GIVE ME A VISA, STAT!

THIS POST IS ALL GOING TO BE IN BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS!

WHY?

BECAUSE DAN JUST GOT PERMANENT RESIDENCY!!!

HOW EXCITING IS THAT?!

SINGAPORE

HAHAHAHAHA!

the fake plants are actually real! crazy. here we are at singapore, where the internet is free for a few minutes. our flight has been ok so far... there was listening to led zeppelin and watching 'hustle' (dan), 'solo' and 'the sentinal' (hahah!) (me... of course). and eating of curry for breakfast (me) and the cheddar omlette that looks the same as the scrambled eggs according to the voice on the pa.

seeing erin was lovely - on saturday we went to camden market and ate chocolate coated strawberries, drank various beers, then headed to hampstead for crepes. YUMMO! on saturday night it was dan's party, which was great and busy (and i had a damn cold. crap. now dan has it). more on that another time, perhaps. on sunday we ate pancakes for breakfast and went out to hertfordshire (little berkhampstead) for old times sake... did a lovely rambling walk through fields and woods, and ate chocolate in the company of a pheasant (not a peasant). came home, had pizza, chatted, dan's friends came around to say goodbye. it was so good to see erin again (and all the other chaps, too!).

anyway, timeout on the internet soon, so we'll write more later. looking forward to seeing the melbourne-residing gang again soon!

xxx

I HAVE A COLD

so of course i have to do random internet quizzes.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Midland
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

in other news, ERIN ARRIVES TONIGHT, after what will be an awesome shabbat dinner with adam, orly and tzvi. CHOLLAH! YUMMO!

guy fawkes this weekend. i expect burning and explosions.

TWO CHEEK KISSING AND FLAT WHITES

coffee maker: yes?
me: hey. do you guys do soy milk?
cm: yes, we do.
me: can i please have a soy flat white?
cm: what, sorry?
me: could i please have a Soy Flat White?
cm: oh, uh, yes... ... a flat white is sorta like a latte, isn't it?
me: uh. yeah, kinda.
cm: [makes me a caffe latte in a cup]

*

i still forget to do the two-cheek kiss. i keep smacking my face into other peoples faces when they go for the second one. greedy bastards.

*

me, dan and michael: [walk into a camden cafe and goggle at the lovely looking cakes]
dan: it's just like melbourne
[we look around and agree that the cafe is very melbourne-like. time passes]
cafe staff member: what can i get you, then?
me: um, can i have a - do you have soy?
csm: yeah, we've got soy
me: can i please have a, um, a soy flat white?
csm: yeah, sure ... ... ah, are you from australia?
me: heh...
csm: [proceeds to make me a delicious flat white]

QUEUE

the word QUEUE is spelling correctness gone crazy. why not spell it KYOO and get over it? oh... that's beside the point.

we were in a queue the other day. went to a shopping centre to do some shopping. did some shopping. came out of the carpark, and then spent OVER AN HOUR to go almost 360 around the shopping centre and onto the road due to some street closure or another. OVER AN HOUR. authentic english experience.

of course, because we loved it soooo much, we went to the tate modern yesterday and stood in another queue for tickets to the slides. for an hour and a half. AN HOUR AND A HALF, dudes! why? because we are committed to our art. and also, because if we'd gone into town and seen the queue and the slides and just given up without getting tix and going down at least one of them, i would have regretted it.

we had to queue again at the top of the slide, and thought about what the artwork meant. because by itself i was just like slides, meh, but the whole experience of it... queue for hours in a very slow line to get a ticket so you can queue for another half an hour to go down a slide for 10 seconds and end up pretty much where you start... oh, metaphorical. (but what's it meta for?!)

and that's my cue to go.

HAAAAAAAAAA! sorry.

SORRY IT’S BEEN SO SLOW IN COMING!

Where to start?! This could turn into an epic post, considering my tendency to wax lyrical about the English countryside.

THE FLIGHT OVER
Was fine, although we left Melbourne at 12:30am instead of the scheduled 11pm due to an auxiliary engine failure, which they assured us only affected the aircon when we were on the ground. I suspect they tell us that so we don’t panic. The same thing happened at Hong Kong (our mystery stop-over place) airport, though we were only delayed by about half an hour. The flight was on a QANTAS plane, and we all had our own little screens – movies, TV programmes, CDs on demand. I finally got to watch ‘Kenny’ (though I think I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t in that weird waking-sleep mode somewhere over the Tibetan Plateau). But most importantly, one of the CDs we could listen to (and I did. Repeatedly!) was Led Zeppelin ‘Remasters’. No music should have the right to be so sexy! I am now well reacquainted with those songs, and I have to say. . . ZEPPELIN RULES.

