Rainbow g's Minty Meanderings

Dancing, spoons and steps

2011-09-13T12:42:00.001+10:00

Jade has a bit of a play, then goes for a little stroll.

Exploratoring

2011-08-13T01:13:00.001+10:00

Jade exploring

Good Morning Jade

Jade bounces

Dancing Baby

2011-06-14T23:38:00.001+10:00

It’s a bit dark, but here’s some fun footage of a dancing Jade. We got this activity table recently from eBay, and she loves it! Money well spent.

8.5months

Thankyou Amma

2011-05-23T23:56:00.001+10:00

Thank you Amma for the new outfit xoxo

Hmmm… what mischief can I get away with?

Balloon hugs!

Balloon yoga!

Power to the balloon!

Draw handles rock.

Ooooo…. I see beanbag plastic.

Mission complete.

On The Move

2011-05-18T23:28:00.001+10:00

On Saturday Jade turned 8 months. Where did the time go?

The last couple of weeks have been exciting ones in the life of an 8 month old. After watching all of the other babies at mother’s group start crawling, Jade finally decided it was time to give it a go. So she has been commando crawling diagonally for just over a week now, and all of a sudden a few days ago she sat up from crawling. I am one very proud mummy!

Here is a heap of recent footage for those who are interested…

Having a play with Daddy after Sunday lunch

Putting her newly found crawling skills to use.

Getting ready for a bath, one of Jade’s favourite times of the day.

Working off her breakfast, getting faster every day.

Showing off her commando crawling and sitting skills.

February Baby

2011-03-17T23:42:00.001+11:00

Here are photos from February. In February Jade started rolling to her right, from her back to stomach only, needing to be rescued every 15 minutes. There were many more smiles and giggles to be had for all.

Bouncing around with Joshua, Jazmine and Harrison at Gymbaroo.

Helping Daddy study.

Our first trip to the pool.

Our little doll.

Tummy time is not so bad after all!

All the little munchkins visiting Amy.
Leo, Zoe, Katherine, Poppy, me, Jade and Hayley.

One morning Gideon let me sleep in, and when I got up later I was greeted by this extra cute little elf.

Contemplating the meaning of life.

Contemplating the tastiness of socks.

House party!!

Life or death decision: the ladybird or the bee?

Om nom nom…

Yummy carroty fingers.

Pouting papoose

Jade went through a couple of weeks in Feb when she pouted all the time. Does not bode well for the terrible twos.

Yikes@!

Day trip to Collingwood Children’s Farm. Yeay!

Gideon and Jade make friends with a donkey

Goat

Pretty birdy

Jade

Smiley baby

Hiding

I think she looks like Yoda in this photo

Behind bars

Mothers Group at the Royal Botanical Gardens

January Baby

2011-03-13T09:11:00.001+11:00

Here are some photos from way back in January. Seems like so long ago, I am sure Jade has grown a fair bit since then. At her four month check up, Jade was 6.17kg and 63cm long. She’ll be turning 6 months this coming week, so I’ll try and get her weighed and measured again.

Hanging out with Daddy.

Thoughtful baby.

Playful baby.

Glorious sleep-in.

Gimmie more toys!

Instructions: This is how you rotate 225 degrees with no hands.

Ribbons are awesome… and so tasty.

Anything within reach goes in the mouth.

Smile for Daddy.

Helping Daddy play xBox.

Jade went through a period of laughing at whistling, even my pathetic whistling. Unfortunately her tastes have evolved, and she requires high quality whistling now.

Devouring some reading.
Thanks Auntie Lizzie for The Hungry Caterpillar, it has been a favourite.

Laughing baby.

Checking out out the new Christmas toy and practising some sitting at the same time.

Who needs expensive toys? crinkly packets are the best!

Cheeky baby.

Underwear model?

Watching cars and bunnies with Daddy.

Chatting with Georgia at mothers group.

Gideon tending to our vegie patch.

First attempt at solids. Jade is not so sure about this rice cereal stuff.

What we did today

2011-03-06T23:40:00.001+11:00

Running a couple of months behind on photos now! Sorry. Will try and get them all up this week.. but in the meantime, here are a couple of photos and some footage from today.

Every day, Jade is getting better at sitting. She can often sit unassisted, but needs to be watched as she can tip over at any moment!

This is a funny face I’ve never seen before!

First trip to the pool with Daddy… showing off some standing skills!

This is how to paddle away from a shark…

Jade shows Gideon what she has learnt this week at swim class.

A Sunday Swim

Farewell friend

2011-01-08T01:50:00.001+11:00

About while ago we decided that as much as we loved the mini we needed a more family-friendly mode of transport. So we bought ourselves a Volkswagon Golf GTI and put the mini on the market. Today, about 9 months later, we finally sold the mini.

Although we have known we would be saying goodbye for a long time, it was sad to see it go. Driving the Great Ocean Road will never be the same again.

Raspberry Season

2011-01-07T01:25:00.001+11:00

Jade is mostly a very serious young lady, but every day she makes me laugh. The last couple of days she has come to the realisation that she can blow raspberries, so she does so at every waking opportunity. Half the time she is just blowing air and the other half the time there are lots of bubbles.

Here are some more photos from our silly season.

Some pre-Christmas shopping.
I love how babies can fall asleep anywhere anytime anyhow.

Nick, Olive, Gen and Archie putting together a gingerbread house.

David and Gideon spent hours pouring cement and putting together this shed which had 400 screws.

Olive and Archie put together a Christmas Eve pizza. I think this one ended up having a 3 slice thick layer of hot salami.

Indian for lunch with Gideon, David and Anne-Marie. We felt very special as the restaurant opened only for us.

Jade hanging out with Grandpa and Aunty Cate.

Christmas morning.
Jade is not so sure about this Christmas business.

Archie and Olive ready to open presents.

That’s not a turkey, this is a turkey!

Anne-Marie, David and Cate open presents.

Jade opens her presents…
Or maybe just eats them.

*Sigh* – it’s all too much for Tyke.

My very cute rosy cheeked nephew Danny with mama Lynn.

A lovely New Year’s Eve of company and food at Paul and Tania’s.

Tummmmmmy time!!

We’re All Going on a Summer Holiday

2010-12-24T23:07:00.001+11:00

Greetings and Merry Christmas Eve from beautiful Corlette. We have been up here for the last week and a half staying with Gideon’s parents.

Gideon has been busy helping his parents out around the house and garden, while for Jade and I it is business as usual – eat, play, sleep.

Here are some photos from the last couple of weeks. As always they are mostly of Jade.

Our Little Buddha -
Sometimes Jade falls asleep in the car, so we leave her in the capsule. Occasionally she’ll sleep for hours!

Nappy change on the parcel shelf -
on the long trip from Melbourne to Corlette

Jade
with Amma (Anne-Marie)

Bath-time!
In a very cool inflatable bath.

   Jade hanging out in
   all her new clothes.
   She has just
   graduated from
   000 to 00.

I love getting Jade out of bed after she wakes up.
There are usually some lovely smiles and laughs for us, especially first thing in the morning.

One morning last week I woke up and laughed a lot when I looked into Jade’s cot. I found her wide awake. She had managed to rotate her body 90 degrees and wedge herself horizontally across the width of the cot!

Cuddles with Mummy and Daddy

Playtime – Jade’s dexterity and hand-eye co-ordination has improved rapidly over the last couple of weeks. She is grabbing everything and putting lots of things in her mouth now.

Tyke the cavoodle

All cheeky smiles and laughs

We had a lovely visit from my Auntie Hillary and Uncle Brett this week who drove down from Taree.

Brontosaurus impersonation

Sunset over Port Stephens

Christmas Cheer

2010-12-24T00:35:00.001+11:00

Caught up with the girls from school almost a week and a half ago for our annual Christmas get together. The kids had some fun with bubbles. Here are some pics.

Hanging out in the Garden

The Culprits

Free Spirits

Adults can have fun with bubbles too…

Tales from the Toybox

2010-12-12T21:08:00.001+11:00

Despite my inconsistency and unreliability in updating this blog, I have agreed to become one of several regular contributors to Tales from the Toybox. It is a blog from mums to mums, covering advice, information, experiences and anecdotes all related to being a mum or mum-to-be. It went live last week, so if you are interested, check it out.

http://toyboxtales.wordpress.com/

HP7, P1

2010-12-12T20:41:00.001+11:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1: 4/5

Cast: Same as the last 6 movies!

In a nutshell: Just like an old friend who has returned. Setting the scene for all the action in Part 2.

Brief Synopsis: Voldemort’s death eaters have infiltrated the Ministry of Magic. Harry Potter must find and destroy the remaining horcruxes in order to defeat him.

Much has been said about the greedy money making tactics of the film makers of HP7 in splitting the seventh book into two parts. Most critics have said that Part 1 was slow and the story did not warrant splitting into two movies. Having devoured all the books a long time ago, I look forward to each movie as a guilty pleasure, and I do not want the series to end. Part 1 did not have a lot of action, but I felt it had enough suspense to keep the story going, and you can just feel it ramping up for some all out action in the last instalment. I also enjoyed the interaction between the main characters now that they are much older and more mature. It is like seeing your nephew or niece grow up. Perhaps not the best of movies if you are not a fan of the books and movies, but very enjoyable for the rest of us.

Must be someone else’s child!

2010-12-11T20:32:00.001+11:00

Jade hit the 12 week mark this past week. At her 12 week check up, she weighed in at 5.44kg and measured 62cm long. In relative terms, she’s pretty much slap bang on average for weight, and somewhere between the 85-90th percentile for length. With a mother who is only 4’10”, something weird is going on!

At 12 weeks she is a lot more vocal. In particular, the baby talk seems to ramp up when she is tired or complaining about something. Even then it is still very cute!

My favourite thing that she does at the moment is put both her fists in the air and keeps them there for ages.

Dancing with the mouse

Kungfu Baby!

She is also starting to grab things now. Sometimes we put the maraca in her hand and she’ll shake it around for about 10 minutes without even realising she’s holding it.

Still hates Tummy Time though.

Pretty in Pink!

I don’t like drenching our little girl
in pink (can be hard to find non-
pink clothes for baby girls), but I
have to admit it does make her
look prettier.

Loving these cute baa lamb overalls,
a gift from Jade’s Ang Aunts and Uncles.

The social butterfly, hanging out
with:

Michael, Amy, Daniella & Dante
(above)

Gong-gong (right)

Beautiful Jade

The Social Network: 3.75/5

2010-11-30T20:04:00.001+11:00

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland), Andrew Garfield (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), Justin Timberlake (The Love Guru)

In a nutshell: Well made and intriguing

Synopsis: The story of how Facebook came to be

Often I find that biographic movies tend to plod along with no particular climax and as a result are rather boring and dull. Despite being a biographic account of Mark Zuckerberg and how he went from computer geek to the creator of Facebook (and despite the vomiting infant I went to see this with) I found myself interested in how it all happened, who were the players and what happened to them. As always David Fincher (Director: Fightclub) has done a superb job, and the actors are all good, giving understated and effective performances. It wasn’t a wow movie, but surprisingly it did leave me thoughtful afterwards.

Busy Baby

2010-11-21T19:34:00.001+11:00

The life of a baby is pretty tough. All this growing and learning, eating and sleeping makes the days fly past.

In the last couple of weeks Jade and I have been stepping out to try and mix it up a bit.

BABY AROUND THE TOWN

- Mothers’ Group has started up and will run every Friday for 6 weeks. If nothing else it is good to have something that makes you get out of the house each week. It’s a 45 minute walk each way, so I’m getting exercise. The other mother’s are lovely, and it’s handy hearing their experiences and tips and seeing what the other babies are doing.

- Mums & Bubs Session: We went and saw The Social Network a couple of weeks ago (see following post for review). With the lights left on dim you can feed and see what you are doing. Only, they forgot to leave the lights on at first, so it was dark and Jade threw up in the first 5 minutes. Luckily it was not a big one and we managed to make it through the rest of the movie, although somewhat smelly. The cinema was near empty so there was room to spread out, and it was good to not have to stress if your baby started to cry. I think I will definitely go back in future.

- Rhyme Time: On Thursday mornings our local library runs Rhyme Time (or Baby Karaoke, as it is called at Bulleen Library). One of the librarians takes the parents and children under 2 years old through a number of nursery rhymes and songs. Although she is a little young to partake as yet, Jade didn’t cry for the half hour, so I take that as a sign of success!

- A Week Away: Gideon was away this week for work, so we spent most of the week out at Gong-gong and Poh-poh’s house. Luckily Jade was flexible and seemed to bathe and sleep well there, which made me very happy as it meant I had some support if I needed it, and best of all, Mum’s delicious home cooked meals every night. She was particularly hypnotized by the view of the trees moving with the breeze and even put up with her Mum’s very rusty piano playing.

BABY PICTURES

I can’t stop taking pictures of our little munchkin. As each day goes by she gets more animated and it is harder to pick favourites. So here is a well culled selection:

Good morning Mummy!! Have you come to feed me?

Sitting practice with Daddy. No need to look so forlorn little Jade!

More learning how to sit. Somehow Sitting Jade always looks smaller and cuter than Horizontal Jade!

One day she spent a large portion of her waking hours staring at her fist.

Fist sucking is also a favourite hobby of late.

In the portacot at Gong-gong & Poh-poh’s. That’s not a sleepy face!

Reading Cat in the Hat with Daddy. Very focused.

I think Jade looks like a toy doll in this photo!

Usually Jade gets overtired around 5-6pm each day, and this is the result.

*Sigh* – what a busy day.

Baby - Environmental Blackhole

2010-11-05T18:14:00.015+11:00

Rant of the Week:
As harmless as they may appear (see Exhibit A), I have arrived at the conclusion that babies are a major contributing factor to our environmental problems.

Exhibit A

Last week our little cherub embarked on a campaign to deplete our considerable supply of linen. There were all sorts of bodily functions going on, mainly vomiting, on change mats, bedsheets, towels and me! Who would have thought such a little thing could create so much washing.

Then, there are the nappies... there have been times when there have been two nappy changes required during one half hour feed. We made the decision to go with disposable nappies which contributes greatly to landfill. The alternative is cloth nappies which do not contribute as much to landfill, but require a lot of water and soap for washing, plus electricity assuming you do not wash by hand. I will be the first to admit, that although cloth nappies may have a lesser environmental impact, the thought of all that washing scares me, so I will have to concede that I am not doing my part for the environment.

Two Apologies:

1. Apologies to those who have been waiting for an update and new photos. My computer has been playing up and needs a rebuild (good excuse for being lazy).

2. Also apologies and thanks to those who have been posting comments on the blog, I just realised that I am now required to moderate and approve the comments before they appear on the blog, whereas this was previously not required. They should all be appearing now. : )

Latest Photos:

Play time

There is something about the way babies yawn that I find adorable.
Thankyou Amma for the very cute growsuits.
Loving the fact that spring has brought some warm weather so that she can wear them.

Cycling practice, with help from puppy.

The last couple of weeks we have started to see a lot more expression from our little baby. Jade has started to smile (although Gideon still doesn't believe me!) and baby talk. Definitely makes all the cleaning and night time feeds worthwhile.

Jade has something to say

Not happy Mum

Nah, just joking

Milestones

2010-10-19T19:30:00.002+11:00

Last week Jade turned one month old. It feels as if we have had her a lot longer, so much has happened and we have learnt so much about being parents to a newborn baby. And just as we are getting used to having our new play-thing she continues to change and grow every day… I imagine we will continue to learn how to be parents for the next twenty or so years.

This is the birthday bun I bought in celebration… of course it was completely for my own benefit.

Last Monday was also Jade’s 4-week check up. She continues to grow at a healthy rate, weighing 3.985kg and measuring 54.5cm tall. I feel very blessed to have a healthy little girl (that is, when she’s not crying).

Helping Daddy with the washing.

Hmmm… maybe washing is not so interesting.

Yes, some of the singers on X Factor really are that bad.

L: Favourite sleeping position – The Running Man

R: @ Bath time

Hanging out with Poh-poh.

Little Squeaker a.k.a. Jade

2010-10-11T09:44:00.001+11:00

After months of being asked “Do you have a name yet?”, culminating in some intense cajoling from eager family and friends in the last month, we finally got off our arses and made a decision!

I had gotten used to using all sorts of pet names in lieu of a proper name and that is probably going to be a hard habit to break. So our Baby Girl, Little Squeaker, Pumpkin, Sweetie, Little Munchkin, Cheeky Monkey, Rainbow, Snorkler, Little Piggy shall henceforth be called:

Jade Arwyn Meiyu Rann

Of the long list of names we had, we narrowed it down to a few favourites and Jade seemed to suit our little lady the most. Arwyn is a nod to Gideon’s Welsh heritage. Meiyu is her Chinese name, and literally means beautiful jade.

Other than that, not much other news to report. Time is going fast, and Jade is nearly a month old already. Every day she seems to have grown and even her looks have changed slightly as her face fills out a little.

Here are some shots from playtime.

Spring has sprung, and so have the babies!

2010-10-04T10:13:00.001+11:00

Spring is my favourite time of year. Most likely it is due to the occurrence of my birthday, but also the appearance of blossoms and the pleasant temperatures (questionable in Melbourne) make for a lovely time of year.

Spring is also known as the time of year for babies, whether they be animals or human. To prove the point, my Congratulations and love go out to Katherine & Andrew who gave birth to Penelope (Poppy) last week, and Lisa & Ben who also welcomed Dylan to the world (on Lisa’s birthday no less!).

