Here's a pic of a supper we made a little while ago....Bangers and Mash...doesn't get anymore English than that now does it?? These were Pheasant and Pear sausages, with caramelized onions and delicious mashed potatoes...don't be jealous ;)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Supper Time :D
Here's a pic of a supper we made a little while ago....Bangers and Mash...doesn't get anymore English than that now does it?? These were Pheasant and Pear sausages, with caramelized onions and delicious mashed potatoes...don't be jealous ;)
Long time, no see....
Hi All! Well those of you that read our blog :)
I'm sorry for not writing for so long but I've actually been hired and have been working LOTS. Since I last wrote I finally got hired! And somehow managed to get 2 jobs :). So I figured out that I could work the two around each other, one part time, one full time. I went and had 20 of my CV's printed up, and as Murphy's Law would have it, I probably still have 17 in my bag and only one of the 3 I handed out ended up with a job. I got my other job off the internet. Ah well...at least I'm working now which as much as it's a pain to work everyday, is better than having nothing to do at all. Plus I don't have to keep this up forever..,a few months won't kill me. The more I work, the less time I have to spend money and the more money I make...it's brilliant. But I need at least a day off or two a week to see more of London. Anyways, let me tell you more about my jobs. Now I know I promised myself that I would not get a bar job here in London, because it's so much work and for so little money...but here I find myself with not one, but two bar jobs. I could have gone in the direction of looking for managerial positions, but I also promised myself that although it would be more money, it'd be more stress, more hours, and it'd be harder to take off time to travel and to eventually quit when Trev and I move on. So here I am, bartending and serving my little heart out once again. But tips are so few and far between on this side of the pond that it's not really worth it.
I work 40-45 hours per week at The Bridge Lounge doing a combination of bartending and serving. It's a gastro pub where we provide table service (something you won't find at most pubs in London). We serve great pints, nice glasses of wine and excellent, hearty, home cooked pub food. We provide a high level of service that I'm used to providing, having learnt how to serve in Canada. The owner/manager expects a lot more from us than most pubs expect of their staff. But I'm okay with it as I like doing a good job and providing amazing service to customers. It's what I'm used to. I really like my coworkers and since we spend SO much time working together each week, I'm glad we all get along. It's not perfect, and no job is, but I like it enough that I'm willing to walk half an hour to get there and back and get paid £6/hr to work my butt off 40-45 hours per week.
At my other job, I work 12 hours per week (Sunday and Monday night, working 6 hours each night). I bartend at a traditional old school English pub. It's small and grubby and old and pubby. Stinks like stale beer and is basically on the complete opposite side of the spectrum from the higher end gastro pub I work at as well. So it's nice to get two completely different pub experiences while working here. They also pay me £6/hr, but they are much more conveniently located practically underneath my flat which is very nice indeed. It's not as busy, but I like the people I come across, I like my boss and I like that it's casual.
But working 7 days a week is starting to take it's toll. I really think it's time to get back a day or two off per week to enjoy our time in London. We've barely seen or done anything since we've been here so we'll see....
OMG, we're going to Dublin for St. Paddy's day in 4 days! On Monday, the 16th we're flying to Dublin for 2 nights. Trevor, Franco and myself. I'm really excited. It'll be a much needed and deserved break for all three of us so stay tuned....I can promise there will be some ridiculous and hilarious stories and photos from the trip :)
Love,
Lauren
I'm sorry for not writing for so long but I've actually been hired and have been working LOTS. Since I last wrote I finally got hired! And somehow managed to get 2 jobs :). So I figured out that I could work the two around each other, one part time, one full time. I went and had 20 of my CV's printed up, and as Murphy's Law would have it, I probably still have 17 in my bag and only one of the 3 I handed out ended up with a job. I got my other job off the internet. Ah well...at least I'm working now which as much as it's a pain to work everyday, is better than having nothing to do at all. Plus I don't have to keep this up forever..,a few months won't kill me. The more I work, the less time I have to spend money and the more money I make...it's brilliant. But I need at least a day off or two a week to see more of London. Anyways, let me tell you more about my jobs. Now I know I promised myself that I would not get a bar job here in London, because it's so much work and for so little money...but here I find myself with not one, but two bar jobs. I could have gone in the direction of looking for managerial positions, but I also promised myself that although it would be more money, it'd be more stress, more hours, and it'd be harder to take off time to travel and to eventually quit when Trev and I move on. So here I am, bartending and serving my little heart out once again. But tips are so few and far between on this side of the pond that it's not really worth it.
I work 40-45 hours per week at The Bridge Lounge doing a combination of bartending and serving. It's a gastro pub where we provide table service (something you won't find at most pubs in London). We serve great pints, nice glasses of wine and excellent, hearty, home cooked pub food. We provide a high level of service that I'm used to providing, having learnt how to serve in Canada. The owner/manager expects a lot more from us than most pubs expect of their staff. But I'm okay with it as I like doing a good job and providing amazing service to customers. It's what I'm used to. I really like my coworkers and since we spend SO much time working together each week, I'm glad we all get along. It's not perfect, and no job is, but I like it enough that I'm willing to walk half an hour to get there and back and get paid £6/hr to work my butt off 40-45 hours per week.
At my other job, I work 12 hours per week (Sunday and Monday night, working 6 hours each night). I bartend at a traditional old school English pub. It's small and grubby and old and pubby. Stinks like stale beer and is basically on the complete opposite side of the spectrum from the higher end gastro pub I work at as well. So it's nice to get two completely different pub experiences while working here. They also pay me £6/hr, but they are much more conveniently located practically underneath my flat which is very nice indeed. It's not as busy, but I like the people I come across, I like my boss and I like that it's casual.
But working 7 days a week is starting to take it's toll. I really think it's time to get back a day or two off per week to enjoy our time in London. We've barely seen or done anything since we've been here so we'll see....
OMG, we're going to Dublin for St. Paddy's day in 4 days! On Monday, the 16th we're flying to Dublin for 2 nights. Trevor, Franco and myself. I'm really excited. It'll be a much needed and deserved break for all three of us so stay tuned....I can promise there will be some ridiculous and hilarious stories and photos from the trip :)
Love,
Lauren
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The plan for the next 5 months
WORK AND SAVE :( but we are taking smaller trips like Dublin for St Patrick s day. Hopefully in April we will take a trip to Prague for three nights. Lauren is working very hard, everyday until we go away to Dublin. With all the work until June, we will take a month of just travelling and seeing what we want. That is the plan for now, just have to go with the FLOW.
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