Happy New Year, everyone!!
I'm so sorry I haven't posted lately. With all the pre-Christmas rush and getting ready to go to Canada, I just didn't seem to have time! Anyway, I'm here now!
On Friday the 15th of December, we had our company Christmas party at a private members club just off The Strand called Adam Street. It was a lovely place, with fantastic food and an excellent wine cellar. Everyone really enjoyed it. It was a lunch, so when they kicked us out at 5:00 pm, we headed to the Canadian pub in Covent Garden, the Maple Leaf. Then the diehards went to another pub called the Lamb and Flag and the last two of us (accompanied by two friends who had joined the group later) had a late supper at an Italian eatery nearby and headed home. It was a fantastic time!
The following day, the 16th, I volunteered at a charity called Crisis. They house homeless and practically homeless people during the Christmas week (23rd to 30th), giving them a place to stay with clean bedding, hot meals, companionship, and lots of services to help them get on their feel. I was helping to set up the women's center - they have several different centres depending on the person's situation and location. It was lots of fun, and I went back on the 22nd and helped out that day as well. I also did a BBC Radio London interview for them! So I'm almost famous!!
There was a lot of packing and cleaning of the flat (I have some friends looking after it while I'm gone), a Christmas concert at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday the 18th (very nice!) and getting things done at work and ready for a 3-week absence.
So, I'm in Canada now. Had a wonderful Christmas with my parents - very relaxing and nice. Steak and crab legs (trust my parents to be non-traditional!) for dinner. We've been shopping a couple of days and mom and I got pedicures and manicures.
I went to a Roughnecks (lacrosse) exhibition game in Lethbridge on the 30th - it was good fun. I went with my friend, Simon, and a bunch of his friends, and we had a great time! I stayed at Simon's mom's house - she's a lovely British lady and we had a good time chatting about England.
New Year's eve was at A Bar Named Sue. Seriously - the bar is called A Bar Named Sue. As you can imagine, there is a big Johnny Cash fan element to it! I went with my friend, Alanna, and Tim Hus was playing. It was great fun, as Tim is a lot of fun to listen to. He does a lot of truck drivin' songs and Canadiana songs, a bit like Stompin' Tom Connors, but he sounds a lot like Johnny Cash. The bar is quite small and intimate, so a good time was had by all!
And, that brings me pretty much up to date. We had some relatives from Calgary out at mom and dad's yesterday for New Year's Day and mom did a ham, which is my favourite! It was awesome. I will be in Calgary for most of this week, and back in Linden for the weekend before heading out to Toronto next week (the 8th) to see my niece and new nephew (and their parents, of course!). Back in Calgary on Friday the 12th for the Roughneck's home opener and fly back to London on the 13th!
Having a blast, but looking forward to getting home again! Ciao for now!
23 December 2006
11 December 2006
Christmas in London
The sights and sounds of Christmas in London...I've been ill recently, which has meant a lot of downtime, which enables me to pause and really think about things and see the things around me. So, here are my Christmas observations of my new home...
Rain...lots of rain and wind. I thought the wind was an anomaly, but have been told it's pretty typical for this time of year. It's not too cold, certainly not below freezing or even close to that, but the wind and the rain make it chilly and not very festive!
Lights...lots of public light displays, in the big shopping areas, like Oxford Street and Regent Street and on the High Streets in all the communities. It gets dark early here, about 4:30 pm, so the lights are nice on the way home from work. Lots of public buildings have lights as well, and Buckingham Palace (Londoners call it Bucks House) is lit up for the first time this year. I haven't gone to see it yet, but I plan to before I leave. I have seen the Tower of London lit up, and Tower Bridge, and they are beautiful. Which brings me to my next topic..
Ice Skating Rinks...they're the latest thing - building ice rinks at famous historic sites and parks around the city. Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Somerset House, Hampstead Heath, Kew Gardens - these are just some of the places that have temporary outdoor ice rinks. Of course, it's not cold enough to do it naturally, like in Canada, so they lay down the surface and artificially freeze it and keep it frozen for most of December. Of course, this entails a cost, and that is passed on to the poor hapless skaters, who have to pay £10 (CAD $23) for an hour on the ice. Plus rent skates. The funny thing is that when Bucks House turned on their lights, the "greenies" have them a lot of grief over the amount of power they were using, however I'm sure just one of the powerplants that keeps the ice frozen uses far more power than the lights at Bucks House. People pick their battles, I suppose, usually for less altruistic reasons than one might think.
Traditional Things....mmmm traditional Christmas food is everywhere here. Mince pies and Christmas pudding are the big things - too bad I'm not a fan of either! Oranges play a big part, as does chocolate (some things are the same everywhere!). Christmas crackers are a must as well. They're very popular, and can be anything from very cheap to very expensive ($400 each in one store!) Of course, the expensive ones have nicer treats in them!
Christmas Trees....as you would expect, there are large Christmas trees in every major and minor square and shopping district. There is a huge one in Trafalgar Square, which is a gift from the Norweigan government every year in appreciation for England's help during the war. Apparently this tree is chosen early on in the year and cosseted and looked after all year until it is cut down and carefully transported to London. I haven't seen it yet, but apparently it is very large with lots of lights, but no other decorations. That also seems to be a theme - very little decoration on most of the public trees. They don't seem to cover their trees in decorations and tinsel, but follow the "less is more" theory. I don't actually know how I feel about that yet!
Christmas Concerts....they're everywhere - every church has several, Royal Albert Hall rings with Christmas carols, hymns, classical sacred music, the Messiah, etc. for the whole month of December, as does the Royal Festival Hall, down by the Thames. I haven't been to any yet, but I plan to go to a few before I leave. My church is having one next Sunday, and the Hogarth Singers one is Saturday (I'm not in the choir for it, but I might go to the concert anyway). I also want to hit a couple of the ones at the Royal Albert Hall, especially the Messiah, if I can.
Aside from the rain and wind, I'm loving Christmas in London. It's so different in many ways, but basically very similar. That said, I am definitely looking forward to Christmas in Canada!!
Rain...lots of rain and wind. I thought the wind was an anomaly, but have been told it's pretty typical for this time of year. It's not too cold, certainly not below freezing or even close to that, but the wind and the rain make it chilly and not very festive!
Lights...lots of public light displays, in the big shopping areas, like Oxford Street and Regent Street and on the High Streets in all the communities. It gets dark early here, about 4:30 pm, so the lights are nice on the way home from work. Lots of public buildings have lights as well, and Buckingham Palace (Londoners call it Bucks House) is lit up for the first time this year. I haven't gone to see it yet, but I plan to before I leave. I have seen the Tower of London lit up, and Tower Bridge, and they are beautiful. Which brings me to my next topic..
Ice Skating Rinks...they're the latest thing - building ice rinks at famous historic sites and parks around the city. Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Somerset House, Hampstead Heath, Kew Gardens - these are just some of the places that have temporary outdoor ice rinks. Of course, it's not cold enough to do it naturally, like in Canada, so they lay down the surface and artificially freeze it and keep it frozen for most of December. Of course, this entails a cost, and that is passed on to the poor hapless skaters, who have to pay £10 (CAD $23) for an hour on the ice. Plus rent skates. The funny thing is that when Bucks House turned on their lights, the "greenies" have them a lot of grief over the amount of power they were using, however I'm sure just one of the powerplants that keeps the ice frozen uses far more power than the lights at Bucks House. People pick their battles, I suppose, usually for less altruistic reasons than one might think.
Traditional Things....mmmm traditional Christmas food is everywhere here. Mince pies and Christmas pudding are the big things - too bad I'm not a fan of either! Oranges play a big part, as does chocolate (some things are the same everywhere!). Christmas crackers are a must as well. They're very popular, and can be anything from very cheap to very expensive ($400 each in one store!) Of course, the expensive ones have nicer treats in them!
Christmas Trees....as you would expect, there are large Christmas trees in every major and minor square and shopping district. There is a huge one in Trafalgar Square, which is a gift from the Norweigan government every year in appreciation for England's help during the war. Apparently this tree is chosen early on in the year and cosseted and looked after all year until it is cut down and carefully transported to London. I haven't seen it yet, but apparently it is very large with lots of lights, but no other decorations. That also seems to be a theme - very little decoration on most of the public trees. They don't seem to cover their trees in decorations and tinsel, but follow the "less is more" theory. I don't actually know how I feel about that yet!
Christmas Concerts....they're everywhere - every church has several, Royal Albert Hall rings with Christmas carols, hymns, classical sacred music, the Messiah, etc. for the whole month of December, as does the Royal Festival Hall, down by the Thames. I haven't been to any yet, but I plan to go to a few before I leave. My church is having one next Sunday, and the Hogarth Singers one is Saturday (I'm not in the choir for it, but I might go to the concert anyway). I also want to hit a couple of the ones at the Royal Albert Hall, especially the Messiah, if I can.
Aside from the rain and wind, I'm loving Christmas in London. It's so different in many ways, but basically very similar. That said, I am definitely looking forward to Christmas in Canada!!
29 November 2006
Travel Woes
So here it is, a week since my last post already! Just for all you Albertans, the sun is shining here and the weather is quite mild - certainly nothing like the cold temperatures and snow that you have out there! Just thought I'd rub that in!
The weekend was great with the twins. We had lots of fun, without running around too much. Saw the huge Christmas tree in Covent Garden, went to the Tower of London, did my Saturday morning shopping, and lots of crafts and playdough and stuff like that. They had brought the "Mary Poppins" DVD and I had "Narnia", so we watched those while they were busy painting and playdoughing! We really enjoyed our time together. The trip to take them home was something else, however....
We got a bit of a late start on Sunday, as the girls wanted to go inline skating (they had brought their skates), and then there was the general dawdling and fooling around while they got packed and stuff. We jumped on the tube to Waterloo station, and got there without incident. It's important to understand that it wasn't just me and two 8-year-olds; we had a daypack full to bursting with their clothes, a small wheeled suitcase with their inline skates, and two other largish bags containing various and sundry other stuff, including the thinkgs they bought with the spending money their mom gave them. The girls helped me as best they could, but a lot of it was too heavy for them to carry for very long. We managed to make it to Waterloo station by 2ish, and then I realized we hadn't eaten lunch. So, we (and all our bags) went into Burger King to grab a bite. That done, I had promised the girls I would get them a Starbucks frozen caramel frappucino thing (sans caffeine!) so I had to leave the girls upstairs with all the bags and run downstairs to get this. Then we go to look at the board for the next train to Brookwood. Normally they run every half hour or so. I couldn't see any trains to Brookwood; there were just trains to Weybridge with a rail replacement bus services to Brookwood. I went into the information place and was advised that they were doing work on the tracks and there wouldn't be a train to Brookwood for another hour and a half!! So, we jumped on the Weybridge train. This was going to delay us a bit. We got into Weybridge in just under an hour, and went out to the bus stand. I was told then that there was no bus to Brookwood, but that we would have to take a bus to Woking and change there for a bus to Brookwood! Sigh. So, we load ourselves and our bags on the bus and I amuse the girls by reading from the book that I bought them (we had already played hangman and a card game and I was bored with both!). We got into Woking in about 20 minutes, and discovered that the bus to Brookwood wasn't due to leave for 25 minutes! We went into the station and it was small and there were no seats. So the girls and I plopped down on the floor and I read another chapter of the book (so glad I had that along!). The bus finally arrives, and it is a coach - fairly old, narrow aisles and very steep narrow stairs up into it! I struggled with all the stuff up into the coach (the girls could barely make it up the stairs, they were so steep). By now we had been travelling for and hour and 45 minutes. It took another 20 minutes to make Brookwood (one of the girls fell asleep), at which point we had to walk another 10 minutes to their house. A 2 hour trip that would normally take 50 minutes! I was knackered. I stopped at their house for a cup of tea and then headed back to Waterloo. Fortunately, the train was back up and running, so it was quick and smooth back into Waterloo, and indeed even the tube was on my side, with my trains waiting for me on the platforms. What a day!!
Monday night I had choir practice. We did some really nice songs. I don't think I'll be singing in the Christmas carol concert with the choir, however. We only have four Monday rehearsals and I've already missed one and will miss next week as well. In addition, he's planned another 3 hour rehearsal for the Saturday afternoon of the concert, and I just can't manage that. It's too much. Maybe next year, but I need to bring my voice back to form slowly.
This weekend my friend Donna is coming out from Calgary - I'm really looking forward to her visit. We are going to the Princess Diana photo exhibition at Kensington Palace on Saturday and Mamma Mia on Monday night. She leaves for Malta on Tuesday, and I am flying out on Thursday afternoon to spend the weekend there with her. We're going on a jeep safari on Gozo, the north island, and are also spending a day horseback riding. I'm really looking forward to it!
There are several Christmas carol concerts going on at the Royal Albert Hall, so I'm going to try to go to one of them, if I can find someone to go with.
That's all for now! Au revoir!
The weekend was great with the twins. We had lots of fun, without running around too much. Saw the huge Christmas tree in Covent Garden, went to the Tower of London, did my Saturday morning shopping, and lots of crafts and playdough and stuff like that. They had brought the "Mary Poppins" DVD and I had "Narnia", so we watched those while they were busy painting and playdoughing! We really enjoyed our time together. The trip to take them home was something else, however....
We got a bit of a late start on Sunday, as the girls wanted to go inline skating (they had brought their skates), and then there was the general dawdling and fooling around while they got packed and stuff. We jumped on the tube to Waterloo station, and got there without incident. It's important to understand that it wasn't just me and two 8-year-olds; we had a daypack full to bursting with their clothes, a small wheeled suitcase with their inline skates, and two other largish bags containing various and sundry other stuff, including the thinkgs they bought with the spending money their mom gave them. The girls helped me as best they could, but a lot of it was too heavy for them to carry for very long. We managed to make it to Waterloo station by 2ish, and then I realized we hadn't eaten lunch. So, we (and all our bags) went into Burger King to grab a bite. That done, I had promised the girls I would get them a Starbucks frozen caramel frappucino thing (sans caffeine!) so I had to leave the girls upstairs with all the bags and run downstairs to get this. Then we go to look at the board for the next train to Brookwood. Normally they run every half hour or so. I couldn't see any trains to Brookwood; there were just trains to Weybridge with a rail replacement bus services to Brookwood. I went into the information place and was advised that they were doing work on the tracks and there wouldn't be a train to Brookwood for another hour and a half!! So, we jumped on the Weybridge train. This was going to delay us a bit. We got into Weybridge in just under an hour, and went out to the bus stand. I was told then that there was no bus to Brookwood, but that we would have to take a bus to Woking and change there for a bus to Brookwood! Sigh. So, we load ourselves and our bags on the bus and I amuse the girls by reading from the book that I bought them (we had already played hangman and a card game and I was bored with both!). We got into Woking in about 20 minutes, and discovered that the bus to Brookwood wasn't due to leave for 25 minutes! We went into the station and it was small and there were no seats. So the girls and I plopped down on the floor and I read another chapter of the book (so glad I had that along!). The bus finally arrives, and it is a coach - fairly old, narrow aisles and very steep narrow stairs up into it! I struggled with all the stuff up into the coach (the girls could barely make it up the stairs, they were so steep). By now we had been travelling for and hour and 45 minutes. It took another 20 minutes to make Brookwood (one of the girls fell asleep), at which point we had to walk another 10 minutes to their house. A 2 hour trip that would normally take 50 minutes! I was knackered. I stopped at their house for a cup of tea and then headed back to Waterloo. Fortunately, the train was back up and running, so it was quick and smooth back into Waterloo, and indeed even the tube was on my side, with my trains waiting for me on the platforms. What a day!!
Monday night I had choir practice. We did some really nice songs. I don't think I'll be singing in the Christmas carol concert with the choir, however. We only have four Monday rehearsals and I've already missed one and will miss next week as well. In addition, he's planned another 3 hour rehearsal for the Saturday afternoon of the concert, and I just can't manage that. It's too much. Maybe next year, but I need to bring my voice back to form slowly.
This weekend my friend Donna is coming out from Calgary - I'm really looking forward to her visit. We are going to the Princess Diana photo exhibition at Kensington Palace on Saturday and Mamma Mia on Monday night. She leaves for Malta on Tuesday, and I am flying out on Thursday afternoon to spend the weekend there with her. We're going on a jeep safari on Gozo, the north island, and are also spending a day horseback riding. I'm really looking forward to it!
