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Took me a while to catch up with all your news but I did it - OMG what a whirlwind its been these last few days for you!

The job sounds fab as does everything else, well done on everything you have achieved in such a short time and I hope your poor feet get better soon ;)

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Get those steel-capped trainers as soon as you can!! ;)

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Your job sounds pretty interesting. I am sure you'll reach your quota cause you've just started and you are already good at it. Yes, bet you are looking forward to your first 4 days off. I am so proud of you, and a wee bit jealous LOL.. I am back in the US and each day I question my decision in returning..starting to get muggy here in MS, red ants bit my feet today and we saw a 5 foot rattlesnake out in our yard today!! UGH

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[QUOTE=WhoFan63;10703899
But all in all I'm looking forward to my first 4 days off so i can rest my feet.:rofl:[/QUOTE]

Maybe that's why you get the 4 days off - so you can rest your feet ;) Good for you for coming so close to the quota so soon. You're a champ :thumbsup: Hope your feet heal soon.

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Oh poor you, those blisters sound so painful :( My hubby has to wear shoes with steel toe caps for some of his work, you can get them in all kinds of styles over here. Don't know if the selection/price is as good in the UK? Let me know if you want any sent over.
http://www.steel-toe-shoes.com/

Thank goodness you will soon have 4 days off to give your feet a chance to heal.

I know its expensive but I think for the first few weeks at least you should just plan to take a taxi home too. I know its disheartening to have to use your hard earned money just to get to and from work but these first few weeks will be the most tiring and your poor feet need some TLC. The next 2 months will soon fly by and then you will be able to walk to work.

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Ouch blisters :( Poor thing.
My Dh has steel toe boots for work, work bought them all new ones last year and they are so nice and comfy he's saving them for UK and wearing the ones he buys every 6 months from WalMart. They now make them with some sort of composite toe, strong like the steel toe but weight a whole lot less, thats what work paid for and WalMart has starting carrying them. Try on loads of them and make sure the fit is good before you buy, or your feet will be killing you.

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I have a pair of Dunlop steel toe (or maybe reinforced toe) wellies that are so comfortable I can take long hikes in them. Mine are fleece lined (needed in Scotland!), but you can get unlined, too. They are especially handy because you don't have to faff with laces. I've always thought of wellies as being unsuitable for long-term wear but I wear these all the time (gardening, walking, popping to the shop).


Here are the ones I have. They are half-height so easy to slip on and off.

I think if you buy this sort of thing for work, you can get VAT-free, too.

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Scot sheep boy boots! Instead of cowboy boots.;)

Things may have changed but the down side of wellies is they didn't breath like leather boots did. Keeps the feet dry though.
As always the price is outrageous.
Cheers

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First off i want to thank you all for your responses to my post about my first work day. I'm sorry I wasn't able to reply to you all individually, but being the lazy git I am...lol, I was just too shattered after work to spend much time on the computer, so just popped in and was intending to write more, but sleep overtook and I had to crash! I thought I'd take the easy way out and just tell you all what's been happening for the past 4 days... But thank you for all your wonderful words and comments. They've kept me going for the past few days and I've appreciated each and every one. So thank you all! xxx Okay here goes update number whatever.. lol

I've just finished my first shift at work (meaning I've just completed my 4 day rotation), and now I have 4 wonderful days off! How sad is it that after landing a job, I'm glad I have time off..:rofl: Only because I'm on my feet all day in boots that are uncomfortable and I'm glad of the chance to be able to give my poor feet a break. I must admit they haven't been too bad today. :thumbsup: Probably because I covered every blister with double protection. So now they just ache from the standing.. I need good arch supports in them, and/or probably one of those gel pack things for inside the boots, because the arch is where it hurts the most. I think inserts will probably help with lower back aches too, because I find myself twinging all the time and trying to relieve back ache by shifting the weight on my feet all the time, trying to get comfortable. So one solution for multiple problems..lol

My pay period runs from Sunday to Saturday, so because I started on the Friday, I'll only get paid for two days (Fri and Sat). My first pay day will be next Friday as I get paid weekly which is always nice, and because of the way I work 4 on and 4 off, there are weeks where I'll get paid for 3 days and weeks I'll get paid for 4, at least if I worked that out correctly. Mr G has been VERY helpful in trying to explain it all to me...:rofl: By my calculations, and I've worked out that I'll 'probably' get the grand total of £266.02 NET for a 4 day pay week, and that is after tax and NI contributions. Another good part is that I get double time and a half if my work day falls on a bank holiday, because we're open 24hrs a day, so don't get the holiday off, unless of course it falls on one of our scheduled days off. So I'm not going to quibble about £15 or so per hour for a 12 hour day.. :thumbsup: We have a bank holiday coming up soon, so I'll have to work out whether that's my day to work or not. :)

