This is not to be taken seriously in any way whatsoever…

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Due to the recent increase in fox attacks in the Greater London area, local residents have been calling for immediate action to be taken. Over the last week the London Mayor’s Office had been in discussion with various groups and interested parties and hit on a solution that satisfied all involved.

Yesterday London residents were greeted with the haunting sounds that fitted in more with a period country film than with the everyday sounds of a modern 20^th century city. Unused to this sound, residents peered out of buildings and car windows and were greeted by the spectacular, if not a bit peculiar sight of, men on horseback dressed in their traditional red hunting uniforms; their pack of foxhounds already on the trail. The hunters played havoc with city transport systems as they galloped across street intersections and down roads after those pesky little foxes. All over London, people were likely to see horses trailing far behind a pack of howling foxhounds, blowing their horns, riding up and down roads and alleys, leaping over vehicles, and flying across Hyde Park.

Radio stations across London quickly broadcast the well known music of the Fox Hunt and commuters stuck in cars, trains and street facing shops where entertained both visually and audibly. Those car enthusiasts with loud stereo speaker systems installed in their cars played the music for those pedestrians unfortunate enough to be caught unawares.

One set of hunters even managed to get into King’s Cross St Pancreas Station, and other Tube stations after the hounds jumped the ticket barriers. Platforms where quickly cleared as startled commuters were forced to find safety in the carriages while the hunters rode down the platform and into the tunnels; Trains were halted briefly to ensure no injuries to the hunters and commuters.

Some disgruntled rail commuters complained to TFL yesterday evening and this morning that the hunters travelled faster on horseback than the trains with fewer unnecessary delays.

The RSPCA released a statement early yesterday stating that while they did not condone any cruelty to animals, the increase in wild foxes in the City attacking young children was of greater concern. They said that this was a once off stopgap measure to get the situation under control and was restricted to the Greater London Area. Hunters in other areas of the UK were reminded that the Hunt was still banned.

Radio presenters urged motorists to be careful of hitting any stray foxhounds and horses crossing their path unexpectedly but were encouraged to hit the foxes on a 10 point per fox basis. London Traffic Police reported a high incidence of smashed car windows and dented bodywork. A spokesmen for the department said it was more likely from startled horses rearing at the cars than drivers taking matters into their own hands.

The Queen is said to have enjoyed the spectacle of a group of hunters, joined by a unit of Horse Gaurds, majestically riding after a pair of foxes down The Mall and past Buckingham Palace. The Palace Guard is said to have prevented any foxes from seeking sanctuary in the Palace grounds, with Metro Police likewise employed at other locations such as St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey and Cathedral. One fox did manage to make it onto the London Eye. The hunters waiting patiently below took the oppurtunity for much needed refreshment and the hunt continued half an hour later once the fox had had a glimpse of the London skyline. The Houses of Parliament where left uncharacteristically unguarded and politicians and MP’s were ambushed by numerous terrified foxes. The Huntsmen refused to enter and left it up to those inside to clean up the mess.

Hunting Societies and residents around the country called for other cities to consider taking such action to curb their fox problem, while praising this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and calling on the City to make it an annual affair.

At the end of the day, reported sightings of foxes had dropped to the lowest number since records began.

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Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did thinking it up and writing it down!

***

 So I last updated just before I travelled to South Africa for 3 weeks. It was great, all I could have wished for. I even got my highveld thunderstorm that I had craved for months that first day I was there, a few days later there was another that was an awesome and spectacular show of lightening and eardrum-ripping cracks of thunder! That first weekend we, after a little bit of hassle from the guards and caretaker of the complex, had a lovely braai…on our small balcony.  There weren’t that many of us so it was just perfect. Chatted and caught up, laughed and made fun of each other…it was like I never left!

 That week, suzi started Varsity again so I had the mornings mostly to myself – which I preferred spending catching up on unneeded sleep. Sleeping late had sort of become a rarity for me so this was bliss! I know I didn’t travel all that way just to sleep, but the only way to enjoy yourself on holiday is to be true to oneself! Don’t worry, those that are, I did other things as well. We went bowling one evening, were I was slaughtered! I’m terrible, it’s like I have my direction finder tuned to ditch. We went to restaurants, bars, movies another, rented movies another, went into Wits one day to sort out Suzi’s unpaid parking fines that were in my name from a year I wasn’t at wits! It was nothing spectacular, but I didn’t want spectacular I wanted friends and family…which is what I got.

