Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh My!

Big Tum!

2010-06-03T20:22:00.003+01:00

So guys I am going to be having a baby in October 2010! The due date is the 12th, I was hoping for Halloween but I can deal with the 12th. If it's 2 days early it's birthday will be 10-10-10 which would be awesome... will have to eat lots of hot curry etc on the 9th to try and self induce labour! Only kidding.

So I found out in January and had to keep quiet about it for a good couple of months which was quite torturous... having to make up excuses as to why I wasn't drinking and blah blah but in April the word went out and we could finally let people know after the 12 week scan. I am now 21 weeks and counting... I have a definite bump and bigger boobs but my body still feels like my own. I am enjoying it so far, I've been very lucky in having no morning sickness at all, I have had the most chronic indigestion but I will take that over puking, definitely.

During the first 3 months I started and ended a 7 week temping position at a fancy Landrover dealership then started a permanent job working for British Gas whilst battling extreme tiredness and awful wind/stomach aches. I was going to bet at 9pm and just sleeping for England plus sloping off to the toilet all the time, not pleasant! Anyway I sound like a real moaner, it was quite hard work though. I'm half way through the pregnancy now and I've just finished 7 weeks of training at B Gas so I'm doing the job officially now. They do know, I told them a few weeks ago which was quite nerve wracking - I'm only on a 6 month probation and I thought they might just show me the door. So far they have been really good about it though which is such a relief.

Nick is still setting up his business which is going quite well. Really want to get some business now but he's done a few jobs and the website is now set up: www.waitefilms.com - there are a few videos in the gallery as examples of his work.

I've obviously quit drinking and smoking, neither of which I really miss. I have the occasional half of lager/guinness/small glass of wine so not totally abstaining. No shellfish, soft or blue cheese, runny eggs, or pate for me at the moment though. No weird cravings really to speak of - in the first month I had a bit of a thing for raw carrots and I've gone off chocolate slightly but I still eat it, just don't go mad for it like I used to. At the moment I keep getting leg cramps at night, sometimes they wake me up and I have to jump out of bed and perform a crazy sort of Irish jig to get rid of them which is quite irritating, especially for Nick. That and numb fingers at night, both of which are common so my pregnancy book tells me.

The other day I thought I had a mosquito bite on my ankle - I had a small, itchy bite mark with what I thought was a little scab on the top of it but then I took a closer look and it was a tick!! Oh my GOD so disgusting I cannot begin to describe. It came out, head and all, fairly easily and I gave it a quick and painless death but I have been totally grossed out ever since.

Well I'm a bit sunburnt after a day at Highcliff beach plus a trip around West Quay shopping centre for pregnancy bras and pretty tops which have plenty of room up the front with my lovely mother in law.

Dark Crystal Dreams

2010-03-25T15:15:00.002Z

So I had the most vivid dream the other night, it was basically the whole imagined sequel to the film 'The Dark Crystal' which has been one of my favourite films since I was 6 years old. I have no idea what brought it into my subconcious mind but it was quite good, although I remember being slightly vexed that they had chosen Keira Knightley to play the part of Kira and not a puppet. The details are fading now but she was sat in a large, gladitorial style stadium which a guy next to her who I presume was supposed to be Jen and there were definitely landstriders in it although they had horses heads and six legs, I think because I have watched Avatar too many times and I was getting confused in my dreams!

Well it's my last day tomorrow in this temping position, I like the people but OH MY GOD there is nothing to do every day. I am melting into a slack jawed puddle of boredom and can't wait to be outta here. Just thinking of the money clocking up hour by hour is what has got me through. I don't know how anyone could do this job full time, it is moronic. I am starting a permanent job on Monday which is for a well done energy supplier - good money and after my training period I will be working a 4 day week, Thursdays off, Woohoo! Although it's long hours the other days so I won't be able to go to my normal yoga class anymore on a Tuesday night, but luckily Perminder does a class on Thursdays so I'm going to change to that. Bit of a shame as it's at a College further away from where I live but I can't live without my yoga now, it's so good.

I've been up to London town for the weekend. Which was a belated birthday treat for my mother in law. We took her for afternoon tea at Browns hotel which was all finger sandwiches, mini scones and cakes (an infinite supply) and lovely, lovely teas to drink. Then after a mooch around Soho we went to Ronnie Scotts in the evening for dinner and jazz, baby! We saw the James Tayler Quartet which was really funky, Starsky & Hutch type music with much audience participation, although I didn't do too much dancing as I had eaten a massive house burger and fries and was feeling rather distended, belly wise. Still I sang a lot, he divided the crowd and each side had to bellow out 'In the Ghetto' or 'We're talking 'bout the Ghetto' really loudly in a sing off stylee, something I haven't experience literally since Primary school! Loved it. So a great night, and then on the Sunday we went to Colombia Road flower market and Spitalfields market.

And someone has actually given me a small amount of work to do!! Wow. Better sign off.

Living the Temping Dream...

2010-03-10T10:25:00.004Z

So the job search continues and in the meantime I've found a 6 week temping placement which is at a big car dealership conveniently close to where I live. It's long hours, 8-6 but then I get paid hourly and I'm able to get home for lunch so I figure it beats doing a long commute in busy traffic each morning. The people are really nice, it's a bit of a joke because I literally know nothing about cars, especially very large, modern ones.

I'm still looking for permanant work but it's been pretty hard to find anything and quite demoralising. I've slacked off over the last few weeks as well as I knew that I had myself sorted for a while with this temp job. Wages are basically shit in Southampton and there are hundreds of people all looking for work. A bad combination!

Nick is taking the bull by the horns and is setting up his own business. So far he has registered the Company name, designed a wicked logo, bought a Smart car and is currently getting it sign written, been to see a solicitor for legal advice, oh, and bought a fancy pants video camera with a load of kit to go with it. He's going to be making videos, for weddings, companies, that sort of thing. I won't go into any more detail until it's a bit more fully formed. He's been really busy the last few weeks, plus I've turned him into a house husband as well because I've hardly been around. He's doing most of the cooking and cleaning as I simply don't have the hours in the day to do it and our weekends have been horrendously packed full of stuff. Fun stuff but all the same, leaves you with no time!

The kittens are just completely awesome and lovely. They are super affectionate and love company. They jump around all over the place like utter loons and are strangely fascinated by running water. If you're running a bath they fall in, if you're brushing your teeth they try to get in the sink and if you're on the loo they jump up on your lap which is a bit disconcerting. Max loves climbing the curtains up to ceiling height, but then he can't get back down again so gets ridiculously stuck. They have destroyed most of our house plants and I basically can't wait to get them outside in the garden where they can let off some steam!! We are just waiting for them, especially little Millie, to recover from their neutering operations which they had about a week ago. So about another week. She has a big shaved patch which feels like a shammy leather on her side. They seem completely unfazed by the experience which is a relief.

It's my Dad's birthday today, must give him a ring. And it was my mother in laws 60th yesterday, we went around for dinner and drinks last night. At the weekend, for her birthday, we went to the most amazing hotel - http://www.limewood.co.uk/ which is in the New Forest. We stayed overnight and had the most incredible meal of my life. It was cooked by Alex Aitkin who has 2 Michelin Stars no less! And it was at the 'Chef's Table', literally a big oak table actually in the huge, bustling kitchen of the hotel and you get to watch all the cooks bustling about like something out of Hell's Kitchen (but without the swearing and they all looked quite calm). Anyway there were 9 courses, it was a taster menu, and with each course we had a Sommelier come and match up the wine to go with it, there was so much interesting wine and even vintage pink champagne with the scallops course!

OK now because I want to remember it for all time and this is my blog, this is what we had to eat. I know it's boring! It's more for me.

1) Pre dinner nibbles of chicken liver fois gras and aubergine caviar with little toasts.

2) An amuse bouche of little espresso cup of what tasted like very rich cauliflower cheese topped with fois gras and reduced balsamic vinegar

3) A sealed jam jar that they popped the lid off for you at the table, filled with wild mushroom risotto, a bantam poached egg on top and slivers of truffles. Possibly my favourite course, this one.

4) Scallops in a sort of salady vinegrette with the pink champers to drink. Yum.

5) Monkfish chunks with a sort of olive tapenade on top and a triangle of something like hallumi cheese underneath which was very nice

6) Slowed cooked venison with poached pear and walnuts and a small individual haggis on the side. nice but weird with the haggis!

7) Lump of some British Brie type cheese with a 'deconstructed' waldorf salad next to it! So funny, just all the ingredients laid out prettily rather than all mixed together. Very nice though.

8) Basically a shot glass with a basil froth at the top, sweet coconut mush underneath with lumps of lime jelly. The only course I didn't really like if I'm honest.

9) Passionfruit souffle which they pop the top of with a spoon in front of you and pour into it a rich passionfruit sauce. It also came with a little cornetto thing on the side which was very tasty.

10) Coffees and little homemade chocolate truffles in the bar afterwards.

Oh my God! I was so bloated! I actually couldn't sleep afterwards. The hotel is so posh as well, but feels very relaxed so you don't feel too self conscious which is good. My sister in law works there and got us a very good deal, to say the least.

Anyway I know that was so, so boring to list al the food but I really want to remember what a fantastic evening we had there. We're also taking the mother in law to London for the weekend which will be the weekend after next. We're going to do afternoon tea at Browns then a night a Ronnie Scott's Jazz club, hurrah! That will be amazing too, I'm sure.

Job Seeking... Kittens...

2010-01-27T11:49:00.002Z

So it's coming towards the end of January now and we are finally done with the renovations. December was a complete mother of a month, it was the most tiring and un-Christmassy run up to Christmas I have ever had in my life, which sucked because I flipping LOVE Christmas and all of the festive stuff that comes with it. We did buy a tree from B&Q back in November which sat out in the back garden for several weeks waiting for the lounge to be done. We brought it inside just a few days before Christmas day and managed to get the baubles on just in time.

Christmas day itself was lovely, however, and so was the following week. We had my Dad and his partner come to stay with us, and also her daughter and daughter's husband so not only did we have to have finished all the DIY but I also had to be organised and do a bunch of shopping/cooking. Maggie was a sweetie though and turned up with an entire hamper of food which included fresh coffee, twiglets and a Christmas pudding. I think they were worried that we wouldn't have any food in the house at all.

Then everyone got the flu apart from me, and we were planning to have some friends round on New Years Eve but it ended up being just 6 of us so I cooked a big fancy meal and we all just got drunk and played a bit of Cranium. I love Cranium! Nick bought me the new version for Christmas, it rocks. You need at least 6 people to play it properly though I would say. For Christmas I also got some lovely sheepskin gloves from my mother in law which are so snuggly and warm for my poor zombie dead hands. And what else... Nick bought me both Iko and Shadow of the Colossus PS2 games which is awesome, I haven't really had time to play them yet but I knw they are there waiting for me...

Then we just spent a couple of weeks doing nothing at all - really chilling out and enjoying having our own space around us again and our amazing new home. Getting our stuff out of storage was such a great day for me, opening up all those boxes and discovering all the stuff we have that I'd forgotten completely about. All my books! They are stupidly precious, I am such a nerd. And old keepsakes and photo albums - I spent ages just going through them all.

Then last week we went to the RSPCA and the Blue Cross rescue centres to look for cats. I was totally up for getting a smelly old, unwanted 3 legged one with bad breath but in the end we were enchanted by a pair of kittens that a lady had hand reared. It was so traumatic walking around all those cages with cats in, at the RSPCA they had around 150 cats all waiting for a new home and some TLC. I just wanted to adopt them all. Nick really had his heart set on kittens though so when this lady mentioned about them I caved in totally! The Mum had been found in a shed with them when they were really little and when they brought her in she got so stressed that she stopped producing milk so the kittens had to be taken away from her and reared by hand. There were just the 2 of them, they are brother and sister and we've had them 5 days now. They are both white with small beige/pale ginger patches and the girl is tiny. We're calling them Max & Millie - the rescue centre were calling them the Mingmongs/Tango and Fanta which were shit names. Actually I quite like the Mongmongs as a collective name for them but Ming and Mong are rubbish.

So I am trying to find a job in Southampton right now and I've applied for quite a few. I had one interview yesterday and the job sounds great but they didn't mention salary... I'm worried it might be rubbish. I don't want to jinx anything I've applied for by going into it here in great detail cos then I'm bound to not get it.

Max and Millie are great, really playful and crazy. They sleep quite a lot, eat and poo loads and are lovely to be around. Millie is currently watching me type and when I move the mouse she tries to attack it. She keeps walking on the keyboard and pressing the caps lock button, she seems especially fond of capital letters. Max is the boss and Millie follows him around, she miows pathetically if he leaves the room for too long. He is the one trying to get into the dishwasher/up onto the worktops and generally knocking over everything. They are both so small and around 3 1/2 months old right now - I don't think they're going to be massive cats, she is quite runty like our old cat Molly. Anyway they are great, I love them already.

Ola!

2009-11-04T19:41:00.002Z

Hi dudes, tis me with another quarterly update...

So it's now November the 4th, Bonfire Night tomorrow. We've just had Halloween which involved a house party in Winchester with a bunch of Nick's Southampton mates. Mostly old toots from his Days of Yore whose friendships have been rekindled since we moved to the big smoke. A really very nice bunch too if I do say so. It started with a night out at the Hobbit pub, a studenty dive of a place with dodgy booze and since then we have been hanging out most Friday nights. So we went to a great Halloween party where everyone made a massive effort costume wise. I was a black cat, as facebook pics prove, and Nick was a most authentic Ghostbuster with his homemade Proton Pack.

I am still mostly knackered with all this DIY malarky. Still, the house is looking better and better with the downstairs pretty much complete now. I spent this morning painting the woodwork in our shower room and then this afternoon tiling the bathroom. It all takes a long time but we're getting a really good finish, better than our last place in Guernsey as we're more practised now and have definitely learnt from our mistakes. Another month and we should be in.....

Lots of interesting wildlife going on at the house, with loads of bluetits and wood pigeons in the garden. I hung a few bird feeders in the little magnolia tree we have and this grey squirrel keeps coming along, grabbing the feeders and shaking them up and down like a lunatic. Brilliant! I have a fascination of squirrels as we don't have them in Guernsey so they can eat the nuts, I don't mind. In our loft we have found heaps of old wasps nests which are so beautiful and delicate, like little paper lanterns that fall apart when you touch them. A couple of days ago Nick found a most peculiar thing which looked like this up behind the felt which turned out to be a bumble bees nest. It looked incredibly alien and I don't know why but I had to have a good sniff up close and it smelt like a cross between honey and bitter mould. Then our next door neighbours have a very cute little chocolate brown cat called Coco who comes to visit us every day which is nice. She's a bit of a madam but generally cute.

I've started doing Hatha Yoga which is very lovely although the chanting gets a bit of getting used to. Lots of Ommmmmm shanti shanti's and such like. I love it though, am going to try to keep up with it.

Well its Trinity and True Blood night on the TV tonight, two excellent shows. I'm sleepy so hope I manage to keep my eyes open. Just getting over a cold which has lasted about a week so I'm ready for it to be over.

Laaaaaaaaaame

2009-08-17T20:09:00.003+01:00

Shit I almost forgot what my username and password were, I haven't blogged for so long. Well I evidently haven't died or had a horrible accident. No I have been here lurking for quite a while, thinking to myself... "I really should try and summon the energy and brainpower to write a blog update.... oh bugger it nevermind, to bed it is. Zzzzzzzzzzz."

It's been a bit like that. It's been a totally like that. I have been tiring myself out with lots of DIY, which is both physically exhausting and also not all that interesting to write about. It's very monotonous and I keep getting what I am think is RSI in my right wrist, which leaves it all clawed up like a dying spider at the end of each day, so no typing. We are making progress with the house which is the good news, although there is still a SHITLOAD to do. We've had Fernando the plumber in to do the pipes and rads, he didn't have swine flu like the last guy Toby did. At the moment I am reconditioning the old sash windows which all have lots of little panes and are a total bugger to sand/prime/undercoat/paint. Arrrrrrrgh!! I'm also getting through tubs of easifill, sacks of bonding and pots of wood filler like you wouldn't believe. See, I said it was boring.

We did have a lovely few days in Guernsey last month, and then we also had a roadtrip to Plauen in East Germany for a friend's wedding which was totally awesome. We took a week there and back so saw lots of scenery and stopped off for a day in Brussels on the way back. East Germany was very beautiful with lush countryside and ruined castles on hilltops. Our mates John & Kristin had a really beautiful wedding in this green wooded valley that had a river running through it. Just breathtaking. We took our rather large people carrier that we have bought for all the DIY and just slept in the back of it which was surprisingly comfortable.

My sister, her hubby and their two little rascals are in Bournemouth on holiday at the mo' so tomorrow we're going to pop down and see them for the afternoon. Then on Wednesday we're off to Guernsey again for a longer break and also for SJ & Mike's wedding which is this coming weekend. So some time off from the house to look forward to.

Hopefully Nick will be with me on the flight but he's thinking of changing it to later in the week so he can be around for his little sister Holly who is poorly at the moment. The poor girl has a nasty condition which flares up every now and then, called Ulcerative Colitus. Right now she's having a bad flare up and is basically bed ridden. She's been off work for a few weeks and is living with us at Nick's parents until she gets better. It's so hard for her as it's quite painful and she has to deal with it for the rest of her life, I can't imagine how difficult that must be. It's not life threatening, just very uncomfortable and luckily it's been 2 years since the last flare up. Nick is really good at cheering her up with all his antics and distractions.

Apart from the DIY I am still trying to practise my cello although I haven't done much recently cos of the old spider claw of doom. I've been reading Wuthering Heights, which is impossible to do without humming the Kate Bush song in your head the whole time. And I've been watching Jam & Jerusalem which is the best thing on TV at the moment and pretty much the only thing I watch these days, I can't get enough of it and it's chintzy English loveliness. I'm looking forward to the Guern and seeing all our mates and of course going to a wedding! I love weddings so much and I know what a stylish girl that SJ is, I bet it's going to be super stylish and amazing.

Blimey where to start?!

2009-07-02T19:55:00.006+01:00

Ah well let's go back to the big birthday... I spent the day at Champneys spa in Forest Mere which was bloody ruddy fantastic. Just pure luxury all day. We arrived in the morning and immediatly were handed white, fluffy robes which we then wore for the rest of the day. We swam, steamed, jacuzzied, cycled (not in the robe for that part!), sunbathed, got massaged, listened to talks and gorged ourselves on healthy-but-very-tasty buffet food.

I went with Den because it really wasn't Nick's cup of tea and it was just brilliant. Guess which celeb we saw there? Only Helen Mirren! The Queen no less. In the evening I went out with Nick for a thai meal to Mango's, a really cute little restaurant in Southampton. So a good 30th birthday and just what I fancied after weeks of grotty DIY.

Then it was back to working on the house, work work work blah blah for a couple of days before a weekend up in Berwick Upon Tweed with our friends Bob & Miles. There were about 17 of us in their huge, regal house all there to have a great time and they didn't disappoint. They cooked for all of us on the first night in true formal dinner party style, we played croquet at a manor house on the second day and finally all went to see Re-Take That. It was Bob's 30th and Miles had booked the band to play at the local theatre where he's the artistic director, all for her benefit. What a guy! Steve came with us in the Enema (new car) thank God to share the 9 hour drive there and back. So anyway a great weeked with such lovely people. There was much drinking, clubbing in dodgy clubs and eating of toast and cake.

Following that it was back to the grind of daily DIY, dust and plaster yada yada. Then the weekend following that one was again another cracker with a trip up to London to see James & Donna and stay with them in their lovely house. I managed to get to the Royal Academy to see the opening of their Waterhouse retrospective which was wonderful and magical in equal parts, and I also went on an afternoon hen party for my friend SJ who is getting married next month. We met up at a Pottery Cafe in Fulham to paint jugs then went back to Tania's flat for afternoon tea and a game of All Star Mr & Mrs featuring SJ & Mike on video! After a lovely afternoon I met up with James & Donna again and the 4 of us had a barbecue. It was swelteringly hot and the tube was unbearable which was the only downer.. I just could not handle London every day.

