Well I’m back to the grindstone after spending 5 wine-filled nights in gorgeous Paris with my Mum, family friend Vicky, brother John and his girlfriend Hayley!  We had an absolutely amazing time and our breath was taken on oh so many occasions at the sheer magnitude of some of the amazing sights!  It really is unbelieveable when you actually stop and think just how long those monuments and statues have been there.

Our trip started off with the Easyjet flight from Newcastle to Charles de Gaulle Airport landing at approx 4pm on Thursday 13th August – Mum’s 59th birthday!  A shuttle then whisked us away to the fantastic loft apartment Vicky had found online for us – and it was EXACTLY how it was portrayed on the internet which was such a relief! Would’ve been nothing worse than us walking in and it being a total dive… but it wasn’t… it was awesome!

 Unfortunately something that wasn’t quite so awesome was that Mum had been struck down with a painful stomach bug the day before and was feeling like arse… so she lay down while the rest of us spent the first day scouting things out.  Took the Metro to Champs de Mars and saw the Eiffel Tour! Vicky got a bit emotional which set me off because I was already missing my Dad haha. We were a right pair!  After taking it all in we were waiting in line to see if we could pre-book tickets for the next day and come back with Mum (cos the queues were horrendous) and kept getting pestered by the local illegal souvenir sellers!  The trick is not to make eye contact with them otherwise you’re seriously screwed haha. Funniest thing happened then tho because all of sudden one or two of them started running for the trees of the park and we were like What the?… and then it was like a fricken stampede! And got even funnier when they went from the concrete to the dirt of the park because they created a huge dirt cloud haha and with them being dark it fully looked like an african stampede!  Then we see this French policeman on a bicycle hooning along at the rear and come to a cool-ass skid stop on the dust and it all became clear what was going on!  We were cracking up along with all the other masses of tourists, then we all clapped when the policeman cycled back through looking as cool as anything…. two mins later the buggers were poking their heads round from behind trees to see if the coast was clear which was funny to watch too.  Then we went for a walk through the gardens and had lunch at our first proper French cafe!  Wine & beer for everyone ordered in French of course and Vicky and I shared some pate – so good!  John then went and did a solo mission in Paris (translation : he went drinking haha) while Hayley, Vicky and I went on a ‘Cafe-Crawl’ and had some cocktails (mmmm MOJITO’s!) and did some people-watching. Maaaaaaaaaan did we see some sights! Somehow we found our way back to the apartment a few hours later – slightly toasted and slightly embarrassed that we’d done an unintentional ’Dine-and-Dash’ on the last cafe! Ok so maybe we were more than slightly toasted haha. 

Day Two Mum was feeling kinda better, so with the help of multiple Rennies + other medications Vicky picked up from the local Pharmacie, we hit the road and walked to where the action was! It took a mammoth effort on Mum’s part because she was feeling absolutely horrible but wanted to see the sights, so even though we had to stop a couple of times we finally got to Palais du Louvre and soon to follow was a definite breath-taking moment in the Musee du Louvre!  Now before I go on, if you wanna see some pics CLICK HERE… Walking through the Palais do Louvre to the actual Louvre Museum was abso-friggin-lutely amazing! The glass structure just looks so magnifico being surrounded by the Palais as the detailing on that is absolutely unreal.  So we sat there for a wee while next to the water pool (so hard not to put your feet in on such a hot day but not allowed!) and of course I had to take a photo of Paddington haha.

Then we crossed the road and got on a L’Open Tour Bus ,which we’d seen at the Eiffel Tower the day before, and started on the Paris Grand Tour – which was the main one of all the big sights. Basically the rest of the day was full of  either OMG’s or *GASP* or Holy Shit That’s Big or Wow That’s Amazing…. in between the multiple GOD IT’S HOT!  We had a grand time then got off for some lunch at about 2pm and by then I was knackered with the heat and Mum was feeling a bit crook so us two and Vicky got the Metro back to the apartment while John and Hayley went to go up the Arc de Triomphe and do some shopping.

