The first weekend in August was a bit of a drag because I had work and one of my patient's who I'd become very close to didn't make it but that meant that August could only get better. And it did. And continued to do so...
So the second weekend in August I had booked off months in advance to go to Dorset to do a marine mammal medic course. I got up at 5am on the Saturday and drove down to a village called Charmouth in Dorset. It is on what is called the Jurassic coast and it is beautiful coastline with stunnig cliffs and sandy beaches on which there are numerous fossils (not that I saw any that day since I didn't go looking in the places where you always find them but apparently they're there and for the taking and I can say this must be true since I saw genuine fossils in a shop seel for only a few pounds). It was a beautiful, clear sunny day and I got there early and sat on the beach for a while. At that time it wasn't crowded so it was lovely. And I looked in the shop at the fossils and was blown away by these ancient things (mainly ammonites which I recognised from the computer game "Eggsucker" - who said you don't learn much from mindnumbing computer games?).
I then went to lectures and met some lovely girls from a town nearby who were really surprised that I'd driven 2.5-3 hours for just the day and only come up that morning (seems I'm not Britainised yet where distances are concerned) We had lectures that morning on marine mammals and how to deal with strandings of cetaceans, first aid and also how to handle and examine seals. I loved it! Then we headed out after lunch on the beach for a practical which involved refloating a fake pilot whale and a fake dolphin and capturing and examine a fake grey seal. Loved it. Loved being in the ocean again and realised I hadn't been in the ocean since February and had missed it. The water was warm (in my 5mm full wetsuit and booties) and it was a beautiful sunny day and I felt downright pleased! It was quite entertaining also having the onlookers thinking the pilot whale was real and coming up to check what was happening. Since part of the course was how you have to deal with the public, I thought that was a nice touch that the public put in for us and they didn't even know they were doing it!
That night I drove back so that I could go to Lisa's birthday party but as you could imagine, I was exhausted and fell asleep well before anyone. I have now stunned Lisa and Jodie who I work with because they are surprise someone can sleep leaning against a wall and another time, in a nightclub on a seat. What can I say, I like my sleep and I won't compromise it for waiting for somehwere more comfortable!
The following weekend I spent with the girl's from work. Partied with Jodie and Lisa yet again but then on the Saturday night I had Amy over for dinner since I was to be away when she had he 21st birthday party. I cooked lasagne (one of the dishes I can actually do and well) and we had a great night. Eliza came to dinner too and I made garlic bread and a hastily prepared cake made of two vienettas stuck together and 21 candles saying 21. Then we hit the town of Wolverhampton and danced the night away at Reflex. Whenever we didn't like a song at Reflex, we'd simply go over the road to another bar for a bit of a dance.
Went home at close. The following day another rest day. Went to the movies with Eliza (it's become out thing to do).
The last weekend of August was a blast because Emma and I travelled to Malta. The reason for this was Em wanted a bit more diving experience before we went to the Red Sea so we took a four day weekend and flew to Malta for some fun in the sun and underwater.
And man was it good to get underwater again!! Not much in the way of fish life or anything compared to what I'd seen before but as anyone who's been diving with me knows, I wasn't really that fussed (although the octopus was wicked!). It was just so nice to be underwater again and feel the sensation of drifting around totally relaxed (although because dodgy dive operation the ends of the dives weren't as relaxed as I kept finding myself checking my computer) and not really thinking of anything in particular and being off in my own little world. Anyone who hasn't tried it really should. We saw a wreck which was really cool because I hadn't seen one that was so obviously a wreck before. Where you actually feel like you are exploring a boat. We also saw a diving monument underwater and when I said it was funny to see a monument underwater, the people working at the dive shop said there were a few around the island, but not specifically for diving. There is apparently one of the virgin Mary that people take flower down to regularly (I'm sure the flower remain in good condition at depth in salty water - thought that counts I suppose) and they also told me that there is a big statue of Jesus at 40m at one spot. I would assume I was narked I reckon!
Each night Em and I would got out to dinner and each night have cocktails at the bar by the pool and watch the sunset and enjoy the fireworks. Yes, fireworks. There are fireworks several times a day in Malta in Summer and we weren't sure why but possibly it is because they are paying respect to different saints at that time of year. We never actually found out for sure.I was pretty excited on the first day but at midday on the last day, it just started to make me laugh.
Our last night in Malta started out with the usual: Cocktails by the pool, then a couple of Cisks (Maltese beer) then off to dinner (where I had the BEST calzone ever!). After dinner we got back to the hotel to get ready to hit the town because we had received information from a local source that there was a place called "Partyville" where we could find lots of bars. By "local source" I mean a fourteen year old Norwegian boy who had moved to Malta 4 months before and seemed to know more that we did about where to find a bar.
Really it goes without saying that us 30 year old women had slightly different tastes in bars than Magnus. We knew we were going out on a limb taking advice from a 14 year old but then who could pass up visiting a place called "Partyville". After two drinks we left "Partyville" (which we found out was actually called Paceville (but to Magnus' credit is pronounced Parchaville by the Maltese - I suppose one hears what one wishes to hear).
So we had a day by the pool the next day before enjoying queues at airports and flying out. All in all a great weekend. And a great finish to August.
Now it's September and I have procrastinated packing properly but now have to do it. I am very excited but worried I won't get it all in my pack. In four days Emma, Snoozy, Becky and I will be in Egypt and I am planning to have the trip of my life in Africa!
But before that I have a few tearful farewells...
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Sunday, September 9, 2007
I turn 30!!!! My birthday week.
Didn't really travel in July but the highlight was the fact that I turned 30 and loved it!
Basically I celebrated my birthday over about 8 days.
It started on Friday 6th when Ellen arrived from Oslo. I picked her up from Wolverhampton railway station and we chatted and chatted again and had a lot of catching up to do (again) andI got presents from the whole family in Norway which I really didn't expect. I had forgotten how much fun birthdays are until then. I was so surprised because I'd actually forgotten about the present bit and was just looking forward to catching up with friends. I am currently wearing the T-shirt Ellen gave me and I believe I am still wearing the 2.5kg of Norwegian chocolate I was also given (and ate within the birthday week). I also got a scarf from Mamma and Tor and a beautiful necklace from Ellen that is in the shape of a heart.
The next day I had planned a get together of friends at Simon's place for a BBQ and Ellen and I were to get there early to make salad and help set up. Despite having rained for a month (and it started raining again a few days later), it was perfect, sunny BBQ weather. My expectation when Si offered to have the party at his place was to simply rock up and have some mates over for a bit of a BBQ with everyone bringing their own meat and grog. Simon had other ideas though and had bedecked the place with "happy 30th" siiver ribbon in the backyard and over the front door, Also there were helium balloons by the BBQ and a big silver happy 30th balloon weighted by a dolphin. On getting there, he informed me that the garage door wasn't working so if I needed anything from there I had to ask him. Durr Sally who usually spots a surprise a mile off did not twig that he had bubbly in the fridge for me. Even though other people seemed to be ok to come and go through that same door all day.
Surprises abounded. Chris and Nat and Simon and Carla from uni arrived first. I was really lucky because Simon and Carla had only arrived back from their travels of Europe the day before and I hadn't seen them since December 2005. It was great that Nat put in the effort to come across since she was 7 months pregnant at the time. They came bearing chocolate birthday cake with Maltesers on top. Oh, what a perfect choice for me!
Next to arrive was Amy and Eliza from work and we had the BBQ well underway. Then to my great surprise Ben (who had told me a month in advance that he could not come) rocked up! It was fabulous. He had presents for me that involved great books about travel (one absolutely beautiful one about unforgettable journeys) and yes, you guessed it, more chocolate. He also gave me a badge that said "buy me a drink, 21st" which I think might be the reason a guy of about 20 tried to kiss me a few hours later.
Emma was the last but not least to arrive. She also surprised me with a present. Another book and beautiful one too. It is all about dive sites in the world and ratings for them. I studied it in the sun the next day looking forward to the Red Sea and the diving off east Africa.
Then Si was to surprise me yet again by giving me presents. Considering he'd asked me three days before what I wanted and I actually believed him, I was genuinely surprised. A necklace and a dive knife - love them both.
Then we hit the town of Moseley. Went to the pub, Drift, and chilled and chatted for a bit until close. Then Amy, Eliza, Chris, Nat, Simon and Carla all went home to bed and Ellen, Em and Si and I went clubbing (Ben had already gone). We danced until close. For some reason the others kept putting new drinks in my hand but I swear at the end of the night I was less drunk than they were.
Got home and Ellen flaked first while we drank G&Ts and I tried to teach Em how to speak Norwegian while sucking helium. Si passed out second, Em flaked third and Me the party animal at 30 was last to hit the sack (and I might say the first to rise the next day).
The next day was chilled with left over BBQ and Wimbledon finals. Em and Ellen and I all left late and Em headed to London while Ellen and I headed back to Wombourne. Unfortunately the next day I had to say goodbye to Ellen when I went to work since she was flying out already.
All week I got cards and emails and messages wishing me a happy birthday and it was so nice. Thank you everyone. I love you too! Mum and Dad sent me the most memorable present. Everyone thought it quite amusing.
