Last time I was living in London (from November 2001 to July 2004) I noticed that a lot more people appeared to cycle about the city that I would ever have seen living in Sydney. Its pleasing to see that this trend has grown and a lot more people have taken to two wheels.

Bikes in The Square Mile

• Safety concerns as a result of the July 7 bombings, not to mention the fear of increased violent crime on public transport.
• The fact that the London transport network whilst pervasive and expansive is not always the quickest or most pleasant way to get to work. Especially as we heading into summer, I am not looking forward to participating in the sauna that is the Underground.
• Environmental awareness and a desire to minimize an individual's carbon footprint.
• Government initiatives such as cyclescheme which enables individuals to purchase a bike for commuting purposes tax-free through their employer.
  

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One of the things I have noticed since being back here is the amount of construction going on, especially in The Square Mile. The last few years of growth in the financial markets have been good for investment banks and I think much of the new development is to satisfy their need for bigger trading floors. But will it all last? BTW, I posted this message on and took these photos with my N95 and uploaded it using the wireless network set up in the City by The Cloud. Pervasive wireless access to the internet is pretty cool to have handy. Will see if it is of any practical use however in the coming weeks.

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Testing posting from my phone. Meanwhile enjoy this photo of Southend.

20052007015

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Well Jade and I have been back in London for three weeks now. I will get around to posting some video, photos or thoughts up here sometime soon!

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Ah, the experience of World Cup television from a timezone on the other side of the planet. The men of a nation turn into sports-mad Wee Willy Winky's, sneaking down the staircase with candlestick in hand to see the world's greatest players kick around a pig's stomach.

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The Funkwit has also blogged about some unintentionally funny Commonwealth Games commentary.

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The most memorable, if not somewhat dubious (although spoken innocently enough) sound-bite from the Commonwealth games so far (context: Craig Mottram is holding second place in the men's 5000m final between Kenya's Augustine Choge and Benjamin Limo)...

"Mottram is in an African sandwich"

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A surprise in the mail today. It appears that in the course of the studies for my Diploma of Financial Markets from Finsia, I achieved the highest result in 'Regulation and Ethics' for Queensland in 2005. Nice! I've been invited to the awards ceremony at Brisbane's Customs House but unfortunately, since we are now in Sydney I am unlike to make it. Oh well, its another certificate to hang in the drawing room...

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