Day Three we used the 2nd day of the bus tour ticket as basically a taxi to get us around haha. Did a different tour route and set our sights on going to Montmartre – an area of Paris renowned for it’s artists.  Vicky had heard of this place where all the artists gather in a market situation and we really wanted to take Mum there (seeing as she herself is an artist) so we stopped at Moulin Rouge haha and had some lunch to recharge, then hotfooted it up the hill to find these artists! Oh and find them we did – bloody hell was it crowded but I could see Mum was thoroughly enjoying it (despite still being sick).  Hayley and I both had guys come up and start randomly cutting out our silhouettes and it was amazing to watch them make this perfect profile of us in literally 1 min… with only two pieces of paper and a pair of scissors!! Oh of course then he wanted money for it haha.  It was really good tho so I got it – must take a photo and put it in the album actually….. Hayley egged John on to get their caricatures done which turned out to be really funny – Johns’ espeically was SO him – he better put it in a frame back in Blenheim!  After Vicky had stopped having her tonsil’s tickled by the French waiter Mohad (seriously random thing that happened!) we then headed back down the hill  to the tour bus again and back to the city.  Everyone but Vicky and I were ready to call it a day and go back to the apartment at that point so Vicky and I used up the last of the tour ticket and did a totally different tour of what I would class as Paris-everyday life, as it had none of the impressive sights really but you saw that it wasn’t all like the touristy centre.

Day Four we got up uber-early and squashed the 5 of is into a taxi for 4 (on the plus side the driver was petrified of being stopped by the cops so was driving fast and it was really cheap!) and Mum finally got to see the Eiffel Tower up close and personal!  Of course it didn’t open til 9 but we knew we’d have to get there early to avoid the queues… and avoid we did.  But did Paris help us out with a nice warm morning while we waited? Nope… we had the first chilly and foggy morning of our trip and on the worst possible day! We went up to the top of the tower and the views were amazing but would’ve been so much better if it’d been clear… but still… a chilly & foggy day up the Eiffel Tower in Paris is still better than a chilly and foggy day at work in Newcastle!  So with that done John and Hayley headed off on their own again while Mum, Vicky and I headed across the road to the river and got on a Batobus for a cruise up the River Seine!  Mum & Vicky have always wanted to see Monet’s Waterlilies so we did that and Mum got to indulge her artistic side again at the Musee de L’Orangerie (after scaring the shit out of Vicky & I by going super-pale and almost throwing up while we waited to get tickets!)  Then we took a wander down the Champs Elysees and got some lunch from a sandwich bar and sat down on a park bench. I decided to go have a lie down on the grass cos it was so hot…  it wasn’t until I got up 10mins later and went back to sit with Mum and Vicky that I learnt there had been a sicko dude lying just metres away “giving himself a wee treat” if you know what I mean! In the middle of the day in broad daylight! Talk about disgusting… That was enough for me so I headed back up the river on the Batobus and walked to the apartment while Mum and Vicky went to the Louvre.

Day Five was the day John and Hayley left at 8am heading to Londonfor the next leg on their trip –  Hong Kong, before heading back home…. and it was the day I finally got a handbag from Paris! Vicky, Mum and I went shopping in the morning before the shuttle was due to pick us up at 1.30 and got ourselves some presents. I got two handbags – one gorgeous Marilyn-inspired one and another purple leather one with flower detail. LOVE THEM! We got back to the apartment just in time to chow down on the last of our wine, cheese and delicious bread before the shuttle arrived to whisk us away back to the airport and UK…. 28deg to 16deg in under 2 hours haha. Brilliant!

All in all a great city break… but I never thought my first European trip would include damn near all of my family from NZ!

xx

Yip it’s official… Rossco now has her first set of UK wheels! A 2003 Ford Fiesta to be exact… one prior older couple owned her before me and apparently she only did around 1,000 miles in the last year! Of course that is all set to change now she’s mine haha I’m not one for worrying about keeping the mileage figure down for possible re-sale!

I have Mum, Vicky, Auntie Marcia and Uncle Ali to thank for my new wheels as only two days after arriving from NZ Mum and Vicky set out to find   me a car and give me a bit more independence and found this wee gem in a day! First I knew about it was when the receptionist at work called me to say my Mum was in reception… Admittedly my first reaction was OMG how embarrassing what is Mum doing here! and then I thought OMG something must be really wrong so I raced out and Mum was standing in reception with a sombre look on her face and she says  “Amanda, I’ve got some bad news…” and my face just dropped. Then she said “We’ve found you a car!” which is when I called her a name and pushed her away from me! I really thought something was wrong with my Dad but she totally got me back for the way I told her about the Paris trip!  I couldn’t get off work for another hour so they went into town to do some shopping and then we went to the car yard to sort it all out. Hardest part was having to wait from Wed arvo until Sat arvo to pick her up haha.