On Sunday afternoon we left them and drove up to Suffolk to see Leni, Dom & Huckleberry at their cottage in the countryside. Dom had built a homemade hot tub in the garden which involved a fire, pump, pipes and a large water tank. It worked really well! They are so clever at that sort of thing. Little Huck had grown up loads and was brilliant fun, and even Squeak the cat kind of behaved. He wasn't quite as wild as last time we saw him. We stayed with them for 2 nights and now we're back in Southampton after the WORST M25 drive I have ever experienced. Some big accident with a lorry on fire and 3 hours extra added on to our journey on one of the hottest days of the year. Cheers.

I've spent the last couple of days bagging up loads of rubble and taking them down to the recycling centre. Lots of patio slabs and bricks as well. Hot, tiring, sweltering work if I'm honest. The good news is that while we were away a guy called Dave has taken down the wall between our kitchen and our dining room and put in a very neat, boxed in steel beam to keep the ceiling from falling down. Also a guy called Toby has dug up our entire driveway with a mini digger, put in a soil pipe and filled it in again. The driveway now looks like shit but it means we will be able to have a shit under the stairs with a proper drainpipe. Hurrah!

It's Nick's birthday on Saturday so I'm looking forward to that, we're going up to Salibury for a party at Alex & Jess's house which is in fact for Alex's 30th (2 days after Nick's) so we are going to totally gatecrash and make it a joint party. I might even sneak in a cake...

The Big One

2009-06-13T19:46:00.002+01:00

So... it's my thirtieth birthday coming up next week, bit of a big occasion. We've been working every day on the house and I'm feeling physically knackered pretty much every evening. What I wanted for my birthday was the complete, total opposite type of experience to being covered in bleach/plasterdust and feeling very unnatractive.

My mother in law and I are going to go and spend the day at Champneys having massages, lazing around on sunbeds, swimming, cycling and eating lovely healthy food. I absolutely cannot wait as I've heard it's just amazing. And in the evening my husband is taking me out for a thai meal.

The house is progressing along... we're doing as much as we can ourselves. We're concentrating on the lounge at the moment which has taken a lot of preparation to get it back to bare, healthy looking walls. We've treated all of the mould with neat bleach, replastered and sealed the walls now ready for painting. Today Nick replaced the plug sockets and we took up all the upstairs carpets and lino and ran them down the dump. Interesting eh!

Ah well not much energy at the moment so going to sign off, sorry not a very exciting post...

BOO!

there you go

The DIY Begins...

2009-06-01T21:10:00.007+01:00

It was the first day of full on internal work at the house today. Nick's sister Holly came too and we spent the day peeling back layers upon layers of flock and woodchip wallpaper - nice. It had been painted so was a bastard to soak off hence a day of solid work with not much to show for it at the end of the day. Oh well still it all counts towards the finish line eh. It was also very, very mouldy and fungal so we had to wear dust masks as we were making clouds of spores rise into the air with every scrape of the paper.

Slightly distracted as am watching obese teenagers on the telly while typing this and also stuffing my face with popcorn at the same time. Thems real big fatties! If I eat enough popcorn maybe I can look like that one day! Oh my goodness so BGT finished and now SueBo is in the Priory in London after having a breakdown. Such car crash tv you've got to love it/hate it but ultimately watch it! We recorded it and watched it yesterday, fast forwarding all the crap bits which is the only way.

So we had the weekend off from working on the garden/house. Instead we spent Saturday sunbathing then drove to Devises in Wiltshire for a wedding reception in the evening. It was a gorgeous do in a very posh boarding school building, like something out of Harry Potter . It's half term so luckily no kids around and it was really fun walking around reading all the rules on the boards and stuff.

My Dad & his partner Maggie were there and it was lovely to see them, especially to give our support to Maggie as her daughter very sadly just lost her baby girl. She was 2 weeks old and had been very poorly from the start with a very rare muscle condition. It was poor Maggie's first grandchild and I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for her, Kirsty & Andy. They live out in Budapest which makes it hard as all their family and friends are back in the UK. it was just been incredibly sad and horrific for everyone and poor little Ella never really had a chance. It's so hard to even know what to say, everything you can think of sounds trite and cheesy. Anyway Dad & Maggie came to Southampton yesterday to see the house which was good. I'm glad they've seen it at the start of the renovations, it will look very different next time I hope.

Well I got rid of my grotty cold of last week but have a lingering hoarse throat so sound really gruff and manly. Feeling OK but really physically tired still from all the physical work. OH I just sneezed twice I shouldn't have written that I've jinxed myself.

You may have noticed...

2009-05-25T17:36:00.002+01:00

... that I haven't been bothered to update my blog in the last couple of weeks. The odd video is all I have been arsed to do. Nick's only just shown me how I can put vid's on here so it's the complete novelty factor and you can expect many more.

Seriously though, at the start of it I didn't have anything to tell you or much to say. Then we went and finally exchanged on the house (YAY YAY YAY) and since then I have been too exhausted and knackered to find the time. Lame excuse, but I'm not used to intense physical exercise plus I have a stinking cold which is not helping matters. It's either a cold or it's hayfever but I'm pretty sure I don't get hayfever and I have that kind of buzzy head ears feeling which only comes with a cold. So. Busy busy busy.

The two of us have been spending the last few days clearing the garden, which isn't huge but is hugely overgrown and we have made 8 trips so far to Southampton recycling centre with a minivan load of garden waste. That's a lot of waste! And a lot of snails and spiders too. We found two slow worms today (is that how you spell that? Looks wrong.) which I am very excited to have in my garden. I love slow worms.

Obviously we went to see Juliette Lewis and the New Romantiques last Tuesday which was just amazing, then we exchanged contracts on Wednesday. We haven't completed yet, just waiting for the money from the bank but we are allowed to do the garden. Just can't get inside the house so luckily the next door neighbour Lucy is letting me use her outside loo! And there is a tap so we have water, although it runs at a trickle.

My arms and face are covered in scratches, I have weird sunburn marks on my back and I feel hideously unnatractive in my dirty, dusty gardening clothes which is what I've been in to meet all of our new neughbours in. They keep popping round to offer us cups of tea, tours of their own houses, gardening sacks, stepladders, garden chairs and one guy even came around with his petrol mower to do our back lawn! How amazingly nice are they all!!??? I have never known anything like it. Hopefully bodes well.

Ah well I am finding it hard to type as my fingers are tired and besides, Britain's Got Talent is on later and I need to save my energy to shout at the telly. Night! x

Juliette Lewis gig at the Talking Heads

2009-05-20T11:47:00.003+01:00

This woman is just AWESOME, her gig last night was superb. She was playing with her new band the Romantiques and the venue was really small and personal. At one point she came down into the crowd and came right by me, I held her microphone cable for her so it didn't get trodden on. How rock and roll am I??! Can't believe I got to brush up against a very sweaty A list Hollywood celeb in Portswood, Southampton of all random places. This vid is clearly rubbish as it was taken from Nick's new camera phone but you get the gist. More clips at www.youtube.com/nickwaite

'In The Navy' Ugliest Head Competition

2009-04-24T12:21:00.002+01:00

My husband is a loon. So is his friend Bob. This video is from about 10 years ago, we think. We were flatmates but not yet together at this point! ...

Snatch Wars! Genius.

2009-04-24T11:55:00.000+01:00

Stinky Feet

2009-04-23T21:23:00.004+01:00

So it's probably my own fault for buying shoes at Primark but my GOD do my feet smell at the moment. My £3 pumps were clearly that price for a good reason.... that reason being they are lined with the crusts of cheese wheels. But I can't blame Primark really because my espadrilles also stink and they came from Debenhams.

The worst culprits are my Primark grey slippers. A couple of days ago we went out in Nick's Mums car to go on a muddy countryside walk and we all grabbed a pair of clean shoes to wear on the way back as she'd just got her car back from the garage, it was nice and clean and we didn't want to muddy it all up inside. So we went for this lovely walk in the warm sunshine and I had hastily picked up my slippers as we ran out of the door. Being left in the nice warm car they started to pong so intensely that the entire interior of the vehicle was imprinted with their foul odour. Poor Nick & Den had to suffer it the entire drive back. I found it funny which didn't help the situation; for some reason when it's your own smell it's not so bad. I think it's like that with farts isn't it, lets be honest. Weird how certain shoes smell and others don't at all though, isn't it. Don't worry, they've been boiled in the washing machine and smell like roses now. My slippers not my feet.

I am still jog jog jogging across the common here in Southampton a few times a week. Not sure whether I'm actually improving as I still find it quite hideously tiring and am a bit start/stop every few minutes. Got to be good though, that's what I keep telling myself.

I don't want to drone on about the house right now but it is still happening despite the efforts of the surveyor and we live in hope that it will all be resolved soon. I am enjoying the calm before the storm, so to speak, as when it completes my life will begin again as 24/7 DIY torture which I am slightly dreading. Nick is looking forward to it and I am dreading it. At least we're coming into the Summer. At least I won't be around there in gloves, scarves and two jumpers.

This will be the third place I've tackled in terms of renovation/decoration. The second project was our last home in Guernsey which was a three bedroom maisonette. I was in the middle of doing that when I started this blog, all those years ago. Before that we bought and did up an apartment in Plymouth on the waterfront. That was a one bedroom top floor place and my first attempt. It was very hard work, not least because it had no lift and we had to carry everything up several flights of stairs. The Guernsey project was much bigger and took much longer. This is bigger still, and is a house not a flat. I am slightly scared, it will be a lot of work and I am quite workshy, let's face it. It is, however, a beautiful house and in my mind I can see it finished. I've just been watching flipping Kirsty flipping Allsopp on the telly with her new show where she does up her Devon farmhouse by prancing around making candles and blowing glass. If only it were that simple Kirsty.

Although I really do miss my old home in Guernsey I know we sold it at the right time. I think I will always feel a bit sad about selling it because we did that place up with such love and effort it was a real emotional wrench when we left. I think it has made me stronger to sell and part with it because it was only a possession at the end of the day. Anyway why I think we sold it at the right time is because they have just announced house prices in Guernsey are down by about 12% and also because the land around it is now being developed so it's surrounded by noisy building sites.

And now we've also sold our campervan which was kind of our second home after Guernsey so now I feel like I am really homeless and don't have any possessions in the world. Although that is rubbish becuase I have a Fiat Punto and a room packed to the ceiling full of possessions in a secure lock up here in the city. Still, I have that vagabond feeling. Can't really explain. It's a bit frustrating because I really like having my own place and taking care of it and having friends round and most importantly having my own space. I have the best in laws in the world, I really couldn't imagine any better people to live with but sometimes I crave my own space. I think it's because I'm self concious and a bit of a twat at times and it' nice to do embarrasing things in private.

Alex I love your reading suggestion. Right up my street I would think. I have just read Silence of the Lambs which was yes, very good, but my favourite was Hannibal. That is one of the best books probably that I have read. Just so well written. I have a lot of time on my hands for reading at the moment! This blog is turning into my weekly book review.

Achy Legs

2009-04-15T12:17:00.005+01:00

Well I've just come back from two laps of hoofing around Southampton Common. It was my first jog for over a week and it really felt extremely knackering. Can't say as I particularly enjoyed it but I do need to fitten up. Because I've been doing nothing but fattening up for the last few months and I need to turn that around. I've invested in some Nike running shoes from TKMaxx so I'm not buggering up my knees any more when I stamp around with my head down and the earplugs in. I do have achy legs now though, hence the title of this post.

I was watching some old home videos the other day from about 8 years ago and I was a stick thin beanpole and didn't even know it. I think my metabolism must have altered over the last few years because I never used to bother to diet, just ate what I liked and didn't seem to have a problem. Arrrrgh cruel world! Now I have old ladies flabster upper arms that I want to lipo nad make a strawberry smoothie out of.

I have just come back from a week in mid Devon at my Dad's place. He was there with Maggie and the three of us went on some Devonshire rambles... across Dartmoor, Exmoor and through Lyndon gorge and it's big waterfall. I finally dug out my poor old cello and have been making lots of screeching wails on it... so depressing to think I used to be able to play grade 7/8 pieces and now I am so rubbish. Totally my own fault for not touching it for 11 years though... Anyway it's a lovely sounding instrument, must try to practise.

So the house is still being a nightmare. We are still trying to buy it but the surveyor was a right anus and put a 100% retention on it so we can't get our money. We're now having to get a buildings insurance claim instigated on the property by the current owner so we can satisfy the stupid bank. Even that might not do it, it's a total depressing disaster at the minute. We know it doesn't have subsidence, we've had our own surveyor plus a foundations expert look at it but that isn't enough for the dickhead surveyor that's doing the valuation for the bank.

And I've got unusually good hair today, which makes a change from the frizzy, mushroom cloud norm. Den has been at me with her original 1970's heated rollers and they are awesome! My hair looks Hollywood-curl chic. I literally feel like a filmstar from the neck up.

I've been feeling Jane Austen-tastic recently and am currently on Sense & Sensibility after just finishing Persuasion. I finished the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer which was highly enjoyable, in a kind of Christopher Pike/Point Romance teenage angsty way. Alex I see your point about it being Mormon propaganda but I still think you can read and enjoy them without having to take that on board. Very similar to CS Lewis and Narnia which I loved when I was little. There is some disturbing stuff going in the last couple of Twilight books which didn't sit that well with me, such as the imprinting, but in general I just like them in a Mills & Boon guilty pleasure kind of way... you know they're kind of shit and full of plot holes but you can't help enjoying them... kind of like a Big Mac or an episode of Hollyoaks. I will say that they arent anywhere near as good as Anne Rice's books if you're into your Vamp literature, but they are silly and easy to read.

I'm now also reading the Dr Strange and Mr Norrrel series, which is awesome. Adult Harry Potter set in 19th century London and written like a tongue in cheek Jane Austen novel... just genius.

Christmas Art

2009-04-01T09:37:00.003+01:00

Here's a couple of drawings I made for people for last Christmas. The one of Mickey came out alright and the one of the twins is OK but it's really hard to draw babies facial expressions. I also did one of Nick's Mum & Dad but I don't have a photo of that one. Nick made me take these two.

Well I am off for another run this morning. My fourth time since coming back from Spain, I'm trying to go most mornings and I think my muscles are getting a bit less achy.

Via Espana

2009-03-31T17:53:00.003+01:00

We're back in Southampton where is quite a bit colder than Spain. Southern Spain was gloriously warm for 5 out of the 7 days we were there. The other 2 is was kind of windy and cold, but that was OK as we found stuff to do. It was a very relaxing week and we visited a lot of places and found time for lots of sunbathing as well.

We visited Gibraltar, which is bizarrely British and quite tacky (the town part). The rock is lovely though, with friendly monkeys and an impressive cave system that I didn't want to leave. I could seriously become a cave dweller if they all have cool lighting and play soothing, classic music like this one had, it was really magical with crazy droopy dripping stalactites that looked like melted candle wax and fishes gills.

We also drove a couple of hours north from the coast to visit the Alhambra Palace in Granada. It is more like 4 Palaces, all perched on an impressive hilltop, and I'm so pleased we had the chance to see it. You can see from the photos below that there is a lot to take in, and I'm really glad we went in March when it wasn't too hot.

Aside from those two highlights, we also went out from Calahonda (where we were staying in a friends apartment) to Mijas, a pretty hilltop town, Marbella which is pretty and massively touristy, and Puerto Banus which is quite expensive and not that impressive. Both in Marbella and Puerto Banus it is pricey, but if you go to the smaller, less touristy towns close by it becomes cheaper for drinks and food.

So a good week. And now we're back to the house buying shenanigans here with lots to sort out. I have a lovely tan but I'm sure it is soon to fade.

I am loving the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer at the moment. Just watched the film which made me laugh unintentionally, but the books! The books are cool. I think all romantic girls everywhere can't fail to enjoy them, but boys will probably not, in general. Anyway I've got Nick's sis reading them and we're both loving them and can't put them down. I also read Wetlands by Charlotte Roche the other week, now that was something a bit out of the ordinary. Wouldn't say it was brilliant but it's quite unusual! Quite un-British in attitude.

The Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain!

2009-03-27T18:18:00.004Z

~~FAIRY GODMOTHER~~

2009-03-17T21:06:00.004Z

Here are a few pics of Catherine, Damian and their gorgeous little girl, Samantha! She's about 5 weeks old in these photos and as you can see she is already getting to grips with the camera. I went up to see them in Dunham Massey for a few days last week which was really lovely. Their tabby cat Tom was also a complete tart in front of the lens as you can see.

Damian works as the Head Gardener at the National Trust place there and they live in the most wonderful crazy old house, with a menagerie of animals including chickens and chinchillas. Catherine is pretty much the oldest friend I have; when we were little we used to pretend we were Princesses from the planet Zultria and through our teenage years we developed a penchant for Guns N Roses and the film Lost Boys.

Anyway they have wisely (?!) asked me to be Sam's Godmother which is awesome and a first for me. VERY exciting.

In other news we have negotiated a few grand off the house as the drains have all collapsed at the back, and it's pretty much all steam ahead with the trying to buy it thing. Went looking at kitchens in Ikea this afternoon, it was rather overwhelming.

Nick & I are flying to Malaga this Friday for a week. His folks are already out there and staying at a friends villa so we're all going to hang out and get some sunshine. We're going to Calahonda, but where I really really want to go is Granada so that I can visit the Alhumbra Palace. It's kind of a 'must see' for me. I think it's a couple of hours away so that's do-able.

I've started jogging! How about that. Not very far and not very fast and in completely unsensible shoes but nevertheless. I swallowed a fly last time I went out and even that didn't put me off, even though it made me retch. Need to lose a few pounds and generally be a more healthy person so while I'm not working it seems like a good thing to do. Makes me feel all smug and self satisfied saying that I go jogging, I think that's half the reason people do it if I'm honest. I'll most likely give up soon so better enjoy that feeling while it lasts!

Pictures of the House...

2009-03-04T15:19:00.004Z

I like the front door. It is wider than average and with the pretty window above it.

2nd pic is the dining room, complete with a couple of original cupboards.

The 3rd shows the view from the front a bit better than the last picture. Also here we have the inside of the garage and one of the upstairs bedrooms.
Then no.6 is me looking very seriously at the cracks up the side. Someone told us it was old bomb damage from the Second World War! It is entirely possible which is very exciting.

And a few more pics of the outside at the back. The garden goes back about 70ft but it utterly overgrown and hard to make out in this pic. The second to last pic is the kitchen which yes, does need some work. It's still early days.. looks like we are buying this place. Whether that is a sensible idea or not I'm still not sure but I feel a bit more chilled out about it now!

In un-house related news I have been not working, just behaving like a retired person really! With lots of walks in the countryside and visits to the New Forest. We went for a picnic there on Monday and I had to shout 'BAH!" at the naughty ponies and wave my arms at them because they caught a whiff of the mini cheddars and were trying to trample down our picnic blanket. Earlier that day we did a 5 mile walk called the Lepe Loop and we saw a field of Llamas plus a buzzard. Wildlife a plenty! Yesterday I went JOGGING can you believe around Southampton Common and today my legs ache so much I can hardly do stairs. And this morning I had my hair highlighted for £16 at Southampton College by a student. Bargain of the century as it's turned out really nice. I don't think I'm ever going to pay for a proper hairdresser again! They also do a whole range of massages and facials which are all under a tenner... fantastic. I will definitely be going back.

Lifted from facebook...

2009-02-27T11:41:00.003Z

So this is a things from facebook where you put an X by each book that you have read. The government (?) reckons that each of us have read at least 6 of these. I've cheated slightly because there are a couple here that I didn't finish... and you can't include films. I've kept this lest on my blog so I can update it if and when I read any more.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien X
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling X
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman X
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens X
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller X
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier X
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks X
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams X
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis X
34 Emma - Jane Austen X
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Berniere X
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden X
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown X
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel X
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon X
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck X
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold X
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding X
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker X
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson X
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker X
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton X
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas X
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl X
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Photo From the Uptairs Window

2009-02-18T18:05:00.002Z

So this kind of shows part of the U shape of houses that this house is a part of. The green in the middle is a large, shared area plus we also would have a big back garden. This photo doesn't really show you but it is rather lovely and Jane Austen esque as you walk around it.

