don't you think?)

Wherever I lay my hat - London versus Johannesburg

An article on News24 was brought to my attention, comparing living in London with living in South Africa. The author of the article, Georgina Guedes, tells of her latest two week experience in London, and of some of the comments made by South Africans over there with regards the trade off between the weather there and the crime in South Africa.

Her article has in fact evoked such a response that the comment facility on her page was closed within a few hours of it appearing... Pity that, now I will have to comment here - and hope she sees it.

Having lived in London for more than 4 years, Bristol for just shy of 2 years, Cape Town for more than 25 years, and Johannesburg for around 3 years, I think I am well placed to comment with regard the comparison of living in London, or the UK and South Africa.

Firstly, let it be known that while Georgina complaints of "the fine drizzle perpetually soaking" everything, it is a true fact that Johannesburg's average annual rain fall is HIGHER than the average annual rainfall in London! If you don't believe me, either refer to the following:
Johannesburg statistics versus
London Statistics, or look this up yourself – you will find that Johannesburg receives nearly 40% more rain per year than London.

So now that we have that misperception cleared up, what is true to say is that it is generally grey in London and fairly often grey. But let's be honest - who in the world is not aware of that these days? To go to London and complain about the weather is to move to Johannesburg and complain that you miss the beach!

People do not move to London for the weather. Therefore the change in lifestyle that the weather brings about is part of what you accept when you move to London. If you are a sun bunny - you will hate London, so don't even get on the plane.

People move to London for the experience, the opportunity, the new doors that living in a cosmopolitan city can open up for you. A change of lifestyle is probably part of the plan if you are contemplating moving to London.

Georgina says that London Life is hard – and it is expensive.
I am not sure what she means by “life is hard” – I currently work a 40 hour week, whereas my UK contract only required a 37.5 hour work week. South Africans are in fact valued for their work ethic and the hard work they put in. It is part of being a South African. And expensive? Well, perhaps it was specific to me, I may be speaking out of turn, but I never found it expensive. Once you are earning Pounds, spending Pounds becomes more comfortable. And you can shop at Marks and Spencers – or at Lidl. Life is as expensive as you choose to make it – like shopping at Woolworths or Checkers. And Georgina may want to take a peek at my Cost of Living blog, where there appeared to be an interesting outcome.

For my own part, I loved London. I enjoyed it more than any other city I have ever lived in, I loved the public transport, I loved the fact that things generally worked, though the wrong kind of leaves on the track could bring the public transport system to a grinding halt. I loved the fact that there were so many parks to go out to, to walk in, to see families walking in - and yes, they WERE donned in their rain Macs Georgina, but that is part of the joy of being outdoors for me. Walking through Richmond Park - amongst the deer, or across Wimbledon Common to the Windmill, or along the lake in Wimbledon Park.

Like everything in life, London is what you make it. But if you want to see the sun, don't go!

Despite all that, I am now living in Johannesburg. I returned to be close to members of my family whom I needed to be close to. I have myself a lovely life, a great job, a beautiful girlfriend. I have a lot of things I didn't have in London. I get to feed geese 3 times a week, I get to lie by the pool pretty much any day of the week, I can walk with rolled up shirt sleeves at 6:30 in the morning.

And yet - for all that, YES, I miss London.

Every person will love or hate London. It is a Marmite city - there are no half measures.

But every person should at least decide their opinion for themselves.

Fair enough, Georgina hates it... But that's not to say you must.

Starting a Revolution

It's that time of year again...

Homecoming Revolution, a non-profit organization, sponsored by First National Bank, aimed at encouraging and helping South Africans living abroad to return home, is once again hosting its annual "Wosa Ekhaya" London Event.

I attended this event last year at the Kensington Olympia, and found it a very worthwhile endevour. The London Event is an excellent opportunity to find out all you need to know about returning or immigrating to South Africa.
Personally, attending the event provided me with an insight into what was going on within the job market, as I had been out of the country for five and a half years, and the enviroment had changed.

It also provides excellent nwetworking opportunities, not just with potential employers, but recruitment agencies and property consultancies. I made some great contacts, some of which helped when I relocated back to South Africa, and some of which assisted once I was here.

I would really commend this event to you if you are thinking of relocating back to South Africa, or just want to know more about what the current market is like in South Africa.

Woza Ekhaya takes place at the Kensington Olympia Conference Centre, London on Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th October 2008.

The boxes have arrived!

Yes, after a journey of 8 weeks or more, that took them through Liverpool, Europe, and the islands off Morocco, and then 10 days in customs being looked at... John, Paul, George and Ringo, my 4 boxes sent from London, have finally arrived and been delivered.

It;s a strange sensation, there isn't really anything within them that I urgently need, and yet to be re-united with them and their contents, I was like a kid in a candy store opening them up and checking nothing was broken, and excitedly taking out objects... It was like Christmas for adults!

I was also treated to my first experience of super efficiency in Johannesburg. The delivery was scheduled for a time between 9:30 and 10:30 - and yet at 8:30 the driver called me on my mobile to say he was already parked outside my front gate.

So pergaps efficiency does exist - just not in the drivers licence department....

The Eagle has landed

Well I am here. Touched down safely in Joburg around 9.15 local time on Sunday evening. Flight was good, helped by the vacant seat next to me.

So this is it. It still feels surreal, just like a holiday, but on Monday I start getting back into the swing of things.

For now, a good night's sleep will do me good...

Waiting at the gate

It doesn't help that I have had only 3 hours sleep... And have just stood in a queue for an hour.

Having set 4 different alarms to make sure that I did wake up this morning, I got myself to the airport for 3:30am... So far so good then.

Having previously phoned Heathrow and having enquired as to what time the terminal opened, and been told "It never closes", I soon realise that the terminal does "never close". However, that doesn't mean that it is in fact staffed....

After carefully negotiating the release of my boarding pass from a funky computer that only opened at 4am, I stood waiting at the head of what became a very long queue. Waiting for staff to man the check in desks.... that only happened at 5am... Before then though we were treated to umpteen bus loads of staff arriving through the front door, and simply disappearing, like into some black hole...

Then I discovered that I was exactly 50% over my actual baggage weight allowance... I don't understand that personally - what if I was more obese - would I have to pay then too????

Anyway - I am here at the gate, seemingly with the only souls awake in London, waiting again for the magic double doors to fly open that we can board...

Waiting.... what a typically English thing to do.

Meteorology for beginners

So today, 21 June, is the Summer Solstice - the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere...

I am not so sure - sitting in my room (for one of the last times) I think that in the case of London, this ACTUALLY means one of two things...

Either - it means that it's the longest day of rain of the year,

Or it means that for the next 3 months, the rain will just be warmer than normal...

Just a thought (or two)...