THE FAMILY
Is mostly well. We’re having a lovely time staying in our ‘other’ home (it’s nice to be back somewhere so familiar), which has a brand spanking new kitchen. Yesterday, Margot had a meeting with an Extremely Important Person from Microsoft, to convince him he simply must write the forward to her book (which is due out in July). Aaron is cooking us delicious things with the new kitchen – the ceiling collapsed on the old one and until we arrived the household had been using a makeshift kitchen in the entrance ‘hall’ (i.e. under the stairs). Eliot still has many shirts, is still at BT but is considering finding something else, continues to watch hard-core amounts of football, martial arts films and snooker, and has a shaved head (EJ, he said he had a mullet before he shaved it! I can’t believe he didn’t let us see it!!!). He is also in the process of buying a house in Mill Hill (north of here). The house has 3 bedrooms, 2 storeys, a bit of a yard, is near a park, and is quite run down. The buying process is confusing over here, but I think it’s fairly certain it will be his to make over soon. Adam and Orly have also bought an apartment in Edgware (next door to Mill Hill). They are in the process of getting it cleaned up a bit, though it was in good condition, and moving in. They’ve been living with Orly’s parents since Tzvi was born, so it will be nice for them to have their own space (though Amanda and Moy seem very happy to have them around!). Tzvi is a baby. As far as babies go, he’s not too scary. He has quite a lot of hair, likes to gnaw on things, and is completely spoilt by everyone. We’ve only seen Harry and Lorna once, but Lorna is recovering from another illness, which knocked her around pretty badly. We’ve also seen aunts and uncles, but only in passing.

THE WALK
Was OMG AMAZING.

DAY 1: Monday 16 October: SOURCE
We caught the train up to Kemble, a little village in the Cotswolds about 2 miles from the source of the river. The whole journey up was extremely pleasant and un-stressful, and I half thought that things could ONLY GET WORSE. Because that’s how travelling often goes! However, when we arrived we were greeted by the sight of a few riders on horseback clip-clopping along the road, over the little stone bridge and out of sight down a country lane. ‘How picture-skew,’ we thought. A few minutes later, on the other side of the village as we walked towards our B&B in Ewen, we were passed by a few more riders. And then some more. And THEN! We looked behind us to see a whole group of riders, lead by a pack of dogs and a man in a bright red jacket. OH YES! A HUNT!!! Of course, hunting for real is illegal, but apparently that doesn’t stop people getting dressed up and riding through the countryside looking spectacular. And because it wasn’t a real hunt I had no qualms being completely and utterly taken in by the vibrant atmosphere of fresh-eyed horses and riders who, to a person, sang out friendly greetings as they passed us by. OH, ENGLAND!

On that first day we dropped off our packs at the B&B Brooklands Farm is a pokey little place that I couldn’t really recommend except as being warm and comparatively cheap) and wandered up the path to the source of the River Thames: a stone at the edge of a paddock saying RIVER THAMES WOZ ERE. On the walk we encountered the first of many stiles (yay!), kissing gates, cows, sheep, woods, fields, end-of-season blackberries (LOVE), and free apples (in baskets by people’s gates, or on trees growing seemingly wild along the way). The river itself was completely dry, and we didn’t actually come to a place where it started flowing and didn’t stop a bit down the way until day 2. We lunched at the Thames Head Inn, walked back through Kemble, did a bit of shopping for snacks, and encountered some Very Friendly Horses on a ‘short cut’ footpath on the way back to Ewen that were very interested in the bags containing said snacks. And the thing is, I don’t mind friendly horses, but you sort of forget how fucking enormous the creatures are until they start gently nudging you with nose and flank, and try to herd you off the path so they can nibble on the contents of your bag!


DAY TWO: Tuesday 27 October: EWEN – LATTON (nr Cricklade)

Our first day of REAL walking, with packs, from one place to another. We tried to break the walk into 10 mile (16 kilometre) days, and this was probably our shortest stretch – a little under 10 miles. We had breakfast and met the house cat – a big grey tabby tom with a white leg, named White Leg – and then set off just before 9am into the misty fields.

Much of the day was spent walking between the lakes of the Cotswolds Water Park around Ashton Keynes. The lakes were attractive (they’re not formed naturally, rather they are filled-up quarries and machine-dug), and we saw many a white swan, and many coots! Ha! That’s what the moorhen-looking birds with white beakyfaces are called. We’d hoped to have an early lunch at Ashton Keynes in a pub called ‘The Red Lion’ (you know the one. . .), but we were too early, so we ended up eating an entire packet of gingersnap biscuits and a whole thermos of tea, sitting on a bench beside a sports ground on the outskirts of the village. Ashton Keynes was very quiet, and very pretty. The Thames is a small stream here, and runs beside the path straight up against the grey and yellow Cotswold stone cottages and buildings. Some of the houses are effectively moated (is that a word, even?) by the Thames and its tributaries.

