One thing that has surprised me is how poor the British postal service is. I figured it would be top notch, but instead it seems to make life quite difficult.
The postal service is divided into three separate companies:
Post Office - Runs the post offices, sells stamps, but doesn't deliver mail.
Royal Mail - Delivers letters
Parcel Force - Delivers packages
This in and of itself is not a bad system. However, the three companies don't really work together at all. If you go to the Post Office and ask about the weight of a letter, they will give you the stamps, but they won't take the letter and put it into the delivery system. You have to go outside and drop the letter off in a mail box. Once I took a piece of misdelivered mail to the Post Office, and they refused to take it from me, saying it was Royal Mail's problem, not theirs.
There are also tons of lines at the post offices. It always seems to take 15-30 minutes when I go to the post office.
Another problem is packages that can't fit through the mail slot. You have to go to the Royal Mail office to pick them up. If you want to pick them up at a post office, you have to pay another 50p. Luckily, our Royal Mail office is not too far away, but there are a lot less Royal Mail offices than post offices. Also, the Royal Mail office is only open until noon, and only one or two people help customers.
If someone sends you a letter without sufficient postage on it, you have to go to the Royal Mail office and pay them the postage, plus an extra pound for handling, before they will give you the letter. This was particularly ridiculous with one letter we got from Victoria's parents. It was missing 7p in postage, so we had to pay 1.07 for it! For what exactly? The convenience of me going down there and picking it up after waiting in line for 20 minutes?
Royal Mail also seems to constantly misdeliver mail. We get at least one misdelivered letter every week in our mailbox. It's ridiculous.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Well, there's some good news and some bad news. To start with the bad news, I didn't get the job I interviewed for (again). So, now I am thinking I might go back to America at the start of December and try to see if there is any seasonal temp work I can do. I will also start calling charities to see if I can find one to volunteer with, so I can get a volunteer visa. I will hopefully be able to do something with computers, so I will be able to gain extra experience, at least.
The good news is that Victoria has started her new job, as a course administrator for a law course. It sounds like it will be hard work. I have also been approved for a bank account in the UK, which is very good news, since it means I can cash my reimbursement checks from my interviews, in addition to just being handy to have. Under the UK banking system, it is apparently impossible to cash a check from a bank in person at that bank: you have to have an account.
I thought the interview went pretty well, but I guess you never know about the other candidates and how qualified they are. I know at least one had a masters, which might have been a large advantage. I barely made it to the interview on time, thanks to my train being delayed 45 minutes. I thought I was going to be early, but I practically had to run to get there on time.
After the interview, I wandered around Lancaster, and took a tour of the castle. The castle is 80% prison, and 20% courts right now. There's one crown court and one other court in the building. The tour was interesting, though a bit macabre. The guide was a bit like Alfred Hitchcock, both in appearance, and his take on the castle. "Now we will move from the torture chamber to the most gruesome part of the castle...", etc.
Unfortunately I had to wait around until 5:30 for my train, because when I bought the tickets, I thought the interview was going to last longer than it did. Regardless, I was pooped at the end of the day.
On Friday afternoon, Victoria and I took a bus to Lincoln, a beautiful town with a giant cathedral and a castle with a copy of the Magna Carta in it. Two of Victoria's friends from high school (Orla and Niamph (pronounced Neeve, it's Irish) : they're twins), were having a birthday get together and invited us up. The bus was roasting hot, and we had to roll up our sleeves and pants legs to keep from dying. Our bus was delayed due to a flipped 18-wheeler (lorry) and so we arrived 10 minutes after our connecting bus was supposed to leave from Leicester. Luckily, that bus was also delayed 40 minutes, so we didn't miss the only connection to Lincoln that night. All in all, it took about 5 and a half hours to get there by bus. However, it was only 10 pounds return (20 dollars), versus 40 pounds on the train!
Interestingly enough, everyone else was delayed getting there as well, and we were the first people to arrive. There was a giant feast and the food was delicious. The twin's mom cooked everything, and did an amazing job. After dinner, many people went out to a club, but it was 11:30 or so, and I was beat from the day before, so I collapsed in the bed instead of going out.
The next morning we watched the pilot of Twin Peaks for some reason, and then Victoria and I went into town, visited the cathedral, and had some tea. It was very nice, and we managed to get unlucky with the bus back to their house, so we took a taxi instead.