 The long weekend before Easter I travelled down to Natal with Kelly. The main feature on our itinerary, ok to be honest the only feature on our itinerary, was to drive up Sani Pass.  After one night at her place we drove to the bottom of the Drakensburg in the evening; we took the back way along a dirt road rather along the highway so it would have been amazing, and what little I saw was staggering, but night comes fast and we travelled mostly in the dark. We stayed at an awesome little backpackers, that I might just stop at again if I’m ever in the area. The next morning I’d like to say dawned bright and clear but to be honest, it looked like it was going to be rainy and dreary. Thankfully my assessment was wrong, or maybe it did stay that way and we just drove through it…I think that might be it.

 We were travelling with Kelly’s parents, not for safety, or economic reasons just because they wanted to come along…and they had the 4X4 (Div lock, whatever). We got to the bottom of Sani Pass and had to go through Passport Control. I got 4 stamps in my passport from this trip alone, whohoo! It was still drizzly and overcast but we were having fun, it’s not every day you get to do this. Well maybe if you a taxi driver…but we aren’t! We set off and at first it was fairly easy going, then the div lock came in handy!

 The views were amazing, even with the cloud and rain. It actually gave it a bit of magic. I’ve always loved the drakensburg, thanks to the parents for dragging me and the rest of the family not to unwillingly through them when we were younger. I kept an eye out for lost water bottles and cups but sadly I couldn’t see down to the valley bottom so couldn’t see much in that regards. Next time, we will find that damn cup! Once we got to the top we had to go through another border crossing. It seems the actual pass is no man’s land and it’s actually a surprise that the road was in such a good condition if you think about it.

 Once through the Lesotho border we went to the highest pub in southern Africa. It was freezing up there and the wind didn’t help, so after a brief stint of standing in shorts and thick jackets being blown away by the freezing wind we hurried to go huddle inside and look at the view through the large windows. Ahhhhhh, nice and warm and a friendly atmosphere to boot. Do you know that some people actually walk up the pass? We passed a couple of youngsters on the way up and offered a lift (mainly because we wanted some weight on the back of the truck) but they declined. They arrived just before we left. We could have driven straight back down but it had only taken us 2 and half hours to get to the top so the decision was made to drive through Lesotho. I’ve never been happier to agree!

 It’s an amazingly beautiful country and there is a staggering amount of water flowing. I have tons of photos of all the towering black cliffs, quick running streams, white waterfalls and flat lands. I decided the rivers were schizophrenic because they couldn’t decide which way they were flowing. We would be following a river and round a corner and suddenly what we thought was the same river was flowing in another direction. We drove through the black hills and then into farmland. Well they call it farmland, it’s more like fields clinging for dear life to the sides of a steep mountain side, even the cows were all up the mountain where you never thought to see fat stupid cows.

 Once though the first bit of farmland we then drove through an apparently empty landscape. If anyone is ever looking for a new film location for an epic landscape, I’ve got the perfect place for you – move over New Zealand. Stony, low flat rounded hills, with hardly a vertical dimension to be seen. We hardly saw anyone for hours besides the odd car – and I mean about maybe 1 every half hour?! The amount of water flowing over the ground was staggering, it’s no wonder South Africa has an agreement to use their water, albeit one-sided. The landscape was starting to get a bit confusing so we offered a local a lift and good thing too or we would have missed the turning we needed. It’s also lucky for the local, because we didn’t see another car for ages! I guess African time has a whole new definition in Lesotho. We snacked on hot cross buns while we drove.

 As we drove along the flat empty mountain top the sun at last showed herself and we got back into farmland with the sun shining making the landscape friendlier and more inviting. It also helped that it was a more built up area. Lol, meaning there was more than one hut in a square km. The rivers that used to run quick and clear were now a muddy force to be reckoned with. Most of Lesotho is over farmed and therefore you could say that most of Lesotho is in their rivers. We dropped off the local man and drove through the two border posts at the Clarans River/Sproot. I’m pretty sure I’ve been through that border crossing before, it looked awfully familiar.

 We headed for Clarence for a late lunch/early supper.  A real Afrikaans region, what with being in the Transvaal, we listened to a man play Afrikaans trefers on the piano while eating. He wasn’t a bad player either and in the end he was playing a ‘noot vir noot’ sort of game. It’s amazing what you pick up while growing up without even realising it.

 To get back to natal and the pretty river which Kelly lives next along, we had to drive through the Golden Gate National Park. It was late afternoon when the air gets that golden glow about it from the setting sun. It was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. The setting sun, the reddish rocks softly sculpted over time reflecting the golden light and the green fields made for the picture perfect landscape. I thought it was amazing, stunning, awe-inspiring, and completely understandable why people have settled there, I’ll definitely visit the area again. After 12 hours in the car (except for a break for lunch/supper) we eventually made it home. I just want to thank Kelly’s dad for driving all that way! We offered, well again I have to be honest, Kelly and her mom offered, to take over from him but he was more than happy to do it himself– it’s not often he gets to drive that truck!

