Lest We Forget

*The crowd of early risers*

I joined hundreds of others this Saturday in braving the wee hours of the morning for the Anzac Day Ceremony. It was held in Hyde Park Corner at the Australian War Memorial, so from my place that meant catching two night buses. Unfortunately I slept through my alarms and woke up late!! Had to haul arse to the bus and hope the roads were quiet... Turns out I made it in record time!! 

It was really great to see so many Aussies and Kiwis together to pay tribute to the Anzac's. I honestly didn't expect there to be so many people. I think one of the amazing things about being overseas is the comradery that you feel when you are around people from home. For all the crap we give each other, at the end of the day, everyone puts the pettiness aside to help each other out. And I think that is why I and so many others had turned out to honour the Anzac spirit.

You see, for me, I don't have any ancestors from Australia, my family comes from France and New Zealand. So Anzac day was not something we really acknowledged in our household. However we had a great family friend who took it upon himself to teach me about it and take me every year to the Dawn Service in town.  Even after he passed away I made sure I went every year (bar one year in Brisbane) and did my best to spread to Anzac story.

In the true spirit of the Anzac's I went on a baking spree and cooked up a storm of Anzac biscuits. 4 batches with 4 recipes because I wasn't sure which ones were the best!!! To be honest with you, I was very surprised by the coconut element in the ingredients list. I couldn't remember the coconut being a predominant flavour in the old Anzac biscuit but it turns out its very important!! MMMMmmm Tasty. 

As you can imagine with 4 batches of biscuits I had a lot to go around, so I took it upon myself to spread the ANZAC spirit amongst my customers. All Aussies got some to take home and everyone else had one to try and a run down on how the biscuit came to be. 

All in all it was a great morning, made me miss home, made me proud of my friends who have or are serving currently in peace missions around the world, and more than anything reminded how proud I am to be an Australian. 

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them."

*Sunrise on Anzac Day*

A typical day in London town

On Sunday night Amanda, Fi, Billy (my new neighbour) and I went out to Shepherds Bush to watch Bat For Lashes. A band fronted by Natasha Khan and whichever musicians she invites to go on tour with her (at least that's how I think it works..). I had brought a Brioche along from work because I know how much Fi and Amanda love them some Brioche... But unfortunately on the way in the crazy security lady made me throw it out!! I was so upset and my belly was pretty devastated too!

                                         *Bat for Lashes - WOOT WOOT!!*

The support act was an American group called 'School of Seven Bells' and they were really awesome! You tube them and have a look for yourself!!  Bat For Lashes is a bit of a Bjork/Eurythmics tribute, really great electronic sound filled out with a cute but powerful voice. She was really great on stage, really into it and good fun to watch! The O2 academy is a  great venue, old school play house so no seat is a bad seat and the sound reverberates really well. It was also my first concert in a while, really really nice to get out a spazz out to some music. Thanks Randy!!

                                         *Andy and I looking Hot!!Hahaha*

So it turned out the Bat for Lashes concert was just the beginning of what was going to be a very 'cultural' 24 hours for yours truly. The incredible thing about living in this city is that there are so many things to do. Museums with hoards of children, museums with hoards of artists, quirky cafes, gastro pubs, schmanzy restaurants, luscious parks, celebrity haunts, markets, walks along the rivers, live music, shopping shopping shopping, live comedy, musicals and much much more. Monday being my day off it was time to catch up with a few people. First up was Nick, my cracker friend that lives with Fi and is also from the land down under. He works on 'West Ends number one musical' - WICKED so is a bit of a theatre aficionado, so we decided to check out the Theatre and Performance exhibition at the V&A museum. It was my first time to the museum and I must say it took me completely by surprise. Its really well set up, informative, visually stimulating but fun at the same time. We also had a bit of time to check out the jewellery and fashion sectors.. Such a girls day out!

One hour, two glasses of champagne, a plate of cheese and two tube changes later we were in Camden town on a mission to A) Find Cath B) Buy wellies (gumboots) C) Buy sunnies. 

