So we are in Sydney now nearly 5 weeks and we haven’t done all that much due to budget constraints and haven’t found ourselves a NICE job yet. So things aren’t going according to plan but sure you got to take the bad days so appreciate the good ones all the more when they come along. Since our last blog and for about 3 weeks solid now we have been looking for jobs to no avail. They just aren’t much out there at the moment and there is no hiding from the credit crunch, its everywhere like a bad virus that has infected the job market. Luckily with our business background well drilled into us we always set up a contingency plan so Gary has been talking to a nice Scot man in Cairns who has promised us nice jobs and accommodation if we make the 3 hr plane trip North. It’s a serious option at the moment and the plan might just have to be put into action if we don’t find something here soon.
Since the last blog we have been sticking to our usual routine every day which normally consists of:
9.30 …. Arise from our slumber and take showers
10am … Have a bowl of ceral with a glass of juice.
11am … Go on the internet for roughly an hour but often turns into 2 as Mike loves it!!
1pm …. We come back to the room chill out for a while and discuss our internet news and the plan for the day
2pm … We head to the beach or the park if its a nice day, on not so good days (surprisingly they has been a fair few but the weather is defo getting hotter) we often just bum around the room, make a few phonecalls about jobs and do grocery shopping
6pm … We start thinking of putting dinner on, some of us might go for a jog or practice their skills in Mikes case
8pm … Normally have dinner over with by this time and we either watch an episode of ‘The Wire’ or a movie
12pm … Lights out time and we talk shite among ourselves till we fall asleep
So that’s a typical day in our lives at the moment nothing too spectacular but enjoyable all the same.
The biggest killer about being in Dulwich is we are beside nothing and away from everything! Not a good combo! We are over half hour from city and bout 1 hour and half from the closest beach. Pain in the hole! We often rotate around the beaches we go to, but all on the South side of Sydney, between Bondi, Tamarama, Coogee and Bronte. All lovely beaches, Bondi is the big tourist puller and the star attraction but we prefer Tamarama or Coogee as they are less crowded and we find a better atmosphere around. The waves are good generally in all the beaches but Bondi is probably the cream of the crop and a popular spot for the surfers. Some great stunts and crashes aswell, entertaining either way!
One particular lad Gary and I met a few days ago of note was the chairman of the New South Wales Manchester United Supporters Club. Gary had made contact with him and we tried to meet him a couple of times over the past 3 weeks but either he couldn’t make it or we had to cancel. So we met him in the infamous Scruffy Murphy’s, a kip of an Irish pub in the heart of Sydney but inevitably mighty craic!! It’s the type of place where the days turn into nights and everything blends into the one and a pint becomes your best and only friend (the bar man is a close second)! Mark was a true Mancunian and came to Sydney 22years ago and has settled here now with a family and a business. The NSW Supporters Club is also a part-time job for him as he has a dedicated fan base and is very proactive in the promoting and marketing of the club. We had a good auld chat about everything from Sydney life to his Irish relations. He gave us a few contacts but unfortunately he is actually going home for 6 weeks so the discounts and free stuff he promised us will have to wait till he returns!
The build up to Christmas gets into full swing here in the 2 weeks leading up with Christmas carol services at Darling Harbour and other xmas related events scattered throughout the city. Its still nothing like the buzz and craic at home though for xmas and we would be lying if we said we didn’t miss home round xmas. It just doesn’t feel like xmas. You would miss the decorations, the tree, the sweets, the food, the drink, the craic and of course the pressies!!! Oh yeah and the family! ;-) Luckily for us we had Dani & Joe in Sydney so we went to their apartment for xmas eve and had a gorgeous lasagne cooked up by Joe ‘The Ramsay’ Corcoran. Their gaf had decorations and we got Santa hats and it finally felt like xmas. Xmas wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t go to xmas mass so the four of us, Joe, Dani and Charlie went to midnight carol service and mass in St. Marys Cathedral in centre of Sydney. The cathedral is gorgeous and a really nice décor inside. Carol service began at 11pm and took an hour. We all bursted our lungs and sang along to hymns such as Away in a Manager, Oh Holy Night and Silent Night (however there was no Oiche Cuin verse in Sydney!!) among many others. The cathedral was packed to the rafters and we were sitting on the floor. During the carols the clergy and all involved in the mass paraded up and down the aisles like they do at home. We were lucky enough to get seats half way through mass. Who were sitting behind us though but 5 Irish girls and they were completely pissed to say the least. The sad thing bout it is they were still drinking with glasses of vodka orange on the ground beside them! One of them had the hiccups really loud for ages and they kept talking during mass. Scandalous stuff, you wouldn’t get away with tha kinda ting at home, making a holy show of the Irish in front of our Lord, the cheek of them!! The mass was very long but a spiritual and enjoyable experience.
