The empire strikes (the union) jack

So a confession. After vowing that I was not going to have the typical Antipodean OE, less than 4 months after arriving I found myself heading off to the Aussie ghetto Shepherd's Bush to see one of my favourite bands - The Cat Empire. I was trying to explain their music to my flatmates, who looked slightly confused at my description of a little bit of hip-hop, funk, reggae and gypsy. But a combination of fantastic stage-presence, lots of improv and a crowd who were there to have a good time meant it was just a great evening. I can only imagine how good it would be to see them peform back home in Melbourne.

While we're on the subject of music, here's what's playing on the nisPod for the morning commute to capture the mood of London:

Silent Sigh - Badly Drawn Boy
Sunday Morning - Velvet Underground
Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
Parklife - Blur
Feels just like it should - Jamiroquai
Love Train - The O'Jays
Until the Morning - Thievery Corporation
Lady J - Nathan Haines
Do Your Thing - Basement Jaxx
1 Thing - Amerie
Naught more terrific than man - Stereolab
Run on - Moby

There's a Frenchman living at the bottom of my garden

I don't want to talk about the bombings anymore, I'm sick of being paranoid; not about my own safety but of the other people who catch the Tube with me every day. I hate this sitiuation not for making me fear being here, but for making me judge people based simply on what they look like. That's the real sucky bit.

So onto more pleasant things - with the advent of a job, I have moved into my new flat here in Fulham which is a bit of a mini-UN - we have representatives of Australia/Macedonia, Australian/NZ, Sweden/America, Russia, Australia/The Philippines, and the aforementioned Frenchman who lives in the cottage at the bottom of the garden.

The house is a restored 3 story Victorian house in a lovely suburb akin to Grey Lynn - funky but with turn-of-the-century charm, and it allows me to walk along the Thames bank to catch my Tube to work on the days I don't go via the gym. Everything is very convenient, and is only 30 min or so into the centre of town, but with plenty to entertain in this area too.

So job, flat, gym (and hopefully tomorrow a tax number after my special interview) sorted - which means I should be finally all settled. And that should mean that I should be able to begin travelling and that means this blog should become more interesting. One of the flatmates works for Eurostar and may be able to get cheap train tickets to Paris - so perhaps that will be the first trip, and then perhaps Barcelona. Also booking in a trip to Istanbul when Dad comes over here in September.

London bombings

Today started and ended with a bus journey, but a lot happened in between.

I was on the Tube when 3 of the 4 bombs went off, but luckily was on a different line (Jubilee), and didn't know at the time that it was an attack. We we did get an announcement as we passed through Bond Street that there had been a 'power surge', and we would not be stopping at Westminster - instead we crawled through the deserted station, which was quite eerie.

When I got to work around 9:20 the word was there had been a number of small explosions caused by 'power surges'.

We started surfing the net, got more worried as the injured became apparent, but it wasn't until one site mentioned that a bus had had the roof ripped off that we all decided this was much bigger than a power failure, and shortly after the police confirmed it was a series of bombs. Then there was the struggle to contact family back home - got through to Dad in NZ finally, and then managed to get a few texts out, but the network was pretty jammed, and I was still getting concerned texts late into the afternoon.

Sirens outside all day, and the police were advising everyone to stay inside when possible. Thought I was going to have a 13km walk home, but around 4 the buses started running again. I walked for an hour through central London, before I decided that it was ridiculous to be avoiding the buses, and finally caught one. Streets were pretty empty, the people I saw though were aware but not panicked - in fact a lot of people out having a beer in the afternoon sun, slightly surreal, but I guess everyone picks their own way to deal with this. So, safe at home now, definately shaken, but a good night's sleep will help.

The Tube's still shut, so unsure about getting to work in the morning, but we'll see how things are in the morning.

But how did they find out so fast?

Well, great news, as I finally have a job! (Details unimportant, it's marketing, they're paying me, yadda yadda). Got the call yesterday, which made it a bit of a red letter day. So it didn't suprise me in the least that I received a red white and blue flyby in my honour from the Red Arrows directly over my bus at Westbourne Park. "How nice" I thought, "they do make Australians welcome after all", and graciously waved at the crowds from my prime position atop the double decker the rest of the way to Notting Hill.

I also think I have found a flat to move into this weekend, with interesting flatmates, so more on that later in the week when I know for sure.

The queen has an iPod

Apparently it's the hard to find gold iPod mini.

So perhaps she has also discovered the joy that is Podcasting - basically getting audio feeds from sources like radio stations and self-published audio files on the Internet - you can get regular news updates, or hear cockpit recordings from 37,000 feet, downloaded onto your iPod. Full on techno-joy!

Currently I am subscribing to an eclectic mix including John Safran's Triple J Sunday night show, 5 Minutes with Wichita - humourous 5 minute interviews with bluegrass and country stars, and a couple who podcast from their 1895 Wisconsin farmhouse about the doings of their weird neighbours. A side benefit is that I am now one of the crazies who laughs to themselves on the tube. Well I always was, but this gives me an excuse!

I am sitting here watching the Live 8 concert. I didn't get tickets in the lottery unfortunately, but other than missing the buzz, I suspect the view is better from the sofa. The Who's playing now. I thought they were all dead? Or deaf. Maybe that was it.