I call myself Russell Robertson, though most folks at the hospital stick with Iron Horse. The nickname stuck after a string of brutal night shifts that rolled straight into sunrise pints. I’m the bloke who clocks out after twelve hours on my feet, grabs a shower, and then heads straight into the wild streets of London as if I’ve just woken from a nap. I don’t always feel fresh as a daisy, but I love the rush. It makes me feel alive in a way that reminds me of home.
I grew up in a small Aussie town where the sun hit hard, the flies hit harder, and everyone knew my family came from convict stock. I carry that with a grin. Those rough old souls survived the trip across the world in chains, and now here I am, walking the same streets their guards once stomped along. I sometimes stand on a London footpath and feel like I’ve closed a long, strange loop. My ancestors didn’t choose this city, yet I chose it for myself. That thought fires me up every day.
My blog started as a way to keep mates back home updated. Then I found myself scribbling about odd things I spotted on the Tube, strange meals I tried, and the way Londoners queue like it’s a sport. I still get caught out by the weather. Back home, rain comes at you like a warning. Here, it slips in quietly, the same way a possum steals fruit from a balcony. I have no clue how locals always seem ready for it.
I throw in plenty of comparisons between the UK and Down Under, partly because it helps me make sense of this place. A pub here feels nothing like a pub back home. A night bus here feels like a rolling social experiment. A shift in a London hospital comes with accents I’ve never heard, slang I can’t always follow, and patients who ask why on earth I left the sunshine behind.
The truth sits somewhere simple. I wanted to stretch myself. I wanted more stories. I wanted to see if the Iron Horse could handle a city that never stops moving.
I’m young, restless, and keen to take on anything this city tosses at me. I work hard, play hard, and write it all down. If you’re curious about life through Aussie eyes on British streets, you’ve landed in the right place.