 And that’s pretty much my holiday summed up. 2 short paragraphs encompassing 3 weeks and the rest all about 1 weekend, 1 day actually! Lol, I enjoyed every minute of every day of those three weeks. All right there was that time where suzi gave me her nasty cold within 5 minutes of seeing me, she offered me the last of her contaminated bottle of water, that wasn’t that great! But that is what sisters are there for, to make your life …different!

 Next time, we delve into the mysterious world of Jo to find out just WHAT she has been up too these last few weeks?

 Toodles

A collection of happenings…

It’s that time again, almost a month to the day since I last put pen to paper or in this case fingers to the keyboard. I have as usual procrastinated and missed many opportunities to write, and therefore there are numerous small incidents that were noted for future posts at the time but now I can’t recall. I reckon this is a good screening process, now you only get the more memorable moments. Such as sleepwalking encounters of a truly strange kind and inquisitive heart-attack-giving squirrels.

The last time I wrote I was still at the youth hostel, I was reminded by a friendly dutch girl just after I posted the lost blog that I had slept walked the night before. Apparently I went over to her bed and just stood over her and then after awhile I moved on to another bed. There I attempted to, I can only describe it as try and tuck her in. I was convinced my client from the week before was in the room and I need to turn and cover him. When she woke she looked up at me with wide eyes and just stared at me for awhile before asking me what I was doing. All I could say was “I’m sorry, so sorry…” and try and figure out what on earth I had been doing! We had a good laugh over it, the Dutch girl and I. I hoped it wouldn’t happen again that night…it did, but this time I stopped myself almost immediately, I don’t even think she woke up this time, or if she did I was already backing off and sitting on my bed. I sat there confused, and disorientated, convinced that my client was in the room. I almost went to another bed before I finally realised it wasn’t possible, it wasn’t real and to just go to bed. I can quite easily say that conscious sleepwalking is the one of the most disorientating, confusing, scary things to happen to me.

I have no idea how long after this the next incident happened, but it definitely happened before Christmas! I’m thinking September period.

I was at a new client for a week in Leicester…it has two cathedrals! Small city and two cathedrals…right next door to each other! It’s a university town, my client was at uni but thankfully the year hadn’t started yet so I didn’t have too much work to do…and I had a sky box in my room so I was really happy! One night I was sleeping like a baby when I was awoken by a starching noise by the window. It sounded like a tree branch on the window glass yet there weren’t any trees nearby so I was a tad confused…the sleep didn’t help so I went to investigate. I opened the curtain and in flew a squirrel from the open top window! At least I think it was a squirrel…luckily my door was closed cos otherwise I would have had to chase it all round the house but instead I was limited to running around in increasingly small circles in my room while I chased the damn horror back out the window. Stupid rodent:) Needless to say, I slept with the window closed from then on.

Oh, you’ll be so proud- I said no to more work and cancelled already confirmed weeks with run-me-ragged! After a second week with him I realised I was crazy..crazy for saying yes to going back:)

The night before Christmas…I was with a client’s family for the Christmas period and heavy snowfall, thankfully no travelling when all the roads were blocked…

Having yet again allowed myself to fall behind in writing I am haunted by stalking Santa’s and clowns with megaphones and so I finally put pen to paper or in this case fingers to the keyboard.

It’s the night before Christmas and all through the land, little golden islands of light shine through the cold snow covered darkness. While mist rolls over the hills and settles in the valleys, these golden islands radiate warmth and the barrier between light and dark, warmth and cold, family and stranger start to melt and blur. Thinking of all the people I’d rather be spending this time with, sitting in deep comfy chairs in front of a softly blazing fire tucked up underneath a thick old blanket talking and laughing about the past, starts a small stream of memories and before I know it the stream has become a flood and I’m lost in the past.
…
Getting back to reality is not hard but I am reluctant; happiness is back there, sadness too but mostly happiness – well I’m concentrating on the happy warm thoughts such as family roadtrips to the Drakensburg to hike and cape to visit family, swimming, friends & family, climbing, the thousand different colours of the desert , my first snowfall, snow covered countryside. Friends and family dominate.

- - - 2010 - - -

I have finally had enough of caring, not cos it’s hard or anything just because I’m just so darn bored. What little learning curve there was has long since been reached, I’ve had my fill of watching tv all day!!! Hold on, did I just say that??? I must be crazier than I thought, let’s just say that weeks on weeks of watching tv all day gets to you! That’s also one of the reasons I’ve not updated for so long, just haven’t had the energy and will etc.

