Finally A Londoner - I Experienced A Tube Strike

So today, I had to wake up at 6:45 am and leave my flat by 7:30 am to catch the bus from Hammersmith Road (the road off of Auriol where I live) to Trafalgar Square. The traffic was terrible. It took me an hour and a half each way when it would normally take 20 minutes on the Tube. Even though some lines on the tube were open, they were delayed with many stations closed, and it was really pointless to travel on it. I never saw traffic like this - they ran 100 extra buses, had routes marked for bikers and had more taxi cabs. All you could see was bus after bus and car and car and bike after bike touching each other for miles. It took a few minutes just to move an inch. Many people had to wait hours in order to just get on a bus because they were so packed.

However, I got to work and things were good. We talked about the strike a little bit. One thing that I noticed is that alot of people like in their 20s do not know how to drive and do not have their license. It is because they have no need to drive at all. There is actually a congestion charge for certain parts of London where you are charged a fee for driving in that part of London. There is no toll but rather many cameras who scan various license plates to make sure that they paid.

Anyways, today I proofread and amended three events and descriptions/agendas that were going to be live on the website the next day. I used Adobe Contribute to update the website with my appropriate changes. I then wrote opening emails to prospective delegates for the events that I completed the marketing piece for (September and October 2009). I also wrote second emails to prospective delegates for events that outline the agenda and encourage delegates to attend. These emails will be sent out next week.

I had lunch at a place called Nando's. It was absolutely amazing - it is like a Swiss Chalet but better. The chicken is amazing and they have various sauces you can choose from - lemon & herb, mango & lime, hot, medium etc. I choose the lemon & herb and got chips (french fries) and garlic bread with it. It was absolutely delicious!

I returned home, after a long bus ride, and went shopping quickly at Tesco's (grocery store) and then headed home to relax and watch some TV for the first time. I was asked by another person for directions - so I feel like I am truly a Londoner (even more now because I experienced a tube strike and was able to find my way around London).

Tomorrow, off to work again and then for a Jack the Ripper Tour!

Cheers!