West Orchards Coventry

The most happening place in Coventry has to the West Orchards Shopping Centre. It is just 8 minutes drive from my place. Very popular with the residents here. The centre has a number of stores including Marks & Spencer and Debenhams.

If you don't like branded stuff, just walk out of the place and get to Wilkinsons or to the 99p shop, just a stone throw away. A lot of CHEAP yet good quality stuff there.

If you feel like having a bite, they have a food court with 8 food outlets including junk food specialists, McDonalds and KFC. If you want a proper restaurant, then you have go somewhere else.

By 6pm the place is dead. Most of the shops close by then, except for Debenhams, which close about 1- 2 hours later.

A notice on the lifts say that it is only for people on wheel chairs and parents with push chairs but noticed a number of able bodied people getting in.

My conclusion: Nothing to shout about. Good place to hang about and watch people if you have nowhere to go. And if you like branded stuff.

If you have been to the shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur, you have seen it all. The architecture is really interesting though.

The dome.

1345 - 2007

My daughter admiring the x-mas decorations.

Beneath Lady Godiva on her horse. 

Yeah! Those are shopping bags on the right. Just came out of Wilkinsons.

Calpol or Panadol?

What do you take when you have a headache?

In Malaysia, the drug of choice would be a Panadol tablet (or two). In the US, it would be Tylenol and Crocin in India. In the UK, if your kid is running a fever or just had a jab, the nurse would most probably recommend Calpol. (Andrew: probably the reason why you haven't heard of it)

It's quite funny but they are all common brand names for Paracetamol (known as acetaminophen in the US), the most common analgesic and antipyretic drug in the World.

One interesting info for cat owners is that Paracetamol is extremely toxic to the cats and should not be given to them under any circumstances.

Read more about this drug on the Wikipedia site.

Tags: Calpol Panadol Paracetamol Tylenol

My ebay computer

I love small laptops for their portability. However nothings beats a proper PC when it comes to everyday computing, playing games, editing photographs, designing websites and crunching numbers on the SPSS statistical software. I simply hate typing on the cramped tiny keyboard.

Even though I have tried the so called "desktop replacement laptops" said to be fastest growing segment in the portable computer market, I never really liked them. It's kind of funny when you look at the term itself. I mean is it a desktop or laptop?

We were also tired of fighting over the only lap top we have (actually belongs to my wife). It's quite fair as she needs it for her research work. So we finally decided to buy a PC.

When we checked around, we were quite shocked with the prices of PCs here in the UK. They even have insurance for computers. It is not surprising considering that almost everything comes from overseas. I am beginning to really miss Low Yatt plaza.

So in the end we ended up looking on eBay UK, our favourite e-commerce site.

Over a period of 2 weeks starting 16 of November, we bid on and lost and won several items. And yesterday, I have everything I needed.

1. AMD ATHLON 1.3 GHz powered PC (Refurbished) with 256 MB RAM and 40 GB HDD. Price: £47 (the most costly item).

2. A0C 17" CRT monitor (Used). Price: £2.20.

3. BENQ X530 Wireless keyboard and mouse + Misson 2.1 Multimedia speakers (Brand new). Price: £22.01. This was my best deal because the speakers alone costs £17.75 in the market.

4. Internal Wireless PC LAN PCI card Adaptor (brand new). Price: £14.

Of course we need a table to put the computer on:
5. Ikea Mikael Computer Table (Almost new). Price: £4.99.

The total cost: £90.20 (RM640.29 approx.).

Of course, this does not include the cost of petrol. I had picked up most of the stuff from the sellers' homes myself. This had two advantages - 1. I saved on postage charges and 2. It helped me familarise myself with the various roads. While fetching the stuff, I also passed by some very interesting and historical sites. For example, the Temple Ballsall in Fen End, Warwickshire. As the name suggests, it is related to the Knights Templar. Though I wanted to, I couldn't stop by as I had to rush back to Coventry. Maybe later.

Tags: eBay Temple Balsall PC

Not my typical day

A day in my life in the "city of peace and reconciliation" and "The home of Jaguar".

9 O clock in the morning, started out from our house to Birmingham where my wife had a temporary (one day) job as an exam invigilator. She will get £58, which is not really that bad for a day's work.

