The Eagle Has Landed

Yes, it's finally happened. I've arrived in Malta, along with Bob the fluffy duck.

Have you ever tried putting your life into a suitcase and a few boxes? Not easy with the amount of junk I've accumilated over the years. But I"m ahead of myself here, before I packed I had the chance to meet up with a very old friend in Manchester City Centre for a few drinks.

When I say old, I don't mean grey haired and carrying a bus-pass, I mean old as in we've been friends for eons. Back to school days really, although Simon was a couple of years below me, I still knew him back then, and his elder sister. We met up near Deansgate station and moved around to a few watering-holes, enjoying the pleasent evening warmth and jogging each others memories of times gone by. We used to work in a bingo hall together, but it seems his memory of those days are infinitly better than mine! We eneded the evening in a seedy looking bar near Oxford Road station (in reality the Salisbury Arms is a lovely pub, it's just the impression you get when you view it from the outside). It was here that we got onto the subject of mathematics (don't ask me how) and by the end of the evening we'd re-written the book on probability. A great night.

...and then there was a family party at my cousin's house. A sort of 'bon voyage' for me and a 'congratulations' for my cousing for some recent good news. This time the weather wasn't so kind and it became a case of darting in and out of a make-shift gazebo every few minutes as the clouds kept bursting. It was nice to see everyone though before I headed off to pastures new.

Which brings us onto the packing and travel. Packing is stressful enough, but trying to fit your entire life into a small space is a Herculean task. I think I've managed it. We'll see when I get the boxes ferried over and I discover I've forgotton something vital. For the time being I'll be living out of a suitcase, so I hope I brought enough boxer-shorts!

The flight over was a red-eye from Manchester Airport. Easyjet maybe a no-frills airline, but I have absolutely no complaints about the journey at all. Took off on time, landed 10 minutes early and I had an empty seat next to me. Plenty of leg-room (more than Air Malta I think) and a plentiful supply of refreshments (albeit at a price). As I stepped off the plane I was hit by the wave of warm air. It hasn't stopped since. I'm currently typing this in the air-conditioned office, but I know that outside it's already tipping 100 degrees and cracking the flagstones.

I didn't sleep a wink last night. The extra room I'm in doesn't have air-con, but sleeping with the door open isn't an option because of the noise outside. It's likely to encourage insects in too, which I have no intention of doing! I was bathed in sweat from head to toe, it was literally dripping off me. Thank god I got my head shaved before I came out here!

I met up with the other lad that came over from Southampton for a quick drink during the day, and this morning I've been reunited with the other two members of staff I'll be working with on a daily basis....

..it's like I've never been away :)