Ironically my bus pass was due to expire on the Sunday so it all worked out perfectly and I’ve been driving to work all this week and it’s so much better than riding the bus.

Ok… so here’s a bit of background that I couldn’t blog about before in case Mum read my blog (only a slim chance but I wasn’t going to risk it) basically Mum’s good mate and close neighbour (only an empty section between!) Vicky emailed me with the idea to surprise Mum with a trip to Paris for her birthday in August and I thought it was a grand idea! So we were playing Secret Squirrel over phone/email for a couple of months and I booked the flights and Vicky took care of the accommodation – check this OUT… http://www.specialapartments.com/24_chapon.html

Now, I’m such a loving and fantastic daughter that I couldn’t let Mum off too easy when it came to telling her that Vicky and I had planned this surprise trip could I? All along I had thought we would tell her maybe a couple days before we were due to leave but Vicky pointed out that it might be best to give her a bit of warning etc so in the end it was a couple days after they’d arrived that I told her.

Here’s how it went… we were sitting in the living room of my Aunties house (‘WE’ being Auntie Marcia, Vicky, Mum, Me) and I turned to Mum… took her hand… put my game face on and said “Now Mum…. I’ve got something to tell you. I don’t want you to be mad at me or get upset…” and at this point Mum has this priceless look on her face and says “Oh God” hehe and I’m struggling to keep a straight face before yelling “We’re going to Paris for your birthday!” There’s this moment of silence before she starts laughing and whacks me on the arm.  Classic! She totally thought I was pregnant or something haha.

Also,  my Auntie’s face was priceless too as she was apparently thinking “Oh God Amanda’s gone and got herself pregnant when I was supposed to be looking after her!” and as Vicky knew it was coming she was tryin to get her attention to wink or something but her eyes were glued on me wondering what the hell I was going to say…. Ahhh I’m such a brilliant daughter to age my mother 10 years like that.

153 days…. or 5 months, 3 days…. or 220,320 mins….

Far out – that is how long I’ve been away from home! Can’t believe it’s been that long… 

I’m driving down south to London-town this weekend to pick up my Mum and family friend Vicky from Heathrow for their 2 month stay in the UK! They arrive sometime on the Monday 20th July (stand-by business class seats are a bit of a mission to confirm but should be around 11am London time!) and I’m taking this opportunity to spend some quality time with my best mate Amelia as well! She lives in Bladon, Woodstock with her hubby Mike, which is near Oxford. I’ve hired a car and I’m driving down this Saturday all by myself and I CANNOT wait! I’ve been looking forward to doing a road trip down South for ages as I’ve pretty much explored as far as I can North before I’d have to stay overnight.

Also, when I asked Amelia last week very politely, and not at all in an over-excited way, if I could stay with them this weekend she told me she had her parents friend already staying (hello comfy sofa bed for Manda!) and they’d booked tickets to Battle Prom at Blenheim Palace for the Saturday night. I said that’s fine & I’ll just chill out at your new cottage while you’re out as I couldn’t really afford to go…. but sneaky minx Amelia bought me a ticket didn’t she! So I’ll be rocking up in my ‘Vauxhall Astra or similar’ car late Saturday afternoon and joining them for a nice stroll up the road to Blenheim Palace where there will be some such Battle Prom as well as wine and a picnic (c/o Amazing Amelia!). Not entirely sure what a Battle Prom is but Amelia says its on par with ‘Sparks in the Park’ back home but on a much larger scale… but to be honest after the word WINE and PICNIC were mentioned everything else she said kinda went blurry haha.

Then, after a lovely night drinking wine and having a picnic in a palace, we will take a drive into Oxford for NANDOS lunch the next day! OMG totally can’t wait for this part – going from having Nandos almost every week back home in New Zealand to only having had it TWICE in the aforementioned time in the UK has left me feeling rather deprived. I had it first with Amelia and Mike a day after I arrived in the UK back in February.. and then I went with my Auntie at the one in the massive Metro Centre shopping mall here in Newcastle… alas it has evaded me ever since!

