Attention Poms: Lock up your booze - I'm moving to Blighty

Well, that should actually be past tense. I touched down at Heathrow this morning on a two-year working visa.

I've spent most of the day jet-lagged, listening to TMS, falling in and out of conciousness, wondering whether the events at Edgbaston are real or just a bad dream.

Anyway, I'm setting up shop in London and will be keen to see some County cricket before the summer runs out. All advice will be gratefully accepted. I'd also be keen to see some Test cricket, but I'll be buggered if I know how to get a ticket without paying a tout an arm and a leg. Any tips on how to get in at this late stage?

Can't help you on the last.

But welcome! When do you want your books?

A meet-up would be good. PM me if you have any thoughts!


Suggestions:

Tate Modern

Follow Lancashire.

Decide on a good ale and stick to it. Lager is for wimps.

Try to meet BM. If you do, tell me how it's done.

Avoid the SNP. And Geo Osborne.

Keep a fine sense of irony. In the modern world, it was born here, by accident. Not to be confused with sarcasm, this is a litotes sort of stylee. Sometimes it's impossible to detect, even by the user.

Put yourself around a bit, but don't be pushy.

Don't ask what people earn as first conversation topic, unless you work in banking.

Put up with the weather. Buy an umbrella, if you're not absent-minded.

Read the Guardian. The rest are not worth reading. Never mind the politics, on press standards.

Get a good device.

Get to know people quickly. Put it off till convenient and you'll be an island.

Avoid people who are simultaneously shaven-headed, determined-jawed and gimlet-eyed. Especially if wearing any sort of flag.

Be a proud Australian, but in an urbane, smiling way, not a "think yourself lucky, you complacent imperialist swine, you've got a true Aussie in your midst" attitude.

Don't just talk about the weather.

Start conversations with the weather.

Gravitate towards people who are "simpatico", even if they're English.

Look for local knowledge - saves money and time, increases pleasant experiences over time-wastes.

That's do for starters.

Oh, and be prepared for the best of multiculturalism, and the worst Tories.

Jesus Petey .... Hass only asked for suggestions regarding County Cricket and if anyone could help him
with a ticket to a test match !
He didn't ask for the (failed) Labour Party manifesto nor a plug for god-awful The Grauniad!

Word to Hass -
Welcome to Blighty.
Stay long and enjoy well.
Be yourself ... relish the Summers (what's on offer anyway!) and wrap up warm during the Winters.
That's all!

CC is easy to get into... Barely a game is sold out. As you're in London, you have two exceptionally objectionable teams to choose from. Both are as bad as each other. Just pick the nearest one...

Merlin wrote:Jesus Petey .... Hass only asked for suggestions regarding County Cricket and if anyone could help him
with a ticket to a test match !
He didn't ask for the (failed) Labour Party manifesto nor a plug for god-awful The Grauniad!

Word to Hass -
Welcome to Blighty.
Stay long and enjoy well.
Be yourself ... relish the Summers (what's on offer anyway!) and wrap up warm during the Winters.
That's all!

Aye, and don't touch the ales.

Congrats Hass. Drop us a PM with your number. I'm in London from Friday (31 July) for 3 weeks. Would love to catch up for a beer.

skully wrote:Congrats Hass. Drop us a PM with your number. I'm in London from Friday (31 July) for 3 weeks. Would love to catch up for a beer.

Bon voyage. Have a Ruddles County Bitter for me.

If you do meet up with Danny ...don't be pregnant

Who are you working for Hass?

Big Dog wrote:

skully wrote:Congrats Hass. Drop us a PM with your number. I'm in London from Friday (31 July) for 3 weeks. Would love to catch up for a beer.

Bon voyage. Have a Ruddles County Bitter for me.

embee wrote:If you do meet up with Danny ...don't be pregnant

So refugeeing it from the "baseball bat" crowd or just needed to get some culcha up ya?

Hass - you're not Adam Goodes, by any chance?!

Thanks Peter. I've been reading the Guardian for years now, but I'll be picking up the The Times as well - need to keep a bit of political balance. A friend of mine has a saying "Never go full Guardian".

