Housing Social

The South Bank is most definitely my favourite place in London, and today it was gorgeous. All of today was extremely lovely, seeing the different markets, walking along the Thames and eating lunch outside the London Eye, like a right little tourist! It's refreshing being by the river and walking around all the great places SE1 has to offer, especially in the beautiful weather with some new people. I mean, who needs to be out partying all night when you have these trips?! Maybe that sounds nerdy and uncool or whatever, but the past couple of days have been so much fun, and i'm really starting to enjoy student life in London, there's so much I need to experience and do, it's a little overwhelming but it will be so worth it. It's a great feeling living in a city where you can be a tourist as well, practically for nothing. But the best thing about today was forming a couple of lovely friendships with some more international students, 3 of the girls I have been speaki...

It's been a couple of days since I last wrote in this, but it feels a LOT longer than that! I have a (not so official just yet) job in a local pub. Technically, two local pubs, both owned by the same woman. It's a relatively stern place with the odd regular, and VERY difficult to handle when you've had no experience, the first shift was strenuous to say the least, but I'm so thrilled to have been invited back after cocking up so many times. Things in general, over the last couple of days seem to be falling into place more for me, I feel more myself again and a lot more relaxed, I seem to have met a very nice group of people and Goldsmith's is very beautiful on a sunny day, especially so now i've pretty much learnt my way around. New Cross is nice too and even Camberwell seems a little more charming after walking through the Green at night; there's a strange melancholy in watching the buses drive by and the cars whiz past, and it's just a really nice a...

Last night, I was too exhausted to blog when I got home! Walking back from town in the dark for the first time around here was pretty scary, not knowing the area and especially coming from a very quiet, crime free place like Norfolk really does leave you feeling anxious, so I made it! And it won't be so bad next time. One of the things I noticed that's different is that London is still so busy at night, the buses are practically full still, coffee shops and café's stay open and there are people walking around the street in all hours, it's nice knowing there are still people around then, the day doesn't really finish around here until around 10pm, which suits me, being a night time person. I'm happy that i've finally done my first night at freshers! Despite getting lost on campus prior to the evening, it ended up being a pretty fun evening, I met some genuinely nice people, and a few people i'm yet to make my mind up on, but it's genuinely exciting...

I haven't really done much today, all the busy stuff is starting from tomorrow onwards... my 'firsts' of many things: first Fresher's night, trial run and first time working at a bar, meeting new people for the first time... it's pretty daunting the stuff i'm throwing myself into, really not knowing what to expect; at the moment, I am completely out of my comfort zone, this really is a time of huge change in my life, and many other people's as well, but I kind of want to embrace this craziness. Maybe that'll help things fall into place easier? A little less control? I spoke to my Dad on the phone earlier for the first time since I've moved to Mum's, which was really nice, but really made me think, he told me about my room which 'no longer looks like a tramp came and lived in it' and how much more empty and spaced out it is, no clutter, no me, no cats. It must be weird and slightly scary, people often don't like change because it hit...

Today, I spent time with my cousins Katy and James, who over the past year have become very close friends of mine; but it wasn't always like that.  One of the reasons I wanted to come to London was to spend time with my family more, who, I really haven't had much to do with most of my life. Not in a horrible bad way; it's just, I always lived away from them and for a lot of time, didn't consider much of a life outside my own circle of friends or "bubble" if you will, in Norfolk.  All of my close relatives apart from my Dad live in Southwark in London, a few in other parts or on the outskirts, so it's days like this I really value their time, living with mum and gran is a nice experience in itself, and getting to know my uncle, aunt and cousins in the process is wonderful, as I've never really known or appreciated my dads family until now.  It's nice to have cousins close to my age, who on many accounts are compatible to  siblings, I'm enjoying ...

I've been officially living in London a week now! I can't say i've been overly productive... but a few lucky moments have come my way, and I'm really looking forward to the next few days. Earlier today, I was offered a job trial for Saturday night, working as a bar-maid in Camberwell Church street, this is of course, very daunting, but i'm relatively well prepared mentally at the moment, what i'll be like on the day is a different worry. I'm intrigued and excited at the prospect of starting work again, my last job didn't last for very long and aside from that I work for Age UK back home, distributing charity bags. So bar-tending and other such duties will be a hell of a lot different, and will also fulfil many a teenage-cliché at the same time (all the more reason to go for it, I guess.) Some days, I have thought about what I want to write about before I come on and write it, different topics come to mind, but something I have really wanted to write a...

Adult life is stressful, at least, I find it incredibly so. I'm not sure why, but lately every little piece of admin, telephone call or application has been beyond stressful, i'm just looking forward to starting Uni and being placed back into a relatively normal routine again.  I have a job interview at a local pub tomorrow evening, and for once i'm feeling really rather optimistic, one thing about London is more places need employees, and there are more places to employ you. I fancy the idea of working in a pub, restaurant or bar, I don't know why! I think it'd suit me and the journey I'm going on at the moment, it'll tick many boxes of another teenage cliche and I also want to meet new, random and hopefully interesting people, what better place to do that then working in an East London pub? We'll see though, I'm not going to get my hopes up too much. Today has all been about making phone calls to banks and other such boring things, I've als...

