Halloween

It's strange being Australian on Halloween night. There's no 'trick or treat' down under. Sitting on the Tube next to witches and warlocks, devils and vampires ... and no-one blinks an eye, except for two unsuspecting Australians and one unsuspecting New Zealander.

Surrey House

Went to "Surrey House" in Camberley late on Friday, was unable to leave until late on Monday, held hostage by the beautiful Carrie.
Friday night was dhal and red wine in front of the faux fire. Saturday night was loads of fun with the halloween party complete with DJ, mulled wine, scary faced real pumpkin lantern things carved on the spot and great costumes. Sunday was pub lunch and t.v day. Monday was cups of tea, yummy food, walking the dog in the woods, and a bottle of champagne before starting the hour and a half bus trip back to Victoria Station, London (note to self: bad idea!)

At Dad's Birthday Dinner 

Weird day

So what made today so strange?
1. I was walking to school in Teddington (catch the overground to Clapham Junction, then a South West trains service to Hampton Wick), I'd straightened my fringe, so I was hoping for no rain. Alas, it started to sprinkle. I looked up to the heavens to see a clear blue sky, sprinkled with a few off-white clouds, certainly not rain clouds. I was perplexed. At first I thought a gust of wind had shaken the water from the trees, but no! It was raining and I still don't (or can't) believe it came from those few wispy, innocent-looking clouds. Weird!
2. I arrived at school to find they had only allocated one period for me to cover. Rejoice! I hear you say. Nope! The principal hates to see his supply teachers sitting idle. So, how did they utilise me? I spent the entire day (except for my one class) shredding paper. A job fit only for a child on detention. Boredom set in rapidly so I started timing myself, making it a race against the clock. True to my good Aussie work ethic, I shredded 7 large black garbage 'sacks' worth of paper. I have more paper cuts on my hands than the entire cast of Jackass, the Movie put together. But hey, at least I got paid.

Halloween Party at Carrie's this weekend! Can't wait.

Cool Britannia

8 days in our Hertz rent-a-car took us from London to Grantham (birthplace of Maggie Thatcher) to Stirling (amazing old city) to Stonehaven (on the beach) to Inverness (near Loch Ness) to Fort William to Dumfries to Manchester (dinner and drinks with Sara and Maggie) back to London. And all the towns and cities in between.

England is racing along the motorways in our sporty Volvo free upgrade, 'rally' driving on the windy English country roads in our sporty Volvo free upgrade, bikes with real wicker baskets in Cambridge, quaint little hamlets, stone towns with cobblestone streets, a walled city named York, the fort of Housesteads on Hadrian's wall, more of those sheep with black faces, patchwork rolling hills subdivided by stone walls, the moors (without Heathcliff), Cambridge and Oxford Universities, Stoke-on-Trent (birthplace of one Robbie Williams), B&B after B&B, and constantly wondering 'How far is a mile?'.

Scotland is a beautiful old castle in Stirling, a constant search for the infamous highland cattle, boredom in the car broken up with interpretative dance, Autumn weather triggering the leaves to turn, field upon field of round hay bales, towns with market squares, the 'Beast' aka Nessie aka The Loch Ness Monster and the bitter disappointment when we didn't spot her (and why do they assume it's a female?), oilriggs scattered in a firth, the barren brown but magnificent Scottish Highlands, sheep lying down to eat, unperturbed highland cattle refusing to pose for photos no matter how much I insulted them, B&B after B&B, imitating our hostess, 'Yer canny git lowst' (you cannot get lost - but we did!)

Now it's back to reality and work... but not 'til Wednesday.

Ireland is...

Ireland is green for as far as the eye can see, the smell of peat fires assaults your nostrils as you venture outside at night. Every town: B&Bs and real Irish pubs with no Irish music or food. Limestone landscapes, castle ruins, new housing developments featuring row upon row of identical houses. Stone walls dividing up paddocks with shaggy cows and white sheep with black faces. Tasty, tasty, pint after pint of Guiness. And the relentless search for the perfect seafood chowder.
Tomorrow we forge onto Scotland.

Look out Ireland

We organised a surprise birthday dinner for Bruce last night. Guests included Michael and Wendy Smith, Earle and Scali, Bones and Wee Suzie, Keith and Gillian Helyar, Egg, Carol, Me and of course Bruce. Bardie and James couldn't make it but we had a a good night nonetheless (hope you're feeling better guys). We went to the Exhibit Bar and Restaurant in Balham, which I think is a great place even if the view is out over the Sainsbury's Supermarket carpark.
'Sarvo we're off to Dublin, but first Egg has to go to the Post Office and pick up her Peter Alexander Ugg Boots.

This is Creative Writing 101

Erin and I have enrolled in a creative writing class. Our homework last week was to write the first line of a story, not the whole story, one line only. Then the whole class put them in a box and withdrew someone elses, now we have to finish that story.
I wrote a few but settled on "It was the most grotesque thing Ross had ever seen, and he'd been a plastic surgeon for twenty years". It was relatively well received by the class.
Erin's was "Albert had a recurring dream that he was being attacked by a flock of angry pigeons". Also producing a few laughs.
In return I received " 'I married an ex-monk, if that helps' ". I'm thinking, buddhist monk, Japan ... Something along those lines.
Playing tour guide to Bruce and Carol today. I hardly slept again last night.