Merry Christmas.
Tom
Since the last blog we have been sticking to our usual routine every day which normally consists of:
9.30 …. Arise from our slumber and take showers
10am … Have a bowl of ceral with a glass of juice.
11am … Go on the internet for roughly an hour but often turns into 2 as Mike loves it!!
1pm …. We come back to the room chill out for a while and discuss our internet news and the plan for the day
2pm … We head to the beach or the park if its a nice day, on not so good days (surprisingly they has been a fair few but the weather is defo getting hotter) we often just bum around the room, make a few phonecalls about jobs and do grocery shopping
6pm … We start thinking of putting dinner on, some of us might go for a jog or practice their skills in Mikes case
8pm … Normally have dinner over with by this time and we either watch an episode of ‘The Wire’ or a movie
12pm … Lights out time and we talk shite among ourselves till we fall asleep
So that’s a typical day in our lives at the moment nothing too spectacular but enjoyable all the same.
The biggest killer about being in Dulwich is we are beside nothing and away from everything! Not a good combo! We are over half hour from city and bout 1 hour and half from the closest beach. Pain in the hole! We often rotate around the beaches we go to, but all on the South side of Sydney, between Bondi, Tamarama, Coogee and Bronte. All lovely beaches, Bondi is the big tourist puller and the star attraction but we prefer Tamarama or Coogee as they are less crowded and we find a better atmosphere around. The waves are good generally in all the beaches but Bondi is probably the cream of the crop and a popular spot for the surfers. Some great stunts and crashes aswell, entertaining either way!
One particular lad Gary and I met a few days ago of note was the chairman of the New South Wales Manchester United Supporters Club. Gary had made contact with him and we tried to meet him a couple of times over the past 3 weeks but either he couldn’t make it or we had to cancel. So we met him in the infamous Scruffy Murphy’s, a kip of an Irish pub in the heart of Sydney but inevitably mighty craic!! It’s the type of place where the days turn into nights and everything blends into the one and a pint becomes your best and only friend (the bar man is a close second)! Mark was a true Mancunian and came to Sydney 22years ago and has settled here now with a family and a business. The NSW Supporters Club is also a part-time job for him as he has a dedicated fan base and is very proactive in the promoting and marketing of the club. We had a good auld chat about everything from Sydney life to his Irish relations. He gave us a few contacts but unfortunately he is actually going home for 6 weeks so the discounts and free stuff he promised us will have to wait till he returns!
The build up to Christmas gets into full swing here in the 2 weeks leading up with Christmas carol services at Darling Harbour and other xmas related events scattered throughout the city. Its still nothing like the buzz and craic at home though for xmas and we would be lying if we said we didn’t miss home round xmas. It just doesn’t feel like xmas. You would miss the decorations, the tree, the sweets, the food, the drink, the craic and of course the pressies!!! Oh yeah and the family! ;-) Luckily for us we had Dani & Joe in Sydney so we went to their apartment for xmas eve and had a gorgeous lasagne cooked up by Joe ‘The Ramsay’ Corcoran. Their gaf had decorations and we got Santa hats and it finally felt like xmas. Xmas wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t go to xmas mass so the four of us, Joe, Dani and Charlie went to midnight carol service and mass in St. Marys Cathedral in centre of Sydney. The cathedral is gorgeous and a really nice décor inside. Carol service began at 11pm and took an hour. We all bursted our lungs and sang along to hymns such as Away in a Manager, Oh Holy Night and Silent Night (however there was no Oiche Cuin verse in Sydney!!) among many others. The cathedral was packed to the rafters and we were sitting on the floor. During the carols the clergy and all involved in the mass paraded up and down the aisles like they do at home. We were lucky enough to get seats half way through mass. Who were sitting behind us though but 5 Irish girls and they were completely pissed to say the least. The sad thing bout it is they were still drinking with glasses of vodka orange on the ground beside them! One of them had the hiccups really loud for ages and they kept talking during mass. Scandalous stuff, you wouldn’t get away with tha kinda ting at home, making a holy show of the Irish in front of our Lord, the cheek of them!! The mass was very long but a spiritual and enjoyable experience.
Merry Christmas.
Tom
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