Drinking Monkey Juice

Oh dear... I'm feeling so sleepy this morning - not helped by the fact that I thought it was Saturday when I woke up and was very disappointed to find that I still have another day to go before I can have a sleep in.

On the up side my sleepiness is due to a great night out last night! My team at work had a post work bash to celebrate completion of the design phase for our project. We started with fabulous dim sum at a local bar called the Drunken Monkey. Their signature non-alcoholic drink is the Monkey Juice - a delicious mix of guava, pineapple and orange juice making it sweet with a little zing.

Once we'd decided that we'd missed our trains, it was off to a popular Victorian pub called the Old Blue Last for a couple of drinks to finish off the night.

I'm really enjoying being back in a social team. Our next event is a football match against our clients - of course we'll have to let them win... although I think our lack of recent experience may mean we won't have much of a choice!

Anyway, time to work... bring on the weekend!

Highpitched Avenue Q impersonations

One of the "requirements" of staying with us in London is that visitors must go to see a show. Obviously that is just a poorly disguised excuse for us to go to the theatre more often, but luckily we haven't had any arguments from our guests yet!

Last Wednesday we took Ben & Rosie to see Avenue Q. This has to be THE funniest show in London. Think Sesame Street for grown ups... and when I say grown ups I mean it definitely is NOT a show for kids despite the fact that half the cast are puppets. Phil & I have seen it before and I'm sure we'll see it again when the next set of visitors arrive - it is that good. Phil has the soundtrack on his iPod and has been keeping me in stitches by quoting lines from the show in a highpitched puppet voice for the past week.

So for anyone coming to visit that "isn't really into theatre", never fear - it isn't all stuffy opera or long dramatic Shakespearian torment... I promise we'll take you to a show that will be one of the highlights of your trip!

Fluffy yellow chics for lunch

Phil and I have just had a fabulous weekend away in Devon (south west England) with Ben & Rosie - Phil's brother and his girlfriend.

Saturday - the "pink room"

We hired a car and got a free upgrade to a Chevrolet with plenty of space for the four of us and heated seats which came in very handy as it was COLD!


We set off in the early hours of Saturday morning (around 11am - a civilised time!), but due to some slight "navigational inconsistencies" it took us ages to get out of London. Once we made it to the motorway it was full steam ahead to Cheltenham where we had a pub lunch with Rob, a friend of Ben & Rosies, and his friends Caroline and Charmaine. Rob is a keen adventure sportsman into kite surfing and land boarding and anything else that promises thrills and spills. Unfortunately his latest spill aggrevated an old rugby injury and he is recuperating from microfracture surgery.

Then it was back on the motorway to the Dartmoor National Park...

After weaving our way through the hedgerows in the dark, we managed to get the last table at the pub in Mortenhampstead - it's a popular little village especially when the football is showing in the pub - where we enjoyed a delicious home-style meal of cottage pie and beef stew.

Not far away in the 18 house village of Doccombe we found our home for the night - a gorgeous B&B called Great Doccombe Farm. Phil and I slept in the "pink room" where everything was pink including the toilet paper and my pjs, while Rosie and Ben took the "yellow room". This place is well worth a visit even if it is just to peruse the quaint trinkets that perch on every available surface.

Sunday - Fluffy yellow chics for lunch

On Sunday morning, we were greeted with a beautifully laid breakfast table, bacon and eggs, and a free pen to commemorate our visit. Phil ventured out to warm up the car while I took photos of the thick frost crystals in the garden that shone in the early morning sunshine.

The moors were magnificent - great open grass covered spans of countryside with barely a tree in sight. A very welcome change from the crowded living of London. We stopped to take pictures of the sheep and ponies that freely roam the moors. They were ambivalent about people, although they quietly moved away if you got too close - the luxury of living with such a lot of space.