I thought I should write a little bit about myself and give some context as to the point of this blog, as I hadn't thought to do that in the first post; at least, not very well! Moving in with Mum and Gran has made it even more important to me that i'm successful and recognised for what I want to do. Before deciding to and even moving to London, being a writer/reporter/journalist and humanitarian was for more selfish interest. I've wanted to write since I can remember picking up a pencil, and it seemed inherent in my nature that I was a a story teller, but over the past few years, this motivation to imagine other worlds and fantasies shrunk, as a grew up and began to realise that there is so much to be done in this world, so much that needs fixing, before I can go gallivanting around and exploring other more secret and private worlds in my imagination. And writers have the power to change the world, EVERYONE has the power to make a difference and change the world, in the ...

Last night I stayed over in sutton with an old and very close friend of mine from high school, who moved to London a few months before me. It's weird and strangely refreshing to be around someone familiar in a very new and strange situation. I guess over all it's refreshing seeing someone I know (apart from mum and gran) before I return to Norfolk at Christmas and start socialising with other freshers come Friday night.  The outskirts of London are very beautiful, it doesn't really feel like London at all. There are hills and fields everywhere, and very quiet. You can hear the wind and the birds. It's a strange feeling because it feels like home, but it's not, and it makes me realise that when I get back to southwark later ill be so far away again, back to re-adjustment and increasingly familiar noises of the city.  It's nice to know that there are rolling fields and open spaces 45 minutes away. It's vast, a different sort of vast from the city, London is be...

Camberwell, and more specifically, Elmington Road, is very quiet. Almost eerily so. Well, from what I have picked up over my years of visits and stays. It's hard sometimes to even recognise that I'm not in Swaffham. But one thing that always reminds me that i'm living in London are the sirens. Our flat's pretty close to Kings College hospital in Lambeth, although a remarkable place, one downside are the constant ambulances going past. I know that the whole of London AND Greater London are the same, police cars, paramedics, fire engines. Interestingly, and most disturbingly the city of London and it's boroughs only has ONE air ambulance. Charity buckets are all over Camberwell at the moment, on the way out of supermarkets and such like, which is good, I really hope the campaign works, it seems stupid to me that the whole of a 60 by 30 mile radius only has one emergency Helicopter, considering the amount of hospitals as well. I've been really enjoying my own com...

I wanted to write a bit about one of the most famous places South of the river. I wasn't planning on writing much until earlier on when I visited the library there. The towns reputation grew after the 1980's sit-com 'Only Fools and Horses' was set, fictional characters Del and Rodney Trotter, as i'm sure a lot of people know portrayed life in one of London's roughest council estates, crime being rife, a lot of people un-employed. I guess you could say some of that is still true and relevant today, although Southwark's been doing a bit of a clean up, I should imagine. The reason I bring this up is because of something I saw today, next to the library there's a wall 'Peckham Peace Wall', the library is marvelous, it's a new, modern piece of architecture, not ugly, not pretty, but a statement, a statement saying 'we're rejuvenating the area - or, at least TRYING to.' I think it's a good sentiment, and it's carried on inside,...

I took great delight in getting books out the library today in Peckham, in preparation for my course, I guess reading through a personal account of one of Murdoch's free-lance writers is what you could call 'over preparing' but, i'd rather know. I need to know the industry I want to get into. Somehow, reading all the theory and all the 'key words' from different passages is perfect for me, and i'm not even big into reading. Gran turned to me when as a news correspondant came on the TV earlier and said "That's what I can see you doing Mel" I for one, don't really know anymore, is the media going to chew me up and spit me out? I think i've just been ropped into a brassy booze up down South Croydon on Saturday, and all I can see myself doing for a few 'run-up days' is sit in my room surrounding myself with Grandad's old tri-pods and indie-mash up CD's. I'm also a little worried about the tube journey, I still need to...

I arrived at my new home early this afternoon. If I could call it new, I'm living in my Mum and Grans house, in Camberwell, South East London, i've spent a lot of time here before, and I guess this evening feels like so many other's i've spent here during summer holidays and Christmas. But it isn't. Today is my first day of however many years I'm going to spend here, that's quite a daunting prospect. The fact that at this moment in time, my future is completely open, and it's all up to me. It seems like a lot of power and responsibility to have, and I don't want to let myself down. I guess I should start talking a little about myself. My name's Melanie. And i'm about to start a degree in Media and Communications at Goldsmith's, in New Cross. And what I really want to do is write. So i've started this diary, not only as a way of practicing, but as a way of keeping myself sane throughout the changes that i'm going to undergo this ...