With the two kids on the back seat, my wife acting as my navigator and using the printout of the route from the AA site, we set off. I hate motorways and used the A45. Maybe not the right choice as the max speed is between 30 and 60 mph only with 40 mph as soon as we enter Birmingham.

We got to the destination right on the dot (10am). However, on the way back, I got lost and drove around quite a bit. Somehow, I found the way back to Poets corner (a landmark I am very familiar with). From there, it was a straight road back to Coventry.

After I got back, cleaned up and fed the kids.

Today was also officially Rahil's first day at her pre-school. Technically, we had been there twice before. We had one trial session last Friday, just to get her used to the new environment and she had loved it. The pre-school is about 8 minutes drive. How we got a place for Rahil there was a nightmare and is another story (post).

Anyway, I was really proud of Rahil today. She acted really mature and when I dropped her off at 12:15pm, she just asked me whether I am coming back to pick her up. I said "Yes!" and she happily went off to play.

Got back home and made Imaan sleep. Fixed myself a quick Nasi Goreng (fried rice) lunch. Watched TV.

Then picked up Rahil at 2:45pm.

blah blah blah

Before I knew it, it was already 5pm. My wife just informed me that she was on the way back with here friends by bus and train.

Cooked dinner and finally got on the net.

My wife got back at 8pm. Had dinner together and I am on the net again and writing this post.

Cheers.

Imaan Turning

Being able to turn around is one of the major landmarks in a baby's development. Imaan sure took his time but he got round to it finally. Now he's a pro.

First time I was able to capture it on camera.

Now we need to be careful where we place him. Never to leave him on the sofa nor near the bed's edge.


Tags: Baby Imaan YouTube

100 percent English or not

I recently watched a fascinating documentary on Channel 4 (13th Nov., 9pm). This show called '100% English' was commissioned by the production company and presented by Andrew Graham-Dixon.

It was a pleasure to watch the expressions of people when they found out they were not "100% English". Reveals that racial issues are not limited to Malaysia but does exist in the UK too.

Carol Manley, an elderly lady looked quite relieved when it was revealed that she didn't have any African blood and she actually said it in her own words, which I think might be considered racist. However, she took it quite well when it was revealed that she had Mongoloid blood too.

There were some visible positive impacts of this study. I noticed a visible change in the attitude of people after they found that they were not ethnically pure after all. On the other hand, some people did not take it so well.

A lady lawyer who campaigns to have the English accepted as a distinct ethnic group was clearly disturbed when her DNA test results was revealed. She was not happy with her newly discovered Romany (Gypsy) origins. Four days later, she was threatening legal action against channel 4.

As Andrew notes:

these tests could be a powerful tool in the fight against racism. It is not just that they prove, once and for all, that any notions of race or racial purity are patently absurd and scientifically wrong. Their power lies in that they prove it by showing people what is in their own blood.

Read the Telegraph report here.

Tags: Channel 4 English Genealogy
UK

Newbie in the UK 2 - Banking

When we came over to the UK, we bought over money in the form of cheques. However, in order to encash them, we needed to open a bank account here.

Our first choice was HSBC as my wife has a credit card account with them in Malaysia.

We never realised that opening a current account here could be such a nightmare. There is so much paperwork involved that we really began to miss Malaysia, where opening an account is so easy. In Malaysia, we only need a minimum opening account and sometimes an introducer.

Over here, as an International student, they want:
- Proof of ID (your Passport).
- Letter from the University proving that you are a student in the UK.
- Proof of the address where you are residing in UK (which can be difficult if you haven't received any bills yet) and even
- Proof of your permanent address in Malaysia.

There was also another area of concern. Banks here will charge you a sum (£5 per month for HSBC) if you don't have a minimum balance of £2000 in your current account. Something quite impossible for us.

It was the same story at Barclays and NatWest. My wife finally checked with the Lloyds bank in our locality. It is just round the corner of the road.

Opening an account was so easy. Just needed the passport and a letter from the University with our UK address on it. We were really relieved after we had encased our cheques as the cash in our pocket was running out. My wife soon received a cheque book and a debit card (the most common form of making payments here in the UK).

Best of all, Lloyds doesn't have any minimum balance requirement.

We were looking far and wide when the solution is there, right at our doorstep.

All I can say is that, the big banks' loss is Lloyds's gain. I am planning to open an account with them myself soon.

Related Posts: Newbie in the UK

Tags: Bank UK Llyods bank