coming and going

Toronto trip done. it was nice for me to see old friends and 'the hood', and to reconnect with our friends from Istanbul who live there now. and it was doctors first time in north america. we went to Niagara Falls and Hamilton of course, to meet Kev and his gf. memories! also, i had forgotten how car centric canada was. i mean i knew it, but it still took me by surprise. i think it would be hard for me to integrate there, even if we lived very centrally. u just cant get very far with public transport. and im not interested in driving. well, we dont live there, so all good. for visiting the subway and street car were good enough (plus not too crowded, easy access) and the weather was mostly nice. i think canada is great in many ways, and i certainly like canadians. i think London is the right place for me (to live) but nice to visit over the pond sometimes.

downtown Toronto.

Harbour

view from the islands

Korean BBQ place

Niagara Falls

cider tasting with Hanna

 sushi picnic. nom nom.

i managed to empty my head during the trip which is good, didnt think of work one bit. now, i just need to ease myself into reality again. laundry, grocery shopping, scheduling...  i have friends i want to meet but i need to go to finland this coming week for a few days. ill be back on midsummer, not sure i will go to the annual Hyde Park celebrations though. i think by then i will need some alone time again.

FINALLY Home Office (or Theresa May, who blocked these plans earlier?) have come to their senses and are removing doctors & nurses from the capped Tier 2 visa process. it's simply mindblowingly stupid to DENY visas to people that are sorely needed. they have gone through a long & expensive process to be registered to practise in the UK, have found a job - meaning some hospital somewhere has signed a countract with them and paid for the visa process (certificate of sponsorship) - and then both parties get a "no sorry monthly cap is full", like wtf? 
"2,630 visa applications from doctors outside the European Economic Area (EEA) were refused in a five-month period, despite crippling staff shortages across the NHS." one of these people is our friend. the first hospital that offered him work got tired after 2 attempts (applying twice in consecutive months), so he had to find another job and now its been the same thing all over again. if the cap is removed next month, and the hospital applies again it should go through or if they've already given up he will have to find a 3rd job...   its agonising, when you've worked so hard to uproot your life, you have a job waiting for you and then the process is thwarted due to a senseless no-reason. anyway, so hopefully this is now changing. this worsened NHS staffing crisis is just one of the many lovely effects of brexit.

Victoria park a couple weeks ago. the All Points East festival nice, weather amazing and Nick Cave even more so :) 

last night i hung out with Can & Burcu in a local cocktail bar that was wonderfully colourful and lively. maybe i felt a bit too old for the music but it was a good couple hours anyway.

 at the corner of our block;