Still as Undecided as a Fat Bird in a Cake Shop Who's Only Allowed To Buy One Thing

2009-02-18T15:51:00.002Z

ARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

DOUBLE AAAAAARHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Looks like we're buying the house.

We had our offer accepted and went around there yesterday and today with various surveyors/drains people to give quotes and advice. My head it is literally spinning like a jet propelled top from what they said and I still don't know if we're doing the right thing. Thank you guys for all the advice though, I love you all! That sounded cheesy and American but it is true.

The main things about the house is that it either has a) possibly wall tie failure or b) possibly a collapsed drain that has caused cracking and a small amount of subsidence. It has a few cracks on the gable end and it's knowing what those cracks are that is the issue. When the house was flooded last month there was over and inch of water throughout the ground floor so you can imagine the state of the plaster and floors in there. We are either brave or stooopid in believing we are tough enough to take it on.

Nick went up into the very dirty loft around there yesterday and found a very old book on existential philosophy. Maybe I should read it to find out if we're doing the right thing! It seems to be whispering "get a job get a job", it's a feisty little number.

Still it's not 100% that we're doing it but rather than 50/50 I would say it's more like 60/40 for. It's making me feel physically sick with nerves and I nearly vommed the other night which is kind of good as my appetite has been slightly suppresed. Great way to lose weight! No, obviously I don't want to be so stressed that I puke but we made some bad financial decisions last year that ended costing us potentially thousands of pounds and I can't bear the thought that we're being stupid with our money again so I am really, really nervous about it. Still, I pretty much hate all banks as a result so I would rather have our savings tucked away in a property than in a bank at the moment. I think. Interest rates suck arse right now, that's for sure.

2009-02-18T15:35:00.003Z

This is the most awesome book I have read in a long time. Just go and get it out of your library and savour it. I steamed through it in a few days and kind of wish I had taken my time to enjoy slowly. Honest, it's brilliant!

Oh - also read 'The Graveyard Book' by Neil Gaiman, another brilliant one although it's for the sort of Harry Potter age group. Doesn't matter! Kids books rule!

You Spin Me Right Round Baby

2009-02-13T13:20:00.005Z

The last few days have been pretty hectic, in an emotional (definitely not physical, we have been really lazy) way. We were supposed to be heading off by ferry to France next week to begin our Euro travels 2009. Instead we found a house that we both felt ticked all the right boxes for us here in Southampton and have been toing and froing with offers via the estate agents. We didn't plan on buying a property until we finished our travels but Nick has been keeping an eye on the market around this particular area that we like here in the city and this particular one really does look good. We viewed it on Tuesday and since then have been going around in circles changing our life plans.

It is a total wreck, with water everywhere inside from a terrible leak and cracks on the outside that worry me a great deal. It hasn't been lived in for a while and smells awful inside. EVERYTHING need doing - electrics, knocking walls down, plasterwork, central heating....

It is a Herbert Collins house, in a listed conservation area. It is beautiful from the outside and is in an estate that feels like something straight out of Jane Austen. It has a long back garden that faces southwest, the best direction in my opinion.... three bedrooms, garage, parking, lounge and a separate dining room. So even though it needs a shit load of work it could be really really something special. These properties are very much in demand historically speaking, but with the market the way it is who knows what the future holds.

Of course it's going around and around my head that we are buying at a really bad time and the market could drop considerably so we would have to get a really good deal on it. It will be really complicated to do up as well, especially if the cracks are subsidence. And our travels would have to be put on hold. I wish someone could just say to me the right thing to do. Do we go for it (and remember it is really very rare that a Collins house crops up on the market with parking) or stop being so silly and continue with our travels??? There is no easy answer and it doesn't help that family members seem to be either extremely for it or vehemently against it.

These things are sent to try us, right?

Back in Sarfampton

2009-02-09T12:24:00.004Z

I'm feeling a bit more bloggie now that I'm back from skiing. I think my new years resolution should have been to blog post more than once a month for 2009. Of course that is easier said than done, especially when facebook is such a darned distraction...

Skiing in Bulgaria rocked. Officially. The flight was better than anticipated, as the plane was much more modern than the Monarch one we flew to Florida on last summer. We lucked out with the extra legroom seats as well which was fortuitous. And they even gave us shepherds pie! Even though is was only a shortish flight! All is forgiven.

Once we arrived at Sofia airport we were whisked to our hotel by coach with a bunch of other trippers. It was WEIRD to be on a package holiday after all of our travels, and have all the guides trying to sell you excursions and all that crap. It was late at night when we arrived so couldn't take in the surroundings very well but it was definitely snowy. And icy and cold.

The Rila hotel was huge and very budget, despite it being rated somehow as 4 stars. Am I just too picky? Nick summed it up well when we described it as '80's Novotel stylee'... Our room was a really good size with en suite bathroom and big corner balcony and telly, but it was horrendously noisy late at night, quite cold, with very dodgy electrics that blew twice and yellowy/brown tap water. Nice. It was such a cheap holiday that I shouldn't complain, it really was fine to be honest, once we'd made some earplugs out of toilet paper. CLEAN toilet paper.

There were different areas to ski in which was good; lower down the slopes were quite busy and full of dangerous beginners falling around everywhere, but you could take a gondola right up to the top of the Musala mountain and there were quite a few great runs up there at the top. Sadly on 2 days the gondola was closed due to high winds but we found a third area with 3 different red runs to play on. No broken bones to report, just one rather large bruise on the side of my thigh that is shaped exactly like the end of my ski pole! It has snowed just prior to our arrival but then didn't show all week so by the end the lower slopes were getting back to bare earth, thick slush and ice. I found them quite a challenge like that but Nick didn't really like them and stayed off. We saw many people on crutches in our hotel, I feel quite lucky I wasn't one of them.

I really am so pleased to have gone, the last time I was so slow and couldn't turn and now I am much faster, can turn and even managed a black run at one point. To be fair I didn't realise it was black until we'd reached the bottom and Nick spotted the sign, or I wouldn't have done it. I felt quite confident on the red runs by the end of the week.

Borovets itself is very chavvy and seedy, with lots of go-go erotic bars and crap like that. Bars pumping out Euro pop selling 'full English breakfasts' and telling you they're 'cheap price! Asda price!' I guess that's what most Brits want when they go abroad. Very cringeworthy.

In other news! ... My very good friend Catherine and her husband Damian have just had a baby! She is called Samantha Elizabeth and was born on Thursday 5th Feb weighing just under 6lb. Massive congratulations to them both and hurry up and post some pics on facebook or your blog please...

We are hanging around in the UK until this weekend when our friend Ben is coming down from Birmingham to stay. Then we plan to hit the road, Jack, at some time next week., depending on snow/ice conditions here and in northern Europe. This week we are getting the van ready and keeping busy doing lots of last minute things. The van is being serviced today so fingers crossed they don't find anything terribly wrong with her.

Off to Eastern Europe!

2009-01-30T12:04:00.002Z

So we went online and found a last minute deal to Borovets, in Bulgaria. We are staying HERE
at a massive hotel which serves buffet food and I'm not expecting it to be amazing, but it is right by the ski runs, you literally ski up to the entrance! Awesome.

I skied for the first time last year with some mates in Les Arcs, and had the most fun time, but I'm aware that my ski skills are very below average, mainly because I'm a wimp and don't want to break any bones by going fast. So I'm going to really try to improve on my speed, hopefully without damaging myself massively. I have the goggles, salopettes and proper gloves this time around so this time it's serious.

The place we are going to is literally just a resort so we unfortunately won't be getting much Bulgarian culture, apart from what's dished up by the hoteliers etc... there is an interesting sounding monastery in the mountain range but it might be too far away to visit. It's called the Rila monastery and looks beautiful and is also very historically important for the Bulgarian people.

Of course we will be experiencing the local food, apparently they are very fond of tripe and offal, hurrah! I actually love haggis which is mainly offal based, so I'm sure it won't be a problem. On my father in laws 60th birthday last Saturday I made everyone have a Burns night with haggis and whisky which was lovely, mmmmm haggis...

Tonight we are driving up to East London for a night with our friends James & Donna, then tomorrow we fly off from Gatwick for a week. Have just found out our flight is with grotty Monarch airlines, which have very horrible 1970's planes with no leg room for tall-ies like me so not looking forward to the flight but I really can't complain at the price so I won't! Although I just have, oh bugger.

I finshed Anansi Boys, it was such a great book! Heartily recommended. I'm just reading Northhanger Abbey at the moment, a bit of good old Jane Austen escapism, nothing wrong with that! We drove up to Chawton earlier in the week to visit the village and house that she used to live in. It is very pretty and quintisentially English, just what you would expect. Oh Mr Darcy!

Twins!

2009-01-22T20:45:00.005Z

Just got back today to Southampton after a weekend in Swansea with my sis, her husband and their two little boys. Ralph & Rowan are about 18 months now and are hairing around like complete mentallists... it was really hard to leave because they are so adorable and interactive compared with when we last sae them in the Summer! Rowan really attached himself to Nick while Ralph was more keen on me which worked out quite well as we both had one to cuddle. They're not really speaking yet but gabble a lot of nonsense and you can tell that it's not going to be long until they start talking.

We spent a fortnight in Guernsey before that, went back for New Years Eve and stayed around catching up with friends and the folks which was lovely. I have a cousin called Chris who lives in Darwin and he was over in the UK and made it across to Guernsey for a weekend while we were there. It was very cool to get to know him a bit better. He really sold us on Oz and made us both want to go there and travel it thoroughly. Really a nice thing to get to know people that you're related to, I was quite curious as to what he was like and he is an absolutely brilliant guy, really good fun and a complete joker.

We've also been in Bristol, most recently, for the last three days. We stopped there on our way back from Swansea and caught up with Rew & Charlotte, Gabie & Marc plus James & Miranda. Our friend Gabs is expecting twins which is incredibly exciting. Bristol is a great city to visit... our mates live around Clifton/Redland which are just very nice parts of the city, probably they nicest areas to hang around in for a few days. While we were there we went to the brand new cinema in the new 'Cabot' shopping centre and saw My Bloody Valentine in 3D!! Quite hilariously gory horror film where the blood and gore splatters out of the screen at you. It is a terrible schlock horror with no plot but I would recommend it for the novelty of 3D, definitely.

Soooo, back in Southampton and we're planning to go off again at the start of Feb. We're hoping for a weeks cheap skiing in a last minute deal somewhere snowy and then off in the van again for the 2009 travels... carrying on through Europe for several months, this time heading southwest to get some Spanish sun with Portugal and possibly Morocco if we're feeling brave...

And God I'm tired right now and I can tell this is a pretty uninspired blog entry I'm writing. Bleugh, big tired head and it's only 9pm, how crap is that. I have just started reading a Neil Gaiman book called Anansi Boys and I might go and read that in bed. I also finished Brisingr by Christopher Paolini earlier this afternoon and that was very good, in a cheesy but enjoyable way. I am also a bit embarrased to say that I bought couple of the Stephanie Meyer books in Tescoes yesterday, which also look cheesy and enjoyable and come with Rachels recommendation. I wanted to see the Twilight film but haven't got around to it yet, no one wants to go and see it with me!

hgfhjgf

2008-12-24T17:43:00.002Z

Blogs are like buses. You don't post an entry in ages and then two come along at once!

Anyway just to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009. Hope you don't get bitten by the Credit Cruncher monster and lots of nice things happen to you and your families.

I am cosied up in my big fat face knee high slipper socks at my in laws house in Southampton. Lovely lovely lovely and Christmas day tomorrow.

ajhflsagf

2008-12-19T09:49:00.011Z

Oh my giddy aunt, nearly 2 months since I last blog posted. It's now become so daunting to post but if I don't get it over with then I will just stop for good and I don't want to give up after all this time!

I have been keeping an old fashioned actual physical paper diary come scrap book since we have been travelling, which I know is soooo un techy but it is very satisfying to leaf through the fruits of my labours and clasp it to my chest in pride. Sad eh! It's full of maps and old ticket stubs and I intend to keep it forever and read it back when I'm old and wrinkly. Anyway I'm keeping it by my side as I type this so that I can remember what I have been doing and when.

Back to the massive recap then...

So Rome was really wonderful. REALLY wonderful. Just epic, beautiful, awe inspiring and dripping in thousands of years of history. Couldn't really do everything or even take it all in, even with the massive amount of time we had to explore it. St Peters Basilica, the Colosseum, Pantheon, Roman Forum, the Vittoriano building, Trevi fountain, Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese and on and on and on!... The most amazing sculptures by Bernini in the Galleria Borghese just took my breath away. Google the Rape of Persephone and you will see what I mean. We also met some really nice fellow travellers in Rome, including Scottish Alan & Lesley who we spent a lot of time with and one very drunken evening.

After Rome we drove south south south to the Bay of Naples, arriving in Pompeii on 3rd November. We stayed at the camp sounding 'Camping Spartacus' which was about 2oo yards from the entrance to the ruins and was a campsite full of orange, satsuma and lemon trees. We stayed at that site until 19th November as it was just a cheap and great central location for lots of day trips out. We made friends with a little black dog called Nerina who would come and see us with her tail wagging madly every time we came back to the van after a day out.

We ate so many oranges and lemons (the satsumas tasted funny) that I still have some in the van from the bumper crop we harvested before we left. The oranges were the best I've ever tasted although we did have one nasty orange encounter which I shall relate:

It was the evening and we were in the van watching telly by candlelight when Nick decided to eat an after dinner orange. He had taken a couple of bites before he realised it was crawling with maggots. In the dark candlelight he hadn't spotted them... what makes it 10 times worse is that these were no ordinary maggots, they were JUMPING maggots. I kid you not, these little fellas would work themselves up into tight little balls then suddenly spring off a good foot into the air and land somewhere else. We were both literally so horrified that neither of us knew quite what to do. Eventually I leapt up and scooped the orange into the bin then Nick also leapt up, wretching violently as you can imagine and brushing them off him. I got some kitchen paper and had to go around collecting them up, and finally used the handheld vacuum cleaner to suck up any remaining lurkers, hoping none had hopped off to freedom.

Maggots aside, the time we spent there was lovely. We of course visited the ruins which were huge, the city of Pompeii was larger than my home town of St Peter Port and just incredibly interesting but also very, very sad. It is so well preserved and you can well imagine the people that lived there. There are the famous plastercasts as well of the victims in their last, dieing breaths and you can tell by their postures that there were in agony.

On the coast not far from Pompeii is another famous ancient city that was also destroyed by Vesuvius, Herculanem. We did a day trip there and it is better preserved than Pompeii athough a lot smaller.

We visited Naples, which was bustling, a bargain hunters dream and just crazy in a beautiful Italian way with miles of narrow cobbled streets that the scooters just whizz down and nearly knock you flying. We took the train to Sorrento, which was touristy but stunning on its high up location above the sea. We went by coach up Mount Vesuvius then walked around the summit which was massive and bellowing out sulphorous smoke.

Finally on the 19th November we left the site and drove south to Paestum, a town on the west coast about an hours drive south of Naples. It has some amazing classical Greek temples that are said to be the best preserved in the world. We were cycling around them in T shirts as the weather was so mild. They have a really good museum there as well that brought back all of my A Level Ancient Greek!

Paestum was the furthest south we ventured, and we had decided to travel north back through Italy as we had discovered that 99% of Croatia's campsites close in October and we would have a hard time finding places to stay there. So on 21st Nov we arrived back in Arezzo, Tuscany, where we had a cold shock as it was really wintery with snow on the tops of hills. It was nice though to be back in northern Italy as it really is a bit more civilised when it comes to driving and the roads. Not that I really mind the mental drivers but it is much less stressful when you leaves Naples, you sort of exhale and realise you have been holding your breath without knowing it the whole time you were on the roads there!

We headed north again after Arezzo, stopping for one night in Bologna then pushing on to the Swiss/Italian border to a small lake called Lugano. It is right next to Como and very pretty. While there we got completely snowed in for several days in our lakeside campsite. I made a large snowman and we went for cold, wintery walks. After southern Italy it felt like getting out of a hot sauna and plunging into an icy lake, weather wise.

On 1st December we shook ourselves out of the snow and drove north through Switzerland, through massive amounts of snow which was fun but a little scary without snow chains, finally crossing the border into the Alsace region of France and stopping at a small town called Masevaux, near Mulhouse. It is very close to Basel in Switzerland and also to Germany.

Our friends Katy and Jan from Holland met up with us there and we spent 5 lovely days with them. We went to a pretty town in France called Colmar, and into Germany to visit the Christmas market in the University city of Freiburg which is on the edge of the Black Forest. We walked in the forest and also around Masevaux which was really snowy and stunning with piney hilltops and wild deer running around. We spent cosy evenings in the van together with good food, wine and brilliant company.

8th December then, and we do a big 8 hour drive to Paris, to spend two days at Euro Disney in the FREEZING cold (but still good, tacky fun), then several days exploring the city. Although Nick got a nast cold by the end of it. We bumped into a lovely couple we had met in Rome who were also travelling Europe called Simon & Julie, with their little 3 year old daughter Holly. We spent several evenings with them in their caraven and our camper.

Finally on 15th December we left Paris and drove up to a little town called Coudekerque which is just outside of Dunkerque, then on 18th Dec we got out ferry back to Dover. After driving here to Southampton we ended our camper travels for 2008.

Roma

2008-10-29T14:15:00.002Z

Well I am having a day of languishing in the van. The skies are decidedly grey and every now and then a big bucketload of rain comes down and soaks everything. Nick is off helping a fellow traveller in his campervan with some DIY, he's been gone for hours and has taken the soldering kit with him so who knows when he'll be back...

Last night there was the most terrific thunderstorm, our power went out and the rain was torrential. You really feel the elements when you're in a campervan, the lightning was so vivid and the thunder was so loud, we were snuggled up all nice and warm and it was really very exciting. Today all our tables and chairs and our awning are soaked through and covered with leaves. The air is still very damp.

We have been here for a few days now, staying at a site called 'Happy Camping', which is apparentely named after a porn film, so I was told yesterday. We are on the north ringroad outside the city, and can get into the centre on a train for one euro which is a bargain. Yesterday we went to the Vatican Museum and got very achy legs - it is massive. We saw the Sistene chapel of course, the second time for me but the first for Nick... and all of the collections from Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. We both found that stuff a lot more exciting than all of the religious imagery. There is some interesting modern stuff there as well though, Dali and Francis Bacon. We were so tired and hungry when we finished as we hadn't taken a packed lunch that we decided to go for some wine and a pizza. Bit naughty when on a tight budget but there you go.

We came to Rome from Umbria and Lake Trasimeno, which is the most beautiful Lake we have found on our travels. It even beat Garda. Out site was two metres from the waters edge and it was incredibly peaceful. Just below our camper there was a nest of 'Nutria' in the rocks, they are Italian otter type creatures and are very cute, with fat bodies and round heads. We watched them come out every evening and swim off for fishies. We did a lot of cycling and walking around the lake and into the surrounding hills. It was just lovely. We also saw little bats, owls, herons and egrets plus all sorts of gulls, it was a twitchers paradise! We had good weather there, sunbathing weather even which was glorious. We've travelled further south and it's got worse! But apparentely its snowing in the UK so I really can't complain. It's still Tshirt weather, you don't need a jumper until the evening. We also met some great fellow travellers from the UK - John & Rosie from Cornwall who are beef farmers and Sean and Iona who are also longterm travellers like us.

We were thinking of going to Croatia after Italy but after some research we have discovered that there are hardly any campsites open after October, so we will probably head up Italy again and into France. Paris before Christmas would be nice, then back to the UK from Christmas and January.

So its a day off today then we are going into Rome again tomorrow. We still have so much to see in the city: the Colosseum, the Old Jewish Quarter, The Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps, Villa Borghese..... I think we will stay in this campsite for about another week.

Bogulicious

2008-10-18T15:00:00.003+01:00

Buongiorno again, I am still in Italy, woo!

