Since i've got some free time(ok, maybe 'a lot' is more appropriate) now and very importantly, i've got convenient internet access(it's dialup though but it's free so i shan't hiam) & i found a 'publisher'(thanks to wei), i shall work diligently to clear up my blog's 'backlog'..
Got quite a lot i want to blog about..maybe i might seem too cheong hei & bore u pple out there..but hey, this is MY blog & these are MY memories, surely i have the right to capture them here?
Alright, let's start with the strawberry picking stint..yes, go get a cup of tea(strawberry milkshake for u cordell?!)..make urself comfortable in front of the screen..ready..here we go..
IN THE LIFE OF A STRAWBERRY PICKER
Sunday, 26th June 2005 - Arrival @ Siddington Farm
Today i met my 2 frens in the small town of Ledbury..i came down from Liverpool and arrived at about 5pm..2 hrs before they are scheduled to arrive from London..walked around the high street but most of the eateries were closed..found one open & went in..one look at the menu & realised it's quite a posh place..boh bian..needed to kill time..paid like 8 pounds for a salad..*.*
My 2 frens arrived at about 730pm and we sat there waiting to be picked up..half an hour gone past and no signs of anyone..made some calls and the pickup finally arrived. The 3 of us climbed in and were driven to Siddingdon Farm. We were greeted by rows of caravans and were shown ours. We were sharing a caravan wif this Latvian guy called Shasha..dunno about the spelling but it sounds like this lah..i know i know, it's very cha-bor sounding (anyway, more about him later)
The caravan is no bigger than the living room of a 5-room flat..there's a so-called living room, a tiny kitchen, an even tinier loo(3 of us are rather long-legged and we can barely sit on the toilet bowl..we'll just knock the door open lor) and a small doubles room.
It was a cold night and we were told there were no hot showers(read : we din bathe tat night) Too tired to recce the place..we had a simple dinner of bread(wat else) and went to sleep. The 2 of them took the room and i slept outside..my bed was the sofa bed in the so-called living room. Wrapped myself in my trusty sleeping bag & it's off to meet my grandpa..
Monday, 27th June 2005 - Registeration
Woke up at about 8am..washed up a bit..had a simple breakfast and we went to the office to register. The office was just a simple container at the back of the farm. There was a queue of people there..mainly Polish..and we just hang around, waiting for our turn.
After wat seemed like forever, we managed to get ourselves registered and were told to start work the next morning. We were given an info sheet..the terms din seem so bad..or so we thot..with the rest of the day free, we decided to walk out to the town centre and get food enough to last us for the few days.
It was a good 30 - 40 mins walk out to the Ledbury town and we went to our fave supermarket Tesco (cos it's the cheapest) and bought the usual stuff like pasta, bread, cereal, milk, etc.
Back at the camp site, we decided to check out the shower..it's err...not exactly wat u would call clean..but well..at least the water's a bit bit warm..
Spoke to a few of them who can speak some english..we learnt tat the working hours differ from day to day and we will be given breaks in between & so we would need to pack our lunch out wif us..
Cooked our dinner and then we went to bed..anticipating(eagerly? anxiously?) the next day..
Tuesday, 28th June 2005 - My First Time
Today, I had my first experience in picking strawberries..reporting time was 7am & we woke up at abt 6am (btw, for those who are not aware, the day lights up at about 4+am here). Washed up in the icy cold water, had a quick breakfast and headed out to the gathering spot. We only managed to squeeze onto the van at about 8.30am(there were about 200 other workers). We were brought to this strawberry field about 15 mins ride away and we saw rows & rows of strawberries..there were already many others who already started work..
We were given our barcode label and from them, i'm known as labour #301(4D anyone?) We're under this Bulgarian guy called Auriel..we were then given our tools - a 2 trays lined with 6 big punnets & 4 small punnets & a sledge to drag the trays..and of cos, the most impt tool of all - our bare hands. We were briefed tat there were 2 classifications of strawberries - the nice big fat juicy ones are class 1, the not-so-nice-but-still-ok ones are class 2..and then, we started work.
Everytime we finished the 2 trays, we were supposed to bring them to our leaders and they will scan in our barcodes..
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