Ok Here is a quick update on how August turned out. I was quite short on funds so I didn't venture too far this summer. I did enjoy myself though and read a lot of books and explored London. I enjoyed watching the Olympics in Trafalgar Square and went to a bunch of museums, performances and markets. Most of my friends and all of my roommates were out of town so I spent most of my time on my own. I studied Japanese and watched TV. The weather was pretty awful the whole summer. I think we had about 5 nice days all summer. Everyone says it was a normal summer but I don't believe that. I have been here on holiday before in the summer and boiled my brains out. In a way I guess it is nicer when it is a little cooler in the summer but I certainly didn't feel like going swimming all that often. I went on a load of lovely walks though for which the weather was ideal. This photo is from one such walk along the canels.
Notting Hill Carnival
One of the big news grabbing events I went to was Notting Hill Carnival. It is like Caribana in Toronto only the floats and costumes are fairly crap. When I think of a parade, I think of elaborately decorated and themed floats, flashy costumed dancers and lots of novelty acts. What this was, was flat bed trucks with huge speakers on them and the streets jammed with people and garbage. I have never seen such a strong police presence at a parade in my entire life. It was crazy! There were shoulder to shoulder blockades of cops preventing you from going into over crowded areas. Apparently this is an event known for a small minority of people who come out to fight and cause trouble. When you exited various tube stations there were metal detectors and police looking for any signs of mischief. I think there was supposed to be something like 3 million people who attended the 3 days of carnival though so you can see the need for order. There were lots of packed street dances which we joined in on. I went with my friend Maxine. There were definitely pockets of young and interesting people which created for some very fun scenes and a really chilled out atmosphere. There were other places that were mainly filled with drunk people. I wouldn’t have liked to stay too late in the evening. We had some Caribbean food and walked around until we were tired of fighting the crowds. It is supposed to be one of the largest street festivals in the world. I would believe it based on the huge crowds we saw.
Break Dancing at Elephant and Castle
When Krista and Kosa arrived back home after their summer holidays, I spent as much time with them as possible to restore some human contact in my life, haha. I went down to Elephant and Castle with Kosa for a short break dancing show. He and a few of his friends were asked to do a demonstration in a shopping centre there. They weren't exactly sure what it was for but they said they would do it. When we arrived it turned out they had been paired up with a swing dancing big band group. It was an extremely odd combination but the audience really liked it. It was part of a Say No To Drugs Day that they were having. I really enjoyed it. I always like seeing Kosa dance. He has a bit of wrist injury right now but I think he did a great job. This event has prompted me to post my first ever video on my blog. Ok I tried for a while and it didn't work. We'll put that in the coming events category.
My New School
Lastly there is my new school. I am now the Music Coordinator for Whitchurch Middle School and First School. I have just completed my first week at my new job and I would like to reserve judgment until I actual start teaching the students. I will be off timetable for one week more before music lessons begin. I think that I am going to like it though. I have lots of support and the kids seem really nice. I will let you know how it goes...

Yay! Krista is back! Be had a fun cards evening at her place on the weekend.

　Happy Birthday Matty Hayes! I know I said I would put up an embarrassing photo of you but I only seem to have distinguished looking ones here. Pity. This is Matt looking dashing on his wedding day.

Even though they are bad, I miss the boys. :)