On the Thursday I got phone calls from Oz and went out with Jo and Jodie and Lisa from work and Si joined and we went to a quiz night and came a memorable last. My excuse is that the questions were all British. Work gave me a calendar which is very interesting to look at and also a voucher to go to the theatre so I plan to use it to go to westend with Snoozy.
The next weekend was my second birthday bash weekend. Basically my friend Snooze couldn't make it the week before so I planned to catch up with her. She emailed me during the week to find out my favourite foods and what I didn't like and made a very special dinner for me . So I got to her place on the Saturday in early afternoon and found her cooking up a storm and she had also made me chocolate cake!!! Snoozy's parent's and her boyfriend Ronnie and I all enjoyed the Thai that Snooze had made especially. It was fab and fun and relaxed. And I got yet MORE presents. A bag and a jewellery box (which I thought was a fab present since I got two necklaces for my birthday and so therefore was suddenly in need of one) and yet more chocolate!!! There seemed to be a theme occurring.
That night there was a "Queen" tribute concert on in Oundle (the village where Snoozy lives) so we headed in to gatecrash that and caught the last few songs (all the well known ones) and the fireworks display at the end. And given I LOVE fireworks, it was the perfect end to my birthday week.
The next day I left Snoozy's late with the knowledge that I have the most fabulous friends and family in the world. A few days later a parcel came and in it was a present from my sister and my two best friend's, Rachelle and Angela. It is the best present ever because it is a UV water steriliser for my trip to Africa (and later beyond) which will make life so much easier for me.
OK enough of the gushy blog to gab on about how fantastic my birthday was and how lucky I am to have such fab friends. But I do.
I will write about the rest of July and about August and September on another day. I have to go badger watching!
Basically I celebrated my birthday over about 8 days.
It started on Friday 6th when Ellen arrived from Oslo. I picked her up from Wolverhampton railway station and we chatted and chatted again and had a lot of catching up to do (again) andI got presents from the whole family in Norway which I really didn't expect. I had forgotten how much fun birthdays are until then. I was so surprised because I'd actually forgotten about the present bit and was just looking forward to catching up with friends. I am currently wearing the T-shirt Ellen gave me and I believe I am still wearing the 2.5kg of Norwegian chocolate I was also given (and ate within the birthday week). I also got a scarf from Mamma and Tor and a beautiful necklace from Ellen that is in the shape of a heart.
The next day I had planned a get together of friends at Simon's place for a BBQ and Ellen and I were to get there early to make salad and help set up. Despite having rained for a month (and it started raining again a few days later), it was perfect, sunny BBQ weather. My expectation when Si offered to have the party at his place was to simply rock up and have some mates over for a bit of a BBQ with everyone bringing their own meat and grog. Simon had other ideas though and had bedecked the place with "happy 30th" siiver ribbon in the backyard and over the front door, Also there were helium balloons by the BBQ and a big silver happy 30th balloon weighted by a dolphin. On getting there, he informed me that the garage door wasn't working so if I needed anything from there I had to ask him. Durr Sally who usually spots a surprise a mile off did not twig that he had bubbly in the fridge for me. Even though other people seemed to be ok to come and go through that same door all day.
Surprises abounded. Chris and Nat and Simon and Carla from uni arrived first. I was really lucky because Simon and Carla had only arrived back from their travels of Europe the day before and I hadn't seen them since December 2005. It was great that Nat put in the effort to come across since she was 7 months pregnant at the time. They came bearing chocolate birthday cake with Maltesers on top. Oh, what a perfect choice for me!
Next to arrive was Amy and Eliza from work and we had the BBQ well underway. Then to my great surprise Ben (who had told me a month in advance that he could not come) rocked up! It was fabulous. He had presents for me that involved great books about travel (one absolutely beautiful one about unforgettable journeys) and yes, you guessed it, more chocolate. He also gave me a badge that said "buy me a drink, 21st" which I think might be the reason a guy of about 20 tried to kiss me a few hours later.
Emma was the last but not least to arrive. She also surprised me with a present. Another book and beautiful one too. It is all about dive sites in the world and ratings for them. I studied it in the sun the next day looking forward to the Red Sea and the diving off east Africa.
Then Si was to surprise me yet again by giving me presents. Considering he'd asked me three days before what I wanted and I actually believed him, I was genuinely surprised. A necklace and a dive knife - love them both.
Then we hit the town of Moseley. Went to the pub, Drift, and chilled and chatted for a bit until close. Then Amy, Eliza, Chris, Nat, Simon and Carla all went home to bed and Ellen, Em and Si and I went clubbing (Ben had already gone). We danced until close. For some reason the others kept putting new drinks in my hand but I swear at the end of the night I was less drunk than they were.
Got home and Ellen flaked first while we drank G&Ts and I tried to teach Em how to speak Norwegian while sucking helium. Si passed out second, Em flaked third and Me the party animal at 30 was last to hit the sack (and I might say the first to rise the next day).
The next day was chilled with left over BBQ and Wimbledon finals. Em and Ellen and I all left late and Em headed to London while Ellen and I headed back to Wombourne. Unfortunately the next day I had to say goodbye to Ellen when I went to work since she was flying out already.
All week I got cards and emails and messages wishing me a happy birthday and it was so nice. Thank you everyone. I love you too! Mum and Dad sent me the most memorable present. Everyone thought it quite amusing.
On the Thursday I got phone calls from Oz and went out with Jo and Jodie and Lisa from work and Si joined and we went to a quiz night and came a memorable last. My excuse is that the questions were all British. Work gave me a calendar which is very interesting to look at and also a voucher to go to the theatre so I plan to use it to go to westend with Snoozy.
The next weekend was my second birthday bash weekend. Basically my friend Snooze couldn't make it the week before so I planned to catch up with her. She emailed me during the week to find out my favourite foods and what I didn't like and made a very special dinner for me . So I got to her place on the Saturday in early afternoon and found her cooking up a storm and she had also made me chocolate cake!!! Snoozy's parent's and her boyfriend Ronnie and I all enjoyed the Thai that Snooze had made especially. It was fab and fun and relaxed. And I got yet MORE presents. A bag and a jewellery box (which I thought was a fab present since I got two necklaces for my birthday and so therefore was suddenly in need of one) and yet more chocolate!!! There seemed to be a theme occurring.
That night there was a "Queen" tribute concert on in Oundle (the village where Snoozy lives) so we headed in to gatecrash that and caught the last few songs (all the well known ones) and the fireworks display at the end. And given I LOVE fireworks, it was the perfect end to my birthday week.
The next day I left Snoozy's late with the knowledge that I have the most fabulous friends and family in the world. A few days later a parcel came and in it was a present from my sister and my two best friend's, Rachelle and Angela. It is the best present ever because it is a UV water steriliser for my trip to Africa (and later beyond) which will make life so much easier for me.
OK enough of the gushy blog to gab on about how fantastic my birthday was and how lucky I am to have such fab friends. But I do.
I will write about the rest of July and about August and September on another day. I have to go badger watching!
June 2007
Since it is now September when I am writing this I am glad I kept a journal. Thought I'd fill it in in case anyone's interested since I do go to Egypt at the end of the week.
So I went to Oslo to visit Ellen and Dag. It wasn't a touristy thing for me to do at all. Rather a catch up. It was so lovely to see them and weird that after only a short few hours I was in a country speaking a different language and eating different foods and feeling immersed straight away into the Norwegian culture and just for a weekend. It was a weekend of chit-chat and catching up and drinking wine through the night while until the sun came up (not hard in Norway in June since it was probably around 1 or 2 am that this event occurs). We went for a walk in the forest nearby and Ellen showed me the school where she has been working for years and it was lovely to see how she and Dag had renovated there house which used to belong to Farmor (my host-father's mother). Before leaving, Ellen and I booked Ellen a flight to visit me in England for the weekend I was celebrating my birthday so it was not a sad farewell knowing we's see each other a month later.
I had to work a lot of Saturdays in June so I didn't travel much but I did do a bit of partying with the girls. I also went for a horseride at my friend Jodie's place (which is in a really beautiful spot) and enjoyed walks and jogs along the rail trail near my house with all the Summer growth making the place even more beautiful.
The one bit of travel I did do in June was to have an impulse trip to Ireland. So I flew to Cork on the Friday and got in at a crazy hour and was tired and checked out the Irish pub seen where I met locals who spoke in an unrecognisable language that I soon discovered was actually English but the Cork version.
The next morning I went to breakfast and met a lovely Spanish guy called Daniel and a hip and fun Aussie girl called Katrina and they were heading off on a guided tour of the region and down to the coast and so naturally I joined them. We hit it off straight away and the countyside was beautiful down there. We had the most unenthusiastic tour guide who knew an amazing amount of trivia about the area (by this I mean we were even told abut how the traffic usually flows during the day around Cork and the best times not to be in it!) but our exuberance on the trip made up for our guide and bus driver.
First stop was a place called Gougane Barra which was set amoung the hills and was a place where the monk who during a pilgrimage found the swamp that is now the town of Cork had retired for contemplative meditation. It was understandable why he chose that spot because it was so beautiful.
