Just thought if you read this blog you might be interested in my mate who is sailing home from the UK to Australia. He tried out sailing last year, thought it was fun and so he bought a sail boat and took off with his fiance and is now in Antigua (in the Caribbean) after completing a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, arriving just in time for Christmas!
Check it out http://blog.mailasail.com/silksheets
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Oliver
Oliver arrived at 18.52 hrs on the 8th of December 2008. He weighed in at 8 pounds 2 Ounces (3.69 kg). He is now nearly 3 weeks old and all is going well with him and his mum!
Monday, 24 November 2008
Some more pics of Colombia...
http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/search/label/Colombia
Click on this link to see some pics I just updated from Colombia!
Click on this link to see some pics I just updated from Colombia!
Sunday, 23 November 2008
A new arrival imminent...
Well I haven't written much lately but that doesn't mean that we haven't been busy. The usual activities have been going on, rugby, going to work, staring at my map of Europe at work thinking of places to go, nights out with friends, Sunday drives in our recently acquired turbo diesel Golf and attending farewell parties.
Despite 2 couples of friends, a couple of Aussies from work and a Kiwi and an American from rugby going home, we are expecting a new person to arrive at any time in the next 4 weeks. We haven't met yet, however I expect that I'll fall instantly in love with them, buy their food, pay their share of the rent, buy them clothes, take an interest in everything they do and drive them around wherever they want to go. For the next couple of years I expect they'll want to be carried or pushed around in a buggy...
At this point in time, I'm not sure what they look like, what their interests are or whether they will be a late night party animal (they already have a shirt that says 'party, my crib, 3am'). In case you are wondering what sort of demanding backpacker we have arriving at our place, we are in fact expecting a baby!
With a due date of 7 December, the baby could arrive any day now. Perhaps the next update will be with 3 people on their 'travels' on this blog?
Despite 2 couples of friends, a couple of Aussies from work and a Kiwi and an American from rugby going home, we are expecting a new person to arrive at any time in the next 4 weeks. We haven't met yet, however I expect that I'll fall instantly in love with them, buy their food, pay their share of the rent, buy them clothes, take an interest in everything they do and drive them around wherever they want to go. For the next couple of years I expect they'll want to be carried or pushed around in a buggy...
At this point in time, I'm not sure what they look like, what their interests are or whether they will be a late night party animal (they already have a shirt that says 'party, my crib, 3am'). In case you are wondering what sort of demanding backpacker we have arriving at our place, we are in fact expecting a baby!
With a due date of 7 December, the baby could arrive any day now. Perhaps the next update will be with 3 people on their 'travels' on this blog?
Monday, 6 October 2008
Oktoberfest, the King of all beer festivals...
I just spent the weekend with Gabe, Liz and Gary in Munich in Germany where we went to the annual Oktoberfest. This is the place where you drink out of 1 litre Steins (massive glasses) and a huge number of locals and some tourists dress in lederhosen (leather shorts) or the traditional dress for women.
Gary and I made an early start when our flight via Zurich in Switzerland was delayed and we missed the connecting flight. With 2 vouchers for 10 Swiss Francs (enough for a pint and a half each) we hit the bar to sample some Swiss beer...for comparison purposes only of course. We made it to Munich where we met Gabe and Liz and headed in to the festival. There we bumped in to some old Uni mates was great fun and we got down to the task of sampling beer.
The next morning, after proving that people who say that German beer doesnt give you a hangover dont know what they are talking about, we saddled up again and went to the festival. The weather was foul and being late (11am) we couldnt get in to any tents. So we made do and drank outside. We met up with a couple of my rugby mates which was also great fun and next thing we knew it was about midnight and we were riding dodgem cars and it was time to go home.
With the hangover theory once again disproved, Gary, Liz and I headed in to town and Gabe had a rest. The main reason for Gabe's non attendance was because he had sustained a swollen head when he fell on it the night before. For reasons I dont think anyone can remember, we all started running after each other along a metal walkway. I felt someting clip my foot as I was running at full pace and I looked over my shoulder to see Gabe landing on his face on the ground! After a few seconds of concern Gary and I proceeded to laugh at Gabe hysterically and we kept on giggling all day!
Anyhow this time we went in to one of the tents called the Hippodrome. We sat with some Dutch guys and eventually some Germans and we sung songs and said cheers about 100 times. Soon the casualties started to fall with Gary sucumbing first, followed by Liz. I stayed on and chatted to my new Dutch and German friends. Eventually I too gave up and headed back to the hotel where I met Gabe and Liz for yet another beer (there is a trend here - my mother will not be impressed...) and a schnitzel. I cant wait for next year!!
Gary and I made an early start when our flight via Zurich in Switzerland was delayed and we missed the connecting flight. With 2 vouchers for 10 Swiss Francs (enough for a pint and a half each) we hit the bar to sample some Swiss beer...for comparison purposes only of course. We made it to Munich where we met Gabe and Liz and headed in to the festival. There we bumped in to some old Uni mates was great fun and we got down to the task of sampling beer.
The next morning, after proving that people who say that German beer doesnt give you a hangover dont know what they are talking about, we saddled up again and went to the festival. The weather was foul and being late (11am) we couldnt get in to any tents. So we made do and drank outside. We met up with a couple of my rugby mates which was also great fun and next thing we knew it was about midnight and we were riding dodgem cars and it was time to go home.
With the hangover theory once again disproved, Gary, Liz and I headed in to town and Gabe had a rest. The main reason for Gabe's non attendance was because he had sustained a swollen head when he fell on it the night before. For reasons I dont think anyone can remember, we all started running after each other along a metal walkway. I felt someting clip my foot as I was running at full pace and I looked over my shoulder to see Gabe landing on his face on the ground! After a few seconds of concern Gary and I proceeded to laugh at Gabe hysterically and we kept on giggling all day!
Anyhow this time we went in to one of the tents called the Hippodrome. We sat with some Dutch guys and eventually some Germans and we sung songs and said cheers about 100 times. Soon the casualties started to fall with Gary sucumbing first, followed by Liz. I stayed on and chatted to my new Dutch and German friends. Eventually I too gave up and headed back to the hotel where I met Gabe and Liz for yet another beer (there is a trend here - my mother will not be impressed...) and a schnitzel. I cant wait for next year!!
It's getting cold again...
Usually around twice a year I notice a distinct change in the weather. Its that time that you first realise that your clothing is going to change. In spring it means that I now think its fine to wear thongs (flip flops for the English) and shorts at all times when I go to the shops.
Well last Wednesday I noticed that its now cold. This coincided with the leaves falling off the trees and Londoners wearing coats, not just the tourists!
Well last Wednesday I noticed that its now cold. This coincided with the leaves falling off the trees and Londoners wearing coats, not just the tourists!
Matla 2008
We got a flight over to Malta from Cyprus with Emirates. This was the first time I've flown with Emirates and I can say that along with Singapore and Thai airlines, Emirates is one of the best. Good food, good seat and good service. Anyhow enough of the airline advertising!
We were met at the airport by our friend Emma who was amazed at the size of Melinda's belly.
To be continued...
We were met at the airport by our friend Emma who was amazed at the size of Melinda's belly.
To be continued...
Monday, 15 September 2008
Cyprus - Lounging around and wreck diving
We had about 5 days on Cyprus and as tempting as it was to sit under the umbrella on the sun bed for the whole time, we actually managed to do a couple of other things! When we arrived we got a hire car and by the time we got to our hotel in Agia Napa, it was time for dinner. We didnt last long as I had had a couple of days in a row of early starts and late finishes...
Anyhow we spent the next day on the beach and beside the pool. It turns out we were in an area very popular with Russians, mostly groups of 2 or 3 girls. It seems that the latest fashion for them is to wear g-string (thong) bikinis with bikini tops optional and mostly discouraged. There were a few Russian blokes about with small skin tight bathers on with some superb mullets. I almost felt a bit silly in my knee length board shorts! (almost...not quite)
The next day I arranged to do a dive on the wreck of the Zenobia, a Swedish ferry that sank off the coast of Larnaca. Check out http://www.buddydivers.com/Sites/Zenobia/Zenobia.html. I had to do a refresher dive as it had been about 3 years since my last dive so I did a shallow shore dive for about an hour where I fed some fish and even played with a little squid! The following day I did 2 dives down to 30m on the wreck and it was very cool. I swum around the propellers and looked in to semi trailers stacked up on their sides.