I work with a lovely bunch of people! It's so much fun on our breaks to go into the lunch room and have a natter and a laugh over a cuppa. Even the young lads (at least young compared to me..lol) are friendly and helpful. We have quota's that need to be met and they've tried to calm us down by telling us newbies that we don't need to panic if we don't meet those quota's straight away. They give us a few weeks and so long as they can see progress they're happy.

I'm just the type of person who wants to meet quotas and deadlines.lol, but it's like anything - speed or productivity comes with practice. At the moment I can admit that I'm being TOO particular about everything I handle, whether it comes to folding the garments, checking the footwear and then repackaging it. I'm imagining myself as the customer and receiving this package, and I want to make sure they're happy with what they receive. But I think that with more practice I can make sure I'm meeting my quota without sacrificing quality.

But it's definitely been a very busy and exhausting 4 days! A lot of fun though! :) I need to pamper both my hands and my feet some time over the next 4 days. lol. Working with lots of cardboard and boxes etc etc my hands are all dry and cracked and I've already sliced part of my thumb which looks like it's getting infected. Plus we have to take the price tags off the items and they're so sharp (because they're little hard stickers)that the points of them keep slicing up under my fingernail which hurts like a you know what.. lol

I definitely get exercise because from the minute I walk in the door it's up a flight of stairs to put my bag away, then back down the stairs to go into the warehouse, then up another flight of stairs to get to my area. If i need to go to the toilet then its back down the stairs, through security (which we have to do every time we leave the area), out the door and back up the flight of stairs to the locker room, toilet area and canteen. Then the same in reverse. So you can imagine doing that every break time, every lunch time etc. lol Then the two flights of stairs at home every day...lol Sheesh I'm going to be fit.:rofl:

I've decided to treat myself in August and head for the Edinburgh Tattoo :) I'll have to calculate forwards to see what day's I'll be working over that time period. Hopefully it will be during my days off! It sounds absolutely wonderful to realize I can do just that - go anywhere I want to.. lol.

I love how I can chat to the taxi driver's on the way to work, and even when I call up to confirm the booking for the next day they know me by name. Yes I know my mobile number appears on their ID, but it's still nice ! LOL

We actually had hail today, and shock horror someone even mentioned snow! But I haven't heard anything definite about that. I do know it's been bloody FREEZING lately and lots of rain. I know because I was standing in it..lol. It was one of those times when I knew I couldn't walk for a bus after work so I called a taxi. Thinking they'd be there shortly (as they have in the past), I went to wait out the front of the distribution centre. Unfortunately it started to rain and I was standing in it for over 20 minutes. I'm surprised I haven't caught a cold. :eek:

I haven't even watched the news for a week so don't know what's been happening in the world? Does anyone have any news on the Jodi Arias trial??? I gather she's been found guilty of first degree murder???

So there we go....first shift done! :)

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Great update WhoFan63! So glad you've got a chance to rest up those blisters for a few days! I've done retail work where you are on your feet all day long and although it wasn't as physical as what you are doing I do know that the first couple of weeks my feet and legs would ache so much but then after that your body just adapts and the aches go away and you wonder why the newbies are struggling ;) so it will get better.

So glad you are looking into the Edinburgh trip that will be lovely to look forward to and I can't wait for the photos!

Thanks so much for the update its great to hear how things are going.

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Sounds perfect...well other than the feet and the weather :D Well it still sounds perfect. It's in England, isn't it? :lol:

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There is big distribution centre being opened here. Here are some of the details.

Principle Duties & Responsibilities:

Maintain accuracy of documents
Ensure inventory is maintained according to company’s standard.
Achieve set standards (engineered or productivity) on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Focus on labels to select from correct location in order to provide the stores with the correct merchandise ordered.
Complete the daily P.I.T. check list to ensure equipment is working properly and report any defects to management and/or maintenance.
Operate P.I.T. equipment in a safe manner.
Ensure labels are placed properly on merchandise in order to be scanned properly.
Ensure damage merchandise is handled through the proper procedures.
Follow set safety procedures and guidelines to maximize personal safety.
Maintain an organized work area and promote a safe working environment.
Other duties as assigned.


