Doug & Jodie

This was a wonderful autumn weekend full of sunshine and clear blue skies!! On Friday night Doug and I met along the south bank near Waterloo and has a lovely French meal. Then we walked to The Cut at Waterloo to see ‘Round and Round the Garden’ at the Old Vic Theatre.  This production was 1 play of the 3 Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn that can been seen either individually or altogether. It was hilariously funny and left us wanting to see the other two productions. The Old Vic is an institution in the theatre world and the theatre in the round setting meant every seat was fabulous and the old ornate box seats were beautiful.

The next day Doug and I headed to Hyde Park for a last sunny walk before it gets cold and perhaps our last in a long time as we’ve only 3 mths left in London!!! We hired a paddle boat and paddled around the Serpentine Lake – it was such a lovely relaxing moment and we had a good laugh chasing ducks and watching people. From here we went on to The V&A museum in Sth Kensington which was spectacular. After lunch in an Italian Cafe we grabbed some of the delicious cupcakes at the Hummingbird Bakery before heading home.

Today Doug is out making the most of the weather and sneaking in a last golf game before the weather turns… leaving Jodie to organise his birthday arrangements and our big trip home… (oh and cleaning )

We’re famous … well our street is. Last week a production crew spent an entire day shooting a 5 second scene in front of the building next door. Massive cranes stretched out over the street which simulated pooring rain – I felt like running out with buckets and sending the water home! So, sometime in the future you will see a new Kia in the rain, a guy drives up, stops and runs through the rain to buzz his dates door – that’s our street! (p.s it’s still an ugly car)

Two weeks ago I was the coldest I have ever been in London, I forgot my gloves and my hands went blue at the bus stop. It’s a different story now. Last week I stopped wearing a coat, the office heating is still on so we’ve had the doors open in our 10th floor office with a breeze blowing through. Walking home along the Thames there are people everywhere sitting on every square inch of grass and at lunch time the parks are full of business people soaking up the rays!!! The other day it brought a smile to my face as I walked home and an ice cream van came by, there were kids everywhere and I realised that the city was waking up … everyone truly disappears indoors over winter.

We have just had a lovely warm weekend, apparently this is as warm as it usually gets in summer. Friday night Doug met me at London bridge tube after work and we went to Wagamamma for dinner – yum noodles. We enjoyed beers as they should be drunk, when it’s warm! Walked home at 8pm when it was still light!

Saturday Doug had to work, so I took myself off to the High Street for a spot of shopping! Dressed in my summer dress I hit the town (with the millions of other girls in their summer dresses) – it was fun to have a girly day and I was as thrifty as I could be….. That evening Doug and I splurged in a London Taxi when we were running late for my friend Alicia’s Birthday dinner in Covent Garden. We met Alicia, Graham, Tamara, Peta, Kelvin, Shareen and Tom at Souk Medina – an authentic Moroccan restaurant in Short’s Garden, they had the traditional smoking pipes on all the tables and fantastic food and belly dancers – it was heaps of fun, later we kicked on to a nearby pub.

Today was even warmer and I kept saying, ‘I love living in London when it’s like this’ and truly understand now why people say they came home because they couldn’t survive another winter … I’m glad we came when we did so we appreciate being here even more now! We packed our back packs with picnic food and champagne and headed to Primrose Hill north of Regents Park for a picnic with Alicia, Graham, Tam and Scott (who was passing through London on business again). We had a lovely day lying in the sunshine and taking in the views of London. We have saved all the photos about Portugal, Ireland and the weekends to our album – just haven’t linked them here because we have to put these blogs on at work until we get the internet at home, so check them out

Friday night along with a few colleagues from work and their partners including Doug, we went and saw Avenue Q at the Noel Cowell theatre in St. Martin’s Lane. It done mostly with puppets and is set in New York with a very dry NY humour – it was hilarious! Later Laura, Julien, Eric, Yumi, doug and I enjoyed hamburgers at Hamburger Union in Covent Garden – yum!!!

On Thursday this week we saw Corrine Bailey Rae at the Hammersmith Apollo – Doug introduced me to her music when we met a year ago. Her song ‘Like a Star’ is one of our favourites. The concert was the end of her tour and it was brilliant, her voice is incredible.

One day we won’t move for at least a couple of years! After saying goodbye to mum we spent half the week moving to our lovely new flat at Tempus Wharf, a converted warehouse on the Thames. We are so happy here, it feels like a real home as opposed to a hotel.