Next we went to an island on a ferry called Garinish Island (cool name I thought because when you try to say it it naturally sounds like you've got an Irish accent, something I would love to have but unfortunately can't pull off). This island was amazing because there were beautiful views and it had such fertile soil that seed that had blown from boats using the waters around the island had simply grown so easily and as a result there were so many different types of flora from around the globe including bottlebrush, kangaroo paw and gum trees. There was also bird of paradise. There were seals sitting on rocks off the island and we god good views of them from the ferry.
We then stopped for lunch. Decided we'd have a bit of the local brew together, Katrina ordered us drinks and ordered me a Murphy's figuring since it said it was draught that it was a beer. Good assumption but very wrong. While it was taking a long time to come I kept asking her "are you sure it's not stout because I really don't like stout" to which she replied, "it says draught so it would be beer wouldn't it?" It was a stout and luckily I really enjoyed it and I am glad I tried it while in Ireland.
That night we did an Irish pub crawl and met all sorts of characters. We decided to go to Blarney together the next day and kiss the Blarney Stone. It is meant to give anyone that kisses it the gift of the gab. So we explored Blarney castle while in the queue though the whole castle to the stone.
Then we explored the grounds and druid ring of stones and enjoyed the absolutely gorgeous weather and each other's company exploring this new and fun place.
We said out goodbyes late that evening and I left for the Airport where I had fun waiting for my delayed flight.
The following weekend I caught up with my mate Simon for his birthday and got to put faces to names I had heard him talk loads about. It was a nice relaxed weekend actually because we all went out to the pub the night before his birthday and it was easy and relaxed and it was nice meeting new people. Then the next day there was a BBQ and it was beautiful weather and again just lovely meeting new people and relaxing and not having to be anywhere.
The next weekend I caught up with another of my dive friends when he invitied me to Cannock Chase to see a James Morrison (singer not trumpet player) concert for which he had built the stage. I was actually a bit blown away but the fact that such a thing can be built in such a short time. Ben and I did a lot of catching up backstage (he managed to get me a pass so that I could go wherever he want which was really cool) and then we went in to watch James Morrison when we suddenly noticed the sound of "Undiscovered". It was good fun and a beautiful night. We were going to leave straight after the concert but there was a bus in the waay so Ben couldn't drive me back to my car. Then Ben was going to help move a big semi that was bogged by getting the forklift to tow it and we were walking past the stage when Jame Morrison came down the stairs. He needed something off Ben and bless Ben, he gave me the keys to his car so I could go with James to get it. So James and I had a nice little chat together for a while and that is my experience with someone famous. He's really nice except that he thought I was a kiwi until I set him straight.
So that was my June. Nice and chilled. Onto July when I didn't have to work any Saturdays and generally ahd a great time...
So I went to Oslo to visit Ellen and Dag. It wasn't a touristy thing for me to do at all. Rather a catch up. It was so lovely to see them and weird that after only a short few hours I was in a country speaking a different language and eating different foods and feeling immersed straight away into the Norwegian culture and just for a weekend. It was a weekend of chit-chat and catching up and drinking wine through the night while until the sun came up (not hard in Norway in June since it was probably around 1 or 2 am that this event occurs). We went for a walk in the forest nearby and Ellen showed me the school where she has been working for years and it was lovely to see how she and Dag had renovated there house which used to belong to Farmor (my host-father's mother). Before leaving, Ellen and I booked Ellen a flight to visit me in England for the weekend I was celebrating my birthday so it was not a sad farewell knowing we's see each other a month later.
I had to work a lot of Saturdays in June so I didn't travel much but I did do a bit of partying with the girls. I also went for a horseride at my friend Jodie's place (which is in a really beautiful spot) and enjoyed walks and jogs along the rail trail near my house with all the Summer growth making the place even more beautiful.
The one bit of travel I did do in June was to have an impulse trip to Ireland. So I flew to Cork on the Friday and got in at a crazy hour and was tired and checked out the Irish pub seen where I met locals who spoke in an unrecognisable language that I soon discovered was actually English but the Cork version.
The next morning I went to breakfast and met a lovely Spanish guy called Daniel and a hip and fun Aussie girl called Katrina and they were heading off on a guided tour of the region and down to the coast and so naturally I joined them. We hit it off straight away and the countyside was beautiful down there. We had the most unenthusiastic tour guide who knew an amazing amount of trivia about the area (by this I mean we were even told abut how the traffic usually flows during the day around Cork and the best times not to be in it!) but our exuberance on the trip made up for our guide and bus driver.
First stop was a place called Gougane Barra which was set amoung the hills and was a place where the monk who during a pilgrimage found the swamp that is now the town of Cork had retired for contemplative meditation. It was understandable why he chose that spot because it was so beautiful.
Next we went to an island on a ferry called Garinish Island (cool name I thought because when you try to say it it naturally sounds like you've got an Irish accent, something I would love to have but unfortunately can't pull off). This island was amazing because there were beautiful views and it had such fertile soil that seed that had blown from boats using the waters around the island had simply grown so easily and as a result there were so many different types of flora from around the globe including bottlebrush, kangaroo paw and gum trees. There was also bird of paradise. There were seals sitting on rocks off the island and we god good views of them from the ferry.
We then stopped for lunch. Decided we'd have a bit of the local brew together, Katrina ordered us drinks and ordered me a Murphy's figuring since it said it was draught that it was a beer. Good assumption but very wrong. While it was taking a long time to come I kept asking her "are you sure it's not stout because I really don't like stout" to which she replied, "it says draught so it would be beer wouldn't it?" It was a stout and luckily I really enjoyed it and I am glad I tried it while in Ireland.
That night we did an Irish pub crawl and met all sorts of characters. We decided to go to Blarney together the next day and kiss the Blarney Stone. It is meant to give anyone that kisses it the gift of the gab. So we explored Blarney castle while in the queue though the whole castle to the stone.
Then we explored the grounds and druid ring of stones and enjoyed the absolutely gorgeous weather and each other's company exploring this new and fun place.
We said out goodbyes late that evening and I left for the Airport where I had fun waiting for my delayed flight.
The following weekend I caught up with my mate Simon for his birthday and got to put faces to names I had heard him talk loads about. It was a nice relaxed weekend actually because we all went out to the pub the night before his birthday and it was easy and relaxed and it was nice meeting new people. Then the next day there was a BBQ and it was beautiful weather and again just lovely meeting new people and relaxing and not having to be anywhere.
The next weekend I caught up with another of my dive friends when he invitied me to Cannock Chase to see a James Morrison (singer not trumpet player) concert for which he had built the stage. I was actually a bit blown away but the fact that such a thing can be built in such a short time. Ben and I did a lot of catching up backstage (he managed to get me a pass so that I could go wherever he want which was really cool) and then we went in to watch James Morrison when we suddenly noticed the sound of "Undiscovered". It was good fun and a beautiful night. We were going to leave straight after the concert but there was a bus in the waay so Ben couldn't drive me back to my car. Then Ben was going to help move a big semi that was bogged by getting the forklift to tow it and we were walking past the stage when Jame Morrison came down the stairs. He needed something off Ben and bless Ben, he gave me the keys to his car so I could go with James to get it. So James and I had a nice little chat together for a while and that is my experience with someone famous. He's really nice except that he thought I was a kiwi until I set him straight.
So that was my June. Nice and chilled. Onto July when I didn't have to work any Saturdays and generally ahd a great time...
Friday, May 25, 2007
My last month
So the week after BSAVA I went to London for Lou's birthday get together and again caught up with my uni mates and Emma and her friend Kat. It was a really good night out and a bit of the taste of the London nightlife. On the Sunday was the London Marathon and I chilled with Emma and Kat down near the finish line and watched as the runners went by looking near death. Then I'd have a beer and feel happy it wasn't me. It was a full on weekend because I actually went out on the Friday night with Susie and mates from work until the wee hours of the morning, then worked on the Saturday a full day then went to London for the said festivities. By the Sunday afternoon I really didn't think there could be anything worse that running the London marathon. We all make lifestyle choices.
The weekend after was again a Friday night out. Susie wasn't with us this time but Jodie and Lisa from work took me out to Cheeky Monkeys in Wolverhampton again. This is a club that plays heaps of 80s and 90s stuff and the setting is in a converted old town hall. It reminds me of being at a blue light disco in Camperdown or even a social at Camperdown high. Takes me back. Anyway, it is great fun there and tonight happens to be another Jodie, Lisa and Sal night out at Cheekys so it should be fun. So back to that weekend...
I worked the Saturday but had the Monday off so went to Edinburgh for a night and a day to visit a mate Neil who I met in Dubbo when I worked there. I got to Edinburgh and it was gorgeous weather. Neil took me for a walk up the hill in the centre of town called Arthur's Seat. From the top you could see for miles because it was such a clear day. The time went quickly that night as I didn't realise how late it was until my tummy complained and I realised it was past 9pm. I forgot that I was a bit further north and days were longer.
