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

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!

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

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

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

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

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. : )

_____________

MOVIE REVIEW

_____________

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

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


______________

MOVIE REVIEWS
______________

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!

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

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

_____________

MOVIE REVIEW
_____________



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

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!