Beautiful spring blossoms on our visit to the Maternal & Child Health Nurse

Also worth mentioning from the last week or so… the Pies won the grand final on that special last weekend of September…hmmm… make that the first weekend of October (and earned the AFL, Channel 7 and MCG a heap of extra money!). And we had a special visit from our proud paternal grandparents from up north.

Anne-Marie has cuddle with her first grandchild.

Grandpa David has a chat with his grand daughter

Family photo, out for a walk at the lakes

All the grandparents

And with regards to our own little cherry blossom, she is growing quickly (above average at 350g between visits with the nurse). For everyone who has been asking, we still have not finalised a name, although we are very close now.

Play time with Daddy

Looking all rock ‘n’ roll for the camera. Thanks to for all from Credit Risk for the gorgeous hamper-box (including cute t-shirt and socks) and Lynn for the stripy pants!

10 Days of Parenthood

2010-09-24T22:35:00.001+10:00

It has only been 10 days so far, but it feels like months. So much has happened in the last fortnight.

Pregnancy was a very gradual experience, but becoming a parent has been a bit of a leap into the unknown. As our baby grows, so do we. A very steep learning curve.

The labour itself was very long and somewhat painful… but as I have often heard from mothers who have done it more than once, memories of it are already beginning to fade. The C-section came as a huge relief in the end.

I spent the first night with the tiny munchkin sleeping on my chest - precious first hours. The few nights were not so good, the hungry little thing seemed to want to feed all night.

Breast feeding has been the most challenging aspect. Am I doing it right? Is she getting enough? Sore breasts and nipples… and a very unsettled non-sleeping young lass for the first few nights when the milk was yet to come in.

Since then life has been on a hour by hour basis, revolving around her sleeping and feeding times. But so far we seemed to have been blessed with a beautiful, healthy and mostly good sleeper. Knock on wood.

Here are a few photos of our adventures so far:

Favourite past times – resting/napping/sleeping.

Thank you Geordie and Sophie for the Wrap Me Up swaddle, it makes her look like a little angel!

Hanging out with some visitors. Aunty Lynn & Cousin James (left), Daniella (below left) and Geoff (Below right).

Stepping out with Daddy for some furniture shopping.

It’s all about who you know

2010-09-22T23:16:00.001+10:00

The Expendables: 2.5/5

Cast: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky 1-6), Jason Statham (Transporter 1-3), Jet Li (Once Upon a Time in China 1-3) + other miscellaneous ageing former cult action stars.

In a nutshell: Laughable, but strangely entertaining

Synopsis: A highly skilled band of mercenaries are hired to assassinate the dictator of a small South American Island.

The acting, the plot, the action, the editing, the script and the directing are suspect all round. And yet, with the cast that Sly has managed to gather and the tongue-in-cheek tact he has taken, you can’t help but enjoy yourself.

Mmm… Jake’s abs

2010-06-06T11:18:00.001+10:00

Prince of Persia: 3.25/5

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain), Gemma Arterton (Quantam of Solace), Ben Kingsley (Ghandi), Alfred Molina (Frida, Spiderman 2)

In a nutshell: More action packed than the original platform game

Synopsis: We follow the quest of Dastan, resourceful and hunky street urchin –come- adopted Prince of Persia as he fights to prove his innocence following the death of the King, find the culprit, protect an ancient dagger, woo the girl and of course save the world.

Action packed from start to finish with the occasional cheeky one-liner thrown in for good measure, this is simply a fun outing at the cinema. The occasional Parkour moves, jumping from building to building, and the swinging from strategically placed rods of the hero, took me back to my teenage days of playing the game on the pc. Gyllenhaal, the thinking woman’s piece of candy, is more buff than usual and quite charming to listen to with his passable British accent. While Arterton makes a good antagonist and, I’m sure the guys will agree, is not bad to look at either. Kingsley and Molina are good in their supporting roles as always, although perhaps Kingsley was a little subtle for my tastes. It does not take rocket science to figure out the story line, but the action, humour and richness of Persia created make up for it. I would definitely watch it again, if only to see Jake’s abs.

Cursed with ALDH deficiency

2009-11-15T03:26:00.001+11:00

Firstly HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY CLARE!

Sitting at home on a Saturday night feeling sorry for myself and getting teary over Two Weeks Notice (sad sad case).

Tonight was all set to be a huge night… going out to celebrate the young and totally glamourous Clare’s 30th birthday. Was all dressed up and looking hot (well, about as hot as Gayle can look). Instead I was stupid, had half a glass of champagne, ended up feeling dodgey and went home early leaving everyone else to party on. Such a wuss. So disappointing.

I can’t drink. Evidence item 1 – our trip to York a couple of years ago. According to foodreactions.org:

“The commonest abnormal reaction to alcohol is seen in persons from an oriental background, who get flushing, increased heart rate, and symptoms of reduced blood pressure. This is sometimes referred to as 'oriental flushing syndrome'. Approximately 50% of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans are deficient in ALDH, and this has been reported to be protective against the development of alcoholism.”

Where Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH) is an enzyme that is needed to metabolise the alcohol into acetic acid (vinegar).

Turns out I must get hit by this a little more than the average Oriental. When drinking I go ridiculously pink, my heart races abnormally, sometimes I feel like I’m going to faint, and on some occasions I have. As a result I think I have developed some paranoia about fainting which makes me panic at any sign of fainting which makes it even more likely!

Feeling very left out of all the fun, and I have no one to blame but myself. You think I would grow up and be more responsible after 33 years. I guess you could say it is giving into peer pressure… sometimes it is just not fun to be the only sober person surrounded by drunk people.

Upside is I got home early, definitely feeling somewhat less nauseous, and have been entertained by some faraway friends on Skype.

I also have to admit to having had a gorgeous day with Clare and her beautiful friends on a day trip to Hepburn Springs. Relaxing in mineral baths/spas followed up by Devonshire tea… what a perfect day. Didn’t get any photos of the girls (my antiquated camera has been dropped one too many times), but I did get a photo of the place. Thanks for including me in the fun girls. And Clare, hope you had a really special day and night. Can’t wait to make it up to you with some partying in Melbourne some time soon. xoxo

So Hot Right Now…

2009-11-10T21:36:00.001+11:00

Well, my promise to blog every day didn’t last very long, did it. But more than once in one week is a good start at least :)

Summer is finally here! After getting up week after week at 6am in pitch black, doing exercise in the dark in a cold sweat with freezing cold hands and whinging continually about it, I’m now complaining about how hot it is.

Perhaps if I think cold thoughts….

Here are some photos from my sister’s Hen’s night at Chill On Ice Bar in Melbourne.

I remember we couldn’t wait to get out of the bar, it was too cold, counting down the seconds till the end of our allocated 30 minutes!

The start of a new regime

2009-11-07T12:18:00.001+11:00

So glad summer is here. Definitely makes getting up at 6am in the morning for exercise easier. Gets me all excited to get back to doing stuff like waking up (only marginally more likely to happen), going out for a drink, catching up with friends, going for a bike ride… and maybe even updating the blog.

Going to attempt something unheard of here… will try to update each day, even if it is with just a random photo. Afterall I have about 18 months worth of photos that I still haven’t blogged.

Here’s one now, a rememberance of Autumn now long past.

Little Rant

2009-07-15T01:46:00.002+10:00

It's almost 2am in the morning, and I'm up procrastinating and trying to write a report for work. That's f%$&'d up. What am I doing??

It's times like these when any random thought is interesting. Pigging out on Cadbury Black Forest chocoloate...mmm... those chewy cherry bits are so yummy. Starting to feel a bit ill though.

Thinking that I should get over my aversion to jumping on the bandwagon, and start posting photos on Facebook. But then does that almost make this blog redundant? Barely write in it nowadays, no one might notice if I stopped writing it anyway. It's the need to blog well that prevents me from writing more often. Should just get over it and get into the habit of writing frequently.... even if half the time it is rubbish.

Work sucks a bit at the moment. Too much to do in too little time. Think I just need to take some holidays. Over the last 9 months, have taken 1 day of leave and 2 halves of an RDO... probably starting to take its toll now. Should use up some leave.

Bit over having long hair too. But it takes so long to grow, seems a shame to cut it all off. Just had it trimmed... so that should last me another 2-3 months. Then maybe I'll cut it for summer.

Looking forward to the snow. It has been too long since me and my sweet board have been on the powder. The thought of hitting the slopes always makes me both excited and scared. I know the risk of injury is not exactly small... sometimes I wonder why we enjoy it so much. $96 for a one day lift pass... ridiculous! Perhaps it's the beautiful scenery. Maybe it's the exercise. Don't like the speed so much.... wuss.

Hmmm... better get working... have to be up in 4 hours.....

One of the things I miss most about the UK...

2009-03-29T14:26:00.006+11:00

The large concentration of Take That fans.

I miss hearing Take That songs regularly on commercial radio, and DJ's actually being excited about playing Take That songs.

Sometimes I feel very lonely here in Australia in my love for Take That. I have been listening to their latest album 'The Circus' and really enjoying it. Perhaps it is a little more 'easy listening' than modern pop, a little closer to what Gary Barlow was writing when he was solo and had no sucess with (just goes to show how well marketing works and the subtleties of it all). Still, I think it's a pretty decent album.

In the UK it was the fastest selling album this decade and second fastest ever, selling 1 million copies in 19 days. It went 6 times platinum in the UK and apparently was the 27th best selling album in the world in 2008.

And yet, I have heard next to nothing about it in Australia.

I'm in Love!

2009-01-18T14:47:00.007+11:00

2.5 years ago....

No, that wasn't the last time I blogged, although I must admit that it is not too far off...

An extremely thoughtful group of friends gave me an wonderful birthday present of contributing towards a new bicycle and accessories. After quite a number of months... no, years of procrastinating and waiting for the right moment, my trusty old Shogun Trailbreaker 3 finally started to show signs of wanting to retire.

Thus, behold my new Giant CRX3 (2008 model):

I cannot begin to say Thankyou enough to my generous friends.

She is just beautiful.

After a couple of months of bike shopping, wanting a mountain bike, then being convinced by a salesman to get a hybrid, and being adamant that I definitely did not want a road bike because I needed to be able to ride off roads sometimes, I ended up getting a flat bar roadbike. The guys at Lygon Cycles helped me out with a great deal and set me up with all the necessary accessories.

She rides like a dream. Although I must admit that I never realised that Melbourne had so many badly repaired roads before. Every bump in the road has me worried about my newest love.

But I have made the 20km ride out to the east, complete with two heavy panniers, and so far, no problems at all. Just have to get used to going so fast!

*sigh* - I really couldn't be happier with my new purchase. To you special persons, Thanks again for the Birthday Present! It's perfect.

It's been ages since I've been to the movies, but here are a couple from way back....

Bolt 3D: 3.5/5

Cast: John Travolta (voice)

In a nutshell: The hamster is a pisser. A lot of fun.

Brief Synopsis: Movie star dog who thinks he really has super powers goes on a road trip.

Saw this one in 3D and it was amazing! Gone are the cardboard glasses with the red and blue celophane that you only use for 5 minutes of the movie. These were proper plastic glasses that we used for the WHOLE movie! Even the trailers for up and coming 3D movies, and they were also all in 3D. Anyway, to the movie - great characters and an interesting story line. A bit like ice age for me in that one of the side characters (ie. Scrat in Ice Age and the hamster here) steals the show. Worth a watch, especially in 3D if you have the opportunity.

Bride Wars: 2.5/5

Cast: Kate Hudson (How to lose a guy in 10 days), Anne Hathaway (Rachel Gets Married, The devil wears Prada)

In a Nutshell: Silly and corny, but sorta fun

Brief Synopsis: Best friends have dreamt of the perfect wedding for years, but when their weddings are accidentally booked on the same date, and furious war of sabotage ensues.

Before you set a foot inside the cinema you know what you are going to get with this movie, and so it does not fail to deliver, nor does it exceed expectations in any way. A bit of girly silliness, mostly predictable, nothing particularly special.

Festiveness

2008-12-29T12:38:00.004+11:00

A very Happy Week-in-between-Christmas-and-New Year's to You All!

Hope you are all enjoying cheer and relaxation over this festive season.

I am working my way through, but having two days off plus a weekend was just heavenly. Spent it at my parents house, eating, sleeping, shopping, gaming and watching various dvd's. Extremely unproductive and extremely bad for the waistline, but a perfect way to see in the new year!

Looking forward to seeing some of you on NYE, and the rest of you in the new year. Meanwhile, here are some reviews for some movies from some big heavy weight directors:

Movie Reviews

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 4/5

Cast: Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Thelma & Louise), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, Little Fish)

In a nutshell: Delightful and touching with a little dash of weird

Brief Synopsis: Follows the life of a boy who is born an old man but grows younger as the years go by.

David Fincher certainly has talent. With a long list of brilliant and versatile movies such as Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, Panic Room, he can add this one to the list. Most will probably disagree, but it reminded me a bit of Forrest Gump... without the annoying voice. Follows the life of someone with a disability who manages to make the most of it and encounter both challenges and triumphs on their way. Both Blanchett and Pitt are beautiful in the movie, both in their demeanour and their physicality. There are points at which you can only stare and admire. A touching tale with some lovely characters. I'm not all that sure that Brad Pitt deserves an Oscar for this role, his turn in Burn after Reading was more impressive, but then playing a character with a disability or a quirk is always a good start.

Australia 3.25/5

Cast: Hugh Jackman (X-Men, ), Nicole Kidman (The Hours, Dead Calm) and an healthy supply some of Australian's best actors

In a nutshell: Disappointing and a little lost, but still worth a watch

Brief Synopsis: Pre World War II, a proper English Lady inherits a cattle farming property in the NT and with the help of a very handsome Drover must drive 2,000 head of cattle up to Darwin in order beat the bad guys.

With such high expectations of the new Baz Luhrmann movie, there was bound to be disappointment. How could you go wrong with a heady combination of Baz, Nic and Hugh, joined by Australian stalwarts such as Bryan Brown, David Wenham, Jack Thompson?

Unfortunately there is a lot of show, but not so much substance. Baz's signature surrealism is a mismatch for the great sweeping epic that this movie tries to be. It is beautiful in parts but tacky in others. Trying to fit so much into two and a half hours the actors and the story suffer. There is a disjoint in the middle and it feels like two movies have been stuck together.

The characters are stereotypical and superficial. Brown and Wenham could have been so good, but are wasted as token bad guys. Jackman and Kidman seem to have no chemistry, but that is no surprise given their relationship goes from antagonism to full blown love in a matter of seconds. There is talk of how bad Nicole was, in fact she was rather annoying, but I tend to blame this on the bad script and poor plot development for her character.

Having said all this, it is still a very pretty movie, and certainly shows off the beauty of the Australian Outback. Brandon Walters is a standout as Nullah, the Aboriginal boy who follows the two main characters on their journey across the Top End.

Burn after Reading 4.25/5

Cast: Frances McDormand (Fargo), Brad Pitt (Mr & Mrs Smith), George Clooney (O Brother, Where art thou?) , John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich), Tilda Swinton (The curious case of Benjamin Button)

In a nutshell: Quirkily excellent

Brief Synopsis: Two gym employees find a disk containing the memoirs of an ex CIA agent and attempt to sell it.

Quirk done well is my favourite type of movie, and the Cohen Brothers do it so right. Not for everyone, it is not over the top funny, and it is not overly dramatic, rather it is very very very amusing. McDormand and Pitt are brilliant in their roles, and the rest of the cast is fab. Put in a bit of thought, revel in the glory of this tangled web of stupidity, and you will be truly rewarded.

Reflections on crossing the globe

2008-09-25T11:46:00.000+10:00

If there is one thing that I have learnt from this trip is that when it comes to tourism there are a large number of factors that can make or break a place that have nothing directly to do with the place. For example:

1. Preparation: For some people, going in unprepared is part of the adventure. The unexpected often brings the most brilliant of moments. We met a couple of people at various points who were having visa problems, I don’t think that is the type of adventure that anyone wants. We spent a lot of time researching and planning and it paid off. The “Russia Experience” were excellent and we enjoyed our various homestays, were impressed with the personal guides and were relieved to have all our tickets and accommodations booked for us without being part of a big tour group.

2. Company: It is always more fun to travel with someone and be able to share your experiences, provided things don’t’ go awry! Gideon and I have had our moments when we’ve been tired or hungry (mostly me) and a lot of patience has been required, but mostly it has been wonderful to have someone else to depend on and get excited with. The people you meet can make a place truly memorable, eg. Our nomadic host family or Mongolian train friend

3. Weather: Without a doubt sunny skies are how I like to travel. Helps make those photos look better, even if you have little skill! We’ve had only one or 2 days of rain over the last month, and one of them, our cold day in the nomadic tent made it one of our favourite days of the trip.

4. Attitude: You really have to get in there and “grab the bull by the horns” so to speak, it definitely makes the experience more enjoyable and less stressful. I don’t know if it is my age, laziness or snobbiness, but I am not sure if there is much of the intrepid traveler left in me. While I don’t think I will ever completely lose the travel bug, there is something to be said for the comforts of home or a good hotel! We have met some travelers who have definitely inspired me. Lisa, our American friend who we spent much of the first half of the trip with, spent six months learning Russian before the trip (in addition to studying for The Bar), and it showed. Thanks to Lisa, we were able to go to a restaurant and not end up ordering the boiled ox tongues. Brook and MianXin, the Kiwi we met had a wonderful optimistic outlook and love of trying new things which makes almost any place or situation enjoyable. There was Simon, the 20 year old from Melbourne who conversed with the locals with his little Russian, constantly trying to learn more. While we did learn a few basic words in Russian, and I learnt to read the Russian Cyrillic, I feel ashamed that we barely made an effort in Russia to learn the language. I think it would have made a difference.