On our 2nd last day we went for a trip to Nicosia (Lefkosia to the locals) which is the capital of Cyprus. It was quite interesting for the fact that it is a divided city between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides. We crossed in to Northern Cyprus which is currently occupied by Turkey (or a seperate country of Turkish North Cyprus if you ask them) via an opening in the buffer zone (check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledra_Street). Its a strip of land about 50 - 100m wide through the city (about a block) which has been left empty as a no mans land between the two sides, patrolled by the UN. We only stayed long enough for a coke as I had to get back to Greek Cyprus and put more money in the parking meter!!!
The next day we packed up our gear and flew over to the second island in our holiday-Malta!!
Anyhow we spent the next day on the beach and beside the pool. It turns out we were in an area very popular with Russians, mostly groups of 2 or 3 girls. It seems that the latest fashion for them is to wear g-string (thong) bikinis with bikini tops optional and mostly discouraged. There were a few Russian blokes about with small skin tight bathers on with some superb mullets. I almost felt a bit silly in my knee length board shorts! (almost...not quite)
The next day I arranged to do a dive on the wreck of the Zenobia, a Swedish ferry that sank off the coast of Larnaca. Check out http://www.buddydivers.com/Sites/Zenobia/Zenobia.html. I had to do a refresher dive as it had been about 3 years since my last dive so I did a shallow shore dive for about an hour where I fed some fish and even played with a little squid! The following day I did 2 dives down to 30m on the wreck and it was very cool. I swum around the propellers and looked in to semi trailers stacked up on their sides.
On our 2nd last day we went for a trip to Nicosia (Lefkosia to the locals) which is the capital of Cyprus. It was quite interesting for the fact that it is a divided city between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides. We crossed in to Northern Cyprus which is currently occupied by Turkey (or a seperate country of Turkish North Cyprus if you ask them) via an opening in the buffer zone (check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledra_Street). Its a strip of land about 50 - 100m wide through the city (about a block) which has been left empty as a no mans land between the two sides, patrolled by the UN. We only stayed long enough for a coke as I had to get back to Greek Cyprus and put more money in the parking meter!!!
The next day we packed up our gear and flew over to the second island in our holiday-Malta!!
Monday, 25 August 2008
Updated some posts below...
A few days around Scotland with Marisa and Ben:
http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/2008/06/brau-bricht-moonlicht-nicht-nicht.html
http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/2008/06/brau-bricht-moonlicht-nicht-nicht.html
A quiet few weeks but about to go off again!
Since we went to the polo we haven't been up to much out of the ordinary. Work, pre-season rugby training and just going out with friends in London.
But this week, we are heading somewhere new again - Cyprus! I have map of Europe at my desk at work with the countries coloured in where we have been. So using that I try to figure out new trips to do. We have been to pretty well every country in Western Europe so now to look for new places we have to start heading to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland, Russia and North Africa.
I have an idea for a road trip for next year (who knows if it will happen) but it basically involves a trip across Scandinavia, down the Baltic states, through eastern Europe in to the top of the Balkans (old Yugoslavia) - touch the water - and then drive home. Lets see if I can make that happen for about this time next year. not much point going in winter as we might turn in to icicles!
So anyhow, this Friday we are going to Cyprus for 5 days and then jetting over to Malta for 5 days. We are meeting up with our friends again who we went with last year Bryce and Emma. They have a website set up now and I feature on the front page! (I'm the one on the right jumping out of the water). If you want to check it out see: http://www.maltasunfest.com/
Next post hopefully we'll have some tales to tell of Cyprus and Malta!
But this week, we are heading somewhere new again - Cyprus! I have map of Europe at my desk at work with the countries coloured in where we have been. So using that I try to figure out new trips to do. We have been to pretty well every country in Western Europe so now to look for new places we have to start heading to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland, Russia and North Africa.
I have an idea for a road trip for next year (who knows if it will happen) but it basically involves a trip across Scandinavia, down the Baltic states, through eastern Europe in to the top of the Balkans (old Yugoslavia) - touch the water - and then drive home. Lets see if I can make that happen for about this time next year. not much point going in winter as we might turn in to icicles!
So anyhow, this Friday we are going to Cyprus for 5 days and then jetting over to Malta for 5 days. We are meeting up with our friends again who we went with last year Bryce and Emma. They have a website set up now and I feature on the front page! (I'm the one on the right jumping out of the water). If you want to check it out see: http://www.maltasunfest.com/
Next post hopefully we'll have some tales to tell of Cyprus and Malta!
Monday, 28 July 2008
Polo lessons followed by the Cartier International Polo
One has had a most lovely weekend on the weekend just gone. One (Adam) had a polo lesson on Saturday with a few friends down near Brighton followed by a swim at the beach. This was then followed by a spiffing day out at the Cartier International Polo match held at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor Park. Unfortunately 'One' (the Queen) was away in Scotland however Prince Charles was in attendance and we watched 2 polo matches. In the first match the Prince of Wales team played against Hurlingham. In a blow to Charlie, his team lost the match.
The premier event of the day was England Versus Australia consisting of 6 chukkas (6 x 7min period). In what turned out to be a close and very hotly contested affair, England squeezed out Australia 10 - 9. On field entertainment was provided by 3 blokes who decided to streak accross the field near the end of the match. A spokeswoman for the club said "I think it is the hot weather and the Pimms to blame. These things happen." (check out the BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7527930.stm)
The premier event of the day was England Versus Australia consisting of 6 chukkas (6 x 7min period). In what turned out to be a close and very hotly contested affair, England squeezed out Australia 10 - 9. On field entertainment was provided by 3 blokes who decided to streak accross the field near the end of the match. A spokeswoman for the club said "I think it is the hot weather and the Pimms to blame. These things happen." (check out the BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7527930.stm)
A beer festival that ran out of beer!!!!
I went with a few mates on the train to Canterbury complete with tents and sleeping bags ready for an informative and educational experience at the Kent Beer festival. It was all going well until they ran out of beer at 5pm on Saturday!!!
Being adaptable worldly sort of blokes we adjusted our plans and hit Canterbury instead. Having hamburgers from a food caravan in the street at 3am we decided that we had not wasted our trip to the lovely city of Canterbury...
Being adaptable worldly sort of blokes we adjusted our plans and hit Canterbury instead. Having hamburgers from a food caravan in the street at 3am we decided that we had not wasted our trip to the lovely city of Canterbury...
Bordeaux Fete le Vin
That's French for Bordeaux wine festival!
I spent the weekend in Bordeaux visiting a few wineries, drinking copious amounts of wine and eating a little bit of duck too...
I spent the weekend in Bordeaux visiting a few wineries, drinking copious amounts of wine and eating a little bit of duck too...
Twenty20 Cricket at Lords
A sunny Wednesday evening at Lords Cricket Ground to watch Middlesex V Sussex in Twenty20 cricket was just the ticket!
I went with a few friends to watch some county cricket. Since we live in Middlesex I thought it was appropriate that I barrack for them. A few tinnies and a packet of chips (crisps to the English) made for a civilized evening during which Middlesex thoroughly beat Sussex! Jolly good show...
I went with a few friends to watch some county cricket. Since we live in Middlesex I thought it was appropriate that I barrack for them. A few tinnies and a packet of chips (crisps to the English) made for a civilized evening during which Middlesex thoroughly beat Sussex! Jolly good show...
Monday, 16 June 2008
Man Versus Horse marathon
We just spent the weekend in Wales with some friends watching a marathon (well almost - it was 22 miles instead of 26) where people raced against horses!
More to follow...
More to follow...
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Foo Fighters and Spamalot
Last weekend Melinda and I went in to central London to see if we could get some cheap tickets and see a West End show. We ended up getting some front row balcony seats to Spamalot, a musical based on the Monty Python movies - in particular The Holy Grail. Its main character is played by Alan Dale - that bloke that played Jim in Neighbors and also plays the big boss in Ugly Betty (yes that show with Salma Hayek in it). It was pretty funny and prompted me to keep telling Melinda for the rest of the day that 'I fart in your general direction!' (You'll get that if you've seen the movie!)
While were in town, a mate called and said that he'd just split with his girlfriend and as such had a spare ticket to Foo Fighters who were playing at Wembley that night! So I took Melinda home and turned around to head to Wembley. Now I presumed that my mate had seated tickets as it was a sold out concert and he didn't mention otherwise. So I just wore some jeans and a good t-shirt. Had I of known that he had general admission tickets, I would have taken only keys, cash and maybe one debit card, sealed them in a pocket of some shorts and worn an old t-shirt!
Anyhow, we didn't get too close to the front (you should have seen the sweat drenched people coming out of the front rows!) and it was a great concert. I didn't realise just how many Foo Fighters songs I like! Then for an encore, 2 blokes from Led Zeppelin came out and played a couple of songs with Dave Grohl (lead singer) and the drummer! Score!!!!!!!
While were in town, a mate called and said that he'd just split with his girlfriend and as such had a spare ticket to Foo Fighters who were playing at Wembley that night! So I took Melinda home and turned around to head to Wembley. Now I presumed that my mate had seated tickets as it was a sold out concert and he didn't mention otherwise. So I just wore some jeans and a good t-shirt. Had I of known that he had general admission tickets, I would have taken only keys, cash and maybe one debit card, sealed them in a pocket of some shorts and worn an old t-shirt!
Anyhow, we didn't get too close to the front (you should have seen the sweat drenched people coming out of the front rows!) and it was a great concert. I didn't realise just how many Foo Fighters songs I like! Then for an encore, 2 blokes from Led Zeppelin came out and played a couple of songs with Dave Grohl (lead singer) and the drummer! Score!!!!!!!
Monday, 2 June 2008
A Brau bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht!
I joined Marisa and Ben in Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days cruising around. We went from Edinburgh to Inverness, John O'Groats, Tongue, the Isle of Skye, Fort William and a detour to some hill otherwise known as Hadrians wall.
Marisa and Ben left a couple of days before me so I went up on the train to Edinburgh to meet them. On the way up I got a great view of the East of England and I think its a shame I havent been here before as some of the country side is quite beautiful. I met Marisa and Ben and also our Uncle Adrian who was in town for a couple of days.
The next day we headed up to Inverness. We went to Loch Ness and whilst we didnt see Nessy herself, a bus load of backpackers turned up as we did. They provided the entertainment as about 4 blokes and 1 girl went swimming!! The water was very cold and I'm glad it was them and not me!!
We had an interesting night in Inverness where a local woman declared 'I like girls' while grinning at Marisa and patting my head (what the??). We moved pubs and got talking to some local lads and playing pool. Marisa and Ben got an insight in to UK football culture when a brawl of about 5 blokes kicked off seemingly out of nowhere between supporters of Celtic and Rangers. I had gone to the toilet and when I came back out the pub was virtually empty with a few people looking out the window. The brawl was moving up and down the street so we waited until it went the other way and we went out the door to head in the opposite direction! So from there we toned it down a bit with some Itallian food instead!
Next day we headed further North to a town called Tain - where my great grandparents emigrated from to Australia in the late 1800's. We called in at the local Glen Morangie distillery but unfortunately they were booked out! So I bought some whiskey anyhow to conduct my own 'tour' later... From there we went to John O'Groats on the north tip of Scotland (the actuall most northern point is a few miles away - we went there too) before going around to Tongue on the North Coast.
Next day we set off to the Isle of Sky - where ancestors on our mother's side came from many generations ago. I wondered if I would feel like I had arrived home when we got to Skye..........hmmm.........no....nothing. Its a nice place though but I may as well have been on Mars for familiarity!
On the way back we stayed in Fort William and then drove alongside Loch Lamond before making a loooong journey home!
Marisa and Ben left a couple of days before me so I went up on the train to Edinburgh to meet them. On the way up I got a great view of the East of England and I think its a shame I havent been here before as some of the country side is quite beautiful. I met Marisa and Ben and also our Uncle Adrian who was in town for a couple of days.
The next day we headed up to Inverness. We went to Loch Ness and whilst we didnt see Nessy herself, a bus load of backpackers turned up as we did. They provided the entertainment as about 4 blokes and 1 girl went swimming!! The water was very cold and I'm glad it was them and not me!!
We had an interesting night in Inverness where a local woman declared 'I like girls' while grinning at Marisa and patting my head (what the??). We moved pubs and got talking to some local lads and playing pool. Marisa and Ben got an insight in to UK football culture when a brawl of about 5 blokes kicked off seemingly out of nowhere between supporters of Celtic and Rangers. I had gone to the toilet and when I came back out the pub was virtually empty with a few people looking out the window. The brawl was moving up and down the street so we waited until it went the other way and we went out the door to head in the opposite direction! So from there we toned it down a bit with some Itallian food instead!
Next day we headed further North to a town called Tain - where my great grandparents emigrated from to Australia in the late 1800's. We called in at the local Glen Morangie distillery but unfortunately they were booked out! So I bought some whiskey anyhow to conduct my own 'tour' later... From there we went to John O'Groats on the north tip of Scotland (the actuall most northern point is a few miles away - we went there too) before going around to Tongue on the North Coast.