I think its official. I am the world most notorious sunnies offender. I recently calculated that if i were to count on my fingers the number of sunnies I have lost/broken over the years I would need another 2.3 hands!! Whoopsy doosy

The weather here in London has just been incredible these last few weeks. Sunny, up to 21 degrees, and not too much wind. Apparently its the warmest April London has seen for years, which is exciting for me!! However we had a few days of yucky wetness last weeks and I got sick of my pants getting soaked so I decided I need to buy some funky town gumboots!! Turns out Camden Markets was the perfect venue to provide me with all my gumboot needs. So we met up with Cath (my awesome Canadian-photo taking-rocomadour loving friend) and set off..

We had a great afternoon faffing around looking in all the kooky shops, imagining what sort of tattoo we would get and people watching. All the different markets are so great, antique, vintage, punk, rock, alternative, record shops.. Pretty much anything you could want!!

                                                                   

                                              (photo courtesy of Catherine Tyrrell)

We walked through the mini food market where people are trying to shove food down your throats (Cath was happy to indulge them!). Nick and I got a felafel each.. We probably should have shared!! soooo full :( 

So after our little traipse through Camden town we decided the one thing we hadn't done so far was see a show. So courtesy of my dear boy Nick-o-lass we went of to enjoy a night of frivolity at 'La Cage aux folles'. The West End musical version of 'Bird Cage' the film with Robin Williams. 

Beforehand we went to have a little drinkey poo on a boat on the Thames that offers views of the Big Ben and the London Eye. Its really nice hey, a good place to take people that are new to London too!

'La Cage aux folles' is an incredible story about a gay/transvestite club on the coast of France. If you've not seen it I recommend it, and if you have seen it, imagine how awesome the musical version would be!! Trannys, dancing, load music, hilarious french accents, skanky outfits, a crazy Spanish man maid and an over the top drama queen. 

So all in all it was a great day, very cultural, very cruisy, with good friends and great weather. Perfect

oooooh the pain

OOOOOOOOOOOOohhh my lordy!
Its midnight and I can't sleep for fear of not waking up because of the pain. It had been like this for about 4 days now...
Why why why do I have to be so stubborn and not believe in pain killers for back pain!
Why why why is Nea not here to help me and swear at me and make me feel bad for letting it get so bad..
Why why why is it not possible to get a back replacement operation in this day and age?
and last but certainly not least
Why WHy WHY oh WHY did I work for 14hrs today, today of all freaking days!
There, that's my vent.. I'll be calling my Granny soon for tips on how to hobble correctly and maybe even discuss the possibility of my borrowing one of her glorious canes. .. . ..
Sleep well (someone has to.. haha)

On the road again...I can't wait to get on the road again...

Phil and I on the Road again..

I'm not a religious person. I don't say grace before dinner, I don't go to church on Sundays and I don't enjoy it when a complete stranger comes to my door and tells me to put my life in His hands.


I do, however, believe in the Easter Bunny. I believe that once a year He will bring me loads of chocolate in various wonderful shapes and sizes. I also believe that He will bring joy to billions of children across the world with His exciting egg hunts. I have heard that He creates duplicate 'skins' because, like Santa, he can't be everywhere at once, and he needs the help of mummies and daddies all over the world to give the kids a little surprise. When I was younger I took great joy in waking up on Easter Sunday and frolicking around the backyard (or through the village) with my wicker basket collecting eggs. That was, of course, until I turned 15 and realised I was getting too old for such silliness.

The closest I got to seeing the easter bunny...

Now days the Easter Bunny brings me a different kind of joy. Don't get me wrong, I still love chocolate and will take part in an egg hunt with the best of them. But as a 22 (and a half) year old working class girl I have a different kind of love for the Easter long weekend. The love of a potential 4 day weekend. And while working in the hospitality industry generally means you are expected to work at least the Saturday and the Monday, this year I managed to get Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off (Easter Bunny bless you Todd) and thought I'd have me a little mini vacation.

So days off organised I had two things left to do.. 1)Choose a destination and 2)pack.
Choosing a destination wasn't going to be easy as I haven't done much travelling in England yet which leaves me with lots of options. But after lots of umm-ing an ah-ing I eventually decided on 'Aquae Sulis, a splendid city raised by the Romans, adorned with all the elegancies of architecture, supplied with all the means of luxury' (Reverend Richard Warner). Or as we all know it, Bath.
Packing also proved a little tricky. Because of the ever changing weather its a nightmare choosing what to wear to work let alone a three day trip... This is, after all, England. The country known for having four seasons in one day!! This and the fact that the weather forecast changed everyday didn't help me make the important decisions (dress versus jeans - singlet versus jumper-thongs versus boots). But I figured as long as I had Phil (the ultimate Irish travel companion), camera, Ipod, cash, an umbrella, sunnies and at least one change of underwear, I'd be fine. Armed with all of the above (and heaps more, thanks to my over packing), I was on my way.