5. Sheer luck & Timing: We booked our trip for the dates we did purely because it was when we were due to leave the UK. As a result we had near perfect weather, we missed the ticks at Lake Baikal, we experienced a proper Mongolian BBQ and experienced Beijing post Olympics. On the other hand there are some things that are destined not to go your way, e.g. trying to find deep friend scorpions in Beijing. Although, of course, often bad luck or bad timing can be offset by good preparation (see point 1) or good attitude (see point 4).

Project Peking Duck

2008-09-17T19:25:00.001+10:00

My expectation of Beijing was that old image of the crazily manic streets filled with cars, motorbikes, hundreds of bicycles, pedestrians and lined with old ugly run down apartment buildings. How wrong I was. Perhaps having the 2008 Olympics made all the difference, I will never know. Regardless, I was impressed and thoroughly relished our short time in Beijing. The city felt new, clean, spacey and bright.

We arrived at Beijing train station a little unprepared and bewildered. Gideon (no pointing fingers) thought we could walk to the hotel so we were looking to buy a map. Outside the station was chaotic. People everywhere. None of the vendors had English maps and all the information booths were closed. We were surprised, but later discovered the Paralympics didn’t start for almost a week yet. Extremely frustrated with our heavy packs, we finally found a map at a hostel and discovered the hotel was a fair walk. So we caught a taxi. Annoyingly the address we had for the hotel was an English translation of the street name which of course the taxi driver did not understand and my limited Chinese could not explain. In the end we rang the hotel and all frustration was quickly forgotten.

Knowing that we would have been traveling full-on for a month, Gideon had booked us a very swish hotel for our stay in Beijing. With a 3-for-2 night deal, we splurged out on a room at the 5* Westin. I think the hotel alone would have made our trip to Beijing a great one. The room was amazing. A huge king sized bed, ‘rainforest’ shower, complimentary bathologist, slippers set out for us at bed time, free wifi, immense breakfast in bed, an extremely helpful concierge, etc. etc. We were so impressed we didn’t leave the hotel for the rest of the day!

The following day the hotel organized a car for us to go see the Great Wall. The driver only spoke a smattering of English, although he did use “Oh my Gaaawwd!” a few times on passing a couple of inexplicable car accidents. It gave me another chance to practice my Chinese. While I was surprised at how much Chinese I have remembered from 10 years ago, I am also aware just how bad my Chinese is too! The plan was to go see The Wall and the Ming Tombs, then be back in time for dinner. On the way there, the driver asked me something about buying some things (I couldn’t understand what) for friends back home and whether we wanted to make a stop. I shrugged and said yes!

Unsure what to expect, we were somewhat suspicious when a young lady met us at the front of the building and started explaining how traditional copper and enamel potter was handmade on site, taking us through the work shops. We were then taken to a massive sales room, explained the significance of different items and then told we could then purchase some samples (of course!!). I can honestly say we were completely sucked in and ended up spending a lot of money there. I wondered whether the driver made a commission??

Chang Cheng – The Great Wall of China
WOW. WOW…. WOW! My jaw is still hanging open. It is completely understandable why this is one of the Ancient Wonders of the World. We were taken to MuTianYu a small reconstructed section of The Wall that was a little less crowded and sleeper than Badaling where a lot of other tourists were taken. Incomprehensively high, thick and long, The Wall was nestled in a beautifully green and mountainous area, both impressive and stunning, I couldn’t stop taking photos. We contemplated that by the time the enemy crossed the surrounding mountains, there would be no way that they could scale and penetrate it.

My main mission while in Beijing was to get myself some authentic Peking Duck. Going on recommendations in both the Lonely Planet and our Russian Experience information I made a semi Chinese-English booking at LiQun Roast Duck Restaurant. Then after reading that the restaurant, while good, is usually full of foreigners, we decided to cancel the booking and ask for a recommendation from the Concierge. Good thinking Gideon! We were sent off to DaDong Roast Duck Restaurant, apparently famous in Beijing. They didn’t take reservations so we sat at the bar to wait, where we had a view of the 5 or 6 chefs working away in an area dedicated to duck roasting. Near by, on the wall, there were framed messages from important people such as the Spanish and NZ ambassadors. Also a good indicator, a large proportion of the clientele looked like locals, always a good sign. We felt in good company.

I’m not sure how authentic our experience was, but it was definitely an experience. The menu was about A3 size and an inch thick with exquisite pictures of all of the dishes. It seemed to combine traditional Chinese ingredients and ideas with a more modern, European presentation. After some language difficulties, as per usual we ordered way too much. Everything was delicious. The Peking Duck was an experience unto itself. Our waitress showed us three different ways to eat the duck. There was the say I’m familiar with, in a pancake with cucumber, spring onion and hoisin sauce, in some light bread pockets with garlic sauce (and other stuff) and also simply dipped in sugar (who would have thought?). To be honest, I have had better, but overall the meal was a culinary sensation!

On our last day in Beijing we hada sleep in and then headed off to explore the grandeur and opulence of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. After a very long day of sightseeing with only a shared ice cream and some drinks, I was feeling pretty tired and somewhat narky (Gideon can vouch). I started to perk up at the though of food as we had planned to head to Beijing’s famous food market where all sorts of strange delicacies can be sampled at the hawker stores. The book at the hotel said it was located at the end of the big shopping street Wangfumen Dajie. After half an hour of looking at the end of the street we couldn’t find it. By now I was pissed off to the point of not wanting to eat anymore. We headed south towards the main shopping mall area and still couldn’t find it so we gave up and resorted to McDonalds instead. On a full stomach I was much happier although disappointed about the market. We walked back towards the nearest main road to hail a taxi, only to find the food market. It turns out we had missed it earlier due to buses blocking our view as we crossed the road earlier. Oh well! Unfortunately we were both full and had to be at a show to see the National Chinese Acrobats (mind boggling feats of juggling umbrellas with feet, balancing on a piece of wood atop 5 stacked rolling cylinders or 12 girls on a moving bicycle) shortly, but we did manage to fit in some fried seahorse!

Aboard the Trans-Mongolian

2008-09-17T19:24:00.000+10:00

We are now on our last train leg from Ulaan Baatar to Beijing. While I definitely enjoyed Mongolia more than Russia I am not starting to really look forward to heading home. I’m also excited about heading into a country where I may have some semblance of a chance with the language!

By now Gideon and I are old hands at this train traveling business. The time so far has flown. It’s a 30 hour journey which includes a 4 hour boarder crossing and one night of sleep. Supposedly the scenery tomorrow morning in Beijing will be sublime! We’ve spent some time sleeping/reading/blogging/studying the Mandarin phrasebook and then spent quite a while in the restaurant car which was much more reasonable that its Russian counterpart despite the attendant trying to charge us $US172 (more like $13 including takeaway drinks)!

After lunch we were pleasantly surprised to the make acquaintance with one of the two other people in our cabin. The other has spent most of the day next door with his friends. This one spent the morning sleeping. We later found out he had spent the night out with this mates before jumping straight onto the train. A student from Mongolia studying in China, he had a little English, but some decent Chinese which allowed for a conversation to be conducted mainly in Chinese. A truly international contingent! We played some knucklebones (cross fingers we get our new set back into Australia) and then cards. Hopefully between the two of us we will remember the rules of a new Mongolian card game that we have learnt.

A Nomadic Experience

2008-09-04T14:26:00.005+10:00

Sitting here chillin' in our ger tent a the Elstei tourist camp. Through our door facing south (as they all do), I can see one of the many grassy rolling hills that we have been treated to over the last 4-5 days. *sigh*, so peaceful. After a somewhat gentle horse ride this morning to see an obscenely massive silver statue of Ghengis Khan a few hills away, I'm feeling a little sore and very much looking forward to a massage in about 20 minutes.

Ever since Timon returned from his experiences on the Train Siberian Railway many years ago and raved about Mongolia, I have been eager to see it for myself. I can honestly say it hasn't disappointed. The train ride from Ulan Ude to Ulaan Baatar took about 24 hour, but included 10 hours just crossing the border. The train arrived at the Russian Boarder post and it appeared that nothing happened for the first 5 hours. Finally customs and passport control came through and completed their checks over the space of 2 hours. Then there was another 3 hours of almost exactly the same formalities at the Mongolian border post. Passengers were heard to say "it had to be the most boring day of my life!". This train leg was a little different in that pretty much all of the passengers in our carriage were foreigners, ie. not Russian. For the first time, we had English speakers in our Cabin! Between the two border posts, I think we lost a large number of carriages with Russian locals and gained ones with Mongolians to add to our two carriages of tourists.

What is so great about Mongolia, for me, is how unspoilt it is. It has a population of about 3 million people, of which just over 1 million live in the capital city, Ulaan Baatar. As you approach Ulaan Baatar it is as if you can see where the city starts and ends. The city has just started to spread into the hills around it. In the city centre there is a massive square that looks brand new and gives the city the feeling of space. Around it, the buildings seem more spaced out than your average capital city, and there is a lot of development going on. Mongolia's second language is English, so already we felt more welcomed.

We were driven out to the Bayangobi desert by our driver and our personal guide who would be with us for the next 6 days. The trip took about 7 hours along some tarmacked road and lot of off road bumpiness in a crazy minivan. Along the way I was constantly amazed by the vastness and beauty of the scenery. Kilometres of grass, beautiful hills, rock formations and the frequent sightings of herds of cows, horses, goats or sheep. We would be spending three nights as the guests of a family of nomadic herdsmen (depending on the quality of the pasture, they only move twice a year with the change of season).

This was the type of homestay that really makes travel a special experience. We were staying with a young couple and their 3 year old. The family lived in two gers (circular tents), one was the kitchen, the other larger one, their bedroom. We would be taking up residence in their bedroom ger and the family would be living in the smaller kitchen ger. We felt bad, but that was what had been organised.

There was no running water or electricity. Heat and cooking was provided by a stove fired by wood and dung in the centre of the gers. The toilet was almost anywhere you like, although there was a designated hole due north west of the gers, "sheltered" (?!?) by a couple of sheets of material. Some of the nearby gers had an electric light powered by a car battery when needed, but otherwise candles were used. Another nearby ger, belonging to other members of the same family had a TV, I think it was either powered by solar panel or car battery.

On the first night we were there, we were treated to a proper Mongolian BBQ. I was later told they only do these about once a year and it was probably because there was a relatively large number of tourists and their guides and drives around in the nearby area. *Warning: potentially offensive material for Vegetarians*. Two goats had been killed, their heads cut off and their insides removed through the neck. Rocks, heated on a fire, were put into the goat skin through the neck hole and the goat meat mixed with onions were put back into the goat skin. The neck hole was tied up and then the "goat" was heated with a blow torch type contraption (not sure that this was the traditional method) and as it was charred, the goat hair was scraped away. Gideon was particularly interested in the process as it involved meat and fire! To be honest, the result was only ok. Perhaps it was the piece of meat I got. It was tasty, but it was a bit rough (I swear I was still pulling pieces of meat out of my teeth a few days later), it was a bit gritty from the stones and the fire, and I think I found what was a human finger nail in my helping!

The next day we had a day trip to Karakorum, supposedly the Capital City of Mongolia during the rule of Chinngis Khan (Ghengis) although most likely Ghengis would have been nomadic too. There we visited the Erdenezuu Monastery. By now Gideon was in the "not another monastery/church" state of mind. I was still interested, but could empathise. Near the monastery there was a statue of a tortoise said to be the last physical remnant of Ghengis Khan's presence in the area. There was also a large stone penis. It is said that if an infertile woman sits on the stone penis, it would make them fertile. Each woman for whom this had worked then returned and tied a blue piece of cloth around a stone pillar near the penis. It was covered in blue

On the way back to the Nomad's camp we were told that Mongolia would be competing for two gold medals in the boxing that afternoon, the first fight being at 1.30pm. As a result, half way back the drivers pulled over at the first random house/ger with a satellite dish to see the fight. I am not sure what the family thought of this group of 2 drivers, 2 guides and 4 foreigners barging into their home, but they were very welcoming, offering us sweets and allowing us and the rest of their relatives to crowd around a very small B&W TV. In the end the Mongolian forfeited in the second round losing to the Chinese competitor (which country didn't this Olympics?) due to a pre-existing shoulder injury. Still it was a good rsult for Mongolia overall. This year they won 2 gold and 2 silver, their first gold medals ever! That night we also had some fun making our own dumplings for dinner.

After having fantastic luck with the weather all trip, we experienced our first really crap day the next day. We had wondered whether it was to be a wasted day because we had nothing much planned, and now that the weather was bad we were certain. We awoke quite early, pretty much at dawn, in time to see the sun rising in the crisp morning air and the cows being milked. Then it started to rain and didn’t stop much until late in the afternoon. Trapped in our ger we were somewhat bored and cold. At one stage our host family and guide cam in and played cards and knucklebones with us, which ended up making the day very special for us. If it hadn’t been for the bad weather, we probably wouldn’t have interacted very much the family at all.

Gideon managed to make himself useful chopping up wood to keep both gers warm (the dung burns too quickly). When there was a break in the rain we managed to get out to collect a couple more dead trees (not many choose from given our proximity to the desert), then we went on a very touristy camel ride. Just imagine us (or see the photos!) rugged up in jumpers and raincoats sitting on somewhat soggy camels, being led over wet sand dunes by a local boy. At one stage the boy stopped and drew a picture in the sand and then pointed at some distant hills. After a couple of minutes of Gideon and I arguing whether the picture was a snowflake or a compass, the kid write the word “snow” in the sand. It was that cold a day!

The next day we made the 8 hour bumpy trip to the Elstei Tourist Camp. After three days of being in the middle of nowhere with no facilities it was a welcome change to use a flushing toilet and have a hot shower! Makes you appreciate the simple things, doesn’t it? Elstei is not really the full Mongolian experience. The cook is Indian and there are rows of gers. Still, it was a relaxing day we had there with time to socialize with other tourists, horse ride, massage, practice archery and above all enjoy the peaceful surrounds and beautiful Mongolia!

Some Buryiat Culture

2008-09-04T14:10:00.004+10:00

Our next stop off the train was Ulan Ude, our last stop in Russia. Ulan Ude is situated in the Republic of Buryiat, an autonomous region of the Russian Federation. I wasn't sure what to expect and whether there would be much to see. The city itself had a massive statue of the head of Lenin. We ended up having probably our famourite home stay of the trip in Ulan Ude. Our hosts Andrei and Olga (I think) had a lovely home (an almost spotless bathroom with running water!), spoke very good english, fed us delicious meals (I must have had 4th helpings!) and were our tour guides as well! Andrei was an interesting man, involved in projects in improving and building walking trains around Lake Baikal, amongst other things.

On our first day there we went out to see a local Buddhist temple where a monk said a prayer for us. Then we visited a typical Buryiat village for lunch. Apparently the road to the village was unusually tarred (most Russian roads are rubbish) because Princess Anne once visited the village. The Buryiats are from the same culture as the Mongolian nomads, except that they are no longer nomads. This ended up being one of my favourite experiences for the trip. We were greeted by a young lady (around 20 years old) dressed in traditional Buryiat costume, who treated us to a delectable meal with many courses, including dumplings that we had a hand at making ourselves, and a gorgeous locally made liquor with a rich honey flavour. After lunch we had a go at dressing up in the traditional Buryiat clothing and then played some traditional games with the knucklebones of sheep and goats. Such a unique experience and one I will remember fondly.

The next day we visited the Ivolgsky Datsan, the centre of Buddhism in Russia and one of the few monastaries to remain standing during Soviet rule. Not knowing much about Buddhism, it was interesting to see how the Buddhist temples differed to the many Russian Orthodox cathedrals we had seen. WE also visited an 'Old Believers' church and village, a groupd who split from the Russian Orthodox church a long time ago in order to "pursue the old ways". Having been mislead to believe the 'Old Believers' were like the Amish, we were plesantly surprised to find the Priest amost accomodating. Unlike the other Russian Orthodox churches, the women didn't have to wear skirts, we were able to take photso inside the church, and he showed us some old bookds from the bible. He also asked us for some Australian coins to add to his personal collection of all odds and sods which he'd turned into a museum. Unfortunately we didn't have any.

So that was the end of our time in Russia. While it has been interesting and we have seen some wonderful things, I found Russia to be much like a lot of Europe (big generalisation, I know), so I was squite ready to move onto Mongolia.

Another cup of tea?

2008-09-03T01:07:00.002+10:00

Last I wrote we were on our way towards Irkutsk and Lake Baikal for an epic 2 day hike around the lake including one day of 25km. When we arrived in Irkutsk we were told there had been a change in plans due to a lack of available guides, and that we would be spending a night at a homestay in a village called Listyvanka before going ona 20km round trip over two days with one night of camping. Gideon was disappointed at the change as it would mean seeing less of the lake and missing out on a hydrofoil trip back to Irkutsk, but secretly (or maybe not so secretly) I was relieved not to be attempting the 25 km in one day.