So as of 2 weeks ago I am officially finished caring and have been…doing nothing much! Typical! Granted I did have to sort my passport out. Oh, have I not mentioned that? I sent my passport through the post to apply for an UK provisional driver’s licence. Apparently it’s quite safe to do that sort of thing here. Yes, it got misplaced!

That was in August. It has taken this long to get everything sorted. Do you know it takes 2 months for DVLA and Royal Mail to check there systems for a lost passport? Do you know that it takes 8 or more weeks to get a new SA passport in London? That it takes roughly 6 weeks to get an appointment to transfer your old visa conditions into your new passport and then a further week for it to be delivered once it’s been approved? That might not sound too bad when you add it up and you must be thinking I’ve been lazy again and that’s why it took so long…but actually, I think I was pretty much on top of it, especially as I wasn’t always in the London area for weeks on end. I worked for 9 weeks straight over Christmas, might as well make the most of my situation and get the triple pay that was being offered – I would need it to pay for all this. Everything finally got sorted last week!

Granted this is not an all inclusive itinerary of what I’ve done in the last few months, just the more memorable. Knowing my mind, as soon as I post this something will come screaming to the front of mind yelling “what about me!!!”. This is just to give you a very rough idea of what I’ve been doing since September.

So yeah, the last week has been relaxed and sunny. I’ve been walking to Hyde Park nearly every day this week and just sitting in the sun. Detouring to the Natural History Museum and the V & A museum and being flabbergasted by some of the stuff they have collected. Walking through London is definitely better than catching the tube. You miss so much by …um, going underground:) It’s definitely worth the sore and tingling feet at the end of the day, and the sun on my face has hopefully removed any English pastiness I might have gained before I come to sunny, hot SA…can’t wait…less than 24 hours till I’m sitting under the blazing African sun wishing that I owned a pair of shorts:)

See most of you soon,
toodles:)

Just a little warning: this is a long post, so you might want to mentally prepare yourselves!

I got on well with the dude there, he reminded me of Dom…a big loud, affectionate Dom. Sorry Dom:) I’m going back to him in November. I then went back to Cambridge to my first client, well I consider him my first client cos my actual first client had a permanent carer and I was more of the paid help than a carer! I planned on going to the museum that I hadn’t managed on visiting the first time round but as you can guess, I was too lazy. No, I was too comfortable. I wouldn’t say I’m lazy, it makes me sound…looserish? Is that a word? I was only there for a week but I’ll probably be going back there when the dude has a vacancy. Especially since I helped with the fishing!

We went fishing twice while I was there. Once to a small lake fill of hungry ducks and mosquitoes, and again along the river Cam, near the mathematical bridge. The wooden bridge that looks funky, apparently when it was originally built and designed it could be held up without a single nail! I mostly sat and watched the dude and his friend fish while I listened to a combination of AC/DC and Cat Stevens on my iPod and stared at the willow across the river. I must say, willows are so beautiful and whimsical; they remind me of those heavy downpours that I miss so much. I helped unhook the fish when he did catch something, and apparently I impressed them both by not being squeamish about it. I even unhooked the pike when the dude’s friend didn’t want to…it has wicked sharp teeth. I didn’t know any better (and besides, the hook wasn’t anywhere near the teeth!).

The week after that I was off to a new client in Northampton, claim to fame in my Britain guidebook…was responsible for supplying shoes for most of the British Empire. It is definitely not as picturesque as Cambridge and Stafford, as it’s mostly warehouses…that I saw anyway. The dude there ran me ragged. I’d only get 5-6 hours disturbed sleep at night and then I was on my feet for the rest of it. Either cleaning, cooking, or helping with his weights. We got on well I think, I don’t know yet if he will want me back as I haven’t got feedback from cc yet. I don’t know if I want to go back…maybe if it’s for short stints only! Cos I was buggered at the end of the week…and I was sleeping through my breaks in the afternoon.

My feet and back were killing me by this time. My feet cos I badly needed new shoes, I threw out the one pair on my last day there so that I wouldn’t be tempted to carry on wearing them. I couldn’t throw out the other cos then I would have nothing else to wear on the train except sandals…and those aren’t shoes to wear when you carrying a backpack! My back cos, well, I don’t know why… a combination of my left ankle and bad posture maybe?! I could feel the muscles at the back of my shoulders and up my neck contracting. It felt like a thin line of ants crawling along my skin…annoying as hell and quite distracting as the whole week I was arching my back trying to relieve the pain. It’s all very well saying lift with the knees and don’t bend the back… I tried; it isn’t possible all the time. Especially as this dude has a low bed and didn’t like it lifted too high, so I had to bend over to get him into bed at night and out in the mornings!

