The Ball is Rolling

Yesterday was my most productive day yet!! Russ and I both had interviews early morning in London, so we took the train up at 8am to find the venue on time. This was my first proper interview so I'd spent the last two days really nervous and feeling quite negative about it all. Was really hard to tell how I went. Because we'd just spent a small fortune getting into London at peak hour (£22.80 return), plus costs for the tube when we got there - travel really is THE most expensive thing here!! - we decided to look around London some more. While we were browsing the shops we got a phone call from our agency saying I'd got the job!! They loved me apparently!! So I start on Monday!!
The job is basically matching people in the country who have somehow in their systems (the national mental health system) been seperated from their national health number. We have to match people's details and put them and their number onto a single database. It pays well, so I'm really pleased with it!! It's at Springfield University Hospital - a mental health hospital. http://www.swlstg-tr.nhs.uk/about/index.asp

On our way home we gave a guy a call re a flat we looked at on the weekend. He said it was ours!! It really is an amazing house, fully kitted out!! It's in South Wimbledon area. We're both really pleased with our success with the flat! We'll be sharing it with the owner, Irish Nigel, and one other flatmate, Polish Tomasz (Tomac). So we've got a real cultural mix!! I will update with photos when I get them...

And Then...

It finally snowed!!

After a super mild, almost warm Christmas and New Year, I was beginning to wonder what all the hype over English winters was about. It had got to the point, only a couple of weeks ago that you could just about go out without a jumper, and certainly without a jacket - in the middle of a UK January???

All of a sudden the temps dropped by around 15 degrees and we had "killer" storms. I say "killer" to reinforce the sensationalising of newspapers here. In reality, the wind was about as strong as it is most of the time in Wellington - they're just not used to it here. But after the storms, it became really icy cold. I knew it was going to snow, I could feel it. I jumped out of bed excitedly that morning, really early, which is unlike me at the moment, looked out the window and all I could see was white. Though it was only the best part of an inch, it was snow, and it was everywhere (for the morning), and I couldn't have been happier!! I'll never get sick of the snow!!

We got up and played in the park out the back of Russ' parents' place. Russ found a small snowball and rolled it until he couldn't roll it anymore. It was huge! You're never too old to play in the snow like that!

It's gone now, and it feels like it's warming up again. It's a sign that my holidays are over and it's time to get serious about jobs and flats...

Moor to Come

Bright and early New Years Day Russ and I set out on our Devon holiday. A 3.5hr drive and we were amongst the moors, keeping an eye out for those mysterious black panthers.. We stayed in a small village called Brentor, just north east of Tavistock. A really beautiful little place, perfect for isolating yourself for a while, with no phone and no service. Though this isolation was a hot topic amongst previous visitors in the guest book of the cottage we stayed in.

The weather wasn't on our side, though we made the most of what we got - think West Coast, New Zealand. The countryside actually felt very familiar too. With the fine spells, we made sure we took a walk up to an amazing little church atop Brent Tor (hence the name of the village). The church, St. Michael's, is over 800 years old and is still used for services in the summer months, for those who don't mind the climb. It is a focal point of the area in general as it can be seen from miles away.

Dartmoor, the moor of the area, is famous for a number of things, including the Sherlock Holmes film, Hound of the Baskervilles. We set off to find the famous rock circle, and in the process came across some absolutely stunning scenery, ancient buildings, including a pub in the middle of absolutely nowhere, and wild horses... Wanting to test Russ' allergy to horses for the following day, we stopped by a group of these Dartmoor Ponies (known by Kiwis as a type of Shetland Pony). They were surprisingly friendly and apparently quite hungry, as they tried to eat the car and Russ...

Tavistock was a lovely little town. I'm still always surprised when I see a town full of ancient buildings. Not ancient by New Zealand's standards (about 200yrs), I'm talking more than 5 or 6 hundred years old! Full of quaint churches and cottages. I was also listening carefully for the West Country accent I've been told all about. I did hear a few but I think you need to go further west into Cornwall for the full-blown pirate-esque accents. In Tavistock we were doing a lap of the high street and happened across Ellis' Bakery... Funny for so many reasons... We didn't really speak to the lady inside regarding the Ellis history as I think she thought we were a bit odd hanging around the shop as we did.