Also, my brother John and his girlfriend Hayley are arriving into Heathrow Sunday August 2nd and will be having a couple days in London with our cousins then driving up here to Newcastle. I’ve taken the Thursday, Friday and following Monday off to spend with them and I can’t wait!  Then they leave on the 19th August but Mum and Vicky are here for another month after that.

I’m hoping overall after they’ve all gone home we will have had the chance to visit:

• Edinburgh
• York (checking it out on my way down this Saturday too though) 
• Liverpool (as a possible new home for me before Xmas
• Durham (I’ve driven through in pouring rain [see older post re: stretch hummers etc] but never stopped to have a look)

Oh well… this will more than likely be my last update before the Kiwi’s invade but I’ll try and post stuff while they’re here because if I leave it til they’ve gone I won’t remember what was done/said! [Memory like a fish]

Take care guys and gals,

Manda xxx

Well I’m currently in the middle of a mass thunder & lightning display – on my lunch break but stuck in the office cos it is PELTING it down outside! Definitely ‘fastest setting on the windscreen wipers’ weather as I like to say haha.  I’m all on my lonesome this arvo cos the Irish part-timer Julie has left and the other 4 ladies in the office are either on non-work days or sick! So…. I have got NZ music playing  – currently “Northern Lights” by Goldenhorse & I’m loving it!   Preceding this was “Loyal” by Dave Dobbyn which was equally as brill.

Just a quick update really to fill peeps in on what’s been happening…** SIDEBAR | music now = “Beers” by Deja Voodoo (off Outrageous Fortune soundtrack) + MASSIVE lightning strike and thunderous thunder outside!!**… over the last couple of weeks!  Well, as planned I took two days off for my birthday but of course I had to go and get the sickness didn’t I!  So as well as having the Thu & Fri I had all of the next week off too – killer sore throat, headache, all blocked up, cough, wheeziness from asthma… you name it and it was happenin. I did, however, manage to catch some of the heatwave rays that were streaming down last week (top of 27celcius which is damn near tropical up in the North East!)  through many sessions on the deckchair reading… and my arms & chest are quite sufficiently brown! (only after first going a radical red of course haha) but I’m back at work now though and the first day is going swimmingly.

Over last week the dates of Mum, Vicky, John & Hayley’s flights over were finalised and here’s how it’s happening…

• Mum & Vicky (family friend) are getting into Heathrow 20th July and staying until 22nd Sept.
• John & Hayley (his girlfriend) are arriving at Heathrow 3rd Aug and staying until 17th Aug.

Still can’t quite believe they’re coming but it’s going to be brilliant to see them! **music now = “Dreams in my head” by Anika Moa**  So I’ve pretty much got two weeks before Mum & Vicky get here which I’m sure will go really quickly.

Nothing much else to report… been living the quiet life at my Aunties house still, which won’t change until after the family’s been… then I’ll be gearing up the search for a flat, as well as sorting out my job situation, and hopefully feeling more settled!  Ah well… laters kids!

Manda xx

Yip that was what my last Saturday as a 27 year old contained! Amongst other things of course and here’s how it goes…

As it was the last weekend I’d have complete free use of the Audi for a wee while I thought best to make the most of it and get out on the road to explore the North East a bit more, but when I woke up on Sat morning I was feeling a tad un-enthused. Now, I’m contributing about 95% of this feeling to the fact that I had about 6 bourbons the night before and the remaining 5% to the fact that when I woke up and looked out the window it was overcast & drizzly – which meant no top down driving for me! (Just my luck haha) So I fell back into bed and read/snoozed for another hour then at 10 am I got up and slapped myself into some form of good attitude. My cousin Suzy was doing the dishes in the kitchen by that stage so I came in looking like complete shite – PJ’s still on & hair as wild as Jesse Ryder after a night on the turps – and got a lovely look & laugh from Suzy that said it all haha. I then checked up on my farm on Facebook (my new addiction-  thanks Shaz & Karryn!) and made sure my crops were all harvested & new ones plowed & seeded.  Then Uncle Ali came round, as he normally does on a Sat morning – cue the smile/laugh/lovely comment on my appearance!  So he stayed for a cuppa tea & smoke (him not me ewww gross!) then departed to go back to bed no doubt.

