Hard Rock Calling

This weekend in Hyde Park they have the annual Hard Rock Calling rock concert in a sectioned off area inside Hyde Park. While working yesterday I could hear the music from the jetty so after work I went to find a spot on the grass outside where I could hear the music clearly. I was getting comfortable when I overhead someone offering away a ticket. I quickly gathered my things gave this lady 20 pound and the next minute I was inside the venue.
I made it in to see the last four or five songs of The Kooks. The are an English band who reached world wide popularity with their latest album. I like the Kooks although it was The Killers who were coming up next and the band I had paid the money to see.
I went in to the concert and was standing by myself and started chatting to another guy who was standing by himself. He explained to me his dad had given him a ticket to the concert as a 21st birthday present and they had planned to watch The Killers together although they had been separated and now couldn't find him. Anyway somehow they managed to find each other in the 50,000 plus crowd and they shouted me a beer for being part of his 21st celebrations. I think his name was Jack or Jake, not sure. We pushed our way forward to get closer to the stage although in doing so I lost my new friend. I found a good spot and stayed to watch The Killers perform a great seat. The Killers are from Las Vegas and are one of the most popular bands in the world. The started with Human and concluded with Sams Town. Mr Brightside got the biggest crowd participation. It was the second time I have seen The Killers in concert, the first time being a few years ago in Melbourne. I really enjoyed the experience of being able to see a massive concert in London.
The concert continued today with Neil Young as the headline act. I was working today but at Battersea Park, not Hyde Park. Therefore I did not get to listen to the concert. Tomorrow The Dave Matthews Band and Bruce Springsteen are headlining, so I plan to hang out on the grass again.

Tower of London

On my second day off last week I caught up with a mate, Andy, from my ANZAC Day tour. He was with a couple of his mates and together we all went inside the Tower of London and checked out all the exhibitions. The most prominent being the Jewel House. This is the home of crown used during the coronation of the new king/queen. There are over 23,000 diamonds in this exhibition alone.
After spending a few hours explore the tower and all of its surrounding towers we made our way to Harrods. It was my second visit and this time I discovered the gun room and the Princess Diana memorial. We also spent a bit of time checking out the pets and the extraordinarily priced designer clothes.
After lunch I left Andy and his mates and caught up with another mate Dan who is a mate of Andys and they have been travelling together. We sank a few beers in a pub in Earls Court before saying goodbye again.

Wimbledon

Early on Wednesday morning I made my way to the fields next to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club to join the queue to get into the tennis. I met my friend Emily in the queue and together we waited in the for three and a half hours before entering the venue. Many spectators including my mate Ross camp out all night prior to the days play to get the best tickets.
When you join the queue you get a queue card number as well as a guide to queueing information booklet. My card told me I was number 4922 in the queue. We made it in just after eleven o'clock and made our way to court five to watch two Aussies Sam Stosur and Rennae Stubbs compete in the doubles. My mate Ross and a bunch of his mates where all watching the game as well before they left to watch the games on court one where they got tickets for their camping out efforts. The Aussie girls easily defeated their opposition.
Following the match Emily and I went for a wander around the venue. All the courts are very close together and there is limited seating so we spent much of the day after on Henman Hill or Murray Mount and watched the action on the big screen. Emily then left for work and I spent some more time wandering with some of my pedal boat mates. Before Emily left though we did manage to get some strawberries and cream as it is a big part of the Wimbledon experience. The strawberries were very tasty although the cream was so thin it was like eating milk.
It was very warm in the sun so I decided to take some time and check out the Wimbledon tennis museum. I thought the John McEnroe ghost was the best part of the museum. A holographic image of McEnroe explains what the feeling was like to win at Wimbledon.
I made my way back out to Murray Mount and found my mate Ross and all his friends. We were sitting a table and the girls next to us offered us their centre court tickets so we went inside and checked out the game going on. By this time it was getting late and I had watched enough tennis. Sitting with all the snobs didn't excite me a lot either so we did not stay long.
Instead we made our way to the exits and completed our Wimbledon experience.
It was fun day although I felt it lacked the passionate fans you see at the Aussie Open, the crowd is a lot more conservative. The security this year banned fans from wearing flags and costumes which I think is part of the reason the crowd also did not seem as patriotic as those you find at the Aussie Open.

Sun, rain and thunderstorms

I have just finished work for the day. I am still working at the pedal boats in Hyde Park. I worked 11 hours today which is about the average hours for the day. Since starting work two weeks ago I have had one day off, last Tuesday. I have worked a quite a few 11 hour days as well as one 13 hour day. The weekends are the busiest time with hundreds if not thousands of customers using the boats.
The work is not too bad although the long hours make it very exhausting. Today was payday which is always an exciting day. The pay is not great but because I have worked so many hours it all adds up. Last week I worked 59 hours and the week before 66.
Last Tuesday on my day off I went for a walk through through Tate Modern art gallery. Full of abstract modern art from artists such as Picasso and Dali as well as many lesser known artists. I also walked across the Tower Bridge. I crossed it just seconds before it lifted. The bridge can open to let through large ships as it did just after I crossed it.
After work I have been catching up with mates from home who have moved over as well as mates I have met while travelling.
I now have two days off, tomorrow I am going to the tennis in Wimbledon. I plan to get a day pass and hopefully catch some good matches. Then on Thursday I plan to do some more London sightseeing with a mate from the ANZAC Day tour.
The weather throughout the past couple of weeks in London has been rather odd. We have had a lot of sunshine as well as some rain and last week walking home from the train there was a thunderstorm and I got soaking wet.

Pedal Boats in Hyde Park

Last Thursday I had to decide where to next with my trip and after watching the bank balance quickly decreasing I figured I would see how I go finding a job.
I went into the office of IEP, the organisation I signed up with to get my UK visa, to see what jobs were available and spotted a job that intrigued me last time I was in the office. It was asking for a lifeguard to work on the pedal boats in Hyde Park, London. On the way back to my mates joint where I am currently staying I stopped at the paddle boats and after a quick chat with the manager I had a job. I thought it would be fun to work in the centre of London, outside in the warm English sun.
As I had already planned my weekend camping trip I started work yesterday. It was a very slow day as the morning rain kept the customers away, therefore we spent most of the morning cleaning duck poo off the boats. When it did stop raining we spent a few hours drying all the boats before our first customer arrived mid afternoon.
Today my second day wasn't a lot more exciting. Again it rained and again we spent hours cleaning and drying the boats. Getting to work today was a mission as staff on the London Underground went on strike causing the cancellation of many trains. I found I was already becoming a frustrated London commuter on only my second day. After much negotiation I still managed to get to work on time at 9am only to find out the rest of the staff had all been delayed too. We did not open till after 10am. Then at midday we could hear large explosions, so the manager let us all run up the hill to catch the 41 gun salute to commemorate the birthday of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.
The staff at the boats are from all over the world which is quite interesting. So far I have met a couple of Polish, a few Aussies, a few Kiwis, a French girl, a Canadian girl, a Bulgarian and an Englishman.
A lot of the job involves cleaning but I also get to drive a little motorised boat around the Serpentine Lake, which is the lake the pedal boats are in. There are always plenty of activity around the lake so it is good for people watching.
I am currently staying with my mate Ross from the Pines swimming pool in Wimbledon. Hopefully tomorrow and the weekend will be nicer weather and we get some more customers and hopefully the train drivers will stop their strike and make it easier for me to get to work.