The Wavendon Arms

The change of lifestyle in the past week has been quite dramatic. I am now working full time in England at a country pub/ restaurant in an area called Milton Keynes, about an hour North West of London. I never thought I would ever do bar work or wait on tables, but here I am working 40+ hours a week doing exactly that at The Wavendon Arms. The place is actually very nice. It is aimed at probably the middle aged, slightly upper class and so we dont have many problems when it comes to bad behaviour or over drinking. People are mostly out to have a good meal with their families, a few drinks with some good friends or conduct some business meetings. The restaurant has a great atmosphere, and is really quite a pleasant place to eat and the bar is very comfortable. I actually wish we had a few more bars like this place around Sydney, as it is really a great place to have a good social drink.

I have had to make a conscious change in the state of mind I have been in for the last 3 months. I am no longer in tourist mode. As a result, I am trying to slip into some sort of routine. The reason I am doing this is mainly to save money. I can't afford to go out and spend money on travelling all around England at the moment, especially considering how expensive everything is over here. This is somewhat helped by a combination of the work at the pub, and a research paper I am in the process of writing for Mitrou.

The work at the pub isn't too difficult. Mostly, it is about customer service and efficiency. I have had plenty of experience in customer service from working at Mobil for 2 years back in Sydney, and the principles are exactly the same. The efficiency however can only come from experience, but I am trying to learn as fast as I can. The most challenging thing is memorizing the entire menu offered at the restaurant, so that I know exactly what people are talking about when they ask me questions. The wines list is also quite challenging but I am slowly getting the hang of it. Needless to say the accent is helping things tremendously. It is a point of conversation with customers, and makes you a lot more interesting. I am milking it to the max!

The interesting thing I have noticed about England, is that the english spend most of their time thinking about what they could be doing if they were anywhere except england. Right down the road from where I am staying they have a huge indoor snow slope where you can ski, and also an indoor skydiving centre. There is also, slap bang in the middle of the shopping centre, a large sandbox equipped with umbrellas, beach balls and lifeguards. Incredible.

Well thats all from me right now. I really don't have much to write about as I have slipped into a routine here that doesnt involve much excitement. Im not quite sure what people would like to hear about, so suggestions would be appreciated.