The next day Neil took me for a drive down the coast in his MG and because it was such a great day we could have the soft top down. It was great. Speeding down the Scottish coast. We went to a place called Bass Rock (well not the actual rock since it is out at sea but we viewed it) which has a huge bird population including puffins and gannets. We went further down the coast and saw some lovely little beaches. We stopped at one and went for a walk and went among the rockpools and looked at the clear water in the ocean. If I'd had my snorkel and fins I would've been tempted to test the water out even though I knew in my head it would be too cold.
Neil had to leave for work at about 5pm so he left me in centre of town where I wandered up to the castle and enjoyed walking around and soaking up the atmosphere of the place.
Got home late on the Monday night exhausted.
The weekend after was again a long weekend because I had the Monday off for a day out. On Friday night I drove to Oundle to stay at Snooze's and to go to Pedro and Rupert's (both of whom I met in Wales) birthday party on the Saturday night. So I got to Oundle and met up with Snooze and her lovely friend Lizzy at the pub. We had a good night at "the Ship" then the next day Snooze and I went to Peterborough for a girlie day out. That night the party was great. Snooze and Lizzy and I spent some girly time doing ourelves up and drinking wine before we headed out. It was really a great night meeting up with the people with whom I went to Wales and also other friends of Snooze's who are sooooo lovely. I also got to see Ben again who I know from Rarotonga and hadn't seen since then. It was lovely to see him again and catch up. The sun was up before I went to bed.
The next day was a chill out with people from the party before cleaning up the cafe where the party took place.
The next day I had the day off for a reason. I had organised to go with Simon to Alton Towers which is a theme park with heaps of cool roller coasters and Si had been telling me he'd take me since last year. There were meant to be 8 other people going but in the end it was just Si, me and Si's mates Gaz and James. The others had pulled out as it seemed had many others who would have otherwise gone out for the day because there weren't many people there. Apparently the minimum wait in the queue for a ride is generally about 30 minute. We barely had to queue at all so we went on the really good rides about 3-4 times and didn't even bother with the others too much. One of the rides, Oblivian, I went on 4 times and each time scared the bejesus out of me. It is a vertical drop and you hang from the drop before you drop and then you drop and I think I'd run out of adrenalin by the end of the day. The first time itI went on I nearly chickened out but since I was the only girl with three guys, thought it would be bad form. Although when we approached the vertical drop I would have jumped out had I been able to undo my seat belt.
Last weekend I went to Cornwall. I went as a pilgrimage for my sister Kate whose birthday was on May20th (Happy Birthday again Katie). Kate was there in 2002 to start her bike ride from Land's End to John'o'Groats. I was too tired to leave on the Friday night and also figured there'd be traffic so I headed off at 4am on Saturday morning. It was an easy drive. I stopped in at Cheddar on the way where supposedly cheddar cheese originated but didn't go and see the gorge because you actually had to pay to enter and it was too early for any tourist stuff to be open (they usually open at 10am and it was about 6am) so I continued on to Dartmoor national park.
I sat down to breakfast in a little village in the middle of the park then headed to one of the highest point. With the wind blustering and the rain hammering down for a bit I sat down in my cosy car and sketched. It was a beautiful setting and the weather actually added to the setting creating the expected atmosphere for the place. Once the wind and rain let up, I drove a bit further to a place where I could go for a walk and went for a long walk over the hills and checking out the rocky "tors". There were sheep with lambs and fields of purple flowers that weren't Patterson's Curse.
After my lovely walk I drove to Land's End and saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. I have now seen all the oceans. I unfortunately could not look at the book that Kate had signed because it was too late in the day but was advised that if I returned the next day after 10am I should be able to see it.
I did get to meet some people starting their Land's End-John'o'Groats bike trek and got a bit of a feeling from them as to how Kate and Nat would have felt 5 years ago. I also met a guy who was getting his photo taken with signs held up that he loves his girlfriend and wants to marry her and was going to show her them as part of his holiday pics. How romantic!!
I headed off and stopped at some 2000 year old ruins. Basically the foundations of the buildings were left but there was a whole cellar intact with a fireplace which was amazing. It was just beautiful with all the flowers growing over the ruins. And I saw some Foxglove and remembered it was Kate's favourite when she was over here. Part of my pilgrimage for my sister!
I went for a drive to St Ives and because of the time and the fact that the coastline was beautiful I thought I'd book in at the backpackers there. It was booked out but I got directed to a backpackers in a tiny little hamlet called Zennor about 6 miles west. The sun was setting and the sky was clear and it was absolutely beautiful. I felt so lucky. It is always the case that I get lucky like that.
Then I stopped to take a photo and for a little while my stupid little car wouldn't start. Of all places somewhere where I had no mobile range!! But at least I had a good view. All was well though. I figured the engine had flooded a bit because it can be a bit temperamental and waited a while and luckily he could go.
So I booked in at Zennor and the girl Rachel who was working there was going to the pub and I met her over there. Unfortunately also met another guy who was staying at the hostel who was frankly a weirdo but in the process of getting rid of him I met the most lovely 5 people and stayed with them playing pool until close. Then they took me back to their place in another tiny hamlet a few miles west called Morvah and we ended out continuing the party there. The girl Nik reminded me so much of Jen Ervin from uni. Looks and personality. It was one of those doubles on the other side of the world things.
The next morning I got a lift back to Zennor, dropped the keys to my hostel room off and got Mikey Megane (my car) and drove to Land's End via St Just. The coastline took my breath away. It's beautiful and I luckily had gorgeous weather to boot. There is a walk from St Ives to St Just that I would love to have done had I had the time so I will have to go back. I did walk down to the cliffs for a look though.
I got to Land's End again and unfortunately couldn't look at the book because it was locked up and the woman who could get it wasn't there on a Sunday. So my pilgrimage was a bit unsuccessful, however I had a great time and I think that's what Kate really wanted so all are happy.
I went to Tintagel castle on the way home. It is meant to be the birthplace of King Arthur in the myth. The castle was actually built in the 1200s and is now ruins. Again the ruins are beautiful though and the stone foundations are covered in grass and flowers and the castle is on a rocky outcrop with spectacular views of the Cornish coast.
I can't express how happy I was at that particular time, enjoying such beautiful sites and being a tourist.
Tonight, as I said, I am heading out with the girls so now we are at work about to ho into pizza in preparation for a night out later.
It is a long weekend again this weekend so I'm going to Oslo tomorrow to see Ellen (my host-sister from my exchange in 1993-94 and still good friends) and will stay there until Monday night.
Must say that I am enjoying myself!
The weekend after was again a Friday night out. Susie wasn't with us this time but Jodie and Lisa from work took me out to Cheeky Monkeys in Wolverhampton again. This is a club that plays heaps of 80s and 90s stuff and the setting is in a converted old town hall. It reminds me of being at a blue light disco in Camperdown or even a social at Camperdown high. Takes me back. Anyway, it is great fun there and tonight happens to be another Jodie, Lisa and Sal night out at Cheekys so it should be fun. So back to that weekend...
I worked the Saturday but had the Monday off so went to Edinburgh for a night and a day to visit a mate Neil who I met in Dubbo when I worked there. I got to Edinburgh and it was gorgeous weather. Neil took me for a walk up the hill in the centre of town called Arthur's Seat. From the top you could see for miles because it was such a clear day. The time went quickly that night as I didn't realise how late it was until my tummy complained and I realised it was past 9pm. I forgot that I was a bit further north and days were longer.
The next day Neil took me for a drive down the coast in his MG and because it was such a great day we could have the soft top down. It was great. Speeding down the Scottish coast. We went to a place called Bass Rock (well not the actual rock since it is out at sea but we viewed it) which has a huge bird population including puffins and gannets. We went further down the coast and saw some lovely little beaches. We stopped at one and went for a walk and went among the rockpools and looked at the clear water in the ocean. If I'd had my snorkel and fins I would've been tempted to test the water out even though I knew in my head it would be too cold.
Neil had to leave for work at about 5pm so he left me in centre of town where I wandered up to the castle and enjoyed walking around and soaking up the atmosphere of the place.
Got home late on the Monday night exhausted.
The weekend after was again a long weekend because I had the Monday off for a day out. On Friday night I drove to Oundle to stay at Snooze's and to go to Pedro and Rupert's (both of whom I met in Wales) birthday party on the Saturday night. So I got to Oundle and met up with Snooze and her lovely friend Lizzy at the pub. We had a good night at "the Ship" then the next day Snooze and I went to Peterborough for a girlie day out. That night the party was great. Snooze and Lizzy and I spent some girly time doing ourelves up and drinking wine before we headed out. It was really a great night meeting up with the people with whom I went to Wales and also other friends of Snooze's who are sooooo lovely. I also got to see Ben again who I know from Rarotonga and hadn't seen since then. It was lovely to see him again and catch up. The sun was up before I went to bed.
The next day was a chill out with people from the party before cleaning up the cafe where the party took place.
