Another Update

Well I haven't really done a whole lot since I last wrote but here's what I've been up to: job and flat hunting, trying to avoid being blown up by more terrorists, reading lots, watching the cricket and F1grand prix, catching up with friends etc etc. The weather (sorry to start talking about the weather this early) up until the last three days has been fantastic - over 30 degrees most days and it's just like being back in Hawke's Bay for summer, I've had a sweat up anytime I've ventured outside the flat. Everyone keeps saying 'enjoy it while you can as it won't last' so bearing this in mind Craig, Marsha and I went out to Windsor/Eton the weekend before last and saw the sights. Went to Eton college and around Windsor castle although not inside as we thought we'd come back in winter when they open up more of the rooms and we'd get better value for our money - hey I still don't have a job yet!! The job hunting has not been as bountiful as I had hoped although I suppose it is still early days. My dream job while I am over here is to work for McLaren (the Formula One team founded in the 1960's by Kiwi Bruce McLaren) so I've sent them off my CV and even took a trip down to Woking, about 30 minutes south of London, where they are based to try and find them, without any luck. So far I haven't heard anything back and realistically I don't really expect to but at least I've tried and you never know. As a back-up plan I've contacted some job agencies and will settle for a more mundane job if I have to, as I'm really needing to start to earn some pounds. Besides the job hunting I've been reading quite a bit, and enjoying it while I can, as it's usually my first leisure activity to go once I start working. I've read The Alchemist which one of my trainees gave me before I left BNZ and which tells of the mainly spiritual, as well as, geographical journey of a Spanish shepherd. It is quite relative to me at present, well besides the fact that I'm neither Spanish nor a shepherd.

I am also racing through The Da Vinci Code (which I'm sure needs no introduction) and am thoroughly enjoying it (will probably finish it tonight). I totally recommend it to anyone who hasn't already read it, if there is still anyone out there that hasn't.

I'm having absolutely major guitar withdrawals at the moment and it will be the first thing I buy when I get my own room. I haven't played now (except for a few minutes in instrument stores) for about seven weeks and it's driving me mad. Before I left NZ I was playing up to four hours a day and that was just for pleasure. My fingertips have gone soft and I'm sure I will be very rusty when I start again, but you can't always get what you want.

As I'm sure you are all aware, there were some more (failed) bombings last week and although no one was really hurt, they have almost caused more distress than the first. I think everyone thought that they were just going to be a one-off incident. The fact that there was another"round" only two weeks after the first has certainly made everyone very much on edge, as it now appears that they may be an on-going event. I know a few people who are only here, like I am, through personal choice and the general feeling seems to be that if there are many more bombings then some people will probably move on. Nina, a German girl that I have made friends with is cutting her scholarship with Vivienne Westwood short and is moving back to Germany on Thursday. Personally it will probably be a last resort for me, but another bombing and I will certainly consider moving elsewhere in England.

I can't help but wonder how I would be reacting to these events if I was still back in NZ, you don't actually realise how sheltered we all are down there until you get out and away. I know 9/11 was very disturbing for me personally, however, when all this terrorism is going on all the time you somehow become almost accustomed to it and it no longer has the same effect until you are actually in the "warzone".

On a lighter note, it's been great to be able to watch the cricket (the first ashes test) live and free on TV. I personally believe that the introduction of pay TV channels has contributed to the ongoing problem of child (and therefore adult) obesity in NZ, and probably elsewhere in the world.

Let me expand on my theory: when I was younger and there was sport on TV I would watch it for a while and then it would motivate me to actually go outside and play the sport myself with my brother or the neighbours kids or whoever. Now, unless a child's parent(s) are sports followers they are not subjected to the same amount of sport on TV and therefore they don\'t have the "heroes" to look up to and inspire them to do the same. In this day and age of modern entertainment it is probably easier for them to go and play on their Playstation or Xbox rather than make the extra effort to entertain themselves. I also blame Kiwisports and political correctness as a whole, but there's a whole other topic.

Anyway, I seem to have gone off on a tangent here so that's probably enough of a rant from me for one email. Hope you are all well.

Signing out,

Ian "the philosopher"