Firstly a big apology to those avid followers who have been awaiting an update for what has been far to long...
For Kim London wasn't entirely new having been here to visit her brother previously, but for me it was and within a few days I had experienced many of the joys of London life - including believe it or not a heatwave!
Unfortunately there's always a catch and in this case it was being surrounded by several sweaty armpits in the tube, including the occasional one in your face which is not an experience one wants to repeat to often (although I've now learnt this still happens in the cold of winter, well autumn).
Things have been pretty low key since we arrived and we haven't even managed to get outside the bounds of London yet although we will be heading to Prague over New Year.
That said we have been keeping fairly busy, we spent the first month living with Kim's brother in Angel looking for work before moving onto a short term flat in Bow with two other couples (Brazilian and Polish) which was interesting but only ever short term as we had to be gone before the flatmate whose room we were filling returned from holiday.
After much back and forward and alot of frustration we managed to move into a place on the Isle of Dogs - not far from the financial area at Canary Wharf and a short walk from the home of Greenwich Mean Time - the prime meridian via a foot tunnel that goes under the Thames.
For those who don't already know we moved in with Nicola and Ryan, a couple we knew from home through friends and have a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment which is fairly new. The location gives each of us a commute of about 40 minutes each way, and leaves us on the other side of town from all the Antipodeans living in the South West which has resulted in a couple of long journeys on the tube already.
Highlights of our time so far have been a visit from Kim's parents shortly after we arrived and the chance to join Kim's mum for an important birthday, a night out at the Phantom of the Opera, and a Big Bus Tour. Last week we went to Wembley Stadium to see the Barbarians play the Wallabies the result while the result wasn't what we hoped for and it was particularly cold (-2C) it was alot of fun. I went to a pub catchup with a number of old colleagues from BDO in Auckland and of course we have been checking out the pubs when we get a chance - definitely a great place to be to watch the AB's smash England, dressed proudly in an All Blacks Jersey.
Hopefully everyone is well at home, things are well with us, both of us are working hard and have managed to avoid the credit crunch so far.
Kim is currently in India commissioning a factory, but will be back for Christmas and then we are off to Prague. I will be busy throughout January & February dealing with the year end at work but we plan to get away for a Ski holiday sometime in March.
That's about the lot for now - as is customary I've added a few photos, check out the link on this page. The picture here isn't great but that's me with the FA Cup!
Take Care & be sure to drop us a line,
Dave & Kim