Next day we set off to the Isle of Sky - where ancestors on our mother's side came from many generations ago. I wondered if I would feel like I had arrived home when we got to Skye..........hmmm.........no....nothing. Its a nice place though but I may as well have been on Mars for familiarity!
On the way back we stayed in Fort William and then drove alongside Loch Lamond before making a loooong journey home!
Friday, 16 May 2008
'The Church' sevens, the Redback and 'The Church'
If you've never been in London as a backpacker, you may not have heard of the weekly Sunday session that is 'The Church' (http://www.thechurch.co.uk/). It started many years ago as a group of Aussies and Kiwis who met up for a Sunday session each week and despite several venue changes over the years, it's still going strong.
For the last 2 years The Church has sponsored a rugby sevens tournament as a way of raising funds for a charity. Seven's rugby is basically the same as normal 15 a side rugby Union, except there are only 7 players per team and two 7 minute halves. This makes high scoring games as well as you can play a whole round robin tournament and have a final in one day.
So a few of us that play Rugby together plus a few other blokes made a team called the 'Fulham Phantoms'. We didnt win our division but we did have good fun and we ended up at another infamous 'antipodean' pub called the Redback.
The next day we had free tickets to the church but out of all of us who were there on the Saturday, only 4 of us made it to the Church!!! There were some casualties after a hard day out on the Saturday. So now I've been to the church, I can tick that one off the list. It was fun but I'm not sure that I'll make it a regular thing as it was very tempting to kick on afterwards (it finishes at 3pm) which would make Monday rather painful!
For the last 2 years The Church has sponsored a rugby sevens tournament as a way of raising funds for a charity. Seven's rugby is basically the same as normal 15 a side rugby Union, except there are only 7 players per team and two 7 minute halves. This makes high scoring games as well as you can play a whole round robin tournament and have a final in one day.
So a few of us that play Rugby together plus a few other blokes made a team called the 'Fulham Phantoms'. We didnt win our division but we did have good fun and we ended up at another infamous 'antipodean' pub called the Redback.
The next day we had free tickets to the church but out of all of us who were there on the Saturday, only 4 of us made it to the Church!!! There were some casualties after a hard day out on the Saturday. So now I've been to the church, I can tick that one off the list. It was fun but I'm not sure that I'll make it a regular thing as it was very tempting to kick on afterwards (it finishes at 3pm) which would make Monday rather painful!
Marisa, Ben and the Bermuda Triangle of Hammersmith!
My sister Marisa and her husband Ben arrived in London on the first weekend of May, to begin their honeymoon. They arrived at 5.25am at Heathrow and unfortunately their plane wasn't late! I met them at the airport and took them back to our flat.
We went for a trip in to central London to keep them occupied (and hopefully awake) for the day. We walked past a heap of sights like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St James's Park etc before calling in for a pub lunch and their first beer - London Pride. They started to get tired so we headed back to the flat. Ben said he was still keen to do something so I suggested we drop Marisa at home and the he and I go to one of the oldest pubs in London (The Dove in Hammersmith). Marisa then piped up and said 'oohhhh, but I wanna go to the oldest pub in London too!!'.
I warned them this place seems to have a magical effect on time, where by you think you are going there for a couple of beers but next thing you know its 5 hours and 6 or 8 beers later! Well it lived up to its reputation and we decided that it should be called the Bermuda Triangle of Hammersmith - where time disappears!
We went for a trip in to central London to keep them occupied (and hopefully awake) for the day. We walked past a heap of sights like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St James's Park etc before calling in for a pub lunch and their first beer - London Pride. They started to get tired so we headed back to the flat. Ben said he was still keen to do something so I suggested we drop Marisa at home and the he and I go to one of the oldest pubs in London (The Dove in Hammersmith). Marisa then piped up and said 'oohhhh, but I wanna go to the oldest pub in London too!!'.
I warned them this place seems to have a magical effect on time, where by you think you are going there for a couple of beers but next thing you know its 5 hours and 6 or 8 beers later! Well it lived up to its reputation and we decided that it should be called the Bermuda Triangle of Hammersmith - where time disappears!
