Wait, I can see it now…you’re thinking "Holy hell! Leigh actually wrote on her blog! Stranger things have happened!" Well yes, and you’re right. Stranger things do happen!
I finally decided today, of all days, that because the sun is shining strongly at 28 degrees…oh yeah, you heard right: 28 DRIPPING-SWEAT DEGREEES!....that I must write a blog. So seeing as the sun has made the effort, I should too.
So I left you in March, a cold, dreary month of the year.
Since then I’ve been really living it up and having fun :) No home sickness for me! Too many amazing things to do.
Well the evening out with the girls in March, proved to be very posh and full of fun! Firstly, walking around the prominent, upper class streets of Sloane Square, we happened to walk straight past Liam Neeson – as one does; we enjoyed a fantastic assortment of delights: champagne, whisky, mini sandwiches, scones, jam and cream, English tea, all with a roaring fire place to keep us toasty. The evening ended with typical drunkenness…so can’t go into detail there (memory cells depleted).
Cass, Dave & I finally went and watched the most funniest musical ever: Spamalot! I had been looking forward to this for quite some time, and it was well worth it. I think people sitting around me might have been slightly annoyed that I knew basically every line in the show… Oooh and the Italian restaurant we went to for dinner was fantastic! The waiters all spoke Italian and were very courteous ;)
Easter Long Weekend saw Cass, Spides and I hire a car where we drove all through the gorgeous, chilly English side on our way to York. I cannot give justice to my love of York and this area through words – it is a place that must be seen to believed! I absolutely revelled in the delight of having a car to a) drive (anyone who knows me knows this!) and b) not having to rely on public transport! York is an amazing, medieval city, that still has a truly old English feel to it. The long and deep history of the place and the surrounding countryside tugged on every heart string within me. I truly fell in love with the place – and more than likely the very heavy snowfall also helped! We woke up Sunday morning to find everything covered in a thick blanket of snow. We ventured to a nearby field and built snowmen, later driving through the Yorkshire Moors during numerous light snowfalls. It was definitely something out of a Disney Christmas movie. (There is a longer version of a blog I wrote on York, that will be completed one day…).
On the Monday we explored some gorgeous areas of The Cotswolds, driving down little country lanes and eating lunch at a scrummy English pub. Ended our Easter adventure with a very proper and traditional afternoon tea and scones :) The only downside: I did not want to return the car. It has suddenly opened up a whole new perspective on weekends in the UK.
There’s been arrivals and farewells: our good Kiwi friend Harriet headed back to the Southern Hemisphere, sensibly moving to Sydney and moving in with Emma G.
Shannon arrived back from the Sunshine Coast, so weekends have been lots of fun :)
One of my goals was to get back into Netball. Luckily a close friend has a team which I was able to join. Am really enjoying catching up with new friends every Wed night and getting back into the swing of things. Only issue is, my knee, I had operated on back in 2003, has been giving me grief again. So we’ll see how next season pans out.
However, the three most major things that have happened these past few months are that I started a new job teaching Yr5 at a school 10mins walk from home, spent a girls weekend in the stunning capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, AND that I travelled around Egypt for 2 weeks! These have definitely been highlights of my overseas experience so far. When I say "highlights" I do refer to the phrase "experiences I will never forget…"
Egypt was amazing. (Separate blogs to follow). Short and quick: Visit Dahab. It is, and will always be, one of the most beautiful and amazing places I have ever been. I went scuba diving, and saw fish the colours of the rainbow. I climbed the sacred Mt Sinai from midnight to 3am, camping out under the stars to see the sunrise. I sailed down (up!) the Nile on a traditional Felucca boat (that’s right: no toilets on board!). I visited Tutankhamun’s tomb after being drawn to the mystery of it when I was 12yrs old. And at the end of it all, had an amazing time :) – even got a tan!
And teaching…well lets say, I am prepared for anything when I return to Oz! I came for a challenge, and I have been challenged beyond anything I imagined. It’s been a very stressful and sleepless month and a half of late (I have back-aches that an 80yr old could relate to!), but the end is in sight…and I can’t wait! I would have been teaching for 6 months at the end of July, and that’s it for me – for awhile at least! I am now one of the most successful children’s negotiators around. Any lesson/idea I think of teaching, has been scrutinised from every single angle so all goes smoothly – regardless, this rarely happens!
On a long weekend in May, my amazing group of friends and I flew to Copenhagen to have a break and celebrate Shannon’s birthday. Drinking started early: in the waiting lounge at Heathrow airport, and basically ended not long before we departed our hotel for our flight back to London. It was an amazing weekend! So much laughing and exploring gorgeous Copenhagen in the sunshine :) I seriously could live there. It is such a clean and efficiently run city. Didn’t see Princess Mary, but I’m sure she sends her regards ;) We also caught a fast train over the strait to Sweden! and spent a lovely day lapping up the sunshine and drinking pear cider in Malmo. However, on our last day we found one of the biggest shopping centres ever and couldn’t stop grinning – luckily it was the day where it pissed down with rain and didn’t stop!
Saw Pete Murray a few weeks back which was a great night out.
Had lunch with Queen Lizzie for her birthday celebrations – well okay, she was standing on Buck Palace’s balcony as I was eating a half-inch from Subway…
Got all dolled up for Royal Ascot a couple of weekends ago, and had an amazing day (despite the shit weather!). Can’t wait to do this next year – didn’t win anything, but did see my old mate Queen Liz again! She and me are like this: XOXO!
And last, but not least, spent a very warm and sunny afternoon at Wimbledon – saw Chris Guccioni get slaughtered. Then on Sat just passed got up at some ungodly hour and lined up from 6.45am till about 10am in the long and windy queue to see a full day’s worth of Wimbledon! Sat in the sun drinking Pimms and red wine ALL day! In the afternoon bought a £5 resale ticket and got a seat in Court 1 and watched a doubles match where Alicia Molik and Renee Stubbs were against one another. Was very dehydrated on Sunday, but was well worth it! Can’t complain about going to Wimbledon twice in one week – who’s jealous? ;)
In between all of this, and with the weather warming up, there’s been many a night of scrummy dinners out, drinking at numerous local waterholes, sitting in parks enjoying wine and food, lots of time spent with friends laughing and on occasion, getting up to mischief, and generally just smiling when the sun comes out and makes everything all the more brighter.
Once teaching is over, I will be much more on top of this blog. I will finally get through the 665 photos from Egypt and upload them – including Copenhagen. I do hope you are all well and happy. I hope those in the South are keeping warm :) Stay safe. One piece of advice: get your butt’s over here and come visit!
All my love XXX
Afternoon Tea in Sloane Square
Thoughtless!