I am not Goodesy - if only I had a quarter of that man'a talent. I've met him though - a good bloke who doesn't deserve the crap he's getting.

JGK wrote:Who are you working for Hass?

Bradman wrote:So refugeeing it from the "baseball bat" crowd or just needed to get some culcha up ya?

It's been a pretty crappy time at the ABC this year. My show (Lateline) has been carved up. We've been trying to do more with less. Morale is down the toilet.

But my ten year's long service leave came through. Combined with some annual leave and unpaid leave I can return to my job in 14 months if I want, or stay on if things work out. Otherwise I'm just in the UK on spec - after a month of bludging I'll be following up some contacts at the Beeb, AP, Al Jazeera and the like.

At the moment I'm getting paid for doing nothing - and loving it. The exchange rate's a bit if a bitch though.

How long is the long service leave?

taipan wrote:How long is the long service leave?

I'm an Anglo, so the concept is foreign.... but I'd say, oh, about fourteen months?

With regard to county cricket, Surrey is the club for people who think KP is a 'character', that Birdman was a great film, that theres nothing wrong with melon balls and 1970s male TV personalities.

You don't want to be knew of those

Brass Monkey wrote:

taipan wrote:How long is the long service leave?

I'm an Anglo, so the concept is foreign.... but I'd say, oh, about fourteen months?

I'm being serious. The concept seems totally bizarre to me. We get 20 days p.a. after 5 years and that's your bundle.

I was being serious as well. So serious that I almost changed my name to 'Seriossa'.

taipan wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:

taipan wrote:How long is the long service leave?

I'm an Anglo, so the concept is foreign.... but I'd say, oh, about fourteen months?

I'm being serious. The concept seems totally bizarre to me. We get 20 days p.a. after 5 years and that's your bundle.

It varies from state to state. In Tas its eight and two third weeks of paid leave after completing ten years of 'continuous employment'. After each additional five years of 'continuous employment' an employee's entitlement is four and one third weeks of leave.

Big Dog wrote:

taipan wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:

taipan wrote:How long is the long service leave?

I'm an Anglo, so the concept is foreign.... but I'd say, oh, about fourteen months?

I'm being serious. The concept seems totally bizarre to me. We get 20 days p.a. after 5 years and that's your bundle.

It varies from state to state. In Tas its eight and two third weeks of paid leave after completing ten years of 'continuous employment'. After each additional five years of 'continuous employment' an employee's entitlement is four and one third weeks of leave.

In addition to normal leave I assume

taipan wrote:

Big Dog wrote:

taipan wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:

taipan wrote:How long is the long service leave?

I'm an Anglo, so the concept is foreign.... but I'd say, oh, about fourteen months?

I'm being serious. The concept seems totally bizarre to me. We get 20 days p.a. after 5 years and that's your bundle.

It varies from state to state. In Tas its eight and two third weeks of paid leave after completing ten years of 'continuous employment'. After each additional five years of 'continuous employment' an employee's entitlement is four and one third weeks of leave.

In addition to normal leave I assume

Yep.

Fark, four years ago my wife finished 30 years. Her grateful employers gave her a one off of 5 days.

Big Dog wrote:

taipan wrote:

Big Dog wrote:

taipan wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:

taipan wrote:How long is the long service leave?

I'm an Anglo, so the concept is foreign.... but I'd say, oh, about fourteen months?

I'm being serious. The concept seems totally bizarre to me. We get 20 days p.a. after 5 years and that's your bundle.

It varies from state to state. In Tas its eight and two third weeks of paid leave after completing ten years of 'continuous employment'. After each additional five years of 'continuous employment' an employee's entitlement is four and one third weeks of leave.

In addition to normal leave I assume

Yep.

Mine starts Tuesday, but I'm only taking 4 weeks now. Enough for the last two tests.

taipan wrote:Fark, four years ago my wife finished 30 years. Her grateful employers gave her a one off of 5 days.

Whats more, if you resign or retire with unused LSL you can take it as a pro rata cash payment.