At the moment I am languishing in luxury sat in the camper as we now have internet in our van! This is such an incredible luxury, I really really appreciate having it. We had to pay for it of course, and we only have it for one month so I am making the most it.

So, to carry on with the travels… we left Deiva Marina on the north coast of Italy and drove east to another coastal town called Viareggio. At this stage the coast had just started turning south into the boot part of Italy, so you can imagine where we were. We chose Viareggio because it is close to both Pisa and Lucca; both cities are only a short bus ride away, so we stayed there for about a week. As well as being by the seaside our campsite was on the doorstep of a beautiful cycle path through nature woods, which apparentely contained such exotic delights as wild boars, snakes and tortoises. I was very disappointed not to see any.

Pisa's grand Piazza is indeed worth visiting. The tower is darn expensive for what it is but you have to go up it, it's the law. You also have to take goofy photos of yourself 'propping up' the tower or you are seized by the local authorities and thrown off the top.

Lucca is a very beautiful, small Mediaeval city with many stunning old Churches. As a city it is more impressive than Pisa. You see so many Churches though, you get a bit numb by the end of it. It also is surrounded by an impressive set of walls that you really wouldn't want to fall off of.

After that week we drove inland, into central Tuscany and Florence. We found a camperstop right in the centre of the city which was cheap, fairly quiet and ideal for visiting the sights. And visit the sights we certainly did. We walked and walked around the endless beautiful streets and payed a visit to the Uffizi Gallery which was wonderful. They have works of art there like Botticelli's Venus rising out of the sea on her floating shell, as well as Michaelangelo, Leonardo Da Vince and Giotto. They also have lots of old Roman sculptures which are awesome.

We walked up hundreds of steps to the top of the Duomo to take in the panoramic view of the city with the Tuscan hills all around in the distance. We also visited the Santa Croce Church, the Ponte Vecchio bridge and many street markets. While we were there I bought a funky red leather jacket that is the only item of clothing I’ve bought since travelling! How unlike me is that. The last thing I bought was in Southampton before I left. That’s the start of August folks, I really am a changed woman.

We had one disaster in Florence though, well two infact now I think. The first was that my bankcard had to be stopped because some utter idiot in an internet shop discovered my pin number by his complete ineptitude as operating a chip and pin machine. When asking me to put in my pin number he hadn’t put the price in first so my pin number appeared as the price and he got to see it. I didn’t trust him at all and phoned my bank who told me to cancel it immediately. Yah boo sucks to him and now I have no card.

The second thing was that our fridge well and truly broke. It is a small fridge, but apparentely camper fridges are very special and therefore expensive because they run off gas, 12v and 240v electricity. So we managed to find an Electrolux repair man just outside of the city and thank God he had the part and managed to fix it within a few hours while we sat around chatting, smoking fags and sipping espresso, but the circuit board bit that broke was €330, RRRaaahhhhhhhhh! The pain was immense but we literally had no choice but to grin and bear it. We do need a fridge. Brand new the thing costs well over a grand which is just staggering.

Currently we are one stop on from Florence (with, touch wood, a working fridge). We are about 80km south of the city, still in Tuscany and just outside of a town called Arezzo. We are 7km away from the town in a very rural village called Ruscello which has many olive groves, vinyards and old, dusty looking Italian men sitting around smoking outside bars. It is so pretty I feel as if I am in the film ‘Stealing Beauty’. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if Jeremy Irons suddenly popped up and started spouting poetry at me. I feel so relaxed here I could melt into the sofa.

We cycled into Arezzo yesterday and discovered, to my delight, that it is where they filmed a large portion of the film ‘Life is Beautiful’ which is officially one of my favourite films of all time. The first half, if you have seen it, before it is set in a concentration camp! Arezzo has an old centre with a Cathedral and big open squares and Churches. We went in on a Friday and there was also a large market selling food from all over the place. We bought some Dutch cheese that is like a really strong mature cheddar, mmmm. They had stalls from all over Europe but the British one only sold pottery, for some bizarre and upsetting reason. If they had sold marmite I think I would have ransacked the joint and bought the lot. Marmite, and nice sliced bread, are two things European in general really don’t do. I love their bread, but it is so fresh if you don’t buy it everyday it goes off, and if you buy it daily you have to wolf it all in one day and you end up bloated on bread which really won’t do… Bring on the English bread that’s stuffed full of preservatives, that’s what I say!

Well we are leaving this lovely campsite tomorrow and heading south to Lake Trasimeno for a few days before carrying on towards Rome. A lot of campsites are closed now for the winter so we have to rifle through our guide to find open ones. There are loads around Rome though so that shouldn’t be a problem.

We are having a lazy day today, and are about to go another round of scrabble. Oooh you can’t beat it! Seriously, it is highly enjoyable, and I know we are a couple of old farts but it’s the little things we enjoy these days! I bought a pack of cards yesterday as well and can’t wait for a good old round of rummie. You may laugh, and probably will, but I will grin and bear it.

OUR TRAVEL VIDEO DIARY!

2008-10-02T12:40:00.002+01:00

www.youtube.com/nickwaite

The above link is to Nick's youtube channel which contains all of our travel videos. I warn you - the cheese level is pure, ripe gorgonzola. You have been warned! Anyway, hope you enjoy them.

Bloguna Matata

2008-09-28T10:45:00.003+01:00

Bonjour mes petites blogettes, and firstly I must make grandiose apologies for neglecting you for so very, very long. I won’t dilly dally with excuses, lets just say that there has been a distinct lack of internet around, and the little that there has been has been devoted to quickly checking my email, updating facebook and other humdrum tasks that had to be done under the watchful countdown of the internet café clock.

Last I wrote, we were just about to leave Holland. Well, we ended up staying another month!

Only kidding.

We did eventually prise ourselves from the delights of the Netherlands, to begin our long voyage southeast to Hungary. So, on the 22nd August we left the Hague and drove across the border into Germany, to stop off along the Rhine river in Dusseldorf. We found a camperstop on the river a couple of hundred yards from the bustling centre which was very handy, and we ventured in for a couple of extremely tasty beers that night. The next morning we were off, heading south and following the river through the Rhine valley which is exceptionally pretty and dotted sporadically with ruined castles and various photo opportunities. That night we free camped in a town called Mainz and met a nice German guy who checked out brakes for us (a warning light had been coming on and off), luckily they were fine, just a bit overheated from all the hills and valleys.

We carried on the next day, stopping in a typically Bavarian village called Gerolzhofen. Germany has thousands of camperstops, which are either free or really cheap where you can rock up for one or two nights. It is so campervan friendly, it really was a pleasure travelling through. So, onwards to the next day, which is the 25th August and we found another little town – Straubing and another camperstop. We met an interesting English couple called Nick & Lynn and ended up drinking with them for about 7 hours.

The following day we finally crossed our next border into Austria, home of Arnie and the Sound of Music style scenery – great! We actually just stayed in a service station that night which afforded a surprisingly good nights sleep… somehow the sound of lorries rumbling past is quite soothing. The next day, 27th August, we pegged it right on through Austria and all of its mountainous gloriousness into Hungary. As it had been a long drive we stopped just over the border, once we had gone through the rigmarol of getting a motorway vignette (they are toll roads and you have to provide your vehicle registrations documents and all sorts before they let you buy this pass).

We found a thermal spa hotel in a town called, wait for it…. Mosonmagyarovar… (there are accents above the vowels but I’m not sure where the buttons are to put those on)…which was OH SO GOOD. When we first arrived we didn’t know what the fuss was all about with these thermal spa things but let me tell you, they are simply glorious. You have all these various swimming pools, fuelled by underground mineral waters of various temperatures and mineral properties which are said to be healing. We just couldn’t get enough of them and spent so long rolling around like a pair of beached dolphins that we had extremely wrinkly fingers and toes by the end of it. They are also real centres of the local communites, where everyone hangs out and plays cards around the pools and gossips. After one afternoon, night and following morning of soaky warm wonderment we ended our epic journey and arrived in Budapest.

Now the reason we wanted to arrive in Budapest on this particular day (28th August) was that my Dad and his long term partner Maggie were also going to be there, as Maggie’s eldest daughter Kirsty and her husband Andy actually live in Buda and they were taking a holiday to visit them. Andy works for an airline out there and Kirsty teaches English, although she is really a dietician. For weird reasons, she’s not allowed to practise there.

We stayed in Budapest for 5 nights, and in that time did some really lovely touristy but nice things. We visited the city’s most famous and beautiful old spa and spent the entire day there (I should mention that is was blazing hot sunshine the entire time we were there – around 30 degrees I should think), all getting lots of relaxation and sunburn marks. Another day we drove out to Lake Balaton, the largest freshwater lake in central Europe, which is decidedly green in colour and very refreshing to take a dip in with pretty villages around it’s edge. – The one we went to, Balatonfured, actually had a wine festival going on the day we were there.

We ate out in a fantastically posh riverboat restaurant called ‘Spoon’ which served fruit and champagne cocktails out on the deck and gourmet food all at reasonable Hungarian prices. Later that night Kirsty & Andy took us out for Zombie cocktails at a couple of pretty swish bars. We got decidedly drunk and were convinced we saw Sven Goran Erikson but in retrospect I think it was just some old poor bald guy who happened to look a bit like him. I wouldn’t say that Budapest is mega cheap these days, but it certainly is more so than London or Guernsey.

On the Sunday that we were there we went out to this fabulous old colonial style hotel, the Corinthia, which does this famous Sunday buffet. You stay there for 4+ hours, with all the drinks included in one price, and that includes champagne my dears! The food is overflowing and tempting, from sushi to thai curry to your typical Sunday roast. I overdosed on shellfish and the dessert buffet, which was extensive to say the least, Luckily I had a loose, babydoll style dress that hid many sins. There was even a string quartet, which for some reason serenaded me whenever I walked past! Those crazy Hungarians. Kirsty & Andy live near the citadel, just by the river on the nicer side of the city. They have a really roomy apartment there and we parked our van, Margo, just across the road from it.

On the 2nd September we finally said goodbye to our friends and family in Budapest and drove back the way we had come in, towards Austria. We went back to the original thermal spa place we had found on the way in and ended up staying for two nights for some relaxation. Unfortunately the site was mosquito-tastic and I was munched to pieces the entire time we were there. All the same, it was very nice.

We left Hungary on 4th Sep and entered Austria, where we made a beeline straight for Vienna. We found another cheapo camperstop on a vinery just on the edge of the city from where we could take a train into the centre. At this camperstop we met a terrific old Dutch couple, Don & Willma. Don played both the accordian and the harmonica while Willma sung. He serenaded us with Edith Piaf songs into the evenings. It was great. So we visited Vienna with them on the train and then went our separate ways. We walked for miles around the centre, taking in all the beautiful, impressive architecture and incredible riches the city has to offer. Vienna really doesn’t disappoint, and although we spent just the one day there, I can imagine getting really submerged in it all and wanting to spend longer.

We drove south from Vienna past Graz to stop at a village called Griffen. It is dominated by an old castle which is on this hill with almost sheer vertical sides that looms over the village. It really is epic and like something I would read in one of the fantasy novels I love so much. Well, that day it was really warm again and so we left the motorway to find some shade in amongst the trees in the surrounding hills. As we were parked up under a big tree in a country lane a car pulled up and this Austrian man got out and came over. Turns out he was curious about our strange Guernsey number plate (nb – we have been getting this a LOT). Anyway, we got chatting, and he invited to stay at his place that night. He had a large, empty, chalet style house nestled halfway up a hill and he let us park on the drive. He left us to it and we had a wonderful evening running around the garden and scrumping apples and plums. It was really very pretty, and we weren’t too concerned that he might rape and murder us both because he actually knew about Guernsey and Jersey and was thrilled that we came from there.

From Griffen in southern Austrian we blitzed the drive through to Venice in Italy! When we crossed the border into Italy I was so excited, because I absolutely adore Italy. We arrived on the afternoon of 7th September, and accidentally drove across the bridge into Venice, which is a bit of a no-no. Well, we realised our foolishness (it is horrendously expensive to actually drive into Venice! Very limited space, and all that), and found instead a great big camperstop just across the water from where we could take a water taxi in the city. It was only 4 euros a night, bargain.

So we duly taxied into the city. Oh the city! What can I say? It certainly lives up to whatever romantic, lofty aspirations you may have. I could go on for hours, but that would be so dull so I shall surmise with telling you that we spent one glorious day there, and in that day we visited St Marks Square, the Rialto bridge, many various Churches and we ate pizzas. We walked for miles all around the city, across the grand canal and over many small bridges, each and every one being just like something out of a movie. We drank very expensive coffee but it was all worth it.

On the 9th September we left our camperstop and headed westish, past Verona and to the shores of Lake Garda. We stopped at a picturesque town called Peschiera del Garda and splurged out on a proper campsite. We stayed there until 12th and had many swims in the lake. The town was really pretty with a Medieval fortress right in the centre. They also threw a jazz festival while we were there, they must have known we were coming!

We tore ourselves away from our lovely ‘Camping Butterfly’(!) on the shores of the lake and drove southwest to the Mediterranean sea! We stayed the night of 12th at a seaside town called ‘Finale Ligure’ which was cool, our camperstop was literally on the beach, with waves splashing over the rocks as we slept. It was very hot though, and without mains power we couldn’t have any fans or aircon so we sweated pounds off in our sleep.

The next day we carried on along the coast, past Monaco and on to Antibes. We found a good campsite about 100 yards from the beach in Biot, a town about 30 minutes walk from the centre of Antibes. It was quite a touristy place, with various funny French themeparks close to the site. We settled in for a couple of very relaxed days, and then on 15th September Nick’s parents Tony & Den arrived on the train from Nice to see us. They had arrived in Nice a couple of days earlier for a fortnights holiday.

We spent the next week with Tony & Den, firstly going back with them to their friends apartment in Nice where they were staying and leaving our campervan on its own on the site in Biot. We went from Nice on the bus to Beaulieu Sur Mer and Monte Carlo, swam in the sea and marvelled at all the rich posers and their beautiful small city. We went on the train to Cannes and from their inland on to Grasse, which is famous for its Fragonard perfume. It is perched on a hilltop and you have to walk up many steps to get to the town centre from the train station. The apartment in Nice is right by the beautiful port and we went out for many lovely walks and meals around the city.

On Friday 19th September we picked up our van and with Tony & Den sat in the back we drove east across the Italian border to a town called Ventimiglia. They have a famous market there every Friday and I bought a kilo of sundried tomatoes and a massive jar of local pesto which has been keeping us going! We stayed in Ventimiglia for lunch then set off in the afternoon to stop over for one night in Ceriale, a small town along the coast. The morning after that we headed further along the coast, past Genova to Chiavari, a pretty, historic seaside town not far from the Portofino headland. We all wanted to visit Portofino but as there are no campsites close to it we opted for this town which gave easy access to it.

So on the morning of 21st Sep we took a train to Santa Margherita Ligure and from there a ferry on to Portofino. Portofino is regarded as a very beautiful, exclusive resort and is famous for its pretty harbourside with different coloured houses all along. It is where Wayne Rooney married Colleen, and we went to the Church and Castle where he had one of his three wedding receptions, apparentely. Not that I’m into all that I promise you! It is a very lovely Church though, perched right above the port with wonderful views out to sea and along the coast.

We said goodbye to Tony & Den the next day as they went back to their apartment in Nice on the train, and we stayed on in Chiavari. On 23rd we drove to Deiva Marina, another Italian seaside town and this is where I am now. We have found a very cheap proper campsite that again is on the beach, and we are just relaxing and chilling in the sea and editing our travel videos. We have bought flippers and have been snorkelling. We also have a double rubber ring which is hilarious although we do look like a right pair or twats in it, I have to admit.

I could go on and on in more detail, about the food we have been eating and the various little quirks and experiences that living in a campervan provides. Food highlights include a wonderful lobster linguini in Chiavari and stuffed moules in Beaulieu Sur Mer. Really, this is what Italy is all about, and the pizzas also have been much, much better than back home, as a rule! Of course, there have been problems with the van, but luckily so far we have been able to manage them. Nick replaced the water pump early on when we were in Holland and only yesterday we had to take apart the air conditioning unit and unbolt the front drivers seat to get to the electrics beneath it as we thought we had a short somewhere in the system. Turns out its just the bad electrics here at the campsite, we think.

If all goes well we will leave Deiva Marina in a couple of days time and head on down Italy first to Pisa, then we have to decide whether to go inland to Tuscany and Florence, or head straight down to Rome and come back via Tuscany. There are so many places in Tuscany that I want to visit… Siena, Cortona and many others and Florence is a really big must. My Italian is still pretty ropey and I want to improve it as I go.

So until the next time, I must say Arriverderci and Ciao for now, and please check out Nick’s facebook photos which include all our recent travels. The videos are also on Youtube, we have so far edited the UK/USA part of our travels and have just started on the Euro leg.

Ode to Holland

2008-08-22T08:47:00.002+01:00

Oh Holland I will miss you
And your siropwaffles too
With your lovely canals
I don't think I'm anal
If I want to come back for a few!

We have been here for ages. But are finally departing today... on a week long road trip to Budapest, Hungary. In the last week we went to Leiden and stayed on a beautiful lake complete with a nudist area and went rowing and cycling to our hearts delight. We also spent 5 nights in Amsterdam, again on a lake called Gaasperplas which is just southeast of the city. We met up with Alex & Jess who visited the city for a couple of days. We visited some coffeeshops and also walked for miles around the city and stayed in an absolutely huge campsite that felt like a festival ground, there were just hundreds of students and travellers dotted around in tents.

Leiden is a highly beautiful city full of old 15th and 16th century buildings and obviously canals and windmills too. Rembrandt went to school there and we saw the building. Talking of art we also went to the Mauristhaus Museum in the Hague to see Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and lots of other amazing old paintings. I would go to Leiden again in an instant, it is very peaceful and friendly with winding little cobbled streets to cycle down.

We are back in the Hague for one night, which was last night, and so later this morning we are going to hit the road and head to Germany. We need to find somewhere cheap, we went a bit over budget in Amsterdam going eating nice Wok to Walk food and so on. I am certainly going to miss all of the Dutch bakery treats, but it will probably do me good to have a break from syrupy sugary goodness for a while.

Holland Update!

2008-08-11T08:44:00.003+01:00

Well, further to my previous blog entry I have to say that we left our friends Katy & Jans, went a few kilometres up the road to a place called Duinhorst at the edge of the city for two days... then we came back! They invited us back for Sunday night and also Nick is getting a gas alarm posted here, it should arrive today so we are hanging around until it does. We broke the past one we had in the van by accidentely shorting out the electrics, so had to get a replacement. I'm not particularly worried about these so called 'gas attacks' you hear about but we do have a gas fridge, cooker and boiler in the van so we do need some kind of alarm if we have a leak.

The van is so lovely, I haven't really described it. The bed is at the front above the drivers seat and it is on a big hinge so folds down and up again when you want to drive off in the morning. It means no faffing around with cushions, you can just push it out of sight. There is a shower room down one side with a pretty decent strength shower cubicle in it, plus a toilet and oval sink, and there is lots of handy cupboard space for all out bits.

Opposite the shower room on the other side, running down the side of the camper is the kitchen with 3 ring gas hob, oven with grill & rotisserie and proper fridge with freezer section. There is a two bowl sink, pull out bin and cupboards above, plus an extractor fan, window and light right above the sink and hob.

So you walk down the corridor between the kitchen and the shower to the end where there is a table with U shaped sofa all around it. We tend to have a side of it each and there is plenty of room. Down at the end there are windows on all three sides plus a skylight above, and we have the entertainments! Ie a pull out flatscreen TV that Nick fitted, the sky+ box and PS3. I also have my bookshelf which is in a drawer and behind the sofa are tucked the games: mastermind, scrabble and upwords! I did want to get a big

So now you can imagine my new home. We are definitely off to Leiden today, followed by Harleem then finally Amsterdam in a weeks time. Katy & Jan are off to Edinburgh festival this afty so we really can't stay in their hosue any longer! They've been such amazing hosts, as anyone who knows them will appreciate. We went back to the beach yesterday for a drink while Jan surfed then came back in on the tram and Katy cooked a mean risotto.