 I decided to go to Sainsburys to get some food in before my Auntie comes back on Tue & Suzy decided to tag along so we headed off and somehow I managed to make her get teary about Fathers Day today! Her dad died suddenly about 7 years ago and she still misses him so I had to scramble to change the subject quickly cos I could feel myself getting teared up about being so far away from my own Dad!! (Not good when driving expensive car…) Anyways we got to the supermarket in one piece and zoomed round the aisles managing to control the urge to buy naughty stuff (even tho Suzy kept pointing all the nice biscuits out every two seconds!!) and there was a deal on where you buy two  2L Coca Cola & get this nifty cool Coke glass! It’s like the one I had to leave at home so I got that and it’s now my new bourbon drinking glass haha. Hmmmm small things amuse small minds I guess but I was super excited about using it that night for a few more Beams!

Once I had unpacked & found places for all the foodage (some were kinda random but there was no room!) and Suzy went back home (across the road) I had lunch & sat to read for a bit… before coming a tad bored! It was at this point I decided that despite the gloomy weather I was gonna go for an exploration drive… at 3.30 pm haha! Couldn’t put the top down which sucked MAJORLY cos it’s so fun but ended up driving South for ages down the A1 motorway and saw signage for Durham and thought ‘Why not!’ so I did… and then it started POURING down rain. Like too fast for the fastest setting on the wipers fast! That was interesting, cos it coincided with me coming to a few hectic roundabouts (which are sometimes totally off the scale of confusion in the UK) but I managed to negotiate them and then it seemed to clear for a bit… which is when I had a ‘moment’.  I’ve had a few of these ‘moments’ since I’ve been in the UK and they’re the whole reason I came over here. I came up over this wee hill and as I did Durham Castle & Cathedral came into view and OH MY GOD my mouth opened involuntarily, it was just so majestic & the mist and grey clouds seemed to make it that much more old-worldly, like I was back in the days where it was used as a proper castle. I almost forgot to look at the road haha I just wasn’t expecting it I don’t think and there it was. SO I tried to drive round Durham to get close to it again but geez was it hard! and the rain came back which didn’t help as I couldn’t get any good photos. Durham is totally and completely lovely though, and it’s become somewhere I think I’d definitely like to live if I end up staying in the Newcastle area for a few years. It was so green & compact in places and then suddenly you go down this dark lane with a leafy canopy all around and above you and suddenly there’s huge open green fields on both sides of ya! I was well impressed with Durham for sure & I will definitely be going there for a day trip when Mum, Vicky, John and Hayley get here in July/August that’s for sure! 

As I wasn’t able to take any photos here’s a few sites to go to see just what I’m talking about… 

• Wikipedia
• Durham Millburngate Bridge
• Durham Cathedral & Castle

So it was real whirlwind kinda 2.5hrs where I saw a few random things which, as well as my OMG moment, made the day really memorable… 

• On the drive into Durham I saw a stretch white Hummer outside a theatre at like 5pm – never seen one before!
• Was waiting at the lights & saw two grown men trying to impress some girls at the pub by coming out onto the street to try to fly a Thomas the Tank Engine kite…. and failing HUGELY! I laughed so loud with the window open that they heard me & looked over… thank god the lights had changed & I zoomed off!
• Had this awesome Lotus 7 wee sports car following me a lot of the way back home and it totally reminded me of Dad & his Lotus. This one had a dinky plastic canopy on it so it could be driven in the rain (which he was doing haha)
• Saw a Duke of Wellington pub which reminded me of home (there’s a suburb in Newcastle called Bishop Auckland that does the same thing.)
• These numbers started flashing up on the navigation screen area of the car & for a minute or two I was like what the frig, but then remembered my Aunties embarrassing story of how it had happened a couple of times to her too – so she took it to the Audi shop to ask one of the guys what it was… turns out it’s the car telling you that you’ve been driving for 2 hrs without a break! hahaha funny.

So that was my last Sat as a 27 year old… came home, had some tea, christened my new Coke glass, spoke to Mum & Dad on the phone & wished Dad a HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Monday 22nd… first time I’ve been away from everyone for a birthday – feels weird! My birthday’s on Thurs 25th so that’s gonna be doubly weird – bet you I cry when the family rings! OMG I totally forgot to put something in this post about my present I got from home on Fri after work… think I’ll leave that til next week and do a post about me b’day.

AH well…. this is another chunky one by the looks of it but not my problem now cos it’s done-burger! (been using this word heaps at work… pretty sure I’m referred to now as ‘the odd girl from New Zealand who talks funny & uses weird words’ haha!) 

Right… must go tend to my Farm on Facebook & update my sounds on my laptop…. been way too long!

Laters people,

Love Manda xxx

Random song lyrics above but I’m currently sitting in the sun in my Auntie’s conservatory on her computer listening to some tunes on Grooveshark and that was what was playing when I started writing this post… so as my rules dictate, that is to be the post title! “Forever in Blue Jeans” – Neil Diamond…

Well… (shit! just leant back in my chair (not realizing it was a fancy chair that has fancy leaning back capabilities) and thought I was about to go ass over kite haha!)… today (Saturday 13th June) was one of the best days I’ve had since I’ve been up here in Newcastle!  I had a wee sleep in til about 9am then got my packed lunch and flask of coffee ready (Mum would be so proud she’s had that influence over me!) and, after a visit from Uncle Ali and Cousin Suzy, I headed off on my long-anticipated day out in the car!

Originally I had intended to go to Wallington because I Googled ‘squirrels UK’ and saw on the National Trust website that this old country house there had made an effort to conserve the red squirrel population and there was a walk you could do to maybe see some… and since it’s been ages since I’ve seen a proper real-life squirrel (last time was when I was in Std 4 at primary school and we lived in the UK for 4 months and I saw one down in London) I thought I’d give it a whirl!  Unfortunately, when I drove the 50 mins to Wallington it was being bombarded with cyclists etc for some kind of ‘meet’ so looked way to busy for a quiet squirrel hunt haha! The drive there was lovely though so it was in no way a wasted journey – just getting out in the car was enough for me! 

I was driving on from Wallington when I came to an intersection that had a sign for Kielder Castle and Forest – 22 miles… and my impulsiveness (yes DJ I gave in to it this time!) made me turn in the opposite direction of home and go exploring. Hell I had just filled up the car with petrol so why not! I had researched Kielder as a place to go because it also had squirrels & an amazing forest and lake but thought it would be for another day cos it was quite far away… turns out it was for today!! So I had a lovely long drive through the English countryside – off the beaten track where a lot of times I had to slow down when another car was coming in the opposite direction because the road was so narrow! I loved it – meandering along (obviously at an Audi TT speed!) with the top down enjoying the sights. The landscape is kinda similar to NZ in that it’s so open with rolling hills etc but there’s normally a stone fence on the roadside, compared with the No 8 wire fences we have back home haha! 

So I got up to Kielder and parked the car and found a vacant picnic table to have my packed lunch and it was utter bliss! Took some photos so I’ll upload them tonight and update this too. Didn’t manage to see any squirrels but there’s always next time!

There was multiple giggle opportunities along the way… some English village names are just plain odd! Example: Donkleywood… Kirkwhelpington… Otterburn… I love it!! Got some pics of signs with the names on them but half the time there’s no place to stop and take a photo so I miss out but always have a laugh cos they’re just so random!

“In other news….” (channelling Alison Mau from TV One News) my temp contract with Northumbria University was extended for another month after the minimum two months was up last week (couldn’t believe I’d been there that long!) so that’s good! It could have been extended for two months but with Mum, Vicky, John and Hayley coming over late July/early August I wasn’t too sure if I would be able to commit to it so it’s just another month at this stage but it looks like I could be there for longer. I’m working with some brilliant people in the Research, Regional and European Affairs department… although one of the older dudes I deal with constantly refers to me as ‘The Aussie’ when I’ve told him before, with exaggerated OMG’ness, that I’m NOT an Australian! But last week he comes in and says some remark about how my team got played out of the Twenty20 Cricket tournament… THAT WAS AUSTRALIA NOT NEW ZEALAND YOU DORK!! 

OH and it’s my birthday in 12 days…. as of the 25th of June I will be 28 years of age… bring it!!!

laters Dudes & Dudettes,

Rossco xx

Haha now I have no clue who came up with this genius quote but I likey it a lot!

Right, ok so this will be a shorter update than usual because I’m really just filling a 20min space of time where if I didn’t have something to do I would be found drooling fast asleep on my keyboard… and that’s just asking for someone to take a photo and plaster it all over Facebook now isn’t it! Can’t have that…

Super excited because we are mere days away from it being my birthday month! which basically means I am legally allowed to constantly go on about the fact that I’m turning 28 (!) Not only that but doing it in the UK!  This time last year I was in a totally different space and after a few birthdays of looking back and it being the same it’s quite exciting to look back and reflect.

What have I been getting up to over the past few weeks? Um this past Monday was a bank holiday here in the Britain that is Great and it was a gorgeous day up here in Newcastle (25deg from memory) so I tagged along with my auntie Marcia and cousin Neil and the 3 kids to Beamish Museum – an open air museum of olden day times basically. So cool to ride the tram round and I loved all the olden day signs and sweeties! Took a few pics so I’ll endeavour to put them online at some point over the weekend (translation: probably in two weeks time!)

Other than that I’ve been keeping a low profile in order to save a few ££ for when Mum, John, Hayley and Vicky come over in a couple of months!

Oh while I remember – classic 3yr old Findlay O’Brien response  to his 7yr old sister Ellen:   

ELLEN - ”Findlay stop putting your leg on me”       FINDLAY - ”But I love you”

hehehehehe coming out of a 3yr old’s mouth that was just the cutest!  Also another moment where he’d pounced on me in my room and demanded to watch Robin Hood… “I like you Manda”  to which I burst out laughing and he giggled “Why you laughing Manda… I not funny”  and in his cutesy wee voice it just made me laugh that much harder! He’s an adorable wee munchkin that you can’t stay mad at for very long that’s for sure.

YAY that’s 15 mins taken up so I’m on the home straight now… Plans for this weekend? Nothing major as yet – just the usual puppy training class on Sun morning with my cousin and then yummmmy Sunday lunch made by my auntie followed by a nana nap!  A bit confused as to the fact that NZ is having Queens Birthday long weekend this weekend and yet the Brits don’t seem to think her birthday is worth having a day off! Ludicrous….

Anyways must dash – places to explore…  people to confuse with my accent…

Until next time Kids xxx

“What makes life worth living? To be born with the gift of laughter and sense that the world is mad.” –Searamouche

“Often it is the most deserving people who cannot help loving those who destroy them.” –Herman Hesse

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” –Victor Hugo

“Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you–not because they are nice, but because you are.” –Unknown

“If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.” –Sheryl Crow

Well those are some of the more memorable quotes I’ve found when stumbling round the vast Internet over the last few weeks (started this post about 2 weeks ago…)

Things have been ticking over quite nicely here in Newcastle – my week-day routine has been carved in stone just like home…

6.15 – Get woken up by Cousin Lynn (who’s away in Spain this week so I’ve been left to my own devices…)  Curse the early morning a few times before propelling myself outta bed…..

7.00 – Feed Jesse and give her her jab of insulin… lately she’s been a wee minx when it comes to this and hides from me.

7.11- Catch the bus (if it’s on time which is NEVER) to Newcastle Haymarket – tunes plugged into my ears to cut myself off from any possible communication from fellow bus-goers haha.  Lately my fav song has been Lily Allen’s – “F**k you” – not generally a fan of hers but that song cracks me up every time. Also The Feelers have been featuring a lot lately which is odd.

7.40 – Arrive Haymarket (if it’s on time which is NEVER) and avoid eye contact with the Greggs bakery – very hard to do when tummy rumbling!  Walk to the Uni, normally stopping at Boots to get the meal deal for lunch if i’ve been too lazy to make it the night before… sometimes stop at the Lloyds bank cash machine to check how much ££ I don’t have – on a Fri morning the queue is massive…. pay day!

8.00 – Get to the Uni and make my first coffee of the day before starting work! Onto black coffee at the mo and me likey!

1.00 – Go sit outside and perv on the young, cute Uni boys while eating my lunch and/or reading my book.

4.30 – Escape from work and walk back up to the Haymarket (this time avoiding eye contact with all the clothes shops on Northumberland Street!) To get to the Haymarket I have to walk through Marks & Spencers – which has proved my downfall many a time but I’m getting pretty good at keeping eyes straight forward focused on the door and just power walking through the temptation!

4.55 – Get the 363 bus home with the usual crowd – it’s funny how you see the same people everyday…

5.35 – Arrive home and change into trackies and jandals – oh how I love my jandals!

