TasterLab

Moove2London is really excited to tell you about Taster Lab which is a brand new way of trying out classes or new experiences in London……for FREE!!! If you’re skint but bored after Christmas, then this is just what you’re looking for.

Have you ever thought about learning Spanish? Fancy yourself as the next Amir Khan in the boxing ring? Or just want some gentle soothing yoga lessons?

Taster Lab lets you do all these things in London, without the commitment of initially parting with heaps of cash and signing up for a term of lessons. Instead, TasterLab offers either completely FREE or massively discounted classes, so that you can ‘try’ before you ‘buy’ an entire bundle of classes.

Another benefit of signing up with TasterLab instead of one of the other famous sites offering great deals, is that Tasterlab won’t give out too many taster sessions at once, resulting in flooding a business with too many new customers and which they’re unable to deal with. Instead, tasters are given out in small batches and when that batch runs out you’ll have to wait for the next batch of ‘tasters’ to be released. This is of course a great reason not to mess about, if a taster catches your eye, sign yourself up for it before it gets booked up.

Taster Lab has different offers on all the time, but at the time that this article was written the following Taster sessions are available to sample for FREE….

• A 30 minute life-coaching session for FREE in North London
• One FREE group badminton session for you and your friends in South London
• 30 minute FREE private bass guitar, saxonphone, trumpet, piano, flute, drums, double bass, cello or clarinet lessons in South London
• FREE 30 minute golf lesson on indoor simulator in South London
• FREE Muay Thai Kickboxing class in North London
• FREE Mixed Martial Arts class with MM instructor in East London
• Outdoor fitness training session for FREE in East London
• FREE Polish lesson in a location of your choice
• 1 free group Squash class for you and 5 friends in South London
• 1 free group Salsa lesson in Central and East London
• FREE 90 minute Tai Chi class in South London
• FREE group Tango class led by expert teachers in Central or East London
• FREE group Wrestling class in East London
• FREE Hatha Yoga class in South London

This is only a very small selection of free classes in London that you can take part in with TasterLab. Take a look at their site today and have a packed New Year schedule for no cost at all.

How to volunteer for London 2012

Where will you be in exactly 2 years time?

If you’re planning on living in London in 2012, then it can’t have escaped your notice that the Olympics will be opening on July 27th, 2012.

There are many ways to get involved in 2012 – you can already register to be notified when the tickets come on sale, by signing up at London 2012 .

We have also been promised 4 live sites at Hyde Park, Victoria, Park, Jubilee Gardens and Potters Fields where large screens will be set up for members of the public to attend with a free ticket. You can also watch events such as the Marathon, Hyde Park triathlon and road cycling for free as they’ll be taking place in Central London.

But what should I do if I want to be more than a spectator, but don’t have the time to become a world-class athlete in time for the Olympics?

The answer of course is to become a VOLUNTEER .

Ok, so in order to become a volunteer at London 2012, you need to sign up to one of two schemes:

• Locog’s Games Makers
• City Hall’s London Ambassadors

Locog are recruiting around 70,000 volunteer games makers for their 31 different teams. Examples of their teams are ‘Media, Editorial and Press Operations’, ‘Protocol and International Relations’, ‘Transport’, ‘Torch and Ceremonies’, ‘Sport, Medical and Anti-Doping’, ‘Competition Venues and Olympic Villages’ and ‘Technology’. Some of the teams require as few as 50 games makers (volunteers) whereas other teams require several thousand volunteers.
The upside to becoming a Locog volunteer is that you’ll get free meals, free transport and the opportunity to be involved in the biggest sporting event that London has seen in years. It probably won’t look bad on your C.V either.
The downside involved in being a games maker, is that due to the huge scale operation that Locog are undertaking, they will require their games makers to be extremely flexible. You’ll probably have to set aside around 10 working days to be involved in 2012. You’ll also be unable to change your shifts (not good if they want you to work at the same time as an event that you have tickets for) and won’t be able to request that you work with friends or family if they’ve also signed up.
To get involved with Locog as a games maker, applications are open from September 15th.
All volunteers must be over 18 by New Year’s Day on 2012, but a separate programme for 1,500 volunteers will also be introduced for under-18s.

City Hall have a much smaller programme going on. They’re looking for around 8,000 volunteers to be London Ambassadors.
The Ambassador programme requires people with an enthusiasm for London to be the ‘face of London’ assisting as guides at airports, rail stations and other tourist hubs.
As an ambassador, you can expect to be fully trained, receive a uniform (which you can keep), get free transport within zones 1-6, free meals up to the value of GBP 5.00.
Applications are being accepted as of today at London Ambassadors .
The minimum age for becoming a London Ambassador is 16.

Ways to blend in as a Londoner

When you first move to London, some of you might take to it like water off a duck’s back, others of you may feel that you stick out like a sore thumb.
We’ve created a list of ways to blend in as Londoner, so you don’t feel out of your depth. Many of them are related to the public transport system and some should be taken as being tongue in cheek, but we’ll let you try and work out which are which!

• Don’t wander around obviously clutching your A-Z. If you need to carry it, then try and be discreet about it. Or if you have an I-phone, you could just use that instead to get about!
• Try and hide the fact that your snot is currently black and sooty – we promise it’ll go away.
• Get an Oyster card – real Londoners don’t buy paper tickets, they’re more expensive.
• Never stand still on the left side of an escalator – always move to the right. In fact, most Londoners are often in a rush, so feel free to charge up and down the left side of the escalator.
• Always avoid eye contact with strangers and don’t even think about exchanging niceties – we don’t do that in London or else people might mistake us for psychopaths.
• Walk quickly everywhere and try and look like you’re extremely angry at all times.
• In a supermarket, use the self-service checkout – remember that you’re in a hurry and don’t have time for queues.
• Don’t scream in alarm at the tiny amount of change you’ll get when you hand over a fiver for a pint of beer
• Stop carrying cash altogether and rely on using cards everywhere
• Scream like billio if you see a mouse in your house, but don’t bat an eyelid if you see 10 of them whilst you’re waiting for a tube
• Roll your eyes and be completely devoid of sympathy if someone commits suicide by jumping on the tube tracks and ruins your journey across town
• Start sniggering (and/or exercise an eye roll) if your train is delayed or cancelled due to leaves on the line or the wrong type of snow
• Always carry Nurofen, Berocca tablets, eyedrops and chewing gum with you on Friday mornings to help you deal with a crazy Thursday night out.
• Learn the names and respective colours of the tube lines. Nothing will make you stand out more than if you say you’re taking the yellow line to work. IT’S CALLED THE CIRCLE LINE!
• Don’t bother going out in Central London unless it’s for work drinks. Instead find the best pub in your new area and claim it as your local.
• Start acting like the rest of the UK doesn’t exist

PS We didn’t mean the last one – we’re not originally from London either!!!