The main attraction of the day was a visit to an Otter Farm where we were lucky enough to arrive at feeding time. The farm houses a number of Asian and English otters and we oohed, ahhed and ughhhed with the kids as they were fed fish and whole fluffy yellow chics. Apparently the keepers come in some mornings and find that the wild otters from the river next door have made their way into the enclosures to visit their friends!

After spying the name on our map, we were keen to visit the Prickly Ball Farm and Hedgehog Hospital, but disappointed to find it was closed for the winter. Instead, we spent a lazy afternoon wandering through Dartmouth Castle then perked up for the quick trip across the harbour on the tiny car ferry.

Phil was enthusiastic about spending another night on the moors, so we detoured back to Princetown where we were welcomed into a recently opened B&B called The Oratory. They only had one room available, but it was a large split level affair with plenty of space for two couples, lovely decor including big warm doonas and even real coffee!

On the B&B owner's recommendation we had dinner at the nearby Plume of Feathers pub. Absolutely two thumbs up for this great little pub where dogs were more than welcome - along with the chips and bar snacks there were packs of dog treats and the menu included a section for doggie dinners! The whole area is owned by Prince Charles and they proudly display pictures of the Prince pulling beers behind the bar on his most recent visit to the pub.

Monday - Strange stone circles at sunset

No trip to England is complete without a trip to Bath and Stonehenge, so that was the plan for Monday. Phil and I took a tour of these sights a couple of years ago, so while Ben & Rosie did the audio tour of the Roman Baths after which Bath is named, we popped into the markets and admired the brilliant stained glass windows in the wonderful Bath Cathedral. I think we were suffering from "Too many cathedrals" syndrome when we last visited Bath and so we had skipped the cathedral then. I'm really pleased we had an opportunity to see it this time though because it is truly amazing.

A quick walk around Stonehenge before the site was shut for the evening was enough after a long weekend of sightseeing. Many people we've spoken to have said it is smaller and less impressive than they were expecting. I agree, but I did see a program where a team attempted to recreate the making of Stonehenge using the tools of the time. They didn't even manage to get the stones to the site from their original sources, let alone put it together. This has given me a much greater appreciation of this famous and mysterious site.

Ben & Rosie were kind enough to indulge me in one final stop before we returned to London. Despite being in the area a number of times, I hadn't had the chance to see the Avebury Stones. These are a set of stone circles ringing the town of Avebury. While Rosie sought out some hot chips to warm us up, Phil, Ben and I took photos of the strange stone circles against the setting sun.

We all had a great weekend - Ben & Rosie were pleased to have seen some of the English countryside and Phil & I enjoyed seeing the horizon for a while. We're gradually covering the various counties in southern England, so I think the next trip in the area will be down to Cornwall, Lands End and Penzance - home of the pirates!

I'll put some pics up when I get the chance...

Visitors from Oz

This week we have visitors from the magical land of Oz. Phil's brother Ben and his delightful girlfriend Rosie arrived in London on Wednesday night after a whirlwind couple of weeks touring Europe. It is great to have them stay as it has been a loooong time since we've had a chance to sit down and chat about what has been happening in our lives. It is fabulous to see their photos and hear all about their trip - although makes me ready to be on the road again!

On Wednesday night Phil and I went to Speed the Plow - a play starring Jeff Goldblum and Kevin Spacey. It is a rapid fire discussion between two Hollywood producers and an office temp. The acting was brilliant, but it wasn't really my thing - my mind just screamed out "BE QUIET" after an hour of the non-stop producer-speak that was central to the flow of the story. Although I was expecting it to be lots of talk, I still found it a bit much. Overall it was well worth seeing these brilliant actors in full swing.

For the weekend the four of us are driving out of London to enjoy some of the English countryside. The current plan is to zip out to Bath and then down into Devon and the Dartmoor National Park returning via Stonehenge on Monday. Looks like we're in for some sunshine, although with maximums around 9 degrees and minimums around -3 degrees it will still be pretty chilly.