The French don’t have the reputation for being the most open and friendly race in the world so you can imagine my shock the first time I received a random 'Bonjour' walking around in France. Admittedly my previous experience on French soil was a vist to Paris when I was 20 and probably not the most culturally aware, however take my advice - get the hell out of the capital and wander around the villages of Normandy to see the real France and real French. Operation Invade Normandy was hatched by Bruce as a research trip to visit the little village [View Full Entry]

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It's been a little quiet on the tripping around front, too many things to do in London and surrounds, but headed out of London to visit lovely Leeds Castle on Saturday with my photography club. Now, I had been looking forward to my trip to Leeds and it's famous Castle ... only to discover I was misled. Leeds Castle is in fact nowhere near Leeds, instead it's about an hour south of London in Kent. Add to that the term 'castle' is perhaps a little generous. OK, to be fair there is a moat, it has been around since the 1100s, [View Full Entry]

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‘Freeeeeee Nelson Mandela’ … I remember back 20ish years (geez that makes me sound all aged!) when the song was a battle cry for the release of Mandela and the end to Apartheid in South Africa. I never imagined that years later I would be singing along with a star studded crowd ( … well on the stage!) to celebrate the 90th birthday of the man himself in Hyde Park, London. A friend of mine, Sally, rang me the day before the concert to say she had won a couple of tickets and decided I should be the lucky recipient. Naturally [View Full Entry]

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Summer has arrived in London, if only in name as the weather doesn't really want to co-operate. There are the odd blue sunny day, but cracking anymore than the early 20s (except in the tube) is a bit of a struggle. But one of the benefits of "summer" is the sheer number of festivals on throughout the city. This weekend was a little event called West End Live which was a showcase of all that is good about the West End including performances from a host of shows, alongside other musical acts plus displays and exhibits from London's Museums and attractions. [View Full Entry]

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This weekend was a little massive (I know ...) so to enjoy a relaxed Sunday I joined a couple of friends at Southbank to explore a little street/stencil art at the Cans Festival. The Cans Festival was organised by Banksy, probably the most famous street artist at the moment. I admit I love his stuff, he has an ironic perspective and it doesn't hurt that he just get's about doing his thing while maintaining anonymity. Maybe the anonymity is his way of keeping true, or just a marketing ploy, but either way his works have a habit of springing up around [View Full Entry]

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One day you're getting in touch with Spain the next you're on the eternal quest for cheese. You may have seen on the news the mad English (among others) who fling themselves down a ridiculously steep hill in an attempt to be the first to grab a round of traditional double Gloucester cheese! Well, who was I to ignore such a noble event in the English social calendar so it was up at a ridiculous hour of the day to catch a multitude of public transport in the pouring rain and heavy winds for a drive to Gloucestershire with a bunch [View Full Entry]

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Last weekend in London there was an attempt to set the Guiness World Record for the largest Sevillanas Dance and Spanish folk turned up from far and wide (plus a slightly unco-ordinated, but very enthusiast international contingent). Sadly, or thankfully depending on your views of my dancing skills, I was running too late to be one of the many, but did manage to be an enthusiastic viewer and official photographer for a couple of friends, Tiranth and Jose, who got involved. The venue for the attempt (I won't keep you in suspense - it was a success) was Regents Street which [View Full Entry]

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If you are looking for a witty travelog ... it's best to look away now ... it's time for another indulgent update on life in general. Time to bring you up to speed with the everyday monotony that is my existence between the odd trip around the UK since it's been months since I crossed the channel. Starting with the important things - my happy new home. After the nightmare of my first attempt to share, the new place is going wonderfully well. It's affordable for London, relaxed and Mike and Jane are great. Jane (yes another one) is an Aussie [View Full Entry]

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We have had a wonderful couple of weeks in the UK - the sun has been shining, temperatures rising, people undressing (not always a good thing) across commmons and parks throughout London and other parts of the UK hit by this "heatwave". The pasty white giving way to the sunburnt and the misty commons are inundated with the mass gathering of humanity soaking up as much Vitamin D as is humanly possible before the dream disappears and it's back to grey, cold and rain. To take advantage of the more clement weather and to share it with friends it was time [View Full Entry]

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Now anyone who's kept up with my blogging should by now have come to the conclusion that I don't have the best run of luck when it comes to British Rail! Overrunning engineering works, missed connections, cancelled trains ... it hasn't been all bad! My trip north at New Years didn't run to plan, however there was such a fuss that Virgin trains offered a free 1st Class return to anywhere in the UK. It would be unAustralian of me not to take advantage of a freebie, so I figured it was time to travel north again and visit another part [View Full Entry]

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