The homestay was as I think as a homestay should be. The house seemed to be mostly traditional and an experience. There was electricity, but no plumbing. Water was fetched from a well at the end of the street and there was an outdoor not-so-long-drop dunny. We bathed in a traditional Banya, a bath house with water heated by a woodfired oven, a bit like a sauna for washing out of a bucket. Not quite as refereshing as shower, but a magical relief after two an a half days without a shower on the train. We were also fed traditional Russian meals.

The hike: to be honest, there was a lot more eating done on the hike than hiking! A group of 9 of us (including the guide and his wife) set off on foot with camping gear and provisions for two days and one night. Much to my relief, although we had mosquitos, it appeared that we have missed tick season around the lake. After about 5km (90mins) of walking briskly uphill through forest, we stopped for lunch. We sat and watched amazed as the fuide built a fire and cooked us a fish and potato soup with tea and fresh vegetables! Then after antoehr 5km of hiking we stopped at our campsite by the lake, firstly for a "refreshing" swim in the lake (I reckon it was about 10dC), then a hot dinner of buttered rice and tea amongst other things. The lake, although freshwater (drinkable!) was so bit, it was just like camping on a beach by the sea, being lulled to sleep by the sound of waves on the shore and rain on our tents, expect that we couldn't sleep due to the bad positioning of our tent across a ridge (I miss my thermarest!) We awoke to a beautifully sunny day and a hot breakfast of porridge and tea. Then set off on the 10km back to Listyvanka.

The second day of hiking was completely different to the first. We followed the edge of the lake closely. As we followed a scarily thin and rocky path along the cliff face, there were quite a few moments, while sprawled against the cliff wall, I wondered if a wrong step might send me plummeting onto the rocks in the shalllows of the lake below. Happily our hard work was worth it, seeing stunning views of the clear blue waters of the lake, surrounded by dramatic cliffs, dotted wit hthe greeneness of pines and pretty coloured flowers. About 1.5 hours after breafast, we stopped for lunch and tea!

After the hike, we were transferred straight from Listyvanka to Irkutsk for a one night homestay in Irkutsk. It was an optional additional night that we had chosen in anticipation of recovery needed from the 25km hike. In retrospect, we really didn't need it. There was very little to see in Irkutsk, and while there was the novelty of staying in an old wooden house and the beds were the most comfortable we'd had in a while, the house was more like a hostel, it was stuffy and had a pretty disgusting bathroom. If we hadn't just done an overnight hike, I might have skpped the shower!

здравствуйте!

2008-08-19T15:23:00.008+10:00

I wrote the following a few days ago. We are actually heading to Ulan Ude tonight by train. I have included a few photos, but because of the large number of photos I have to sift through, I probably will do a few big picture posts once I get back to Australia (sorry!)...Hope everyone is very well! Much love xoxo. g

This is our third night in a row on the train between Yekaterinberg and Irkutsk. Surprirsingly the trip has gone quickly. the beds have been more comfortable than our two earlier train rides, so "sleeping in" (maybe 11 hours last night) doesn't hurt in passing time. We have managed to squeeze in some card games in the restaurant car (managing to prevent being evicted by purchasing a somewhat constant order of drinks) and in one of our travelling companion's cabins.

Me, Lisa, Brooke & Manxing in the nice of the two restaurant cars we have been in.

Other than that there has been eating and reading (today I finished 'A Widow for One Year' by John Irving, a really delightful read. I love the way he writes, quite a style of his own, descriptive and contemplative without being boring). We also watched the 5th Element on Gideon's PDA last night which a very nice treat. The countryside out the window has not been so exciting so far. Siberia has been not unlike the Australian contryside, although probably a lot greener. We have not bought anything from the Babushka's on the stations that we have stopped at because we packed too much food this time! So in all, it has been quite a restful and uneventful train leg. I am looking forward to the use of a shower and a toilet that doesn't reek of urine though!

Yekaterinberg was a nice enough city. However, it definitely suffered from being the 4th city in a row that we have visited. I think we were sity-fatigued and a little over the buildings and churches. It didn't help that our city guide was somewhat strange (nb. To our pleasant surprise, we have had our own private city tour of all the cities we have visited so far). With jokes such as "Did you enjoy the TV in your train carriage?... it only has two channels, the Nature Channel and the Discovery Channel", which he then explained and then repeated multiple times, and then asking us whether we liked the city about every 10 minutes, he did not help his cause. Then he claimed that Yekaterinberg had never been a closed city (foreigners were prohibited to enter), however previous to our tour and then again afterwards we were told by other tour guides that it was in fact a closed city.

One interesting place we visited as a relatively new church built upon the spot that the Romanov Family, the last royal family of Russia, were murdered. Following their death, the family was cannonised and the church was somewhat a shrine to them. I found it extremely interesting that a whole royal family might be sainted, but I guess we come from a very different culture, and not always a very religious one.

The day after the city tour we embarked on "Siberian Wilderness Adventure". What a fantastic day.

Gideon & I at the boarder between Europe & Asia!

Getting out of the city (finally!) was just what we needed. It wasn't a particularly tough day as the name might imply. It was about a 16km walk on mostly flat through Siberian forest, with a very gentle float on a raft down 6km of river. Just lovely.

Cruisin'

Russia Continues

2008-08-14T04:56:00.002+10:00

This is a continuation of the last blog... we are about to embark on our longest train leg for our trip (about 53 hours)... so I will do some catching up by hand while on the train :)

Unfortunately don't have so much time to upload some photos... so may have to do them at the end of the trip, or when we have a bit more time with some cheap internet... but for now... back to it...

The language in Russia has been a challenge, seeing as between the two of us all we know is Hi, please and thankyou... and a bunch of suspect hand language. Only a small handful of people seem to know English (bad of us to expect any different). At McDonalds the other day we were given a laminated chart to point at what we wanted, although interestingly enough a lot of the items were literal translations, eg. Big Mak. Unexpectedly the language was more of a problem in Moscow than St Petersberg, although St Petersberg is supposedly the more cultural of the two cities. I think it will only get harder the further we head east.

St Petersberg was beautiful. A well planned and relatively newly built city ( approx. 300 years), we were lucky enough to be staying in the city centre and only 0.5 hours walk to the big tourist attractions, namely the Hermitage. Wide streets adorned with grand buildings builit ina classical European style with white columns and brightly coloured walls. Bridges runing over a river running through the city, quite Venice-like. At one bridge it was good luck for newly married couples to visit the bridge on their wedding day and lock a padlock to the railing. On the day we were there we must have seen about 4 brides there in the space of about 30 minutes all arriving in large stretch Hummers! We have actually seen about 20 bride and grooms over the last few days. The lovely Russian lady in our train cabin tells us it si to do with the Chinese superstition that 888 is very lucky. Hence a reason the Beijing Olympics began on 8/8/08.

We spent our two days in St Petersburg doing a 3 hours wralking tour, visiting the art at the Hermitage, seeing some oppulent churches, taking a river boat trip and visiting the Russian Ballet to see Swan Lake at the Hermitage Theatre.

Moscow was qutie different. Only 5* hotels are allowed in the city centre, so we were staying quite a way out. 7 metro stops to be exact. Fewer people spoke ENglish, even at the tourist attractions. There also seemed to be less to see. The Red Square was very picturesque surrounded by beautiful buildings, including the Russian History Museum, St Basil's CAthedral, Lenin's Mauseleum and the Kremlin. There wasn't so much to see in the Kremlin, except for more churches within its walls, although we were treated to a dispaly by their 1st Regiment. We missed out on tickets to see the Kremlin's Armoury (no armour, just jewels of the Tsars). Gideon was a little disappointed by the lack of information or evidence of the previous Soviet regime. Although you cannot quite see what it would have been liked to have lived then, you still see statues of Lenin and the hammer and sickle emblems all over the place. One thing we did do in Moscow that was qutie interesting was to visit the Metro STations. Unlike the London underground, all of the stations we visited seemed to be clean and well looked after. In particular we sampled stations with bronze statues, marble columns, mosaic ceilings, stainglass window features and even one with Chandeliers and orate celings!!

Tonight we are headed to Irkutsk to do some camping along the shores of Lake Baikal... but my next update should be more on Yekaterinberg and perhaps more on the train.

g xoxo

Russia begins

2008-08-12T21:36:00.002+10:00

We are currently on a train from Moscow to Yekateringberg (I'm writing this Old Skool, paper and pen). Although officially we are not on the "Trans-Siberian Express", it feels like we have really started the real trip now. This is a 24 hour leg on the train. We have met another couple from NZ and a girl from USA who are pretty much doing the same trip/tour as us. Having just had dinner in the restaurant car (expensive prices which the locals stay clear of) we started a card game only to disappointingly find that it was not allowed. So much for the literatcure which said that hte restaurant car was the hub of the train and a place where we can hang out! Unfortunately we are all in separate cabins that we are sharing with other people, so it will be difficult to be social this trip. Maybe the next leg which goes for 2-3 days will be different. We are in 4 berth cabins which are even smaller than i had expected. Still there's enough room to sit with a small table and then sleep. I am not sure that I really had expectations of what Russia would be like, but if I were to have had any I would say that the reality has been quite different...

to be continued...

A couple of by the way movie reviews

2008-08-12T21:29:00.003+10:00

Wall E: 3.25/5

In a nutshell: Bit of fun, but nothing new.

Brief Synopsis: Earth has been abandoned and is basically a big rubbish tip. Wall E is a robot designed to clear up the mess, but is more than a robot. Can he return humanity to Earth?

Very cute, but Disney/Pixar has set itself a nearly impossible bar to surpass with masterpieces such as The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Nemo...etc. As a result I was disappointed. With the exception of a few moments here and there, there is nothing particularly original or overly witty about this one.

Dark Knight: 4/5

Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal

In a nutshell: Deliciously Dark

Batman Begins was very good, this was better. For me the lost of Mrs Cruise and the gaining of Ms Gyllenhaal was a very good move, intentional or not. Ledger was better as the Joker than Nicholson was previously (and he was excellent) and of course the rest of the cast were all fantastic. Nolan's direction is pitch perfect as always and the action and angst is all there. My only gripe is that there are a few spots where you think the movie is finished, apart from the fact that there are bits in the ad that you have not seen yet, and then it keeps going. This makes the movie feel a little disjointed and as long as its 2.5hours running time. Still, this is a small gripe as you want to see more anyway!

Our time in Italy

2008-08-12T21:15:00.002+10:00

Rome was HOT! Well, a maxiumu of 32dC is very hot for two would-be tourists coming from the pathetic summer that England is currently having. Having said that, it does not begin to compare to the 50dC days that Jon & Clare are having in Egypt!

We were staying in a "B&B with a view of the Vatican". In retrospect it sounds a lot better rhat it was. It was a small room in a 3 bedroom apartment, with no air conditioning, a view of the vatical wall, lumpy pillows, a shared bathroom and no breakfast. still, can't complain too much, it was clean, cheap and convenient. :)

Following a 3 day recommended sight seeing course that Gideon found on Trip Adviser, we drank a lot of water, walked a lot of kilometres, ate lots of food, spent lots of euros and visited lots of old buildings. If we keep up this amount of walking for the rest of this trip, I will hopefully lose at least some of this spare fat care of the Heathrow injection!

There was something quite wonderful about Rome. I was amazed that at every turn there was either amazing architecture or a restaurant. Gideon found interesting the dichotomy between the grandure of the buildings and the chaos/slopiness of the city maintenance. We argued whether rome and icons such as the ruins of the Colluseum were more beautiful because we could imaging just how rich and magnificent Rome once was, or whether it owuld have been eveng more impressive in its original state. I tend to believe the former as there is something more of a sense of wonder and magin in the loss of such greatness rather than in something that is there in front of you that can be taken for granted... if that makes sense. Either way, we both really enjoyed Rome, but were probably a little relieved to leave the heat the craziness!

Will update this post with photos at a later time when we are not paying for internet by the MB.

g xoxo

St Basil's Cathedral - Moscow

2008-08-10T18:50:00.000+10:00

Hi Everyone! The internet at our hotel in Moscow is expensive, so only a quick msg and a photo. Will write more about Italy, the start of our Trans Sib experience and a couple of movie reviews once we find some cheaper internet. Much love gayle xoxox

Farewell 'Ol England

2008-08-06T05:40:00.003+10:00

The last few weeks have been insanely busy and found me in a grumpy mood for much of it. Gideon has been very patient, putting up with my moodiness and finishing off his thesis and academic year in the meantime.

A few weeks ago, on the 15th July, wewere lucky enough to be invited to attend the Queen's Garden Party at Bucingham Palace. Us girls were very excited about dressing up for thte event a nice change from down town Watchfield. Claire, Clare, Emily and I managed to fit in some dress and hat shopping during our outing to london to have Champagne High Tea at The Ritz (very posh!). Then Clare, Em & I ended up going to a mad hatter in a cute little village called Lacock to have our hats specially made (you can see the results on my Facebook album). On the day we made the 2 hour car and bus trip into London. The boys looked very dapper in their uniforms which enabled us to jump the queue at the Palace. Given the number of people (I hear it is about 8,000 people attend)and the size of the Queen's back yard,it felt like we could have been eating dainty sandwiches and delectable cakes in any park anywhere. Still, the brief glimpse of the Queen and Prince Phillip through the crowd,the mini mudcakes with the HRH emblems on them and especially the company made the day a very special one.

Since then, time has flown. The 25th July was mylast day at RM. I always say it takes about 6 months to really settle into a place and unfortunately I had just about reached that point. I must confess that I will miss all the friendly people and shennanigans there.

The 26th saw another trip into london. This time, for the Kylie X concert (Thanks Claire for organising the tickets). After seeing the Home Coming tour, I had very high expectations. Then due to terrible traffic, we missed the first 30mins... plus we were sitting in the heavens... and yet, I think it was the best concert I have EVER seen. *WOW*! Big call because I have seen quite a few. But the spectacle that Miss Minogue provides, the dancing, the costumes, the stage effects, the acrobatics, the great sound, the fantastic music, and even the mostly spot on singing.... it was all incredible. If anyone wants to go when she brings X to Melbourne, I am there!!

After that it was packing packing packing. Possibly packing is one of my most hated activities...right up there with studying economics. ;P Lucky for us, most of it was done by someone else... and yet it was still detestable. No matter how much I skimp, even after taking out the hair dryer and the kitchen sing, my back pack still weighs a tonne! Anyway, it is all done now. We said goodbye to Watchfield for the last time on the 30th July.

Although our time in Watchfield was peaceful, sometimes fun,sometimes challenging... I am looking forward to heading back to Melbourne. I am definitely a city girl at heart. This I know now. Still, I must admit to being a little sad to leave, especially seeing our little house empty once again. It is as if it never really happened, and that piece of my life is now gone forever. I am extremely sad to be saying goodbye to "The Cool Crowd", our little Aussie community in Shrivenham/Watchfield. Unfortunately we will be all dispersed on our return to Australia. Clare, Shaun, Emily, Warren, Lexie, James, Jon, Clare and Owen*, will miss you lots and look foward to life long friendships across the states. (*see you in Melbourne Owen!)

So now... on to the next chapter... Italy..

Schoolies week

2008-07-13T20:51:00.003+10:00

This last Friday's theme was back to school (it was only a matter of time.)

Everyone was dressed up in school uniform except for Principal Wilkinson. Then for a bit of extra fun, we headed out at lunchtime for Sports Day! :) Luckily we managed to find the only 60 mins on Friday during which the sun came out and it wasn't pouring with torrential rain. There were egg & spoon races to be had, and a car came down from one of Oxford's local radio stations, Jack FM (incidentally, one of the morning crew is an Aussie Sheila!) to monitor events and give out prizes. The prizes were pretty cool, some Wallace & Grommit paraphernalia, although I question whether they were just some items they've had lying around the station for ages that they wanted to get rid of. One of the prizes were some Wallace & Grommit episodes... on video cassette!

Hopping relay
Alas, we came last, but I managed to hold my own in the hopping stakes!

3-legged race
I was partnered with Angela, at least we didn't come last!

2008 Class photo
I was always made to sit in the front row... things haven't changed I see.

Kungfu Panda - A review

2008-07-07T22:41:00.004+10:00

Kungfu Panda: 4.25/5

Cast: Voices of - Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, etc

In a nutshell: LMAO

Brief synopsis: An enthusiastic clumsy and somewhat overweight panda must learn kung fu so that he can save his village

It has been a while since I have come out of the cinema feeling satisfied, so Kungfu Panda certainly hit the spot. It only marginally loses points for a few minor considerations. The animation as not quite as sharp and the premise not quite as original as some of those other CGI movies out there. It didn't evoke as much emotion as I would have liked, perhaps because the characters, in particular the evil dude, are a little stereotypical and not meaty enough. But these are minor quibbles. The charm and the non-stop laughs make up for anything that might be missing. Jack Black is fabulous as the Panda, reminiscent of the fun that Robin Williams brought to the Genie in Aladdin.

Work Shenanigans

2008-07-06T07:19:00.004+10:00

When I first started working at RM every Friday was a bit of a treat - casual day. But for the last couple of months, since the 'hot' weather started and our busy period (June GCSE's), we have been wearing casuals every day. I think it's great. I like waking up in the morning and throwing on a pair of jeans. It has also meant a great reduction in the amount of ironing I've had to do. Bonus!

So, as a bit of fun for the busy period, Fridays are now dressup day : )

Week 3: Flowers & Flares
Peace man...

