Now the London Marathon is mega famous allllll over the world, so it would have been extremely rude of me to ignore it's existence given I live just around the corner now (well, about an hour away, but in London that is just around the corner!!). As an added bonus, another of my India friends, Astrid, has now arrived in London for a more extended visit so it was a serendipitous (big word huh ... no idea if it's spelt right!) day to be catching up. We met up at Embankment tube for a look at the front runners or should [View Full Entry]

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I have joined a photography group and at least once every month there is a shoot and/or workshop plus naturally the obligatory cheeky one for sociallising. I hope by mixing with people who know what they are doing I might pick up some tips and tricks and get more photos I love. This Sunday past the we had a composition workshop which coincided with two noteworthy events - snow in spring and the Olympic Torch Relay. As is usual in London when planning to go anywhere the first step is the quick look out the window to see what delights the [View Full Entry]

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It's always a happy time in the UK when friends from back home are in country and there's an opportunity for a nice relaxed catch up (or 20). Last weekend a couple of friends from my Asia trip in 2005 just happened to be in Oxford for a wedding so I decided if they could come all the way from Oz I could spend an hour on a train to go visit them there for a catch up (plus having a free tour guide never hurts!). I haven't seen James and Amanda for about a year or so although Emily, their [View Full Entry]

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There is a theory that the minute an antipodean steps foot through Heathrow 5kg swoops in from the cosmos and affixes itself permanently to your backside. I have to disagree, rather I think the Heathrow injection hides for a couple of months then launches a sneak attack on your middle as the spare tyre of indulgence. While the lower half gets by with the extensive walking the UK requires as part of everyday life, the stomach expands in a direct proportions to the amount of time spent eating, drinking and sitting doing the eating and drinking. Needless to say, despite fighting [View Full Entry]

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Another weekend, another excuse to bugger off to the continent and play in another little corner of the world. So Friday right after work it was back to Stanstead, but no train hitches for a change. Check in, laze around and then before you know it a mere 45m after you leave ... Belgium. I flew to Brussels Chareloi Airport, which is about 45 mins from the City, so it was onto the bus then a rather circuitous taxi ride to my hostel near the centre of the city. It's the first time I've had a taxi driver ask me if [View Full Entry]

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A bit of a delay, but technical details sorted so ... onto Valencia Weekends away are always nice, but somehow being in London they are just that little bit nicer as you can experience a little bit of another culture for a couple of days. In keeping with my promises to myself in moving to Europe, this weekend I joined 3 random strangers for a long weekend in Valencia, Spain. Thursday afternoon I booked off work for the 'express' journey to Stanstead. Given my history with British Rail I should have known that it wasn't going to go smoothly and right [View Full Entry]

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Hello all, another month or so full of the excitement of life in London. January has been action packed with loads of outings with new friends and I've even managed to move onto second and third meetings with some, which in my new life makes them old friends! The biggest news for me and a great source of happiness is that I have now moved away from my first attempt at flat sharing and hopefully home number 2 will prove to be more successful. I realised that I couldn't overlook all the deficiencies of the place, when the woman decided that [View Full Entry]

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Well another couple of weeks have gone past and I'm still here. Now some of my reading public (at least one person) has asked about my life in London - not just the partying and travelling, but life. So, despite finding it a bit wanky, I've decided to permit myself an introspective moment to share my new life with those who were part of my old ... and random strangers since this is public! London - well I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I waver between great affection for London and not wanting to be here. It's not that [View Full Entry]

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What a wonderful way to see in the end of 2007 than 'getting down' on the dance floor with friends in a little bar in Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye. A couple of weeks ago Bruce mentioned that he and a couple of his friends were heading north to experience the traditional Hogmaney! It would have been rude of me not to make sure I was in on the Scottish action and accordingly when I flew back from Poland I had enough time to do a quick load of washing and repack before jumping a tube to St Pancras and [View Full Entry]

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If you are ever lucky enough to be invited to spend Christmas in Poland - GO!!! I have been really blessed that people keep opening their homes to me and the Blonkiewicz family has been no exception. Magdalena who I met (yes again) in India invited me to visit with her family and as this is not the year to say no, I of course took her up on that. So at 2.40am on Monday 24 December I climbed out of bed to dress, catch the night bus to Stockwell, to wander the streets looking for (and finding) the National Express [View Full Entry]

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