Here is a picture of the new nephew with his sister, Charlotte.
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!!
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