We are a week into our "london Lives". So far, it has been a week of mixed emotions! It began like this...

After my tedious Gautrain journey from Sandton to O.R Thambo airport (A whole 4 stops!), I was met by Zoe at international departures. Because we had split up in S.A we had turned 1 bag into 2. The last thing we needed in London was another bag! Our strategy was to pack at the terminal and scrap the cheap carry bag. Only problem was that Zoe's cream had exploded under pressure on her Durban to Jobburg flight, so all her clothes were covered in the stuff! Fortunately I had a plastic bag handy. We re-packed successfully and then offloaded the extra bag to a woman less fortunate than ourselves. Now that is unfortunate!

We checked in and agreed that we could not leave S.A without indulging in some Spur ribs. What a mistake! Worst ribs ever tasted. They literally left a bad taste in my mouth. After our sinew filled, questionable meal we had R30 left to blow before we boarded our Iberia flight. R30 in S.A does not buy you much in S.A anymore, espcially in the airport! I however, managed to find a shop that sold R10 savanah ciders! That's $1.40 each. So what did I do? I bought 3! We drank them on the travelator on the way to our boarding gate. They were the perfect drink to wash down a sleeping tablet with, because the flight was over before I knew it!

We arrived in Heathrow which troubled us. It is our theory that if you don't fly into Hethrow, then you won't get the Heathrow injection. On our previous flights, we had flown into Stanstead & Gatwick. We spent the first night near the airport at the Comfort Inn. It was very comfortable until I felt the agony of the Springboks losing to Scotland! I unfortunately managed to catch the last 7 minutes of the game. The next morning, we were out and about and off to Wimbledon. This is where we will be staying while we look for a place to rent.

We were welcomed by Richard, Scott (Beefy) & Kyle (Pinky). Kyle was experiencing a monumental hangover from that Saturday night which ended up following through until Wednesday. Kyle took it upon himself to gives us hours of invaluable advice about moving to London, where to live and how to get work! Richard and Beefy on the other hand work extremely long hours leaving at approximately 6 a.m and getting back home at 9 p.m each night! Zoe and I are staying in a very small room but the pull out bed at floor level is unbelievably comfy! We have been getting great sleep and have been sleeping until 10 a.m on most days! House and job hunting is quite draining!

We spent the entire week online looking for places to rent. It is extremely difficult finding a reasonable room to rent anywhere! To make matters worse, nobody wants to share with a couple! It is not worth an additional couple of pounds for having yet another person share a toilet with you! There are definately suburbs to avoid and proximity to an underground is vital! There are tons of scam artists on sites such as gumtree. They try to lure people in by posting attractive ads online, meeting the prospective tenants in person, gaining their trust and then scamming them for their deposits! We met one of these scammers! His alias was Colin and he was supposedly from Cardiff. He had a wonderful home, newly painted, wooden floors, large bedrooms etc... for an unbelievable price! Alarm bells started sounding when he didn't care that we didn't have jobs or references in the U.K. He said we could have the place if we paid 2 months directly to his bank account! Lucky pinky had stayed home, cause he taught us that all deposits by law are paid to a third party government department! We weren't fooled and managed to get away without losing any money. We listed with a few agencies to find a 2 bedroom place to share with our friend Bec. The problem is that they want 6 months rent upfront or someone in the U.K to guarantee us because we are currently unemployed! Big snag! So we are currently exploring our options. During the week, I listed with and was interviewed by 3 recruitment agencies. I am holding thumbs for a good outcome from that. Keagen invited me to a lunch to meet recruiters from Michael Page recruitment. That went very well and they will circulate my C.V.

After lunch, we killed a few hours and shared a Wasabi dinner (Asian food). We ordered the Teriyaki Beef. 4 pounds to feed 2 people isn't too bad! We were scheduled to meet with an estate agent at 6.45 p.m. We were hoping that the house would be nice after viewing a few horrific "homes". One earlier in the day had a layer of mould on the walls. It was so convincing that it looked like wall paper. We were told that they would paint over it! Health hazard instantaneously came to mind! Not only that, but the kitchen was so small that the fridge was in the lounge room next to the T.V.

The house we viewed that evening lived up to the expectations. What didn't was the 45 minute wait to get in because the tenant had changed the locks! I was freezing down to my bones. I could feel my toes snapping and all I was wearing was a cotton shirt and my woolen suit! Zoe sacrificed her purple beanie and scarf and 2 Aussie girls waiting with us found my matching outfit outrageously amusing! We eventually saw, we liked but the landlord didn't want 3 people occupying the house! We were put on the "last resort list".

So times have been extremely tough! Our money is evaporating at a rate of knots. This is despite the fact we are eating 2 pound Tescos meals! Our tube tickets are our main concern as it is costing 16 pounds per day for our travels through Zones 1 to 3.

We have been so consumed by finding work and a "home", that the only London sights we had seen was Oxford Circus! The stress and lack of enjoyment resulted in tears on Thursday! We are over living out of a suitcase!

We managed to relax a little on Friday night when we met our friends Emma & Benny at a pub in Fulham. This was our first visit to a London pub and our first drop of alcohol since the savanahs at the airport 5 days prior. It's so good once it hits your lips! There is a really good pear & berry cider here, it's really yum!

After a few drinks, we shared a full rack of spare ribs at a nice steakhouse. I rate those ribs in my top 5 of all time! Maybe it was because I was dying for a real meal and the taste of meat! We couldn't afford our own so unfortunately sharing had to suffice! It was good to hear how Emma and Ben had come to London and conquered! We are dying to show people back home that we can succeed here too! If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere! We had lots of fun and then walked out into the freezing cold to catch a tube home! Early snowfalls are predicted with unusual lows of -10 degrees for this time of the year! Thankfully I have pulled my thermals out from the bag buried in Richard's cupboard.

On Saturday, the house hunting continued only to be brought to a halt by the Springbok vs England game live at Twickenham. We watched the game at the Slug & Lettuce in Wimbledon. The place was buzzing with South Africans. I thought the Gold Coast had alot! After a few beers, can & creme sodas and an easy win, we met Keagen and caught the tube to his friend's place in Clapham. We met Charlie (Another mate from the G.C), Ben and a few girls and went to Hyde Park for Winter Wonderland. It is a Winter/Christmas festival held each year with lights, decorations, rides, stalls, bars, drinking, dancing and lots of food including Bratwurst and mulled wine! We had an awesome time and I met another 2 bankers who gave me some critical advice to assist me with my job search.

Pinky has an addiction to cooking and cooking shows! We have watched Masterchef & Iron Chef with him and he goes insane when those shows are on. This morning, he had a fry off with eggs, mushrooms, creme fresh, tomatoes layered with bacon and covered in Basil. We had toast, pork sausages and everything else you could imagine having for breakfast! Even O.J & Beans. I gave the beans a miss!

After cleaning up, we headed to Oxford St to meet Vinay & his wife Ruchi. We grabbed a coffee and an icecream, brownie, caramel sensation before hitting up the streets of London. They also had some great advise for us and we saw Big Ben for the first time and numerous other sights! We even stopped at Somerset House to watch the ice-skating!

We got home and watched a hilarious episode of Jersey Shore on MTV. GTL & DTF before heading to bed!

Tomorrow is Monday and our second week of establishing a new life begins!