For once I was proactive, I booked myself a massage in London for the day after I finished work. I had planned on being in Coventry for the following two weeks but the dude there had asked that he keep his other carer for the week as he was busy with meetings etc. Rather have someone who knows your routine and who you are familiar with than having the added stress of teaching someone knew and getting to know them as well! I totally understood, and will go there for the second week only with a 24 hour handover. This left me free to have my massage!!!

I planned on staying with my brother in Harefield again, and smsed him saying so, just checking it was still ok and that he hadn’t lent the bed to someone else etc… just being my usual polite self:) He phoned on the Tuesday night (the night before I finished work) to let me know that Ele, his girlfriend, hadn’t been feeling well and that the doctor had said she might possibly have had the swine…so he suggested I avoid the place like the plague!!! Imagine me arriving at a client…”hello there, my name’s Jo. I’m your new carer, oh…I might be carrying the swine!”… Lol, I organised to stay at one of the youth hostels in London while she was still contagious, and have actually thoroughly enjoyed it. Besides the excellent internet signal I get here (I get s*** all in Harefield) I’ve actually managed to do the touristy thing at last.

I arrived on Wednesday evening, my client in Northampton kindly let me stay on an extra hour or so after I was replaced so that I could organise my life, so kind of him…lol, he’s a good guy actually. So yeah, I arrived Wednesday evening, tired out of my head. I think I was in bed by 8 and asleep by 9pm… Granted the dorm (sleeps 10 in bunks) is rather noisy when ppl come in at all hours of the night, but it’s fine cos I’m used to waking up at all hours to turn a client and then fall back to asleep again. No-one actually talks to each other, unless they know them…so it’s not like there are ppl talking at all hours…just making noise getting ready for bed, opening lockers, unzipping zips, crashing into doors etc.

I had my massage on Thursday afternoon (after a lovely chat with Dom in the morning), I left 3 hours early so that I could find the place and then go shopping for some new shoes. I found the place easy enough, the lady said I was just a bit early, so I had to reassure her I wasn’t that eager!!! I was but you know what I mean… Lol, I then went looking for some good shoes. Do you know how hard it is to find a pair of good shoes that will handle day in day out wear? So hard, I couldn’t find any in the small suburb I was in, so I ended up lying in the park soaking up some sun while I watched some leaves get blown around in little twisters by the wind and the clouds race by in the sky. I could feel the sun on the back of my eyelids it was so strong, yet the wind was almost like a gale and I was glad for my jacket!

The dude who gave me my massage said my back was fine, nice healthy muscles…then he got onto my left leg…and 30 minutes later I think he was still on it! Lol, it was locked up tighter than Fort Knox! Still is actually, but I can definitely feel it’s a bit looser! My upper chest muscles were also tight, apparently from stress and breathing shallowly. So I have to practise breathing with the whole of my lungs rather than with just the bottom. I think I will go back when I’m off again…it’s just a bit expensive, but if I can bend over to move a client without first tensing up and bracing myself then I think it’s worth it!

So that was yesterday afternoon, last night I went off to Trafalgar square planning on watching the sun go down and then catch a movie. However the sun wasn’t playing along and it wasn’t as photogenic as I wanted it to be so I moved straight onto the movie without bothering to wait for the sun to go down. I ended up watching “Angel’s & Demon’s” the first Dan Brown book. Definitely not as good as the book, and not even as good as the first movie… I’d only give it 3 stars. While I waited for the movie to start (I had over a hour to kill), I went into a small second-hand bookshop off Leicester square and brought a fantasy book. Lol I couldn’t help myself. I still haven’t finished the last book I brought, War & Peace, but I needed something light and easy to read for awhile. I got back to the youth hostel after 11pm and paid back the others for disturbing me the night before… Lol, no. I was very quiet. I didn’t even bother unlocking my locker as my pj’s were out already!

I got the fright of my life this morning when I opened my locker, and realised that my lock …hadn’t been locked! I had left my laptop and everything in there the night before while I was out and it was all still there but I must have not locked the lock properly when I left for Trafalgar square! I’ll tell you, it won’t happen again! Anyway, when I did finally get out of bed, and on the move, i planned out plan for the day. I planned on hitting the outside of St. Paul’s Cathedral, along the millennium bridge, past the Tate Modern along the river, to the London eye, go on the London eye as it looked like a nice day out, go across Westminster bridge, past the buildings of parliament, along horse guards rd, along the mall to Buckingham palace, through Hyde Park finding the peter pan statue along the way, and then along oxford street where I finally aimed to find some good shoes and then back to the hostel. I knew I might be too optimistic cos I measured it at roughly 10 km…so I was prepared to cut out the Hyde Park bit…

I arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral and started taking some photo’s of the huge dome, where I saw that there where people walking along the edge of the dome… I wanted to be up there too, so paid for a ticket and then went inside the church. It is huge (and doesn’t allow photography inside), and beautiful. Intricate carvings from little rosettes that are all different from the other, to the decoration at the top of the pillars (I forget the correct term). The Cathedral, like most all churches, is designed like a huge cross, the longer end of the cross’s roof it fairly plain, with just a few gilt edgings. You then get the huge dome above you with the masterfully done paintings that make it look sculpted. On either side you get small naves (the two arms of the cross) and then you get the quire (as they call it), the musical brains of the church. The two naves and the quire are all gilded up to kingdom come. The mosaics depict saints, disciples, angels and other Christian (and pagan) symbols. The central area where the dome is built over could quite possibly fit the Voortrekker monument in it. If this is only England, I would love to see Rome and St. Peter’s. It was huge, I can’t imagine something bigger that would still stand…but I know it exists!

Since I wanted to get to the top, I had to go via the stairs…all 528 of them as the friendly guy who took my ticket ‘happily’ told me. You get three galleries, as they are called; the whispering gallery, the stone gallery and the golden gallery. The whispering gallery is the first, which you are quite happy to reach cos the infuriatingly low steps have made you quite tired and dizzy. This is above the gilded section of the church and just below the painted dome. If you whisper against the wall on one side, you can hear it on the other side of the dome 32 m away. The second gallery is reached via some narrower stone steps that while not as low as before are now not long enough for your feet as it twists so much. You have to hold onto the wall just to tell yourself you not falling you get so dizzy. The stone gallery is at the lower part of the dome, and is quite windy. I quickly moved onto the next gallery without bothering with picture taking cos the balustrades were in the way.

The golden gallery, which is at the top of the dome, is reached via some twisting metal stairs. You also have to go through a very, and I mean very narrow section of stairs which makes me glad I’m not a fat American, even a large American would of had trouble! I also had to watch my head. While the second gallery had been windy, the third was gale-like! It would come in gusts and whipped my hair in all directions…which ruined all my photo’s with me in it:) A friendly foreign lady (no idea what nationality, French maybe) offered to take a photo of me with the London eye and river Thames in the background after watching me take numerous failed attempts. I reciprocated. It seems like an unspoken rule of tourists to offer when you see the need, and then you get the same service in return. I walked around looking at the view, taking photos and just getting blown apart. It was lovely!

When I got down (by similarly narrow stairs) I went to explore the rest of the cathedral. They were even allowing people near the main altar. Not on it, but right up to the stairs that lead up to it, with the large marble canopy over it with twisted columns. I think it’s an imitation of St. Peters. As I stood in front of the main alter which is dedicated to those who died in the second World war I said a small pray for Michelle, a big pray felt a bit out of place. I then carried on to the basement or the Crypt. I saw the tomb of Lord Nelson, the same Nelson that has a column in Trafalgar Square, the same Nelson that is like a god to the British Empire. I didn’t realise till I was halfway through that the floor was covered in slaps of marble (I think) with writing on. And it took a second for me to realise that there were bones buried under them. I was walking over peoples remains. I felt disturbed by literally walking over peoples graves! Along the walls are plaques dedicated to the numerous different wars that British Servicemen have fought in. It’s quite a sad place the crypt. And then they go and put a restaurant and shop down there! When I saw that all I could think of was when Jesus threw the money counters out of the Temple over 2000 years ago. We haven’t come very far! For those of you who don’t know, I went to a catholic pre-school, so I grew up with Bible stories as nursery stories… which is why I seem to know the Bible well. I don’t, I was just brain-washed at an early age!

By this time, my calves were sore. The rest of day I could feel them tightening up, especially when I stood still on escalators. By the time I left the cathedral I didn’t feel like walking all the way to Buckingham palace let alone Hyde Park. I was even contemplating not going all the way to the buildings of parliament and the London eye. I decided to take one step at a time and just see how far I could go. I crossed the millennium bridge, the one that got destroyed in the most recent Harry Potter film, towards the Tate Modern. There I saw an advertisement for a Futurism exhibition. I didn’t plan on going into the Tate Modern, but I really wanted to investigate, cos it was my favourite art section at school. I had to pay to see it but I had just been paid for last week’s work so I was happy to. I saw some lovely art paintings, even a Picasso or two, none of the blue horses or the yellow cow jumping etc and the bronze sculptors just called out for me to touch (which I couldn’t).