There are several Christmas carol concerts going on at the Royal Albert Hall, so I'm going to try to go to one of them, if I can find someone to go with.
That's all for now! Au revoir!
22 November 2006
Royal Albert Hall
Well, my faith in the youth of this country has been restored! After my rant about Big Brother and ASBOs, I'm sure you were all thinking that I hated it here. And it can be depressing. But all the youth are not like that, and this was proved to me last night.
I went to a performance put on by the Surrey County Arts Council at the Royal Albert Hall. First of all....WOW! The Royal Albert Hall is spectacular! Amazing! Gorgeous! I was awestruck to be in such a building. It's huge and lush and beautiful! I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any good pictures, just a couple of really bad ones on my phone, which I refuse to show anyone because they are too awful. I was seated down close to the stage, and not only are the seats not squashed close together, but they swivel!! So, it was quite comfortable! Anyway, on to the concert.
I went originally because the twins' primary school was performing. I didn't really know anything about it, except that a bunch of primary schools from Surrey County were going to be performing. It turned out to be a big performing arts extravaganza called "The Unknown Region". There was an 800-member primary school mass choir, a 400ish-member secondary school mass choir, multiple orchestras (jazz, philharmonic, wind, percussion, harp), a youth choir that was fantastic, and a samba band! It was quite long, but I didn't want to leave! Over 1700 performers in all, almost all youth. Quite amazing. It was a high quality performance, with two premieres of original pieces composed by participants. I think my favourite was the jazz ensemble; they played a few big band pieces and some more traditional jazz. I was so impressed with all these kids putting in the time and effort to practice and perform - it really gave me new hope for the youth of the country. And what a great experience for them - to perform in the Royal Albert Hall! The evening ended by the audience singing "Jerusalem" and "Land of Hope and Glory", during the last repetition of which they dropped purple ballons!! It ended at about 10:00 pm, which is awfully late for some of those kids, but they were so hyped up it didn't seem to matter!
As you can imagine, trying to find two little girls amongst 800 children was quite the feat, but I managed to find the group afterwards by the sign they were holding up for their school so parents could find them. It also helped that their mom texted me to tell me what colour their school uniforms were (all children here wear school uniforms). The girls were happy to see me and I could tell they were glad that I came. Leeann said she had been looking for me in the audience. They were up at the top by the organ, so it was no wonder I couldn't find them at the intermission or during my scans of the areas the children were seated in!
Well, that's that! I will definitely be looking for excuses to go to the Royal Albert Hall again soon!!
I went to a performance put on by the Surrey County Arts Council at the Royal Albert Hall. First of all....WOW! The Royal Albert Hall is spectacular! Amazing! Gorgeous! I was awestruck to be in such a building. It's huge and lush and beautiful! I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any good pictures, just a couple of really bad ones on my phone, which I refuse to show anyone because they are too awful. I was seated down close to the stage, and not only are the seats not squashed close together, but they swivel!! So, it was quite comfortable! Anyway, on to the concert.
I went originally because the twins' primary school was performing. I didn't really know anything about it, except that a bunch of primary schools from Surrey County were going to be performing. It turned out to be a big performing arts extravaganza called "The Unknown Region". There was an 800-member primary school mass choir, a 400ish-member secondary school mass choir, multiple orchestras (jazz, philharmonic, wind, percussion, harp), a youth choir that was fantastic, and a samba band! It was quite long, but I didn't want to leave! Over 1700 performers in all, almost all youth. Quite amazing. It was a high quality performance, with two premieres of original pieces composed by participants. I think my favourite was the jazz ensemble; they played a few big band pieces and some more traditional jazz. I was so impressed with all these kids putting in the time and effort to practice and perform - it really gave me new hope for the youth of the country. And what a great experience for them - to perform in the Royal Albert Hall! The evening ended by the audience singing "Jerusalem" and "Land of Hope and Glory", during the last repetition of which they dropped purple ballons!! It ended at about 10:00 pm, which is awfully late for some of those kids, but they were so hyped up it didn't seem to matter!
As you can imagine, trying to find two little girls amongst 800 children was quite the feat, but I managed to find the group afterwards by the sign they were holding up for their school so parents could find them. It also helped that their mom texted me to tell me what colour their school uniforms were (all children here wear school uniforms). The girls were happy to see me and I could tell they were glad that I came. Leeann said she had been looking for me in the audience. They were up at the top by the organ, so it was no wonder I couldn't find them at the intermission or during my scans of the areas the children were seated in!
Well, that's that! I will definitely be looking for excuses to go to the Royal Albert Hall again soon!!
20 November 2006
Busy weekend!
Friday night - Casino Royale
Great movie! I'm not the biggest James Bond fan, nor do I like action movies particularly. I went to this movie because I got free tickets. And I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was action, all right, but intelligent action scenes that never got boring. Lots to think about, lots of interesting characters. Not as many gimmicks, both technical and verbal, and just an all around great movie. I would definitely go see it again! And actually pay for it this time! lol
Saturday - Concert
Saturday morning I got up to do my regular (when I'm here!) Saturday shopping. We had rehearsal at 2:00, so I wanted to get it all done by noon so I could have a relaxed lunch and a rest before I went. I had to find a "bit of red" to wear to the concert. David asked us to wear all black with "a bit of red", which meant a scarf or pin or necklace or something. The men wore black suits with white shirts, black ties and a red pocket thingy. So, I needed to find the something red, since the only scarf I have with red on it is covered in red lips! I found a really lovely largish red sequined pointsetta, which was perfect and exactly the price I was prepared to pay (Thank you God!). Did the rest of my shopping and headed home. Smallish, relaxed lunch and off to rehearsal. Three hours later, my voice was hoarse! I went back home, had a nice relaxing bath and a light supper, and tried to rest up before the performance at 7:30. It all went off quite well. We did the best we could, and although it was far from perfect, the audience members I talked to said it was quite lovely and they couldn't tell our mistakes! Good thing! Afterwards, myself and a friend that came to watch, Carole, went over to Jane's place for a soiree with food and wine. Very nice! Jane is an amazing cook, so the food was wonderful, and she has such interesting friends that we had a lovely time. Home late, though!
Sunday - Church and Sunday Lunch
Almost missed church - I slept in until 10:30 (it starts at 11:00). So I was a couple minutes late, but not too bad! Great sermon. Went for lunch afterwards to a lady's named Wendy. There was another girl, Nicola, who lives right across the road from me. We want to start doing things together. A couple also came, long-time church members. They were great fun - very funny and quite intelligent. We had great conversation - digging into bible passages, discussing politics, etc. This was Nicola's first time at Gunnersbury, and in fact the first time she had really attended any church service, so she had lots of questions, which we answered. It was a great day, and lunch went quite late! Met a friend after that for supper and a chat.
So, that's my weekend. More choir practice tonight because in a month we are doing a Christmas Carol concert with a local primary school. As my Grandma Brown always said, "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need any!"
Tomorrow night, the twins (Paul's girls) are singing with a bunch of other primary school choirs from their country, Surrey, at the Royal Albert Hall, so I'm going to watch them. Their mom can't come because she has to work, and Paul is in Iraq of course, so they are excited that I'm going to be there. Not sure if I'll get to talk to them, but I'll try. Haven't been to the Royal Albert Hall yet, so I'm looking forward to it!! It's beautiful from the outside!
Gotta run - lunch hour is over!!
Great movie! I'm not the biggest James Bond fan, nor do I like action movies particularly. I went to this movie because I got free tickets. And I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was action, all right, but intelligent action scenes that never got boring. Lots to think about, lots of interesting characters. Not as many gimmicks, both technical and verbal, and just an all around great movie. I would definitely go see it again! And actually pay for it this time! lol
Saturday - Concert
Saturday morning I got up to do my regular (when I'm here!) Saturday shopping. We had rehearsal at 2:00, so I wanted to get it all done by noon so I could have a relaxed lunch and a rest before I went. I had to find a "bit of red" to wear to the concert. David asked us to wear all black with "a bit of red", which meant a scarf or pin or necklace or something. The men wore black suits with white shirts, black ties and a red pocket thingy. So, I needed to find the something red, since the only scarf I have with red on it is covered in red lips! I found a really lovely largish red sequined pointsetta, which was perfect and exactly the price I was prepared to pay (Thank you God!). Did the rest of my shopping and headed home. Smallish, relaxed lunch and off to rehearsal. Three hours later, my voice was hoarse! I went back home, had a nice relaxing bath and a light supper, and tried to rest up before the performance at 7:30. It all went off quite well. We did the best we could, and although it was far from perfect, the audience members I talked to said it was quite lovely and they couldn't tell our mistakes! Good thing! Afterwards, myself and a friend that came to watch, Carole, went over to Jane's place for a soiree with food and wine. Very nice! Jane is an amazing cook, so the food was wonderful, and she has such interesting friends that we had a lovely time. Home late, though!
Sunday - Church and Sunday Lunch
Almost missed church - I slept in until 10:30 (it starts at 11:00). So I was a couple minutes late, but not too bad! Great sermon. Went for lunch afterwards to a lady's named Wendy. There was another girl, Nicola, who lives right across the road from me. We want to start doing things together. A couple also came, long-time church members. They were great fun - very funny and quite intelligent. We had great conversation - digging into bible passages, discussing politics, etc. This was Nicola's first time at Gunnersbury, and in fact the first time she had really attended any church service, so she had lots of questions, which we answered. It was a great day, and lunch went quite late! Met a friend after that for supper and a chat.
So, that's my weekend. More choir practice tonight because in a month we are doing a Christmas Carol concert with a local primary school. As my Grandma Brown always said, "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need any!"
Tomorrow night, the twins (Paul's girls) are singing with a bunch of other primary school choirs from their country, Surrey, at the Royal Albert Hall, so I'm going to watch them. Their mom can't come because she has to work, and Paul is in Iraq of course, so they are excited that I'm going to be there. Not sure if I'll get to talk to them, but I'll try. Haven't been to the Royal Albert Hall yet, so I'm looking forward to it!! It's beautiful from the outside!
Gotta run - lunch hour is over!!
16 November 2006
Big Brother and ASBOs
Is it Thursday again already? It seems like I just posted that blog! lol
So, I'm trying to write a Christmas letter, and failing miserably. It seems that all my creativity gets used up in writing these blogs and I have nothing left! Maybe I should just cut and paste bits from past blogs! Naw, that would take too long. I'll keep at it.
So, what has happened lately. Let's see...
Weekend was spent shopping and cleaning. My friend, Steve, came over on Saturday night for supper (I actually cooked something healthy!) and we watched MI:3. Great flick. That and church the next morning were the social events of my weekend! Meeting more people every week at church, and people recognize me and come up to chat, which is nice. I feel very welcome and comfortable there, that's for sure.
Busy week at work. Lots of things to catch up on and projects to work on. Our choir concert is on Saturday night, so we had an extra long rehearsal on Monday night, have another two hour rehearsal tonight and another two hour rehearsal on Saturday afternoon! But, we're starting to pull it together; on Monday night we rehearsed with the soprano soloist and it was beautiful! They are recording the concert, so I will be able to hear it (because you can't really hear it properly when you're singing in it!) and will send a copy to mom and dad so they can hear it too.
I have two tickets to the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, for Friday night. I got them from a supplier, so there is a small schmooze event beforehand with beverages and appetizers. Steve is going with me, since he was mentioning last Saturday that he really wanted to see it. I won't be home much in the next few days!
Hmmm...that's really all I can say about what I've been up to. An observation I made recently; England is going increasing "Big Brother". I'm not a particularly private person, but I don't like the fact that the average person is caught on closed circuit tv 300 times every day in London! There are cameras everywhere - ostensibly for safety. However, the crime continues seemingly unabated. And, now they're talking about monitoring everything that isn't already monitored. I just heard about a catering company that has tracking devices installed in all their vehicles so they know where their staff are at all times, and it won't be long until all the cars here have that. The government controls so much of life here, it's frightening - and I'm not easily frightened by things like that. Also, the youth culture here is disturbingly violent. Most adults are afraid to tell kids off about anything, because as often as not, they will turn on the adult and injure or kill them (honestly - its in the papers all the time!) Even parents seem to be scared of their kids. And, I'm not talking about yelling at or abusing the kids, I'm talking about asking them to keep the noise down when they are playing their music on the street because it's midnight and people are trying to sleep. Kids are targeting certain people they don't like and throwing rocks through their windows, vandalizing their houses, shouting at them on the street, hanging around outside their house and playing loud music. The police seem to be able to do nothing more than give them an "Anti-Social Behaviour Order" (called an ASBO), which has become a badge of honour amongst these kids. It's a scary time over here. It makes me realize how great it is in Canada and how luck I am to be able to move back eventually!
So, that's some of the bad side of England. But, honestly, I'm having a great adventure over here. I'm looking forward to skating at the Tower of London and going caroling at Hampton Court Palace! It will be a fun December and then I'm back in Canada for three weeks!! Yahoo!
So, I'm trying to write a Christmas letter, and failing miserably. It seems that all my creativity gets used up in writing these blogs and I have nothing left! Maybe I should just cut and paste bits from past blogs! Naw, that would take too long. I'll keep at it.
So, what has happened lately. Let's see...
Weekend was spent shopping and cleaning. My friend, Steve, came over on Saturday night for supper (I actually cooked something healthy!) and we watched MI:3. Great flick. That and church the next morning were the social events of my weekend! Meeting more people every week at church, and people recognize me and come up to chat, which is nice. I feel very welcome and comfortable there, that's for sure.
Busy week at work. Lots of things to catch up on and projects to work on. Our choir concert is on Saturday night, so we had an extra long rehearsal on Monday night, have another two hour rehearsal tonight and another two hour rehearsal on Saturday afternoon! But, we're starting to pull it together; on Monday night we rehearsed with the soprano soloist and it was beautiful! They are recording the concert, so I will be able to hear it (because you can't really hear it properly when you're singing in it!) and will send a copy to mom and dad so they can hear it too.
I have two tickets to the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, for Friday night. I got them from a supplier, so there is a small schmooze event beforehand with beverages and appetizers. Steve is going with me, since he was mentioning last Saturday that he really wanted to see it. I won't be home much in the next few days!
Hmmm...that's really all I can say about what I've been up to. An observation I made recently; England is going increasing "Big Brother". I'm not a particularly private person, but I don't like the fact that the average person is caught on closed circuit tv 300 times every day in London! There are cameras everywhere - ostensibly for safety. However, the crime continues seemingly unabated. And, now they're talking about monitoring everything that isn't already monitored. I just heard about a catering company that has tracking devices installed in all their vehicles so they know where their staff are at all times, and it won't be long until all the cars here have that. The government controls so much of life here, it's frightening - and I'm not easily frightened by things like that. Also, the youth culture here is disturbingly violent. Most adults are afraid to tell kids off about anything, because as often as not, they will turn on the adult and injure or kill them (honestly - its in the papers all the time!) Even parents seem to be scared of their kids. And, I'm not talking about yelling at or abusing the kids, I'm talking about asking them to keep the noise down when they are playing their music on the street because it's midnight and people are trying to sleep. Kids are targeting certain people they don't like and throwing rocks through their windows, vandalizing their houses, shouting at them on the street, hanging around outside their house and playing loud music. The police seem to be able to do nothing more than give them an "Anti-Social Behaviour Order" (called an ASBO), which has become a badge of honour amongst these kids. It's a scary time over here. It makes me realize how great it is in Canada and how luck I am to be able to move back eventually!
So, that's some of the bad side of England. But, honestly, I'm having a great adventure over here. I'm looking forward to skating at the Tower of London and going caroling at Hampton Court Palace! It will be a fun December and then I'm back in Canada for three weeks!! Yahoo!
09 November 2006
Home again, home again, jiggetty-jig
Ok, for those of you that are culturally challenged and don't know what I'm on about with the title to this blog, it's a children's verse that goes:
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig
Home again, home again, jiggetty-jig
Consider yourself enlightened!
So, just got back (well, yesterday) from my brief trip to Canada. Got there on Saturday afternoon, headed straight to my hair stylist for a cut. He's totally awesome! His name is Wayne and he works at Jibreal Salon, in Bridgleand (where the General Hospital used to be). So, got a cute new hairstyle, and got a manicure while I was there, too. So cheap compared to London! Home to Linden and the Country Cousins Restaurant for some yummy honey-lemon chicken, as only the CCR can make it! Not much changes in Linden, it's very comforting for someone like me who is always traveling around. I love the atmosphere and the people and just everything about the town. I always feel like I want to give it a big hug (that might be a bit tough)!
