Surfing in a lightning storm? What else did Fred Vincent, one of our Orkney-based Product Consultants, get up to during his time in Australia?
Life at Kyloe down under: Fred Vincent
Surfing in a lightning storm? Find out what Fred Vincent, one of our Orkney-based Product Consultants, got up to during his time in Australia.
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Fred Vincent (Product Consultant, Kyloe) recently spent 10 weeks in Sydney, Australia to support with the go live of a large-scale project. Lauren Miller (Marketing Manager, Kyloe) caught up with Fred on his return to our office in the Orkney Islands to find out about what his time was like in Australia.
Lauren Miller: How did day-to-day work life differ between Orkney and Australia?
Fred Vincent: The main difference was my commute; at home it takes about two minutes, but when I was in Australia, it was about 45-minutes (from Manly to Sydney); the journey was by ferry, though, and went right past the Sydney Opera House, so the extra time wasn’t something I minded.
LM: A 45-minute ferry commute definitely sounds better than sitting on a bus! What was Manly like?
FV: It was like a home away from home; once I got settled in it felt like Kirkwall (Orkney), which is where I normally live, and where the Kyloe HQ is based. I was pleased to find that across the street from where I was staying, there was an underground whisky bar, which had Highland Park (a well-known Orkney whisky) made not far from where I live.
View of Sydney from Manly - Photo by Fred Vincent
LM: Orkney weather vs Sydney weather; how did it compare?
FV: I was hot from the moment I stepped off the plane! I thought I took my summer clothes with me, but I soon discovered that I took what Australians would consider their winter clothes. Luckily, there was a pool on the roof of my apartment building, that I took full advantage of when I was too hot.
LM: What did you get upto in your spare time?
FV: On Manly beach there was a surf school, so I was able to tick learning to surf off my bucket list and enjoy the sea in a different way to what you normally experience in Orkney as a result of the chillier temperatures! I also went on a lot of walks - I did 17 miles in one day exploring beaches and bush trails around Manly; I don’t know how many steps that equates to, but it felt like a lot.
LM: What was the highlight of your time?
FV: There were lots of highlights; picking one is hard, but surfing in a lightning storm, in the rain, was outstanding. I liked that surfing was as demanding as my normal weightlifting routine and it was a lot less antagonising falling into the water in Australia than the freezing waters of Orkney.
If you ever get the chance to go to Sydney for work (or play), I would definitely recommend it!