I then walked along the river, a section called the Queen’s walk. Saw all the picturesque buildings across the river with a solid line of emerald green trees before them. Cleopatra’s Needle, an obelisk from Egypt, had scaffolding over it so I didn’t take any photo’s of it. And before I knew it I was in front of the buildings of parliament and the London eye. I didn’t go on the eye as besides the line being all the way to China, i had already seen a panaromic view of the city at St. Paul’s. I managed to take some photo’ of Big Ben as it was chiming the hour, so when you look at the photo’s (when i do finally upload them!) you can imagine the bells tolling loudly from across the river with the wind blowing in your ears, and a bit a bagpipe music floating to you from a lone musician on the bridge playing for penny’s…and getting accosted by tourists wanting photo’s taken with him. As I crossed the bridge I saw an underground station ahead of me and just cut out the section i had planned from Westminster to Buckingham palace to Oxford Street via Hyde Park. I caught the underground instead.

Oxford Street was its usual hectic self. I’ve never been there when it’s been empty. Which makes me want to leave, fast! I managed to find some shoes that I thought I would like, but they didn’t have stock or not in the women’s range or some reason or other, so I left without buying anything! They said come back in September/October… I was like it is September! And I need them now, not in a month’s time! Anyhoo, you don’t need to know how I managed to shop, you all know how it’s done! Hopefully! I suffered through it. I hate shoe shopping. I hate shopping! I finally found some shoes in John Lewis, they were actually the same brand that I had been looking at previously which made me happy if not poorer. But hey, invest now and reap the benefits later…at least that’s what I’m telling myself!

And that is how I ended up sitting in the hostel lounge, typing up the last few weeks of my life, in my new shoes. I have to go upstairs now, cos my laptop has like 28 minutes of battery life left. I’m off to Harefield tomorrow, my bro says Ele is not contagious anymore and then I leave on Tuesday for Coventry for a week. Then I’m off for a week and I’ll see Amy when she arrives, and then I’m back at the chipmunk dude’s for two week’s! I hope I have satiated any desires to know what I’ve been up to because it will probably be another month before I write again… I’m bad like that.

Toodles:)

P.S. I just got upstairs to plug my laptop in, to find I left my locker unlocked again! The lock on, just not locked! So much for that not happening again!!! Don’t worry mom, everything is still there! I checked…

So where were we? Oh yeah, I told you very quickly how Cambridge and Cheshunt were! Ok. I was originally booked for 2 weeks work in Cheshunt with a possibility of a third if we got on. I stayed for the third. The work was easy, the time off excellent and the two of us got on well, like a house on fire. I’ve been asked to go back, I just don’t know when yet. I think my contract will have to be renewed; 3 months’ work is almost up! Shite, is it really August already?!!

After Cheshunt, I went back to Harefield. I thought of going on a contiki tour of southern Ireland over my birthday but was told by my brother’s girlfriend that they had given up tickets for some motor GP thingy and that they ‘would’ be spending the day with me. I thought it sorta rude to then bugger off to southern Ireland…next time. I brought a laptop instead! An Acer Aspire 4810T. The important features I wanted were lightweight, DVD drive and lightweight! I also brought a internet mobile dongle thingy, and that is how I can chat to all you now!

While I was in Harefield I watched a couple movies at the cinema, got pissed off at some school kids who wouldn’t shut up during ‘transformers’ so I moved seats 5 minutes into the movie. I got pretty bored after awhile. I’m not used to doing nothing all day anymore…sad.

For my birthday, my brother and I went off to Chessington world of adventure, and rode rollercoaster’s all day. It was cool. I still didn’t understand the screaming part of it until a particularly nasty ride near the end…it was brilliant. Sadly I lost my sunglasses on the water ride, now I battle when there is sun glare; which there is a surprisingly large amount of the time. I guess all those clouds have to be good for something! There were also some animals at the park, which we had a quick peek at. I was amazed at how far the seals could swim with just one flip of their um, flippers. The tigers were cool too, but I felt wrong taking pictures of all the animals in their small cages. So I didn’t take a lot of pictures. I did manage to get a picture of a cute little meerkat though!

I’m now in Stafford, Staffordshire, a relatively small town, smaller than Cambridge bigger than Cheshunt. I’m getting on well with the dude here, and he’s already said I can come back! I get to spend most of my day surfing the net and watching movies. Lol, when I was travelling here I almost missed my train from Euston station, because of issues with the underground. And then when I did get here I had issues with the bus when I went into town the first time and ended up missing the stop, on the way back, and riding the bus for an hour! Oops:)

There are some lovely old buildings here which I’m waiting for a none-cloudy day to take pictures of, which might take awhile. Actually, I just looked out the window and I think today’s the day! The church is said to have been built on the remains of church that had been there since 1000 A.D. Now, that is old. Though I must say, it does look more like a fortress than a church from a distance!