Um what else to report…. Oh I’m having some visitors from NZ hopefully coming over July / August! My Mum, brother John, John’s missus Hayley and our family friend Vicky are coming over.  One of the reasons is so my Mum can sort my Grandad out as he’s showing signs of early-Dementia, so I’ve been visiting him most weeks since I’ve been here to keep an eye on him and update Mum.  He lives alone so it may be time to bite the bullet and see about moving him into a home but Mum will sort that when she gets here – I can’t wait to see everyone! Never thought I’d see anyone from home this soon after getting here but it’s brilliant – wish my Dad was coming too but hopefully he’ll come next year.  Also, Vicky’s looking to get a house swap sorted between her house in Lyttelton and Italy….. Italy!!!  Here’s hoping it works out cos it means a brilliant holiday for us all and it’s on my list of places to ‘do’.

My Auntie surprised me the other day by asking if I wanted to go to Disneyworld in Paris with her, her son, his wife and their kids!  Her treat! I was flabbergasted and had the biggest smile on my face haha. Nothing has been planned yet but here’s hoping it happens cos it’d be amazing…

My Auntie went to Spain for a couple of weeks at the beginning of the month so I got the use of her car for that time – I was in heaven! I really really really miss driving my car and it was brilliant to get out and about. I went up to the country house and estate of Cragside one Saturday, then to Blyth another day to take photos of the wind turbines – don’t ask me why but I love watching them…  to see some pics of my travels here’s where to go:  http://amandajaneross.smugmug.com/

Well that’s about all for now…

Take care kids!

Manda xxxx

Right well I’ve been meaning to do this post for like a month cos I’ve been noticing a lot of little things that are different in the UK compared with NZ… obviously there was gonna be differences but sometimes they are things that are surprising (well to me anyways haha) so I’m gonna note a few down now and then add to it as new things crop up…

1. They use liquid twink here… when I posed the question of correction tape I got a blank look!
2. The traffic lights flash from red, to red + orange before changing to green. I think you can drive when it’s flashing but I’m not sure.
3. They have massive roundabouts with traffic lights around them which are bloody confusing if you have no clue where you are going – you HAVE to be in the right lane at the start or you’re f**ked basically. (I found this out last night when out driving my Aunties car)
4. People in the North-East are way more conversational compared with the South of England – people smile at you up here and in the shops they make conversation (espeically if you have a Kiwi accent!)
5. They don’t use clippies in the offices… this is outrageous.
6. McDonalds don’t sell Frozen Cokes… to be honest I don’t know how I’ve survived! Oh and in my opinion the fast food here is not as nice as NZ – KFC/McDonalds/BK etc. But they do have McFlurrys!!
7. In Newcastle instead of suburbs they can have kind of like wee villages that are connected by a windy road with foliage/grass right up to the roadside so it feels like you’re in the middle of the countryside but you’re not cos you’re back in the thick of things 2 secs later – this is really weird to get used to!
8. The money! Geeeez this is the thing that irks me the most – NZ is way better in this regard as here you end up having so much useless change of copper it’s ridiculous! They have 1,2,5,10,20 & 50pence coins as well as £1 and £2 then the notes start at £5. 
9. They don’t call them ’EFTPOS cards’ here - it’s called a Debit card and you don’t swipe it on the machine. It’s got a micro-chip on one end that you stick in the machine and put in your pin then wait for it to tell you to take it out. (I’m constantly forgetting to take it back out haha.)  
10. Supermarkets and chemists are more specialised than NZ – places like Boots and Superdrug are chemists but are more like mini-supermarkets minus the food. Supermarkets are MASSIVE but as in NZ there is differing levels of budgetness haha. Oh and most supermarkets sell clothes and books etc so they end up being like a supermarket/Warehouse.
11. Marks & Spencers is brilliant and only sells it’s own brand of food (hence why it’s the most expensive) you can pretty much buy anything and everything in ‘Marksies’ – clothes, furniture, electrical items then go to the supermarket and get your groceries and pay for it in the one place. They sometimes also have a restaurant or cafe. They have the yummiest food – low cal chocolate mousse is my absolute FAV as are the grapes. Expensive but the food lasts longer.
12. Dinner = lunchtime and Tea = Dinner which has confused me many a time.
13. 90% of people drive a manual car which means an automatic car is a damn sight more expensive.
14. There are heaps heaps heaps more European cars compared with NZ (obviously, cos we’re closer to Europe!) but this does take some getting used to! Specially when a Japanese car is mentioned in high regard haha!  That would never happen back home…