The bus ride home on Sunday was much better, except this time the bus was freezing. Just when it got warm, they stopped the bus and we had to change to another bus (which was freezing as well).
This weekend we have bus tickets to Brighton (southern coast) to see one of Victoria's friends do a comedy performance at a club. Should be interesting.
The good news is that Victoria has started her new job, as a course administrator for a law course. It sounds like it will be hard work. I have also been approved for a bank account in the UK, which is very good news, since it means I can cash my reimbursement checks from my interviews, in addition to just being handy to have. Under the UK banking system, it is apparently impossible to cash a check from a bank in person at that bank: you have to have an account.
I thought the interview went pretty well, but I guess you never know about the other candidates and how qualified they are. I know at least one had a masters, which might have been a large advantage. I barely made it to the interview on time, thanks to my train being delayed 45 minutes. I thought I was going to be early, but I practically had to run to get there on time.
After the interview, I wandered around Lancaster, and took a tour of the castle. The castle is 80% prison, and 20% courts right now. There's one crown court and one other court in the building. The tour was interesting, though a bit macabre. The guide was a bit like Alfred Hitchcock, both in appearance, and his take on the castle. "Now we will move from the torture chamber to the most gruesome part of the castle...", etc.
Unfortunately I had to wait around until 5:30 for my train, because when I bought the tickets, I thought the interview was going to last longer than it did. Regardless, I was pooped at the end of the day.
On Friday afternoon, Victoria and I took a bus to Lincoln, a beautiful town with a giant cathedral and a castle with a copy of the Magna Carta in it. Two of Victoria's friends from high school (Orla and Niamph (pronounced Neeve, it's Irish) : they're twins), were having a birthday get together and invited us up. The bus was roasting hot, and we had to roll up our sleeves and pants legs to keep from dying. Our bus was delayed due to a flipped 18-wheeler (lorry) and so we arrived 10 minutes after our connecting bus was supposed to leave from Leicester. Luckily, that bus was also delayed 40 minutes, so we didn't miss the only connection to Lincoln that night. All in all, it took about 5 and a half hours to get there by bus. However, it was only 10 pounds return (20 dollars), versus 40 pounds on the train!
Interestingly enough, everyone else was delayed getting there as well, and we were the first people to arrive. There was a giant feast and the food was delicious. The twin's mom cooked everything, and did an amazing job. After dinner, many people went out to a club, but it was 11:30 or so, and I was beat from the day before, so I collapsed in the bed instead of going out.
The next morning we watched the pilot of Twin Peaks for some reason, and then Victoria and I went into town, visited the cathedral, and had some tea. It was very nice, and we managed to get unlucky with the bus back to their house, so we took a taxi instead.
The bus ride home on Sunday was much better, except this time the bus was freezing. Just when it got warm, they stopped the bus and we had to change to another bus (which was freezing as well).
This weekend we have bus tickets to Brighton (southern coast) to see one of Victoria's friends do a comedy performance at a club. Should be interesting.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Yay! Well, Victoria has a job now as a course administrator for a law school in London. She went in for interview this morning, and they liked her so much they called her the same evening to ask if she wanted the job. She will start on Monday, so it is moving quite quickly. I guess the previous postholder is Canadian and will be returning to Canada soon. The Canadian will be training Victoria before she goes home.
Now we just need for me to get a job...
Now we just need for me to get a job...
Friday, November 05, 2004
Today is Guy Fawkes Day in England. Every year on November 5, they celebrate the halting of a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Apparently, Guy Fawkes and twelve others conspirated to destroy the government, but were caught and then executed. As a celebration of his failure, and as a warning for further traitors, everyone has big bonfire and fireworks celebrations all across the country. It's a bit like Fourth of July in that sense. To read more about the story, check this out: http://www.guy-fawkes.com/history.html
Victoria and I have the pleasure of a front row seat to one of the largest fireworks displays in London, which is happening in Clapham Common right outside our window in about half an hour. It should be exciting, and apparently we might go to another celebration tomorrow. There isn't a bonfire this year because of concerns by the fire department or something, but the fireworks should be good.
Victoria and I have the pleasure of a front row seat to one of the largest fireworks displays in London, which is happening in Clapham Common right outside our window in about half an hour. It should be exciting, and apparently we might go to another celebration tomorrow. There isn't a bonfire this year because of concerns by the fire department or something, but the fireworks should be good.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
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