Our last day Russ and I spent some time doing our own thing, mostly because of Russ' allergy to horses. I'd seen a card for some stables in a nearby town, Mary Tavy, and just had to get out there for a ride on the moors. There were about 15 of us on the horses - I was given one called Rocky - a tempermental horse I found. He wouldn't do what I wanted and he refused to get his feet wet, so would walk right around the outside of puddles where he could. We were probably quite well matched actually... :o) We were out for an hour, and although I only got to do a little bit of trotting, the staff were really helpful the whole way. I would definitely recommend a ride at the Cholwell Stables.

On our way home we decided to stop in another small village, Sourton, where we'd noticed some bizarre architecture. We stopped to take some photos of what looked like the boot of the old woman who lived in a shoe, as well as some type of carriage and house with boat-like features. Our curiosity got the better of us and we decided to look around inside. On entering we hadn't quite prepared ourselves for what we were about to see... It's called the Highwayman Inn, and is still a pub in use. There are lots of little corners and dens full of stuffed animals, lanterns, amazing shaped pieces of tree, and countless other treasures. You really do have to see it to believe it. It is the creation of a man and his wife, letting their imaginations run wild... It's a must see if you're driving down that way. Check out the link on here to find out a bit more about the Highwayman Inn... http://www.thehighwaymaninn.net/history/history.html

Now we are back in Fleet, preparing ourselves for the big move to London!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!! I hope 2007 brings good fortune to everyone!!

I thought, since I'm in a new country, I should do the famous touristy thing in London for my first New Year here. So Russ and I took the train up to London Waterloo that night, mooched around the city, and found ourselves a spot on Westminster Bridge to watch the fireworks. We had Big Ben to our left and the London Eye in front of us, which they had lit up, and where the fireworks were set from at midnight.The fireworks were amazing!! And the way they'd lit up the London Eye!! It was absolutely beautiful!! Everyone where we were was in such good spirits and completely caught up in the beauty and fun of it all.

There were over 200,000 people in central London on New Years Eve, and thousands trying to get back to Waterloo Station once the fireworks were over. The fireworks went on for about ten minutes and our train was due to leave at 1:07am...that was the one and only train back to Farnborough, where we'd parked the car. We thought we'd have plenty of time. What should have taken 5mins ended up taking over an hour to get back to the train station due to the crowds of people, so we missed our train... by the looks of things in the station, most people had missed their trains. But we got home, eventually, after quite an adventure, with 4 hours to sleep before we were to get up and set off on our Devon adventure.....

Last of the Summer Wine

The perfect way to top of the shortest summer ever for me was to spend it in Sydney hanging out with friends in the sun, keeping the wine flowing. I was certainly trying to make the most of my last week of summer before I threw myself into my 8th month of winter for the year...almost a record!! After promising myself I wouldn't sunbathe this year, I lasted about 4hrs before I was in my bikini soaking up the rays.
It was awesome catching up with friends from school. It's like I never left! Seeing everyone again makes it all feel like home.

I got a bit carried away with shopping while I was in Sydney. Somehow I got the idea that I should empty my NZ bank account, and because I coulnd't take much luggage I decided I'd just replace things. For what I eventually spent in Sydney I really didn't have much at all to show for it! Though I did find ANOTHER pair of shoes!! :o)

The week went pretty quickly and Christmas was just around the corner. Catching up with everyone also meant saying goodbye again...goodbyes are never fun!! I'm such a woos at airports, but from the past 2 years of saying goodbye to Russ, I've pretty much got the crying thing under control, though saying goodbye to Xan and Deids almost got me started! But there I go, off again, this time on a more permanent move. But what Christmas trip is complete without a happy snap with Santa.....

Final Frontier

After graduating in Wellington (Dec 15), I decided to take the rescued Overlander train to Auckland to see a little more of the country before I left it. The train ride was very long, 13 1/2 hours, and a mysterious bout of hayfever hit a number of the passengers, including those who stayed inside, but it was definitely worth the sights of Ruapehu and areas of Maori significance, including the Maori Queen's burial site.

In Auckland I caught up with Mickey & Lance, and my oldest friend, Laura. I decided as this was my first trip to Auckland - I know, I've lived here most of my life and never been there, it's shocking! - but as this was my first trip to Auckland, I knew I had to go to Rainbow's End. I think that's a childhood dream of most Kiwi kids. Laura, Lance and myself were the biggest kids there!! And we had a ball..including an attempt to look completely unfazed by the log ride, which had us in hysterics!! Had to be there??

I wish I had been to Auckland before as I can imagine myself living there. Good shopping, nice restaurants, the beach, and lots of entertainment. A lot like Sydney really..