Still in Den Haag...

2008-08-08T10:09:00.002+01:00

We are still in the beautiful Hague but are off this afternoon to Leiden where we intend to spend the weekend, before driving to Amsterdam for a few days.

It's been a brilliant week, we've made a great holiday video of the city for a friend back in the UK who is poorly to entice her to come and visit once she's better. We've cycled everywhere, been to the sand dunes and the beach, played lots of games of 'what is my thought like' with Katy & Jan and generally had a lovely old time. I will try and put a link up of the vid once we have finished editing it. It will probably go on Nick's facebook.

I am just finishing a big pile of washing as I took advantage of our friends machine. Who knows when we will next have this opportunity to be clean...

By the way if anyone is in Holland they have to try the "Old Amsterdam'' cheese, it is truly AMAZING.

In Den Haag

2008-08-06T08:02:00.004+01:00

Wow we are finally in Europe, staying with Katy & Jan in the beautiful city of the Hague. We arrived in Dunkerque last Wednesday, drove up the coast a bit to Bray Dunes for a few days which is just on the Belgium border. We swam in the sea loads and free camped at the side of the road. We had one panic in that we lost a bit of our campervan, an important plastic cap off the side but we managed to retrace our steps and found it which was incredibly lucky.

After that we drove through Belgium into Holland and stopped over at a campsite just outside of Breda for 2 nights where we did some repairs to the van and generally relaxed. The water pump was playing up so Nick took it apart and fixed it.

So now we're here in the Hague, the van is parked outside their apartment and we have been cycling around, which is what everyone does here. The city is wonderful with cycle paths everywhere and very beautiful typically Dutch architecture, plus there is a wonderful long sandy beach with cool cafes all the way along it where the surfers go. The cafes have massive outdoor beanbags and hammock chairs, they are brilliant. Today it seems the sun is out and its going to be a scorcher so after Nick is out of the shower I'm going to hop in and get ready for a nice day out.

PS Catherine, no! Not pregnant. That would be funny, a baby on the travels!

Duuuuuude.

2008-07-29T21:32:00.002+01:00

A good week in Southampton, punctuated by the trips to Salisbury, Sandbanks and Bosham. Weather has been sunny, but rainy today, zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Oooh I am reading such a great great book right now. 'The Blade Itself' is it's name, and it is by a young British author called Joe Abercrombie. I picked up the book from a local charity shop and there are 2 more to finish the trilogy and I actually had to make a special trip into West Quay this morning just to go to Waterstones and buy the next two. Yes yes I know, I am a literary geek, but the thing is that I am going to be on the continent (not incontinent) rather soon, Thursday in fact, and who knows when I might find a good reliable bookstore in the future??! It is a worry.

I have also been amusing myself by watching Dr Horribles Sing-A-Long Blog (a musical masterpiece), Heroes Series 2 (booooooo! First was miles better and I'm upset about who they killed off in the final episode. I hope they bring him back to life in S3.), Gavin & Stacey (utter genius) and that's about it really. We have Pushing Daisies to watch but I haven't really got into that yet.

I am feeling a little chubby, although I have good hair at the moment. The one cancels out the other which is good.

Aparentely I am wanted in the van so must go. Off to Dunkerque on Thursday folks!!

Rah Rah Rah

2008-07-24T18:22:00.002+01:00

I am currently sat in the study of Nick's parents house in Southampton, enjoying the shade and the view out of the window. It has been a scorcher of a day and Nick, Den & I took the Punto with the roof down to Sandbanks in Poole for a lovely lunch at the Haven Hotel and a trip across the chain ferry to the long beaches. There is a nudist beach there but we didn't walk that far, I was very disappointed not to see it! >>>

Flash forward, as I was writing the above I heard the shout that dinner was ready so I've just consumed a half bottle of white wine and some quite tasty coronation chicken with rice and salad. As it's such a sunny evening we ate in the garden sat under the tree with the last of the sunshine on our backs. I've had a couple of menthols as well which is a bit naughty but there you go.

So to catch up again then, I think I let off when we were in Swansea which was the last time I had access to internet gubbins. We spent a week there and witnessed Ralph & Rowan's first birthday which was great, they loved the wrapping paper way more than the toys and were so full of beans it was wonderful. We left Wales on Friday 11th July and headed that night to a campsite known as "Old Down Touring Park", just south of Bath on the way to Glastonbury. We spent 2 nights there and on the Saturday went to our friends Marc & Gabie's wedding in a little village called Litton at the King's Arms pub. It was just the reception and didn't start until 5pm as they had a very private wedding and it turned out to be a great night. We caught up with Bob, Keely, Claire & James plus Helena & Matt, all really lovely people that Nick knew back in Exeter when we were at Uni. We had a geriatric taxi driver, Brian, who got utterly lost on the way there AND on the way back from our campsite to the pub and insisted on playing the Wurzels at full volume and getting maps out every five minutes.

On Sunday 13th July we left our gorgeous friendly campsite and headed a bit south to Clarks village in Street for some retail outlet action and then on to a little village called Somerton to stay in the field of someones house. It was just south of Glastonbury and we could actually see the Tor from our site. It was very peaceful, we had a barbecue and the whole site to ourselves, apart from the chickens. There was a white fluffy bantam that resembled a large cotton ball, quite something.

On the Monday we drove down to my Dad's cottage in Kennerleigh, mid Devon and spent a week there chilling out with the folks. We popped into Exeter a couple of times, went to the rather marvellous House of Marbles at Bovey Tracey (think massive marble runs with snooker balls instead of marbles), Trago Mills (for old times sake! Only bought a saop dish - very restrained)) and some great old school country pubs like the Black Dog and the Beer Engine. Met up with Shirley & John a couple of times as well. Nick had man flu for a couple of days and was laid up in bed so I went through a load of old boxes in the garage which contained my old school work and various other things from my childhood. I was thrilled to find my old recorder plus a couple of ocarinas and I have kept the ocarinas for the journey with the intent to improve my skills and also to teach Nick, who is not musically inclined. I also bought some Poi from a shop in Exeter, but they broke and I ended up taking them back so I will not be learning how to do Poi just yet until I find some more.

Now we are back in Southampton where we will be staying for a week or so until we head off to Europe. We popped to Salisbury last night to catch up with our old friends Alex & Jess at their new house and we met their doggie Matravers, or Matty who is a very exciteable 8 month old springer/pointer cross.

And that's about it. Since we've been back in Soton we've been to Bosham and Sandbanks (today obviously) and the weather is really really lovely for once. Life is going well, I have rediscovered cider as a drink and am getting very brown. I have also discovered Reggae Reggae sauce which you have to marinade chicken kebabs in before barbecueing! Very tastysome., om yom yom. I realise I am droning on about nothing now so am off. xxxxx

RRAAAAAAhhhglebloeaoitelakneltjb

2008-07-05T17:10:00.002+01:00

Due to lack of internet access this blog has not been updated for a ridiculously long time. We are both alive and well, however, and loving the travelling.

Florida was awesome, just warm, sunny, beautiful and themepark-tastic. We checked out Seaworld on my birthday (feeding dolphins, stroking stingways, seeing Shamu the killer whale and some really amazing fireworks), plus Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, and we also had a once in a lifetime experiece hearing the sonic boom of the Discovery Space Shuttle land at the Kennedy Space Centre. All in all an amazing time. We ate loads of grossly fattening All American food but also walked loads which hopefully balances it out. We met an astronaut from the Apollo 15 mission, he was cool. We shopped, and also went on a Gentle Ben style airboat ride to spot Alligators. Orlando is undeniably tacky and those Americans are huge gas guzzling mega consumers but you just have to love it.

After Florida we spent a couple of jet lagged days in York, then bombed it up to Berwick Upon Tweed for a glorious week with Bob & Miles. There was lots of music, Victorian parlour games, long long walks along the river and a trip to the epic Bamburgh castle.

We then went up to Edinburgh for a cool night out with Bob & Miles on her birthday, then we left them there and went up to the Scottish Highlands - Loch Lomond, Glen Coe, Ben Nevis and all that malarky while we stayed in a village called Onich on Loch Linnhe.

After that we drove down to the Lake District, saw the Ullswater and went for a bike ride in the rain around Windemere, before a random trip to Blackpool for one night, and now we are in Swansea with my sister, her husband and the twins. Blackpool is really nasty, I fully intend to not visit it again!

All in all a fantastic few weeks, the camper is doing great, we are very chilled out and happy.

See Y'All Later!!

2008-06-12T16:41:00.003+01:00

Wow guess what! We are going to FLORIDA tomorrow!!!

How the hell did that happen?? I am not entirely sure myself.

To backtrack....

We ended up taking a week and a half out at Leni's place. It was just so lovely there and they are both so incredible welcoming and chilled out we just couldn't tear ourselves away. We eventually did on Sunday afternoon and did a big old drive up to between Stoke on Trent and Derby, to a little town called Uttoxeter. For those who care, it is famous for its racecourse and we stayed in a special Caravan Club site which is within the racecourse. First time we've stayed in a Caravan Club place, the people are a little bit overly nosy. But hey ho its cheap.

The great thing about it was that it was only 7 miles away from Alton Towers, which is where we spent Monday and Tuesday of this week. It is so huge you really do need two days to do all the rides, and that was with the fast track tickets as well. The scariest ride by FAR has to be Oblivion. Oh my GOD I couldn't speak for screaming but literally the funniest thing I have done in years. You sit firmly strapped into this rollercoaster seat as it winches you slowly up an immense slope. By the time you reach the top plateau it is really peaceful and the view is breathtaking and you are lulled into a lovely comfortable revery, and then... you PLUNGE literally vertically downwards into a huge gaping hole in the ground and by that point you realise you are screaming like you have never screamed before. Highly recommended but I couldn't go on it twice.

The Air ride was also very good, but my favourite was the Spinball Whizzer, which is a fast rollercoaster with spinning seats, so you are thrown backwards, sideways and forwards at a huge rate of knots. We both loved that one.

So after 2 silly days we left and drove here to Dunham Massey near Manchester which is where our friends Catherine & Damian live in a beautiful cottage within the grounds of a National Trust house with Damian works as the gardener. There are deer wandering around and it is generally all very Jane Austen. It is lovely. But Nick has had really apppaulingly bad hayfever the last few days which is what inadvertantly led to the Florida escapade.

It was yesterday afternoon and for fun we started looking online at cheap last minute flights from Manchester airport (as its only a 15 min drive from here) and we found a ridiculously good deal to Orlando. OK it is rainy season so we might get a bit damp but we really couldn't say no. We fly tomorrow very early morning and we have a hire car and a hotel which is on a bed & breakfast basis. It's right on Universal Drive I believe, so USA here we come! Its strange - with only 2 days notice you really don't have time to get excited. We spent all of today adding extra security measures to the camper which we found at B&Q as we have to leave it in an airport carpark for a week. Hopefully it is now Fort Knox.

I do have some photos but none of the camper, weirdly. It is a Hymer S630 if you google it? Nick has put some on his facebook page. When I have more time I will load some on here but I have just realised how long this blog entry is and I need to go and do something else now! Next time I blog it might be from the States!!

Chilling out in Suffolk

2008-06-01T11:17:00.002+01:00

We have been in Suffolk since Thursday and I just feel like I could stay forever. We are parked up at Leni & Dom's place on their whopping drive and have been relaxing loads. I have a slight throat infection and unfortunately had a weird funny turn when we were out at a pub in Stowmarket last night but apart from that it is amazing here. Our friends live in a little cottage that they are about to extend and they have around an acre of land which is given over to apple trees, chicken coops and tricking brooks. There is countryside all around and birds sing constantly in the trees. They have a mentallist cat called Squeak that attacks anything that moves and their baby boy Huckleberry is 4 months old and a very happy little fellow.

We are off to a farmers market in a bit then I think we are going to pop in and see Leni's folks as I haven't seen them for years. We are trying so hard to keep to our daily budget but it is very difficult. Not as hard as London though, that is such a pricey place to visit.

The camper is working out great so far - it's really feeling like home as we sleep in it every night and have the awning out so can sit outside and keep dry if it's raining.

London Shenanigans

2008-05-28T11:08:00.006+01:00

So this is what we've been up to over the Bank Holiday weekend, up until now. Sorry it's in boring diary format but it's realy for my own benefit so that I can read this back in a few months time and remember what we did!

Saturday - had a relaxed one in Loughton, sunbathed, went for a short bike ride in the afternoon, ate lots of food and stayed up and played on the PS3 in the evening.

Sunday - went on the tube to Spittlefields market which was really good, lots of interesting small designer stalls with great outfits. Only spent £3 on a bracelet which was incredibly restrained. Went then to Oxford St to Selfridges and checked out an Urban Art show in the basement level. Pottered around there with James & Donna then back home for tea before heading to Woodford to see Indiana Jones & Crystal Skull at the pics. Quite enjoyed it but I didn't like the whole Alien route they went down to be honest - I much preferred the Holy Grail/Ark stuff from the previous films.

Monday - rain rain rain so stayed in all day. Went for a nice curry in the evening, before home to watch Cloverfield which OH MY GOD is the most amazingly good film all apart from the terirble CGI but apart from that I have to say one of the best films I've seen in a long time.

Tuesday - Nick & me into London to the V&A Museum which was great. Really impressed by what it had on show and it wasn't too busy. After that we walked to Harrods as we were in South Kensington and bought a pastie plus yumsome choc brownie thing to share. Sat outside Natural History Museum to eat it. Then went into Nat History Museum but being half term it was absolutely cram packed full of kid so we quickly saw the main bits then legged it back home. Last night I cooked some salmon and we had an early night as walking around London REALLY makes you tired.

Today we are relaxing this morning at James & Donnas house while they are at work. We plan to go into London after lunch to the South Bank to go to the Tate and we're going to stay out in London for a bite to eat this evening. I quite fancy Soho for a Chinese but we're finding the budget hard to keep to here! I guess this is the most expensive place we'll probably visit so it's not too bad. Tomorrow we're hopefuly meeting Ranx & Fiona for lunch before heading off to Suffolk in the evening.

Londontown

2008-05-24T10:54:00.003+01:00

Wooo we are in East London and I am about to go and sunbathe in my friends gorgeous back garden. but first a catch up...

We ended up spending nearly a fortnight in Southampton. There were various things to do to the camper and we ebayed a load of items and had to wait for stuff to arrive in the post to fit to the van so we ended up loitering at Nick's parents house for ages! I must admit it was very relaxing, although I did find myself wondering what to do. I ended up going on little shopping trips and visiting the City art gallery which is free and actually really really good, they have Chris Ofili, Bridget Riley and even some Lowry there and it is a lovely vaulted building, very peaceful.

We have invested in a pair of electric bikes!! They are AMAZING. Mine is blue and Nick's is dark grey and they are very shiny. They strap to the back of the camper and are a much better idea than a scooter, which is what we originally were going to get. We took them for a ride around Southampton common and they go like the clappers! You just pedal gently and the engine pushes you along so there's no effort and then if you want a quick burst there is a throttle just like on a motorbike that you twist and whooooooom! Off you go. Brilliant fun. I think when we're in Europe going up and down the hills they will be a Godsend.

So we are staying in Loughton, near Epping Forest and Chigwell in Essex, East London. It's on the central line so we can pop into the city whenever we like which is great. Today we are chilling and recovering with slight hangovers and then tomorrow there are a couple of markets we're going to visit. And we are contemplating going to see Indiana Jones in Leicester Square. OK my batteries running out I've got to go!

Tooth

2008-05-13T14:42:00.003+01:00

Level two of the travel quest is completed, the Guernsey leg. We are now in Southampton enjoying the comforts of my in-laws house with the camper parked on the driveway outside. Nick is busy fitting various alarms/stereo speakers as I write this. It is a gloriously sunny day and I had to hide indoors for a while cos I could feel myself burning in the garden. I think we will have a BBQ tonight after I've popped to Waitrose for some bits. Waitrose!! Oh it is SO good to be back in the UK. I do love my Waitrose, although I have more of a Lidl's budget these days...

As we were waiting for the ferry at the Gsy check-in a bit of my tooth fell off in my mouth!! How very surprised I was. It felt like a small pebble or bit of grit and then I realised I had a jagged gap that I could feel with my tongue! Well after the novelty wore off of playing with the jaggedy bit with my tongue (which lasted a few hours) I got a bit pissed off that it had happened. Especially as I was onboard the ferry and leaving behind my lovely dentist in Guernsey. Luckily I managed to find a good local practise here and I no longer look like a pirate. It was my first ever filling, he built it up to match the colour of the rest as well! They are so clever these people. I still can't stop running my tongue over the new bit though...

Well I think we are going to do another BBQ tonight, being that it is absolutely glorious and scorching out there.

On Liberation Day we were at a BRILLIANT BBQ party for Laurie's 30th birthday. Gosh we all got drunk and trampolined and allsorts, it was a great send off as most of our Guernsey mates were there. It was a great day and night. Carried on into the wee hours and then Nick & I slept over in the camper so no driving home! Result. It did mean we were around to do the clean up the next morning though. Rachel bought me a Hello Kitty lipstick lolly as a going away present and she got Nick a locust lollipop with an actual real locust in it! Awesome.

Sunny Sunny Sunshiney Days

2008-05-08T12:43:00.002+01:00

It has well and truly been a busy old week. We have had Margo parked around the corner in a friends field for the last few days while we have been pimping her up good and proper. We had an absolute nightmare registering her in Guernsey, we were given very bad, incorrect information before we brought her back here to do with the registration process and Tuesday was in fact a day from hell but then yesterday we managed to resolve the issues and she now has a spanky new Guernsey number plate.

We are out tonight for Rachel's birthday then tomorrow there is a large barbecue going down at Perelle for Laurie's 30th, on Liberation Day so a double party whammy! Then we're off for the forseable on Sat pm, if the camper can get on the ferry with the new sat dome we've installed on the roof which is quite tall.... fingers crossed! UK first for a few weeks, before the Euro leg of the trip.

I'm off for a spot of lunch in the sunshine now, it is an absolute cracker of a day, blazing sunshine and all that, lovely.

Back from the first leg...

2008-05-05T22:00:00.002+01:00

I am back in Guernsey with our new friend Margo. She is a large German Hymer campervan that we picked up just outside of Hamburg and we have driven her back through Belgium and France here to kit her out.

We left Guernsey last weekend and flew to Hamburg via Manchester. We spent a couple of days there in a hotel while we sorted out the camper purchase and the nitty gritty. We left Hamburg on the Wednesday and drove it down to Cologne where we found a campsite on the river. The next day we ploughed on through Belgium and made to into France, to a little town called Mauberge which was pretty. Next day we overnighted just ouside Caen before heading to the ferry at St Malo to cross back to the rock on Saturday night. It's now Monday, woo! So a busy old week and lots of fun. I quite like driving it which is a huge relief.

So we're here for a week before leaving for the UK for a few weeks of touring. Then we're off to Europe and who knows...

The camper is great. Really better than I thought it would be. It has a decent double bed which folds down over the front seats, a proper fridge, oven, 3 ring hob and U shaped lounge at the back. I like her. It has a poop tank you have to empty, HA HA! That's Nick's job. Everything is really dinky and well thought out, they have thought of everything. This week we are modifying her and installing various gadgets that we think we will need while travelling.. PS3, telly, a tracking satellite dome... anyway I have lots more to go on about but it's late and I'm quite tired. Back soon!

Last Thursday at work...

2008-04-24T14:27:00.002+01:00

...Waaeaeaeawaeaeaeaea!!

Woo Wah Wee Wah.

And the sun is shining. And my husband is AMAZING he worked until 2am last night covering the local Government elections and hosted a live show for around 4 hours that went out live on the website. And then this morning he went along to the GSPCA and got to play with the lion cubs again! Apparently they know both weigh around 13 stone and one of them pinned him to the ground! It's going out on tomorrow nights programme, and tonight he is hosting the news at 6pm as it's an election results special. Go to www.channelonline.tv to watch it afterwards, they put the news programme on line a couple of hours after it airs, usually.

Ah well I am feeling rather spritely I must admit. I must go now and not do any work for two and a half hours.