The next day I had the day off for a reason. I had organised to go with Simon to Alton Towers which is a theme park with heaps of cool roller coasters and Si had been telling me he'd take me since last year. There were meant to be 8 other people going but in the end it was just Si, me and Si's mates Gaz and James. The others had pulled out as it seemed had many others who would have otherwise gone out for the day because there weren't many people there. Apparently the minimum wait in the queue for a ride is generally about 30 minute. We barely had to queue at all so we went on the really good rides about 3-4 times and didn't even bother with the others too much. One of the rides, Oblivian, I went on 4 times and each time scared the bejesus out of me. It is a vertical drop and you hang from the drop before you drop and then you drop and I think I'd run out of adrenalin by the end of the day. The first time itI went on I nearly chickened out but since I was the only girl with three guys, thought it would be bad form. Although when we approached the vertical drop I would have jumped out had I been able to undo my seat belt.
Last weekend I went to Cornwall. I went as a pilgrimage for my sister Kate whose birthday was on May20th (Happy Birthday again Katie). Kate was there in 2002 to start her bike ride from Land's End to John'o'Groats. I was too tired to leave on the Friday night and also figured there'd be traffic so I headed off at 4am on Saturday morning. It was an easy drive. I stopped in at Cheddar on the way where supposedly cheddar cheese originated but didn't go and see the gorge because you actually had to pay to enter and it was too early for any tourist stuff to be open (they usually open at 10am and it was about 6am) so I continued on to Dartmoor national park.
I sat down to breakfast in a little village in the middle of the park then headed to one of the highest point. With the wind blustering and the rain hammering down for a bit I sat down in my cosy car and sketched. It was a beautiful setting and the weather actually added to the setting creating the expected atmosphere for the place. Once the wind and rain let up, I drove a bit further to a place where I could go for a walk and went for a long walk over the hills and checking out the rocky "tors". There were sheep with lambs and fields of purple flowers that weren't Patterson's Curse.
After my lovely walk I drove to Land's End and saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. I have now seen all the oceans. I unfortunately could not look at the book that Kate had signed because it was too late in the day but was advised that if I returned the next day after 10am I should be able to see it.
I did get to meet some people starting their Land's End-John'o'Groats bike trek and got a bit of a feeling from them as to how Kate and Nat would have felt 5 years ago. I also met a guy who was getting his photo taken with signs held up that he loves his girlfriend and wants to marry her and was going to show her them as part of his holiday pics. How romantic!!
I headed off and stopped at some 2000 year old ruins. Basically the foundations of the buildings were left but there was a whole cellar intact with a fireplace which was amazing. It was just beautiful with all the flowers growing over the ruins. And I saw some Foxglove and remembered it was Kate's favourite when she was over here. Part of my pilgrimage for my sister!
I went for a drive to St Ives and because of the time and the fact that the coastline was beautiful I thought I'd book in at the backpackers there. It was booked out but I got directed to a backpackers in a tiny little hamlet called Zennor about 6 miles west. The sun was setting and the sky was clear and it was absolutely beautiful. I felt so lucky. It is always the case that I get lucky like that.
Then I stopped to take a photo and for a little while my stupid little car wouldn't start. Of all places somewhere where I had no mobile range!! But at least I had a good view. All was well though. I figured the engine had flooded a bit because it can be a bit temperamental and waited a while and luckily he could go.
So I booked in at Zennor and the girl Rachel who was working there was going to the pub and I met her over there. Unfortunately also met another guy who was staying at the hostel who was frankly a weirdo but in the process of getting rid of him I met the most lovely 5 people and stayed with them playing pool until close. Then they took me back to their place in another tiny hamlet a few miles west called Morvah and we ended out continuing the party there. The girl Nik reminded me so much of Jen Ervin from uni. Looks and personality. It was one of those doubles on the other side of the world things.
The next morning I got a lift back to Zennor, dropped the keys to my hostel room off and got Mikey Megane (my car) and drove to Land's End via St Just. The coastline took my breath away. It's beautiful and I luckily had gorgeous weather to boot. There is a walk from St Ives to St Just that I would love to have done had I had the time so I will have to go back. I did walk down to the cliffs for a look though.
I got to Land's End again and unfortunately couldn't look at the book because it was locked up and the woman who could get it wasn't there on a Sunday. So my pilgrimage was a bit unsuccessful, however I had a great time and I think that's what Kate really wanted so all are happy.
I went to Tintagel castle on the way home. It is meant to be the birthplace of King Arthur in the myth. The castle was actually built in the 1200s and is now ruins. Again the ruins are beautiful though and the stone foundations are covered in grass and flowers and the castle is on a rocky outcrop with spectacular views of the Cornish coast.
I can't express how happy I was at that particular time, enjoying such beautiful sites and being a tourist.
Tonight, as I said, I am heading out with the girls so now we are at work about to ho into pizza in preparation for a night out later.
It is a long weekend again this weekend so I'm going to Oslo tomorrow to see Ellen (my host-sister from my exchange in 1993-94 and still good friends) and will stay there until Monday night.
Must say that I am enjoying myself!
Monday, April 30, 2007
BSAVA Congress
I only just realised that I never posted this blog. I am really slack at this. I now have another month to write about and I haven't even posted this one! So a bit late but here it is...
So mid-April arrived and with it came the BSAVA Congress. Now I need to hark back to June last year when I was in Townsville living and working with Emma and having a great time. It was at a time when I thought that I'd be finally doing the UK thing the following year but hadn't made any definite plans. Then I met Emma who herself is from England and we got along really well and made a pact that I would indeed come to England in 2007 and we would meet up at BSAVA congress in April of that year. And so it came about and I fulfilled my promise and Emma and I were once again tearing the town apart together.
It wasn't just Emma I got to catch up with though. Friends from uni were there as well and I got to catch up with more people that I hadn't seen in several years and also see some changes that have gone on. The big one being that Nat Thorne is huge with a baby inside her! It was a VERY social weekend. Emma and Lou and I were all in the same hotel. It was great. Each night we'd be in Em and my room having a wine before hitting the town.
But Em and I got there the Wednesday night and Lou didn't get there until the Thursday so let me backtrack a bit.
Em and I got to the hotel late on the Wednesday night with our bottle of wine and exhausted from work that day and we met up with Emma's friend Meaghan who actually went to Murdoch uni and graduated with Justin (Jack) Daniel. and Also knew Lindy Daniel (Tilley) - small vet world as we know. So she was with us Wednesday night and in the midst of me regaling her with a story on Jack's prowess with Galah surgery (you know what I'm talking about Jack!) there was a banging on the wall of our room from next door. We didn't realise that it had got to 1am and we were still chatting.
Despite that Em and I were able to pull ourselves out of bed for first lectures (overkeen - I think it was the only day it happened) and managed a whole day of lectures. We caught up with heaps of uni mates and also met up with Lou with whom we spent most of the congress. That evening, Chris Thorne and Em and Lou and myself were having welcome drinks and eventually got joined by Bridgey and Russ and Kate Edwards and Amy who works with Kate at Vetlink. I had a ticket to the sea life centre for a reception for international delegates (since I was the only one who booked from Oz) and I gave my ticket to Em and we all spoke with Aussie accents and pretended we forgot our tickets and got in. We thought we were very clever at the time but I think we were really just drunk and the party was winding down and the bouncer couldn't be bothered arguing with me.
So we had a drink there and Shmikes joined us as well with his girlfriend who as I got it is Kuwaiti-Indonesian but spent most of her life in France and now lives in England (because of Shmikes I think!).
So we went for Italian for dinner and finished the night exhausted but that didn't stop me from wanting to go to the salsa club opposite. Em luckily talked me out of it since I was nearly asleep on my feet.
The next morning Em and I tried to get up but realise we didn't really want to see any of the first lectures anyway so it was sensible to miss them so that we would be in better form to learn in the later ones. When we got up however I did say I needed new clothes and I wanted to go shopping for a bit. It didn't take much for us to convince each other that we really needed to take the day off for some serious shopping in the Bull Ring (shopping centre, not a farm animal show ring as you might expect. I personally wanted to go there to buy a prize-winning bull but had to make do with shopping for clothes instead). So we took a day to do that and quite frankly my wardrobe needed it.
For all those that know me in any way, shape or form, I can imagine you are thinking that you have typed in the wrong web address because this does not sound like normal Sal Nixon behaviour. Sal spending a WHOLE day shopping for clothes and not only this but enjoying it!!! Unlikely but true and will probably never happen again. It was a combination of the fact that I really needed clothes, have some money, feeling happy about myself in general and the fact that clothes are tasteful at the moment so there was plenty of selection of good stuff. ie. It wasn't depressing and frustrating like I usually find it.
So after a day and A LOT of pounds later, I had several new tops to where out, a couple of pairs of shoes, new lingerie (including 4 pairs of bras - got fitted here and there are so many that fit PERFECTLY so I couldn't resist), new jeans, some body shop stuff and a new skirt and top combination. Emma had bought similar amounts of stuff and we had bags on bags to carry home and I didn't even feel guilty because I actually did need it all.
I can honestly say that for the next several days I was wearing all new stuff. We met the other vetties at a bar called Pitcher and Piano and Paul Sydenham from uni was there for a bit and noone knew he was there originally - just ran into him. Small vet world when everyone seems to migrate to Birmingham. We went out that night to an Indian place at the Mailbox and had a really nice meal and got to catch up with more people (Michelle Dempster and Nat Thorne and Nat brought some friends as well). It was a great night again.
