In Simon's words

Hi all,

I get the impression that a number of friends and family want to hear about life in the UK from my perspective. The short description below (originally an email to family members) sums things up for me at the moment.

My work days consist of leaving home for work at 7:25 am for a 1 hour door-to-door commute via bicycle and train (what ever the weather - even snow and sleet), doing exactly what I am instructed to do without question or input and returning home at about 5:45 pm. Work day evenings consist of, helping with baby while Andrea cooks the supper, occasionally helping the kids with home work, chatting to the kids about our day while we eat supper and either reading to them or watching a move before they go to bed at 9 pm. Late evening consists of about 30 min of chores, like stacking the dish washer, loading the washing machine and hanging cloths, then either vegging in front of the telly or if I am not too tired working on some personal software project till I go to bed between 11 and mid-night and waking at 6 am to start the whole process again.

I am currently in the process of trying to find contract work or a permanent position at another company so wish me luck. I would prefer contract work until I understand the UK software development industry better then I should be in a better position to find a company I would be happy at long-term.

Week-ends are better. If we don’t go on a UK adventure (see Andrea’s blog for details) we usually spend the time walking to the park and/or local baker (its safe to walk any where any time here in Lindfield), playing PS2, computer or board games with the kids(its cold and dark early in winter), watching videos or going to the movies, going to the in-door swimming pool, visiting friends or having them round to visit and other such fun things. Once a month I have a poker evening with the boys (about 6 of us) but I only have one drink as drink-driving (not “drunk-driving” – not sure why the present tense is used in the UK) is a serious offence here and results in going to jail where you have to be bailed out and your sentencing (about a year later) usually results in a hefty fine and loss of your drivers license.

Cheers Si