Last Tuesday At Work...

2008-04-22T10:32:00.000+01:00

La La La....

That is all.

Did I Mention? ...

2008-04-19T10:24:00.004+01:00

Did I mention that it is my LAST SATURDAY EVER working at my job?????????

Since I first started this blog I have had the same job, and it is the job really that has allowed me the time to keep up this blog. Specifically, when I have to work on Saturdays the office is usually really really quiet and I am here on my own so I have plenty of time to while away the hours by blogging. So things are going to change a bit as I shall no longer be here, being naughty, wasting Company time. Most of my good blogging is done on Saturdays. I am normally hungover, and today is no exception.

Last night we went to the Cock & Bull pub with Sue, Laurie, James, Toki, Tinny & Sarah. We played Pool - I potted two!! Of the right colour!! I play much better when I've had a few glasses of wine. Luckily I got a lift home from James in the rain at about 12:00 and I left Nick to go to "Folies D'Amour", our truly spectacularly awful meat market of a nightclub.

He wandered in later, I was asleep. When I got up to go to work this morning there was a little bit of sick on the bathroom floor and a real mess of coco pops in the kitchen. I'm sorry Nick but it's true!! I had to clean up puke and dried stuck coco pops in my hungover state. If that wasn't bad enough, on my walk into work this morning I walked past a split open rubbish bag that contained the very brown contents of a babies nappy that was strewn across the street! After several minutes of retching I managed to contain myself and continue to walk, but my morning so far has been unbelieveably traumatic.

I don't even know when I will next have a job, who will want to employ me, or where I will be living. In equal amounts that is both scary and liberating. I am going to leave now and ponder on that thought. I will leave you to ponder on this one:

"A good surgeon must have an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a lady's hand."

Seonaid & Lex's Wedding 5th April 2008

2008-04-19T09:51:00.010+01:00

Clandon Park, Guilford.

Sue & Laurie

Then things started to get a bit messy with balloons...

SJ and Mike

The lovely Seonaid and Isla, her bridesmaid

Ski Trip - Les Arcs, March 2008

2008-04-19T09:44:00.004+01:00

I realised that I hadn't put any photos up of our ski trip last month, so here we are! It was a truly beautiful resort, and you can see how incredibly picturesque our chalet was...

fgstjfgjtyukiyuio

2008-04-18T13:10:00.006+01:00

I'm sitting at my desk with a very burnt tongue. I am having to keep my mouth slightly open and take in big cool breaths of air to cool it down. I went for lunch with Rachel to Piece of Cake again, maybe for the last time, who knows. And I had the steak/mushroom homemade pie with peas and grazy and the peas I tell you they were hotter than the sun. The pie was as good as ever though, worth the residual pain.

So that is my day so far. That and farting around in the office all morning doing some paperworky type stuff. Getting up every five minutes to help out the newbies, which I don't mind, it makes me feel all wise like an owl.

So we are still living in a friend's apartment, for another week before we go round to my Dad's for the final weekend. I say the final weekend but we will probably be back again soon with the camper to kit it out. We're flying to Hamburg on Monday 28th to pick up the van, probably will be there a couple of days then we're driving back to Guernsey via France. Happy days! I only have one week or work left, tomorrow I can start saying the "last evers.." . . as in "OMG this is the last ever Saturday I will work here!" I will be irritating everyone by making up 'last ever's about everything. "OMG last time I will use the photocopier!!" "Woo last time I will ever shred any paper here!" I know, I like things to be epic. Also I like to annoy people.

Things are generally OK. I can't say that I'm the happiest that I've ever been because I am really finding it hard about Molly and I do miss our old home ever so much. I think in a weeks time I will feel better because then it will really be happening and we will really be going travelling. At the moment it is hard to imagine it's real because every day there seems to be another hurdle to jump or problem to solve with the logistics of the entire thing. It's almost as if I'm scared to get too excited because if I do then a really big problem will arise that will mean that we can't go and I will be terribly disappointed. Weird I suppose but that is my brain.

Anyway I'm off to pour myself a glass of water for that old tongue, I will leave you with the following wise thoughts...

He that will steal an egg will steal an ox.

(I think finishing up posts with one of the proverbs from below is my new thing!)

Proverbs Rock

2008-04-12T10:34:00.001+01:00

I must be bored, but this was on Wikipedia and it is an interesting read:

A
A bad workman always blames his tools.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
A cat may look at the king.
A creeking gate hangs long.
Actions speak louder than words.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
A fox smells its own lair first.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
After dinner sit a while, after supper walk a mile.
A good beginning makes a good ending.
A good surgeon must have an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a lady's hand.
A jack of all trades is master of none.
A lie has no legs.
A little learning is a dangerous thing.
All flowers are not in one garland.
All good things come to an end.
All roads lead to Rome.
All's fair in love and war.
All's well that ends well.
All that glitters is not gold.
All things come to him who waits.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
A merry heart makes a long life.
A miss is as good as a mile.
Among the blind a one-eyed man is a king.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
A penny saved is a penny earned.
A person is known by the company he keeps.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Ask and you shall receive.
Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies.
Ask no questions and hear no lies.
A sound mind in a sound body.
A stitch in time saves nine.
As you make your bed, so you must lie in it.
As you sow, so shall you reap.
A woman's work is never done.
A word is enough to the wise.
A word spoken is past recalling.
A word to the wise is sufficient.
B
Barking dogs seldom bite.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Beauty is only skin deep.
Beggars can't be choosers.
Better late than never.
Better safe than sorry.
Better the devil you know than the devil that you don't know.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Bitter pills may have blessed effects.
Blood is thicker than water.
Blood will out.
Boys will be boys.
Brain is better than brawn.
Bread is the staff of life.
Butter is gold in the morning, silver at noon, lead at night.
C
Cider on beer, never fear; beer upun cider, makes a bad rider.
Clothes do not make the man.
Cowards die many times before their deaths.
Cross the stream where it is the shallowest.
Curiosity killed the cat.
Cut your coat according to your cloth.
D
Desperate diseases must have desperate cures.
Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.
Different sores must have different salves.
Diseases come on horseback, but go away on foot.
Do as you would be done by.
Doctors make the very worst patients.
Don't burn your bridges before they are crossed.
Don't burn your bridges behind you.
Don't change horses in midstream.
Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
Don't cross a bridge until you come to it.
Don't cross the bridge till you come to it.
Don't cry over spilt milk.
Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Don't have too many irons in the fire.
Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Don't put the cart before the horse.
Don't shut the barn door after the horse is gone.
Don't shut the gate after the horse has bolted.
Don't spit into the wind.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.
Do unto others as you would have done unto you.
E
Early bird catches the worm.
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Eat to live and not live to eat.
Eat when you're hungry, and drink when you're dry.
East or West home is best.
Empty barrels make the most sound.
Even a worm will turn.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Every dog has its day.
Every man has a price.
Every rule has its exception.
Everything comes to him who waits.
Every why has a wherefore.
F
Every disease will have its course.
Faith will move mountains.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
Fine feathers make fine birds.
Fine words butter no parsnips.
First come, first served.
Fools rush in where angels fear to thread.
Forbidden fruit is the sweetest.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Fresh pork and new wine kill a man before his time.
Fretting cares make grey hairs.
Friend to all is a friend to none.
G
Give a dog a bad name and hang him.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
God cures and the physician takes the fee.
Good eating deserves good drinking.
Good fences make good neighbors.
H
Half a loaf is better than none.
Haste makes waste.
Health is better than wealth.
Help a lame dog over a stile.
He that lives too fast, goes to his grave too soon.
He that will steal an egg will steal an ox.
He who hesitates is lost.
He who laughs last laughs best.
He who laughs last laughs longest.
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.
He who sleeps forgets his hunger.
Hindsight is 20/20.
History repeats itself.
Home is where the heart is.
Home is where you hang your hat.
Honesty is the best policy.
Hunger is the best spice.
I
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.
If a thing is worth doing it is worth doing well.
If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
If the cap fits, wear it.
If the shoe fits, wear it.
If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly.
If you can't beat them, join them.
If you can't be good, be careful.
If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
If you keep your mouth shut, you won't put your foot in it.
If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.
It is a good horse that never stumbles.
It never rains, it pours.
It's a long lane that has no turning.
It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
It's an ill wind that blows no good.
It's better to give than to receive.
It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
It's easy to be wise after the event.
It's never too late to mend.
It's not over till it's over.
It's no use crying over spilt milk.
It's the early bird that gets the worm.
It's the empty can that makes the most noise.
It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.
It takes all sorts to make a world.
It takes two to make a quarrel.
It takes two to tango.
L
Laughter is the best medicine.
Learn to walk before you run.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.
Like cures like.
Little enemies and little wounds must not be despised.
Long absent, soon forgotten.
Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.
Look before you leap.
Love is blind.
M
Make hay while the sun shines.
Many hands make light work.
Money talks.
More haste, less speed.
N
Nature abhors a vacuum.
Nature, time, and patience are three great physicians.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Never put off till (until) tomorrow what you can do today.
New brooms sweep clear.
New broom sweeps clean.
No cows, no cares.
No gain without pain.
No man can serve two masters.
No news is good news.
No pain, no gain.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
O
Once bitten, twice shy.
One doctor makes work for another.
One good turn deserves another.
One hour's sleep before midnight is worth two hours after.
One man's meat is another man's poison.
One swallow doesn't make a summer.
Opposites attract.
Out of sight, out of mind.
P
Paddle your own canoe.
Penny wise, pound foolish.
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Practise makes perfect.
Prevention is better than cure.
Pride goeth before a fall.
R
Rome wasn't built in a day.
Rules are made to be broken.
S
Seek and ye shall find.
Still waters are the deepest.
Still waters run deep.
Strike while the iron is hot.
T
Talk is cheap.
Talk of the devil - and the devil appears.
The best things in life are free.
The coat makes the man.
The cure is worse than the disease.
The early bird gets the worm.
The end justifies the means.
The first step to health is to know that we are sick.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
The head and feet keep warm, the rest will take no harm.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The pen is mightier than sword.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
There are too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
There's always a calm before a storm.
There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip.
There's no accounting for taste.
There's no time like the present.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
The wish is father to the thought.
Think before you speak.
Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Time is money.
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Truth is stranger than fiction.
Two heads are better than one.
Two's company, three's a crowd.
Two things do prolong your life: A quiet heart and a loving wife.
W
Waste not, want not.
We all make mistakes.
We must take the bad with the good.
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
When in Rome do as the Romans do.
When the cat's away the mice will play.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Where one door shuts another opens.
Where there's a will there's a way.
While the cat is away, the mice will play.
While there's life, there's hope.
Who keeps company with the wolves, will learn to howl.
Wide ears and short tongue are the best.
Without sleep, no health.
Y
You can lead (take) a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
You can't have it both ways.
You can't have your cake and eat it too.
You can't make an omlette without breaking eggs.
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
You can't tell a book by its cover.
You have to crawl before you can walk.
You never know what you've got till it's gone.
You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

sdfnbsdtgaejtbkjbdt

2008-04-11T13:29:00.004+01:00

Hello what what. I am feeling much better, I know I haven't blogged for a week or so, so here goes...

I have been to the UK again, Southampton, Winchester and Guildford to be precise, for a lovely lovely wedding in Clandon Park, Guildford. Seonaid married Lex in a fantastic country house setting and practically my whole class from 6th form were there. So it was a brilliant brilliant day and then the next morning we woke up to a Winter Wonderland!! Snow had covered the countryside and as we drove back to Southampton from Guildford we couldn't get over how pretty and Chrismassy everything looked. We had given a lift to Sid & Alice and we ended up stopping in Winchester for a cup of coffee at the Wyckham Arms, a pub I think I may have mentioned before as being just awesome. The Cathedral was open and free as it was a Sunday so we also had a little look around and looked at the grave of Jane Austen.

We arrived back in Guernsey on Sunday and immediately moved our belongings from our mates house at Perelle to the flat in town that we are now living in for the next 3 weeks. It belongs to a good friend who is travelling in Oz this month and she has kindly let us have her home for that time. Anyway the flat is super amazing, incrediably high-tech and there are a bunch of stuff that we could break. Touch wood, so far we haven't broken anything so far. It's all underfloor heating, high ceilings and Bose sound systems, it's really really gorgeous and has a big balcony. So we haven't done too badly for our last few weeks on the rock!

I have been training up a new girl who will take over from me when I finally leave in a couple of weeks time. So it's been a very very busy week that has flown by. We've done three take-ons, including on her very first morning a coastal property for 1.45 million! Nice.

On Wed night we went to Christies for a meal then drinks afterwards with Sue, Laurie, Fran, Rachel, James, Toki, Claire Sims, Ant & Gareth. It's hardly ever that us girls all get the chance to get together and it was a really great night. Lots of tomfoolery. I think I'm just going to stay in tonight and catch up on Skins (I missed the last few!) as I have to work tomorrow, boooo. Actually, it could be my last ever Saturday here so not booooo, but woooooo!!

Thanks dudes

2008-04-03T14:30:00.004+01:00

... For all your lovely messages. I have been feeling very pooey the last few days and on top of it have had a pretty busy flipping week. I had a lovely dream about Molly last night where she came back from beyond the grave and we were back in our old house which made me smile when I woke up. Almost like she came to see me from kitty heaven...

Anyway, enough. I have to fly across to Southampton tonight and I am going to have a serious few drinks with Nick's parents, who had to deal with Molly, as we'd taken her over there the week before. Poor Den, what a thing to have to deal with, and she's got enough on her plate at the moment with other stuff going on. It never rains but it pours eh. Thankfully we have a fantastic wedding to look forward to this weekend in Guildford, an old pal from school and no doubt it will be very messy and drunken, considering who's going.

Nick's parents found a really lovely vet's practise in Winchester where they cremate your pet and sprinkle the ashes over Farley's Mount, a pretty hillside. I know Mols had never been there but we can't exactly take her back to our house as it sold last week so it will have to be alright. She will always be in our thoughts, and that is what counts. She was my special little girl, despite the meat breath and the faint smell of marmite (which was always a mystery as she didn't even like marmite), I will miss her fluffy tummy and funny little chirpy noises so much.

The Saddest of Sad News

2008-04-01T11:56:00.002+01:00

My little Molly died in her sleep on Sunday night.

Raahh and grumps

2008-03-28T14:46:00.002Z

Nothing is ever easy. Nothing is EVER easy. Nothing, is, ever, easy. NoThInG iS eVeR eAsY. Ne Rien est ever facilement. Nooooothing. Ever. Easy. Is.

So, long and short, it looks like the camper we want is too large/heavy/whatever for me to drive on my paltry Guernsey car licence. Meaning I need some flipping megatron licence to enable me to drive lorries to be able to drive it??? Nick is from England so he automatically can drive lorries and therfore campers, as that is where he learnt to drive. How rubbish!! I wish I had changed my Gsy licence to a UK a few years ago but now they're changed the rules so you can't do that anymore.

I have my first lesson booked for next Tuesday. Raaaaaaaah etc etc. Bit different to the Smart car I'm used to. Nick had called the instructor up before I did and when I spoke to the guy he was like 'your husband tells me you don't even like to drive his 4x4' Cheers! He already has no faith and he hasn't even met me yet. I also need to take the theory test before I can take the practical. DOUBLE cheers. All in a month before we go travelling. The category test I need is for the largest vehicles, big lorries, so that is what I will have to learn to drive!

We have already found a lovely van and don't want to have to get a smaller one so it's either that or Nick does all of the driving. Ha, that is tempting I must say.

Anyway that is one of a series of about 4 fairly large obstacles that are hampering our plans at the moment. The other ones are also an absolute mare, but I can't go into the details on a public blog cos it's to do with finances etc. I just felt the need to vent my spleen here on my blog because that is what it's for. It's all a bit stressful! I can't wait to be on the open road with all this shit outta the way!!

Masquerade Ball 21st March 2008

2008-03-27T16:12:00.005Z

Purple face feather lady

Scary drunk big bird
. . . In his birdcage
Supping from the fountain of punch
Rachel & James, incognito
Who is behind the masks??
drunken me
Caped crusaders
Sarah looking very feline... miow
Boys, and is that Predator in the bottom left hand corner??

That's it then.

2008-03-27T15:07:00.004Z

OK....

House sold... CHECK

Molly transported to the UK... CHECK

Furniture transported to the UK... CHECK

Rest of furniture that we couldn't fit into the van stored safely around at our friend's house... CHECK

Campervan... almost reserved. We're doing the paperwork and have booked a one way flight to Hamburg to collect it at the end of April.

The last week has been totally manic. The van we hired to get our belongings to Enlgand on the ferry was woefully too small, unfortunately you just can't hire large vans on this island. Then our ferry got cancelled because it got holed in bad weather. Luckily we managed to book another crossing which took us to Weymouth rather than Poole so it was a longer drive but a shorter crossing so that wasn't too bad.

We got to Southampton and the lock up is also woefully too small (are you getting the feeling that we miscalculated the amount of stuff we have!?) so we have crammed it best we can for the moment, and any leftovers will have to go in the in-laws loft. Being that we only managed to get about half of our stuff over to the UK we now have the other half temporarily stored at a very kind friends house. The same friends that we are staying at for the next week until an empty flat comes available for the following 3 weeks. So, it's been busy busy then.

Molly made the ferry/van journey in one piece, mostly in her basket on my lap, without too much of a song and dance. She did really well, bless her, and after a couple of traumatic days she has really settled down in Southampton.

We just have to sell 2 cars and a boat now and we're all set! :)

We're flying to Hamburg at the end of April to pick up our fun wagon!! It is a 2000 Hymer S630 and very sexy.

Packing and more packing

2008-03-20T15:26:00.003Z

Gah. So, to bring you up to speed, Nick and I are selling our house, boat and two cars and are off travelling for a while. There is an awful lot to sort out, as we complete on our house next week and before that we have to lug our stuff across to Southampton on the ferry to put it into long term storage. We also have to transport our cat Molly on the ferry at the same time, to take her to her new life with Nick's parents.

So the last few days have been pretty full on, with poor Nick taking this whole week off work to sort things out. Luckily it's Easter weekend so I don't have to work tomorrow or Monday, and I've taken Tues & Wed off as holiday to get everything done. Once we have completed we are relying on the generosity of friends for another month while we stay on here in Guernsey and work out our notices. Its a bit of a nightmare but our buyers really wanted to get in quick so we had to bite the bullet.

So if anyone wants to have a lovely big cheese plant can they let me know... it is rather large.

After we finish work, we plan to buy our camper, probably in Germany as it is noticeably cheaper to purchase there and then reregister. But get this, to reregister a camper in Guernsey you need to have planning permission in place for where you plan to park it! How overly complicated. Obviously insurance and everything like that must be sorted as well.

OK well please wish me luck for the next few days, lets hope we can fit everything in that van...

Packing Up the House

2008-03-18T13:43:00.004Z

God, do I hate packing. We are right in the middle of it at the moment, Nick has taken the week off and there are boxes everywhere. Today is the day he sorts out the shed, yesterday it was the big cupboard under the stairs... who knows what excitement tomorrow will bring? The ladies at the local charity shop love me, I have given them so much stuff the last couple of days. Really, I should have done a carboot sale but I really don't have the time unfortunately.

I have little chillblains all over my fingers, they don't hurt as such but they make my hands feel super sensitive, as if the nerve endings are right there on the surface. Can't complain really but still, its annoying as I am super careful to wear gloves when I'm out. I'm still taking the gingko bilola tablets when I remember, which is supposed to help.

I am counting down the days until I leave this job, there's still a good few weeks to go. Our house completes a week on Thursday and before then we have to make a trip to the UK to put our stuff into storage, joy. We are also taking Molly over then to settle her into her new groove, which will be living at Nick's parents house. Poor little mite, she's going to detest the journey.

I am so annoyed because I called my Doctor yesterday to let them know my new address, and they were like 'Oh I'm so glad you called, you are due a smear test!' CHEERS. Yuck yuck yuck I hate being a girl. I really don't think that many men could handle lying with their legs akimbo having a metal ducks bill prodded up inside them. Oh well as long as they warm it first...

