Preparing to Leave

Well as a lot of you are aware, I'm preparing for my big trip to the UK. I don't have any "real" plans as yet for what I will do when I arrive, but I'm hoping things will fall into place once I get there.

I have recently been attempting to "wrap up" my year. My work Xmas party has been and gone, and it was a fabulous night of style in Surfers Paradise, limosuines and all! As this photo proves, I'm never too old to sit on Santa's lap!

I have had 5 months "leave without pay" approved through work to travel, though I'm not sure if they really expect me to come back! I really love my job, so London will have a lot to live up to if I'm going to stay there for any longer!

I depart from Brisbane of January 27th 2006. So with today being December 11th, the countdown has begun. In the last week I have purchased a backpack and a big thick and hopefully super warm ski-style jacket. I've had one attempt at packing everything I want to take into my backpack, and although it didn't all fit the first time, I was quite impressed with how close I was to fitting everything in. Well I've got approximately 7 weeks to work on my technique, and if I can't perfect the technique, I've been checking out www.worldbaggage.com.au as a back up.

Wednesday I had a rostered day off from work. I took this as on opportunity to visit Travelex in Surfers Paradise. When walking through Cavill Mall late on the night of my work Xmas party, a big sign in the window screamed out to me - "Open your UK bank account here". I have heard it is incredibly difficult to do this once you arrive in the UK, and therefore decided if I could find a way to do this before I go, it would probably be well worth the effort.

I took with me every form of identification with me you can think of - Aussie passport, British passport, drivers licence, mobile phone bill, bank statement, credit card statement, tax assessment notice, another bank statement. There was absolutely no way I was leaving there without a bank account! After about an hour and a half of wading through the formalities, my mission was accomplished!

This site is an account of my journey, which I have set up for family and friends. I hope you all enjoy keeping up to date with me! Please feel free to post comments.