I promised to write about the place where I am currently staying in my last but previous post, so here I am. I moved to my current lodgings on the same evening as my arrival to the UK via Manchester. I was carrying luggage worth over 45 kg, so I was quite tired and frazzled when I checked in with the switchboard operators within the Blackpool Victoria Hospital on the evening of 14th November. She asked to see my ID and when she was satisfied, she handed me a medium-sized envelope and a key. The envelope had all the necessary items for a new-comer. There were legal documents including an agreement between me and the Accommodations team of the Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Also enclosed were my new key, which opened not only my room's main door, but also the inside door to my rooms. Finally, there was a mini map of the hospital and its various departments, and a user name and password to access the entire home area's free WiFi for residents.
It seemed like the perfect beginning for a weary, knackered but optimistic soul that I am. It was a bit difficult to find the home where I was supposed to go to live. Being a Saturday evening, there was not a soul in sight to help me. Add to that the dreariness of an English evening, rain and wind, and the amount of luggage I was hauling with me, and you might begin to understand what I felt like inside of me. Eventually, though, I found my way to the home, which was set behind the main hospital buildings. It was one among 15 two-storey buldings set near each other, and unlike many of the others, which had hospital offices on the ground floor, or even upper floors, my home (# 11) was all residential. My own flat (# 3) was on the first floor, and inside, I would occupy one of two rooms (Room # 2) - a suite of two rooms. Shared between both the residents of our flat were the common bath, toilet and kitchen.
My rooms includes a small bed area with a study table and a wash basin with a wardrobe in one room and 4 seating chairs and a drop-leaf table with an open-access large shelf-stand on the other side. Both rooms have plenty of drawers for storage. The kitchen is well-equipped with a cooking range, an electric chimney, a large collection of modular-style cupboards and shelves, a sink, a plate tray, many plates, bowls and cutlery, a tea-pot and a micro-wave oven. The bathroom has a full bath, while the toilet is the usual Western style with no spouts or running water that Indians generally love. An ironing board and an iron are present in the corridor that the flat has, A small refrigerator and a small freezer complete the kitchen, while a washing machine and a drying machine are located on another floor and are common to all flats.
Arranging my things haphazardly on the first night was to be expected! Over the ensuing week, however, I began to sort out my stuff and put it properly in different areas. I am, as I write this, still not comfortable with the arrangements and am continually moving things around to suit my living style!
The rooms are cleaned every afternoon by Betty, a middle-aged lady who comes in with her equipment and cleans the common areas, removes the garbage and so on. At our request, she will supply towels, bed-sheets etc. I am not yet sure if she will clean our inside rooms or not, but so far, it looks as though she won't do it without my say-so. The accommodations manager sits in an office on the ground floor of Home 6, and it is a pleasure to interact with this person, who, sort of without any provocation, goes out of the way to help you to withstand the system and even enjoy yourself in this accommodation. Her name is Karen, and she is always positive with us.
And that brings to a close this post. I will post photos as soon as possible. Meanwhile, have fun reading this post.
It seemed like the perfect beginning for a weary, knackered but optimistic soul that I am. It was a bit difficult to find the home where I was supposed to go to live. Being a Saturday evening, there was not a soul in sight to help me. Add to that the dreariness of an English evening, rain and wind, and the amount of luggage I was hauling with me, and you might begin to understand what I felt like inside of me. Eventually, though, I found my way to the home, which was set behind the main hospital buildings. It was one among 15 two-storey buldings set near each other, and unlike many of the others, which had hospital offices on the ground floor, or even upper floors, my home (# 11) was all residential. My own flat (# 3) was on the first floor, and inside, I would occupy one of two rooms (Room # 2) - a suite of two rooms. Shared between both the residents of our flat were the common bath, toilet and kitchen.
My rooms includes a small bed area with a study table and a wash basin with a wardrobe in one room and 4 seating chairs and a drop-leaf table with an open-access large shelf-stand on the other side. Both rooms have plenty of drawers for storage. The kitchen is well-equipped with a cooking range, an electric chimney, a large collection of modular-style cupboards and shelves, a sink, a plate tray, many plates, bowls and cutlery, a tea-pot and a micro-wave oven. The bathroom has a full bath, while the toilet is the usual Western style with no spouts or running water that Indians generally love. An ironing board and an iron are present in the corridor that the flat has, A small refrigerator and a small freezer complete the kitchen, while a washing machine and a drying machine are located on another floor and are common to all flats.
Arranging my things haphazardly on the first night was to be expected! Over the ensuing week, however, I began to sort out my stuff and put it properly in different areas. I am, as I write this, still not comfortable with the arrangements and am continually moving things around to suit my living style!
The rooms are cleaned every afternoon by Betty, a middle-aged lady who comes in with her equipment and cleans the common areas, removes the garbage and so on. At our request, she will supply towels, bed-sheets etc. I am not yet sure if she will clean our inside rooms or not, but so far, it looks as though she won't do it without my say-so. The accommodations manager sits in an office on the ground floor of Home 6, and it is a pleasure to interact with this person, who, sort of without any provocation, goes out of the way to help you to withstand the system and even enjoy yourself in this accommodation. Her name is Karen, and she is always positive with us.
And that brings to a close this post. I will post photos as soon as possible. Meanwhile, have fun reading this post.
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