Minimum Requirements:

Education: High School Diploma/GED preferred.
Experience: Four to six months Retail Distribution Center or Warehouse Environment experience preferred.
Equipment: Tugger, Walkie Rider, tape, crayon, box knives, telephone, modular phone, RF unit, aprons, computer labels, and voice equipment. Required to use PPE per center requirements.
Communication: Must be able to effectively communicate with co-workers and management team.
Physical Requirements: Able to perform all essential functions of the job. These tasks require the ability to repetitively lift and move up to 50 pounds and occasionally lift and move up to 60 pounds. Associate will need an adequate fitness level to meet demands of frequent lifting, walking, moderate climbing, stooping, and kneeling.
Working Conditions: The associate will work a non-climate controlled Distribution and Warehouse atmosphere, in which outside weather conditions greatly affect the building’s temperature. The associate may also be exposed to moving mechanical parts or equipment, machine vibrations, fumes, loud noise and airborne particles as regulated by OSHA.

Pay would be around £5.50 per hour?

Cheers

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I hope thats not in a hot state, can you imagine it's 110 outside and you are in a tin building!
Amazon is opening a distribution warehouse about an hour from us (that local here ) I wonder if they keep the place cool/warm.

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The temperature is about 5 degrees cooler than Las Vegas so it was probably 105 yesterday.
I think the building, which is new, and it is concrete.

Cheers

Wow those wages over in Lancashire are amazingly high.

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Hi everyone! :) Well I had a wonderful first day off. I went into Rochdale and had a wander around the shops. I snapped the attached picture with my phone, so hope it turns out. It's more impressive in person, but when the clock strikes the hour and you hear the bell ringing, it's truly awesome. :)

Apart from that I had a lazy day. Didn't get out of bed until 10am, and then realised that I'd missed an appointment scheduled for 9.30am. Oops..:rofl: So decided to go out and spend some time wandering. I had a Tandoori Chicken Burrito in the town centre and did some people watching..lol. Saw a shop that unlock phones while you wait for £3. Might have to go check it out..lol

Then I came home and spent an hour creating a spreadsheet on Excel that shows me my work schedule, number of hours worked, pay week and which work days come under which pay week. Makes more sense when I can see it written down. :)

All in all a good day...and still 3 to go. :)

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Did you ride the bus to Rochdale? How long did it take?
Cheers

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I have read that Rochdale is not such a nice place.How have you found it,good not so good or just different to all the other lovely places you have been.
Cheers I.G.

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Hi Cheers,

Yes I caught the bus into Rochdale. It's much closer than Oldham and so the trip only takes about 10 minutes if that! :)

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I quite like Rochdale...prefer it over Oldham. Although according to Mr D he said there are certain parts even HE wouldn't walk around late at night, but I guess that can be said of other towns really can't it? But seeing as I'm not going to go wandering around late at night I'm fine.. :rofl: I've been a few times and never had any or seen any trouble. But I've not been ALL over Rochdale, so I can't comment on any other part of town. Maybe if you get outside of the town centre it might be different I don't know. But in the town centre there are lots of little side streets that you can walk down and find shops galore - cobbled streets and lovely old buildings like the picture I posted, which I found out this morning is actually the town hall. :rofl:

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Well it looks like I won't be getting my 4 days off after all..:rofl: I received a txt message this morning asking if I was interested in doing some OT so I said yes....(1) looks good to management that you're willing to come in and (2) wasn't going to turn down £10 per hour for OT....:rofl::rofl:

I don't have to work a full 12 hours if I don't want to, so long as i work a minimum of half a shift, and I can go in any time I want to, which works out better for me because I can leave it later in the morning and be able to catch a bus there and back. Save on taxi fares...:rofl:

So now I'm racing around getting my washing done and hoping my uniform will be dry by the morning..lol. The guys don't use the dryer because it takes up too much electricity so i'll be draping my clothes over the banister..:rofl: Good job nobody comes up to the 3rd floor so no-one will see them and that's what the guys do anyway. On wash day it looks like a chinese laundry to see clothes hanging on every available banister.. :rofl: If I get desperate I can always take them to the laundromat around the corner to dry them off.

