Hockley Heights Gazette

Hi Ho Kym here......the UK has been such an adventure to date........history and spectacles at every turn, but I have to say to my Dad in particular... that all those years of ...'why don't you speak the Queen's English' have passed me by...in my experience to date I can barely understand half the geysers I meet, ......and that includes some of the 'plum in the mouth' academics!!

The move overseas has been very easy for the boys and I with Anthony paving the way in organising the house and car. The house is very comfortable, and the estate we live in has many of the boys' friends..so walking to and from school is a pleasure for them. I am not sure how Anthony feels about dropping me at the station and picking me up every night, but I am enjoying not adding to the hour plus of travelling each way to Greenwich University.

My job is proving to be very interesting as I am thrust into major decision making with the Directors of Researchers and Enterprise, budgets, Committees, students, funding opportunities etc. I am currently based at Woolwich but I find myself travelling regularly as Greenwich University has campuses at Greenwich (with the Cutty Sark), Medway (where the historic dockyard and old Naval base are located) and Avery Hill. So as you can imagine I am becoming very comfortable with the trains, buses and London light rail systems.....a little different to Perth!

Then of course there is the multiculturalism of London.......fantastic! In my office alone there is an Aussie (yours truly), South African, Turk, Zimbabwe, Pakistani and Spaniard...in an office of 10 people. The days are unbelievably short, so I leave in darkness and return in darkness....and as my office is an office 'cell' inside The Old Baths...I do not have any external windows and don't see the sun during a working week...and I don't think we have hit the shortest day yet. On the whole the weather has been very similar to Canberra, with low temperatures but mostly blue skies.

So weekends and time off work are filled with castle tours, shopping and international travel. Having already been to Wales, France and Belgium..and of course Singapore and Malaysia on the way over I am one very lucky little black duck! Denmark at Christmas..and I think Ireland and Scotland in the next couple of months.

Ciao - Kym