Life in Zone 4 - Bryce's version

Everyday Life in Zone 4.
By Bryce.

Although we are living in Zone 4 we are only 15 minute from Baker St Station which means travelling throughout London to different places isn’t too much of an issue. Behind our flat (complex of about 10 two bedroom flats) is a large franchised pub so it’s a bit more expensive than the pubs down the road near our tube stop (Wembley park) but has a huge beer garden which has a good view of the new Wembley Stadium arch and just see the London eye in the distance. From the front of our flat you can see the whole stadium about 150 meters away. Travelling on the tube is ok with plenty of trains mostly all on time. The biggest issue is peoples BO, not just men.

I’ve worked at the stadium a bit doing electrical maintenance work (if you can call it work) at the live earth concert (chilly pepper, foo fighters from about 20 meters away), metallica concert (which was an eye opener) and Man Utd vs Chelsea (at times no more than two meters from the pitch), I’ve also worked in Beckham’s box (with large football pictures of himself on the walls) and the Chelsea box but no one was there at the time. The Chelsea box is quite grand with a giant glass dinning table and letter couches.

There seems to be a lot of electrical work in the city with 90% of the work force foreign, I’ve worked with Poles(many early 20’s couples who are here for the pound and don’t seem to want to mix in English culture. One guy said there was no culture in England but when I asked if he knew anything about the country he had no idea of even the obvious things), Portuguese (laid back and cool), Australians, Kiwis, South Africans (black and white), many African nations you only hear of at the Olympic opening ceremony, Indians, Moroccans, Kenyans, West Indians (lots of cool handshakes and slang), Zimbabweans, one Ex Nepalese Ghurker and a couple of devout British Muslims who after a few conversations seemed a bit out there, one said he cant wait for the war in Iraq to finish so they can start a jihad in Britain. One guy was white and well educated and even the other Muslims on the jobsite said he had a problem. After a week they kicked him off site even though the foreman was shitting himself and for a day or so we all were a bit concerned. The other Muslims I’ve meet are lovely caring people who are so open to explain there religion and lifestyles without forcing it down your neck, compared to some of the black African Christians on the jobsites. The way the white South Africans talk about the state of there country is very interesting compared to the way the black South Africans see it. A lot of the whites I’ve meet between 20-30 say they will never go back because a lot of them are losing there jobs to blacks who are a long way from qualified for there position because of ‘Affirmative Action’. They believe this is happening in every field of employment over the country. But on the other side one black guy told me of some of the atrocities that his family and friends experienced in the dark times of there country. Now members of his family can become anything they want to be and go to university and study what they want and not be told what occupation they will do. The whites believe there economy cannot sustain the financial loses from the down turn in qualified labour and will soon be on its knees, many say they want to move to Australia.

Over the past few months I’ve been working at a financial estate next to Liverpool st station which is becoming a bit of a drag compared to the jobsite l was on for the first three months. Working with an Italian and a Pole who have poor English is becoming frustrating and in the electrical field that can be a little dangerous. I’ve done some night shift work at Sky TV (Foxtel) studios which consists of watching full sky on a Lcd TV until about eleven o’clock then they pull out giant mats and sleep till six o’clock, then off to my normal day job. I work most weekends coz the money is good. I miss working on the large jobsite I was on only because of the different cultures and people I meet, but I’ve caught up with a couple of guys since. All the work I do is through an agency which is perfect for when we travel but you only get paid for the days you work, but the money is good so it all works out pretty well.

Outside of work we have been to Lords a couple of times to a test match and a county 20/20, done a tour of the pavilion, good mushroom and chicken pies. Went to the tennis at Wimbledon had strawberries and cream, didn’t realise how close to the court you can get. Sight seen all the London stuff big names and did a tour of the tower and went up the wheel on the weekend just gone. On Katrina’s (my cousin) birthday we did a jack the ripper tour which was great. I’m working right near some of the murder scene at the moment and it’s pretty cool to walk the streets on my lunch break. Spending probably to much time in the London cafés, but fried eggs on toast loaded with butter with red sauce and a cup of tea is a growing man fuel(just side ways not up). Most nights are spent watching Eastenders (fantastic soap) or at the pub watching cricket/footy. Our memberships to Arsenal have finally come through and since we became members they sold Henry (my reason to follow them) and Freddie Ljungberg (Caitlin’s reason for following them), but are flying at the moment. We went to watch them in a pre-season comp at the Emirates (new home ground) against Paris St Germaine and on Wednesday night we are off to see them play Sevilla in the Champions League. Tickets to the footy here are hard to get, you can’t get a ticket without a membership and Arsenal have 180,000 members with a ground capacity of 60,000, making them the second richest club in Europe behind Real Madrid. Off to a Xavier Rudd concert next week, but refuse to go to a Walkabout pub (Australia theme pub) ever again after we went to one with Lockie Grace and his girlfriend Anna to watch Geelong play the Kangaroos and heard someone say “oh, Lamby’s would be going off tonight”. The concert is next to a walkabout.

The weather has been great over the past few months but the nights are just starting to get colder and its getting dark by 7.30 pm, winters on its way. Hope every ones births, pregnancies, engagements, jobs, new houses, footy/netball finals and lives are all well.
Oh, here they don’t have cruisers so I drink cider or shandies!
Cheers Bryce.
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