Wow, working overtime already...:thumbsup: Next pay day should be interesting...lol

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oh my gosh.. overtime is good for the money but not for the poor feet!! Hope you blisters have healed. Maybe you could find a clothes horse? I know when I was back I had one, found it at a thrift store and really helped with drying the clothes. I was wondering if you could put in a request for being off when the Edinburgh Tattoo is going on and that way you know you will be able to go? Glad things are going well. I know you must be tired. Thanks for all your great updates.

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I created a spreadsheet yesterday with all my work days and my days off, but I only did it up to the end of July...I'll carry through with it until the end of August and see if my days off correspond to the Tattoo. :thumbsup:

The blisters have healed already to a degree anyway...and I bought some inserts for my boots to help a little bit with the aching and arch support, so I'll see how I go. I was going to go and look at the trainers tomorrow, but that idea is out the window thanks to the overtime...lol. So hope I don't have trouble with my feet because it is 6 days before I get another day off.

To top it all off I have an appointment next Wednesday for my NI interview. It all happens at once....:rofl: So I'm busy on my first day off and I have an appointment for bloodwork at the dr's on Thursday so am busy on my 2nd day off too. :) Nice to be busy! :thumbsup:

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Beats sitting around in AZ watching the dishes pile up in the sink, am I right? ;):D

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You're not kidding! :rofl::rofl: I walk into the kitchen here, and everything is immaculate..not a dish to be seen! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

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:rofl::rofl:

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If you send your washin' over here I'll have it dry in 10 minutes because it is so dry here.

That £10 an hour, is that on top of the regular rate per hour? So time and a half?
Don't spend the money before you get it because you have to share it with the Inland Revenue.:)

Is it in some Yorkshire cities or Lancashire where the Asians (Pakistanis) have taken over? It is strange to me that whole communities can be taken over by immigrants in England. Not so in America.

I have just read some information that tells me that whole communities have not been taken over. Misinformation. Significant maybe?

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I wish it were on top..but that £10 IS the time and a half rate. I only get paid £6.19 per hour. :( But it's a wage right?? I'm not giving the IRS a damn penny...lol, or where you talking about the UK tax office??

There are a lot of Pakistani's around here in Rochdale, but I wouldn't call it 'taking over'..lol. I've never really paid much attention to be totally honest..:rofl: It's really no different in the US with the hispanic communities around.

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yes, sounds like you are really busy but making money so that's good but I know you'll be glad of your days off when you finally get them. At least you don't have to worry about health insurance to see the doctor, that must be a relief. Good idea in making a spreadsheet and so you have to go to the job center to get your NI number? Just wondered how that worked. You were probably not issued one if you moved to the US before you were 16? My daughter who is nearly 28 , well we moved over here when she was 2, and so she would probably have to go to an interview to get her NI number. well best of luck this week, hope your body doesn't get sore and you get good test results from the doctor. Are there many charity shops were you live? There were quite a few in Elgin, Scotland. I loved looking around them. There was the British Heart Foundation, Oxfam, Barnardos and a few others. That is what I like to do on my day off, look around the thrift shops!! Maybe when the weather turns better you could get a bicycle. That's if it safe to cycle where you live..

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Yes the appointment next Wednesday is an 'interview', so I have to take my passport, drivers license, proof of job and proof of address. Unfortunately it's not at my local job centre, because they apparently only do the interviews at one particular office. I'm going to have to take a trip into Manchester. At least I can make a day of it and go to the Manchester Science Museum, because apparently they film Coronation Street at the back of the museum and you can watch them filming through the windows..lol They can't really turn me down because I've got a job and am paying into the system.. It was a bit of a pain getting the appointment because firstly when I applied for JSA they told me they'd send the request through for an NI number. So after a couple of weeks when I cancelled my claim and having never received a penny which was good, because I was now employed they also cancelled the request. So I called them up today and received the appointment over the phone. I too left the UK before I was 16, but they tried to look me up on the system anyway under my maiden name, just in case it was issued but never received. I wasn't on there! :thumbdown:

I don't know how long it takes from when you go to the interview to when you receive the NI number, but hope it doesn't take too long because I don't know how 'not' having a number will affect my pay. Would I pay more tax because I haven't supplied the number???