Church on Sunday in Linden was amazing, as always. A lot of people were surprised to see me, and I was warmly welcomed. The sermon was fantastic and very thought provoking, as usual. We went to Calgary to do some shopping afterwards - things are so cheap compared to the UK - it was great! Mom and dad made a wonderful Alberta beef steak dinner that night, with Greek salad (my favourite!) and saskatoon-rhubarb pie! I felt very spoiled!
Monday morning early I was driving into Calgary. Had a fair bit of stuff to get done before the board meeting the next day. I went into Gentry to get set up, and found out their receptionist had called in sick, so I sat at her desk and answered the phone! I hooked up the computer to do some work as well, but so many people wanted to chat with me and catch up, that I had trouble getting anything done! It was nice to see everyone, though. We all went out to lunch at Palimino's across the street - it's a very fun place and has great BBQ! Back in the afternoon to madly dash around to get everything done that I didn't get done in the morning. Connie Nischuk, my counterpart at Gentry, was an enormous help! My brain was a bit scattered and she was invaluable to help keep me organized!! I don't know what I would have done without her!!
Went out for after-work drinks with some of my CIRI friends - so much fun!! I wanted to stay all night - it was so good to be back with the gang. However, I had a directors dinner that I had to go to, so left and was late meeting the guys at the hotel for that. I still had to get changed, so I sent everyone else off in a cab and told them the driver would know where the River Cafe was. I forgot I wasn't in London, where the cabbies actually know the city! The cab driver didn't know where it was, even though it has been there for ages and is quite well-known. Better training regulations really are needed - its ridiculous that someone can walk off the plane to Calgary and start driving cab the next day. They really should have to do some training. In London, the cabbies have to train and study for at least 3 years! It's called "The Knowledge", and makes taking a cab in London a pleasure!! I don't mind paying in the least if I can say the destination and then sit back, confident that they will get me where I'm going without me having to direct them all the way. Thus endeth the rant.
So the cabbie drops them off at a different restaurant, "QHaute" (used to be "La Caille on the Bow"), which is a fair distance from the River Cafe, although they are both on the river, and they have to walk all the way to the restaurant from there, in minus three degree weather. I never heard the end of it, when I finally got to dinner, moaning on about having to walk 5 miles in the freezing cold, etc, etc! My cabbie didn't know where it was either, but fortunately I did. Lovely dinner, but completely knackered by the end of it (jet lag) and was glad to get back to the hotel and into my bed - very comfortable beds at the Hyatt, by the way!
The next morning was a mad rush of Audit Committee meeting, Board meeting, getting everyone sorted with cabs (which I screwed up royally!). My cousin, Kevin Esau, took me to the airport. It was great to catch up with him - we get along really well and used to go for lunch in Calgary every so often. He is someone that I feel quite close to. So it was nice to be able to spend some time with him.
Overnight flight back to London, straight into the office. I am still tired today!! Thank goodness the weekend is close! I have an extra choir practice tonight with just the sopranos. Not looking forward to it because I'm tired and have a great wodge of laundry to do, but I am not even close to ready for the concert next Saturday, so I need the practice! And, I know that I'll enjoy myself once I get going.
Later, gator!!
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig
Home again, home again, jiggetty-jig
Consider yourself enlightened!
So, just got back (well, yesterday) from my brief trip to Canada. Got there on Saturday afternoon, headed straight to my hair stylist for a cut. He's totally awesome! His name is Wayne and he works at Jibreal Salon, in Bridgleand (where the General Hospital used to be). So, got a cute new hairstyle, and got a manicure while I was there, too. So cheap compared to London! Home to Linden and the Country Cousins Restaurant for some yummy honey-lemon chicken, as only the CCR can make it! Not much changes in Linden, it's very comforting for someone like me who is always traveling around. I love the atmosphere and the people and just everything about the town. I always feel like I want to give it a big hug (that might be a bit tough)!
Church on Sunday in Linden was amazing, as always. A lot of people were surprised to see me, and I was warmly welcomed. The sermon was fantastic and very thought provoking, as usual. We went to Calgary to do some shopping afterwards - things are so cheap compared to the UK - it was great! Mom and dad made a wonderful Alberta beef steak dinner that night, with Greek salad (my favourite!) and saskatoon-rhubarb pie! I felt very spoiled!
Monday morning early I was driving into Calgary. Had a fair bit of stuff to get done before the board meeting the next day. I went into Gentry to get set up, and found out their receptionist had called in sick, so I sat at her desk and answered the phone! I hooked up the computer to do some work as well, but so many people wanted to chat with me and catch up, that I had trouble getting anything done! It was nice to see everyone, though. We all went out to lunch at Palimino's across the street - it's a very fun place and has great BBQ! Back in the afternoon to madly dash around to get everything done that I didn't get done in the morning. Connie Nischuk, my counterpart at Gentry, was an enormous help! My brain was a bit scattered and she was invaluable to help keep me organized!! I don't know what I would have done without her!!
Went out for after-work drinks with some of my CIRI friends - so much fun!! I wanted to stay all night - it was so good to be back with the gang. However, I had a directors dinner that I had to go to, so left and was late meeting the guys at the hotel for that. I still had to get changed, so I sent everyone else off in a cab and told them the driver would know where the River Cafe was. I forgot I wasn't in London, where the cabbies actually know the city! The cab driver didn't know where it was, even though it has been there for ages and is quite well-known. Better training regulations really are needed - its ridiculous that someone can walk off the plane to Calgary and start driving cab the next day. They really should have to do some training. In London, the cabbies have to train and study for at least 3 years! It's called "The Knowledge", and makes taking a cab in London a pleasure!! I don't mind paying in the least if I can say the destination and then sit back, confident that they will get me where I'm going without me having to direct them all the way. Thus endeth the rant.
So the cabbie drops them off at a different restaurant, "QHaute" (used to be "La Caille on the Bow"), which is a fair distance from the River Cafe, although they are both on the river, and they have to walk all the way to the restaurant from there, in minus three degree weather. I never heard the end of it, when I finally got to dinner, moaning on about having to walk 5 miles in the freezing cold, etc, etc! My cabbie didn't know where it was either, but fortunately I did. Lovely dinner, but completely knackered by the end of it (jet lag) and was glad to get back to the hotel and into my bed - very comfortable beds at the Hyatt, by the way!
The next morning was a mad rush of Audit Committee meeting, Board meeting, getting everyone sorted with cabs (which I screwed up royally!). My cousin, Kevin Esau, took me to the airport. It was great to catch up with him - we get along really well and used to go for lunch in Calgary every so often. He is someone that I feel quite close to. So it was nice to be able to spend some time with him.
Overnight flight back to London, straight into the office. I am still tired today!! Thank goodness the weekend is close! I have an extra choir practice tonight with just the sopranos. Not looking forward to it because I'm tired and have a great wodge of laundry to do, but I am not even close to ready for the concert next Saturday, so I need the practice! And, I know that I'll enjoy myself once I get going.
Later, gator!!
03 November 2006
The Queen
Hello!! Beautiful day here in London - sun shining, crisp and cool. And it's Friday! Hooray!
Anyway, went to see the movie, The Queen, last night. I went with a new friend, Shannon, who is from Calgary and was involved in IR there. I didn't know her there, but we have mutual friends and she was given my contact info when she moved over here. She's great - we had fun.
The Queen was a fantastic movie. I would recommend it highly. It was a sensitive yet accurate portrayal of the unique challenges and personality of the monarchy here in the UK. I am a big fan of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, much more so since I've been living here and have truly come to understand how hard she works and how awful her job is. I am so thankful that I'm not her! She lives in a gilded cage - surrounded by wealth and privilege and seemingly very powerful, yet trapped by her position and responsibilities. And, it's not like she can just "quit" and get another job. She didn't even ask for this one. Yet she carries off her duties with grace and aplomb and makes it all seem easy. The movie was about her and her reaction during the time surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It explains a lot of the seemingly cold response from the royal family, and gives a glimpse into life behind the mask. It also deals with issues of motherhood and duty and the expression of emotion. It is definitely a must-see. No dogdy language or nudity - you could bring your young children, but they would be bored silly (assuming they aren't already silly!). Well worth the money (and it's more expensive over here!).
I'm flying to Canada tomorrow - spending a couple of nights with my parents in Linden, and then off to Calgary for Monday and Tuesday for meetings and whatnot. I fly back to London on Tuesday afternoon, arriving back on Wednesday morning and heading straight back into work. I'll be back in Canada for 3 weeks at Christmas and in January, so this is just a work-related trip with an extra day for family.
I'm planning to go to Malta for a weekend at the beginning of December. I have kept in touch with the woman I met on the plane trip down the first time, Donna (May 17 2006 blog), and she is going back to Malta, stopping in London to stay with me for a few days. I'm pretty excited about that. In Malta, we've arranged for a horseback riding trip around one of the smaller islands, and a trip to M'dina, the ancient capital city, known as "The Silent City" (they're not going to know what hit them when I get there!! haha!!)
Anyway, better get to work. Cya!
Anyway, went to see the movie, The Queen, last night. I went with a new friend, Shannon, who is from Calgary and was involved in IR there. I didn't know her there, but we have mutual friends and she was given my contact info when she moved over here. She's great - we had fun.
The Queen was a fantastic movie. I would recommend it highly. It was a sensitive yet accurate portrayal of the unique challenges and personality of the monarchy here in the UK. I am a big fan of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, much more so since I've been living here and have truly come to understand how hard she works and how awful her job is. I am so thankful that I'm not her! She lives in a gilded cage - surrounded by wealth and privilege and seemingly very powerful, yet trapped by her position and responsibilities. And, it's not like she can just "quit" and get another job. She didn't even ask for this one. Yet she carries off her duties with grace and aplomb and makes it all seem easy. The movie was about her and her reaction during the time surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It explains a lot of the seemingly cold response from the royal family, and gives a glimpse into life behind the mask. It also deals with issues of motherhood and duty and the expression of emotion. It is definitely a must-see. No dogdy language or nudity - you could bring your young children, but they would be bored silly (assuming they aren't already silly!). Well worth the money (and it's more expensive over here!).
I'm flying to Canada tomorrow - spending a couple of nights with my parents in Linden, and then off to Calgary for Monday and Tuesday for meetings and whatnot. I fly back to London on Tuesday afternoon, arriving back on Wednesday morning and heading straight back into work. I'll be back in Canada for 3 weeks at Christmas and in January, so this is just a work-related trip with an extra day for family.
I'm planning to go to Malta for a weekend at the beginning of December. I have kept in touch with the woman I met on the plane trip down the first time, Donna (May 17 2006 blog), and she is going back to Malta, stopping in London to stay with me for a few days. I'm pretty excited about that. In Malta, we've arranged for a horseback riding trip around one of the smaller islands, and a trip to M'dina, the ancient capital city, known as "The Silent City" (they're not going to know what hit them when I get there!! haha!!)
Anyway, better get to work. Cya!
29 October 2006
And The Winner Is...
I know you're all dying to know what I ended up doing on the weekend....
Saturday I slept in and had a lazy morning - wasn't feeling particularly great. Got the lead out at about noon and headed down to . . . . . the Tower of London!! I got off one stop early, at "Monument", where the monument to the Great Fire of London in 1666 was. The height of the tower is equal to the distance from the tower to the place where the fire started, in a bakery. It was surrounded by large modern buildings, and was cool to see this monument from the last half of the 1600s still standing with the original inscriptions on it. For a couple of quid, you could climb up inside it and look out over the city from the top, but I wanted to get to the Tower.
There were a lot of people and kids there; I had forgotten about half-term. But it was fun and interesting. Looking forward to going again (I have a yearly membership to Historic Royal Palaces). The crown jewels were amazing, and so was the White Tower, which is the armouries and had a lot of other displays. Very historic and interesting stuff. I think my favourite place was the Beauchamp Tower, where most of the prisoners were held. There were carvings in the walls that were done by the prisoners, some of them famous like Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen for 12 days and then beheaded. It was very cool to see this "graffiti" from hundreds of years ago! Also cool was the Bloody Tower, where Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned for something like 16 years, before he was eventually beheaded. So many of these people were imprisoned for crimes no more heinous than following the "wrong" church (Catholic instead of Anglican), or being born into or marrying into the wrong family, in the case of Lady Jane Grey. There were even two young boys, the eldest being 12 years, that were imprisoned and eventually "disappeared" (read "murdered") simply because they were the offspring of a king that was defeated by an aspirant to the throne. How sad is that - those poor boys being murdered simply because their dad was defeated in a coup. It was ever thus.
Anyway, enough depressing stuff. So, after the Tower, I grabbed a quick bite, because I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and headed out to St. Paul's Cathedral. I got there about 4:30, when it was just closing to tourists, and getting ready for the Evensong service. I decided to stay for that, and was very glad. It was gorgeous. We were seated under the famous dome and the choir was all in the choir stalls. The singing echoing through to huge vaulted ceilings was an amazing sound, very ethereal. I closed my eyes and felt like I was listening to angels singing in heaven. What an experience - evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral. I wouldn't be surprised if I go again.
On Sunday, I went to church in the morning, and met some more people and went to the "community" lunch, which was at the house of one of the deacons, Nigel. There were a few other people there, all quite young, and we had a nice afternoon. I was also invited for Sunday lunch on the 19th of November by the woman who runs the sound with her husband. It is really a very friendly church!
Anyway, must go. Have a fantabulous day!!
Saturday I slept in and had a lazy morning - wasn't feeling particularly great. Got the lead out at about noon and headed down to . . . . . the Tower of London!! I got off one stop early, at "Monument", where the monument to the Great Fire of London in 1666 was. The height of the tower is equal to the distance from the tower to the place where the fire started, in a bakery. It was surrounded by large modern buildings, and was cool to see this monument from the last half of the 1600s still standing with the original inscriptions on it. For a couple of quid, you could climb up inside it and look out over the city from the top, but I wanted to get to the Tower.
There were a lot of people and kids there; I had forgotten about half-term. But it was fun and interesting. Looking forward to going again (I have a yearly membership to Historic Royal Palaces). The crown jewels were amazing, and so was the White Tower, which is the armouries and had a lot of other displays. Very historic and interesting stuff. I think my favourite place was the Beauchamp Tower, where most of the prisoners were held. There were carvings in the walls that were done by the prisoners, some of them famous like Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen for 12 days and then beheaded. It was very cool to see this "graffiti" from hundreds of years ago! Also cool was the Bloody Tower, where Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned for something like 16 years, before he was eventually beheaded. So many of these people were imprisoned for crimes no more heinous than following the "wrong" church (Catholic instead of Anglican), or being born into or marrying into the wrong family, in the case of Lady Jane Grey. There were even two young boys, the eldest being 12 years, that were imprisoned and eventually "disappeared" (read "murdered") simply because they were the offspring of a king that was defeated by an aspirant to the throne. How sad is that - those poor boys being murdered simply because their dad was defeated in a coup. It was ever thus.
Anyway, enough depressing stuff. So, after the Tower, I grabbed a quick bite, because I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and headed out to St. Paul's Cathedral. I got there about 4:30, when it was just closing to tourists, and getting ready for the Evensong service. I decided to stay for that, and was very glad. It was gorgeous. We were seated under the famous dome and the choir was all in the choir stalls. The singing echoing through to huge vaulted ceilings was an amazing sound, very ethereal. I closed my eyes and felt like I was listening to angels singing in heaven. What an experience - evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral. I wouldn't be surprised if I go again.
On Sunday, I went to church in the morning, and met some more people and went to the "community" lunch, which was at the house of one of the deacons, Nigel. There were a few other people there, all quite young, and we had a nice afternoon. I was also invited for Sunday lunch on the 19th of November by the woman who runs the sound with her husband. It is really a very friendly church!
Anyway, must go. Have a fantabulous day!!
27 October 2006
Happy Friday!
Well, it's been a week since my last published blog. I have actually been constructing a blog during the week, uploading pictures of the inside of my flat, but the blogging website is giving me grief, so I'll just leave that for now. I have too much to write about!