The river Avon

It would be fair to say that my excitement levels for travelling again could be matched only by those of a four year old having finally mastered the art of riding a bike. They dropped suddenly when I arrived in Bath and it was raining. 'Don't worry', I reminded myself, 'this is England, it will be sunny in 10 minutes'. And indeed it was!

The Bath Abbey

Let it be said that Bath is an exceptionally beautiful city. The architecture alone is incredible, the sculptures intriguing and the perfect way the city showcases each era to have existed there is amazing. From Medieval alleys, Georgian buildings and Victorian gardens to the Roman Baths, there is truly a taste of each era withing the city walls.

The first thing I did was jump on a free walking tour, provided by the 'Honorary guides on behalf of the Mayor'. Our guide was a wealth of knowledge with a great sense of humour - Brilliant! He took us around the city telling us all about the history, explaining the relevance of the architecture from one part of town to the other, and providing some interesting and quirky facts along the way. Like the fact that Mr Nicolas Cage from films such us Con Air and Nightrider owns house number 10, Royal Circus. A tidy 3 million pound...

I spent the afternoon faffing around the city and came across a cute little theatre, aptly named 'the Little Theatre'. They were advertising a comedy show for that night. 'A local troupe in a show about relatives, the unrelated and a ukulele karaoke competition. Sounded good and I was definitely up for a laugh so I bought a ticket. 8pm came around and I went into the theatre and somehow ended up watching 'The boat that rocked'!. I guess I must have walked into the wrong theatre?!! Luckily enough I loved the film (I highly recommend it to any one who grew up in the 70's or like me, wished they did) and did not regret it for a second.

On another note, the hostel I stayed at was underwhelming to say the least. The beds were as squeaky as the voice of a 14 year old boy and the last people to enter the room didn't lock the door. This resulted in two drunk local idiots coming into our room and pushing all of our beds in an attempt to get a free bed! Eventually they got kicked out, it definitely made for an interesting nights sleep...
The following morning the showers were playing up which resulted in many people reverting to the age old travelling trick "shower in a can". I over heard an Aussie bloke explaining the phrase to a group of unimpressed Asian tourists.

A true example of the quality of my hostel. A dildo vending machine..

Smelliness aside it was a beautiful day. Sunny and warm!! It was so warm I even took the opportunity to wear a dress and thongs out to stonehenge! The bus trip out to the stones was great fun. I have definitely grown to appreciate the British countryside. Who thought that fields of canola flowers could be so enchanting. I just wish I had seen a crop circle... The trip just wouldn't have been the same without the kiwi behind me saying 'sweet as bro' and 'unreal', every time the driver told an anecdote. Or the four Japanese boys that started screaming when they saw a lady beetle on the seat in front of them!!

Stonehenge in all its glory

Stonehenge itself was pretty cool. The Audio guides are really interesting, without being boring and monotonous. Although it would be amazing to know why they are really there.. My theory is that Asterix and Obelix came over on a boat from Calais, sunk some pirates on the way and created the circle as a cage to lock the bard in.. Could be right?Phil testing out my Asterix and Obelix theory. Obelix eat your heart out!

The weather was still spring perfection when we got back into Bath so I took the opportunity to go for a walk in the sun followed by a lie down in the park. On my stroll I came across one of the funniest street performers I have ever seen. Might be something to do with growing up with Florence and her french cleaning maid act!. I have such love for street performers that I would spend all day watching them if I had the chance!

Street performer putting out the fire with him bum.. Made me giggle :)

Afterwards I went up to the magnificent 'Royal Crescent' for a lie down. One apartment in the row of 30 goes for around 3 million pounds (that is equivalent to a f*&% load in Aus$).

The crescent was buzzing with people of all ages playing Frisbee, sun bathing, running and random couples making out. I conveniently found a place behind a group of particularly cute guys, tops off, playing rugby, and next to a group practising fire twirling and jumping on weird but awesome suspension stilts.

Awesome suspension boots

It really made me miss home and my fire poi's. I also fell asleep and woke up to find I was in the centre of a Frisbee game. Proof that sun actually reached my skin!!