There are plenty of charity shops and every other kind of shop you can imagine around Rochdale! :) I'm not really into shopping, but I do like to have a wander. I'm more of a walker...going up hill and down dale and checking out the scenery, camera in hand.:rofl:

Well I checked out my spreadsheet and the dates for the Edinburgh Tattoo and it looks like August 10th is the date for me. The 10th is the first day of my 4 days off work so that would be perfect as the trip I'm looking at is a 2 day getaway to Edinburgh, the coach journey there and back, accommodation, breakfast and dinner included, plus it includes a ticket into the Edinburgh Tattoo. All for the lovely price of £139. So I won't need to book any time off because I will already be off work...lol.

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wow, fantastic you have a trip to look forward to. I love Edinburgh and I went one year when I was pregnant and thought I had gone into labor during it!! Turns out it was "Braxton hicks" contractions LOL I just love that city. Yes, I love to wander around and take lots of pictures. Here, in MS, unfortunately no historic buildings to be captured on film LOL. Mostly snakes and the likes HA HA. When I go back to the UK I certainly appreciate all the lovely old buildings and scenery that's for sure. Hope not having your NI number does not affect your pay. TTFN xx

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Fabulous...a trip already!!! Girl, you are living the life :rofl: Of course, we expect lots and lots of pics!!

Not to steal your thunder or anything, but DD just got offered a free return trip to....SOUTH KOREA!!! Her best friend just went to join her husband who is a US Army officer stationed over there. Uncle works for United and gets free vouchers. How cool is that?! :thumbsup:

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Wow South Korea huh? That's definitely cool :). Too bad Uncle couldn't get you vouchers for the UK lol.

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Now that would have been nice :)

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Some large cities have areas with a strong presence of one nationality or another; it has been that way in the UK for decades now although as groups assimilate a new nationality comes into the limelight. It is also the case that as you get second/third etc generations individuals may identify as British AND Asian, for example, while certain groups would label them only as Asian, due to their ethnicity.

I guess it depends a little on how you define community but I infer it to be a whole city/town/village from your post, in which case I'd say it's not the case that whole communities have been taken over. If you are talking about a suburb of a city it might be said that certain suburbs have been 'taken over' , in that the majority ethnicity becomes something other than 'white' and/or the majority nationality becomes something other than 'British', but I'd have thought that would be very much the same in America.

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It is.

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Well I wasn't needed for OT after all due to enough staff putting their name down, so I took the opportunity to go out for a little day trip...:rofl:

First I caught the bus into Manchester and had a wander around. Then I caught another bus to the British Museum of Science and Industry and also had a wander. My main reason for going there was the fact that from a certain spot within the museum you can look out a window and see the set of Coronation Street...:rofl::rofl: So once I persuaded the tour guide to tell me where the all important window was I set off. The window is actually behind a curtain so when no-one was watching I snuck behind the curtain and looked through the window and sure enough....there was Coronation Street. At least the bit I could see which was Barlow's and the cab company..lol. I could see anything else, but I did see the actor who plays Tommy Duckworth walking around. No cameras though, which was good because I would have looked a right twit waving through the window with a camera pointing at me..:rofl: I don't think the window I was in actually is seen in any shots because they deliberately film with the window behind them I think..lol.

So then I went back into Rochdale and bought myself a pair of safety trainers which are MUCH more comfy and I'm going to wear them tomorrow to break them in, seeing as I'm off tomorrow as well. :thumbsup:

It looks like everything on my to-do list has been done, apart from one thing which is my drivers license and I can't do that until I've lived here for 180 days. But everything else has been done.....home - done, job - done, bank account - done, electoral roll - done, NI number - done, NHS number - done, registered with GP - done. I can't think of anything else that needed doing, but I'm sure something will remind me..lol

Not bad seeing as I landed 4 weeks yesterday! :) :thumbsup:

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You've forgotten "lose ten pounds". I am just jealous since that's been on my to-do list for ages!

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THE most important thing,she forgets :lol: Need to do that and more myself. Good on you, Linzi. You're an inspiration to us all, you are :thumbsup:

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:rofl: oops, how could I forget THAT?? Although it wasn't technically on my 'to-do' list. It was on my 'will get around to it eventually, but have things to do FIRST' list. :rofl:

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Thanks love....xxx Seeing as I missed my Dr's appointment this week and have to go next Thursday I'll undoubtedly step on the scales again. I'm curious to see if I've lost anymore, especially now that I'm working and walking at the same time. :rofl: Good weight loss cure...come to the UK !:thumbsup::thumbsup: