A lovely rainy, sunny, rainy, sunny, rainy, sunny, rainy, sunny day.

Two blogs in as many days? Blimey! - Having just spent a great day exploring the great outdoors I wanted to share some of it with the world. Stacey and I spent the Thursday of our week off with John and Nick as we headed off to Bedgebury forest and pinetum, stopping off for a Frankie and Benny's breakfast on the way (apart from Stacey who forgot the plan and got up and ate some cereal immediately - she still had some toast at F&B's... greedy-guts)!

I'd also like to mention that the title of this blog is plagiarised from John's Facebook status. It was indeed another schizophrenic day weather-wise as we were drenched in glorious sunshine one moment, only to be simply drenched the next. The back and forth weather only added to the day though, as it meant that we got to experience a bigger variety of sights and sounds.

We kick started our time there with some ice creams (thanks Nick!) and a wander around the lake where we made some new friends...

Nick, John and Stacey with our new friend, named Pingu

I mentioned in yesterday's entry about how I'd bought both flip-flops and wellies in the same day. Well the wellies accompanied me today, however for some reason (*cough*Nick*cough*) we all decided to leave our wellies in the car. This proved to be a slight mistake when we opted off of the proper course and wound up walking along a mud-road. Squelch!

We then got to see what 'Going Ape' would entail and Stacey did mention that she's even more against the idea of trying out the tree-top adventure having seen how high up you are when you do it. A few minutes later, she did admit that she did also want to conquer it... who knows, maybe one day I'll get to have a go. I sure got the chance to warm up for it today...

Flattering photos courtesy of 'BiroBoy' John Tresadern

Another highlight of the day was finding a real-life Glory Hole. Seriously, nature's full of all sorts...

Nature's Glory Hole - There's even a pleasant welcome sign...

All in all it was a great day well spent. It's easy to forget that there are some really beautiful scenes right near to where I live. We now aim to go back every season to see how it looks there as the climate changes; not that I see there being much of a change in the Autumn as at times it didn't exactly feel very summery.

Until next time, here's a few more of my photos:

Aussie Invasion

It's been a couple of months since I added a post to this thing and I was reminded today of the blog and decided to check-in. I've got a couple of Olympic related stories to write about, but they can wait a little while longer - possibly until later on this week. I was reminded of the blog today over a coffee at Starbucks today while a couple of girls managed to spend the best part of an hour (it may have been longer, I didn't actually keep track) in Hollister... I think they may have just been lost within the dark and scary maze of a clothing store.

The girls were Stacey and Tam, the person sat in Starbucks reminding me of my blog was Dan. Tam and Dan moved over to Australia at the beginning of the year and are over for a visit. Despite having travelled eight thousand, or possibly nine thousand miles to get to the UK, the couple have had plenty of road time while back. The main purpose for their visit at this specific time was for them to attend the wedding of Dan's sister which from the sounds of things involved them travelling up and and down the height of the country. With that behind them, they still managed to fit in a couple of days with Stacey and me who have had this week booked off of work (our first week off this year and I think it's safe to say 'a much needed rest').

They arrived at ours on Monday afternoon complete with gifts. I now have a genuine Australian boomerang! We caught up, although as with when anyone ever meets up for the first time in a long period of time, you find yourself racking your brains to think of what you've been up to. I was certainly starting to wonder whether the last eight months had been completely uneventful, but over the course of the following forty-eight hours, we managed to all catch-up properly. We wound Monday up with a nice meal at Kim and Peter's. Steak night to do it right!

Tuesday saw us off to Thorpe Park, meeting up with some of Stacey's family. Unfortunately it is still the school summer holidays and as such the queues were ridonkulously long - an hour and a half for Colossus anyone? Even if you don't think the ride lives up to its name, that line did! We did get to hit pretty much all of the rides that we wanted to though including the new for 2012 Swarm. For those of you that missed the ads on TV earlier this year, Swarm is a rollercoaster on which the seat are sticking out from the side of the track and wheels, so essentially you're sitting on a flying seat with nothing above you, nothing below you. The queue for this one was a whopper too and what's worse is that parts of it were hidden. I kind of expect them to do this, but at one point in the line, you pass the end of the queue which was a complete bastard of a tease, especially as we then found that we'd only made half way. The ride itself was fantastic though. Swarm glides smoother than any rollercoaster I've previously been on - the highlight of the ride being as you glide around a lake, water spraying up as you fly over it. It was incredible. Oh, and I should mention the safety bar/seatbelt/harness or whatever those things are on rides that clamp down over your shoulders to prevent you from being thrown to a bloody and messy death, as on Swarm they were extremely comfortable. I just can't wait until the day that you don't have to wait an age in the scorching sunlight to ride it.

On our ride home that night, we decided to phone ahead to a local curry house to order some food to collect on our way home as it was getting late. I found their number online thanks to the wonders of smart phones and made the call. I started making our order to the chap over the phone and then I lost signal. A couple of minutes later and I'm back on the phone to the guy finishing off the placing of our order with him.
'Brilliant, we're about five minutes away.' I tell him.
'OK we'll start getting it ready for you now. You say you're five minutes away?' asks the guy at the restaurant.
'That's right we're just coming up to Tudely now.' I once again inform him.
'Tudely?' the guy asks. 'This is Tumeric Gold in Swansea, do you have the right one?'
My response to the last question: 'Whoops, nope!'
We wound up arriving at the right restaurant a minute later and had to order there and then.

Yesterday I got sun-burnt, today I bought wellies

That takes us to today. The girls wanted to go shopping, with Tam needing some stuff to take back to Oz. While there I bought myself a new pair of flip-flops for my upcoming holiday, my old pair having broke last night while taking the rubbish from our Indian takeaway out to the dustbins. It didn't take too long for Stacey and Tam to find themselves in the newly expanded (oh joy!) Hollister. Dan and I attempted a search and rescue at one point and actually did get lost in there! For reals. Tam and Stacey seemed happy in the darkness, breathing in whatever fumes they pump out in that place. Dan and I therefore went and grabbed a coffee from neighbouring Starbucks. Thanks again for the coffee, Dan. We got chatting and I mentioned my writing which prompted my realising my neglect of this blog and in turn prompted this entry. When the girls managed to escape the clutches of the Hollister curse we discovered a new roller-disco (which we didn't have time to try out unfortunately) and ate a mega lunch at GBK. I couldn't actually finish mine as - still being on my meat-is-a-very-rare-treat diet - I had a goat's cheese burger assuming it'd be some kind of veggie burger with a sliver of goat's cheese in the bun. Nope, this was an actual burger of goat's cheese! Imagine the cod you get in a chippy, remove the cod and fill the batter with an extremely thick portion of goat's cheese and that's what you have here. Now I love me some goat's cheese, but this was way too rich and sickly. It was so sickly that I had to calm my tongue and insides down by washing it down with an Oreo milkshake!

As soon as we got back from shopping, we had time for a last cup of tea before Tam and Dan left us. Stacey and I both hope you guys enjoyed staying with us. After an extended goodbye thanks to a truck blocking them from driving away for a good few minutes, we set off into town despite the rain that poured down upon us. Still having two days off, tomorrow we're heading to the forest with friends Nick and John. With the weather suddenly being as wet and miserable as it is once again, I thought it best to buy myself a new pair of wellies as it's likely to be muddy tomorrow.

It's funny how life goes sometimes; one day I'm getting sun-burnt (the back of my neck particularly sore after Thorpe Park yesterday), the next I begin the day by buying flip-flops, only to finish it buying wellington boots due to the rain.

Winter is coming... unless you're Tam and/or Dan who will be soon entering the Aussie Summer.

Memory Remains

I had an idea of how I wanted to begin this blog... but I forget how it went. I’ve been thinking a lot lately though about memory and how our memories shape the way we think of the world around us and how things can become skewed.

What prompted this was this past weekend. Stacey and I went out for lunch in a nearby village – a village that I used to spend quite a bit of time in as a kid, as my grandparents lived there for a while. They haven’t lived there for almost a decade, so that’s about the amount of time that’s passed since I was last there. I just found it bizarre how I remembered certain things and not others. For instance, I have memories of a pub and its garden along the main street in the village. When we rolled up there on Saturday, I saw two pubs there along that stretch of road and couldn’t recall which it was. I didn’t remember there being two of them, but both appeared to have been there for quite some time. I decided that it must have been one of them over the other and we went inside to get some lunch. We ordered our baguettes (tuna melt anyone?) and went out into the pub garden. I had an idea of what the garden was going to look like and to an extent I was right – to another extent I was wrong. There was a gate to the side that took you out to a small car-parking area which I remembered correctly, but the layout of the rest of the garden didn’t seem right somehow. I can’t even think or describe how; it just seemed wrong. I don’t really know how I was picturing it, bigger and more open maybe. Maybe the pub’s owners had done some work to change it over the course of the ten years since I’d known it – maybe the pub even had new owners...

After lunch we exited through the side gate and walked out onto the side street. I wanted to find the house that my grandparents lived in when I was a kid and couldn’t remember which road to walk down. After walking a hundred yards down to another road, I decided that it was actually the road entrance nearest the back of the pub that we’d wanted all along. Back we peddled and strolled down the correct road. As it turns out, it made no difference as both roads took us to the same place on foot – I didn’t remember this until we were presented with that fact a little later on. As we walked down the correct road (correct in terms of what my memory told me at least – I’m guessing it was the right one as I probably walked round to the village shop that way when I was a kid) it started to narrow. There are house down this road, houses that have driveways out front, many with cars parked on them. Yet, it narrows as you travel down it. Then, at the end it becomes an alleyway that becomes so narrow the two of us could only walk out the end in single file. I didn’t remember that the road did this, but as soon as I saw it, experienced walking through it again it unlocked memories. I remembered that this road became an alleyway – or the alleyway became a road depending on where you were coming from. I could remember playing hide and seek there with my brothers and awkwardly manoeuvring my bike round between those hedges. These memories were gone, they weren’t things I thought of ever, were probably too insignificant in the grand scheme of life to be worthy of taking up conscious thought. At the sight of this alley/road though, they all came flooding back, as if a vault in the back of my mind had been broken open. I’m now wondering how many other memories are in that skull of mine, hidden from view and locked away; out of sight until the right key is found to unlock them.

The part of this visit to the village that really took me aback though was a walk up to the church; more specifically the graveyard where my Big Nanny’s (Great Grandma) memorial plaque is. I could remember the way to walk up to the church which sits atop a hill overlooking the rest of the village. Stacey and I strolled up around the houses and assorted buildings and entered through the gate of the graveyard. It had been well over a decade since I’d visited Big Nanny’s plaque; in fact I think I only ever saw it once when it was first put up on the wall that encases the graveyard. In my head I knew exactly where I was going (my memories had led us the right way so far) and I wanted to head left as we entered the graveyard. I had the image in my head of the plaque being on the wall that faced out back down towards the village. But, as we looked around all of the memorial plaques were up on the wall to the right which looked out onto a field that would’ve been empty if not for a dead tree still-standing in the middle of it. The grass in this field looked overgrown and dead too. Stacey was the first one to find my ‘Big Nanny’, Maude who would have been 100 years old if she were still with us today. The plaque was as I pictured it if not a little weathered – I just can’t figure out why in my mind I had it placed on the complete opposite side of the graveyard. As I stood there, I could remember Big Nanny giving Little Me some lemonade as I sat on a stool in her kitchen.

My memory is actually pretty good. At least I think it is as that’s what Stacey tells me. I guess my long term memory must be better as I’m pretty good at remembering specific events and on what date they occurred, whereas I keep forgetting to do things (writing) that need doing in the here and now. For example I can tell you that I wrote a blog a year ago to the very day - It was called Season Finale - without having to look it up. Now, I know a blog isn’t a significant event, but I can remember writing it the day between the wedding of my friends Sarah and Mike (Happy Anniversary!) and the day I started that job I had in London for a bit – and I can remember those dates as they are burned into my mind as important days in the life of me. That’s how my mind works.

To add to these thoughts, I’ve watched two films that touch on this subject over the past few days (by coincidence, not choice). These are 50 First Dates and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Both films explore memory loss or in the case of Eternal Sunshine, memory erasing and how our memories make us who we are.

I think I’m going to listen to some Metallica now (remember the title?) – Thanks for reading my ramblings; I hope they’re not so bad that you’ll forget them immediately.

'Ash to ash, dust to dust
Fade to black'

Dietary Requirements

Considering it's one of my favourite subjects in life, I haven't really ever written about food - not unless you count my random entry concerning the great baked bean scandal.

Since moving out over ten months ago, the food I eat has been almost completely down to Stacey and me. Some meals that are featured regularly back at my family's home still make regular appearances in my culinary week still, whereas others don't. And, some newbies have been introduced to me over the course of the better part of the past year.

It was last month that Stacey read an article that ranked people's health in terms of their eating category. Vegans were surprisingly the worst off, making that choice of diet even more pointless than it already was (someone should really tell vegans that some plants have been recorded as actually producing screams that go undetected to the human ear when they're pulled from the ground). Next up, but not too much better were the meat-eaters (that's most of us then). Meat-eaters were followed by the Vegetarians, of which Stacey is one, hence telling me about the article. And on top were Pescatarians, a.k.a. those who don't eat meat, but still eat fish (often falsely claiming to be vegetarian, despite the very word alluding to the fact that you should only be eating veg). Not too far behind the Pescatarians were apparently those who largely ate veggies and fish, with meat only on rare occasions. 'Well' I thought to myself, 'if cutting back on the meat and replacing it with fish - which I've always loved - would make me that much better off, why not give it a try?' So that's exactly what I've been doing for coming up for a month now.

I've had meat about once a week over the past three and a half weeks. Other than the odd night where we've still had some sausages in the freezer that could do with using up, or when we've been somewhere else for dinner, I've done pretty well to stick to vegetarian options and fish-based meals. I'm not sure just yet whether I feel healthier in body - it's only been a few weeks after all - but there has been one noticeable difference...

I feel more switched on. I only realised late last week, but I've been more focused at work. Things just seem to have clicked. Some of it may have to do with the fact that I've now settled in having been there for half a year, but I definitely feels as if I'm concentrating more than I was and I'm also taking things on board even more than before. It didn't take long for me to connect the dots and realise that I've been eating a lot more fish which is generally thought of as 'brain-food', hence the reason for my mind working at a better rate. Maybe it's a little bit of psychologically instilled confidence too, as I'm thinking about my eating more fish, thinking that it's all brain-food, thus my brain tricks itself into giving me more focus in my work and life. I feel it's a bit of both though, which is no bad thing and something I'm going to keep track of as the diet continues.

(not so) Spoilt for Choice

One thing I have noticed when eating out over the past few weeks is the lack of choice for Pescatarians. I always thought that Stacey had it rough; only being able to select dishes with a little green V next to them on the menu. But I've noticed that the fish selection is pretty dire on many menus. Now to be fair, I suppose Pescatarians can include the veggie meals to their options, but if you were out and wanted to take full advantage of your choice to be able to eat fish, you're pretty much limited to Cod 'n' Chips, Prawns, or Salmon in a lot of places. 

Thankfully I've looked at the menu for the restaurant we're off to on Wednesday night - for the celebration of my parents' anniversary and the anniversary of my surviving yet another trip around the sun - and that I cannot wait to tuck into my starter of either Whitebait or Anchovies and my main of a steak of Swordfish. Yum!

Since taking up this eating regime, I have realised just how much choice there can be though. Scouring the Supermarkets and ignoring the usual array of burgers, sausages and mince, I've bought and eaten Salmon, Kippers and Mackerel for my dinners, among others. 

Consuming Blogs

Food has also been in the news again in the last week, and no I'm not talking about the fact that the ratio of obese Americans in the world is ridiculously big, but in the form of a blog. The news story that grabbed my attention on Friday was of the nine year old who got into trouble with her local council over the fact that her blog - which reported on and reviewed her school dinners - was picked up on by the mass-media who of course being the press we all know and love turned it into something nasty by calling for the dinnerladies to be sacked. Fact is that if you read this girl's blog, it's really very good. She even scores her meals on 'Number of Hairs Found' - thankfully none so far! The insanity didn't last long and the girl was allowed to continue. I recommend a read of it here.

I had more to discuss, but as it turns out, I can write and write and write on this subject and I quite fancy going to bed at this time as it's getting late on a school-night. All I really had left to discuss was that one of the girls at  work is on some sort of protein-only diet to lose weight quickly. It sounds to me like that Atkins diet from about a decade ago, but apparently it's not... despite applying the same principles. All I know is, if I were to start eating a lot of meat again, I'd rather do it in style:

Best show on Dave - A true American Hero!

Diamonds Are Forever

With the Queen celebrating her Diamond Jubilee we've all been granted an extra long bank-holiday weekend. God Save Her!

This past Friday night was one for celebration as everyone with a Monday to Friday job was super-excited about the four days in a row off that we had ahead of us. After finishing work, a few of the work lot were out for some drinks in the Wells - and all the drinks were paid for by the company. Suffice to say it was an excellent way to bid farewell to the colleagues for a double-length weekend.

I got drunk, but not as drunk as I had on a similar night back in December when I first met my colleagues - that night I'd not known when to say no and had finished my night at home with my head in the toilet bowl. This time I even managed to navigate my way home on the train.

It's Still Real to Them

On Saturday night a group of us went to a wrestling show at a small local venue. Needless to say the phrase 'cheap n cheerful' sums it up. We had seats in the front row and the place was actually packed out with nearly everyone there to have a good time and quite a few families there to take in some great family entertainment. Now, in the last sentence you may have noticed that I used the term nearly everyone as opposed to everyone, this is because of the family that sat themselves down directly behind us. I've never seen the show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding before, but I imagine that if I tuned in, I'd likely see that family. They were awful, vile and... to be fair they were passionate. The problem was that they seemed to think it was real and as such used the two brain cells that the six or seven of them had between them to shout some disgusting and at times not-well-thought-out chants and insults at the wrestlers. After just the first match the ring announcer had to plea that although it was good that there was noise being made, that it be kept clean. Other chav-highlights included them telling an Australian wrestler to get out of our country, to which the Aussie replied stating that he couldn't wait; calling a wrestler a chicken for reaching the ropes to break a submission to which the wrestlers both stopped so that he could shout back to them that 'It's the rules... Spastic!'; and one wrestler actually leaning over our row to push one of them over and back into his seat to a big cheer. 

I would be lying if I said that the gypos weren't at all entertaining in their own way, I just wish that they could learn to say it and not spray it. When we left, all of us felt as if we'd had a saliva shower. Thankfully it was raining as we made our exit, so we let the rain wash our hair of some of the spit that we'd all felt land on our heads during the show.

At this time I'd also like to mention that the wrestling itself was at times pretty entertaining and for the small price of admission was definitely worth it. One particular accidental highlight was during the main event when one wrestler asked someone at the end of one of the front rows (not ours) to stand so that he could grab the chair to use. It wasn't apparent that the chairs were all connected, so when the brute attempted to wield the chair, he caused the whole row of people to go flying from their seats!  He didn't stop there, as determined to use this chair, he kept tugging on it until the whole row had been pulled halfway around the ring. He eventually gave up after it looked like he'd completely broken it. 

Oh, and there was a big fat guy there and his name was 'Hugh Mungus' - you just can't make this stuff up... well actually I guess you can, but still it was funny!

Celebrations

Stacey and myself had a pretty busy yesterday (Sunday). We began with lunch - after a lazy morning, which I guess means we didn't have a busy day so much as a busy afternoon/evening. Sorry I lied - at  my parents' house. We then took the sister to Wear 'em Out where I probably had more fun as I signed a disclaimer so that I could go down the drop-slide. It was mega-fun.

We then moved on to a Jubilee party hosted at the Fenner household. The place was very overcrowded.... with food. There were a lot of people there too and we carried on watching the Queen ride her boat down a polluted river in the rain - very British!

Following the Fenner's we moved on to a fortieth birthday - Happy Birthday to Nigel if he's reading - which was James Bond themed; an idea that Stacey and I plan to rip-off one day. It was brilliant as there were Blackjack and Roulette tables where you could gamble away your fake $100 given upon arrival. The music was all Bond-related for the first hour or so and all night long there were clips of different Bond movies playing on a big screen above the DJ. For a Bond fan such as myself, it was completely awesome. It was also pretty amusing at one point to see a load of women on dancefloor and then to turn around and see a group of men with their mouths open and eyes transfixed to the screen watching car chases, gunfights and explosions.

Winter Already?

Today (Monday), Stacey and I went off to see my second cousin Phil and his family. We caught up for the first time this year at their house for a bit, then went off to watch some fireworks in the village of Matfield. We got to the green where the display was taking place and soon found that we had a three to four hour wait for the fireworks with no other entertainment in the meantime. Rather than stand in an unseasonably cold (for June) field, we decided to head off and grab a meal at Frankie and Benny's. Phil, who had been working, met us there. When finished, we went back over to the firework display which was a pretty good spectacle for a freebie, even if there was nothing else to do in the field.  With it being so cold for this time of year though, watching fireworks just made it feel even less like Summer and more like it could be Autumn. After the lovely weather we had a week ago giving us a taste of summer, I'm really hoping that Summer hasn't completely passed us by already. Here's hoping for some more good weather before the leaves turn orange and brown. 

I feel like I could keep on typing away here, but it's already gone 1am... I should probably get to bed to make the most of the last day of this big weekend. Night all!

A Summer's Eve

It finally feels as if Summer may have arrived. I may have spent the majority of this gorgeous day confined within the walls of my office suffering from a mid-morning migraine (which I'm sure came on because as humans we weren't designed to spend so much time staring at screens), but it all proved worth it to come home. Not only do I better appreciate my free time these days, but the place that I spend the majority of my waking hours during the week funds the place I get to return to in the evenings - and right now at this point in my life I wouldn't trade this place.

I've had a holiday-type feeling tonight and feel relaxed. It probably helps that I'm having a pretty darn good week at work (much better than the nightmare that was last week). I kicked off Monday morning with a deal, and represented the team during our company's audit today. We remain compliant and all is good. I went out for a walk at lunch to get away from the screen and to spend some time in the Sun. Taking my book with me, I found a bench and let the warmth surround me as I entered the world of the Dark Tower. It's also how I spent my evening.

I think it's a mixture of aspects that have put me in that holiday mood when I'm not actually on holiday. For starters, we live a 2 minute walk up the road from the High Street which I've noticed is becoming evermore full of cafes, diners, take-aways and restaurants. I walk past these as I make my way home. I then walk away from the hustle-and-bustle just enough so that it can no longer be heard, but not so far in that I can easily pop back into it if need - or want - be. I then pass the river besides which we reside and tonight there were plenty of people playing out in the river, be it in canoes, boats, or just jumping in. In fact all evening we've been able to hear a group of kids jumping in the river over and over again, and it reminds of being on holiday somewhere pleasant and being able to hear the sounds of people playing in a nearby swimming pool. Then, there's the fact that as soon as I arrived home, I shed the suit that encases me during the days and slipped into something a little more comfortable - that being my shorts and t-shirt. My socks were also removed for added effect. And finally, Stacey and I enjoyed our simple meal of vegetarian burgers (not actually that bad - thanks Sainsbury's), southern style potato wedges and salad out on our balcony as the sun continued too shine into the evening. As previously mentioned, I topped things off by continuing with my reading of the latest Stephen King epic which I've just polished off. And what better way to wash that down than by writing a blog, eh?

On a side note, I'd just like to once again mention that I can't remember the Stephen King Dark Tower books enough. The new one which fits in between what were originally the fourth and fifth book can be read as a stand alone novel (although a few references may not be fully understood) and becomes a story within a story within a story. It's provides two fantastic tales that are told during the events of the series within each other. I'm just a little sad to think that it's all over, again.

I'm now to conclude my day with a shower, as we have clean sheets tonight that always feel better with a clean body to match. All that's left is for me to wish you all long days and pleasant nights.

Adventures Happened

It's been a busy few weeks. Work continues to bring its highs and lows, its ups and downs. 'That's recruitment' I'm told. I enjoy having a job that brings variety every single day, even if I have to deal with the odd fool or douche.

Outside of my workapades, life is passing me by at a rapid rate. I guess time does fly when you're having fun.

A couple of weeks back, Stacey and I travelled to Holland for a long weekend to visit her family out there. Her Uncle, Aunt and very young cousins allowed us into their home for what was a terrific getaway. Her cousins can both run around now and it was mayhem of the best kind. I personally had the best time playing the role of 'kid' myself; throwing cushions, jumping around, etc. Stacey meanwhile had the best calming effect on her littlest cuz in particular.

Our Holland visit was jam-packed with a ton of bike-riding, visits to the park and pancake house, Grolsh and another visit to a theme park. The Dutch theme park was Efteling and for anybody into their fairy tales, fantasy and theme parks will just love this place. The Flying Dutchman themed rollercoaster/water ride won my ride of the day as it pulled in elements of two different ride types to give a fantastic experience - even the queue was worth standing in as the set was awesome.

In terms of the cycling in Holland, we just can't compete over here. The infrastructure is just incredible, as for every single road, there's a cycle-road running parallel. As a result the roads are much quieter and there's a nice, relaxed atmosphere to travel. We did a lot of cycling on our few days out there, including to the restaurant/bar for an evening out (no drink driving needed when you cycle) and to the park with the boys in tow.

We had an absolutely awesome time in Holland and it was great to get reacquainted with Brian, Kate and the rot-pots!

On the set

Yesterday, Stacey found herself driving someplace else. With Nick, John and my little sister in the back, we travelled to Watford to the Warner Bros. Studios to see The Making of Harry Potter. For those of you that are a fan of the franchise or the films, I'd highly recommend this day out. We spent four hours wandering around the place seeing the sets, props and special effects that went into making the eight Potter films and finding the Snitches hidden throughout.

Highlights of the day included getting to try out the green screens, tasting actual Butterbeer (kind of creamy-toffee flavoured stuff) and the grand finale that was the exterior of Hogwarts. Hell everything was a highlight including the damn giftshop in which you could spend an absolute fortune of you had one.

Special thanks to Nick and John also, who very kindly bought Popster a collectible replica of the Elder Wand.

Adventures yet to come...

Well, we're off to an 80s/90s night this Friday, but there is something bigger planned. Something so exciting that as we were booking it, I couldn't sit at all still in my chair in the travel agents'. 

2013: New York; Florida.

It's going to be the holiday of a lifetime and neither of us can wait.