Week 2: Heroes & Villains
Scooby-dooby-dooooooo!
Hmmmm....I have to confess, that's not really us.

This is us...
yes really it is :)

Week 1: Ahoy me maties!
Believe it or not, this was a work related theme.
And of course the pinata is the most piratey animal of them all!

Postcard from Northern Ireland

2008-07-04T19:30:00.000+10:00

Way back in February it was Gideon's Birthday. One of his presents was an Adventure Smartbox, a voucher to be redeemed on one of many Adventure type activities around the UK. Eg. horse riding, rolling down a hill in a big ball (called Zorbing in NZ), 4x4 driving, wind surfing, etc. Gideon chose to go with an introductory scuba dive lesson in Northern Ireland. The perfect excuse for a weekend away!

I must admit that I was not expecting much of Northern Ireland. Perhaps it was the perfect weather, the scenery, the peacefulness, the company or the lack of mishap that normally accompanies us on our travels (ref. Darwin to Broome, Iceland). Whichever it was, it may well be my favourite weekend of the last year.

On Friday night after work we caught a Ryanair flight (so budget that there is no magazine pocket on the back of the seat in front of you, and the safety card is actually a sticker on the headrest in front of you) to Derry to spend the weekend exploring the Causeway coastal area. We stayed in Portstewart at the Anchorage Inn, a hotel/pub/restaurant/nightclub in the middle of town. For a hotel above a pub and a nightclub, it was relatively luxurious! Recently renovated, you could still smell the paint, our room felt like an executive suite... very nice. The thoughtful staff even provided earplugs on the nightstands for those who might be kept awake by the bass being pumped from the nightclub. For those clientele who prefer to be in the midst of the pumping bass, free entry to the club! Needless to say, Gideon and I were there on Saturday night dancing the night away. :) Sun+scuba+views+food+dancing = the perfect weekend.

Here are some photos from the beautiful northern coast of Northern Ireland (apologies to those who have already had a squiz at these photos on facebook):

Near Portstewart Strand, not a bad piece of property.

Saturday morning: the scuba dive
Ummm...the zip goes at the back.

Yep, better start again.

Push, that's it... push,....

Yay!

Gideon getting kitted up.

The Dominican convent & college in Portstewart

Breathing practice

...and they're off!

The incredible Giant's Causeway.

...from a bit further away...

...a bit closer in now...

...I can't stop taking photos... it's amazing!

Gideon thinks so too!

Along the stunning Causeway coastline

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
Spans a 20m wide, 23m deep chasm

Don't look down!...oh no, too late!...Doh!

"Piece of cake" says Gideon

Dunluce Castle
well, the remains of.

A Northern Ireland soldier uniform from the 'olden days'

Musket & Archery demonstration at the castle

Reminds me of London Bridge

Could you imagine having to scale the rock to attack the castle?

Outside the Mermaids cave beneath Dunluce Castle

We're off to see the Mussenden Temple & Downhill Demesne

But first, as stop to smell the flowers :)

Mussenden Temple
Originally built by the Bishop of Derry in 1785 as a library, based on the Temple of Vesta in Italy

Mussenden Temple (and a stray arm)
...hmmm... perhaps I should have photoshopped it out.

Oh beautiful day!

Amongst the ruins at the Downhill Estate mansion, where the Bishop of Derry once lived.

Hard to believe people lived in this place less than 60 years ago. After the World Wars, the people who inherited the building could not afford to upkeep it and instead, stripped the building of what they could to sell for money.

From the front, you get an impression of the grandeur that the mansion once had

Relaxing at a lovely stream in Roe Valley Park on our way back to Derry airport.

*Sigh* what a splendid weekend!

Wanted

2008-06-30T22:40:00.002+10:00

Well... it has been a while since I have reviewed a movie, hasn't it?

WANTED: 2.5/5

Cast: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp

In a nutshell: Disappointing bloody mash of all that have come before

Synopsis: Wesley is a bit of a loser with an anxiety problem. Turns out his murdered father is a highly skilled member of a group of assassins who kill to right wrongs. Perhaps Wesley has inherited his father's supernatural skills and will be able to avenge his death.

This one was a bit like 'Jumper' for me... so full of potential with elements of cool attitude, but somehow it just does not come together. It feels lazily put together, drawing/copying ideas from a bunch of good movies that have preceeded it. Too much use of slow-mo a la Matrix. Lots of violence and blood a la anything Tarantino. The high calibre actors are wasted. Angelina Jolie just broods a lot and not much more. Morgan Freeman's character feels one dimensional. I found myself irritated by McAvoy's American accent, but that's probably because I'm a sucker for his Scottish one. He is not bad in the movie, but his character is not particularly complex. If you are looking for some dark action, this might do the trick, there are also some twists and turns which are a bit of fun, just don't expect too much.

Spring Flowers

2008-06-16T07:48:00.001+10:00

The view on the way to work.

'Twas 5 months ago....

2008-05-27T00:00:00.007+10:00

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all well and good.

It's a long weekend here, so I thought it was a good opportunity to update my blog! So, where was I? Oh yeah, our trip to New York ...

A significant motivator in deciding to spend Christmas in Canada was the idea of stopping off in New York on the way home to join the New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square and see the dropping of the ball. So, on the last day of the year, after some intense sight seeing - see photos below - we returned to our hotel to have a bit of of a rest and freshen up before heading to Times Square. It was about 6pm when we got back to the hotel and turned on the TV, only to find that they were already closing down the square because it was already full. Very disappointed and extremley annoyed at our lack of planning, we decided to head to Times Square anyway to see if we could squeeze in somewhere.

As soon as we got out of the subway, we noticed that there were police everywhere... I think it was a very busy night for the NYPD, they must have had the full force on duty. They told us that Times Square was closed, but if we headed north we may be able to able to gain entry to the street directly north of Times Square. However, as we headed north, so did everyone else... as we reached each cross street up, the police had closed it off and told us to keep heading north. Something like an hour later we finally found an entry point... 11 blocks away. There was no way that we were going to be able to see Times Square, let alone the ball.

After standing around in a crowd for about 20 minutes, with only a view of the Ed Sullivan Theatre and Times Square on a large TV screen, we decided to leave the throng. We head dinner at a small Thai restaurant, then headed back to the hotel with a bottle of champagne to watch Times Square and the dropping of the ball on TV! At least we can say we've seen the New Year in in New York! ;P

Sight seeing in Times Square, New York

We happened to be in Times Square for a trial run of the dropping of the ball.
At least we got to see it once!
I was completely surprised at how tiny it is... all this fuss for not much!

After lunch at Sardi's, and some post-lunch strolling,

for my Christmas present, Gideon took me to see Spamalot. :D

A New York Pharmacy

Grey M&M's?

A very Christmassy scene at the Rockerfeller Centre.

Deciding to skip the 2 hour queue to get up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, we got a view of the building from the observation deck of the Rockerfeller Centre.

Gideon in a room full of movement sensing flashy lights.

A view of Manhatten from the Staten Island Ferry.

Surrounded by buildings and filled with people, there is still something peaceful and beautiful about Central Park.

Horse and Carriage ride in Central Park... it goes around really slowly in a not very exciting circuit and costs a heap, but it had to be done.

Gideon takes some time out in the park

Who knew Hans Christian Anderson was so tall?

Spring has sprung... sort of.

2008-04-07T06:30:00.005+10:00

Hate to resort to weather talk on the blog, very cucumber sandwiches, but here goes...

Over the last week, the weather has been getting a little warmer. Plus with the change to daylight savings last week, and the blossoms on the trees, it really feels like spring. That is... until this morning.

After being woken by Gideon at a ridiculous time for a Sunday morning, 6.30am found me running around the house like a mad thing with my camera, opening windows and doors (and you know how much I love my sleep ins on Sunday mornings!). Here are some of the photos I took of the garden.

6.30am - the view from our bedroom window

Our little house a bit later in the morning

Some yellow tulips that took shelter under a tree.

A red tulip that wasn't so lucky.

Something amusing....

2008-04-04T23:27:00.003+11:00

This might give you a bit of a chuckle...

Last weekend, I was chilling out at home during the afternoon when there was a knock on the front door. When I opened the door, there was a guy, maybe in this early thirties, standing there, a clipboard in hand. I waited expectantly to hear what he was collecting for, surveying on or selling. He asked me, "Are your parents home?" I answered... "No". We looked at each other, me hiding a smile, him thinking of what to say next. He mumbled something like "Thanks", and then walked off. :D

It's about time...

2008-03-25T03:50:00.003+11:00

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you enjoyed your weekends whether or not you managed to get away.

Gideon is studying (when he's not playing Team Fortress 2) for five exams in a couple of weeks time, so we've had a pretty quiet one here. We did, however, make the one hour trip to Bath for a salsa social on Saturday night. My first salsa in four months and it was just divine!

It's spring here now, some of the trees have already started to blossom. You may not know it though, it's still very cold and mostly grey outside. Saturday was a crazy day, there was hail, snow and sun, hail, snow and sun all in 1 hour.

Snow... then hail in our front yard...

10 minutes later... sun in our front yard.

So, since my last blog entry, I've been to New York, Melbourne and The Henges. Photos will be posted... eventually! I also started a job a few weeks ago at a RM, a company that provides technology for education and schools, in their Assessment and Data department. My role is as a support administrator, but so far, it has been quite challenging trying to get up to speed with all the jargon and processes. It's sort of a hybrid of admin/reporting/customer service and performance management, so it should keep me busy and entertained until we leave the UK.

Anyway, I'd better get to bed... but hopefully this will be the start of regular blogging to come!

Take care all!

Love gayle xoxo

Christmas eve eve greetings from Canada

2007-12-24T05:20:00.000+11:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Hello from London, Ontario! Hope you are all having a good lead up to Christmas - all your shopping is done, and time to relax and spend time with family.

Gideon and I are here staying with his Aunt Liz, cousins Lawrence and Stephen and his grandparents, Ruth and Doug. Although the snow has been melting over the last couple of days, it really feels like winter and Christmas with all this snow around. Hopefully it will snow tomorrow and we will have a right proper white Christmas!

Liz's gorgeous house

It took a long time to get here, we spent almost 2 full days driving, flying and waiting around in airports. Tuesday's travel was pretty straight forward... we left home at 6.30am in the morning, drove to the airport, caught a flight from Heathrow to Washington, then Washington to New York. About 19 hours later, we arrived in New York at 8pm local time. A long day, but we were less than half an hour late. Pretty good. We stayed in a hotel near La Guardia that night and left at 10am the next morning for another long day of travel. We were due to fly to Toronto at 12.30pm and then from Toronto to London, Ontario at 5.30pm. As we were at the airport early, the offered us the 11.30am flight to Toronto, although our connecting flight would be the same. I refused citing the chance to do some duty free shopping at La Guardia. As it turns out, you should always take an earlier flight if offered. There was next to no duty free shopping at the terminal where we were, and the 12.30pm flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems. They were unable to get us on the 1.30pm flight, and so after much hanging around, we finally left New York at 2.30pm. We got to Toronto with still some time to spare and waited around patiently for our next flight to London. That flight ended up being delayed due to mechanical problems, and they had to switch planes which delayed us by about an hour. It begs the question, do Air Canada have planes without mechanical problems? Still, we arrived safely, and none the worse for wear.

The back yard

Since then, we've had a lovely time relaxing, shopping (my first Walmart experience), eating and playing in the snow! :D Behind Liz's house there is a golf course which when covered in a reasonable layer of snow, we are allowed to play on (no damage to the grass). Yesterday, I even got my snowboard out and had a bit of fun on the small slopes of the golf course! Yay!

Gideon, armed and dangerous.

What's going on then... Gideon and his aunt Liz

Liz and Gideon's granddad, Doug

Out on the golf course

The boys roll the biggest snowball ever... or at least, that was the intention.

Gideon and his cousins, Lawrence & Stephen

More beautiful winter wonderland

Meanwhile... me and my beloved board...

I even managed to build up enough speed to get some wind in the hair!

Boarding on a golf course... coooool.

Merry Merry Christmas everyone!

Driving along the A420

2007-12-13T03:33:00.000+11:00

I've been driving into Oxford every day for the last week and a half to do some temping. It's a pretty slack job, I spend about 85% of my time on Facebook or surfing the net. I'm doing reception at the company that registers all .co.uk domain names for the UK.

Anyway, a couple of times last week, on the 50 minute drive to work the DJ played "I'll be home for Chrismtas", by Josh Groban. It made me cry both times. Needless to say that driving with tears in your eyes is not the safest thing to do. Not only is it a beautiful song, sung by a beautiful voice, but edited into the song are phone messages from various servicemen/women who will not be home with their families this Christmas. You should be able to have a bit of a listen by going here and scrolling down to the listen to samples section. I'm not usually one to buy Christmas Albums because they are a bit useless for the rest of the year, but I might just make an exception in this case.

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MOVIE REVIEW
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Beowulf: 2.5/5

Cast: Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons), Angelina Jolie (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)

In a nutshell: Some pretty impressive animation, but would have preferred real actors.

Brief Synopsis: Based on an old Danish Poem, a warrior in 507 AD comes to a kingdom to rid them of the monster Grendel.

The first 20 minutes of this movie were strange for me. I did not know that this was a CGI movie, and so I spent the first 20 minutes waiting for the CGI to turn to real life people. When they didn't, I finally settled into the movie and did enjoy it. The story has been told many a time, and lends it self to an animated treatment. Sometimes a little too violent, the action is exciting. The characters are life like - the characters looks almost exactly like the actors who are lending their voices to them - and the scenery is quite rich. However, everything is so close to being real, but not quite, that it is somewhat distracting and I wondered through most of it, why didn't they just make a proper movie the way they used to.

Australian Idol vs X-Factor

2007-12-06T21:38:00.000+11:00

I know most of you don't really care... but sadly I am a bit of a slave to reality tv talent shows. Without doubt I would say that So You Think You Can Dance? is my favourite. It feels a little less manipulated than the likes of say, X-Factor, and the talent that they attract is a sight to behold.

At the moment I am following the current UK series of X-Factor which into it's semi-final round. If you recall, they attempted to bring X-Factor to Australia a couple of years ago, and failed dismally. Australian Idol also just finished a couple of weeks ago. Comparing the two shows, I have to say that Australian Idol comes up trumps. The talent seems to be much brighter and the show itself is an easier watch. One journalist described X-Factor as a 'pantomime', they are not too far wrong. There is something very artificial and staged about the show, maybe I have been affected after reading Chart Throb by Ben Elton which is a satire on the whole Idol/X-Factor phenomenon. Having said that, the last winner of X-Factor here in the UK has just released her first single, and it is actually brilliant, if not a bit Celine Dionish in a more modern sort of way. Possibly the viewers of X-Factor might be a bit older, and the format for the show allows for a wider variety of singing style than Australian Idol.

Anyway, the reason I started this blog entry was because today I read an article which talked about how one of the songs that one of the contestants on X-Factor, Rhydian (Operatic style voice), wanted to sing in the semi final was vetoed by makers of the show for not being mainstream enough. I beg to differ, especially seeing as he sung I Vow to Thee My Country/World in Union on last week's show. The song he had chosen was The Prayer by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion. For those who are Australian Idol followers, 3 years ago, this was the song that propelled Athony Callea to become one of Australia's highest every selling singles. Given Rhydian's background in opera and musical theatre, I am sure the song would have suited him to a tee.

Iceland Holiday 3

2007-12-04T18:39:00.000+11:00

You can tell it is December here and that Christmas is approaching. Over the last few days Christmas lights, trees and decorations have been popping up everywhere. On monday a road train with Santa in the back, blaring loud carols came around our neighbourhood with door knockers collecting money. The place I'm working at this week has been in a frenzy putting up trees. It is quite different from Australia, it feels more festive. I guess that is the difference the cold weather and tradition makes.

Most of you know, Gideon and I will be in Canada for Christmas. I'm crossing my fingers for a white Christmas - I've always wanted one of those. And looking at the weather forecast for this next week, I'd say there is a good chance. Today it's a max of -4dC and a minimum of -11dC! I can smell the snow already! : )

Anyway, back to our Iceland Holiday. Not really much left to tell. As most of the tours leave first thing in the morning, and we only found out about the cancellation of the glacier tour at 10pm at night, we were unable to book something else, and so we were left with a spare day. With the weather looking a little grim, and our enthusiam somewhat waning, we spent most of the day sulking in our hotel room doing nothing...or should I say relaxing in our hotel room watching crappy day time British TV. We did, however, go out for a little big of a pleasant walk around Reykjavik.

Hallgrimskirkja church
The largest church in Iceland, it's tower can be seen from almost everywhere in the city.

Gideon enjoys getting outside and a little ray of sunshine.

Despite looking a little foreboding from the outside, the church is well lit, warm and cosy on the inside.

A local milkbar

Sculpture Sun Voyager by Jon Gunnar Arnason

Freezing down on the waterfront

That evening we went out to a lovely little restaurant, VidTjornina. Strangely it was decorated with old American memorabilia such as newspaper cuttings and pictures of the likes of Shirley Temple and Lana Turner. Gideon ordered Codchins (still trying to work out exactly what they are, but bizarrely, I think they literally are the chins of cods) which were delicious, and I had a some fish (a type of which I'd never heard of) with a langoustine tail - very yummy. I think having a really good meal ended up turning the mood, it left me with a good feeling about our trip despite the disappointments of not seeing everything that we had hoped. Funny how good food can do that.

