June. The first month spent in the big smoke as some people call it. Though you sometimes wonder if it’s the big smoke due to the huge amount of traffic and people’s arses releasing all the gas into the air or if the place is constantly being set on fire.

But in any case, the first month was filled with a great many fun filled with a number of meeting many different people, some scary as they are well aware as I described my first few days at work, some were from the internet which is going to lead to all sorts of stories about fiddlers, and some were famous;

The first day at the new workplace with all sorts of new people in a completely different field of industry altogether went down like telling an Arab joke involving Bin Laden at a mosque.

I suppose that when I wrote about the fact that being in that building was like “Walking around what looks like a set from Bridget Jones with thirty something women around looking at screens wondering if the knickers they bought from Primark would not make them a laughing stock when they have chatted up a man at the local bar”, and the fact that those films really seemed to be based around fact, it was from the perspective of being overwhelmed.

The first day was one filled with only questions with not that many answers forthcoming and being frightened at first by the soon to be known as “ear-rapist”, I was wondering what the hell was to become of me.

But I suppose now as time as gone on, and there have been many wonderful events, some of which should be screened as a sitcom, somewhere including the phrase “BURN HIM” at every turn, it’s forever being a learning experience in many ways.

These guys were from Gamers with Jobs and when we met up it was rather strange, a feeling I had become comfortable with at the time because of what had been going on a few days earlier. Here we all were, never seen each other before and only exchanged brief messages on a forum online, and we were talking like it was going out of fashion about well, anything.

Of course, for the first hour or so, you would tend to discuss differences in culture, such as everything smells like wee (I tried to find B.O. basher but never mind) and crying over the fact that money was in short supply. American dollars to pounds = not a good thing… And of course where would we be without talking about TV shows, gaming and of course politics, everyone’s favourite subject next to Jihads.

One thing which was gutting was that we ordered some food, and as a result missed out on the pub quiz downstairs. How dare they hold back from showing our utter lack of knowledge? They shall pay! (Hang on, who are they?) It was a wonderful evening as it goes and one which I would love to repeat.

Meeting Terry Prachett is still one of my fondest memories; talking with an author who created “Johnny and the Dead”, “The Discworld” etc.. about meeting women in book signing queues, it was wonderful, and also meeting that American lady who took the photo with Terry and that was a enlightening experience.

Though I had also written “You come here to mingle and talk to different people and see what happens as a result. It’s not the place to keep yourself to yourself, no matter how hard you want to try.” It’s ironic that after writing such a phrase that now in March 2009 I have proceeded to do just that. I guess things really do change.

Oh, I had screamed at this man too, and ogled Charlize Thermos’ arse in real life. It was the first of only two West End things I would end up going to as it goes, and I’m not going to start going through the whole lifestyle management thing I found out while being around there.

And because of the great deal of fun going round with Natalie for the day doing certain pictures, it wouldn’t be a full recount of June without remarking on this event:

Ironing. We all have to do it if we are poor. It’s one of those immortal tasks that basically take up time, only to drag our evolved selves away from pursuits of grandeur such as writing an award-winning novel, creating a portrait of a loved pet, or picking your ears clean with a pair of cooking tongs.

Here are three examples of ways you too can make this household bore slightly more interesting. There are other examples out there but none as practical or realistic as these three:

Those pictures believe it or not, have earned me a certain reputation which also earned me a book on the whole subject of “Extreme Ironing” which if you read some of the pages and look at the pictures, it was started by a couple of people who had sniffed too much washing powder. So at least you now know the company I keep.

I suppose this was also the start of the summer of London in earnest and as we begin looking at July 2008 soon, it got better still.