I know this hasn’t been a particularly inspiring piece of writing, but I thought you would want to know what I had been up to! Especially since I think it’s been a month since my last post. Oops:) Anyhoo, I’m in Stafford for another week. Then I’m back in London for a week cos I’m going to a U2 concert on the 14th:) and then I’m back off to Cambridge for a week - to the same client as before. I will finally manage to get to the museum I wanted to go to but only found near the end of my stay there.

Toodles:)

The second is, why can’t shops and supermarkets etc. over here have rows and rows of fridges full of coke or other soft drinks? They only have ever seem to have one small fridge full of cold fruit juices available, which is nearly always empty. And when there is coke in the fridge it’s always, and I mean always WARM! What is a girl to during a ‘heat wave’? Drink something healthy?? phbtt! I eventually resorted to an ice cream van and made sure the drink would be cold enough that perspiration was dripping down it before I brought it! The women just laughed…

The third is, why is Barclays Online banking so stupid? I cashed a check last wednesday, it has since registered when I use an ATM but when I go to transfer the money into my savings account on Monday, it’s still not processed properly!!! WHY??!!!! I didn’t want to believe my brother when he said that Barclays was trouble but why does it have to prove me wrong????

anyway, I’ll leave you with those random thoughts of mine…

Toodles:)

I’ve been to Cambridge where I was captivated by the old and I mean OLD university buildings, wide avenues, narrow twisting streets and the meandering river Cam. I took so many photo’s that I forgot what I had already taken off and have surely got doubles if not triples of some buildings! I got lost trying to find one area only to find myself at Castle Mound and got a view of the entire city, if I hadn’t got lost I would never have gone there! Sadly it was overcast but still breathtaking.

I walked along the river Cam, watched the punts being steered by university students, offered to take a photo for two Chinese women and in return got my one and only photo with me in it (sorry Pest). I got lost again down the river Cam, but only cos I didn’t know what was in front of me not where I was! I walked along the tree lined Queens Lane and the Backs, where I got to see the back of the university buildings which are even more picturesque than the fronts!

The buildings are so detailed and on such a large scale you have to wonder how someone came up with them in the first place. They belong more in an epic fairytale than in our modern world of reflective skyscrapers and ugly concrete buildings (insert image of RAU buildings).

The work is relatively easy and I have plenty of standby time whereby I’m pretty much sitting watching tv or walking the dog, and a more loving dog you would be hard pressed to find! There is a big shop around the corner, which I actually think is a bad thing, cos I brought way too many sweets! I was only there for a week but I’m going back again in August. Maybe this time I will finally get to the museum that I wanted to go too! They have artefacts from Egypt, and all over… I have definitely got to go! You should have seen me when I saw the Rosetta stone in London 2 years ago!

While Cheshunt has none of the touristy stuff that Cambridge has, I like it more. Well work wise anyway. The chipmunk is little more than a white hamster looking thing with a long bushy tail. It runs around and around its cage all day and then sleeps the rest! It is weird when it crawls over you when you let it out…it’s like a very small Jack softly clawing up your leg.

While the UK was ‘sizzling’ in a heat wave like a typical summer’s day in Richards Bay, I always seemed to get my time off at the hottest time of the day and I would walk around in the heat and just want to sit down. I have to do the shopping in my time off, I don’t mind cos there isn’t much else to do…but couldn’t I do it in the morning!? Lol, I know I can’t but I need to ask someone even if it’s just cybernetic byte somewhere.

I finally managed to persuade my stupid clothes-shopping-averse mind that it was about time for another pair of lightweight trousers (pants are underwear over here). So I actually went clothes shopping AND managed to buy something. Aside from wanting to strangle the shop assistant who was mistakenly rude to me it was ok. But I still can’t see what every other girl I know goes on about when they go shopping! I am definitely wierd:)

I’m here for another week and a bit and then I’m off to the other side of London for a week. And then it’s my birthday! I can’t decide what to do for it? I don’t want to just stay in Harefield, not that I don’t love it there big bro… I just want to do something. Any suggestions? I’ll consider most things…

I was instructed by Kelly that she wanted lots and lots of photos of horses! I didn’t see any in Cambridge and not wanting to disappoint a friend I tried taking some pics of the few horses I saw on the train on my way to Cheshunt. Sadly all I got where blurs or empty green fields. I did manage to get one picture though…sadly only the fleeting glimpse of the back half of the horse’s ass is visible/discernable.

Toodles:)

Post Script: Photo’s to follow when i have my own computer…or back in Harefield!