As always it has been a jam packed couple of weeks here in London. For the past week the pace in London has gone from frenetic to a frenzy with the streets packed with Olympic athletes, representatives and news teams from around the world. Pop-up broadcasting studios , restaurants, outdoor shops, funfairs and more have been filling every last available space in London and there is so much to do, it is impossible to keep up. Our move to our new accommodation in Bankside just beside the river means that we are even more caught up in the heart of the excitement then we ever were before.
Our visit to the Olympic park on Wednesday in Stratford was interesting particularly for me coming from London originally as I remember the area around Stratford as it was years ago- a desolate industrial wasteland. Now it has been completely transformed into a shiny metropolis of stadiums, apartments, Westfield shopping centres and more. Now I realise why London was so keen to become the host city to help regenerate the area. Unfortunately we could only see a lot of the outside of the buildings because of the rehearsal opening ceremony being held later on that day but what I did see definitely has got me excited for Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony tonight which we are going to try and see on the large screens in Victoria Park- if we can get a space that is!!
Last weekend the Giles team (including our supervisor Chris) spent the day at Thorpe Park, which has been one of the best days of the internship so far. The day was well organised and although we had an early start, it was worth it. We managed to get on every single ride and not have to queue for more than 30 minutes, and with it being the first day of sunshine in a long while, any waiting in the queues was pleasant. This week we have also had to 21st Birthdays among the group- Mathew and Lisa so last night we all went to have a celebratory meal and a few drinks.
Work wise it is now the final push to get everything ready for our presentation to the board on Wednesday- the financials are being scrutinised, the business plan refined and the presentation slides finalised. It is great to see all our work coming together in such a lengthy document and I am looking forward to our presentation. I also have booked my first CII Insurance exam which I mentioned I was going to sit in a previous blog post- for the 14th of August- wish me luck!! My experience here at Giles has so far proven itself great revision for it and it will be great to hold a relevant professional qualification alongside my degree when it comes to the jobhunt in the insurance sector.
Hope everyone else is having just as great a time!
Darius