On the Saturday we did get to some lectures but had to finish early on account of Emma and I needed girl time together by the bar. ie. we had to have our free pints and discuss boys. I don't think the discussion went far beyond the male related topic.
Then we headed back to our room and Lou joined us for wine and we got ready to go out. We joined the others at All Bar One but the service was so slow that we all sobered up. We were quite sober by the time we got to Walkabout Bar but then there was a live band so spirits rose and the next thing I know Lou and Emma and myself were at the bar doing shots. So we walked in to Walkabout sober and staggered out not so sober. So it was 1am and the next stop was a place called Arcadian to meet up with my mate Simon (who I met in Raro) and his friend Adam. Simon actually was at a really great bar where we danced but yet you could still talk and the service was good. We had heaps of fun and it wasn't long before Emma got excited and we discovered the cute finance guys from the congress were there. Woohoo!
So the Congress ended on the Sunday with Em and I feeling slightly exhausted. Our brains probably didn't get as much input as we'd hoped but we had an absolutely wonderful time. It was so wonderful to catch up with old friends and have a good time.
So mid-April arrived and with it came the BSAVA Congress. Now I need to hark back to June last year when I was in Townsville living and working with Emma and having a great time. It was at a time when I thought that I'd be finally doing the UK thing the following year but hadn't made any definite plans. Then I met Emma who herself is from England and we got along really well and made a pact that I would indeed come to England in 2007 and we would meet up at BSAVA congress in April of that year. And so it came about and I fulfilled my promise and Emma and I were once again tearing the town apart together.
It wasn't just Emma I got to catch up with though. Friends from uni were there as well and I got to catch up with more people that I hadn't seen in several years and also see some changes that have gone on. The big one being that Nat Thorne is huge with a baby inside her! It was a VERY social weekend. Emma and Lou and I were all in the same hotel. It was great. Each night we'd be in Em and my room having a wine before hitting the town.
But Em and I got there the Wednesday night and Lou didn't get there until the Thursday so let me backtrack a bit.
Em and I got to the hotel late on the Wednesday night with our bottle of wine and exhausted from work that day and we met up with Emma's friend Meaghan who actually went to Murdoch uni and graduated with Justin (Jack) Daniel. and Also knew Lindy Daniel (Tilley) - small vet world as we know. So she was with us Wednesday night and in the midst of me regaling her with a story on Jack's prowess with Galah surgery (you know what I'm talking about Jack!) there was a banging on the wall of our room from next door. We didn't realise that it had got to 1am and we were still chatting.
Despite that Em and I were able to pull ourselves out of bed for first lectures (overkeen - I think it was the only day it happened) and managed a whole day of lectures. We caught up with heaps of uni mates and also met up with Lou with whom we spent most of the congress. That evening, Chris Thorne and Em and Lou and myself were having welcome drinks and eventually got joined by Bridgey and Russ and Kate Edwards and Amy who works with Kate at Vetlink. I had a ticket to the sea life centre for a reception for international delegates (since I was the only one who booked from Oz) and I gave my ticket to Em and we all spoke with Aussie accents and pretended we forgot our tickets and got in. We thought we were very clever at the time but I think we were really just drunk and the party was winding down and the bouncer couldn't be bothered arguing with me.
So we had a drink there and Shmikes joined us as well with his girlfriend who as I got it is Kuwaiti-Indonesian but spent most of her life in France and now lives in England (because of Shmikes I think!).
So we went for Italian for dinner and finished the night exhausted but that didn't stop me from wanting to go to the salsa club opposite. Em luckily talked me out of it since I was nearly asleep on my feet.
The next morning Em and I tried to get up but realise we didn't really want to see any of the first lectures anyway so it was sensible to miss them so that we would be in better form to learn in the later ones. When we got up however I did say I needed new clothes and I wanted to go shopping for a bit. It didn't take much for us to convince each other that we really needed to take the day off for some serious shopping in the Bull Ring (shopping centre, not a farm animal show ring as you might expect. I personally wanted to go there to buy a prize-winning bull but had to make do with shopping for clothes instead). So we took a day to do that and quite frankly my wardrobe needed it.
For all those that know me in any way, shape or form, I can imagine you are thinking that you have typed in the wrong web address because this does not sound like normal Sal Nixon behaviour. Sal spending a WHOLE day shopping for clothes and not only this but enjoying it!!! Unlikely but true and will probably never happen again. It was a combination of the fact that I really needed clothes, have some money, feeling happy about myself in general and the fact that clothes are tasteful at the moment so there was plenty of selection of good stuff. ie. It wasn't depressing and frustrating like I usually find it.
So after a day and A LOT of pounds later, I had several new tops to where out, a couple of pairs of shoes, new lingerie (including 4 pairs of bras - got fitted here and there are so many that fit PERFECTLY so I couldn't resist), new jeans, some body shop stuff and a new skirt and top combination. Emma had bought similar amounts of stuff and we had bags on bags to carry home and I didn't even feel guilty because I actually did need it all.
I can honestly say that for the next several days I was wearing all new stuff. We met the other vetties at a bar called Pitcher and Piano and Paul Sydenham from uni was there for a bit and noone knew he was there originally - just ran into him. Small vet world when everyone seems to migrate to Birmingham. We went out that night to an Indian place at the Mailbox and had a really nice meal and got to catch up with more people (Michelle Dempster and Nat Thorne and Nat brought some friends as well). It was a great night again.
On the Saturday we did get to some lectures but had to finish early on account of Emma and I needed girl time together by the bar. ie. we had to have our free pints and discuss boys. I don't think the discussion went far beyond the male related topic.
Then we headed back to our room and Lou joined us for wine and we got ready to go out. We joined the others at All Bar One but the service was so slow that we all sobered up. We were quite sober by the time we got to Walkabout Bar but then there was a live band so spirits rose and the next thing I know Lou and Emma and myself were at the bar doing shots. So we walked in to Walkabout sober and staggered out not so sober. So it was 1am and the next stop was a place called Arcadian to meet up with my mate Simon (who I met in Raro) and his friend Adam. Simon actually was at a really great bar where we danced but yet you could still talk and the service was good. We had heaps of fun and it wasn't long before Emma got excited and we discovered the cute finance guys from the congress were there. Woohoo!
So the Congress ended on the Sunday with Em and I feeling slightly exhausted. Our brains probably didn't get as much input as we'd hoped but we had an absolutely wonderful time. It was so wonderful to catch up with old friends and have a good time.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Living in Wombourne
So I started work on the 12th March and settled into the routine fairly quickly. I'm pretty used to changing workplaces now since I've been locuming for three years. It wasn't hard to settle in here since my nurses are all friendly and easygoing and basically a whole heap of fun.
I work Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in the branch clinic at Gornal and Wednesdays and Fridays I spend at the main branch in Wombourne (only a short walk from home except I usually drive in case I get an outcall (or so I say. I haven't had one outcall yet and basically I just like to sleep in)). I also work some Saturdays but that isn't too bad either. No on call. I haven't had too many busy days at work and I've generally had time to go home at lunchtime and spend some time chilling out with a book and sometimes I even get up the energy to go for a jog in my lunchbreak then shower before going back to work!
My first week here I was unfortunately very sick with an ear infection. I even went to the doctor for it! That's how sick I was. What a great start.
My health luckily continued to improve. Not hard considering I thought I was going to die (of an ear infection, trust me all the dogs I've seen with ear infections since are treated with good doses of pain relief. When I first fell ill I had no pain relief in the house and I was up at 2am eating chocolate for the promise of endorphins).
A couple of weeks later I was treated to a visit by my friends: Snooze, Emma (who I worked with in Townsville) and Emma's friend Canadian Steve. There was a distinct purpose of this visit: We wanted to go to Reflex, the 80's bar. And so we did. Once again my health deteriorated but luckily only for that night and it was self induced and mainly involved memory loss. I do remember making an important discovery that night however. I was introduced to the absolute marvel of curry chips. Really why would you have tomato sauce, gravy or salt&vinegar when you could have curry. Mmmmmm.
Easter long weekend came around and I had plans with Snooze to go to Snowdonia National Park in northwest Wales. We stayed in a little cottage in the country with several of Snooze's friends who I thought were great fun. Really easygoing and good for a laugh. The ewes had just lambed so there were gorgeous little lambs everywhere (lots of twins over here). The countryside was absolutely stunning with stone (and sometimes slate) fences. I also noticed that there were stone walls supporting the roads as they cut into the sides of the mountains! What a job!
I found a book that told me how to pronounce some of the Welsh sounds but still couldn't pronounce the Welsh words on the roadsigns. But I'm not entirey sure the Welsh can either. It is all too weird-looking.
It was a fun four days. The first day we went to a strange little place called Port Meirion which was the most unWelsh thing I've seen (not that I'm an expert on the Welsh and their culture after just an Easter break!) but it was really cool. There was a beach nearby and the sun was shining and it was warm and we all chilled out walking along the beach getting decidedly lost.