Anzac day at Villers-Bretonneux, The Somme, France
I went to France for a 4 day weekend with some friends to spend Anzac day at the small village of Villers-Bretonneux in the Somme region of Northern France.
Melinda was due to come with us but unfortunately she was sick and couldn't make it. So I met up with Gabe, Liz, Dom and Nat at St Pancras and zapped over to Lille in France at 300km/h! We hired a car and went to a small town called Arras where we found our hotel. After a feed we went for a drive to the Beaumont-Hamel memorial to Newfoundlanders. There is a big monument there as well as a couple of cemeteries (there are many of them in this part of France). The trenches weren't filled in at the end of the war and you can still see them today, grown over with grass but still there . In the middle of no mans land you can see craters everywhere which I assume was from artillery.
From there we went to Thiepval, a memorial to over 72,000 missing British soldiers 'to whom the fortunes of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death'. From there we made a stop at the New Zealand national memorial which is quite small and isolated.
The next morning we were up at 3am and in the car to drive to Villers-Bretonneux, to the Australian National memorial. We parked about 1km away and walked up the hill and found a spot to watch. There were heaps of media there and most of the crowd looked like they had flown over from Australia as opposed to the Wallabies jersey wearing, flag draped dickheads you see at Gallipoli now as if we were celebrating some annual footy match, not remembering the dead. So from that point of view, it was a pretty good crowd.
The service was good and soon enough we all sauntered over to some little tents where the locals (yes the French!) put on tea, coffee and croissants. I had hoped for some rum to go with the coffee (gunfire breakfast!) but it was still good. We went in to the town to wait around for the march. By 9am we ended up outside a little bar which was doing a roaring trade and a big circle of Australian Army rugby team guys were there playing two up. So as not to be rude, we all got a beer and I resisted two-up! The march went and so we drove back to Arras.
After a snack we decided it was time for another beer. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and it so happened that the Aussie Army rugby team was staying in Arras too! They were a top bunch of blokes and soon enough the night turned in to a blur and next thing I know, I woke up fully dressed, with my shoes still on laying face down on the bed in my hotel room!
The next day we went off to Ypres where we spent the night as well as looking at some battlefields including Tyne Cot cemetery where a large number of Australians are buried. Ypres is a nice little town with big medieval walls. Needless to say, we had a bit of a low key evening!!
Melinda was due to come with us but unfortunately she was sick and couldn't make it. So I met up with Gabe, Liz, Dom and Nat at St Pancras and zapped over to Lille in France at 300km/h! We hired a car and went to a small town called Arras where we found our hotel. After a feed we went for a drive to the Beaumont-Hamel memorial to Newfoundlanders. There is a big monument there as well as a couple of cemeteries (there are many of them in this part of France). The trenches weren't filled in at the end of the war and you can still see them today, grown over with grass but still there . In the middle of no mans land you can see craters everywhere which I assume was from artillery.
From there we went to Thiepval, a memorial to over 72,000 missing British soldiers 'to whom the fortunes of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death'. From there we made a stop at the New Zealand national memorial which is quite small and isolated.
The next morning we were up at 3am and in the car to drive to Villers-Bretonneux, to the Australian National memorial. We parked about 1km away and walked up the hill and found a spot to watch. There were heaps of media there and most of the crowd looked like they had flown over from Australia as opposed to the Wallabies jersey wearing, flag draped dickheads you see at Gallipoli now as if we were celebrating some annual footy match, not remembering the dead. So from that point of view, it was a pretty good crowd.
The service was good and soon enough we all sauntered over to some little tents where the locals (yes the French!) put on tea, coffee and croissants. I had hoped for some rum to go with the coffee (gunfire breakfast!) but it was still good. We went in to the town to wait around for the march. By 9am we ended up outside a little bar which was doing a roaring trade and a big circle of Australian Army rugby team guys were there playing two up. So as not to be rude, we all got a beer and I resisted two-up! The march went and so we drove back to Arras.
After a snack we decided it was time for another beer. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and it so happened that the Aussie Army rugby team was staying in Arras too! They were a top bunch of blokes and soon enough the night turned in to a blur and next thing I know, I woke up fully dressed, with my shoes still on laying face down on the bed in my hotel room!
The next day we went off to Ypres where we spent the night as well as looking at some battlefields including Tyne Cot cemetery where a large number of Australians are buried. Ypres is a nice little town with big medieval walls. Needless to say, we had a bit of a low key evening!!
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