It was a bit of a shock when I realized how long since I wrote a blog update. Its now the end of July. Summer in England has been very hit & miss. To me taking a jumper anywhere in summer seems criminal. Summer nights here are far from balmy. On a sunny day it does get up to a familiar & comforting heat. Like a spring day, slight chill in the breeze but warmth from the sun. Then a rainy day doesn't just dampen any outings but drops the chill factor. At time I compare the Brisbane winter temps to Effingham's summer and they aren't to far apart. However when your faced with snow, ice & minus temps then these mildly warm days are just heavenly. You can't do much in winter where going out in summer is really enjoyable. Not having to rug up in twelve jackets to go out the door just to strip them all of as soon as you get into any confined space as the heating blasts you in the face as you walk through the door. Insanely uncomfortable. Catching the train to Portsmouth was much more enjoyable, taking only a 'summer' jacket with me. The Harbour is so nice, lots of bars & restaurants everywhere. I caught a ferry around the docks with a guide who pointed out all the warships with all the different specifications of each. I had dinner at Jamie's italian, sipping on my Rossini, eating crispy squid & delicious pasta. The other week I went into London with a friend from Oz. We watched the third state of origin game at the walkabout pub in temple with an electric atmosphere. We hired bikes for an hour to ride along the Thames. Checked out some of the sights of London, including the westminister abbey before going on a pub crawl near convent gardens. Working at pub has been great. Everyone is so friendly & nice. The regulars make me laugh a lot. Tuesday arvo quiz time, after work drinks & delicious dinners off the menu. But only getting 1.5 days off a week really made it hard to go sightseeing. We work split shifts & do about 55 hrs a week. The pay was ok, but we don't get any outgoing costs like food or rent to pay. Then the tips made it a lot better on top of that. It's so sad leaving now. It's home & work all in one. But I am looking forward to the next adventure of Europe.