We checked out a castle after this and had a pint in the pub opposite the castle. It was a lovely chilled out day of exploring actually. Our pint nearly made us too late to explore the castle but luckily we did. We made the most of it too and the views it gave us of the surrounding countryside were spectacular.
The next day was climb Mount Snowdon day. It was the day that discovered I am unfit for mountain hikes. But the views were worth it. Everyone told me that it would usually be raining and I shouldn't be able to see anything for the clouds for the time of year we were there but it was pristine with a cloudless sky.
And so came Easter Sunday and I discovered just how much I liked the people with whom I was spending my Easter weekend because we had an Easter egg hunt!!! It was of course the highlight of my weekend despite the gorgeous scenery and lovely people I was being introduced to. I mean it's an Easter egg hunt!!!
So for the rest of the day we ate Easter eggs (or I should say I did, I don't know about everyone else, they may have had a bit more self-control). We did plan to go for a walk but were all worn out from the day before and chilled out for the day.
Back to Wombourne the next day exhausted after a fun weekend. But I only had two days of work ahead of me before I was to have yet another long weekend for BSAVA congress!
I work Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in the branch clinic at Gornal and Wednesdays and Fridays I spend at the main branch in Wombourne (only a short walk from home except I usually drive in case I get an outcall (or so I say. I haven't had one outcall yet and basically I just like to sleep in)). I also work some Saturdays but that isn't too bad either. No on call. I haven't had too many busy days at work and I've generally had time to go home at lunchtime and spend some time chilling out with a book and sometimes I even get up the energy to go for a jog in my lunchbreak then shower before going back to work!
My first week here I was unfortunately very sick with an ear infection. I even went to the doctor for it! That's how sick I was. What a great start.
My health luckily continued to improve. Not hard considering I thought I was going to die (of an ear infection, trust me all the dogs I've seen with ear infections since are treated with good doses of pain relief. When I first fell ill I had no pain relief in the house and I was up at 2am eating chocolate for the promise of endorphins).
A couple of weeks later I was treated to a visit by my friends: Snooze, Emma (who I worked with in Townsville) and Emma's friend Canadian Steve. There was a distinct purpose of this visit: We wanted to go to Reflex, the 80's bar. And so we did. Once again my health deteriorated but luckily only for that night and it was self induced and mainly involved memory loss. I do remember making an important discovery that night however. I was introduced to the absolute marvel of curry chips. Really why would you have tomato sauce, gravy or salt&vinegar when you could have curry. Mmmmmm.
Easter long weekend came around and I had plans with Snooze to go to Snowdonia National Park in northwest Wales. We stayed in a little cottage in the country with several of Snooze's friends who I thought were great fun. Really easygoing and good for a laugh. The ewes had just lambed so there were gorgeous little lambs everywhere (lots of twins over here). The countryside was absolutely stunning with stone (and sometimes slate) fences. I also noticed that there were stone walls supporting the roads as they cut into the sides of the mountains! What a job!
I found a book that told me how to pronounce some of the Welsh sounds but still couldn't pronounce the Welsh words on the roadsigns. But I'm not entirey sure the Welsh can either. It is all too weird-looking.
It was a fun four days. The first day we went to a strange little place called Port Meirion which was the most unWelsh thing I've seen (not that I'm an expert on the Welsh and their culture after just an Easter break!) but it was really cool. There was a beach nearby and the sun was shining and it was warm and we all chilled out walking along the beach getting decidedly lost.
We checked out a castle after this and had a pint in the pub opposite the castle. It was a lovely chilled out day of exploring actually. Our pint nearly made us too late to explore the castle but luckily we did. We made the most of it too and the views it gave us of the surrounding countryside were spectacular.
The next day was climb Mount Snowdon day. It was the day that discovered I am unfit for mountain hikes. But the views were worth it. Everyone told me that it would usually be raining and I shouldn't be able to see anything for the clouds for the time of year we were there but it was pristine with a cloudless sky.
And so came Easter Sunday and I discovered just how much I liked the people with whom I was spending my Easter weekend because we had an Easter egg hunt!!! It was of course the highlight of my weekend despite the gorgeous scenery and lovely people I was being introduced to. I mean it's an Easter egg hunt!!!
So for the rest of the day we ate Easter eggs (or I should say I did, I don't know about everyone else, they may have had a bit more self-control). We did plan to go for a walk but were all worn out from the day before and chilled out for the day.
Back to Wombourne the next day exhausted after a fun weekend. But I only had two days of work ahead of me before I was to have yet another long weekend for BSAVA congress!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
My first couple of weeks in England
Well I've been in England a month and a half and a month of that time has been in my new job and house.
So as you know, I got to England and stayed with Bridget and Russ. It was lovely staying with them and catching up. We had loads to catch up on after 6 years! But usually it just ended out with us drinking a bit too much wine.
I left them for a few days and did a bit of the touristy thing. I hired a car and checked out Stonehenge. It was a gorgeous day when I headed there. Although cold, the sun was shining and the birds were singing and I was generally pretty chuffed with life. I won't mention details about these places I've seen since you can all come over and visit if you want to do the touristy thing over here.
I left Stonehenge and headed to Salisbury to check out the cathedral. As usual for cathedrals it was beautiful. And as usual for an Australian, I was amazed at its age since there were tombs there of dead people from 1200s (even though I had just been to stonehenge and may have been walking over people who died 2000 or so BC!). It is the site where one of the original four of the Magna Carta are and I quickly had a look at it before I ran back to the car since my parking was running out. I luckily didn't get a ticket (Salisbury isn't as bad as Melbourne obviously where I have got a ticket twice for being only 3 minutes late) and I drove off. I soon got lost since I had no map of Salisbury and my navigational skills are next to useless. I thought I'd stop at a walking track and have a bit of a walk on the way out of town and despite my disastrous navigation, luck had it that I had (Luck always seems to find me when I can't find anything!) found a place called Old Sarum which is where the original Salisbury sat before the cathedral was built and Old Sarum was destroyed. There were beautiful views of Salisbury from there.
From Salisbury I went via another old castle set back from the main road. It was unfortunately closed when I got there but the drive to find it was so pretty and off the beaten track. It was on that road that I saw my first badger (roadkill unfortunately but I was nonetheless excited that it wasn't a kangaroo) and I saw my first grey squirrel (alive and not roadkill which most Brits would probably say is unfortunate but for which I nearly crashed the hire car in my excitement to see it).
So from there I headed to Bath and fell in love. Bath is absolutely stunning. I checked straight into a hostel. The hostel was up near the university with spectacular views of the city. From my room the city lights were beautiful. I met two girls from Sydney and we had dinner and drinks in the hostel before hitting the town. Bath was also fun, except I piked early due to upset tummy.
The next day I checked out the Roman baths of Bath and I would've gone into the abbey except there was a funeral on and so tourists weren't allowed. I thought that was fair enough and didn't try to muscle my way in!
I headed home to Bridgey and Russ's via Andover to visit Dino, a friend from uni. I stopping on her work. She has found her niche in and exotic pets clinic and I'm so happy for her. It is just perfect for her. It was just lucky she rang me in Bath and we realised she was only a short detour on my way home.
I got lost (again) on the way to the car hire place and was nearly too late to return my little Vauxhall Corsa. Really, one wrong turn in this country and you're stuffed. I stopped three times for directions. Sometimes people didn't even seem too sure themselves of where they were. There are so many roads!!
So by the time I got back, I was exhausted.
The next day I said goodbye to Bridgey and Russ and went to Susie's place in Oundle. Her parent's made me so welcome and I felt really at home there. When Susie (Snooze) got home from her course we were reunited after not having seen each other since December 2005 when I left Rarotonga. We spent the weekend walking around the district and going out at night and seeing the market and driving to check out houses that Snooze might buy. She led me astray with wine and we had lovely chats about times spent together in Raro and future plans ahead. It was a great catch up and she lives in a beautiful area.
On the Sunday before I was to start work, Snooze drove me across to my new home where I met my boss and she presented me with my house (which is really a good set-up) and my car (which, although it won my favour by being red, it was an absolute s*#theap. It now works fine after a day in the Mechanic the other day. Yay it doesn't stall in the middle of intersections with oncoming traffic anymore!).
More on the next blog which will arrive soon since I am a month behind and lots has happened!!!
So as you know, I got to England and stayed with Bridget and Russ. It was lovely staying with them and catching up. We had loads to catch up on after 6 years! But usually it just ended out with us drinking a bit too much wine.
I left them for a few days and did a bit of the touristy thing. I hired a car and checked out Stonehenge. It was a gorgeous day when I headed there. Although cold, the sun was shining and the birds were singing and I was generally pretty chuffed with life. I won't mention details about these places I've seen since you can all come over and visit if you want to do the touristy thing over here.