In the end, I recommend Iceland, especially if you like the outdoors. There is a lot to do (provided you have better luck with tours, and perhaps if you go in the summer) and it really is a beautiful country.

Iceland Holiday Day 2

2007-12-02T14:49:00.000+11:00

We woke to a wonderfully crisp morning. The Golden Circle tour we were booked on began at lunchtime so we had some time to have a look around the capital city and also book our planned glacial walk tour for the following day, something we were both very excited about doing.

The town lake. Frozen over after a cold night.
You can actually see some birds standing on the ice if you look carefully.

At midday we waited on the side of the main road, 5-10 metres from the front of the hotel, to be picked up for our tour of the Golden Circle.

Gideon waiting outside the Castle apartments where we were staying.

We waited for half an hour in the cold, and then received a phone call from the tour company. Apparently they had sent a shuttle bus to pick us up, but after 8 minutes of waiting/looking for us, they left. The best they could do was to offer to reschedule us for the next day. This was not an option as we had the glacier walk the next day, and so we were left with nothing to do for the afternoon. Dammit.

After much discussion, Gideon decided to give driving a go. We hired a car and attempted to do our own Golden Circle tour. I was most impressed with Gideon's driving. Driving on the wrong side of the car (with a right handed gear stick) on the wrong side of the road (I mean, the right side of the road) was a scary thought, but he didn't drive on the left side of the road even once!

Beautiful landscapes of snow covered mountains.
As we left the city the sky clouded up, the wind picked up and it began to rain.

Lake Thingvallavatn

Thingvellir is the original site of the oldest existing parliament in the world.

It is also where Silfra is located, a fissure in the crust of the earth where the European and American tectonic plates meet. If you ever go to Iceland it is possible to do a tour and snorkle or scuba dive in Silfra.

Some of the local landscape

Rugged up in my new hat at the Geysir area

The star attraction: Strokkur, it goes as high as 60-100 feet

Strokkur goes off!

The carpark at Gullfoss Waterfall

By the time we reached the Gulfoss waterfall it was almost dark. Still, I was determined to see it. With the setting of the sun the wind had picked up and we could feel it buffetting against the side of the car. Still, we could see the wooden path down to the falls and there wouldn't be another chance. So we braved the cold, wind and rain. However, the path was covered in patches of ice and the wind was so strong I could barely walk and was just a little worried about being blown off the side of the rail-less path. So we aborted. Dammit.

We finished off a long day with dinner at the Viking Village restaurant, where we tried whale steak and putrified steak amongst other traditional Icelandic foods. It was a very quiet night and we missed out on the Viking singing. Still it was good to try something of the local food.

It was about 10pm by the time we got back to the apartment. About a minute after we arrived, the phone rang. It was the tour company for our glacier tour - our walk on a glacier was cancelled due to anticipated bad weather for the next day. Double Dammit.

Radio musings

2007-11-28T05:03:00.001+11:00

What the deal with radio announcers not actually doing any announcing in this day and age? Let me clarify. Both in Australia and England, DJ's no longer tell you the name or the artist of the song they just played... or is it just me. It seems that it only happens on classical music stations and some easy listening stations now. So, why do we have radio DJ's at all?

Having said that... my snazzy MP3 phone actually has the facility to identify songs while they are on the radio... if only I could figure out how to use it...

Some Examples

2007-11-21T01:28:00.000+11:00

Good suggestion Matt! Here are a sample of vaguely ok quality examples that I found on You Tube.

Late night TV

2007-11-20T15:39:00.000+11:00

Watching music videos with sign language interpreters is a whole new and wonderful experience. They dance while signing! :)

Iceland Holiday Day 1

2007-11-03T04:26:00.000+11:00

Hellooo everyone!

It has been raining here all day. Definitely autumn in England. The other night we were sleeping with the window open, and it got down to a balmy minus 3 degrees celcius. Crunchy grass the next morning. :D

Shout out to Michael, Cindi, Steph and Chris who I caught up with yesterday. Was great to get into London and catch up with all of you. Driving around London was an experience in itself... I imagine a bit like Sydney, lots of one way streets all over the place, and it is not that well sign posted. But after living out here in the country for a few months, it was quite and adventure to be in the big city! The number of shops, restaurants and bars around made my heart flutter with excitement!

Now, back to the Iceland trip.

31/10/2007 cont...

This is what happens at Heathrow after a 5am start to the day

Finally at the boarding gate - Iceland Yay!

Despite feeling seedy on the plane due to the self inflicted lack of sleep because of the last minute tax return saga, the flight was relatively quick (3 hours) and easy (no problems and food was served!). On arrival at the airport we caught the "Flybus" to Reykjavik (40-50mins) with a stop off at the Blue Lagoon.

It's cold out here - someone get me inside....please!

The Blue Lagoon is an entrepreneurial exercise taking advantage of the natural geothermal pools in the area and turning them into a day spa... and it was the perfect thing to do after the stresses of the last few days.

Gideon - handling the cold weather a little better than me - outside the Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon is basicaly one huge pool filled with milky azure coloured water which contains minerals that are supposed to be good for the skin. On contemplation of visiting the lagoon we had decided against having any treatments due to the cost. However, friends who had visited Iceland only the week before recommended a massage. Although it cost about 30 pounds each, the 10 minutes massage was heavenly.

There was something magical about being there in the bath-like water as the steam rose into the crisp air and the sun set leaving a dusky sky.

We went straight from the Blue Lagoon to check in at our apartment, then headed out on a tour to find the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). Both of us were really looking forward to it, photos would indicate that the Lights light up the sky with an amazing bright green veil.

Having assumed that we would spend most of the tour on the bus, we weren't quite dressed for it. After about an hour of driving and stopping intermittantly, we finally stopped at a carpark far away from the city lights of Reykjavik. There, we stood in icy cold temperatures for an hour waiting for the lights to start and our appendages to drop off. To begin with it just looked like really pale white cloud on the horizon. With clear skies it was perfect weather to see the Northern lights, but the half moon was extremely bright and made it difficult to see the subtleties.

Can you see it? Can you?

After an hour of freezing our fingers off, so to speak, we had seen some hazy cloud-like wisps moving around slowly and it was time to go home somewhat disappointed.

On the way back to the city, we made one last stop on the side of the side of the road, and lo, there was some sort of green wisp growing and moving as if someone was painting a squiggle in the sky. Pretty cool - but anywhere near as spectacular as the pictures. Still, it had been quite a successful start to the trip.

Hanging out in Watchfield

2007-10-22T05:34:00.000+10:00

30/10/2007

Hola! Como estais? Estoy estupenda!

There's someting about airports and aeroplanes that are condusive to blog writing. Perhaps it is the waiting-around-with-nothing-else-to-do-factor or perhaps it is the being in confined spaces factor. Maybe if I learnt how to signficantly disable an elevator I could become a novellist of fine literature...or myabe of Mills & Boon.

Finally getting excited now! Gideon and I are off on our first proper European holiday! (Wales doesn't really count - very belated blog entry still to come). One of the few places that we were both very keen to visit was Iceland. Very much looking forward to experiencing the stunning waterfalls, lava encrusted landscapes, lakes and glaciers. I think my interest in Iceland has been nurtured somewhat by watching those unaffordable machines of beauty roaring around the island on Top Gear - that show is good for all sorts of things. who doesn't want to know whether it is possible to sail a car across the English Channel?! Best of all, I now know how to spell "Reykjavik" without cheapting.

Well, it has now been a week since I went cold turkey and got off the drugs. Finally the headachesare gone, I thought they would never end. I have a newly earned respect for those people who get migraines.. it would almost be worth decapitating oneself. So it will be back to some serious job hunting once this weekend is over... I need to work. Being at home every day (all day - wasiting time - unbelievably I seem to run out of time to do things (damn Facebook!)), is making me cranky and has exposed just how paitient and supportive Gideon is.

The last 24 hours have also been a bit of a frazzle. In addition to packing and researching excursions for Iceland, I had left my tax return ot the very last possible day, typical. Why do we have to fill in tax eturns? In this day and age, why can't all the transactions just be traced back to a central office via our TFN's? I guess that path starts to cross the line of barcoding or big brother. Anyway, the night before last I went through my pile of paperwork looking for the plastic evenelope of tax statements and documentation that I had carried in my hand luggage all the wayfrom Darwin to Melbourne to London to Swindon, only to find that it was missing. Holy flying drumsticks Batman! Luckily, with anticipation that I would be so stupid, I had recorded some of the required figures back in July and with a last minute call back to Melbourne, the dreaded tax return was completed in the the nick of time. Phew.

Don't get me wrong though, despite my complaining, life is pretty sweet. Even though England is so similar to Australia in many respects, things like that continual grey skies and the 5pm sunsets, now that the clocks have been turned back, are something of a novelty for the moment. I'm still on an extended "holiday", there is a great opportunity to travel, and we have made some new friends.

Here are some snap shots of us hanging out:

Surprise!

Pizza and board games at my surprise birthday party.

Clare, Claire, Jon, Shaun & Gideon.

Gideon & Shaun get ready to bat for the Australian's at the Foster's Cup.

Unfortunately the Australian's got whooped by the Internationals.

Owen & Jane enjoy the beautiful sunshine and the game in their matching tops.

Everyone with the compulsory beer after the match.

Japanese Night

Clare and Claire -

Master sushi chefs

Recreation of the infamous Ogg incident -
Shaun managed to break one of the two wine glasses we brought with us with an Ogg.
Shaaaauuuuwwwnn!!

All dressed up for Trafalgar Night - my first Mess Dinner
Owen, Clare, Jon, g, Gideon

Trafalgar night is a celebration of the Battle of Trafalgar.
There were all sorts of Naval traditions such as the passing of the port decanter down the table for toasting, the roast beef being paraded around the room and the ships made out of chocolate.

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Movie Review
__________

Ratatouille: 4/5

In a nutshell: A case of the extreme warm and fuzzies.

Brief Synopsis: French rat with an unusual palate for good food and a talent for cooking seeks his fortune in Paris.

It is definitely of Pixar quality, and many will just love it. For me, it was excellent, but missing the more adult wit and spark of some of its predecessors such as Monster's Inc, Finding Nemo and especially the Incredibles. It does leave you wanting to go hug lots of people. Definitely entertaining and definitely one for the kids.

*Bonus Interesting fact: In the version of the movie to hit British screens, the food inspector is voiced by Jamie Oliver. Not so for the US version, and therefore probably not for our Australian compatriots either.

The coolest of phones!

2007-10-14T01:31:00.000+10:00

Well, it has been two weeks now, and I am still getting headaches that make me want to sleep all day. This last week has been tough, the headaches have made sleeping difficult, which has made me stay awake half the night and want to sleep all day, which has thrown my sleeping pattern out completely and made me feel more sick. But after endeavouring to stay awake all day, things seem to be getting back on track. The doctors have said that it is likely that the headaches will continue for 3-4 weeks... so all I can say is, "bring on the ibeprofen"! Makes up for all those years of not getting headaches. Good thing I'm still out of work at the moment!

So what else is going on at the moment?

Well - not much really. Afterall, I'm spending most of my time sleeping or trying to sleep. Am enjoying some of the peculiarities that are unique to England. Last night we had scotched eggs for dinner - yummy! Yesterday on TV they showed the top 50 video clips featuring Take That or Take That members! Now, you'd never get that in Australia. I didn't even think they would be able to find 50! But I should have known that about half of them were Robbie Williams videos.

Lots of catching up to do... here's something I meant to post ages ago...

I have the coolest new mobile phone (well, I've had it for over a month now, so it's not that new)... It's the Sony Ericsson W580i. Take a look at this beauty:

I went into the phone shop thinking that I'd like a Samsung flip phone - that's what I've had before and generally, they are small and pretty phones! Basically I had three requirements - MP3 player, compact and pretty. Very girly requirements, but that is what I wanted. The salesman was a cool dude and he picked one phone from their stock to recommend to me. And what do you know, he was right on the money! Once I saw it, there was no other phone that I wanted! What clinched it for me was that the salesman said that it was the phone that he wanted to get for himself. As it is a Sony Ericsson, it has a Walkman quality MP3 player, and a pretty good quality camera. The interface is pretty and simple to use, although learning to text on a new brand of phone always takes a while.

There are two other things that make it really cool.
1. One of the imbuilt games is Sims2! A somewhat watered down version, but it kept me occupied for a few days!
2. This is the coolest GIMIC ever!.... When you are listening to the Walkman MP3 and you don't like the song you are listening to, you can press the walkman button and shake the phone, and it will change the song for a randomly chosen song from your library!! How COOL is that!!!??

Now for some movie reviews:

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MOVIE REVIEWS

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Atonement: 3/5

Cast: Kiera Knightly (Bend it like Beckham, Pride & Prejudice), the very handsome James McAvoy (Becoming Jane, Last King of Scotland)

In a nutshell: Touch on the slow side for me... and... Is it possible for Kiera Knightly to look bad?

Brief Synopsis: After misinterpreting events, a young girl wrongfully accuses an innocent young man of crimes and sends him to prison and war, separating him from the love of his life, her sister. Follows these characters over time and the consequences of that accusation.

Similar to other lost love stories during wars such as A Very Long Engagement or Cold Mountain (a personal favourite), it takes two very likeable characters and pitches them against all odds and prevents them from being together. Kiera Knightly looks devine in the period costumes, but does not really have much acting to do. James McAvoy, is servicable - he still doesn't convince me as a good leading man - but there is something about him that is still adorable - must be those baby blues. Despite all these ingredients, and some very tight direction and storytelling, I still found this one a little slow.

Shoot 'em Up: 3.75/5

Cast: Clive Owen (Children of Men, Closer), Monica Bellucci (Matrix Reloaded, L'Appartement), Paul Giamatti (The Illusionist, Sideways)

In a nutshell: More awesome action that you can poke a stick at

Brief Synopsis: Man finds himself protecting a baby against some full on gangster dudes and some serious gunfire.

This is one movie that is destined to be a cult classic. This movie just doesn't stop. When you think they have exhausted all avenues for more super cool gun fighting scenes, they come up with something else! In attitude, it reminds me of a Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, just without the intricate story telling and twists and turns. Totally fun, humourous, entertaining and seat rivetting. Loved it!

So, this is what happened on our trip to York...

2007-10-01T23:13:00.000+10:00

So we drove for over 5 hours on Friday evening, and made it to York around 8.30pm. Gideon's grandparents had waited up for us to have dinner, and we have an extremely pleasant traditional meal of Friday fish and chips. Our plan for the weekend was to spend some time with Gideon's grandparents, and spend Saturday being tourists in York. Instead, the weekend ended being a little more subdued.

We had a glass of champagne with dinner. I don't know if it was the champagne or something else I had eaten that day, but shortly after dinner, I fainted in the kitchen, banging the back of my head on the floor and giving Gideon's Gran a right scare. After that it was straight to bed for me to sleep off that alchohol nausea that I sometimes get. That night wasn't much fun. I couldn't get comfortable, and I had a pounding headache, and throwing up was definitely on the cards. Unfortunately, what was to be a lovely weekend away, improved only slightly. I spent the rest of the weekend in bed feeling sorry for myself and nursing a sore head.

What a sorry state of affairs. Anyway, for those who are worried, I'm feeling much better now. Very big thanks to Gideon's grandparents and Gideon for taking good care of me this weekend. I'm almost back to normal except for a headache and a black eye!

This is me this morning...

It's like instant makeup!!

By the way, how cool is this top that I'm wearing. Huge hugs and kisses to the Haynes (Andrew, Katherine and cute little Zoe) for bringing it all the way from Boston! Here's a close up of what it says on it:

Hot, Baby, Hot!

2007-10-01T21:52:00.000+10:00

Check out my brand new car seat covers!

Even the troll likes them!

Big thanks to the gang - Rob, Sonia, Tania, Paul, Sophie, Geord & Geoff for sending them all this way!

Cars in the UK

2007-09-10T20:18:00.000+10:00

In all the excitement of actually publishing a blog entry... I forgot that I had wanted to talk about cars in the UK. So this is just a bit of a postscript to my last blog I guess.

While looking to buy a car here, as with anything else that you become "expert" in, we really started to notice other cars on the road.

The English car population seems to have a completely different demographic to that in Australia. In particular, having come from Darwin, where every second vehicle on the road is good Aussie ute or truck of some sort, there is none of that here. Being so close to Europe and with much narrower streets, I don't think I have seen Commodore or Falcon here, instead there are a lot more luxury cars. Especially in the Shrivenham area, it is common to see a Jaguar or a Porshe. Our local pub always has a Lotus parked in the back... not sure if it is theirs. There is also a very high incidence of Mini's... Swindon is where they assemble them. :)

The strangest thing for me is that number of brands that actually make station wagons that I have never seen in the Australia. Volvo, BMW, Mercedes, MG station wagon! Jaguar station wagon! Ridiculous!

The Little Peugeot and the Magic Roundabout

2007-08-26T04:25:00.000+10:00

FUNDAMENTALY SCRABULOUS!

So... my latest addiction is Scrabulous!!! It's Scrabble over the internet. Well, mainly Facebook, but I believe you can do it via email. If anyone wants a game, feel free to let me know!!! If you are already on Facebook, you need only download the application. If you are not, then you should join! Alternatively I think we can do it via the website.