Roast chicken for tea tonight, mmmm.

Seonaid's Hen Night - 8th March 2008

2008-03-15T10:31:00.005Z

Thankyou to Katie, Gem & Isla, I stole these photos off their facebook pages...

The location... London town... Docklands, to be precise.

Bwwwwwwop

2008-03-13T11:45:00.006Z

That's the sound my stomach just made. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I think it's probably a BAD thing. Oh dear, please feel sorry for me. I feel grotty all over. I had a wondrous lovely holiday, skiing was fabulous, but I picked up the lurgy of doom on the way back and I have been bed ridden for the last few days.

I came into work on Monday with a very sore throat, struggled through the day, went home and basically collapsed. I spent Tues gargling salt water and overdosing on painkillers, and by yesterday the doom throat was gone but I was left feeling like I had been drugged with horse tranquilizers. I basically slept for most of the day, I figured out that I was only awake for 7 hours in total.

Today I woke up feeling marginally better so I came into work. I managed some food this morning which is a good sign. And now I have to train up the new person who is sat in my desk. I had to do that on Monday as well, when I was feeling so crapdoodle. I basically came back from holiday on Monday to find that a new person was sat in my desk and I had been relegated to the cold, drafty old desk but ALL OF MY STUFF including my hard drive with email, etc, is still over where she is sat which is really rude. I am sat here at a weird computer which was redundant until recently, feeling poorly and shat upon. The first thing I had to do on Monday morning was to carry my drawers and clobber across the office into this desk where I'm sat now. CHEERS.

It's OK, I have handed my notice in. I wouldn't normally rant about working conditions but I'm off in a certain number of weeks and my bosses have made it blatantly obvious that they couldn't give a crap about me now that I'm leaving so...

On a more happy note, my holiday ruled!! Skiiing is great! A little scary yes, but great. I am a very slow skiier, I got some impressive bruises on me batty, but wow wow wow what fun. Going right to the very top of a beautiful mountain, breathing in the clean air and getting all the way to the bottom without falling over was just about the best thing ever. I also was made to ski down a mountain at night while drunk, which I was a bit upset about at the time but in retrospect I'm glad I achieved. I was shitting myself at the time in all honesty. God so much to tell! I must get some pics up soon.

We went to Les Arcs which is so great for total beginners like me - loads of nice easy blue runs to get my teeth into. My friends were so amazingly calm and patient with me, I was the only novice and they really looked after me so well.. So thankyou Sue, Laurie, Fran & James. The nightlife was so funny, we had two ridiculous nights out in the town. Our chalet host Tom was just awesome, basically a Michelin starred chef, cooking up gorgeous 3 course meals each night. And the 2 randoms we ended up sharing our chalet with - Andy & John, were just two really super guys, we couldn't have asked for better company. Anyway I heartily recommend skiing.

* + * + * + * + * + * +

2008-02-26T12:34:00.006Z

I am off skiing on Friday evening. Well I am leaving Guernsey on Friday evening and going to France on Saturday morning, to be more specific.

Fran, James, Sue, Laurie, Nick and I are all off for a week of fun in the Alps. We're going to Les Arcs which seems like a really good place for me to start, me who has never skied in her life. It is a good place for beginners, they say. I am a little apprehensive about breaking a bone or worse, so I intend to take things very gently and only really potter around the baby slopes. I am taking thermal underwear, long thermal socks, my new ski coat, special ski gloves and lots and lots of layers, as I am not one for the cold weather which is ironic really but I have always wanted to have a go at skiing. We are going to be staying in a catered chalet, which is interesting, I am excited to see what that is like.

House sale is still ongoing, the survey was fine, wooooo etc so just waiting for it to be signed up, hopefully later this week. Then we're out on our asses come the end of March with nowhere to live. Woooo again. I am worried about all of my plants - who will take care of them??? They are my friends. Are we just absolutely crazy and stupid to be selling our property and getting out of the housing market for a while? Or are we being brave and innovative? I just hope that prices don't continue to rocket while we are away, if they stick around the same then we haven't really lost out at all. It's going to be strange not having a mortgage and all the ties that surround it, wildly liberating I should imagine...

We are selling our boat and Nick's car. Please have a look at www.helloguernsey.com if you think you might know anyone who might be interested.

'Noon.

2008-02-21T16:20:00.002Z

Hiya. Well we had our survey today and I haven't heard anything yet which I am counting as good news. I know that most surveyors, if they encounter a really really awful property, will phone up the potential buyer and tell them there and then. So that hasn't happened which means that it must be worth the write-up. I'm feeling like one minute I actually wouldn't mind if it was a bad survey, because it would mean we wouldn't have to sell and we could just stay put a bit longer, but I know that is a really selfish thought becuase Nick really wants to sell it. And the next minute I am excited and want it sold so that I can be free. Free apart from an old, irascible cat and a household of accumulated furniture. Oh and a husband.

Life is too short, that is for sure. We've just found out a very close friend, a girl our age, has a cancer on her lung, she just had a biopsy 2 days ago and is awaiting the results. Absolutely shocking, she is super fit, beautiful, full of beans, a non smoker.... what can I say, like is too short and is certainly unfair. Anyway my thoughts are with her and she has a huge support network and we all know she is going to be absolutely fine.

Well I have to get Molly in her basket and to the vets after work, time for her boosters. She will hate me, but I know as soon as she's back home and hears the catfood tin opening I will be forgiven.

The Lions Den

2008-02-20T13:10:00.004Z

Nick got to play with two lion cubs today at work! These 2 were on GMTV this morning (linky linky) so they're famous lion cubs at that. One is called Sarnia, which is sweet. Anyway there is a lovely piece to camera on channel report tonight. They are in Guernsey for a few months and are really boisterous and 'bitey'. Apparently when he turned round they tried to bite him on the bum!! I was so so jealous, what an amazing opportunity.

* ^ * ^ * ^ ~~~

2008-02-19T11:17:00.002Z

Another day sat in the office. Booooo. I am drinking my second cup of tea of the day and it is cold in our office so my chillblain on my hand is hurting. It is really sensitive and I keep knocking it against things.

So our house sale is ongoing, the survey is happening this Thursday, shiiiit. Bit nervous, I'm still a bit up and down about the entire thing and wobbling about. I have let friends and family know now, which made it seem all the more official. It's going to be strange not working here anymore. I've been here 3 years which is the longest job I've had, ever. But mostly I will miss my lovely house, I am very attached to it and love it greatly. It will be a bit like losing a limb I think, although hopefully not so bloody.

I watched Howl's Moving Castle last night, wow wow wow that film rocked. I LOVE surreal stuff, and it had wizards, extremely overweight witches, hopping scarecrows and people with feathers. Anyway, right up my street and I really enjoyed it.

Daily Diary of a Journo's Wife

2008-02-18T14:05:00.003Z

Following on from my friend Cat's blog, I am copying her and going to tell you what I did on Saturday 16th Feb...

5:45am - Wake up desperate for a wee, wondering where the hell I am. Realise I am with Nick in a double bed at our friend's Sue & Lauries house, after a rather late night out at the newly refurbished Rockmount pub. Wake Nick up as I can't find the light switch, it is pitch black and I am thinking I might wet myself. He points me in the right direction.

5:50 - I go for a wee.

9:30 - Surface groggily, wondering again where the hell I am. It is sunny! I am at Susan & Laurie's house! I down a cup of tea and a glass of water which seems to fend off the morning hangover. Laurie gives us a lift to our car, which we left in the pub carpark. The seat is really far forward because Sarah moved it for us last night, she was the only sober person and is quite short. We go home.

10:00 until 1:30pm - We potter around the house, doing some tidying up. I wash my hair. I also eat a bowl of Wheetos. Yum.

1:30 - We go in Nick's car to his work, the traffic is really bad because there has been a crash along the sea front. Nick's cameraman is there already and has filmed it.

1:50 - We hop into Nick's work van with the cameraman, which is very much like the van from the A Team, only white.

2:00 - We go to Footes Lane, where Nick is filming this years 'Mud Run', a very messy 4 mile run for charity through muddy bogs, douits and silly obstacles. Some our our friends are taking part - Sue, Laurie, Tinny, Kristen and Matt. Sue is suffering greatly from the night before and looks extremely pale. They set off. We cheer and laugh at their stupidity.

2:15 - 3:00 - We follow the runners around the course, turning up in various locations to get some good shots for the telly. We get threatened with mud, and laugh some more at our very dirty, soggy friends as they struggle through streams.

3:00 - The mud run ends. We get a lift back to our car which is at Nick's work and go home.

3:15 - We stop off on the way home and buy a roll, drink and cake each, we sit in our car looking out to sea like a couple of old grannies and eat. It is very cold, but we are nice and warm.

3:30 - 7:30 - We potter around at home some more, general chores, housework and sorting stuff out for our house sale. Tinny phones, inviting us around for Chinese.

7:45 - Arrive at Tinny & Sarahs. John, Kristen, Laurie & Toki are already there. We order Chinese food. I eat far too much. Fran's boyfriend James arrives, without Fran. She is working.

8:30 - We all sit down and watch the Goonies. Amazingly, three people have NEVER seen it. How is this possible!??

10:30 - Nick has fallen asleep on the sofa. I wake him up and we go home. I accidentely set off the car alarm and wake up our neighbours while I am parking. I want to read my book so sleep in the spare room and Nick have ours. I read until about 1:00 am, it is a really good book. I finally go to sleep with Molly lying on my stomach.

Valentines Flowers

2008-02-14T15:35:00.002Z

So so SO pretty. I have them sat on my desk and they smell delicious. There are pink peonies too which are my favourite flowers. Just wanted to take some pics as they are so lovely.

~ ~ SMILE ~ ~

I Love Sporks

2008-02-13T15:59:00.000Z

* * * * * ~~ *

2008-02-13T15:37:00.002Z

Another gorgeous beautiful warm and sunny day in Guernsey. It is actually properly warm here today unlike yesterday when there was still a nip to the air. I am debating going out of the office for a ciggie, I'm in that sort of mood.

Yesterday we had an offer for the full asking on our maisonette, which is kind of crazy and exciting and incredibly incredibly nerve wracking. I love our place so much and have been so monumentally happy there, but we are too young to settle down forever and if we want to do something else before we start breeding and yada yada yada then NOW IS THE TIME. So says everyone. I am swinging from feeling gut wrenchingly sick about it and really excited. We are going to sell Nick's car and the boat, Jeannie, as well. If you want a lovely little boat have a look! www.helloguernsey.com

Arr, she has served us well but it is time to part ways.

Rachel is coming round tonight to watch movies and eat junk food. Great!!

Ach Pooh

2008-02-11T15:10:00.001Z

There is just sooooo so much to sort out if we are going to sell our place. It is doing my little head in. Have to think long term... in ten years time will I remember? Will I even still be alive? Still on the short term it seems like an insurmountable mountain of massive proportions.

We had officially the first barbecue of the year yesterday, round at Sue & Lauries house. Laurie dusted off the barbecue grime from last summer and we all sat around in the sunshine eating burgers and sausages. Then the sun went in and we all realised how cold it was. Still, 10th Feb - that has to be some sort of record. Eating burgers whilst wearing gloves is not to be recommended though.

Is is another glorious, crisp beautiful day today. The colours seem very sharp and bright, and everything feels very fresh. It puts everything into a clearer, better light it seems. Walking around town today in the bright sunshine, people seemed all chilled out and more smiley than usual.

I have a lesbian crush on ...

2008-02-09T11:17:00.000Z

Marion Cotillard! What a babe. After watching Love me if you Dare and A Good Year
both of which films she stars in. A Good Year is utter pants, but Love me if you Dare is one of the best films I have seen. I loved it. She is also in the Edith Piaf film, but I haven't seen that yet. Anyway there is something about the French language, it is so so sexy sounding and cute. Don't worry, I also had a crush on the lead bloke in Love me, so I swing both ways.

So we've put our flat on the market, slightly, not properly just low key... we have 2 viewings today and 3 on Monday. So far we've only had the one and we had an offer from it but a bit too low. Look like we might be shipping out if we get the right price. Who knows.

I have bought a pink 80's Oakley ski jacket in the sales. It was reduced by £113 but it is pink and white and I will feel like a twat in it, I just know it. Oh well it is really comfy and has lots of special pockets for you walkman, phone, and zips for ventilation along the arms and a special thing that goes around your middle to stop the snow creeping up your back when you fall over. High tech or what. Just if I could dye it a different colour, it would be OK.

The Littlest Hobo

2008-02-09T09:28:00.000Z

There's a voice that keeps on calling me
Down the road is where I'll always be
Every stop I make, I'll make a new friend
Can't stay for long, just turn around and I'm gone again.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down,
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

Down this road, that never seems to end,
Where new adventure, lies just around the bend.
So if you want to join me for a while
Just grab your hat, come travel light - that's hobo style.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down,
Until tomorrow, the whole world is my home.

So if you want to join me for a while
Just grab your hat, come travel light
That's hobo style.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down,
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

... Love it!! Much respect.

Look what I made

2008-02-08T11:48:00.000Z

I made this for my friends baby boy, Huckelberry Reggie Andrews Tabley. It was too long to write the surnames as well, this took bloody ages to do. My camera was playing up so this is with and without the flash. It is made of fuzzy felt and buttons. I had forgotten how much I like fuzzy felt.

Weird Feeling Teeth

2008-02-05T11:23:00.000Z

I had a dental appointment yesterday, the first one in 3 years (naughty) and luckily all I needed was a scale and polish. So along I went this morning and squeaked and skirmed my way through that. Now my teeth feel all smooth and I can feel all the little gaps inbetween them with my tongue which is just a bit unfamiliar. They are all nice and white again, all the little bits of plaque are totally gone which is lovely. I felt really overly pleased like a little school girl when the dental nurse told me that I was a "really good brusher". Yay! Do I get a sticker??

I am going skiing in less than a month! How did that sneak up on me so quickly?? It's crazy. I have to find a ski jacket apparently. I have a waterproof type coat but Nick says it won't do because the snow gets EVERYWHERE so I need a special one that has tight arm holes etc, all the fancy stuff. He has bought an entire outfit in the sales at sportsworld and looks all coordinated, although slightly funny with the hood up, I'm sorry to say. I am borrowing some salopettes and goggles from my friends little sister, who is about the same height as me. I so far have bought some amazingly warm knee night thermal socks that are OH MY GOD so snuggly and warm I have been wearing them non stop around the house. I wonder how I ever survived without long thermal socks before?? So snugglesome. Anyhoo. I have late viewings tonight and I have to cut Nick's hair, boooooo.

I had a great weekend

2008-02-04T16:36:00.000Z

A weekend of drunken nights out, laziness and a smidgen of housework. Lovely.

On Friday night we went out to the Swan, then on to Christies and the Apartment Bar, with Rachel, James, Sue, Laurie, Tinny, Fran's James, and then Penny & Matt later on. One of those great spontaneous nights out that ends up being much funnier, later and drunker than anyone intended. On Saturday, to my shame, I slept in until midday then did a spot of gardening before going into town for a very late lunch with Sue & Laurie. In the evening we went to Laska's, then White D'or with Sue & Tom, from Nick's work, and Sue's family for her birthday. Then yesterday I had a joyfully lazy day watching films and new Lost. We watched the 70's Dawn of the Dead which is in turns freakishly scary and unintentionally hilarious, and Perfume, which is one of the GREATEST films ever.

I have to go shopping. Oh, what to have for tea....

Moley Toes

2008-02-01T14:12:00.000Z

I just popped to the Doctors in my lunch hour, nothing serious, don't gasp in fear or anything. Anyway I wanted some treatment for a toe that's gone a bit manky and when I pulled my sock off my Doc was like 'You have moley toes!' I said that's nothing, cos he was looking at my right foot. I said wait until you see my left one! He was blown away by the strange large triangular mole that is on the side of one of my toes.

That is all.

I am surrounded

2008-01-31T15:39:00.000Z

by an aura of pregnancy, and fresh babies. It seems everywhere I turn these days friends and family are popping out heirs to the family silver.

Not that I mind, it is lovely. The girl I work with, who 3 weeks ago did not have any kind of a bump at all, now has suddenly sprouted a mini mountain and has announced that she is 5 1/2 months gone, rather than the 2 months she thought she was. Its like the baby was waiting, all scrunched up and hiding until the nurse discovered it and now it has relaxed and had a good stretch.

I had a good long chat to Leni & Dom last night and could hear wee Huckleberry gurgling in the background. Leni is a little trouper, and is persevering with the booby juice route but apparentely it is so painful it feels like crushed glass coming out. Stories like that horrify me. Isn't it all supposed to be easy and lovely and natural? Still, he's not even a week old yet and I'm sure it will get better. I am making young Huck a thing to hang on his wall, I hope they like it. It involves fuzzy felt and buttons and is taking hours. Molly was trying her best to foil its creation last night. Anyway, all of this is making me feel mildly clucky, but then I remember that I like getting drunk, smoking, sleeping late and eating junk food and I thank my lucky stars it's not my turn yet. I'm sure the time will come though but at present I am far too selfish.

I watched a really interesting film on Tuesday - Match Point. I would recommend you watch it, although try not to read about it first as it is nice not to know where it is going. I didn't know anything about it and was pleasantly surprised. It's a Woody Allen film, a recent one. I'm off to see Sweeney Todd tomorrow with Rachel, if we can get tickets. Looks ace, I love a bit of Tim Burton.

Katy & Jan's Wedding - 26 Jan 2008

2008-01-30T15:04:00.001Z

These are Sinead's photos that I poached off facebook. We took lots of video but that's still on the camera at home. GREAT day.

Welcome to the World

2008-01-30T14:58:00.000Z

My best friend has had a little baby boy, Huckleberry Reggie, I am over the moon. Congratulations Leni & Dom, although I know you will never read this! It's the thought that counts. What a sweet name though, I think it's awesome.

I've been toing and froing to the UK and back again, twice in a week which is a little excessive. Firstly the wedding weekend, which was just the best. I got to see my big sister & her husband, attend the wedding of the century and see my lovely in laws. I was back again yesterday just for the day and I got to go to Primark, result. I'm going to put some photos up of the wedding, but in another post. Hold on...

Anyway.

2008-01-24T15:13:00.001Z

I spent last night tugging dresses and jackets on and off and I know what I'm wearing on Saturday now and I have packed it ready for my flight tonight. It's an outfit I like to think of as 'old and trusty'. It's a green spotty dress and I have worn it to 2 other weddings but luckily noone from either of those 2 will be at this one. Result. I slathered on some smelly fake tan this morning to take the blue chill off my pins, so as I don't scare people.

Ah ye Gods of time, I cannot believe it is only 3:15. I am not allowed out of here until 4, which yes I know is good but I am having a dull old day. A little old lady phoned me up a minute ago looking for a 'little cottage' to rent and I was like, no my dear we don't have one but if we did I would GIVE you one as you are so lovely and sound like a proper Granny. So sweet. I do like dealing with the public, most of the time. They can be cute.

Right. Plan of action then at 4 is leave here - go to the bank - go home - shower - finish packing - feed cat - empty smelly kitchen bin - try to remember to water the plants - get my Dad to take me to the airport - get on plane - get to Southampton - have a lovely tea cooked by my amazing mother-in-law... and relax. Let's hope it all goes according to plan.

Lazy

2008-01-23T14:10:00.000Z

Gah. I'm feeling so bad and lazy, I haven't blogged for ages, January 2008 is my lamest month yet, by a long shot.

I am off to Southampton and Winchester this weekend for the wedding of the lovely Katy G and her Doctor Jan. My sister & brother in law will be around as well so I will hopefully have the chance to meet up for a meal with them while we're over. Then we're back to Gsy on Sunday. I still haven't decided what to wear to the wedding. It is hard, as it is cold outside, and a coat will be needed, but then again we will be spending most of the day inside either at the Church or at the Reception so I don't knooooooow. There's the trusty green spotty, but I'm feeling a bit chumba wumba for that, or the new sexy black sparkles, or I have a beige jacket/gold skirt combo that looks OK, but is maybe a tad too summery. BAH.

