Blogs from Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 40

Hi all, welcome to my travel blog! I have decided that this is the easiest way to keep everyone informed on what I'm up to over the three and a half months that I'm away. Not only will I be making diary entries but I'll upload photos as and when I can. Route I depart from Heathrow on Sunday 29th April and fly to LA for a brief stopover, then it's on to the Cook Islands, where I will stay for eleven nights. Next is Fiji for 2 weeks, then New Zealand for 3 weeks, followed by Australia for 7.5 weeks. Hong Kong is our final destiation and I arrive back in the UK on the 12th August. Right, that's all for now, my next update will be from somewhere hot and sunny! ... read more

I had never imagined that my Easter holidays would be as eventful, joyous and rewarding as this year's. Reason, I'm so used to spending this period with family going to church - and therefore thought I would be very bored since in the UK I haven't had time to really get to know the Christian community where I live. Nonetheless, I took off to Southampton, a lovely and quiet city just outside Winchester, south of England. The weather was attractively stunning when I arrived and I was reminded of Durban. The scenery, the lakes, the gardens and the waterfront all caught my attention as I landed - it was like I had set foot on a different part of Europe! The landscape in the outskirts of the city was irresistibly beautiful!! My friends, Derrick, Tebogo and ... read more

Links to re-add after travelblog database malfunction I went to Winchester in 1994 to do my degree (History with Education Studies) at King Alfred's College in Winchester, then stayed on to gain my PhD at what became University College Winchester, and is now the University of Winchester. I just loved the feel of Winchester when I arrived, and have never got sick of it. There's only about 60,000 people, it's within easy reach of London, Southampton, and the New Forest, although everything you need for everyday living and a bit more is available there too - see these 360 degree images! It's a place where you can be walking along the street, and an old man, wearing maroon velvet cords and a tweed jacket (with patches on the elbows) is riding along on a bicyle with ... read more

The only real purpose of this entry is to post some pictures I took today. The weather and light were so perfect; I couldn't resist going out to shoot! Plus, Mom made me feel guilty for not using my camera much lately... Around campus we have a ton of flowers, mostly daffodils, that just grow wild, though there are some planted against the buildings. So pretty! Some of these pictures are also taken down by this dodgy-looking little pond that is near the gym... though close-up I guess it doesn't look so bad. Then I walked over to the cemetery (again, I know...am I morbid? But it's pretty!) and wandered to the back of it, where I discovered all these tiny little flowers growing wild, which aren't as abundant in the part of the cemetery you ... read more

Following Brendan’s newly planned career change, and therefore location change, Leah and I took the opportunity to use Brendan’s free accommodation to visit Southampton, and have a free tour guide at the same time. By some kind of luck, 2 minutes after when we got back to office from lunch on Friday, there was a power cut. At 4.30, I finally gave up waiting, and used the good excuse to leave the office early to start our journey South. Brendan and I meet Leah and Waterloo and caught the train down to Southampton. We went into ‘Oxford Street’, the main restaurant area, and finally got to take Leah to Pizza Express. After dinner we caught a taxi to Brendan’s flat in Bitterne and laxed out in the lounge, before the three of us shacked up in ... read more