Work and working...

Hi Everyone...

Ok its been a very very very very (etc) long time between posts and I am very sorry that its taken me this long to update so I promise to make it very informative though I am lacking any photos as this stage but I have made progress and bought a battery charger...YAY!

WORK is my life at the moment and working at the Dartmouth Castle has been intereresting so far even though I havent been there long (it seems like I have) I have learnt a lot already and everyone is very nice most of the time - I know how to pour beers (or larger as its often reffered to the first guy to ask me for one got a blank look) and ales (which are darker and pumped out) from the fizzy ones to the flat ones to the really really slow ones (Guiness takes of about ten minutes of my life every time I pour one) and I have learnt a lot more about wines too, we have been having lots of tastings as the pub owners are wanting to make the pub a slighty more classy pub which means we have food which is not pub grub (when we tell customers we dont sell chips its like telling them someone died...) and that as bar tenders we know a bit more about wines and their history,flavour etc than your average to make us stand out which is quite nice but I think I've drunk my life quota of wine in a few weeks!
We have a mixed bag on the bar so I get to talk to different people with different views who dont always agree but get along so it makes for great conversations when it is quiet and we have had a few of those moments so far but we are a new pub so we except things to pick up as we take on news clients etc.
It hasnt been as smoky in there are is had anticipated and I work a lot of lunch shifts so people dont smoke as much, I try not to be around smoke when I am not working but if it gets to be much more than it is now I probably will want work elsewhere.
Ok so about the food, we have a medditerranean menu (which means anything could damw well pop up) but very very good food so I have been eating some very nice stuff like pastas and risotto (yes i have been eating some meat and it was damn good too) and I get to try the desserts as well which feels special.
In the Kitchen the staff are all Portugese and dont speak a lot of English so you have to BE VERY CLEAR about everything you say and do. They are really nice guys and they love me of course which is nice when I stuff up.
If I am working on food then its my job to have warm bread ready to go as a starter along with the cutlery and serviettes and then I have to stamp the receipt which has the food order so the chef knows that I have done the bread and can make the food.
That's not all too bad but its the stairs that are the fun bit as the kitchen is on the next level UP so you pretty much run up and down the damn things all afternoon...OK so once the food is ready you have to carry as much as you can down, I am still mastering the technique of carrying three plates at once...I usually can do it if the plates not hot which they mostly are so I probably do extra laps up and down because I can only take two at once but its OK because I am learning and I am determined to master it...I havent dropped any plates just yet, had a close call the other day because I missed the last two steps but I ended up on one knee and the risotto was just fine, lucky I have strong bones.
You may have guessed the jobs not really hard to do there is just a lot involved and you have too move fast and stay on your game, I think after awhile the same thing will get boring so I'm keeping my eye out for anything else I may pick up.
Mostly I have enjoyed working with interesting people and getting tips and tricks not just about working but also about London which has given me ideas and the inclination to get out there on my own a bit. I have not decided when I am going to start travelling Europe I think I might rather save now and do it all at once rather than in short visits and Im not sure that I make enough to do both.
Well things go on and I am enjoying getting to know London a bit, its feels like an old friend now and I suprise myself with how much I know about it...also there are so many god damn Aussies around that it feels much like home...only more compact and with lots of big red busses.
Hopefully my next post I can tell you more about other stuff Im up to and post some photos...
xxxxoooo
Emily