After my sun session I went on the 'Bizzare Bath' comedy walk. 90 minutes of hilarity, with everything from the chance to win 300 pound to the suicide attempt of a white bunny called Stu. It was truly a perfectly executed lunatic stroll through tthe streets of Bath. It was like taking part in a brilliant session of street theatre. A lovely pair of traffic cones! Happy place...

I knew the weather was going to turn sour on the last day so I saved all the indoor attractions for last. First up was the Paxton and Whitfield cheese shop (anything cheese related is a tourist attraction in my books). It's not very good in comparison to their London store and the staff were not very helpful which is a shame. Then again, I am bound to be a bit critical! A traditional cheese press

Next up was the Roman Baths. I got in early hoping to miss the crowds but was unsuccessful - people everywhere!!! The whole experience at the Baths is great. Again the Audio guides are great, albeit a bit boring, but very informative all the same. There is, however, the option of listening to Bill Brysons view on the Baths which is very interesting , and a bit of fun. I'm reading one of his books at the moment so that made it even more interesting.

Taking a sip of the Bath water.. not delicious!

The basic story of the baths is this : Built in 65-75 AD the hot springs flow 1,70,000 litres per day at temperatures of 46-95 degrees Celsius. Back in the day they believed the water had healing powers and people would come from far and wide to bathe in the thermal water. It also meant the city became a rich city, a place one had to be seen. But as the world turns and we moved through the ages the Baths were re built, built over, destroyed and built again. The museum hosts and displays heaps of interesting artifacts and stories. I particularly liked the concept of an "augurer". A man who sacrifices animals to the goddess Minerva and then splits the organs to predict the future. I think I'll take a horoscope thanks!!

So after the baths it was off to the abbey. I was on a mission to find the long lost relative of a friend of mine, 45 minutes and a crook neck later I found him. Apparently he is one of only 300 people that are buried beneath the abbey...

After the abbey I went to find the world famous Bath cheese shop, 'The Fine Cheese Co.' I was fortunate enough to meet the owner, a vibrant passionate woman with a knowledge and love for cheese that could be rivaled by very few. We had a great chat (we even know some people in common back in Australia!) and I sampled some of the local cheeses Bath has to offer. It was TASTY!

So with the cheese shop done I was pretty much finished with Bath. I had time for a bit of a shop (hehe), another nap in the Queens park, and a quick mosie through the Assembly Rooms (18th Century ball rooms.. not overly exciting to be honest..) before jumping on the bus back to London town. Back to Reality...

After the leisurely 3hr trip I was already missing the country side and saddened to be back in the hustle and bustle that is the tube. But that is life, and we have to work to earn money to play and have holidays bla bla bla! I have to travelling itch back and the only cure is to plan more trips.. Look out England!!

Sunset over somerset

A casual stroll through Notting Hill: Where for art thou Hugh??

Just one of the fantastic boutiques in Notting Hill (covered in a million yellow bows..)

Man owns a book shop. A book shop that doesn't get alot of business. Man lives with a lanky Welsh guy who has no boundaries. Woman needs a book. Woman likes man who sells her the book. Man and woman start a kind of fling. Problem being that Woman is ridiculously famous. Mans dopey friend makes matters worse. Woman and man have issues. Woman and man split up. Man realises he must get woman back. Woman realises she must get man back. Man and Woman get it together. And they live happily ever after..

Spring time in London

Story sound familiar? Thats it, you got it, the film Notting Hill. To those of you who are yet to experience this feel good movie, go out right now and get it...Ah such a great movie, made back in the days when people still remembered Julia Roberts for her 'Pretty Woman' slutty come Lady days, and before Hugh Grant made it a habit to get caught shagging 'pretty women' in the back of cars.. Gotta love him all the same!


Reads - 'Coke Dealers and Whores use side door' Couldn't put it better myself

So, film in mind and Hugh Grant picture in hand, I went on a search for the man himself through the streets of Notting Hill. It was yet another beautiful spring day in London.. Perfect for a stroll.

Just some of the Retro shops I couldn't tear myself away from

The aptly name Alice shop.. Full of trendy and bizzare nic nacs



The antique shops are full of all my favourite things.. Quirky knic knacs, funky random pieces of furniture and crazy old biddys fossicking through it like treasure, searching for the perfect bargain to compliment the FABULOUS dresser or carved chair they bought last week.. mmm

Best way to serve food ever!>

Pastel coloured houses! Ah the pretty hill

One things I noticed was that Notting Hill has its own accent. Definately a different twang to the normal London british drawl.. more backdoor meets football field..


