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Written by Stephen Baines
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Wednesday, 09 August 2006 |
There is a delicious irony to this little note. I've been living in Sweden for just over 4 weeks, now, and have started at work. I was brought to Sweden to be close to my colleagues, and to have a base to go out across the EMEA region to deliver training.
I am writing this in Slough. England. Much beloved by Betjeman.
The first few days at work have gone well, even if the office is still very quiet as the holiday season isn't quite over yet in Sweden, though next week things are likely to be more normal. I can easily get into the office for 8am, which means I can finish work at 4:13pm (yes, 13 minutes past) each day, and if I arrive a bit earlier than that, I can finish a bit earlier still or bank the bits to make half-days or even whole days, should I so choose.
I've unpacked my desk contents from the UK and made my little corner of the office mine. I've unpacked my tea and can battle the machine into giving me a cup of hot water for it. I've got my luncheon vouchers, which means I can get a nice meal with my colleagues at lunch time for a little over £3 a day at a local restaurant, the rest subsidised by work as you are at work, work should look after your needs. The drive to and from work takes about 45 minutes, as we thought it would, and the journey is really quite pleasant, the vast majority of it through the countryside with marvelous views of the landscape and the majestic wind turbines generating power for the region.
The wind turbines have been a source of constant amazement to both of us. One field we went past when we arrived was just a field, a week later a monster turbine was errected, a week later a second, the third week a third, and the first two were now working. To me that really is quite marvelous.
Back at home, the house is now pretty much sorted. The furniture we wanted from Ikea was ordered on a Sunday lunchtime, and delivered the same afternoon. Oh, and Ikea in Sweden on a Sunday isn't the Seventh Circle of Hell that it is in the UK - it may be quicker to drive to Malmö and get served there, than in any UK version.
One of the chicken hutches is now also built and awaiting our first babies. These, I hope, will be in about three weeks after I return from Slough with 18 hatching eggs. See, there are good things that result in visiting the place.
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