What a month it has been!

I've been working practically 24/7 for the past 6 weeks or so, which is why things have been pretty quiet around here. Now I've got to catch you up on all the goings on, so I recommend getting a cuppa and getting comfortable - this could be a long one!

Top of the billings is three cheers for Phil and Duncan for completing their first half marathon together. The guys did a 10km last year and decided that 2010 was the year to step things up and go for the half marathon, so last Sunday Leanne, her parents and I lined up on the roadside in Fleet and cheered as our intrepid lads pounded the pavements for 13 miles.

It was a glorious spring day and a wonderful change to be out in the fresh air after such long hours in the office lately.

Our champions finished in a very respectable 2 hours 14 mins (ish) - but Leanne and I, being non-runners, were just super impressed that they finished at all!

We've put in a request for the next race to be somewhere exciting - the words "New York marathon" were bandied around, although we'd even settle for a 10km in Italy around Christmas market season.

The second bit of excitement for this month was my London theatre debut! I joined a community choir called the Bishopsgate Singers at the start of the year. It's something I've wanted to do for a while, but I was the kid in school choir who was told "just mouth the words dear", so it took me a while to get up the courage to sign up. I've since discovered that lots of people feel the same way but everyone LOVES it when they do finally go along, so more power to "JUST DO IT" as Nike says!

Last Saturday night the choir performed at the New Players Theatre in central London at a charity fundraising event called the City of Joy Gala. It was all about raising money for women in the Congo who have suffered violence. We sang a collection of African songs accompanied in part by a fantastic Congolese band. A great night was had by all and I can't wait for the next performance which is to be a flash mob style event at the National Portrait Gallery next to Leicester Square in May.

Over the next month my free time will be split in two directions - house hunting and finishing my jigsaw so I don't have to relocate over 18000 pieces without breaking anything! Due to some slightly complicated circumstances our lease comes to an end at the beginning of May, so we are now urgently looking for another place to rent in Wimbledon. We've seen some nice apartments, but nothing that hits the spot just yet. If we don't find something soon, you should address letters to the Self Storage sheds in Wimbledon because that's where we'll be living!

I hope everyone is okay after the recent crazy weather in Australia. One weekend my parents are ringing up saying that they have nearly been engulfed in bush fires and the next my friends are telling me their houses and workplaces have been flooded. It seems so far removed from over here where the trees are just gently blossoming into spring and the daffodils are brightening the verges with their pretty yellow bonnets. For once I can urge you all to come and enjoy the English weather!

This jigsaw puzzle isn't going to do itself and we've got to view a flat at 11am, so I'd best get moving. Have a great week everyone :)

Too quick for you chicken!

I accidentally pressed publish on my last post before I added the text, so if you received an email or feed of random pictures of Phil without any explanation you might like to go direct to the source for the updated version:

http://www.backin2weeks.com/2010/02/wimbledon-5km-run.html

Note: The title for this post is one of our favourite lines from the TV series Red Dwarf.

Wimbledon 5km Run

What's the best thing to do early on a freezing February morning in Wimbledon?

Participate in a Wimbledon 5km race of course!

Yesterday Phil and his friend Duncan rocked up to the Wimbledon Common windmill so they could run 5km through icy mud puddles with 160 other crazies. Of course they wouldn't have made it without their avid supporters, myself and Leanne - who get extra brownie points for our dedication!

Sorry for the blurry photos - apparently I'm out of practice.

The lads modelling this years latest fashion - knee high mud stains!

See the little kid in the middle of this shot? He came in just behind our champions! Future Olympian?

Here's the results for anyone who's interested: Wimbledon Common Park Run No. 162

One of my New Year's resolutions was to get out of the office earlier and not just to go home and watch TV, so I've signed up for Sketch in the City - a six week drawing course. Each week is held at a different London art gallery or museum. It's really interesting because we're not only learning about art, but also the history of various areas of London.