Paul's twin daughters stayed with me last weekend. I met them with their mom at Waterloo station on Friday and then took them on the train back to their house on Sunday. We had such fun, but it was very tiring! Friday night I took them to my office because they wanted to see where I worked, and then we took the bus home because they love riding in the double-decker buses. We stopped for ice cream along the way (we ate supper at Waterloo station). When we finally got back to the flat, they climbed the tree outside the front of my building and then finally came inside and played until bedtime.
On Saturday, I decided that it would be their birthday with me. Their birthday is actually the 28th, but they are having a party out at their house, so we did a birthday celebration in London. We did some shopping in the morning - went to the farmer's market, the grocery store and to Woolworths, where I got them some Halloween costumes. Back to the flat, and then off to Covent Garden for the Lion King at 2:00. The girls loved it! I got them souvenirs, which I thought were fairly reasonably priced. Then it was home quickly and then off to Disney on Ice, Princess Classics. They loved that too (and so did I!). It was a long day, and they were getting a bit stropy towards the end, but we all had a great time!
Sunday was a lazy morning. We had to leave at 11:30 am to catch the train to their home from Waterloo, so we spent the morning doing craft projects, having baths and packing. I took them all the way to their house, and they were so excited to show me their room and the house. It was very nice - backs onto the canal. I came back into London and spent the rest of my Sunday relaxing and cleaning up the flat, which looked like a cyclone hit it! I was shattered (exhausted)!
This week has been pretty relaxed, with most of the executive out of the office. It is half-term here, which is a holiday week for the schoolkids. So they were working from home so they could spend more time with their children. I had a lot of paperwork-type things to do this week, so I wasn't bored, but it was nice and quiet in the office!
I'm trying to decide what I want to do this weekend! It's not that I don't have options, I'm just not sure what I feel like doing. And if I don't plan something, I'll sit around like a slug all weekend. Some of my options are: the Victoria & Alberta Museum, the Tower of London, painting my bedroom (which is a hideous orangey-yellow colour), St. Paul's Cathedral, or go to a movie (I'd love to see The Queen). In fact, I'm taking votes, faithful blog readers. What do YOU think I should do? Pick one of the above things, or give me some other ideas. I'm depending on you to help plan my weekend because, of course, you realize that whatever I do, you're going to hear about. So . . . the gauntlet is thrown, the challenge is given!! I need feedback, people!!!!
Paul's twin daughters stayed with me last weekend. I met them with their mom at Waterloo station on Friday and then took them on the train back to their house on Sunday. We had such fun, but it was very tiring! Friday night I took them to my office because they wanted to see where I worked, and then we took the bus home because they love riding in the double-decker buses. We stopped for ice cream along the way (we ate supper at Waterloo station). When we finally got back to the flat, they climbed the tree outside the front of my building and then finally came inside and played until bedtime.
On Saturday, I decided that it would be their birthday with me. Their birthday is actually the 28th, but they are having a party out at their house, so we did a birthday celebration in London. We did some shopping in the morning - went to the farmer's market, the grocery store and to Woolworths, where I got them some Halloween costumes. Back to the flat, and then off to Covent Garden for the Lion King at 2:00. The girls loved it! I got them souvenirs, which I thought were fairly reasonably priced. Then it was home quickly and then off to Disney on Ice, Princess Classics. They loved that too (and so did I!). It was a long day, and they were getting a bit stropy towards the end, but we all had a great time!
Sunday was a lazy morning. We had to leave at 11:30 am to catch the train to their home from Waterloo, so we spent the morning doing craft projects, having baths and packing. I took them all the way to their house, and they were so excited to show me their room and the house. It was very nice - backs onto the canal. I came back into London and spent the rest of my Sunday relaxing and cleaning up the flat, which looked like a cyclone hit it! I was shattered (exhausted)!
This week has been pretty relaxed, with most of the executive out of the office. It is half-term here, which is a holiday week for the schoolkids. So they were working from home so they could spend more time with their children. I had a lot of paperwork-type things to do this week, so I wasn't bored, but it was nice and quiet in the office!
I'm trying to decide what I want to do this weekend! It's not that I don't have options, I'm just not sure what I feel like doing. And if I don't plan something, I'll sit around like a slug all weekend. Some of my options are: the Victoria & Alberta Museum, the Tower of London, painting my bedroom (which is a hideous orangey-yellow colour), St. Paul's Cathedral, or go to a movie (I'd love to see The Queen). In fact, I'm taking votes, faithful blog readers. What do YOU think I should do? Pick one of the above things, or give me some other ideas. I'm depending on you to help plan my weekend because, of course, you realize that whatever I do, you're going to hear about. So . . . the gauntlet is thrown, the challenge is given!! I need feedback, people!!!!
20 October 2006
Bombardier
So, I'm standing on the Picadilly line train, right at the end of the last carriage. I didn't pick up my free newspaper before I got on, so I have nothing to read. I'm glancing around and what do I see - the trains that run on the Picadilly line are made by Bombardier!! A little bit of Canada on my daily commute. How cool is that!!
So, I promised a photo essay of my trip to work. Here it is! In true photo essay style, there will be no words.
So, I promised a photo essay of my trip to work. Here it is! In true photo essay style, there will be no words.
15 October 2006
Paradise Found!
I had a little experience of heaven today, in the form of a hamburger, believe it or not. It all happened like this...
I decided that I wanted to see the musical "Footloose" (yes, they made a musical from the movie) before it closed on 11 November. So on Friday I bought myself a ticket online for the Saturday matinee. This morning (Saturday) I got up at a decent hour, and went out to do my Saturday shopping - farmers market for produce, Sainsbury's for milk and bread, Woolies (Woolworths) for some household stuff, hardware store to get some keys cut. Stopped off at the Old Packhorse (pictured) for a rest and a chinwag with my favourite bartender, Magda. It's such a nice atmosphere there, very relaxing and enjoyable. Anyway. I digress.
So I head into town in the afternoon to go to "Footloose". I stopped at the Lyceum Theatre to buy tickets to the Lion King. Paul's twin daughters are coming next weekend to stay with me and I promised to take them to Lion King. They are very excited. They love coming to London and they love hanging out with me. I love them too - but they're exhausting as only 8-year-old twin girls can be!
I had some time to kill, so did a bit of browsing in Covent Garden market. The show started at 3. It was ok, but I wasn't blown away. It's the second time I've see musicals made from movies, and I'm not terribly impressed. They tend to be quite "over-acted". Fortunately, the ticket was cheap. Unfortunately, that also means the seats were lousy!!
Afterwards, I realized I hadn't really eaten much all day, so decided to go and find some food. One of the struggles of doing stuff out on the town by yourself is the problem of where to eat. Do you got to a restaurant and sit at a table by yourself, or do you got to a fast food joint and eat junk food? It's a frustrating dilemma. So I started to wander towards Leicester Square wondering what to do, looking for something to eat. I saw this place called "Hamburger Union". It looked fairly casual; you to the counter to order your food, take a number and find a table. They then bring your meal and beverage to you. It was a great solution, so I go in and put in my order. Just an ordinary cheeseburger with chips (fries). My burger soon showed up, and I took a bite. Immediately a heavenly chorus started singing. It was one of, if not the, best burgers I've ever had in my life. It was lean and tasty, with just enough cheese and large helpings of toppings on the burger (lots of pickles, mmmmm). I almost wept, it tasted so good. I even considered going back to the counter and ordering another one!
I was in such a good mood after that experience, that I decided to go to a movie. Leicester Square is very lively, with lots of movie theaters and restaurants. I stopped at the first one I came to and found "The Devil Wears Prada" was playing right away. So I went in. Great flick - very enjoyable. Meryl Streep is in it, and she was fabulous.
So, that was my Saturday. What a great day!!
I decided that I wanted to see the musical "Footloose" (yes, they made a musical from the movie) before it closed on 11 November. So on Friday I bought myself a ticket online for the Saturday matinee. This morning (Saturday) I got up at a decent hour, and went out to do my Saturday shopping - farmers market for produce, Sainsbury's for milk and bread, Woolies (Woolworths) for some household stuff, hardware store to get some keys cut. Stopped off at the Old Packhorse (pictured) for a rest and a chinwag with my favourite bartender, Magda. It's such a nice atmosphere there, very relaxing and enjoyable. Anyway. I digress.
So I head into town in the afternoon to go to "Footloose". I stopped at the Lyceum Theatre to buy tickets to the Lion King. Paul's twin daughters are coming next weekend to stay with me and I promised to take them to Lion King. They are very excited. They love coming to London and they love hanging out with me. I love them too - but they're exhausting as only 8-year-old twin girls can be!
I had some time to kill, so did a bit of browsing in Covent Garden market. The show started at 3. It was ok, but I wasn't blown away. It's the second time I've see musicals made from movies, and I'm not terribly impressed. They tend to be quite "over-acted". Fortunately, the ticket was cheap. Unfortunately, that also means the seats were lousy!!
Afterwards, I realized I hadn't really eaten much all day, so decided to go and find some food. One of the struggles of doing stuff out on the town by yourself is the problem of where to eat. Do you got to a restaurant and sit at a table by yourself, or do you got to a fast food joint and eat junk food? It's a frustrating dilemma. So I started to wander towards Leicester Square wondering what to do, looking for something to eat. I saw this place called "Hamburger Union". It looked fairly casual; you to the counter to order your food, take a number and find a table. They then bring your meal and beverage to you. It was a great solution, so I go in and put in my order. Just an ordinary cheeseburger with chips (fries). My burger soon showed up, and I took a bite. Immediately a heavenly chorus started singing. It was one of, if not the, best burgers I've ever had in my life. It was lean and tasty, with just enough cheese and large helpings of toppings on the burger (lots of pickles, mmmmm). I almost wept, it tasted so good. I even considered going back to the counter and ordering another one!
I was in such a good mood after that experience, that I decided to go to a movie. Leicester Square is very lively, with lots of movie theaters and restaurants. I stopped at the first one I came to and found "The Devil Wears Prada" was playing right away. So I went in. Great flick - very enjoyable. Meryl Streep is in it, and she was fabulous.
So, that was my Saturday. What a great day!!
13 October 2006
Skiing
So, I have a few friends that are avid skiiers and always want me to come along. Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy skiing. I'm just not crazy about it. And then there are other people (especially over here) that think that since I'm from near Banff, I must be a great skiier and go all the time. Not so much. Here, finally is a good summing up of the reasons I'm not crazy about skiing. I got this via email from my former boss in Calgary; it hits the nail right on the head!
So, now you know. . . the rest of the story (with apologies to Paul Harvey).Ski season is fast approaching. Following is a list of exercises to get you prepared:
16. Visit your local butcher and pay $30 to sit in the walk-in freezer for a half an hour. Afterwards, burn two $50 dollar bills to warm up.
15. Soak your gloves and store them in the freezer after every use.
14. Fasten a small, wide rubber band around the top half of your head before you go to bed each night.
13. If you wear glasses, begin wearing them with glue smeared on the lenses.
12. Throw away a hundred dollar bill--now.
11. Find the nearest ice rink and walk across the ice 20 times in your ski boots carrying two pairs of skis, accessory bag and poles. Pretend you are looking for your car. Sporadically drop things.
10. Place a small but angular pebble in your shoes, line them with crushed ice, and
then tighten a C-clamp around your toes.
9. Buy a new pair of gloves and immediately throw one away.
8. Secure one of your ankles to a bedpost and ask a friend to run into you at high speed.
7. Go to McDonald's and insist on paying $8.50 for a hamburger. Be sure you are in the longest line.
6. Clip a lift ticket to the zipper of your jacket and ride a motorcycle fast enough to make the ticket lacerate your face.
5. Drive slowly for five hours - anywhere - as long as it's in a snowstorm and
you're following an 18-wheeler.
4. Fill a blender with ice, hit the pulse button and let the spray blast your face.
Leave the ice on your face until it melts. Let it drip into your clothes.
3. Dress up in as many clothes as you can and then proceed to take them off because you have to go to the bathroom.
2. Slam your thumb in a car door. Don't go see a doctor.
1. Repeat all of the above every Saturday and Sunday until it's time for the real thing!
10 October 2006
Autumn
Well, it appears autumn has finally hit here - the evenings and mornings are cool (I suppose the nights, too, but I'm a boring homebody). The days vary between cool and warm (22 today!), with the constant being uncertain cloudy/sunny skies and occasional rain. Always advisable to carry an umbrella (I have a cool "Chat Noir" one I bought in Paris).
Paul leaves in a few weeks for Iraq, so he's quite excited - he really loves his job, especially the overseas assignments. He loves the challenge of living in a different country and dealing with what they deal with. I have made my peace with it - it is what it is. It's out of my hands and I've put him and our relationship in God's hands. He'll work it out for the best.
Speaking of God, I went to church on Sunday for the first time since moving to London. I really hate finding new churches, so even though I kept saying I was going to go to church on Sunday, and had even scoped out a few, I had never actually gone. There is a little baptist church just a block and a bit from where I live called Gunnersbury Baptist Church and, for the first time, I really felt an impetus to go - I even tried to mentally excuse myself from going, but it wasn't to be. I was going and that was it. It is quite a small group (well, compared to Linden and Calgary), but friendly and nice. The preaching was intelligent and the pastor had a very nice accent to listen to. The church is probably an old Catholic or Anglican - beautiful woodwoork and whatnot. Not particularly old - maybe a hundred years or less. I left straight after the service, but might stay a bit next time. It's a very bible-believing, prayer-focused church, which is exactly what I need. The worships is not "exciting", but I can see myself having a place there and being somewhat active (they really need a children's story-teller!). I do feel that I was led (pushed?!) to start attending there. We'll see what happens.
I had an idea today, that I hope to put into play soon. I am going to do a photo essay of my trip to work each day. I will, of course, post it on the blog. There are always interesting little things I see, so don't expect a bunch of pictures of streets that I walk down or anything. It will be little details that I've noticed over the months or interesting buildings or businesses. I hope to do it in the next couple days and post maybe on the weekend.
Anyway, my lunch break is just about over, so must get back to work. A woman's work is never done - or, as my grandmother would say - no rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need any. I'm not sure which I am, because I sure seem to need lots of rest!
Ciao for niao!!
Paul leaves in a few weeks for Iraq, so he's quite excited - he really loves his job, especially the overseas assignments. He loves the challenge of living in a different country and dealing with what they deal with. I have made my peace with it - it is what it is. It's out of my hands and I've put him and our relationship in God's hands. He'll work it out for the best.
Speaking of God, I went to church on Sunday for the first time since moving to London. I really hate finding new churches, so even though I kept saying I was going to go to church on Sunday, and had even scoped out a few, I had never actually gone. There is a little baptist church just a block and a bit from where I live called Gunnersbury Baptist Church and, for the first time, I really felt an impetus to go - I even tried to mentally excuse myself from going, but it wasn't to be. I was going and that was it. It is quite a small group (well, compared to Linden and Calgary), but friendly and nice. The preaching was intelligent and the pastor had a very nice accent to listen to. The church is probably an old Catholic or Anglican - beautiful woodwoork and whatnot. Not particularly old - maybe a hundred years or less. I left straight after the service, but might stay a bit next time. It's a very bible-believing, prayer-focused church, which is exactly what I need. The worships is not "exciting", but I can see myself having a place there and being somewhat active (they really need a children's story-teller!). I do feel that I was led (pushed?!) to start attending there. We'll see what happens.
I had an idea today, that I hope to put into play soon. I am going to do a photo essay of my trip to work each day. I will, of course, post it on the blog. There are always interesting little things I see, so don't expect a bunch of pictures of streets that I walk down or anything. It will be little details that I've noticed over the months or interesting buildings or businesses. I hope to do it in the next couple days and post maybe on the weekend.
Anyway, my lunch break is just about over, so must get back to work. A woman's work is never done - or, as my grandmother would say - no rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need any. I'm not sure which I am, because I sure seem to need lots of rest!
Ciao for niao!!
06 October 2006
Picture time!
So, I thought I would post some pictures of my buildingthat my dad took when they were just out. I don't have any inside pictures (I keep forgetting to take pics after I've cleaned it!), but these are some of the building and the yard.
My front yard (or garden, as they say here).
My mom looking out my bedroom window onto the back garden. The window to the left is the spare room window and the bay window to the right is the living/dining room window. Just on the other side of that is the kitchen window and back door, and then the bathroom on the other side of that.
Looking at my back door (leads into the kitchen) and porch area. The plants in the planters aren't mine, I think they belong to my neighbour.
This is my building from the street. It was built in 1929, so it's not particularly old by UK standards!
