Blogs from Beroun, Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic, Europe

Our morning began with the usual daily routine. I trudged down to breakfast with bleary eyes at 6.30am and headed straight for the caffeination station. After breakfast, we headed to the rink and our team physiotherapist Julee worked on my sore neck. The range of motion and pain levels have improved heaps, and I felt fantastic after Julee finished. I had my first pain-free practice in a few days and began to hear choruses of James Brown singing "Ï feel good" as the training session progressed. After training and warm-downs, we had lunch and a three hour rest. As I was checking my emails during the break, I noticed a sharp, throbbing pain in my left shoulder and went to see Julee again. She prodded me with her fingers and declared there were "gremlins" in my ... read more

We boarded the plane in Auckland full of exhuberance and good cheer. The excitement was palpable as team mates from the Ice Fernz rallied together in the International Airport Terminal amidst hugs and chatter to snap photos of eachother in front of signs that read International Departures. By the time we disembarked in Dubai to switch planes, we were walking like zombies and decidedly less cheerful. Our team seating arrangement onboard the 14 hour flight had been thickly peppered by crying babies. I sat directly behind two women from the United Arab Emirates with their two young children who didn't have to decency to genuinely cry, but insisted on doing the fake-fussy cry nearly the entire journey--a piercing cry that managed to shatter even my sleeping-pill induced wonderland of dreams. By the end of that flight, ... read more

Sunday 16th August Into the land of the Skoda We have been wracking our brains as to the year we owned a Skoda car.It was our first car after we were married and when it was time to trade up we sold it foir the same amount that we brought itr for!!We did have to replace an axle,a front windscreen and put in a reconditioned motor though in the couple of years we owned it.Leigh might remember trips in the grey Skoda with the engine in the rear but Erin would have been just a baby so it must have been the early eighties.The Skoda was ranked just above the Lada but it was definitely more comfortable to travel in than the Lada!!(just) Today we are heading for the country that New Zealand used to trade ... read more

Ahh, spontaneous action. The awakening of the zombies. I was in Beroun for 2 weeks to participate in the Meet the Freak camp which has the ambitions of practicing inclusion, and collectively getting our act together to do performances. It was a special time for me in which 60 people were truly united in the space of the long Plesnik campground full of chatas(huts). At this place there were no pretenses of anonymity as you passed familiar faces to the campfire or back to the zachod. If you felt a touch lonely, you just walked 10 feet from your hut and joined the nearest soul or group to “chew the fat”. In other words, it was what a neighborhood could and should be. The most memorable moments for me were doing the actions at the ... read more