It threatened to rain once or twice, and it did drizzle lightly for about 10 minutes in the afternoon – it was quite nice drizzle, very fine, sort of ethereal. But it got on my glasses. How annoying. How do you glasses-wearing people deal with rain? My ankle started hurting really badly during the day, and I thought it might have been a strain. I thought doing my boot up tightly would help support it. HOW STUPID WAS I? I limped through the afternoon as Dan and I approached the hysteria that comes from exhaustion! We giggled like loonies through North Meadow (one of the finest remaining examples of ancient meadowland, according to our book and the information board), creating fabulous tales of rescue by white horses, or cowboys, or shiny black cars, or the air force. The walk became a trudge, then a stagger, and we eventually collapsed at ‘Red Lion Inn’ (you know the one) in Cricklade.

We called Jemma of ‘Doll’s House’, where we were staying, for directions, and started walking out (about a mile out of town). Just as it started raining seriously, a car pulled up beside us – it was Jemma come to give us a lift. How sweet! Dan sat in the back seat with and enormously friendly Staffordshire Terrier/Boxer cross named Harvey, who proceeded to lick Dan’s face to bits. The B&B was lovely – very cosy and welcoming, and Jemma did all she could to help us out: plied us with maps, pots of tea (in Mad Hatter’s tea party crockery), food and friendly advice. Most of the cushions, quilts, curtains etc were handmade by Jemma (some were exquisite, others were. . . interesting). We ate a gigantic dinner, and fell into bed at about 8pm.

(I should begin the ‘You don’t sound Australian’ tally, as it was pretty much the response I got every time I told people I was from Melbourne. Today’s count: 2)


DAY THREE: Wednesday 18 October: CRICKLADE – LECHLADE

This was our longest day – approximately 13 miles, or 19 kilometres. After another enormous meal we said goodbye to Jemma and slipped into the mist along the footpath to Cricklade, passing by the fields and cottages and high across the overpass. Once in Cricklade we tried to check out St Samson’s, the towers of which can be seen from miles around, but Wednesday at 10am happens to be the only time other than Sundays when it’s being used. We didn’t have a lot of luck with God and Jesus on this trip! Instead, we sat down for a pot of earl grey in a little café (I will never be used to smoking in cafes, though we did manage to remain smoke free at the back of the place).

Then off we set, along possibly the poorest-maintained bit of the Thames Path we encountered. The actual rights of way tended to be knee-deep in nettles, or completely churned up by cows, or a delicious combination of the two – mud, shit and nettle stew! All over our boots and trews. Luckily this section lasted for less than an hour, and soon we were following the Thames Path temporary route through a windbreak/orchard (where more apples were consumed – we felt a little like Merry and Pippin, and hoped they would start falling from the sky and bumping our heads. Or that Aragorn would appear. . .), along a quiet back road and into Castle Eaton. We dined on mushroom and stilton soup at the pub – ‘The Red Lion’ (you know?) – looked at another closed church, and limped on. By the time afternoon tea was to be had, my ankle was uber-painful, and we had to sit down on the verge in Upper Inglesham, eating M&Ms like they were going out of fashion (yes, we bought provisions, and then we hunted a wendigo and used M&Ms instead of breadcrumbs). After our break we walked the least pedestrian-friendly section along an A road before turning off down a small lane to see St John the Baptist’s Church – an AMAZING little slice of centuries past. It’s barely been altered since the 16th century, and contains sections built in the 13th to 15th centuries and bells from the 18th. And it was full of German-speaking restoration workers, climbing ladders and peering closely at crumbling wall-paintings, pointing at architectural sketches and talking in long lists of numbers. From there it was a short stroll into Cricklade, during which we spotted our first boats on the river, the entrance of the now-defunct Thames and Severn Canal, and chatted to a man with a passion for lighthouses who had just spent a few days in the Shetlands and lived in Camberwell.

We met three other walkers on this stretch – all going in the opposite direction. A guy from Seattle, who had started at the barrier and was almost complete, and two English men who were doing the whole thing, barrier to source, in 2-3 day stretches. These last two had two cars with them – in the morning drove both cars to their finishing spot, left car one there, drove back to their accommodation in car two, did the day’s walk, drove back in car one. No big packs. Lots of exhaust fumes.

We stayed at Cambrai Lodge, and had Chinese take-away for tea. Or is it dinner? Or supper? It was good. We were full and exhausted.

(You don’t sound Australian tally: 1)


DAY FOUR: Thursday 19 October: LECHLADE – TADPOLE BRIDGE

Honestly, that morning I did not want to get up. Put on the pack and it felt SO HEAVY. Despite having slept quite well, I still felt drained, and my legs didn’t want to GO. At breakfast we chatted to the two hikers from the day before, laughed at the coincidence, and gleaned tales of hiking trails around the world from them. It wasn’t until later that we realised we were younger than all the walkers we met – probably by at least 15-20 years. We are such dorks!

It had rained quite heavily overnight, but we set out in bright sunshine and almost completely clear blue skies. It was quite windy, though, which made it difficult to walk a straight line! Our first pause was at St John’s Lock – the uppermost lock on the river – where we posed foolishly on the lock and took photographs of Old Father Thames. A statue, not a real person. We then continued along the meandering river to Kelmscot[t], where William Morris used the manor as a summer house. The manor was closed, but we did see a cow with her newborn calf. She was eating the afterbirth. We went to the Plough Inn and had a pot of tea instead.

We stopped at Radcot for lunch at a pub called. . . ‘The Swan’. Radcot Bridge is the oldest bridge on the Thames, and it’s very pretty and bridge-like and old. I heard something jump into the water and saw a line of bubbles going across the river. I maintain it was Ratty, and that Toad and Mole were around somewhere. . . In the afternoon we stopped at Rushey Weir and Lock (the weir is an old fashioned paddle and rymer weir), then trudged the last short section to The Trout at Tadpole Bridge (the only thing at Tadpole Bridge, really!), where our booking had apparently not gone through, but luckily they had room for us, and where they are closed from 3pm-6pm, but luckily there was someone around to check us in. The room had a bath. Oh, the joy of it all! We both had long soakings.

Then we had the most expensive meal of the trip, which included a whole sole with lemon for Dan, and finished with a platter of LOCAL FARMHOUSE CHEESES OF FANTASTICALITY!!! Exmoor blue with Jersey milk, a creamy ash-rolled goats’ cheese, a single Gloucester soft cheddary thing, and two gorgeous runny cheeses. Two of them were made with unpasteurised milk. HEAVEN (and it would want to be, considering the room and the dinner ended up costing £130. That’s over $300AUS!). We were so full!

(You don’t sound Australian tally: 2)


DAY FIVE: Friday 20 October: TADPOLE BRIDGE – BABLOCK HYTHE

Again, it rained heavily overnight, but as we had our breakfast the sky cleared completely, and on very full stomachs we set out into the glorious shiny morning. After I’d had another bath to make the extortionate room tariff worth it. The luxury seemed to have worked, though, because we both felt much more fresh and raring to go. The pack seemed to be a kilo or two lighter, and my ankle hardly hurt at all. The day was gorgeous – sunshine glinting off the night’s rain as it clung to leaves and spiderwebs, shining through the riverside stands of silver birch. It was quite wet and slippery underfoot, but we were generally in very good moods. We stopped at Shifford Weir on a little footbridge overlooking the lock and weir on one side, and an idyllic landscape of green pastures, blue skies, cows and sheep on the other. Not for the first time I thought we must have walked into an advertisement for butter or milk.

Also along the Thames from Lechlade, we encountered small concrete ‘pillboxes’ (you can see a picture here) built during WWII as part of England’s ‘Stopline Red’, the never-used “last desperate bid to keep invaders from the Midlands” (according to our book). They are quite incongruous, and most of them still look pretty solid – testament to their construction, I guess. Dan and I considered for a while that there might actually be only two or three of them, and that they kept moving to make it seem like there was a whole line along the river. Ah, mid-afternoon hysteria.

We had lunch at ‘Rose Revived’ at Newbridge (called new because it was built less than 50 years after the bridge at Radcot in the 13th century). And it was SO GOOD. I had a wrap with goats cheese, red ‘pepper’ and onion, and salad – YUM. We got a serve of chips, too, which were delicious – perfect blend of crunchy outside and soft inside and really thick and hot, and it’s about time I stopped drooling over them, hey? Because, after all, they’re just chips. We sat outside, next to the swollen river (the other pub at Newbridge had a very flooded carpark), and met a cute, black enormously fluffy-tailed cat.

In the afternoon we met another walker going in the opposite direction, who told us we were the first ‘serious’ hikers he’d seen since before Abingdon (downstream of Oxford). We were recognised as SERIOUS WALKERS! VINDICATED! At Northmoor Lock and Weir (another paddle and rymer weir), we finally got to see a lock in action. It took a while, but it was a nice rest stop, and the lockkeeper was CUTE. For those who remember the ferryman from Lismore, Scotland, last year, this lockkeeper and that ferryman should run away and have a water-based relationship of cuteness. The river by now was very full, and the rush of water over the weir was extraordinarily powerful. It was here we saw our first dated flood-markers on the side of the lock. And one on the lockhouse itself from the 1880s (I think)!

We arrived at Bablock Hythe, at the Ferryman Inn (which I can only recommend as a convenient stop-over) where our room overlooked the river, and the vegetarian menu included macaroni cheese. FOR SEVEN POUNDS!!! The food, when it arrived (I eventually got curry) was not as bad as it could have been, thank goodness. We slept soundly.


DAY SIX: Saturday 21 October: BABLOCK HYTHE – OXFORD

Foolishly, we hadn’t asked what time breakfast was, so when we found ourselves locked into the building at 8am, we were a little concerned. Eventually we found a way out, Dan scouted around and found our table – unfortunately on the other side of some very locked doors and windows. We considered doing a runner, and I was almost ready to go when Dan finally found someone who told us that breakfast was at 8:30. this man then proceeded to spout such gems as, “I’d like to live in Australia because you make people be Australian and speak English if they want to live there,” and “Your Muslim women mustn’t wear the veil.” On the other hand he didn’t really like Stirwin or Neighbours, so at least we had some common ground.

It rained again overnight, but was once again fairly fine as we set out past the trailer-park (or ‘chalet estate’) and into the sheep paddocks surrounding. And soon we encountered the only major obstacle of our whole walk. See, there was a field, and we had to walk to the other side of it. However, between us and the other side of the field seemed to be running a healthy little stream – a couple of metres wide and about a foot deep in places. After some insane laughter, we decided to get all MacGyver on yo asses and build a suspension bridge with nothing but some willow branches, dental floss and chewing gum. However, what ended up happening was us throwing down some branches over the stream/lake in an attempt to not get in over our ankles, starting off across the water, realising it wasn’t going to work, and wading the rest of the way with great snorts of laughter. Testament to my excellent Raichle Scout boots, though my shins were freezing cold and wet, my feet remained warm and no more than a teensy bit damp. Yay waterproofing!

From Northmoor, the path of the river is basically a big loop to Abingdon (it’s something like 10 miles as the crow flies, and three times that if you walk the river), so today was about walking around the top of that loop and back into Oxford. We passed many cows and swans and pheasants and horses and sheep and mud (LOTS of mud), and geese, crows and seagulls, and noticed that the river was VERY FULL. We noticed some weekend cyclists and joggers, all looking like they might be Oxford students, or dons or something, and giggled. We had a most excellent lunch at the most excellent and popular inn at Godstow – ‘The Trout Inn’. DELICIOUS. I had a pear and goats cheese tart (I’m seeing a theme here with the goat) and a glass of Australian shiraz, Dan had an average dish called Chicken , and we finished off with mouth-wateringly good apple crumble. Let me tell you, I did NOT want to leave! (And it had nothing to do with all the cute Oxford students discussing philosophy and whether it’s posher to pronounce ‘scones’ with a short or long O. I want some for my house. They can wear blazers and cravats and lounge around dusting and reading Voltaire. Then they can row me to work.)

However, leave we did. Looked at Godstow Abbey as we passed by (you should read up about Rosamund and the king. Eeenteresting), then strolled down to Oxsfors, watching the ‘dreaming spires’ appear on the horizon over the bright green meadows, the blue sky and river full almost to capacity. We saw many silly skinny dogs with curly tails frolicking by the water, and many cyclists, and much early-autumnal leaf rustling. Once in Oxford, we still had over a mile to walk to our guesthouse. I was exhausted and sullen, and my feet HURT DAMMIT from walking on concrete, but Gail and Peter at Homelea Guesthouse were super-friendly, the tea fresh and hot, and the room most excellent. We chatted away, learning that they had only taken over the place 6 weeks ago, and talking about walks in Oxfordshire. They let us know about the open-top bus and walking tours, told us which bus to take into town, magically produced information on a café we’d overheard people talking about in Godstow. . . superb. This was probably the best all-over place we stayed – friendly and generous and professional. Lovely.

(You don’t sound Australian tally: 3)


DAY SEVEN: Sunday 22 October: OXFORD

We didn’t have enough time in Oxford, and we had to cart our bags around for the whole day, and it drizzled throughout the morning and started raining seriously in the afternoon, so we didn’t get to see as much as we’d have liked. What we did do, though, was go on a two-hour walking tour of central Oxford, including a few quick visits into some colleges, etc. Our tour guide had lived in Oxford for over 40 years, tutoring at a couple of colleges (at one time next door to Tolkien – a grumpy old man, to whom one should never mention LOTR or The Hobbit), and she was totally in love with the city. She claims it is one of the three most beautiful cities in the (very Eurocentric) world, and her attempts to convince the group were, well, convincing! We got to see the inspiration for Tumnus, for bits of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, and filming locations for Hogwarts. Yay!

We went for lunch at a nice little café (mmm, falafel roll) with an upstairs, where we ate, read delicious. magazine, got a pot of tea and some muffins, sprawled on the couches, giggled at the boy reading Foucault, and the other boys discussing linguistics and vagaries of Italian language, and the other boy with his black mac using the café’s wireless. It sort of felt like home, like I could get used to it. I somehow doubt they do film/trans studies at any of the colleges, though.

(You don’t sound Australian tally: 2)

(TOTAL TALLY: 10 . . . in 7 days)

So, the walk was excellent, and I highly recommend it to everyone – it’s easy, well marked and flat, and there are enough places to stay and eat along the road. If I did it again, and had enough time and money, I would stay two nights in Lechlade (gives you more time to look around the cute little shops, and to rest your feet), and longer than we did in Oxford (there is still so much we’d like to see there, and we’ll surely go back one day). We were VERY lucky, weather-wise, thanks to this being “the longest, hottest summer EVER” (according to the TV), but I think early-summer and early-autumn would be usually be good for doing it. We’d hoped for a bit more autumnal orange leafiness, but what we lacked in that was made up for with the blue skies and lack of day-time rain.

*

And that’s about all I can be bothered typing up. We’ll fill you in on other stuff later on! Hope you’re all well!

WHAT I WOULDN'T DO

let's just say, after walking approximately 50 miles in five days, we WOULD NOT WALK FIVE HUNDRED MILES AND WE WOULD NOT WALK FIVE HUNDRED MORE!!!

updates to come, possibly in our tomorrow, as it is getting late here, food must be eaten, and beds slept in.

HERE WE ARE

just a quick note to say HI, WE'RE HERE! (or there, if you will).

plane trip was fine, but long. will post more later.

THIS WEEK

before we leave:

* return all library books, document which ones i need to re-borrow when we get home
* sort out all the plants, water and feed, write up note and PLANT WATERING SCHEDULE for jc (thanks for looking after the plants, lovely!)
* try to pack the big pack again with all the things i forgot to add last time
* clean out backpack, and sort out what we can/can't take on plane as hand luggage
* empty camera of photos, charge batteries etc.
* write up walk itinerary, directions to all B&Bs, etc.
* sort out last minue paperwork (i wish there was NO LAST MINUTE PAPERWORK but that's what comes from being lazy)
* defrost the fridge. this has been on my list of things to do for, like, a month. going to go turn it off now!
* see people. possibly for dinner on wednesday night, somewhere on lygon or sinneyroad. or elsewhere. must organise.
* get haircut
* buy a new journal
* see esther w on tues, go to show on tues night, chiro on wednesday, friend's seminar on thursday arvo
* GET EVERYONE'S POSTAL ADDRESSES, SO WE CAN SEND POSTCARDS!
* other stuff
* misc
* etc

THURSDAY. WE LEAVE ON THURSDAY. SOOOOOON!

BIRTHDAYS AND MEANINGS AND MEANIES

Your Birthdate: June 4

You have an extraordinary character - moral, responsible, and disciplined. Your sincerely and honesty shine through in almost every situation. Driven and focused, you rarely let your emotions get the better of you. You're level headed and rational. People count on your to look at things objectively. Your strength: Your unwavering loyalty and ethics Your weakness: Your rock solid stubbornness Your power color: Navy blue Your power symbol: Shield Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Your Birthdate: November 3

You are more than a big ball of energy - you are a big ball of hyper. You are always on the go, but you don't have a type a personality. Instead of channeling your energy into work, you instead go for fun and adventure. Witty and verbal, you can have an interesting conversation with anyone. Your strength: Your larger than life imagination Your weakness: You tend to be pretty scattered Your power color: Lime Your power symbol: Lightening bolt Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I think, somewhere along the line, someone mixed up and gave us the wrong birthdays. But havng a lightning bolt as a power symbol is very Harry Potter, so that's pretty cool. Having navy blue as a power colour stinks.

ASPARAGUS

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=11473#877091

dan found a thread about strange band names. guess who's mentioned?

ASPARAGUS AND THE DESPOTIC LYCHEE!!!!! FAME! FAME FOREVER!

FOUR SEASONS

well, at least 2 seasons, and it was within 3 hours, so that leaves plenty of time in the day for the other seasons to have a go.

when we left for our sunday walk, the sky was blue with a few grey clouds, and the same wind that's been giving people hayfever and colds and ear infections all week. but it wasn't cold at all, so we shouldered our packs and began the walk up to coburg lake reserve (it's about 2.5-3 km up the merri creek from ours). the walk up was nice, we sat down and had a cup of tea from the thermos and some tim tams. because, dammit, we walk in style! there was a wedding party across the water, and a bunch of angry moorhens, who progressed from squawking at each other to pecking each other as they swam past to waging full-on battle, fighting with their legs and claws. a nearby swan occasionally looked at them, then at us, and went back to gliding over the lake as if to say well, at least someone has some dignity around here.

we then got our packs back on and decided to head another 15-20 minutes up the creek, then turn back, have lunch on the other side of the lake and head home. we got about 5 minutes into this plan when the rainwind picked up - you know the one that slices through the warm smells of grass and suburb, brings the scent of stormclouds and sky whipping around you... and big splotty drops began to fall. and WE WERE PREPARED! we hid under an (entirely useless for shelter) eucalypt, donned our jackets, and broke out our waterproof bag-covers. dorks!

we decided to head home and have lunch when we got back... and started discussing how good it is that we finally got to walk in the rain, becuase we're pretty sure we'll have at least one wet day when we're hiking in england. and it was kind of nice to be all snug and dry inside my waterproofs (even my shoes are waterproof!) while the rain fell all around. the wedding party had disappeared by the time we waked past again (and that is why i will never get married!), and after about ten minutes of rain it started to hail!!! and that was good, too. very nice experience. we were proud of ourselves for having all our dorky supplies with us!

so, home, lunch... and then i felt the cold that was lurking around bust out with a vengeance! i sat on the couch for most of the afternoon feeling sicker and sicker. what an odd experience! usually i feel a little crap before i go to bed then wake up sick as a dog. or i go to bed fine and wake up ill. but i've never had the experience of falling ill (or the symptoms starting to show) in the early afternoon and feeling ratshit by 6pm. but anyway, i think it's just a cold, so i've taken some cold and flu tablets, dan has made me many a cup of lemon and honey drink, i ate lots of garlic, drank lots of water, and sucked on a throat lozenge. if i'm feeling worse tomorrow i'll go to the doctor, because i do not want an ear infection.

and here i was, just the other day, thinking how great it was that i hadn't been sick all winter!

COUNTDOWN

three weeks minus one day:

we bought some travel insurance online, and have started making up a vague itinerary. you know, things to look at each day of the walk. it was quite odd yesterday to think: three weeks! it's less time til we go than it is we'll be spending over there. crazy! since i loe lists and organisation, i'll soon write up a list of stuff for a practice-pack.

speaking of packs, has anyone had their bags plastic wrapped in the airport? because i'm thinking well have to do that, given our packs are so strappy and catch-on-able. so yeah, i wonder how much it will cost, or where the thing is in melbourne airport/heathrow.

still yet to book a place in oxford, but will get onto that tonight. also, book train tix both ways.

need to organise with erin what days to see her in glasgow and book tickets for that.

must go for more walks.

and then there's all the other things to do in everyday life. need to do them. and get a mail-holding thing. and organise someone to water our plants. and stuff.

yay! three weeks!

SOON

we leave in a month! w00t!

still need to get travel insurance, and need to find another place to stay in kemble because the place we booked is going on holidays or something, and need to get train tix there and back, and need to book accommodation in oxford, and need to plan a trip to see erin in glasgow, and STUFF! also write an itinerary, and do some more walking with our packs.

did some the other day - 1 hr to brunch, 1 hr back - and it was good. out packs totally rock. as do my shoes.

what else? i'm giving a presentation next wednesday at uni. not sure what i'm talking on, yet. trans road movies. possibly transamerica. possibly breakfast on pluto. anyway, it'll be good.

mum and dad are coming down next week for an appointment at peter mac regarding familial cancer. pretty much expecting to be told we'll all get breast cancer before we're 60. but i've always known that deep inside anyway. shit happens, hey? all the more reason to do as much stuff as we can as soon as possible!!!

our loungeroom is a mess because i've fallen face first into a new fandom (supernatural! yay! dean winchester is my idol. and sam winchester is also my idol. and their car is my idol, too!) and haven't had time between watching the entire season 1 (twice?), and keeping up with all the fanfic, and trying to do uni stuff, to actually clean the house. blah.

gotta go and eat now, because I'M STARVING!!!

BIZZY

we are always so busy. dan works monday to friday, i work friday and saturday. so our day together is sunday, which is often when other people want to meet up. i have about one meeting per week afer hours. i don't have time to cook yummy things. we don't have time to do shopping. but apart from that it's all good!

yesterday a get together was cancelled, and i decided not to go to a meeting that would have been really good to go to. instead, we cleaned the house up, had brunch at ceres, went to sydney road where i got some new clothes (bonds top and jumper, good for walking), dan had a snooze (we went to a housewarming on saturday night), and i made a delicious dish with a french name that is essentially scalloped potatoes with mushrooms. mmm, nutmeg and fresh organic cream! the day off was good for my sanity.

today i did a bit of work on a presentation i'm giving in a few weeks about recent 'trans' films - i was writing about TransAmerica. then went into carlton and met julia and esther for lunch (mmm, big harvest salads!) and coffee (in the place that no longer has the ORIGINAL mouth of truth), then went to the nova ($5 films! yay!) and watched Breakfast on Pluto, which is also a 'trans' film. good stuff.

now i'm eating toast with yum hummous on it. and dan made me a cup of tea. so that's our lives at the moment!!! looking forward to our holiday - only about 6 weeks away. must get some travel insurance soon.

DISNEY VENICE?

venice is nice, and all, but it was already so much like a theme park. and while i agree that it is too over crowded, and something must be done to prevent or repair the damage done by the pleasure seeking hordes, wasn't venice expensive enough before? end of rant.

HOPE FOR THE UK LABOUR PARTY

British Deputy PM John Prescott shocks the world by telling the truth! What is the world coming to?

TEA PARTAY!!!!!!!!!!!

WATCH THIS!!!

"tea in the parlour makes the ladies holler"

i'm so happy!

CHEESES, KIM, I SAID BABY CHEESES, NOT CHEESES...

we went to the australian specialist cheesemakers association cheese show yesterday (sunday) with esther j. oh, the cheese! oh the gorging upon said cheese! oh the tasting of wine! oh, the gluttony!

perhaps my favourite of all the cheese i tasted was the king island dairy "discovery ash blue", a deliciously soft and creamy medium strength blue... my mouth waters... also up there was red hill's "merricks mist", a wonderful, gooey organic "normandy style" mouthful of goodness. oh, and woodside cheese wrights' "edith", billed as "a special goat milk cheese... the cheese is ashed and develops almost blue flavours as it matures"... oh, bliss!

ashed cheese seems to be the flavour of the month (although how much flavour the ash actually imparts varies from cheese to cheese). the washed rinds, i thought, were a mixed bunch, with the milawa washed rinds tasting absolutely gorgeous, and the hunter valley "smear ripened" (?) cheese also right up there, yet others possibly needing to mature a little more. it was brought home to me how in love i am with goat cheese of most descriptions, but i was a little put out by the buffalo cheeses by shaw river - the smoked buffalino was nice, but the others... i think it might be an aqcuired taste (and i am all up for acquiring it). there weren't many exceptionally strong cheeses, though the jindi top paddock wine washed rind ("washed with a special blend of red wine and spices") was delicious. i'd never heard of heidi farm before, but their gruyere was grand - nutty and smoky - as was their tilsit. binnorie dairy's labna or yoghurt balls were devine. tarrago river's triple cream was a suprisingly acidic and gooey cheese, quite salty but very light on the tongue. oh, gosh. shall i go on?

let's just say that for breakfast today i ate fresh cucumber and capsicum, and drank herbal tea.

*

and, over a year from the taking of photos in dorset, we have put some up on the web - thanks to our LOVELY NEW COMPUTER!!! they're in the secon album, under "dorset".

GIVING FANTASY FICTION A BAD NAME

more acurately, giving fantasy fiction the name it has. i'm reading cecilia dart-thornton's bitterbynde trilogy. i bought all three at book affair, so i am compelled to read the lot. and they are TERRIBLE. the writing is overwrought, the plots so... non-existent, the characters empty. every time i open a fantasy novel i HOPE that it's going to be good, because there's so much shit out there. but with this series it was not to be. yes, there are some interesting things going on - especially with the protagonist who, though free of personality, is the vehicle for some interesting exploration of identity. there are many things i am willing to forgive - i am used to reading bad fantasy. and yet... i ask myself why i am reading them (now onto the 3rd book, and they're getting slightly better). i think it's because they are so bad i can't look away. it's abject. it's like driving slowly past a car crash. i quote:

Birds uttered uneasy, sporadic sounds from the trees and the duck-pond far below. Their quacks and trills increased in porportion to the strength of the iron glow in the east, whose warm facade was smudged by the cloud floatlets as a smith's ruddy countenance is smirched by soot and ash. Above, the profound blue drained from the sky and the stars dissolved. ("The Ill-Made Mute", p36)

And when two characters first meet a third:

They emerged into the open and approached. The stranger did not move from his position. He smiled up at them, a dark smile that struck Imrhien like the note of a great bell. A dazzle ran straight through her like a silver needle [...] Lean and angular was his face, the features chiseled, high-boned. Beneath straight eyebrows his dark eyes seemed to burn with a cold fire, piercing. His jaw was strong and clean-shaven, although brushed with rough shadow. The hair, glossy black as a raven's wing, was swept carelessly back from his brow, the front locks pulled loosely back and knotted together behind his head and falling, bound, nearly to the waist. Unfastened - she imagined - it would be a cloud of soft darkness, a cascade of shadow. ("The Ill-Made Mute", p300 & 301)

he had in fact, wandered into this world from a mills & boon romance.

I POKE MY EYES OUT!

on the up-side, surely if this can get published, i can get published.