SO... I THINK I CAN DANCE

My other addiction is So You Think You Can Dance! I just watched the whole third season in 3 days! I know it has started showing in Oz not that long ago. It's definintely worth a watch if you have not seen it before. The things these dancers can do, is just phenomenal. I guess as a try-hard dancer, it is easy to have an appreciation for the natural talent and the work ethic that the contestants have. The choreographers are also world class. Gideon hates the judges and the comments... but for me, their expertise also gives you more of an appreciation of the sheer skill involved...and, unlike Idol or X-Factor (which as just started up in the UK... Danii Minouge is on the panel!), the judges don't spend the whole time quibbling amongst themselves and making stupid comments.

Speaking of "so you think you can dance"...the last couple of Wednesday's we have been out dancing on Chapel Street.... just like at home! We have been going to Ceroc classes (modern jive) in Swindon, and it has been quite fun. There were some reasonable dancers there, and it was a beautiful dance floor. Just perfect for spinning :D *sigh*

THE LITTLE CAR THAT COULD

Well, it's really old news now... but I wanted to talk about my car!!! For the first time I actually own a car! It's a 1998 Peugeot, blue, with a kicking stereo!... and most importantly, adjustable seats! Don't laugh... that was actually one of the main determining factors in me finding a car... I just didn't fit into any of them... that and the automatic factor... yes, this retard still can't drive a manual (hmmmm... is that politically incorrect?).

Our little Peugeot, in our little driveway, in front of our little garage.

DRIVING IN THE UK

Driving in the UK has been entertaining, and can take some getting used to.

It started the first time we drove into Swindon in our hire car. We got on the motorway and saw lots of circular white signs with a big black diagonal line through it. In Darwin this used to mean open speed limit... we were pretty sure this was not what they meant here. In fact it actually means that all local restrictions have been removed, and therefore you can go at the standard maximum limit which is 70 miles an hour on a motor way. Duh... how obvious!?! And what's with the miles? The only reason I can think of that they have not switched over to the metric scale is that it would just be too expensive to replace all of the existing distance and speed limit signs.

And what about the roundabouts? They are everywhere! Actually, I have to admit that they work extremely well, but it takes some getting used to. One has to be very careful to be in the right lane on entering a roundabout, otherwise one will end up going in completely the wrong direction! The brilliant thing about the roundabouts though, is that if you happen to take a wrong turn somewhere, there is always a roundabout nearby so that you can make a U-turn.

We actually live in a small village outside of the main Swindon area, so we don't have much cause to go in there all that often. Swindon itself is an industrial town, so there is nothing that exciting about it. One thing I do love though is "The Magic Roundabout". The first time we arrived in Swindon, we were most amused when the GPS actually said "take the third exit at the Magic Roundabout"... and then we did some major panicking when we realised that we would have to go through it! Originally called 'County Islands', it is one massive roundabout that is surrounded by five small satellite roundabouts. Apparently, much research and development was invested in finding the most efficient way to manage such a large junction, and this was the hairbrained scheme they came up with! Surprisingly, it is actually quite easy to navigate, and it works a treat! I love it!

The road sign you see as you approach the Magic Roundabout.

An ariel view of The Magic Roundabout.

Our own little burrow

2007-08-22T10:21:00.000+10:00

The weather for about the last week has been pretty average, especially for summer, although some would say nothing unexpected for England. We were lucky to move into our new house in the midst of a run of lovely weather. It really makes things look all the more happy and exciting!

It's a 3 bedroom (or really 2.5 bedroom) fully detatched house (quite rare in this country, I am told) with a garden, garage (tiny!) and shed. Although a little dated and a bit cheap on the inside (somewhat a renters house), it's not bad at all. Not quite as new and shiny as some of the other houses that some of the other couples have, but then again, it's not an old cottage in which you have to bend down to get through all the doorways (well... that was never going to be a problem for me!), which some of the others do have! It will definitely do the job, and it is already becoming home sweet home.

If you would like to see our location on Google Earth, let me know, and I'll send you through a link. In the meantime, here are a few happy snaps:

The Front

Inside the front door.
It's cool having your mail delivered right into your foyer 6 days a week!

The down stairs amenities...

combined with coat closet.

Our somewhat retro kitchen, combined with laundry.
Nice view of what all the neighbours are doing from the kitchen sink.

Professor Plum, with the lead piping, in the "conservatory".
+
the hardest futon sofa you will ever cross.

View of the backyard from the "conservatory"/sunroom.

After some concerted unpacking,
Gideon takes it easy on one of our three sofas in the lounge.

Random things we did on the way here

2007-08-22T05:44:00.000+10:00

Happy Bank Holiday Long Weekend to all!

We considered driving all the way to Scotland to try and catch a glimpse of the Edinburgh festival, but after our trip to Wales last weekend (blog entry to come), we decided to stay and relax at home, maybe do some local sight seeing and enjoy all the new tv channels we have now that we finally got BT Vision.

After a week of horrid weather, summer finally decided it was about time to make a reappearance. Today was the perfect day to check out the Shrivenham Fete.

Me, and some other locals, at the fete, armed with the Patricia Cornwell book I garnered for one pound.

Mmmm... freshly made fairy floss. That's what it's all about!

Now, going back a few weeks... here are some things we saw when we first arrived in London.

Caught up with some old friends from Melbourne.
Bad photo, but there is Kim, Isaac, Rob S, Steph, Michael, Cindi and a few others.

Hanging out at our hotel room at the Millenium Gloucestor.
These are the free pajamas we got from Qantas, they are supposedly designed by Morrissey!

The National Museum of Natural History

Cool dinosaurs... well, their bones anyway, inside the National Museum of Natural History.

Gangster Gideon outside the Australian High Commission on Fleet Street.

The Nightingale.
We stayed at this hotel just outside Swindon for about five days while sorting out a place to live and a car. The first night we were supposed to stay here did not happen because during a change of management, someone forgot to pay the power bill and they had no power! Then, on our second night there, someone somewhere cut a power line and we had to have cold showers. Then on our third night there, the power was still off, which meant that the water pumps in the hotel were also not working and we had no showers or flushing toilets! Not the most memorable of hotel stays.

High Street Shrivenham (the main drag)

Very cute cottage I passed somewhere in Shrivenham. : )

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MOVIE REVIEW

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The Bourne Ultimatum: 4/5

Cast: Matt Damon (The other Bourne Movies, and Team America... no not really), Julia Stiles (Save the Last Dance), David Strathairn (Good Night, Good Luck), Joan Allen (The Snow Storm)

In a Nutshell: Continues the high standards set by its predecessors.

Brief Synopsis: Jason Bourne continues to search for his mysterious past while trying the allude the CIA who are hot on his trail.

It is a completely different movie to Die Hard 4.0, but as a point of reference, I enjoyed Die Hard a smidgen more. Die hard, while being a little more ridiculous and unbelievable, has humour and a bit of a swagger! Still, The Bourne Ultimatum is an excellent action movie, with an intelligent plot (thankyou Mr Ludlum) and a talented cast. Although, I wonder if Bourne's character is a little one dimensional, even though he has amnesia as an excuse. The shaky, supposedly realistic, camera style used in the Supremacy is used here too, and it still annoys me. However, some of the choreography in the action scenes is outstanding, almost jaw dropping, and overall it is a very very good movie.

UK Part 1 - Moving in

2007-08-18T09:00:00.000+10:00

Terrible, terrible, terrible.

That's me. :p

Apologies to those who have been checking, but have had no release or satisfaction.

It has been weeks since my last post and that was right in the middle of the flight to London. So much has happened, there is so much catching up to do! Be warned... it is going to be one big blog fest, with no niceties, no politeness or ettiquette. There will be breaking of chronological rules and all forms of thoughts in dribs and drabs. In short, it will be one big brain fart.

Gideon and I have pretty much settled down now into our own little house and the peacefulness that is Shrivenham. It is not that close to London, and sometimes it really feels like we are in the country. Shrivenham itself, has one main drag, High St (every suburb has a High St), and there we have the essentials, eg. one bank, a post office, hairdresser, barber, a couple of Indian restaurants, a great little Italian joint, a couple of mini supermarkets, a hardware store that also sells stationery and lollies for 2p, and a Chinese Takeaway that also does takeaway fish and chips. Oh, and of course, a British town wouldn't be complete without a local pub... in fact, we have three.

We have already become regulars at the Prince of Wales. In our first week here, I think we were there every single day. It's a cosy little pub complete with friendly owners and staff, an expansive and original menu, a Mini parking spot at the rear, board games, trivia on a Tuesday nights (impossible for us Aussies... we won some chocolate as we came well ands truly last with a grand total of 22 points), and free wireless internet. Once or twice, we even sat in the car with our laptops in order to do some web research! This Thursday the others are going to one of the other pubs in Shrivenham, the Fat Dog, but I'll be catching up with Amy in London, so I won't be there.

Gideon has already been going to uni, this week is his second. "O'week" is next week, but he has had a couple of review weeks to try and remember some maths and other things, as well as to settle into the uni. I've had some fun stealing some of his maths revision so that I can have a go at trying to remember some of my Yr 12 maths... it's terrible... I couldn't even remember completing the square or integration by parts! I'm pretty lucky, as his "dependant", I get a pass to go into the Defence Academy whenever I like, which means I can also use some of the facilities, like the gym and the language centre.

My aim for this week and next week is to get some work... we will see how it goes. In the meantime, I will try my best to update my blog properly. There are lots of photos to come!

love g xoxo

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MOVIE REVIEWS
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Hair Spray: 3.5/5

Cast: Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta (Grease), Michelle Pfiffer (Grease 2), Christopher Walken (Weapon of Choice music film clip), Queen Latifah (Chicago), Amanda Bynes (She’s the Man), James Marsden (The Notebook), Zac Efron (High School Musical), Allison Janney (West Wing).

In a Nutshell: Absolutely nutty!

Brief Synopsis: In 1962 a plump teenager dreams of being of singing and dancing on the Corny Collins Show and becoming Link’s girlfriend. Her path is the elitist and racist manager of the tv studio and her perfect daughter.

The movie musical version of a stage musical version of a non-musical movie, it throws in satirical, bordering on ridiculous, humour with heaps of fun and a touch of seriousness dealing with issues such as integration and female image consciousness. One can’t help feeling that this whole movie is about taking the piss, and yet you sense there is more to it, an extreme intelligence under all the singing and dancing… a little like Team America. However, unlike Team America, I am still unsure if Hairspray really carries it off. It is a little hit and miss in some places and on many occasion I turned to Clare, my movie compatriot, in order to make a “What THE?” face. Still, that itself is certainly a special brand of comedy.

The Simpsons Movie: 2.5/5

Cast: As per The Simpsons TV series.

In a Nutshell: Like a three part series of Simpsons episodes.

Brief Synopsis: As per The Simpsons TV series, with an environmental twist

Perhaps the reason for why this movie has been so long coming was that no matter how you do it, apart from making the animation 3d or using real life actors (which would completely suck), it was always just going to be like one long episode. Thus, there is nothing particular special about this. Having said that, the movie keeps all of the characters, the humour and the tongue-in-cheek that we are used to from the television series, and thus it is still a good watch. I just don’t know that it is worth seeing it on the big screen.

Die Hard 4.0: 4.0/5

Cast: Bruce Willis (the 3 other Die Hards), Justin Long (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story)

In a Nutshell: Kicking arse well and truly for the fourth time.

Brief Synopsis: John McClane somehow finds himself attempting to save America against a virtual terrorist who threatens to shut down America at the flick of a few switches.

John McClane does it again. Damn it was good. Smart arse comments, shrapnel, kicks, punches and pieces of very large vehicles flying everywhere! The storyline is a pretty good platform on which to base a high paced action movie, and it is exploited at all costs. Unfortunately there are one or two scenes that are just ridiculous. But mostly, there are some amazing, close to implausible, scenes that are just plain cool.

Nei Ho from Hong Kong!

2007-07-28T10:05:00.000+10:00

Errrr.... quick bleary eyed blog from HK airport.

We've flown about 10 hours so far. Thank goodness we are in business class, because I'm feeling vaguely ill, and at least business class is comfortable and spacious. The Sky Beds are awesome! Might be because I tried to stay up as late as possible and only gone in about 4 hours sleep. Might be because I have eaten too much. Might be because no matter how much I drink I still feel dehydrated. At least we get a short break here to just chill a bit.

Gideon enjoying the comfort at the Melbourne Qantas Club lounge.
The plane was almost 1.5hrs late to start.
Plenty of time to enjoy Command & Conquer Tiberium Wars!

Have watched one movie so far (plus 2 episodes of Top Gear - yet to be shown in Aust, and a couple of episodes of Extras). Critique on the run...

Blades of Glory: 2.5/5

Cast: Will Ferrell (Stranger than fiction), Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite)

In a Nutshell: Cross between the Cutting Edge and Zoolander, but not quite as good as either.

Brief Synopsis: Two male enemy iceskaters at the top of their game get suspended from the circuit, and finda loophole that allows them to compete in the pairs skating.

Stock standard sposh for Ferrell, silly slapstick humour that is sometimes hilarious, and sometimes just stupid. Your level of enjoyment will depend a lot on your mood at the time of viewing. I was watching this at about 2am EST, so perhaps my sense of humour was somewhat subdued. But lets face it, an all male pairs skating team... it's comedy gold, you can hardly go wrong. Ferrell does his usual thing, and Heder is not bad as the other main character (there's something about him that I just like). However it was Will Arnett, of Arrested Development fame, who was a standout for me as one of the members of the arch rival pairs team.

Any that's all for now.... signing off from HK. g xoxo

Farewell Dear Darwin

2007-07-21T13:16:00.000+10:00

This morning I was walking through Darwin town on my way to the bookshop to pickup my preordered copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and actually had a moment of teariness at the thought of leaving Darwin. While I'm a city girl, Darwin (even though, it technically is a city, it's not a big city) has been some fun, and not a bad way of life. I will miss Smith St Mall, Discovery, Throb, Mindil Beach Market, the bicycle ride to work, having almost everything within walking distance, dancing at the Strip Club Stoke Hill Wharf, the Esplanade, cheap Sushi Train, the dummies in the window of the adult shop that have extra big knockers, ...I'll even miss the local Woolies! Most of all I'll probably miss the kind people that I met, and of course the beautiful weather (especially while I'm freezing my arse of in an England winter).

Anyway, Goodbye Darwin, hopefully we will meet again.

Gayle xoxox

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MOVIE REVIEW
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: 2.75/5

Cast: (Mostly the same as the previous episodes) Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton...etc.

In a nutshell: Below the high standard set by the previous two instalments.

Brief Synopsis: No one will believe Harry when he says You Know Who is back, and Dumbledore is ignoring him. To top it off, the Ministery of Magic is intefering with the running of Hogwarts. Will they all be ready for You Know Who's devastating return?

I recall that this was probably my least favourite of the six previously released Harry Potter books. There was a lot of talking, and not as much magic or action as the previous movies, with the exception of a few scenes. The movie is not much different, and in addition, the uninspired direction, almost average acting and only sometimes funny script all feels a little flat. There is too much of the book to try and fit into the movie, and yet it felt like there may have been a number scenes that are too long or unecessary. As a result, you barely get to see some of your favourite old characters eg. Malfoy, Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin, hilarous one-lines from Ron Weasely, etc. Or of that matter, even the new characters are a bit wasted, eg. Helena Bonham Carter. Despite all of this, it is still a fun movie. Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge is a standout. It is just that Order of the Phoenix has the weight of so many Harry Potter fans on its still adolescent shoulders.

See Below

2007-07-19T18:00:00.001+10:00

Just a quick note. These blog entries are a little out of order, because I started the Broome Trip blog entry (All Roads to Kununurra, Part II) before the one complaining about packing, so the blogs are listed in that order even though I finished Part II afterwards. So please look below for all the photos and stories from the Broome Trip. : )

Also, update on the packing - it's all done! The removalists took away all of our boxes and paraphenalia this morning, and now I am sitting here in an airconditioned room, on a tiled floor, killing my back, typing this blog! Tomorrow the car gets taken away... My sister is going to have it for a bit until she can sell it (her car got stolen recently), or until someone says they are happy to borrow it for a year (at a substantially discounted amount of the lease)... Anyone interested??

http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/MINI/private-results.aspx?State=Northern%20Territory&Make=MINI&N=4294963980+81&distance=25&state_id=81

or CAR ID 4340428.

Anyway... on Saturday we head back to Melbourne! Can't wait!

I am soooo over packing

2007-07-15T15:36:00.000+10:00

Either I am completely indecisive or I have way too many clothes.. I have a feeling both are true. Trying to decide what is going in storage, what is getting air freighted and what to put in my suitcase is proving more difficult and time consuming than I thought. Half the problem is that I am so used to Darwin weather now, it is hard to remember what Melbourne is like in winter. I am sure, however, that everyone down there will tell me it is bloody cold!

The weather forecasts show that Melbourne is on average colder than England at the moment... it is supposed to be summer there, but at the same time, by all reports I think it is a cold summer this year... so should I pack summer clothes or winter clothes? I'm used to just throwing on a singlet and shorts! It's all too difficult!

Anyway, better get back to it.

Love g xoxo

ps. for those not already on facebook, check it out! http://www.facebook.com/ It's a bit of fun... I've been using the Tetris tournament to avoid doing packing!

pps. I promise that the Broome trip blog is coming your way soon. I am in the middle of writing it, and it is proving to be a bit of a saga... but not long now!

