It feels like forever since I last wrote in this blog. It's coming up 5 months since I left Australia. Winter here seems to not only affect the temperatures but the whole outlook on life. It's almost like a dreary slumber, as the days are so short & you find yourself indoors rugged up for most of it. I started a temp office job on 27th of January. I had gone down to the walkabout pub in Manchester to celebrate Australia Day & then received a call about starting at an insurance company the next day. It was good to earn some money but I hated the job. I was taking messages for clients calling up about their claims. Lots of upset people who had their houses damaged & complaining it still hadn't been repaired. It was a little soul destroying, not what I'd call a working holiday. I finally managed to get an interview for a pub job last weekend. Not having prior experience really made it hard. Being able to finally show them my personality not just my CV worked. I got the job. It's in Surrey down the South of England. I have had to leave my friends in Manchester, but will definitely be back to visit them again. I've packed everything up again, forgetting how heavy that backpack is. Even heavier now that I've added more junk to it. Packing light is not a skill I have managed to acquire yet. But I justify this by using everything I take with me on a weekly basis. I must be more high maintenance then I thought. On the train heading to London then out to Surrey. I'm really looking forward to exploring this new location. Especially since the land has woken up with spring finally here and it's seems ever so magical after living in a frozen dark world of the UK winter. There are Daffodils & bluebells growing everywhere. People must think I am a little crazy cause I am just in awe of the transformation. The whole landscape goes through a transformation into winter everything dies back and shuts off. Now everything is starting to grown back. That cliché' of the birds & the bees seems to fit so well as they are literally starting to pop up everywhere. There is no bitter cold in the air anymore. It was gorgeous sunny day today and I felt warmth in the sun for the first time. Outside the train window I pass meadows and fields. There are baby lambs & bright green grass. Everything has come to life. I can't help but be swept up in the magical awakening.

So I arrived late Sunday and started my first day on Monday 14th March. It's now Thursday, four days in and it's great. Sometimes it's a bit quiet and there's not a lot to do. But I am learning heaps everyday. Pouring pints, using the till and all the other Pub job stuff. It's great. People are friendly and it's so easy going. Everyone gets along and i spend half the day laughing. The chef makes us sandwiches for lunch and we get to pick something off the menu for dinner. It's delicious and I don't have to pay anything for it. It's a split shift. So I get 3hrs off in the arvo. Which is great, I get to see a but of sun, get some fresh air and enjoy some of the day rather than working until dark. I get tips on top of my wage. It's a rich area so we tend to get pretty good tips each day, especially in the night time. Well I'm off to get ready to start work again. This part of the overseas adventure is certainly enjoyable. Winter is over and now the good part of the years has arrived.