A bit of bold colours thrown in with the pastel on the Antiques section of Portobello road

A shop with every license plate and sign known to man.. Frikkin Fabulous!

So after a few near sightings and alot of near misses (with all the old biddies on their bikes roaring down the street) my mission was a FAIL. No Hugh

But La Cave is opening a shop there so maybe, just maybe, I will get more chances to spot him in the future... One can only dream right!

Over and out xx

Cupcakes with Queenie, curry at Brick lane and all that is CHEEEEESE...

Time for catch up numero two :)

So it turns out this whole moving to London business has been pretty cruisy. I must admit having the fabulous Fiona just around the corner has been an absolute life saver! Being able to pop around there whenever I want or need to, have a cuppa and watch a silly girly movie. Or have a tipple and than a go on the pole.. Its always fun one way or another and Fi, I thank you for that! She even gave me a mug, the bright orange and green one I used every time I was there :)

One of the things that has made it a little easier has been the random visits/catch ups from some special friends. First there was Chris, the crazy American that we met up in the High Tatras of Slovakia, who came over for a weekend. We got to catch up and decided to head out to Brick Lane for curry in a hurry. It was awesome fun, Fi came and my friends from work, and we had a smashing old time... The night ended in Fi and I drunkenly stumbling home and having a sudden craving for Salmon Bagels.. Which we evidently fulfilled.. Suddenly seems that Salmon bagels are the new late night doner kebab.. MMMmmMM

Chris, Cath, Radek, Yours truly, Fi and Spencer waiting for our curry that was not in a hurry

Then there was the fabulous visit from Miss Katie Cunningham! It was so exciting to see her, it was the first time we'd clapped eyes on each other (other than through skype) in two years! We had a lovely day pottering around the Borough markets, eating and chatting.. And plotting our trip to Greece, yep thats right, we are off to Greece for two weeks in the summer! NOICE!!

Lachie and I at work eating cheeeeeeeeeeeese

And last, but most certainly not least, there was the man of the hour, Mr Lachlan Buchanan. He was in town to attend the screening of his film 'Newcastle' (or if you live in Japan 'BLUE BLUE BLUE hehehe) so we had to live up to our tradition and paint the town red. Last time we saw each other it was in Frankfurt when we had a little getaway last year, frolicking in the woods and drinking German cocktails. We had great fun (and it gave me a great excuse to score a weekend off work), running towards each other by the marble arch!! The weather was lovely as we did the tourist trip around town. We stopped by Buckingham palace to see Queenie, she was temporarily unavailable for tea and cupcakes but we are pretty confident she'll pencil us in for next time. I bought us some creepy red noses (they go all out for red nose day here..) so we had some fun posing in them.. I say they brought out our eyes... hehe


Unfortunately Lachlan caught the 24 hour bug that was going around London at the time and was too sick to even attend the screening that night.. The film is fantastic though and even though he wasn't there we still really enjoyed it! The rest of the weekend was spent fart arsing around, eating cheese and recuperating from the vomiting (I got the bug the next day...). It was bloody awesome to see him again and I miss him already.. Finger and toes crossed he'll be back here soon!
Lachlan modelling his parting gift to me, a daffodil picked from some old biddys garden..

Once Lachlan left reality hit me. That I have moved to a big scary city, a city I never wanted to move to, and that I won't be seeing my loved ones for a long time.. With no visitors on the horizon I hit a 'low point' for a week or two.. But then I snapped the hell out of it, called and emailed a billion people that Ive been too slack to contact, (even my parents hadn't heard from me in almost 6weeks!!!) and looked on the bright side..

Radek, Amanda and I after a cheese function at work

I have looked into taking some trips around the UK, I'm think maybe Cardiff or Bath for the Easter weekend. And I've booked a trip back to Grannys in June which will be nice! I also found out that a friend from home has just moved here and look forward to catching up with him this weekend, always a good time to be had!

So that is OFFICIALLY it for me... You are now up to date and any posts from here on in will be crazy (or insightive, depends which way you look at it) Angie ramblings. Thanks for tuning in!!!