All Roads Lead to Kununurra Part II

2007-07-08T19:02:00.000+10:00

Back to the story...

Trip Map

Joel, the guide, picked us up from our house at 6.30am on a Sunday morning. Too early. Heading out towards Katherine, Joel asked us "locals" whether the cloudy sky was normal for Darwin at this time of year. In truth, no, but it had done the same thing the last couple of days and cleared to a blue sky in the afternoon.

By about 11am, we reached Nitmiluk National Park where we did a picturesque walk up to Edith Falls.

On the walk to the falls

Gideon: Yay - we are on holiday!

A splash around at Edith Falls

By the time we got to Katherine Hot Springs for a bit of a dip it had started to spit... the sky, that is. A few drops doesn't hurt though. We soon made our way to our camp site for that night, it was to be our only caravan park site. Despite getting lost on the way back from the toilets, it was a most pleasant evening. After a yummy dinner of green curry cooked over coals, we had a few drinks around the fire, then lay out our swags under the stars for a peaceful dry and snuggly sleep.

The sizzling camp fire at Victoria River

The next morning we headed back out on the road for a bit to Gregory National Park, where is did a bit of a walk to get a good view of the Victoria River and sandstone hills.

That's Victoria River in the background

Squinty Eyes

Some very determined trees

That night we were to be camping on an island in the middle of Lake Argyle, a man made lake and currently Australia's largest lake.

Ord River Dam holds the water into Lake Argyle
The rock used to build the dam comes from just down the road. We were told that a "million tonnes" of TNT were used to blow up a hill causing the largest non-nuclear explosion in the southern hemisphere.

On the boat on the way to the island

Fish feeding
Very cool - you hold the bread about a metre above the water, and the fish spit water at it to knock it out of your hand. Normally the fish do it to catch insects.

Dying trees covered in spiderwebs and big spiders!

Serene Lake Argyle

Starting to wish that I had brought a fleece or wind proof jacket!

Reflections

On Remote island searching for zebra rock

Some zebra rock and some cool spotty rock
- looks like someone has dripped some paint!

Sunset
-Time to get back to camp for a delicious barbeque and some swag action.

Snug as a bug in a swag.
Waking up on the island the next morning for the "amazing sunrise",
dry despite the spitting that kept waking us up during the night.

Gideon looking chipper despite the cloudy sky and very unexciting sunrise in the background.
What's going on with the weather??

I was excited that morning - we were headed towards the Bungle Bungles - this is what I had come for! Unfortunately the strange very atypical dry season weather was proving to be a bit of a dampener on our spirits.

First we stopped of at Kununnara, one of the bigger towns in the area, to stock up on groceries for the next few days. Quite a small quiet town it didn't even have a bakery, although it did have two diamond shops and a 'Target Country'. Then back on the road towards the Bungles. By the time we got to Turkey Creek, it was really raining. :( We stopped off at the roadhouse so that Joel could check out the situation.

The road out to the Bungle Bungles and the Gibb River Road (another major section of our tour) are both unsealed and can get dangerously gnarly when wet. In particular, if you manage to get to the Bungles camp site, and then the roads get closed, you end up being stuck at the site, not being able to see anything until the road opens up again. If this road gets very wet, then driven on and damaged, once the rain stops and the road starts to harden again, it has to be regraded, and this could take many days.

A wet and soggy Turkey Creek

I'm cold dammit... at least there are some rainbows around

Many phone calls later, there was no conclusive answer. It had been raining pretty heavily, but the roads were still open. Rather than driving into the park and getting stuck, Joel decided it would be best to camp as close as possible to the dirt road leading to the Bungles, and then reassess the situation the next day.

Given the very low probability of rain in the dry season, the KAT tours don't really plan for wet weather. Luckily Joel was carrying one massive tarpaulin that we were able to fashion into an a-line tent sort of thing. That night we were relatively dry despite the heavy rain, thanks to the boys' ingenious digging of trenches around our 'tent' in order to stop the water running through. It was, however, freezing. I was wearing almost everything I brought, plus a couple of towels! The disappointment though, was that with such heavy rain all night, it was very unlikely that the road to the Bungles would be open the next day.

The next morning, it was still raining, and it was confirmed. The road to the Bungles was shut, but there was no confirmation of the Gibb River Road. The plan was to salvage at least the second half of the tour and hit all of the gorges and 4wd'ing on the Gibb River Road. So that day we headed back to the-somewhat-boring-Kununurra to stock up on groceries, and make a fine purchase of a fleece (it took a lot of searching, and even then all I could find was a red fleece in the boys section of Target Country). Then we headed towards the Gibb River Road.

Back on the Road
Sam, Esthi and Miia in high spirits despite the bad news and the lack of sight seeing.

The things we do to amuse ourselves when trapped in the back of a Landcruiser.

That night we ended up driving back and forth, and getting bogged at one stage, to find a flat and suitable campsite close to the start of the Gibb River Road. We ended up setting up camp in the dark at the information stand at the start of the road! It gave us lots of space!

Cleaning up on Taco Night!

The next morning, the local park ranges drove buy and let us know the road was definitely shut.

Yep, it's closed.

LOL :D

So, plan B.. or are we up to C? Sticking to tarmac was the only way left to go. We would spend the morning visiting the Grotto - a cute little gorge oasis and then go and have a look at what Wyndham had to offer (not much at all), then we would continue on to Broome along the Great Northern Highway. Not quite as exciting as the Gibb River Road, but there would get to see Wolf Creek Crater and if the weather improved, we might get to do the end of the Gibb River Road.

A nippy morning swim in the Grotto
Feels good after 4 days of no showers

That night we found a lovely campsite at March Fly Creek, and it barely rained! Things were definitely looking up. Finally! Best of all, wanting to cheer us up, Joel did a roast lamb in the camp oven... who would have thought.

The next morning we headed out to see what Wyndham had to offer, before hitting the highway to Broome. As it turned out, not much. A weird sort of tourist/second hand store with a strange old lady with very triangular groomed white hair.

There we found out that Anu, one of the Finnish girls had decided to get off the tour and wait for the next KAT tour coming from Darwin to come through so that she would still get to see the Bungles and the Gibb River Road. Smart thinking if you ask me. The only catch was that she would have to stay in Kununurra (the place of no bakery) for 10 days, and we would have to go back to Kununurra AGAIN (double doh!)... to drop her off.

Our next stop was Hall's Creek for lunch. I tiny little town, where nothing was happening, except for the bombardment of tourists who should have been seeing the Bungles or the Gibb River Road, but had otherwise been deterred. Setting up outside the Shell Servo, which was a brick building with security bars all over the windows, we had lunch while Joel did some investigation as to what we could go and see.

It wasn't good news (there's a surprise). Even though the skies were now blue, the road out to Wolf Creek Crater was in no condition to be driven on, and the same applied to most of the sights near by. There was nothing left to do, the tour was to shortened by two days, and we would drive directly to Broome over the next day and a half.

The Great Northern Highway (well, not all of it)

For something to cheer us up a bit and to stretch the legs, we all ran to the top of this hilly thing... you can see me coming down, the little speck close to the middle of the picture.

Near the top

We camped at Fitzroy Crossing that Night. We did some adventurous driving (I had visions of crashing or getting stuck), got stuck once, and then finally set up camp in the dark, avoiding the huge cow pats, next to a crocodile infested river.. Fantastic. Actually, it wasn't as bad as it sounds - we were safe, sound and dry! The last meal was a camp oven vegetable lasagne - who would have thought it possible!

Breakfast at the campsite next to the crocodile infested waters.

Joel, contemplating whether to leave us behind.

On the last morning of our "4WD tour", we managed to actually go out and do a sight seeing walk!!

Some of the magnificent limestone walls at Geike Gorge

Joel and Gideon racing ahead along the waters edge

Beautiful! The orange colour is caused by iron deposits in the rock, and the white colour is caused by the water washing the rock during wet season. And hence, by simple deduction, the line between the two is how high the water level gets during wet season!

How to sleep sitting up in the back of a Landcruiser

My favourite bit of travelling through the Kimberley's...
The Boab (or Boabab) Trees
They are just the most amazing looking specimens of fauna!

Joel and the Transport

2,500 kms later, we finally arrived in Broome. Sadly, we had not seen much of what we had come to see, but at least Cable Beach was looking sunny and cloudless. : )

Cable Beach at sunset

Having arrived in Broome two days early, we decided to try and make use of our time to do something a little active as well as spend some time laying around on the beach. The Turtle Beach sunset paddle sounded like a good idea. I don't think we really did go to Turtle beach, or see any turtles for that matter, but it was a fun afternoon.

Padawan Gayle on the high seas

Some place we landed at to look at blow holes and fossils
plus eat dips and drink cordial

And that was pretty much our trip to Broome. We ended up flying home a day early to get some rest before returning to work. It had been a somewhat relaxing holiday, but a little disappointing in places. Not much you can do when it decides to rain in dry season.

Looking on the bright side, at least we didn't decide to do the Broome to Darwin trip that KAT runs concurrently. Those poor suckers who did that trip started on the Gibb River Road on their first or second day, and as a result got stuck there once it started to rain. The road was in such bad condition they couldn't drive anywhere. To top that off, they did not have a large tarpaulin for shade, nor did they have any tents. Then they ran out of food. I think we were very lucky by comparison!

And that concludes my little story of woe and adventure.

Gayle xoxo

Happy NT Day!

2007-07-01T16:46:00.000+10:00

It's Territory Day today, and it's crazy here. It's the one day of the year when fireworks are legal, and every second shop (literally) has a big banner outside advertising sale of fireworks (sales seem to be allowed on both Sat and Sun this weekend). We just came back from the Asian Grocery store and there were queues of people inside purchasing boxes of fireworks. Yesterday some people a couple of houses away had already started letting them off, so I can only assume that tonight there is going to be lots of banging going on!

More than meets the eye

2007-07-01T00:50:00.000+10:00

Just got back from the cinema and had to get my excitement down on paper.

But just before I get to that, trivial fact (This one's for you Milo)... Alien Vs Predator 2 is due out this year. Heheeh

Transformers: 4/5

Cast: Shia LeBeouf (Disturbia), Jon Voigt (Zoolander), Jon Turturro (O Brother, Where Art Thou?), Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas - tv show)

In a Nutshell: Deliciously AWESOME!!!

Brief Synopsis: Advanced robotic aliens, good and evil, fight it out on planet Earth.

Before I begin, I have to confess to being a keen Transformer fan in my younger years - woke up ridiculously early on Saturday mornings to watch the cartoon and owned some too. Therefore I sit right in the pocket of the audience to where this movie is aimed. Admittedly it is not a masterpiece and it will not win any awards for most original or best made movie. However, it is damn entertaining. Most people would probably rate it around the 3 star mark. There are some cheesy moments (did you expect any less) of course, but mostly it is surprisingly funny and full of whizz bang special affects and kick arse action. The Transformers themselves look amazing, and their transformations and the action is fast paced and exciting. LeBeouf is very good as the main character, and the supporting cast don't have big roles, but do well in support. My main two gripes are 1. the editing and "camera" work during action scenes is sometimes too close up or overly edited and it is sometimes difficult to see what is going on, 2. the original theme song is missing (unless they played it at the end of the credits) - small things in the grand scheme of things. I want to watch it again!

ALL ROADS LEAD TO KUNUNURRA: PART I

2007-06-29T13:40:00.000+10:00

I love to travel.

People often say that they hate flying in planes. I love it. The anticipation of heading somewhere new to experience new foods and see sights that you never imagined, or returning to the comfort of your own home and your friends and family after a time way. I love the inflight movies and I laugh at the flight attendants with their pulled back hair struggling to pull the heavily laden food trolleys up the narrow aisles. Guess I am lucky to be of small stature as the minimal leg room is never an issue.

Travelling by road also has its moments. 10 hour drives between Melbourne and Sydney as a youngster have conditioned me well. Waking up before sunlight. Breakfasts at McDonalds. Sleeping sitting up with the strains of Phantom of the Opera or Dire Straits in the background. Of course, now the engine drone heard from the inside of a vehicle and tyres on bitumen put me straight to sleep. Too many a time I have jerked awake from wacking my head against a bus window. I am sure that I am slowly killing off all of my braincells.

Our 9-day 4WD tour from Darwin to Broome was going to be a new test. Sitting sideways on benchseats in the back of a Toyota Landcruiser is not condusive to sleep... or so I incorrectly thought!

On Sunday 17th June, Gideon and I set off on our Kimberley adventure. We were picked up at 6.30am. I was getting excited. We had chosen this tour (Kimberley Adventure Tour (KAT)) because the size of the group and the vehicle meant that, unlike other tours available, we were able to head down unsealed roads to see the Bungle Bungles and the gorgeous gorges along the Gibb River Road.

In total there were eight of us. Joel the tour guide. Anu and Miia, two Finnish girls about our age. Murray, a slightly older guy from Queensland. Esthi a 27yo Swiss pastry chef from Switzerland living in Fremantle currently. Sam, a 20yo from Switzerland also. Gideon and myself. There was going to be lots of driving, seeing some amazing Australian scenery, swimming in gorges and waterfalls, and sleeping in swags under the stars every night. : )

The Oriental Emporium

2007-06-16T14:09:00.000+10:00

Ahh... another sunny day in Darwin.

Just came back from the Oriental Emporium on Bagot Rd. It was f!@#$%n' awesome!
Disappointing that I left it this late in our stay in Darwin to go.

Huge Chinese grocery store that is actually spacious and clean... pretty rare anywhere really.

Was pretty impressed at the range of instant noodles and the fact that they stocked Hakka fishballs, thai fishcakes, dimsims and springrolls. Hakka is the brand that my uncle owns, they make or import (I can't remember), the most delicious thai fishcakes! Of course they are the only brand of fishballs I will EVER buy!

I went in to get a few packets of instant tom yum noodles and walked out with a few extra items:

8 packets of instant noodles of various flavours from the Thai Mama brand (they make awesome tom yum... for an instant noodle)... including Green Tea Tom Yum, I'm keen to try these, haven't had them before.
A packet of Hakka Comination Fishballs
A Frozen coconut juice - these come in a plastic glass size container and go for about $1.20 in most asian grocery stores and are just yum
A packet of black sesame glutinous rice balls - I'm just about to boil them up in a sweet ginger soup

Late Movie update

2007-06-07T18:01:00.000+10:00

The Kimberleys adventure heading your way shortly... in the meantime...

28 Weeks Later: 2.5/5

Cast: Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting), Rose Byrne (Sunshine)

In a nutshell: Much like 28 Days Later, only less of the suspense and human interaction and more of the blood and guts. The last half hour is a bit of a let down.

Brief Synopsis: 28 weeks after the first appearance of a deadly virus in the UK that almost wiped out the British population, the US declare the virus dead and sets up a safe area for the remaining unaffected. Of course, things are not that simple.

The brilliant thing about 28 days later was that it was a zombie movie, but somehow a highly believable zombie movie. This sequel is much the same to begin with, but seems to lose sight of reality towards the end, leaving one somewhat unsatisfied. The camera work is of that Bourne Supremacy style where it is supposed to come across as realistic and chaotic, but actually has the effect of being able to see crap all. With similar ideas to the first, it is not a complete brainless mess, but the focus and integrity is not quite there.

Pirates of the Caribbean: World’s End: 2.75/5

Cast: Geoffrey Rush (Shakespeare in Love), Kiera Knightly (Bend it like Beckham), Orlando Bloom (Lord of the Rings Trilogy), Chow Yun Fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands), Bill Nighy (Love Actually)

In a nutshell: The good news is it doesn't seem as long as the almost 3 hours that it is, but on the otherhand, it just can't quite capture the magic of the first movie.

Brief Synopsis: Continuing from part 2 of the trilogy, Captain Barbossa, Elizabeth and Will Turner must save Captain Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones’ Locker.

There is a lot of excess in this final edition of the Captain Sparrow Train. There were scenes and perhaps characters that did not really add anything to the movie. As a result, many found the multiple storylines confusing and frustrating. For me, it was a case of lack of continuity and too much jerky editing. They also somewhat wasted Johnny Depp who really was is the reason why the franchise has been so successful. Having said all that, the main storylines and the resolution of the end (is it really?) of the trilogy was pleasantly enjoyable.

Zodiac: 3.75/5

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal (Day after tomorrow), Robert Downey Jnr (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang),
Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

In a nutshell: Superb cast, mostly good suspenseful intensity. Pretty good for a based-on-a-true-story.

Brief Synopsis: Based on a true story. Follows three men, a cop, a newspaper reporter and a cartoonist, in their obsession to solve a serial killer case.

Although this is not your typical Fincher (Seven, Fightclub) movie, it is still excellent. Perhaps a little long, lagging slightly towards the end, this movie kept me riveted and intrigued for the majority. The acting is wonderful and the quality of the direction and script is almost perfect. While a little graphic and violent in bits, it is more the psychology and the finer details of the characters that keeps you in suspense and wanting more. Definitely worth a watch, will work just as well on DVD.

Personality Test - Imagini Visual DNA

2007-06-04T19:20:00.001+10:00

Here's a bit of fun. Thanks to Daniella for sending this link on. :)

When you link on -- a series of about 12 pictures will come up -- click on a photo in that category. Just continue to keep picking the pics that appeal to you after reading the category. At the end it will give you a profile of yourself ...

http://dna.imagini.net/friends/

Here's my profile plus some comments on why I chose what. Maybe have a look after you have done the test yourself!

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