This is my back garden. If you look to the left towards the back, there is a "hump". That is the bomb shelter put in during WWII. Just beside the bush along the path, you can see the entrance to the stairs that take you down into the shelter. It's all locked up, so I've not been in there.
My front yard (or garden, as they say here).
My mom looking out my bedroom window onto the back garden. The window to the left is the spare room window and the bay window to the right is the living/dining room window. Just on the other side of that is the kitchen window and back door, and then the bathroom on the other side of that.
Looking at my back door (leads into the kitchen) and porch area. The plants in the planters aren't mine, I think they belong to my neighbour.
This is my building from the street. It was built in 1929, so it's not particularly old by UK standards!
This is my back garden. If you look to the left towards the back, there is a "hump". That is the bomb shelter put in during WWII. Just beside the bush along the path, you can see the entrance to the stairs that take you down into the shelter. It's all locked up, so I've not been in there.
03 October 2006
Hogarth Singers
Mom and dad left yesterday, and I went into work for the afternoon. I was so tired!
I can't remember if I told you this, but I have joined a community choir called the Hogarth Singers. We rehearse on Monday nights for two hours (with a little juice & biscuit break in the middle) and put on several performances a year. The autumn performance this year is at the end of November and we are performing Brahms' "German Requiem" and Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise", sometimes called "Hear My Prayer", (click here for more info on these pieces of music), both sacred classical pieces. The music is very hard, especially the Brahms, and I feel lost a lot of the time. But it is very beautiful.
Our conductor is David Bray, who is brilliant musically and exciting to sing for. He makes you work hard, and feel proud of your accomplishments. He's forgotten more about music than I ever knew! The accompanist, Andrew Wells, is also amazing. The two of them make a great team and really help us get our parts sorted. It is so rewarding to sing under the direction of such talented individuals!
Last night I really didn't feel like going - I was tired, not feeling great, and just wanted to stay home and relax. But, knowing how difficult the music was, I felt that I really shouldn't miss any rehearsals, if I could help it. Well, I ended up enjoying myself and was very happy I went. There's something cathartic about working hard to master something, like this music. We would work on a piece, getting all the different parts sorted out, and then when it all came together I would be amazed at the beautiful sound we could make! It's very rewarding and exhilarating, especially at the end when we sang a whole movement all the way through! I purchased a CD that has the soprano parts of the Brahms on it, so I can practice at home, since I don't have a piano to practice with. Now I just need to use it. It showed up in the mail a few days before my parents arrived, so I haven't had a chance to use it yet.
Well, it's looking like I'll be back in Calgary for a board meeting on 7 November! It's crazy how that works! I will probably only be in Calgary for a couple of days in November, since I'll be back out for almost 3 weeks at Christmas! Maybe I'll fly out on the Saturday before and get a few extra days in Calgary, anyway. We'll have to see.
The weather has been very uncertain here - sunny, followed by dumping rain, followed by cool weather, followed by rain, followed by...well, you get the idea. I have no idea how to dress for work! Fortunately, except for one day, we had great weather when mom and dad were here. It poured rain on the Sunday we went to Greenwich, but was nice later on in the afternoon. Other than that, the weather was sunny and cool, although rather humid most of the time.
Well, must get back to work.
I can't remember if I told you this, but I have joined a community choir called the Hogarth Singers. We rehearse on Monday nights for two hours (with a little juice & biscuit break in the middle) and put on several performances a year. The autumn performance this year is at the end of November and we are performing Brahms' "German Requiem" and Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise", sometimes called "Hear My Prayer", (click here for more info on these pieces of music), both sacred classical pieces. The music is very hard, especially the Brahms, and I feel lost a lot of the time. But it is very beautiful.
Our conductor is David Bray, who is brilliant musically and exciting to sing for. He makes you work hard, and feel proud of your accomplishments. He's forgotten more about music than I ever knew! The accompanist, Andrew Wells, is also amazing. The two of them make a great team and really help us get our parts sorted. It is so rewarding to sing under the direction of such talented individuals!
Last night I really didn't feel like going - I was tired, not feeling great, and just wanted to stay home and relax. But, knowing how difficult the music was, I felt that I really shouldn't miss any rehearsals, if I could help it. Well, I ended up enjoying myself and was very happy I went. There's something cathartic about working hard to master something, like this music. We would work on a piece, getting all the different parts sorted out, and then when it all came together I would be amazed at the beautiful sound we could make! It's very rewarding and exhilarating, especially at the end when we sang a whole movement all the way through! I purchased a CD that has the soprano parts of the Brahms on it, so I can practice at home, since I don't have a piano to practice with. Now I just need to use it. It showed up in the mail a few days before my parents arrived, so I haven't had a chance to use it yet.
Well, it's looking like I'll be back in Calgary for a board meeting on 7 November! It's crazy how that works! I will probably only be in Calgary for a couple of days in November, since I'll be back out for almost 3 weeks at Christmas! Maybe I'll fly out on the Saturday before and get a few extra days in Calgary, anyway. We'll have to see.
The weather has been very uncertain here - sunny, followed by dumping rain, followed by cool weather, followed by rain, followed by...well, you get the idea. I have no idea how to dress for work! Fortunately, except for one day, we had great weather when mom and dad were here. It poured rain on the Sunday we went to Greenwich, but was nice later on in the afternoon. Other than that, the weather was sunny and cool, although rather humid most of the time.
Well, must get back to work.
01 October 2006
The Parent's Visit
So, Mom and Dad have been here for the last nine days. Glad that they came, and glad they're leaving!! And I know they feel the same way! So, it's all good.
Unfortunately, Paul w
as working the whole time they were here, and they weren't able to meet him. We even went up to York (close to his base) for a couple of nights, but he couldn't get away. York was pretty cool, though. Very old city, with a medieval wall still intact around it. It has a huge church, called a minster (the picture shows mom and I in the York minster). It is like a cathedral. Very beautiful and old. The foundations have Roman origins. The middle of the town itself has lots of narrow cobblestone streets with shops and pubs. We stayed at a bed and breakfast just a short walk from the town centre. We took the train up to Thirsk (it was only about half an hour each way) for the morning to see the James Herriott Museum. That was a highlight for mom and I, since we are big fans of the books ("It Shoudn't Happen To A Vet", "Vet In A Spin", "Let Sleeping Vets Lie", etc.) The Yorkshire countryside is gorgeous - very green with lots of livestock. I am looking forward to my next trip up there. There is a lot more of York I'd like to see, and I'd also like to spend some time in the Yorkshire Dales and the Yorkshire Moors. Another corner of England that needs some exploring!
Back to London for a few days (I had to go into the office for a half day) and then off to Paris for two nights. We went to the Eiffel Tower and took a bus tour around the city. We went to the Basilique de Sacre Coeur and explored the Place du Tetre, an artists mar
ket. The basilica and the market are in Montmartre, a well known district for the arts - famous poets, writers and other artists have lived there for centuries. If you've seen the movie, "Moulin Rouge", that's where it all takes place. In fact, the Moulin Rouge is still there in operation, in the Pigalle area of Montmartre, which is the "red light district". Mom and dad loved touring around Paris in the bus, especially when it got stuck in a traffic jam. Dad just couldn't get over the crazy way the French drive - no lanes, no rules, everyone just goes. It is quite nuts - I don't know why there aren't more accidents. We also saw Notre Dame Cathedral, which is quite something. We ate at little cafes around the city - one outside Notre Dame for lunch, a Greek restaurant in the Latin Quartier, breakfast at a cafe near the Metro station before we headed out for the day, etc. The last time I was in Paris was my first time, and I was fascinated. This time, I realized how much I truly love the city. I am looking forward to spending a lot of time there over the next few years! We took the Eurostar down and back - what a great way to travel!!
I ended up having to go to work on Friday after we got back to London - we're finishing off a debt fi
nancing and we needed to get some signatures and whatnot. Anyway, I put in a few hours at the office Friday afternoon, and then we went out for supper when I got home. Then the weekend - Greenwich, the home of the time zone and the Prime Meridian (Dad loved that); Camden Market, Covent Garden, Picadilly Circus (it's a circus all right!). The picture at right was taken in Greenwich looking down on the Royal Park from the Observatory.
My parents wore me out! I'm exhausted, and I have to go back to work tomorrow afternoon. Mom and dad leave for the airport just before 1:00 pm - my driver, Patrick, is going to take them to the airport (it's not as posh as it sounds - he runs a car service and lives in the building I used to live in). In the morning we are going to take a walk down to the Thames. They they'll go off to catch their flight and I'll head off to work for the afternoon. Back to the routine.
Well, time for bed - ciao for now!!
Unfortunately, Paul w
as working the whole time they were here, and they weren't able to meet him. We even went up to York (close to his base) for a couple of nights, but he couldn't get away. York was pretty cool, though. Very old city, with a medieval wall still intact around it. It has a huge church, called a minster (the picture shows mom and I in the York minster). It is like a cathedral. Very beautiful and old. The foundations have Roman origins. The middle of the town itself has lots of narrow cobblestone streets with shops and pubs. We stayed at a bed and breakfast just a short walk from the town centre. We took the train up to Thirsk (it was only about half an hour each way) for the morning to see the James Herriott Museum. That was a highlight for mom and I, since we are big fans of the books ("It Shoudn't Happen To A Vet", "Vet In A Spin", "Let Sleeping Vets Lie", etc.) The Yorkshire countryside is gorgeous - very green with lots of livestock. I am looking forward to my next trip up there. There is a lot more of York I'd like to see, and I'd also like to spend some time in the Yorkshire Dales and the Yorkshire Moors. Another corner of England that needs some exploring!Back to London for a few days (I had to go into the office for a half day) and then off to Paris for two nights. We went to the Eiffel Tower and took a bus tour around the city. We went to the Basilique de Sacre Coeur and explored the Place du Tetre, an artists mar
ket. The basilica and the market are in Montmartre, a well known district for the arts - famous poets, writers and other artists have lived there for centuries. If you've seen the movie, "Moulin Rouge", that's where it all takes place. In fact, the Moulin Rouge is still there in operation, in the Pigalle area of Montmartre, which is the "red light district". Mom and dad loved touring around Paris in the bus, especially when it got stuck in a traffic jam. Dad just couldn't get over the crazy way the French drive - no lanes, no rules, everyone just goes. It is quite nuts - I don't know why there aren't more accidents. We also saw Notre Dame Cathedral, which is quite something. We ate at little cafes around the city - one outside Notre Dame for lunch, a Greek restaurant in the Latin Quartier, breakfast at a cafe near the Metro station before we headed out for the day, etc. The last time I was in Paris was my first time, and I was fascinated. This time, I realized how much I truly love the city. I am looking forward to spending a lot of time there over the next few years! We took the Eurostar down and back - what a great way to travel!!I ended up having to go to work on Friday after we got back to London - we're finishing off a debt fi
nancing and we needed to get some signatures and whatnot. Anyway, I put in a few hours at the office Friday afternoon, and then we went out for supper when I got home. Then the weekend - Greenwich, the home of the time zone and the Prime Meridian (Dad loved that); Camden Market, Covent Garden, Picadilly Circus (it's a circus all right!). The picture at right was taken in Greenwich looking down on the Royal Park from the Observatory.My parents wore me out! I'm exhausted, and I have to go back to work tomorrow afternoon. Mom and dad leave for the airport just before 1:00 pm - my driver, Patrick, is going to take them to the airport (it's not as posh as it sounds - he runs a car service and lives in the building I used to live in). In the morning we are going to take a walk down to the Thames. They they'll go off to catch their flight and I'll head off to work for the afternoon. Back to the routine.
Well, time for bed - ciao for now!!
18 September 2006
Monday morning....sigh...
Hiya!
Had a bit of time and, since I'm trying to keep up with this blogging thing, thought I'd get a blog in.
Had a lazy day yesterday - spent the morning doing laundry and hanging pictures, getting ready for The Visit (that would be my parent's visit). Went to the shops in the afternoon and stopped by the pub for a drink and a good old chin-wag with my two favourite bartenders. Luckily the place was very quiet, so we could talk without too much interruption.
Had a lovely MSN chat with my uncle this morning (pictured here with me in Greece). He has his son (Eddie) and his son's sister (Martha) with him at the moment so he put them on vido conference so I could see them and chat with them a bit online. It was very cool. His son is exactly the same age as Paul's girls (they were born 6 days apart), so I could kind of figure out his developmental stage. He sounds like a fun kid. He may be over in London with his mom sometime soon, so I'm hoping to actually meet him then, although I can't imagine flying from Australia to England with a 7-year-old. That's a long flight for an adults, never mind a kid!! But, people do it all the time, and with younger children than that. Different strokes for different folks.
I've started trying to get in shape and do something about this body of mine. A friend from Calgary and I were texting last night and he got me motivated and is going to help keep me motivated. I was up early this morning, did a 40-minute cardio walk, and had a bowl of shredded wheat and grapes, no sugar. I hope I can keep this up. I am really sick of my clothes all being so tight and never having any energy. I am going to really try to lean on my friend to help with the willpower (which I am seriously lacking!).
Well, should get back to work. Ciao for niao!!
Had a bit of time and, since I'm trying to keep up with this blogging thing, thought I'd get a blog in.
Had a lazy day yesterday - spent the morning doing laundry and hanging pictures, getting ready for The Visit (that would be my parent's visit). Went to the shops in the afternoon and stopped by the pub for a drink and a good old chin-wag with my two favourite bartenders. Luckily the place was very quiet, so we could talk without too much interruption.
Had a lovely MSN chat with my uncle this morning (pictured here with me in Greece). He has his son (Eddie) and his son's sister (Martha) with him at the moment so he put them on vido conference so I could see them and chat with them a bit online. It was very cool. His son is exactly the same age as Paul's girls (they were born 6 days apart), so I could kind of figure out his developmental stage. He sounds like a fun kid. He may be over in London with his mom sometime soon, so I'm hoping to actually meet him then, although I can't imagine flying from Australia to England with a 7-year-old. That's a long flight for an adults, never mind a kid!! But, people do it all the time, and with younger children than that. Different strokes for different folks.
I've started trying to get in shape and do something about this body of mine. A friend from Calgary and I were texting last night and he got me motivated and is going to help keep me motivated. I was up early this morning, did a 40-minute cardio walk, and had a bowl of shredded wheat and grapes, no sugar. I hope I can keep this up. I am really sick of my clothes all being so tight and never having any energy. I am going to really try to lean on my friend to help with the willpower (which I am seriously lacking!).
Well, should get back to work. Ciao for niao!!
16 September 2006
At long last
I was just informed by one of my friends that I was letting my blog readers down by not blogging. Apparently, according to him, there are a few sad people out there who live vicariously through my blog because they have no lives of their own. I'm sorry I've let you down so abysmally! I'll try to do better.
So, continuing on from the last blog will be hard, since so much has happened, so I'll just ramble on here and see how it goes...
The palace had a suite of rooms for the king and a separate suite for the queen. There were also other people that lived
at the palace - nobles, courtiers, etc. The population of the palace averaged 1200 people when the king and queen were in residence. Up until fairly recently, it was used extensively as "grace and favour" apartments, being assigned to people the government or monarchy wanted to reward. There are still a few people residing in apartments there, but I think it would drive me crazy to live in a place that has a load of tourists wandering around all the time!
So, continuing on from the last blog will be hard, since so much has happened, so I'll just ramble on here and see how it goes...
Last weekend I went to Hampton Court Palace with a friend of mine, Steve Holland. What an amazing place! It is absolutely huge!! It was King Henry the VIII's favourite palace and was used a lot from the 1500s on. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the palace, unfortunately, but we saw the Abraham Tapestries, which are quite famous. Here is a quote from the website:
The [Great] hall is hung with the priceless Flemish tapestries of The Story of Abraham commissioned by Henry VIII and probably intended for the Great Hall itself. They were woven in the 1540s by the Brussels weaver Willem de Kempeneer with silver and gold thread. Although this is now tarnished and the colours faded, they still retain much of their former splendour. The Abraham tapestries were one of the most expensive sets of tapestries purchased by Henry VIII and were only hung in the Great Hall on special occasions.
They were amazing - the work involved in any tapestries is mind boggling. The Palace is the home of the Textiles Conservation Studio, which is a premier textiles studio conserving old tapestries and textiles, and encouraging the continuation of the art form by teaching the skills to new generations.
