Marching On

Tuesday was a pretty big day. I usually say that when i have a job interview to go to. I bummed around at home in the morning. Did some chores...it's amazing how often i need to wash! Then i caught the bus and made my way to John Lewis for my job interview. John Lewis is a department store in the UK, i very much liken it to Myer in Australia. I thought that given my 6 odd years of retail experience, including 3 years at Myer that i should try here for a job if i cant get one in HR. They are hiring for Xmas staff so that means they are hiring a lot of people which gives me a better chance of getting hired. If i were to get another job, at the least I'd like to do it as a second job for a while to get some extra travel $$$.

The interview went on for TWO hours. Not what i expected for the type of job. It was a group assessment of 16 people and you went through the usual group assessment stuff. In the group you say who you are and what you do, you do a game that looks at how you interact with people, and then you discuss the Desert Island scenario that some might be familiar with. There were all sorts there and of all ages. Some were there as they had been made redundant by their work places. I was one of two Aussies in the group. I felt confident during the assessment as i have totally done the job before but we will see. I was impressed with how they treat the staff, especially when i can compare it to Myer. I checked out their staff room which is basically like a cafeteria where you can buy subsidized food. There was a pool table, two computers for internet access, reading materials, and there's a bar where they have Friday night drinks every two weeks! Very impressive for a department store. I'm to be told how i went next Tuesday and then it would mean an individual interview. It's quite a screening process!

After the interview i headed to Maccas for dinner. I didn't really have time to go back home and eat then go back to the Royal Mile for the Military Tattoo so i stayed in town. When i first got to Edinburgh i quickly booked a seat for the Military Tattoo. I wasn't MEGA keen to see it but thought it's one of those things you should do if you are in Edinburgh, especially during the festival. It started at 9pm so i made my way a bit earlier to find my seat. As i was quite late in buying my ticket i ended up getting a seat on the back row. Not fantastic but still a decent view, expecially now that i iwear glasses! It was definently a cosy seat as i sat next to someone who i can only assume was wearing Gortex and looked like a human puffball. It was quite cold up there too. The show got underway on time and it was great. I really enjoyed it but i wouldn't rush back to see it again. Purely because marching bands dont excite me much. I think what really made it was the castle as the back drop, that was amazing. They had almost like a light show on the castle walls and the bands marched out of the castle to start playing. They also shoot fireworks off the castle at the end. The highlight was actually Switzerland's marching bands. They had one called Top Secret which were a drumming band and they are fantastic. Very talented and all so in lien with each other. I did spot a few people wearing the Australian Federal Police logo on their uniform as they had come over to perform. All in all, not a bad showing.

I ended up taxi-ing it home as it was so cold and was midnight by the time i got through all the crowds streaming out of the castle down the Royal Mile.