Well, OK, only in the broadest possible sense - but I did go to Javea in Spain to play in a mixed netball tournament. Javea is on the Costa Blanca near Valencia, so when the opportunity to play came up, how could I refuse? We were feeling confident, as we had just won the grandfinal of our Thursday night competition (see photo at right of the successful team), but with one team coming all the way from Malaysia, who could know what the competition would be like? As it turned out, most of the teams were from London (and full of [View Full Entry]

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Of late, a number of people have been encouraging me to try a half and, on 25 March, I headed to Reading and did just that. Was a much better experience than I thought, and I reckon I might give it a go again. Of course, I am talking about a half marathon. It is the furthest I have ever run in my life! Had been doing some training beforehand, and had been talking up my sub 2 hour finish, but was really not sure about my ability to follow through. Managed to finish in 1 hour and 58 mins - [View Full Entry]

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Last weekend I headed back to Verbier for a holiday with a bunch of strangers (and English strangers at that)!!! How did this happen you ask? Well, last time I was in Verbier I started chatting with a couple staying at our chalet, Jackie and Dave. They ski at Verbier quite often, and had a trip planned for March. As it turned out, one of their crew couldn't make it, so they invited me to join them. Being keen to spend as much time at the snow as possible, I agreed. While I was a bit concerned about spending 5 days [View Full Entry]

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Hmmmm - think the guidebook might have taken a bit of poetic licence there, but more on that later. So, Adam and I headed to Lisboa, the capital of Portugal, for a weekend break. Lisboa has everything that you expect of a European city - an old town; a cathedral; a castle on the hill; a metro and a river. It also has the added factor that it is famous for its tiles - either covering the whole facade of a building, or forming smaller patterns around doors and windows. Lisboa is lovely, the people are friendly, there are good views [View Full Entry]

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It snowed in London today!!! (OK, OK, it snowed a couple of weeks ago, and I missed it). Anyway - it was cool (in all senses of the word) and here are some photos. (Yep - I have broken the record set yesterday) [View Full Entry]

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On Tuesday night we again headed to Shepards Bush to see the Socceroos play Denmark. Now, there has been a lot of talk in the media about who 'our Mary' should support, given her new role - the most interesting suggestion being that, as Tassie is not really part of Australia, she should have no qualms about supporting Denmark. As it turns out, not even 'our Mary's' support could have saved the Socceroos from their 3 - 1 defeat. Maybe something to do with the large number of 'star' players missing from the pitch? Still had a great time, while the [View Full Entry]

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Despite largely missing out on Australia Day celebrations on the actual day due to travel back from St Anton to London (although Caps did manage to wear her Australian flag bandanna for the entire journey - a great effort!!), we still managed to celebrate in style on 27 Jan back at chez Clapham (much better than a crowded, yobbo filled evening at the Shepard's Bush Walkabout). (Nearly) all the elements were present - the sun (the warmth, not so much - although, I know, I know; it was unseasonably warm for this time of year), snags on the BBQ (obviously not [View Full Entry]

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It is a bit concerning when it is mid-January in Europe and the most common response to my comment ‘I am heading off for a week of skiing in Austria’ is ‘Is there any snow?’. A layer of stress is added when the planned ski holiday is with two Aussies who have traveled half way across the world for said ski trip. What is a girl to do? In my case: * obsessively check the snow reports for at least three weeks pre departure (including checking other resorts in Europe to see if an alternative destination would have been better - [View Full Entry]

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January has been a great start to 2007, with two groups of friends visiting already! First up were Gilsey and Damo on a whirlwind visit to London after skiing in Switzerland. Was great to catch up with them for dinner and to catch up on all the goss. Next, and for a more extended visit, were Caps and Tan - who stayed with me for a few nights in London before we headed off on the ‘Great St Anton Ski Adventure’. We also caught up with Caps’s brother and his fiancé who are living in London for a short stint (3 [View Full Entry]

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For my first New Years Eve in the northern hemisphere, I headed to Verbier, Switzerland for a long weekend. The reports of the conditions were not good - it had not snowed since 18 December (!!!). Luckily, having spent many years skiing in Oz, I am used to icy conditions and not much snow. When I arrived, the snow conditions were actually better than expected (thank goodness for man-made snow and low expectations), and I managed to fit in two pretty good days of snowboarding. Actually, as it turned out, I was lucky we were at Verbier, as it was one [View Full Entry]

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