Last week we took our pens and paper to the V&A Museum of Childhood. It's a strange space - the original building was split into three parts and sent to East, North and South London. Although they have hands-on activities for kids, it is really more for nostalgic trips down memory lane for adults since most of the toys are in glass cases.

Here were my two favourites - a dolls house I still have in storage at my parent's place, and a fabulous dragon puppet that I wanted to take home with me!

When I get some time, I'll post some pictures of my drawings. I think I should definitely stick to my day job, but it is super fun!

Snow!!

5.5 years in and I still feel like a kid when it snows :)

Third quarter glory!!

I've finally completed the third quarter of my jigsaw. It's 3 months
late, but slow and steady wins the race, right?! One more quarter to
go and I'll be able to post a photo of the jigsaw in all it's glory.
Although I had to stand in the corner to take this one, so I might
need a fish eye lens to get the full kaboose :)

Thanks to my parents and Phil who all contributed some time to this.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

I'd like to say it's been a hectic Christmas period which is why I've only just posted my Merry Christmas wishes. The truth is that Phil and I have been at home enjoying a complete holiday vege-out. It has been absolute bliss!

This is the first Christmas we've spent in London, so we bought a mini-tree and added some candy canes (which were a little oversized). As you can see in the picture - all the brown boxes are our part of saving the planet - no wasted wrapping paper!


For the big day, Phil cooked roast duck and veges (so good!!), and we finished it off with sticky toffee pudding and icecream. Not your traditional fayre, but a bit more to our tastes than turkey and Christmas cake. The only thing missing was our families, although we spent some time sharing our celebrations via Skype.


Despite snow the week before and after Christmas day, we didn't get a white Christmas, but I'm sure there will be more snowfall before the end of winter. I'm just hoping for a couple of magical snow days like last February!

I wish you all a happy, fun and safe 2010. Take care and have a...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

PAD Day 25 & 26 - Exquisite Exmoor & Lands End

Exquisite Exmoor

Lands End

Somewhere amongst the farewells, shipping Phil off to Vancouver for a month, the end of year Christmas parties and the festive frenzy, I missed posting my final entries for my Photo A Day project. So here are the final two entries. I didn't make it all the way to the end of the month - not for lack of inspiration, but because I left my camera battery in it's charger in the Rainbow Lodge in Plymouth!

We had a wonderful time in Cornwall and Devon. During our hearty breakfast in Porlock (our first stop for the week) we were joined by the most exuberant B&B dog we've ever met - a large black Labrador who would have knocked over the dining table with his excitement if it weren't made of such solid wood.

Leaving behind a little bacon treat for our new friend, we meandered through the Exmoor National Park taking the small back roads where the glorious trees in full colour brushed up against the sides of the car and occasionally opened out to display the vast open moorland. This was my second trip to this area in autumn and it now firmly ranks as my favourite English destination - particularly at that time of year when you have the area all to yourself except for sharing some local hospitality at the cosy pubs.

We followed the coastline all the way down to Penzance - alas no pirates to be found! We even checked the seas off Lands End, but the Captain and his parrot must have been hiding out in a cove of treasures out of sight. We did pick up some delicious Cornish ginger biscuits at the touristy shops there though - highly recommended!

Phil had to work the first half of the week, but was able to train down and join us on the Wednesday night in Plymouth. Despite the grumblings about train delays and overcrowding, the rail system in the UK is pretty amazing.

Our final couple of days were spent investigating the small towns and magnificent vistas of Dartmoor National Park. We did venture out to see the castle at Dartmouth, where we braved the car ferry crossing on a wet and windy afternoon - very exciting! However, the highlight of the whole trip was a visit to the Buckfastleigh Butterfly and Otter Sancturary. Mum was really keen to see otters, but we were travelling just outside the tourist season, so we were lucky to find this one place still open. Phil and I had visited before, so it was great to say hello to some old friends.

It wasn't long before we were back in London and it was time to say goodbye. Phil left on the Sunday for a month's work in Vancouver. Then I waved farewell to my parents on the Monday morning as they set off for the long journey back to Oz. We had a wonderful time together and we've already started planning the next adventure.