The palace had a suite of rooms for the king and a separate suite for the queen. There were also other people that lived
at the palace - nobles, courtiers, etc. The population of the palace averaged 1200 people when the king and queen were in residence. Up until fairly recently, it was used extensively as "grace and favour" apartments, being assigned to people the government or monarchy wanted to reward. There are still a few people residing in apartments there, but I think it would drive me crazy to live in a place that has a load of tourists wandering around all the time!The gardens are beautiful, as you can see, and well kept. There must be an army of gardeners! There is also a hedge maze, which I am proud to say I made it all the way through!
Click for more info on Hampton Court Palace.
After we were done at Hampton Court Palace, Steve and I wandered down to the river
and found a boat that was plying between Hampton Court Palace and Kingston Bridge, so we paid the man and jumped on board. It was a lovely little trip downriver to Kingston-Upon-Thames, which is a nice town centered around the river and the bridge. The waterfront on either side up and down the river was full of restaurant, pub and blocks of flats. We stopped and had a pint in a little pub and watched the people. We looked around the shops a bit, and grabbed the boat back upriver to Hampton Court Palace. It was such a lovely day! Swans on the river, lots of canalboats and people our on the banks enjoying the sun.
Work has been going really well. The summer was slow, so it has been easy to take time off. But it's starting to get busy now - we have a lot on the go, and I'm really trying to prove myself to the guys, now that the office is set up. We hired an office junior to look after the menial stuff like answering phones and doing mail and courier. She's been working out great, which frees me up to really get my teeth into some projects. It should be an interesting autumn (they don't know what "fall" is here, they only say "autumn").
Paul is back at work and they're working him hard. He's been out on field exercises almost continuously since he went back and I only manage to speak to him 2 or 3 time s a week. He deploys to Iraq at the end of October for six months, and I will likely only be able to see him for a couple days before he goes. It's a little hard to grow a relationship when you never see each other and rarely get to talk. But, we had a lot of time together before he left, and we'll just keep on keeping on until he get back and we get some more time together. If I put it in perspective, people back in the day would part for months and years even without being able to speak to each other - sailors leaving wives and children, soldiers going off to war for several years with only letters, etc. So, it's not that big a deal. We'll have lots of time together down the road. In the meantime, I can survive without a man around - I managed for the last 9 years! As much as I miss him, Paul is an added benefit to my life, not the center of it!
This weekend there is Open House London going on, where buildings with historic or unique architecture are open to the public for free. Some of them, like Apsley House, are a tourist attraction you would pay for, whereas others, like Marlborough House are not normally open to the public and are offices or headquarters for organizations. It was a very interesting day.
My parents come to visit on Friday for about 10 days. I'm very excited! Paul won't be able to make it down to meet them, so we might go up to where the base is if he's going to be there and not in the field. If that doesn't work (and the army seems to work on the same principle as my last boss, never make any decisions until the last possible second) we will go up to York and spend a couple of days there sightseeing. Either one would be fun, because the army base is up near Thirsk, which is where the James Herriott books were set and written. Mom and I have enjoyed these books for years, so it would be nice to spend some time up in the area we've been reading about. Both places are in Yorkshire, which Thirsk just a bit further north than York.
We also have a trip to Paris booked on the Eurostar, the train that goes from London to Paris through the channel tunnel, or chunnel. We're only going down for a couple of nights. The rest of the time they are here, we're doing some stuff around London, like Camden Town markets and Covent Garden, London Eye, etc. It will be so nice to see them again!
I'm really missing my friends back home in Calgary. To all of you that read my blog, I'll be back at Christmas until January 9, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you all! I'm having a blast here, and it would be perfect if you were all here with me!
Well, it's now after midnight, so I should close this epistle. Love you all!!
23 August 2006
14 August 2006
Paris and all that comes after
Ok, so I'm waaaaayyyyy behind on my blog, and I have some time now, so this is going to be a long one. I'll give you a chance to get something to eat/drink, and settle into your chair/couch or whatever you're sitting on!
"Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin.."
So, after Greece, I was back in London for a week getting ready for our board meeting, which was on the following Thursday. Paul found out on the Monday that he had an extra week of leave, so he was able to come to Paris for the weekend with me. I was psyched! So I went early on Thursday morning, did the board meeting, and then Paul followed later and I met him at the train station. (Oh yeah, we travelled via Eurostar in the tunnel under the English Channel (the chunnel). It wasn't really a big deal, just 20 minutes of darkness, and then you were in France!)
We got to the hotel, which was a 2-star, but clean and decent and cheap (£40 per night!). It was in the Montmartre district, which is traditionally very artsy. It was right by the metro station (the Paris subway system), so that was handy. We had a fantastic time - it was romantic and fun and we laughed a lot! We climbed (yes climbed!) up the Eiffel Tower, and stopped at little sidewalk cafes for wine (no coffee - it was sweltering!) and went to the Latin Quarter and Notre Dame and the Champs Elysses and l'Arc de Triomphe. We found a little jazz club with some advice from Will, who used to live in Paris) and sat outside and listened to the music. The food was very nice most of the places we went to but expensive. On the whole, it is an expensive place to visit.
As for the language, I did pretty good with my very limited French. Paul doesn't speak any, so I did most of the talking and was quite proud of myself! I managed to order in restaurants, ask where things were, and pick up croissants and coffee for breakfast from the local patisserie. It was fun "flexing my language muscles", and I'm looking forward to going again with my mom and dad in the autumn.
So, Paris was lovely, and even Paul liked it, despite the fact that it's full of French people!Pictures are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Paris
Back to work the next week - Kevin was gone on holidays, so it wasn't too busy. In fact, the summer slow-down has hit (I was warned of this), so it's been downright boring around here! I took on the project that week of hiring an administrative assistant to take over some of the more mundane parts of my job, like answering phones and whatnot, so I can concentrate on more in-depth and interesting thing. She starts on the 21st of August. She's a nice girl, but very young and will need lots and lots of training. Fortunately, for the first time in my life, I actually have time to train someone!!
The following weekend, Paul's twin daughters were visiting - he had them for about 10 days. We took them to the zoo and I took them on a open-top double-decker bus tour of downtown London, and on a river cruise. It was the first time they had ever been on a boat! They loved it all - didn't even get too bored on the bus tour, although most of it was over their heads. They loved all the statues.
On the Saturday, when we went to the zoo, an old friend of mine, James Wiebe, met up with us. We got in contact through our mothers - I've known him since we were little, but we had lost touch. He flies for Air Canada and is London all the time with work. It was SO good to see him again and catch up! He went around the zoo with us, and then we headed down to Covent Garden to eat at the Maple Leaf pub. They wouldn't let us in after 5:00 pm with the girls, so we went down the street to TGI Fridays. Anyway, we spent a lot of time with him, and it was great seeing him again!!
So the next week Paul took the girls up to Lancashire to see his mom and family, and I just kept my head down and worked and enjoyed the time to myself! I love the girls to bits, but they are exhausting. Here is a picture of them with their dad.
"Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin.."
So, after Greece, I was back in London for a week getting ready for our board meeting, which was on the following Thursday. Paul found out on the Monday that he had an extra week of leave, so he was able to come to Paris for the weekend with me. I was psyched! So I went early on Thursday morning, did the board meeting, and then Paul followed later and I met him at the train station. (Oh yeah, we travelled via Eurostar in the tunnel under the English Channel (the chunnel). It wasn't really a big deal, just 20 minutes of darkness, and then you were in France!)
We got to the hotel, which was a 2-star, but clean and decent and cheap (£40 per night!). It was in the Montmartre district, which is traditionally very artsy. It was right by the metro station (the Paris subway system), so that was handy. We had a fantastic time - it was romantic and fun and we laughed a lot! We climbed (yes climbed!) up the Eiffel Tower, and stopped at little sidewalk cafes for wine (no coffee - it was sweltering!) and went to the Latin Quarter and Notre Dame and the Champs Elysses and l'Arc de Triomphe. We found a little jazz club with some advice from Will, who used to live in Paris) and sat outside and listened to the music. The food was very nice most of the places we went to but expensive. On the whole, it is an expensive place to visit.
As for the language, I did pretty good with my very limited French. Paul doesn't speak any, so I did most of the talking and was quite proud of myself! I managed to order in restaurants, ask where things were, and pick up croissants and coffee for breakfast from the local patisserie. It was fun "flexing my language muscles", and I'm looking forward to going again with my mom and dad in the autumn.
So, Paris was lovely, and even Paul liked it, despite the fact that it's full of French people!Pictures are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Paris
Back to work the next week - Kevin was gone on holidays, so it wasn't too busy. In fact, the summer slow-down has hit (I was warned of this), so it's been downright boring around here! I took on the project that week of hiring an administrative assistant to take over some of the more mundane parts of my job, like answering phones and whatnot, so I can concentrate on more in-depth and interesting thing. She starts on the 21st of August. She's a nice girl, but very young and will need lots and lots of training. Fortunately, for the first time in my life, I actually have time to train someone!!
The following weekend, Paul's twin daughters were visiting - he had them for about 10 days. We took them to the zoo and I took them on a open-top double-decker bus tour of downtown London, and on a river cruise. It was the first time they had ever been on a boat! They loved it all - didn't even get too bored on the bus tour, although most of it was over their heads. They loved all the statues.
On the Saturday, when we went to the zoo, an old friend of mine, James Wiebe, met up with us. We got in contact through our mothers - I've known him since we were little, but we had lost touch. He flies for Air Canada and is London all the time with work. It was SO good to see him again and catch up! He went around the zoo with us, and then we headed down to Covent Garden to eat at the Maple Leaf pub. They wouldn't let us in after 5:00 pm with the girls, so we went down the street to TGI Fridays. Anyway, we spent a lot of time with him, and it was great seeing him again!!
So the next week Paul took the girls up to Lancashire to see his mom and family, and I just kept my head down and worked and enjoyed the time to myself! I love the girls to bits, but they are exhausting. Here is a picture of them with their dad.
They were back the following weekend, and it was more activities...these will follow in the next blog (because I haven't downloaded the pictures yet!)
On August 2, 2006, the newest addition to the Penner family came into the world. Davis William Penner was born at 12:46 weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs! And he continues to grow. I would put pictures here, but they still haven't sent us any! It's a bit of a sore point! lol
03 August 2006
The Past Month - Part II
So, the next day, we fly off to the island of Kos. We get to the airport there - which is in the middle of the island and not close to any town - and it is hot and dusty. I go outside to get a cab, and I see a dog lying on its side by the kerb. So, I'm thinking it must be dead or something and how gross is that. Then a taxi comes flying up, swerves around the dog and stops. The dog doesn't move a muscle. It must be dead! I go over. No, she's very much alive. I find out from the cabbies that she lives there at the airport! She's very friendly and loved the petting, but didn't try to follow me or anything. And the cabs and buses just drove around her! It was rather funny, and a good intro to the laid-back life in Kos.
We got to the hotel, which was one of those big resort complexes. Uncle Jac called it The Institution and kept making jokes about Matron! It was full of kids and they played music all day by the pool. The beach was just gravel, so we gave it a miss. It was a ways out of Kos Town, about a half hour walk, so not terribly convenient. Plus, the restaurants only served meals at certain times! We really didn't do much at the hotel as it wasn't our scene.
By now it was quite late in the day and we hadn't eaten lunch, so we started walking back towards town, jumped on a bus that came along and jumped off at a nice little "taverna" by the sea. It was like something out of the movie, "Shirley Valentine". We could see the coast of Turkey across the strait, and we had a light meal, a light wine and enjoyed the scenery. It was fantastic! We must have stayed there for an hour after we ate, just enjoying the scenery, sun and talking.
Headed back to the hotel and relaxed for the evening. I went and had a swim after a while, since all the kids were finally gone. The water was lovely, but a bit cool. Nice mild evening, spent a good chunk of the evening sitting on the patio reading.
The next morning we decided to rent bicycles and use them to get around. The bikes were cheap (only about $10 for the day) and we had a blast riding around on them. Parked and locked them by the port in Kos Town and looked around. Found out it was only a 15 minute hydrofoil ride over to Turkey! We didn't have time to go, and if I had been staying longer, I would have, but I had to leave the next day to get back to work. :(
We went into Old Town and looked around at the shops. It was my last day to purchase gifts, so I needed to get on it, as I hadn't got anything for Paul's girls, or for Paul! We found a wonderful spice market and I got some whole nutmeg and cinnamon and some dried chives. All quite inexpensive and very fresh! Also got some honey with nuts marinating in it. MMMM! Honey is one of Kos' specialties.
We ran into a colleague of Uncle Jac's, I shall call them Jennifer and Mike (mostly because I can't remember their real names!). Jennifer works with Uncle Jac at the university in Sydney, Australia, and they were there for the same conference. We made plans to go for dinner later. Uncle Jac headed off shortly thereafter because he was tired of shopping (typical man!) and wanted to hit a beach.
I kept walking around the streets and stumbled upon this amazing archeological site! There were lots of old ruins, and you could just wander around them to your heart's content. There were some dating back to the 2nd century BC, and amazingly intact mosaics and frescos! I've discovered that it was quite common over the centuries to build a new building on the site of an old one, using the same stones from the old building. Some of the more delicate mosaics and frescos were covered over by a roof and had railings around so you couldn't walk on them, but I couldn't believe how it was just out there to wander around in. There was amazingly sophisticated drainage and piping for water and sewage. Everything was so solidly built and so well preserved. It was so, so cool!!!
Eventually I decided to head back to the hotel, so I went and got my bike and started riding back. I took a wrong turn and ended up on this back road touring rural Kos! It was quite interesting seeing things away from the tourist areas - farmyards with chickens running around, people living in stone buildings that looked hundred and hundreds of years old. I found my way back and headed back to the hotel.
We met up with Jennifer and Mike at about 6:30. I forgot to tell you that they are both Greek descent, although they were born in Australia. Everything in the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is true - they both had to go to Greek school while they were growing up. So, they were invaluable at the restaurant. We went to a restaurant that was recommended in my guide book. It looked pretty tacky when we got there, but the food was amazing. We were there for 5 hours, eating and drinking. It was some of the best Greek food I'd had the whole time. It was aboslutely brilliant! We finished off the evening with Greek coffee (which looks and tastes like coffee-flavoured mud) and baklava. It was a lovely evening.
The next day I had to leave. I packed up and we sat on the grass in the sun for about an hour until it was time to catch the taxi. I had such a lovely time and I really want to go back again. It was so great to be able to spend all that time with Uncle Jac and we plan to go travelling together next summer in Europe.
Here are the pictures from Kos.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Adventures%20in%20Kos
We got to the hotel, which was one of those big resort complexes. Uncle Jac called it The Institution and kept making jokes about Matron! It was full of kids and they played music all day by the pool. The beach was just gravel, so we gave it a miss. It was a ways out of Kos Town, about a half hour walk, so not terribly convenient. Plus, the restaurants only served meals at certain times! We really didn't do much at the hotel as it wasn't our scene.
By now it was quite late in the day and we hadn't eaten lunch, so we started walking back towards town, jumped on a bus that came along and jumped off at a nice little "taverna" by the sea. It was like something out of the movie, "Shirley Valentine". We could see the coast of Turkey across the strait, and we had a light meal, a light wine and enjoyed the scenery. It was fantastic! We must have stayed there for an hour after we ate, just enjoying the scenery, sun and talking.
Headed back to the hotel and relaxed for the evening. I went and had a swim after a while, since all the kids were finally gone. The water was lovely, but a bit cool. Nice mild evening, spent a good chunk of the evening sitting on the patio reading.
The next morning we decided to rent bicycles and use them to get around. The bikes were cheap (only about $10 for the day) and we had a blast riding around on them. Parked and locked them by the port in Kos Town and looked around. Found out it was only a 15 minute hydrofoil ride over to Turkey! We didn't have time to go, and if I had been staying longer, I would have, but I had to leave the next day to get back to work. :(
We went into Old Town and looked around at the shops. It was my last day to purchase gifts, so I needed to get on it, as I hadn't got anything for Paul's girls, or for Paul! We found a wonderful spice market and I got some whole nutmeg and cinnamon and some dried chives. All quite inexpensive and very fresh! Also got some honey with nuts marinating in it. MMMM! Honey is one of Kos' specialties.