I left Stonehenge and headed to Salisbury to check out the cathedral. As usual for cathedrals it was beautiful. And as usual for an Australian, I was amazed at its age since there were tombs there of dead people from 1200s (even though I had just been to stonehenge and may have been walking over people who died 2000 or so BC!). It is the site where one of the original four of the Magna Carta are and I quickly had a look at it before I ran back to the car since my parking was running out. I luckily didn't get a ticket (Salisbury isn't as bad as Melbourne obviously where I have got a ticket twice for being only 3 minutes late) and I drove off. I soon got lost since I had no map of Salisbury and my navigational skills are next to useless. I thought I'd stop at a walking track and have a bit of a walk on the way out of town and despite my disastrous navigation, luck had it that I had (Luck always seems to find me when I can't find anything!) found a place called Old Sarum which is where the original Salisbury sat before the cathedral was built and Old Sarum was destroyed. There were beautiful views of Salisbury from there.
From Salisbury I went via another old castle set back from the main road. It was unfortunately closed when I got there but the drive to find it was so pretty and off the beaten track. It was on that road that I saw my first badger (roadkill unfortunately but I was nonetheless excited that it wasn't a kangaroo) and I saw my first grey squirrel (alive and not roadkill which most Brits would probably say is unfortunate but for which I nearly crashed the hire car in my excitement to see it).
So from there I headed to Bath and fell in love. Bath is absolutely stunning. I checked straight into a hostel. The hostel was up near the university with spectacular views of the city. From my room the city lights were beautiful. I met two girls from Sydney and we had dinner and drinks in the hostel before hitting the town. Bath was also fun, except I piked early due to upset tummy.
The next day I checked out the Roman baths of Bath and I would've gone into the abbey except there was a funeral on and so tourists weren't allowed. I thought that was fair enough and didn't try to muscle my way in!
I headed home to Bridgey and Russ's via Andover to visit Dino, a friend from uni. I stopping on her work. She has found her niche in and exotic pets clinic and I'm so happy for her. It is just perfect for her. It was just lucky she rang me in Bath and we realised she was only a short detour on my way home.
I got lost (again) on the way to the car hire place and was nearly too late to return my little Vauxhall Corsa. Really, one wrong turn in this country and you're stuffed. I stopped three times for directions. Sometimes people didn't even seem too sure themselves of where they were. There are so many roads!!
So by the time I got back, I was exhausted.
The next day I said goodbye to Bridgey and Russ and went to Susie's place in Oundle. Her parent's made me so welcome and I felt really at home there. When Susie (Snooze) got home from her course we were reunited after not having seen each other since December 2005 when I left Rarotonga. We spent the weekend walking around the district and going out at night and seeing the market and driving to check out houses that Snooze might buy. She led me astray with wine and we had lovely chats about times spent together in Raro and future plans ahead. It was a great catch up and she lives in a beautiful area.
On the Sunday before I was to start work, Snooze drove me across to my new home where I met my boss and she presented me with my house (which is really a good set-up) and my car (which, although it won my favour by being red, it was an absolute s*#theap. It now works fine after a day in the Mechanic the other day. Yay it doesn't stall in the middle of intersections with oncoming traffic anymore!).
More on the next blog which will arrive soon since I am a month behind and lots has happened!!!
Friday, March 2, 2007
I am in England!!!!!
Well in has been a long flight and a LOVELY sleep in this morning. I flew out from the ever busy and prestigious Mount Gambier airport on 28th February at 4:35pm, the only section of my journey that was not delayed! I got to Melbourne and met up with my friend Diddi for a couple of pints and some food before going to catch my flight which left about 1.5 hours late from Melbourne airport (after 2am).
We went via HongKong and so got to stretch the legs. They allowed us to board only half an hour later than expected onto this flight. But they didn't take off for another forty minutes more after the new (delayed) expected departure time. The reason for this according to the guy behind me on the plane was that they had to take all our luggage off and get some round metal thing off that looked like a bomb and then reload our luggage. Where this information was gathered I do not know and although it sounds rather incredible since I couldn't see our luggage on the tarmac, it does make for a good story!!
So then we flew (well the plane flew and the pilot controlled, I generally did a lot of sitting down) for a LONG period of time and I saw many movies and got addicted the TV show "Hustle". Finally got into Heathrow air space and had another delay. We were told that this was due to too much traffic on the ground but I had to question that it was a Qantas flight possibly with an Aussie pilot and he may have just wanted to do some circle work. Meanwhile though they had turned off our in flight entertainment (in my case yet another episode of "Hustle") and I was starting to get antsy. Watching the plane do circles on the flight path monitor did not help my mood at all.
Finally we landed. But alas, despite us having been in the air an extra 25 minutes, the ground crew was not ready for us and couldn't fit the doors. So they had to call over some stairs. Another 20 minutes later and I was able to cross Heathrow tarmac (something I would expect to be doing in South Australia but not in London) and get in to stand in the customs line. Alas noone was staffing the customs benches. What seemed like an age later I was through to my luggage. Surprise, surprise, they had delays on getting the QF29 luggage through. I was just worried it may still be sitting on the tarmac in Hong Kong (despite having nothing to substantiate the gossip from the guy behind me on the plane who was obviously in the know).
YAY I eventually got my luggage and got through. Rang my friend Emma to make sure she hadn't tried to see me at the airport from a mobile phone of a very nice English guy who just offered for me to use his phone when I was looking dumbly at the public phone with an expression of "this is too hard, I'm going to need a mobile". The English are so lovely. They are all so helpful!
Finally figured out the combination of busses and trains to Bridget's place. Thought I'd lost my purse at one point and had visions of me begging for money at the train station to call Bridget.
Then got to Bridget's. YAY!! They weren't home yet so I had a shower, invested in some beer and wine and played my guitar.
It was sooooo lovely to catch up with her and Russ. We chatted and chatted and I realised how lucky I am to have friends here to ask for advice and from whom I can seek support. After such a long couple of days, it was soooo nice to sit back with familiar faces and to catch up with friends and Bridget is such a good friend and I haven't seen her in nearly 6 years!!!!! It was wonderful.
So I'm here, taking advantage of their home and just kicking back today. We'll do some touristy stuff this weekend and then I will do some organisational stuff next week. Then next weekend I will catch up with Susie who I haven't seen in over a year. Very much looking forward to that too. I spoke to my boss on the phone today and she is just lovely. Everything is looking great. The skies outside are clear blue and yet the temperature is cold which is such a lovely change from the hot Aussie Summer. I will actually be able to go outside and enjoy the sunny day out there!
Big hugs all round!
We went via HongKong and so got to stretch the legs. They allowed us to board only half an hour later than expected onto this flight. But they didn't take off for another forty minutes more after the new (delayed) expected departure time. The reason for this according to the guy behind me on the plane was that they had to take all our luggage off and get some round metal thing off that looked like a bomb and then reload our luggage. Where this information was gathered I do not know and although it sounds rather incredible since I couldn't see our luggage on the tarmac, it does make for a good story!!
So then we flew (well the plane flew and the pilot controlled, I generally did a lot of sitting down) for a LONG period of time and I saw many movies and got addicted the TV show "Hustle". Finally got into Heathrow air space and had another delay. We were told that this was due to too much traffic on the ground but I had to question that it was a Qantas flight possibly with an Aussie pilot and he may have just wanted to do some circle work. Meanwhile though they had turned off our in flight entertainment (in my case yet another episode of "Hustle") and I was starting to get antsy. Watching the plane do circles on the flight path monitor did not help my mood at all.
Finally we landed. But alas, despite us having been in the air an extra 25 minutes, the ground crew was not ready for us and couldn't fit the doors. So they had to call over some stairs. Another 20 minutes later and I was able to cross Heathrow tarmac (something I would expect to be doing in South Australia but not in London) and get in to stand in the customs line. Alas noone was staffing the customs benches. What seemed like an age later I was through to my luggage. Surprise, surprise, they had delays on getting the QF29 luggage through. I was just worried it may still be sitting on the tarmac in Hong Kong (despite having nothing to substantiate the gossip from the guy behind me on the plane who was obviously in the know).
YAY I eventually got my luggage and got through. Rang my friend Emma to make sure she hadn't tried to see me at the airport from a mobile phone of a very nice English guy who just offered for me to use his phone when I was looking dumbly at the public phone with an expression of "this is too hard, I'm going to need a mobile". The English are so lovely. They are all so helpful!
Finally figured out the combination of busses and trains to Bridget's place. Thought I'd lost my purse at one point and had visions of me begging for money at the train station to call Bridget.
Then got to Bridget's. YAY!! They weren't home yet so I had a shower, invested in some beer and wine and played my guitar.
It was sooooo lovely to catch up with her and Russ. We chatted and chatted and I realised how lucky I am to have friends here to ask for advice and from whom I can seek support. After such a long couple of days, it was soooo nice to sit back with familiar faces and to catch up with friends and Bridget is such a good friend and I haven't seen her in nearly 6 years!!!!! It was wonderful.
So I'm here, taking advantage of their home and just kicking back today. We'll do some touristy stuff this weekend and then I will do some organisational stuff next week. Then next weekend I will catch up with Susie who I haven't seen in over a year. Very much looking forward to that too. I spoke to my boss on the phone today and she is just lovely. Everything is looking great. The skies outside are clear blue and yet the temperature is cold which is such a lovely change from the hot Aussie Summer. I will actually be able to go outside and enjoy the sunny day out there!
Big hugs all round!
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