We had to give our cat a bath this week. Oh. My. God. You would have thought we were lowering her into an acme cat mincing machine as we put her into the tub. What a little diva. I ended up scatched to shit, and she was properly pissed off with us all night. She had come into the house stinking of poo and had obviously rolled in some or something, so it really really needed to be done. I felt cruel, and a horrbile person for doing it though, I can tell you. I put a hot water bottle in her catbed for her afterwards which kept her damp fur nice and warm anyway.

I am sad that the lovely, delectable, tortured Heath Ledger has died, that is really horrid news. His new Batman film is still coming out in the summer so that will be really weird, and it will probably do amazingly well and have a huge cult status, like the Crow did because Brandon Lee was shot during the filming.

Right. Well, houses to sell and all that. Laters...

What Ho

2008-01-09T14:29:00.000Z

So what am I doing today? I am at work as usual, and have just come back to my desk following a mosey around town and then a quite tasty philadelphia roll. The bread was a bit stale so I put it in the microwave for a few seconds. . amazing how that always works. So far in the sales I have just bought two dresses, from Warehouse, one was £13.50 and the other was £14.99. God I love a bargain. One is a long satiny dark blue patterned halter neck maxi dress and the other is a black knee length evening dress that is like ruched satin with lots of silver beads around the neckline. Interested?? This blog is supposed to be the minutiae of my life you know.

The very sweet girl I work with has today announced that she is pregnant, which is lovely. She is a tiny thing, think Kylie-esque, with no meat on her bones at all and she is beginning to develop the faintest little pot belly. It's all very cute. My boss eyed me swiftly and asked if I was preggers as well, but I am not. I think he thought I would be the one to get up the spout first, but I know I still want to wait a while. There's no rush.

Since we got back to Guernsey I have been oh so lazy so there's not really much to tell you. Working.. shopping... hacking apart the Christmas tree and putting it into bin sacks... watching all the Christmas TV we recorded, that's about it really. I've been cooking a lot of fish - Guernsey skate, whiting, king prawns, nummy.

So while we were away, we caught up in Winchester with the lovely Katy G who is getting married in 2 1/2 weeks time. Can't wait for the wedding and incase you're wondering I am thinking the black spangly dress perhaps, with a silver bag and shoes. We met her and Jan for lunch at the Wykeham Arms, and also saw her family as we stopped for a cup of tea at their house later on. We also had a night out in Winchester, with my sister in law Holly and her friends who all work at the Hotel du Vin. It was a bit weird going for a night out there, to my old haunts from when I lived there when I was 18, but it was good fun, I just felt really old seeing the Art students doing what I used to do!

Southampton was mainly seeing Nick's family and chilling out, I had a cold and had to sleep for a couple of days there. We spent New Year's Eve in Steve's fantastic bachelor pad house that is the coolest house, complete with pool tables, funky disco lighting and fireworks. I borrowed a brown suede minidress from Nick's Mum that I wore with some hideously flower power trousers and a headband. Nick went as a 1970's cowboy cop, I'm not really sure what he was supposed to be.

Swansea was just lovely, I really enjoyed spending time with my 5 1/2 month old nephews. They were farting, pooing, burping, laughing, little things and I wish we could have spent longer with them. So cute, and also so identical, although you can tell them apart as Ro is bigger than Ralphie at the moment. Suzi & Simon were well, and now their house is finally finished (they built it from scratch) they have a gorgeous home to bring up the boys in.

We only spent one night in Kennerleigh, Devon, as Nick was quite ill and had to sleep, so we didn't go to the House of Marbles, we will have to save that for next time.

All in all, I ate far too much food and spent far too much money over Christmas, but I think that's what it's all about eh.

2008, Don't be Late

2008-01-02T14:48:00.000Z

It's the New Year, on a Plate.
What's the problem mate?
Don't ya like my rhyming slate?

Inspired by Bret & Jemaine.

Hullo, how are you? I am fine. I am back in the isle of pies, eating lots of the mince variety. I flew back in sunny skies yesterday, on my lonesome, and spent the afternoon baking mincepies, jam tarts, mowing the lawn, dusting, hoovering and also sorting out my makeup/accessories drawer. (The sorting alone took about an hour, terrible isn't it. I'm such a hoarder.) So I'm back at work today, keeping busy! I spent last night eating my homemade treats and watching schmaltzy waltzy lovely Jane Austin scrumptiousness on the telly.

My Christmas travels went fairly smoothly, apart from nearly being weed on by a tomcat and picking up a virulent cold. My wee nephews are totally ADORABLE and I want to eat them up, om nom nom. We took loads of video, which I am not clever enough to put on the internet, but if my husband gets around to putting it online I will link to it later on.

So what presents did everyone get? I got some good, some interesting. Was especially 'interested' in the grand piano shaped CD player that Maggie got us. Hmmmm! Mustn't be rude. My favourite was a lovely most gorgeous Chloe handbag from my dearest. He knows how to please his little wifey.

++++++++*+++

2007-12-21T10:46:00.001Z

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*MERRY CHRISTMAS*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

to everyone! Lots of love and festive thoughts to you all, have a good one and see you in 2008!

I'm off to the UK tonight so this is a final blog, probably. We're doing Southampton, Swansea and Devon, seeing my in-laws, my big sis, her husband & the twins, plus my Dad and his partner. WEEEEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEE! Can't wait. Just got to get through a final morning of work, the obligatory work Christmas lunch out then we're off.

Mistletoe and Wine

2007-12-17T14:09:00.000Z

Ah so I am feeling quite Chrismassy today. I have just booked a table at the gorgeous Wykeham Arms pub for this coming Saturday in Winchester, as we will be over in the UK by then! It really is the nicest pub in the world, roaring log fires and heaps of olde English charm, ahhhhhhh. I am limbering up.

Had a great weekend. Took it easy Friday then went to two xmas house parties on Saturday night, after a day of final shopping and tidying. My cousin hosted the first one we went to, then I drove to our friends Tinny & Sarahs in the Vale and joined the festivities there. I got drunk really quickly (I had obviously had to drive from the first one and was sober as a judge while watching my husband get steadily rat arsed by the minute) in order to catch up. Good night! No drunken injuries you will be pleased to hear, just a rather apocalyptic hangover on the Sunday. I managed to crawl out of bed and had Rachel around to watch Transformers. We were all really disappointed that there was no song - "transformers... robots in disguise" in the film. Booooo.

We finished watching Flight of the Conchords which is really sad, I loved that series so much. We are now working our way through the Box of Delights, which is just the most Chrismassy thing ever and is helping get us in the spirit. My husband watched it as a child and although he loves it, it has given him a lifelong fear of wolves/werewolves. And you can see why... this is from the opening titles:

It is a bit flipping scary.

* _ * _ * _ * _ * _

2007-12-14T14:27:00.000Z

I'm not going to make up blog titles any more as it is just so silly, I can't think of anything.

So I finished Confessor, by Terry Goodkind. I was a bit disappointed to be honest. I really loved his earlier books but his latest are just infested with dire monologues that go on for pages and pages. I am glad I have finished, and can get on to pastures new. I think I said before, but I've started reading the Susan Cooper series, which are childrens books and kind of remind me of the Chronicles of Narnia, in the way in which they are written. I've also gotten out of the library a book by George RR Martin, apparentely he writes similarly to Donaldson and Tolkein, so hopefully I will like it a lot.

Just a quiet night in tonight. Then tomorrow two Christmas parties to go to in one night. I could use a time-turner like Hermione had, modified so that it sobered me up between the two.

I popped home at lunchtime and Molly snuck into the lounge and under the Christmas tree. I have left her there as she really really likes it under the tree. If ever I can't find her at the moment I know where to look!

There is talk of going to Herm island on Sunday. However, it will be cold so I don't know. If the tides are right we were thinking of taking our boat Jeannie plus Laurie's rib so we can get a fair few over. We shall see.

Work is dire, I shall say no more.

All dressed up and nowhere to go!

2007-12-10T12:12:00.000Z

So we woke up on Saturday morning and it was howling wind and rain. As we lurked under the covers we didn't relish the thought of getting out of bed, let alone flying to Jersey.

We packed our bags, then Nick called Alice, who was supposed to be flying out of the island a couple of hours before we did. She was stuck at the airport, nothing was flying out. We phoned the airline and asked them what our chances were of leaving the island. They basically drew in a big breath and shook their heads sadly at us. They did say there might be a 'window' later if the winds changed, but there was now a big backlogue of flights before us so they couldn't say for sure. We decided to cancel the flights, because of that and also the problem that if we did make it then we could easily be stuck the next day as the winds were supposed to be even stronger on Sunday and we wouldn't be able to get back.

So there were 8 of us with our party frocks/tuxedos and nowhere to go. I did the phone around and managed to find a restaurant that had had a last minute cancellation and could fit us in. We dashed to M&S and bought nibbles, and then had everyone around to ours for drinks before heading into town to the restaurant. We ended up at La Perla, which was pretty appauling and we were completely over dressed, but what the hell. Then we found some bar for more drinks and later on a few came back to ours. We were pretty wasted, I thought it would be a good idea to show people this video which I found funny, but now I'm a little concerned people will think I'm a total swinging sex beast. Hey! Watch celebrities having sex! Dear oh dear.

We both had a massive hangover yesterday, no surprise, and now Nick thinks he's properly ill cos he's got a really sore throat. And yesterday we had a huge problem with our electrics, as something is making the upstairs lights ping off, and they're taking all the electrics in the rest of the house with them. So we've just had to turn them off until we figure out the problem, and I had to shower by candlelight this morning, which actually was rather nice.

Wet Hair

2007-12-07T15:02:00.000Z

. . . And trousers, is what I have. It is one of those days that is chock full of weather. One minute it's eye watering sunshine, the next it's big dark heavy clouds, buckets of rain, and the wind! Well, its coming in a westerly and luckily we're sheltered here on the East coast but I was on the phone to a friend up in the north of the island this morning and he was worried that bits were going to fall off his house!

I drove along the sea front an hour or so ago and there were about a million white horses between Guernsey and Herm island. God I love being so close to the sea, it's all so awesome and dramatic. I do, however, feel extremely nervous that I'm supposed to be flying on a small aeroplane to Jersey tomorrow in force 9 winds. We will see what happens!!

Confessor!

2007-12-07T09:44:00.000Z

I am dancing a little virtual jig as I finally have my hands on a copy of Confessor, the last book in a series of 12 I've been reading by Terry Goodkind. It got published a couple of weeks ago and my copy arrived at the library that I had reserved about a decade ago it feels. Well I finally have it!! And I stayed up late last night devouring it, I read about a fifth of it. (It is quite a large book, that is a lot of reading.)

In other news, I have been feeling generally tired and passive and in need of a lot of sleep. I am off tomorrow on a plane to Jersey for a Christmas party and I pick up my dress this afternoon (remember the one I drew a few posts ago). I am wearing bright red nail polish and a green top, festive or what. (Don't say 'what', it looks festive, honestly.) OK, more later if my boss goes out.

Office shenanigans

2007-12-03T12:30:00.000Z

So, a lady left the office for good last week, she is off to OZ to live. We are not replacing her at the moment and I have moved from one side of the office to the other and have her old desk. It is much better as I am:

1. Not right next to the door and all the cold draftiness.
2. Sat next to a warm radiator.
3. Not right in a window so I don't get stared at by weird men walking past.

So all in all a good move. She also had a much better printer/scanner than I did so I stole that as well. I think we need to do the Christmas decs this afternoon, I am going to try to persuade my boss to get the big box of treats out from under the stairs.

Nick was away at the weekend at the Royal Television Society Awards in Plymouth and he won an award!! It was for the documentary he made about a local couple who have 12 children and another one on the way. He won one last year as well in a different category so this shows that he is good allrounder. Anyway it's great news and I am very proud indeed.

I had my first go on a Wii at the weekend. We played the basic sports games that come with the consule and they were great fun. I especially liked the tennis one, it was definitely the most violent. I also did a LOAD of Christmas shopping on Saturday and had a really nice night out in Christies on Saturday night. There was an incredible woman singer who was like Erykah Badu, gorgeous voice, and we all danced around in there. On Sunday I felt hungover but managed some housework and then went around to my Dad's and we dug out all my old school reports and ancient family photos. 'We have had to move Samantha away from other classmates of a similarly chatty nature!' Not much changes then.

My Dad has recently converted the garage into a spare bedroom/library and small utility room, and he has started to bring the books down from the attic and fill the shelves up. He has always collected Sci Fi/Fantasy books, since the 1970's and has over 3000. I have missed them while they've been up in the attic and am so pleased to see them again. I've borrowed 'Over Sea, Under Stone' by Susan Cooper and am devouring it.

Loaf of Bread Cat

2007-11-29T13:46:00.001Z

Parom Pom Pom

2007-11-28T11:33:00.000Z

Hiya. So I appear to have lost my husband to the weird virtual world that is 'Second Life'. This is an online world with literally millions of people logged on and they all interact with each other. You create an avatar, or character, and go flying around cities exploring cool stuff. It is very freaky but I can see how it could be very very addictive. I spent about an hour tweaking Nicks characters face to make it look like him.

I had to go to a work do last night for one of our local advocates firms. Wasn't as boring as last year, but that could be cos I decided to drink lots of wine this time around. There were nibbles.

Also this week we went to our friends Sue & Laurie's gorgeous cottage out on the west coast for a meal. She has this hot plate thing made of stone that you put in the middle of the table and then you chuck meat & fish on it. It has a grill underneath and you each have a tiny frying pan that we loaded with cheese and put under, It was great fun, although very messy and there were a few plate smashes/drink spillages by the end of the night! It got quite hot though and we had to open all the windows as we sat around the table.

Nick is away this weekend as he is up for another RTS award. He won one last year and this time around he is up in a different category which is the documentary one. It would be awesome if he won it! While he is away I have a Wii night planned round at a mates, I have never been on a Wii and am very excited. I also am going around to my Dad's for tea on Sunday and we are going to get out loads of old photos and have a laugh looking through them.

My sister's little twins, Rowan & Ralph, have not been very well and had to go into hospital : (
They have had this nasty brochalitis thing which makes it hard to breathe and because they were not eating they had to be monitored and fed by a drip. Poor things. Rowan is back at home now but Ralphie is still in. Suz is staying with Ralphie and sleeping at the hospital while Si as at home with Row. Poor Simon has a food poisoning so they are all under the weather. I so wish I was there to help! I wish they lived closer.

Well, that's all I can think of to write for now, hope you are all well my blogging chums! xxx

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2007-11-23T16:45:00.000Z

What ho. Ten to five on a Friday, my stomach is grumbling, I'm out of scrabulous moves and I want to go home. I have spent the entire day feeling vaguely sick and sleepy after a Christies drinking session last night and I just want a log fire and a bar of dairy milk, in that order.

I have been rereading the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon and marvelling at how completely great it is, thinking that it would have been amazing to have lived through that culture and how something that was written so long ago can be just so entirely brilliant and true. The stuff it contains is so true today. For instance when Shonagon writes a list of things that she dislikes, and one of them is 'the inside of a cat's ear'. I inspected Molly's after reading that and it was black and sticky looking. Not nice at all.

Possible Prom Party Outfit!

2007-11-19T14:01:00.000Z

Eeeeh! I am excited. I found a red and white polka dot dress at the fancy dress shop that I am going to wear for this 50's prom party I'm going to. So, then I went on Ebay and bought these white shoes, and a pink cardie with bowtie buttons (close up below) to go with it. The dress comes with a headband and an original 1950's petticoat. I now just need a bag to go with. I'm thinking shiny bright red or white vinyl...

This is my artistic impression of what I will look like in it. I have made my boobs bigger and waist smaller, that is what is called artistic licence.

Can't hear myself think right now

2007-11-19T11:10:00.000Z

So, outside of my office there are two burly workmen digging up the footbath - with pneumatic drills. I can feel the vibrations through my desk/keyboard and can't hear a damn thing. We are having to shout across the office to one another. A great Monday morning!!

SoooOOOooooo, the weekend has again passed by... I worked on Sat morning then had a big house clean in the afternoon then popped into town for some Christmas shopping. I managed to get a fair amount done. I also took delivery of a rather large box which contained a cross trainer machine that Nick had ordered. He assembled it yesterday while I was asleep in bed. It is rather large and annoying to look out, but it strengthens my argument that we need a piano so...

On Saturday night we had the most fabulous meal out, at Christophes restaurant, which has a Michelin star and is very posh and la de da. It was a friends 30th and he wanted to try the 'Gourmand' menu which is 7 courses with different wines all included. OK it wasn't cheap, but we were there for a good 4 1/2 hours eating and drinking so all in all not too bad for £50. So, what did we have?

On sitting down at the table we were all presented with a small blue cheese profiterole and a green lipped mussel on a silver spoon. This was to get the tastebuds going. Then, they came around with a sweet white dessert wine. This was to go with course no.1 - fois gras in a creme caramel sauce with a sweet cinnamon biscuit. It was delicious and my favourite course.

Course No.2 was a small portion of lobster rissotto with a white Chablis - very very nice.
Then we each were given a small coffee cup filled with a white creamy bean soup with truffle oil. Again, really beautiful but I could have downed a pint of the stuff.

Course 4 was the main course and was venison in a wild mushroom sauce with a kind of cheesy pureed pumpkin roulade on the side. Awesome. This came with a gorgeous red rioca.

After this was the cheese round - Oh, the cheese round! The waitress came out with a trolley with about 20 incredibly stinky interesting cheeses on it and asked all in turn what kind of cheese we liked and then made up an individual array of cheese to suit. I said I liked everything and ended up with a really stinky Rocquefort, a goats cheese, a cheese from the Champagne region of France, a very rich Brie sort of one and I can't remember the last. We ate this with a glass of port, grapes, walnuts and homemade biscuits. Nick had a cheese that was literally grey in colour and couldn't eat it - it was so strong.

Then we each were given an ice cold shot of passionfruit juice with ginger. Very refreshing. By this stage we were all getting a bit full and sweaty and having to pop out for cigarette breaks.

The final food round was a sort of pear cheesecake with a blackberry sorbet. It came with a sweet Italian red wine - very unusual and quite similar to the port in taste. This was perhaps my least favourite course as I'm not a huge fan of sorbet -too cold!! After that we had coffees/teas and homemade chocolate truffles and biscuits.

So that was my meal out, if anyone is thinking of doing the meal there I would recommend it, you can see what we had was amazing but they change it in line with what is in season.

Soooooooooooooo Sleepy...

2007-11-12T16:39:00.000Z

I am absolutely falling asleep at my desk.

Reason being is that I got up early this morning in a French house(!!) and had to get to the airport really earlyish. Then I had to fly home here to Guernsey, on Joey the little yellow plane(!!!) which rocked, then peg it here into work by 10:15am. I haven't had a lunch break and I am so completely full of yawns it's not true. Ahhh, but I had a lovely time, and that is what counts. My husband has the day off today, as do several of our friends, and when I spoke to him an hour ago they were all at our house drinking cups of tea which is very frustrating. Boo.

I have been in Dinan! That is in Brittany, and not too far from St Malo. In fact we arrived in St Malo on Friday evening and the ferry crossing was in fact OK. I took my stugeron and didn't feel ill at all. We were staying in Lanvallet, which is across a big viaduct from the walled town of Dinan and a 10 minute walk to the main shops and restaurants. It is very quiet and extremely pretty. Our friends parents have a farmhouse and they let us have it for the weekend. They also have a large wine cellar which we enjoyed rather a lot. We visited the very cool city of Rennes on Saturday, where I found a L'Occitaine shop, yum, and also an Espirit clothes shop where I bought a great top. We ate a lot of food, walked round a busy French market, listened to Samba, then went to a big Intermarche and bought a shitload of king prawns and had a big feast. We played lots of charades, did a big walk along the river and ate bucketloads of moules. I will put some pics up when Nick sorts them out for me!

Well, writing this is killing the final half hour of the working day thank goodness. I have to pop to the fancy dress shop and see if they have 50's prom dresses, as we have a prom night themed party in Jersey next month, then I have to go home and drink tea and collapse. ZZzzzzzzz.....