We ran into a colleague of Uncle Jac's, I shall call them Jennifer and Mike (mostly because I can't remember their real names!). Jennifer works with Uncle Jac at the university in Sydney, Australia, and they were there for the same conference. We made plans to go for dinner later. Uncle Jac headed off shortly thereafter because he was tired of shopping (typical man!) and wanted to hit a beach.
I kept walking around the streets and stumbled upon this amazing archeological site! There were lots of old ruins, and you could just wander around them to your heart's content. There were some dating back to the 2nd century BC, and amazingly intact mosaics and frescos! I've discovered that it was quite common over the centuries to build a new building on the site of an old one, using the same stones from the old building. Some of the more delicate mosaics and frescos were covered over by a roof and had railings around so you couldn't walk on them, but I couldn't believe how it was just out there to wander around in. There was amazingly sophisticated drainage and piping for water and sewage. Everything was so solidly built and so well preserved. It was so, so cool!!!
Eventually I decided to head back to the hotel, so I went and got my bike and started riding back. I took a wrong turn and ended up on this back road touring rural Kos! It was quite interesting seeing things away from the tourist areas - farmyards with chickens running around, people living in stone buildings that looked hundred and hundreds of years old. I found my way back and headed back to the hotel.
We met up with Jennifer and Mike at about 6:30. I forgot to tell you that they are both Greek descent, although they were born in Australia. Everything in the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is true - they both had to go to Greek school while they were growing up. So, they were invaluable at the restaurant. We went to a restaurant that was recommended in my guide book. It looked pretty tacky when we got there, but the food was amazing. We were there for 5 hours, eating and drinking. It was some of the best Greek food I'd had the whole time. It was aboslutely brilliant! We finished off the evening with Greek coffee (which looks and tastes like coffee-flavoured mud) and baklava. It was a lovely evening.
The next day I had to leave. I packed up and we sat on the grass in the sun for about an hour until it was time to catch the taxi. I had such a lovely time and I really want to go back again. It was so great to be able to spend all that time with Uncle Jac and we plan to go travelling together next summer in Europe.
Here are the pictures from Kos.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Adventures%20in%20Kos
27 July 2006
The Past Month - Part I
I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted!! For any of you dedicated souls out there who are still checking for updates - I really am sorry it's taken so long to post - I didn't realize!
Anyway, where to start?! I think I'll do it diary style.
June 29 - Paul and I went to see Guys and Dolls down at the Picadilly Theatre. It was great! I love going to live theatre as opposed to movies (although movies are fun too). The story was sappy, but cute and fun, and the singing and dancing was fantastic. Paul loved it too, which is good because it means he will want to go to more of them. Patrick Swayze is set to star in it starting July 10, so I plan to go again to see him.
June 30 - My friend, Shannon Larson, and her sister and neices came to stay for a few days. My little flat was FULL! We bought a blow-up mattress which is the same size as the living room floor, so after the neices went to bed, you had to climb over the sofa to get to the kitchen or bathroom!! They went off sightseeing on July 1 and decided that they didn't like London at all - too big and noisy and hot. Of course, it didn't help that it was over 30 degrees out there and humid! So, they decided to head out to Wales on the 2nd. That was Paul's birthday, so that evening Paul and I went out to the pub and then out for dinner at a local restaurant called Zizzi's. Very nice food!
July 3 - My Uncle Jac came to stay for a few days before we headed out to Greece. It was great to see him - I think it's been at least 2 years and possibly 4 since I've last seen him. I was off work from the 30th of June to the 11th of July, so Uncle Jac and I went to Harrod's, and the Tate Modern and met Paul for dinner and just had a lot of fun pratting around Chiswick and London. We left for Greece on the 6th - Paul drove us to the airport.
July 6-12 - We arrived in Crete at 11:30 at night, and then had to take a bus to the hotel, which was in a town over an hour's drive away. We were knackered by the time we got there! Checked in and crashed. The next morning, Uncle Jac was off to his conference, and I slept in and then walked down to the beach, which was only a couple of blocks away. The beach was gorgeous - considering I haven't been on a beach in ages!! I stopped for lunch in a great little cafe with a view of the ocean and had some Greek food. Good thing I love Greek food!! In the afternoon I went back to the hotel and lay by the pool for an hour or so, took a dip and headed up to shower and change for dinner. Uncle Jac had got me a ticket for the evening's beach BBQ and dance, so we went out there. It was a great club right on the beach. The food was disappointingly mediocre, but we were sitting with this hilarious group of guys and had lots of fun! Laughing, drinking wine, it was a fantastic evening! When we got back to the hotel, some of the guys came back to our room and we all sat on the patio and had another couple of drinks and talked until 3:00 in the morning!
The next day I slept in quite late while Uncle Jac went off to the conference again. In the afternoon, there was a group tour to the ruins of the Palace of Knosses, which was built in the 18th century BC. Fascinating place! I loved all the well-preserved ruins, and they had done some reconstructions so you could see what it would have looked like back then. It was so interesting! That night a group of us went out for supper at a restaurant overlooking the ocean. We just ordered a bunch of starters, and everyone ended up full. Lots of laughs and very interesting people - some of them the same as the previous night, and some different. Uncle Jac and I could only last until about 11:30ish, and we were shattered, so we headed off and let the rest of them carry on!
I'm going to stop there and finish this in another post soon, I promise!! However, here is the link to pictures from the first part of the Greece trip.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Crete%20-%20Rythemno
Anyway, where to start?! I think I'll do it diary style.
June 29 - Paul and I went to see Guys and Dolls down at the Picadilly Theatre. It was great! I love going to live theatre as opposed to movies (although movies are fun too). The story was sappy, but cute and fun, and the singing and dancing was fantastic. Paul loved it too, which is good because it means he will want to go to more of them. Patrick Swayze is set to star in it starting July 10, so I plan to go again to see him.
June 30 - My friend, Shannon Larson, and her sister and neices came to stay for a few days. My little flat was FULL! We bought a blow-up mattress which is the same size as the living room floor, so after the neices went to bed, you had to climb over the sofa to get to the kitchen or bathroom!! They went off sightseeing on July 1 and decided that they didn't like London at all - too big and noisy and hot. Of course, it didn't help that it was over 30 degrees out there and humid! So, they decided to head out to Wales on the 2nd. That was Paul's birthday, so that evening Paul and I went out to the pub and then out for dinner at a local restaurant called Zizzi's. Very nice food!
July 3 - My Uncle Jac came to stay for a few days before we headed out to Greece. It was great to see him - I think it's been at least 2 years and possibly 4 since I've last seen him. I was off work from the 30th of June to the 11th of July, so Uncle Jac and I went to Harrod's, and the Tate Modern and met Paul for dinner and just had a lot of fun pratting around Chiswick and London. We left for Greece on the 6th - Paul drove us to the airport.
July 6-12 - We arrived in Crete at 11:30 at night, and then had to take a bus to the hotel, which was in a town over an hour's drive away. We were knackered by the time we got there! Checked in and crashed. The next morning, Uncle Jac was off to his conference, and I slept in and then walked down to the beach, which was only a couple of blocks away. The beach was gorgeous - considering I haven't been on a beach in ages!! I stopped for lunch in a great little cafe with a view of the ocean and had some Greek food. Good thing I love Greek food!! In the afternoon I went back to the hotel and lay by the pool for an hour or so, took a dip and headed up to shower and change for dinner. Uncle Jac had got me a ticket for the evening's beach BBQ and dance, so we went out there. It was a great club right on the beach. The food was disappointingly mediocre, but we were sitting with this hilarious group of guys and had lots of fun! Laughing, drinking wine, it was a fantastic evening! When we got back to the hotel, some of the guys came back to our room and we all sat on the patio and had another couple of drinks and talked until 3:00 in the morning!
The next day I slept in quite late while Uncle Jac went off to the conference again. In the afternoon, there was a group tour to the ruins of the Palace of Knosses, which was built in the 18th century BC. Fascinating place! I loved all the well-preserved ruins, and they had done some reconstructions so you could see what it would have looked like back then. It was so interesting! That night a group of us went out for supper at a restaurant overlooking the ocean. We just ordered a bunch of starters, and everyone ended up full. Lots of laughs and very interesting people - some of them the same as the previous night, and some different. Uncle Jac and I could only last until about 11:30ish, and we were shattered, so we headed off and let the rest of them carry on!
I'm going to stop there and finish this in another post soon, I promise!! However, here is the link to pictures from the first part of the Greece trip.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Crete%20-%20Rythemno
22 June 2006
Visitor from Canada
So, I had my very first Canadian visitor a few days ago. A friend from Calgary, who I know through my involvement with CIRI (Canadian Investor Relations Institute), was vacationing with her family in Amsterdam and popped up to England to see me and another friend of hers in the Midlands. Debbie came on Sunday night and stayed until Wednesday noon. I took Monday off and we went to Harrods and Hyde Park and Kensington Palace and the Princess Dianna Memorial and Covent Garden. It was lots of fun.
Harrods is an experience in itself! It's not just a store, it's a big theme park! Each room has lavish decorations and amazing specialty items. There is a heavy Egyptian bent to it, probably because it is owned by Egyptians. The food rooms were absolutely amazing, both in their selection and their displays.
Kensington Palace was a bit of a disappointment. It is, of course, where Princess Diana lived from the time of her marriage to Charles until her death. It is less of a palace and more of a very large brick house. We didn't want to pay the £11.50 ($25.00) admission to go in, so just went around the outside. It is right on the edge of Hyde Park.
We then walked through Hyde Park, found a lovely little "secret garden", and made our way to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. At first, it seems very plain - just a big marble oval in the grass. No spectacular geysers or anything. But once you get close to it, and walk around it, it is quite beautiful and interesting. I think it is a good indication of the public image of Diana. When she married Charles, she seemed very ordinary and "vanilla", but once she became comfortable with the public, we saw her for the interesting and passionate woman that she was. I thought it was a very beautiful and appropriate memorial.
Covent Garden was brilliant, as always. We went to the Maple Leafe pub for supper then and back to the flat. I had to work the next day, so Debbie went off sightseeing on her own. There is a brilliant tour bus that allows you to hop on and off within a 24-hour period, and so she spent the day doing that and got her money's worth! It was so nice having a familiar face and, more importantly, a familiar accent! I didn't have to ask her to repeat herself once!! lol
So, life goes on. Paul is home from the hospital and healing well. We bought a small used car, which he is picking up today, so now I have wheels, although he'll be doing all the driving for the next while. A week from tomorrow, I have some more friends coming to visit, and right after they leave, my Uncle Jac is coming up and we're going down to Greece. Life is about to get busy!!
Harrods is an experience in itself! It's not just a store, it's a big theme park! Each room has lavish decorations and amazing specialty items. There is a heavy Egyptian bent to it, probably because it is owned by Egyptians. The food rooms were absolutely amazing, both in their selection and their displays.
Kensington Palace was a bit of a disappointment. It is, of course, where Princess Diana lived from the time of her marriage to Charles until her death. It is less of a palace and more of a very large brick house. We didn't want to pay the £11.50 ($25.00) admission to go in, so just went around the outside. It is right on the edge of Hyde Park.
We then walked through Hyde Park, found a lovely little "secret garden", and made our way to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. At first, it seems very plain - just a big marble oval in the grass. No spectacular geysers or anything. But once you get close to it, and walk around it, it is quite beautiful and interesting. I think it is a good indication of the public image of Diana. When she married Charles, she seemed very ordinary and "vanilla", but once she became comfortable with the public, we saw her for the interesting and passionate woman that she was. I thought it was a very beautiful and appropriate memorial.
Covent Garden was brilliant, as always. We went to the Maple Leafe pub for supper then and back to the flat. I had to work the next day, so Debbie went off sightseeing on her own. There is a brilliant tour bus that allows you to hop on and off within a 24-hour period, and so she spent the day doing that and got her money's worth! It was so nice having a familiar face and, more importantly, a familiar accent! I didn't have to ask her to repeat herself once!! lol
So, life goes on. Paul is home from the hospital and healing well. We bought a small used car, which he is picking up today, so now I have wheels, although he'll be doing all the driving for the next while. A week from tomorrow, I have some more friends coming to visit, and right after they leave, my Uncle Jac is coming up and we're going down to Greece. Life is about to get busy!!
12 June 2006
My First Shoot
I attended my first ever clay pigeon shoot on June 7. A very English thing to do!
The shoot was arranged by RAFT, a charity organization that does research into and treatment of facial and other deformities resulting from burns or birth defect (the name stands for the Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust) - www.raft.co.uk. The shoot is one of their main fundraisers. Stratic decided to enter a team, and I thought I would volunteer to help out. Turns out, volunteerism in this country is somewhat unheard of, and they were all surprised and excited! It was quite amusing, since volunteering is so taken for granted in Calgary!
So, I helped out here and there throughout the day and had a lovely time. They let me do some shooting myself, which was brilliant as I had never worked a shotgun before. I even hit a few clays! The day was beautiful and hot, and we raised approximately £60,000 for the charity, which is entirely funded by private donations and fundraisers.
There were a number of oil companies represented there, and I ran into a couple of people that I knew from the industry. It was a great day and lots of fun! A couple of pictures are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/RAFT%20Shoot
The World Cup started on Friday, and on Saturday Paul dragged me to the local to watch England play. Can't say it was too fascinating, but it was fun to get out and with a group of people cheering on their team. Kind of like when Calgary is in the playoffs, and suddenly there are a lot more hockey fans in the pubs. You just kind of get caught up in the spirit of it. Anyway, England won, despite a dismal and boring second half. Those guys sure get paid a lot of money to play that badly!!
We're in the middle of a heat wave here - it has been 25 to 30 celsius. The tube has been almost unbearably hot, and buses are hellish (literally!) I have started wearing bare legs and flipflops with my suit to work and changing into nylons and heels once I get to the office (which is gloriously air-conditioned!). My flat isn't air-conditioned, so the windows are all open trying to catch a breeze and a fan is going 24/7 in the bedroom. Being on the 5th floor, I get a bit more of a breeze than the lower floors, so it's just bearable. I didn't go out much on the weekend because it was just too sweltering! Paul and I did venture out to pick up a couple of things yesterday and spent about 45 minutes in the air-conditioned Starbucks with iced coffees and treats! I love doing that on Sunday - walking down to WHSmith, getting a paper, heading into Starbucks for a coffee drink and lounging in the oh-so-comfy chairs reading the paper and chatting.
Some more cool English terms:
Stropy - sulky or pouty. Paul always teases me that I'm being stropy when I don't get my own way!
Tintinet - northern-speak for the internet.
Egg Mayonnaise - Egg salad, as in a sandwich.
OAPs - old age pensioners. What we would call "seniors".
Charity Shops - Thrift stores in Canada, like Salvation Army or WINS.
The shoot was arranged by RAFT, a charity organization that does research into and treatment of facial and other deformities resulting from burns or birth defect (the name stands for the Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust) - www.raft.co.uk. The shoot is one of their main fundraisers. Stratic decided to enter a team, and I thought I would volunteer to help out. Turns out, volunteerism in this country is somewhat unheard of, and they were all surprised and excited! It was quite amusing, since volunteering is so taken for granted in Calgary!
So, I helped out here and there throughout the day and had a lovely time. They let me do some shooting myself, which was brilliant as I had never worked a shotgun before. I even hit a few clays! The day was beautiful and hot, and we raised approximately £60,000 for the charity, which is entirely funded by private donations and fundraisers.
There were a number of oil companies represented there, and I ran into a couple of people that I knew from the industry. It was a great day and lots of fun! A couple of pictures are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/RAFT%20Shoot
The World Cup started on Friday, and on Saturday Paul dragged me to the local to watch England play. Can't say it was too fascinating, but it was fun to get out and with a group of people cheering on their team. Kind of like when Calgary is in the playoffs, and suddenly there are a lot more hockey fans in the pubs. You just kind of get caught up in the spirit of it. Anyway, England won, despite a dismal and boring second half. Those guys sure get paid a lot of money to play that badly!!
We're in the middle of a heat wave here - it has been 25 to 30 celsius. The tube has been almost unbearably hot, and buses are hellish (literally!) I have started wearing bare legs and flipflops with my suit to work and changing into nylons and heels once I get to the office (which is gloriously air-conditioned!). My flat isn't air-conditioned, so the windows are all open trying to catch a breeze and a fan is going 24/7 in the bedroom. Being on the 5th floor, I get a bit more of a breeze than the lower floors, so it's just bearable. I didn't go out much on the weekend because it was just too sweltering! Paul and I did venture out to pick up a couple of things yesterday and spent about 45 minutes in the air-conditioned Starbucks with iced coffees and treats! I love doing that on Sunday - walking down to WHSmith, getting a paper, heading into Starbucks for a coffee drink and lounging in the oh-so-comfy chairs reading the paper and chatting.
