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Arriving back in London after our epic weekend in Copenhagen, there was no chance for a rest as I had a mere 3 and a half weeks left of my time in London! In that time I had organised plenty of catch ups with people who I might not see again for ages, and a lot of tying up loose ends. One of these was doing my final Hapkido grading up to Brown Belt, which I passed.
I also managed a quick trip away with Hannah as we went up to check out Warwick Castle. We were extremely lucky as the weather was superb - crystal clear blue skies in November! We wandered around the town of Warwick first then walked around the Castle, watched a hawking show and I had more laughs at Hannah's expense as she wondered how the Dragon knew where we were when we went up to Merlin's Tower. Hint: There may have been cameras and a guy with a microphone involved. As the photos show, we got some great shots before we came back to London to warm up.
Then all of a sudden it was my final weekend in London. I celebrated by
going up to Leeds for the final time (this season at least) and took up Clay and Leo with me for their first experience at Elland Road. They experienced an amazing atmosphere as a former player had recently died and the crowd were in full voice in celebrating his life. I'm sure reading this will bring back the strains of 'Oh Gary, Gary....' which will stick in their mind for days..... Leeds also won 2-0 which was fantastic and we left in a happy mood back down to London for my leaving drinks. It was a bit like my 21st in that I spent the whole evening trying to get around and chat to everyone but it was great to see those who came one last time.
My last couple of days were spent having catch ups with Ben, then the old West Hampstead crew of Kim, Meg & Ally & then one final 'Last Supper' at an Argentinian Steakhouse. Then before I even really realised, I was sitting on a plane leaving Heathrow with no plans to return. It was an incredibly weird feeling and I will always miss my friends, Hapkido, Leeds and the life and energy
Warwick Castle #3
Part of the main towers of London, if not the hassle of the Central Line at rush hour or not seeing the sun for weeks on end in winter! But it is time for a new adventure, and as a transition, I had a big catch up with Laurel, one of my friends who truly encompasses the meaning of an international friend. She's from the US, but I met her in Romania, got to know her on the train to Hungary before she left to go back to Italy where she lived, then we both made trips to visit each other in London and Sicily before she moved back home.
I managed to escape the clutches of the always fun and friendly US Customs Officials and met Laurel and she played the perfect host. Over the 5 days, I helped her setup her apartment, find a Christmas Tree we called 'Tantra', nicknamed her GPS as 'Vicki' and we explored Santa Barbara and other parts of LA. One of the random highlights was finally trying the KFC Double Down burger - and I was impressed! But before long I had to bid her farewell as I was back on the plane to NZ.
It
Warwick Castle #4
Looking over the town was even weirder being back in NZ permanently for the first time since 2007, but it was great to see the Crew again - or at least once I had passed the 'Ministry of Re-imigration' (sic) tests. Apparently there are strict criteria for being allowed back in the country. Not satisfied with the ordinary processes of the NZ customs officials, I was subjected to their vigourous testing. I had to pass a variety of tests including skulling a beer in under 5 seconds, passing a Rugby World Cup test, a blind beer tasting test, sing the national anthem - in both English and Maori (no one won that test), perform the haka and do multiple gas chambers. Thankfully I came through the other side and was given a 'Ministry of Re-Imigration' identity card to prove my citizenship.
After recovering my welcome back night, it was straight into Christmas which was a completely different affair to last year in Morocco as I was surrounded by kids and drunk parents and grandparents. Take me back to Morocco! 😉 I think the family might prefer that as well because all my presents for them were stuck on the wharf due to the
Warwick Castle #5
Looking over the town and the river union dispute. Great timing. Otherwise I threw myself into getting set up quickly and I had a car within 3 days, a flat in just over a month and a job within 2. Not bad considering there was also a two and a bit week trip to Australia in there, but I'll leave that for the next entry....
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