Some more cool English terms:
Stropy - sulky or pouty. Paul always teases me that I'm being stropy when I don't get my own way!
Tintinet - northern-speak for the internet.
Egg Mayonnaise - Egg salad, as in a sandwich.
OAPs - old age pensioners. What we would call "seniors".
Charity Shops - Thrift stores in Canada, like Salvation Army or WINS.
06 June 2006
England and the English
I've been reading a book lately entitled "Watching the English", written by an anthropologist after extensive research into what makes the English so...well....English. It is very interesting, and explains a lot of my experiences. Here are some of my own observations.
Pronounciation of place names seems to be very topsy-turvy. Some they pronounce every syllable, such as Herefordshire, which is pronounced "hair-e-ford-sure", but then other ones they skip most of the word, such as Towcester, which is pronounced "toaster". Berkeley is pronounced "barkley" and Pall Mall is pronounced "pal mal".
When I first came here, there was some confusion with where I should be walking on the street. In Canada, of course, you walk on the sidewalk, which is right beside the pavement where the cars drive. Here, you walk on the pavement, which is right beside the tarmac where the cars drive!
Banking is another interesting thing. Most payments that are not done online are done by direct transfer from one bank account to another. This means that you are giving banking information out to everyone and their dog! It is strange in a country that is so fanatical about security! And, it takes 3 working days for these transfers to take place, as opposed to a few hours in Canada. So, for instance, my rent comes out of my bank account 3 days before it is actually due, so it will be in my landlord's account on the day it is due. So, I actually get paid about 4 days before payday to account for this, and my salary comes out of my company's account 3 days before that!! It's all quite silly, really!
The English line up, or queue, for everything!! The queue is a long-standing tradition, and is strictly observed. Although the English are too polite to actually tell someone to get to the back of the queue, they will let them know they are queue-jumping by all sorts of subtle little signals. The queue is always orderly and straight, even when waiting for a bus! I, of course, hate queues and often refuse to wait in one, choosing instead to come back later. It's very un-English of me! Queueing is very important to the English, and is considered by some a national past-time. Someone shoot me, please!!
World Cup fever has hit big time over here. I have never seen anything so fanatical, except perhaps when Calgary was running for the Stanley Cup two years ago. There are English flags everywhere - not British ones, mind you, with the red and blue - but St. George's Crosses, which specifically represents England. Wales and Scotland have their own flags. The whole of Englad has been gripped in the agony of whether their best player, Wayne Rooney, will be fit enough to play after breaking his foot or something a number weeks ago. He was declared fit last night and everyone is so excited. Me, I'm planning my shopping trips during England's world cup games so the stores will be nice and empty!
Here's some more words, a lot of them from Paul, who is from Lancashire in the north of England:
Chook - affectionate name for a woman, could be daughter, wife, close friend, etc.
Skive - procrastinate, such as "skiving off work".
Brew - tea, as in "would you like a brew?"
Kit - clothes, as in "I need to change me kit". Which brings up another interesting colloquial, the use of "me" instead of "my". It's very addictive!
Our - Mostly used in the north, families refer to children and siblings as "our" something, as in "Here comes our Diane". Paul even refers to his niece as "our Danielle".
Stone - weights here are all done in stone and pounds, with a stone equalling 14 pounds. It is quite inefficient, but that's the way it is. Most of the English I asked didn't even know how much a stone was - I had to find out from Google! So, somone who is 148 lbs would be 10 stone, 8 lbs.
Well, that's it for now. I hope I haven't offended any of my English friends by my mini-rant. Despite what it may seem, I am absolutely loving it out here. I'm having the time of my life and there is so much to do and explore! I'm happier than I've been in a very long time!
Cheers!
Pronounciation of place names seems to be very topsy-turvy. Some they pronounce every syllable, such as Herefordshire, which is pronounced "hair-e-ford-sure", but then other ones they skip most of the word, such as Towcester, which is pronounced "toaster". Berkeley is pronounced "barkley" and Pall Mall is pronounced "pal mal".
When I first came here, there was some confusion with where I should be walking on the street. In Canada, of course, you walk on the sidewalk, which is right beside the pavement where the cars drive. Here, you walk on the pavement, which is right beside the tarmac where the cars drive!
Banking is another interesting thing. Most payments that are not done online are done by direct transfer from one bank account to another. This means that you are giving banking information out to everyone and their dog! It is strange in a country that is so fanatical about security! And, it takes 3 working days for these transfers to take place, as opposed to a few hours in Canada. So, for instance, my rent comes out of my bank account 3 days before it is actually due, so it will be in my landlord's account on the day it is due. So, I actually get paid about 4 days before payday to account for this, and my salary comes out of my company's account 3 days before that!! It's all quite silly, really!
The English line up, or queue, for everything!! The queue is a long-standing tradition, and is strictly observed. Although the English are too polite to actually tell someone to get to the back of the queue, they will let them know they are queue-jumping by all sorts of subtle little signals. The queue is always orderly and straight, even when waiting for a bus! I, of course, hate queues and often refuse to wait in one, choosing instead to come back later. It's very un-English of me! Queueing is very important to the English, and is considered by some a national past-time. Someone shoot me, please!!
World Cup fever has hit big time over here. I have never seen anything so fanatical, except perhaps when Calgary was running for the Stanley Cup two years ago. There are English flags everywhere - not British ones, mind you, with the red and blue - but St. George's Crosses, which specifically represents England. Wales and Scotland have their own flags. The whole of Englad has been gripped in the agony of whether their best player, Wayne Rooney, will be fit enough to play after breaking his foot or something a number weeks ago. He was declared fit last night and everyone is so excited. Me, I'm planning my shopping trips during England's world cup games so the stores will be nice and empty!
Here's some more words, a lot of them from Paul, who is from Lancashire in the north of England:
Chook - affectionate name for a woman, could be daughter, wife, close friend, etc.
Skive - procrastinate, such as "skiving off work".
Brew - tea, as in "would you like a brew?"
Kit - clothes, as in "I need to change me kit". Which brings up another interesting colloquial, the use of "me" instead of "my". It's very addictive!
Our
Stone - weights here are all done in stone and pounds, with a stone equalling 14 pounds. It is quite inefficient, but that's the way it is. Most of the English I asked didn't even know how much a stone was - I had to find out from Google! So, somone who is 148 lbs would be 10 stone, 8 lbs.
Well, that's it for now. I hope I haven't offended any of my English friends by my mini-rant. Despite what it may seem, I am absolutely loving it out here. I'm having the time of my life and there is so much to do and explore! I'm happier than I've been in a very long time!
Cheers!
31 May 2006
Spring is coming....slowly....
Hiya! Thought it was about time for an update.
I have stayed in town since my Malta trip. I have a very busy July planned, with trips to Greece and Paris, so figured I should lay low for a while. Paul and I have spent a lot of time together lately.
Paul and I have so much fun together. We are on the same wavelength so much of the time, and like a lot of the same things (like popcorn and U2 and rollercoasters and travelling and...). He makes me feel safe and loved and completely comfortable. There is nothing we can't or won't talk about. Having both come from marriages where communication (or lack thereof) was the downfall, we are committed to keeping the lines of communication open and always being honest with each other. He makes me laugh all the time. Although it may seem that we've just met, we have actually known each other for almost 4 years and when we parted, we had already started planning our future together. So, we have just picked up where we left off, and in so many ways, it seems like we were never apart for all those years. Ok, I'll stop being sappy now! Suffice it to say, things couldn't be better on that front and I hope I will be able to introduce you all to him at Christmas (provided he doesn't ship out to Iraq in November - start praying!!)
The weather has been rubbish lately - lots of rain and changeable weather. I will never again say that Alberta has changeable weather - it's nothing compared to here! We can have rain, overcast, sun, and wind 5 times each in the same day! You never really know what to wear, so I layer a lot now! It's supposed to be sunny this week, so I am going to try to get to the park during lunch for a while (yes, the park that Buckingham Palace is in!). They rent beach chairs there by the hour, so I may part with a couple of quid for one.
Work is going really well. Our new accountant starts tomorrow and we all can hardly wait - especially me!! I am looking forward to handing all the accounting over to him.
One of my trips in July, the one to Paris, is for a board meeting. The meeting is on a Thursday, so I am going to stay in for the weekend. With any luck, Paul will be able to join me - it just depends on his surgery date, which he doesn't have yet. It would be great to explore Paris with him!
My other trip is at the beginning of July to Greece. My Uncle Jac has a couple of conferences down there on two different islands, so he is flying up to London for a couple of days and then we are flying together down to Greece; to Chania for a couple of days, and then to Kos for another couple of days. I am flying back by myself early so I can get ready for the board meeting the next week. I am really looking forward to it - Greece has always been at the top of my list for places I want to travel to. And Jac is a blast to travel with, so it should be lots of fun.
Just before I go to Greece, I have some friends from Alberta coming to visit for a few days. We're going to see The Lion King down in Covent Garden and I'll show them around London. It will be nice to see some people from home! I'm looking forward to taking them to my local and showing them my little community! My July is busy!!!
Anyway, gotta run. Love you all!!
I have stayed in town since my Malta trip. I have a very busy July planned, with trips to Greece and Paris, so figured I should lay low for a while. Paul and I have spent a lot of time together lately.
Paul and I have so much fun together. We are on the same wavelength so much of the time, and like a lot of the same things (like popcorn and U2 and rollercoasters and travelling and...). He makes me feel safe and loved and completely comfortable. There is nothing we can't or won't talk about. Having both come from marriages where communication (or lack thereof) was the downfall, we are committed to keeping the lines of communication open and always being honest with each other. He makes me laugh all the time. Although it may seem that we've just met, we have actually known each other for almost 4 years and when we parted, we had already started planning our future together. So, we have just picked up where we left off, and in so many ways, it seems like we were never apart for all those years. Ok, I'll stop being sappy now! Suffice it to say, things couldn't be better on that front and I hope I will be able to introduce you all to him at Christmas (provided he doesn't ship out to Iraq in November - start praying!!)
The weather has been rubbish lately - lots of rain and changeable weather. I will never again say that Alberta has changeable weather - it's nothing compared to here! We can have rain, overcast, sun, and wind 5 times each in the same day! You never really know what to wear, so I layer a lot now! It's supposed to be sunny this week, so I am going to try to get to the park during lunch for a while (yes, the park that Buckingham Palace is in!). They rent beach chairs there by the hour, so I may part with a couple of quid for one.
Work is going really well. Our new accountant starts tomorrow and we all can hardly wait - especially me!! I am looking forward to handing all the accounting over to him.
One of my trips in July, the one to Paris, is for a board meeting. The meeting is on a Thursday, so I am going to stay in for the weekend. With any luck, Paul will be able to join me - it just depends on his surgery date, which he doesn't have yet. It would be great to explore Paris with him!
My other trip is at the beginning of July to Greece. My Uncle Jac has a couple of conferences down there on two different islands, so he is flying up to London for a couple of days and then we are flying together down to Greece; to Chania for a couple of days, and then to Kos for another couple of days. I am flying back by myself early so I can get ready for the board meeting the next week. I am really looking forward to it - Greece has always been at the top of my list for places I want to travel to. And Jac is a blast to travel with, so it should be lots of fun.
Just before I go to Greece, I have some friends from Alberta coming to visit for a few days. We're going to see The Lion King down in Covent Garden and I'll show them around London. It will be nice to see some people from home! I'm looking forward to taking them to my local and showing them my little community! My July is busy!!!
Anyway, gotta run. Love you all!!
17 May 2006
Malta
Well, I've been back from Malta for a couple of weeks now. A very eventful couple of weeks!!
Malta was brilliant! The weather was windy, but warm, and my balcony was cement, so it protected me from the wind. I lay in the sun for a couple of hours every morning. I did some sightseeing, mostly just walking about the ancient cities and marvelling at the rich history of the place. It's been "conquered" by almost everyone at one time or another! And the Maltese people just keep on doing their thing. The island is mostly rock, so things don't grow well. Their main source of income seems to be tourism, because I couldn't find anything that they export! In fact, during busy tourist times, they have to import water!
Malta is actually a collection of three islands; Malta, the largest and most settled one, Gozo, smaller and more scenic and untamed, and Comino, a tiny island with only a hotel on it, but a beautiful beach. I stayed on Malta because I only had three days, but I would love to go back and do some more exploring. The Maltese people are very nice, and all the buildings are very old and interesting. There is a bus service that gets you pretty much everywhere you want to go, and a taxi from one corner of the island to the other is only about $30.
On the plane down, my seatmate was from Calgary, believe it or not! Her name is Donna, and she was going down for a month, for a stress break. We spent a day together touring around and whatnot. It was nice to have someone to do some things with.
Pictures from my trip to Malta are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Malta
So, I got back from Malta and went straight into the office. There was a phone message waiting for me from a Paul. Paul and I had met almost 4 years ago in Calgary. He is in the British Army and they were on exercises down at CFB Suffield. We had fell in love, but there were complications, and he went back to the UK. We both tried to forget each other, without success. He decided to try to find me a few months ago, and placed some calls that tracked me down here. He was very surprised that I was living in his country! So, we have started seeing each other again, and I am very happy! He is very sweet and we are just as crazy about each other as we ever were! Not to worry, this doesn't mean I will be staying here, it just means I'll be bringing him back to Canada with me! He is currently down near London, but will be rejoining his regiment back up in North Yorkshire in a few months, after he recovers from back surgery.
So, things are going swimmingly! Work is good - spent a day and a half in Toronto last week for some meetings - it was very exhausting flying all that way for such a short time, only to fly back again. Now I'll be able to stay put for a month and a half, until July, which will be busy with visitors and a company meeting in Paris.
The weather has been dismal, but not too cold. Not nearly as nice as in Calgary! Looking forward to some sun, but not sure when or if it's coming!!
Ciao for niao!!
Malta was brilliant! The weather was windy, but warm, and my balcony was cement, so it protected me from the wind. I lay in the sun for a couple of hours every morning. I did some sightseeing, mostly just walking about the ancient cities and marvelling at the rich history of the place. It's been "conquered" by almost everyone at one time or another! And the Maltese people just keep on doing their thing. The island is mostly rock, so things don't grow well. Their main source of income seems to be tourism, because I couldn't find anything that they export! In fact, during busy tourist times, they have to import water!
Malta is actually a collection of three islands; Malta, the largest and most settled one, Gozo, smaller and more scenic and untamed, and Comino, a tiny island with only a hotel on it, but a beautiful beach. I stayed on Malta because I only had three days, but I would love to go back and do some more exploring. The Maltese people are very nice, and all the buildings are very old and interesting. There is a bus service that gets you pretty much everywhere you want to go, and a taxi from one corner of the island to the other is only about $30.
On the plane down, my seatmate was from Calgary, believe it or not! Her name is Donna, and she was going down for a month, for a stress break. We spent a day together touring around and whatnot. It was nice to have someone to do some things with.
Pictures from my trip to Malta are here:
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Malta
So, I got back from Malta and went straight into the office. There was a phone message waiting for me from a Paul. Paul and I had met almost 4 years ago in Calgary. He is in the British Army and they were on exercises down at CFB Suffield. We had fell in love, but there were complications, and he went back to the UK. We both tried to forget each other, without success. He decided to try to find me a few months ago, and placed some calls that tracked me down here. He was very surprised that I was living in his country! So, we have started seeing each other again, and I am very happy! He is very sweet and we are just as crazy about each other as we ever were! Not to worry, this doesn't mean I will be staying here, it just means I'll be bringing him back to Canada with me! He is currently down near London, but will be rejoining his regiment back up in North Yorkshire in a few months, after he recovers from back surgery.
So, things are going swimmingly! Work is good - spent a day and a half in Toronto last week for some meetings - it was very exhausting flying all that way for such a short time, only to fly back again. Now I'll be able to stay put for a month and a half, until July, which will be busy with visitors and a company meeting in Paris.
The weather has been dismal, but not too cold. Not nearly as nice as in Calgary! Looking forward to some sun, but not sure when or if it's coming!!
Ciao for niao!!
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