On the 24th of February, we took the overland train to Windsor Castle. The castle is absolutely amazing. The castle offers a free audio aid, which is much the same as a guided tour.

We saw works of art in the gallery, which included original Da Vinci drawings. The tour of the State apartments, is the highlight of the tour. We saw the Queens Doll House, which must have taken ages to complete. The house includes hand made table silverware and a working vacuum cleaner on a miniature scale.

The rest of the tour showed the decadence of the Royal family. Separate dressing, drawing, dining, bathroom and bedrooms make this rather apparent. Huge paintings, murals, painted ceilings and imported carpets fill every room. Some waiting rooms had over 30 chairs for guests.

Weapons and armour line the staircases to show strength of the Country. Many of the weapons on display are from conquered nations. Busts of Churchill and Nelson serve as a reminder of battles and wars won.

One of the biggest rooms, is a dining room which seats 166 people. The TV displaying a celebration showed the preparation and the effort involved in hosting such events. Lining up the cutlery is a career in itself.

We left the main buildings and walked around the grounds, enjoying the views. The church was still under repair, but the history and feel of the place let you know it has a lot of significance.

We walked passed the “Crooked house of Windsor” and grabbed a few pictures. We then strolled around the open mall, before getting a bite to eat and heading back to London.

It was a great visit. It was only a pity that no photos were allowed to be taken inside the castle buildings.

February 2007:

Well another London weekend draws to a close. We had great intentions of seeing something touristy this weekend and were hoping to catch the Sth-West Trains to Windsor, I went there with Dad when I was 16 and have vague memories of it being a pretty part of outer London. Unfortunately we slept in until 10:30 today after a late night out with Gareth and Kris – so the plan is to go next Sat!

So, a quick re-cap of the past 2 weeks! Time flies here.

The week before last we woke up on the Wednesday to another snow covered London, this time it fell heavily for half the day and we had to trudge through it to get to work. It was lovely to watch from my 10th floor office as the wind whipped the falling snow, it was almost horizontal, hard to concentrate on work when there is a winter wonderland outside!

Last weekend Doug and I met up with some friends on Friday night for Indian in Borough High Street. Saturday we once again ended up at the Borough Markets (yum!) after having a flat viewing cancelled (we have been told we can break our lease without penalty and are looking for something cheaper). At the markets we bought some baklava, gourmet sausages and delicious Dutch cheese

Doug spent the afternoon at a local pub with Gareth and Kris, watching the rugby.

Sunday we managed a walk around the streets of London Bridge but the gloomy day kept us mostly snuggled up inside our flat.

Wednesday last week was Valentines Day. Knowing Doug wasn’t one to be sucked into the commercial day which my sister describes as ‘discriminating against single people’ (I’m sure she took her words back after receiving a big bunch of flowers from a surprise Valentine!) – I wasn’t expecting anything. After waking up and giving Doug a small gift and secretly tucking some little notes into his coat pockets and wallet, for him to read as he found them, I was surprised to be greeted at work by a big bunch of lillies and roses! So much sweeter when it is completely unexpected! Unfortuntely as per usual public transport (almost) ruined my v-day, as I struggled to climb the double decker stairs on my bus the bus driver did his usual routine of slamming on the breaks just as you let go of your grip …. i fell up the stairs and squished my pretty roses, all the while the crowd on the bus looked on with blank faces – yeah thanks! They were only slightly bruised.

This Friday night Doug and I ended up at our favourite local pub, the Garrison, enjoyed some fantastic champagne (Da Nore) and yummy food. Saturday we went shopping in Sth Molton St, Carnaby St and SoHo followed by a stroll through Covent Garden. That night we walked around to Kris and Gareth’s for cheese and wine and then by default, when the fancy tapas bar was full, we ended up at Nando’s! My first Nando’s experience … the food was ok but the setting under London Bridge on the Thames was amazing. We then moved onto Vinnopolis for probably the best cocktail I have ever had … will have to take my mum there she loves her cocktails. Then onto the Kings Arms or King something, for more drinks….

Today we went back to Greenwich for a lovely walk through the park, so nice to walk on grass and breath fresh air! I love watching all the dogs running around and the kids playing, takes you away from the rat-race of the city. We went back to the cartographer and bought a National Geographic map of the world, we hope to frame it when we go home.

And so begins another week in London. Only 2 weeks until my mum and Richard arrive – Happy Birthday to mum for yesterday!

28th Jan – Jodes and I went to Greenwich Park for a walk and to see the markets. We took our local bus (The 188) down to Greenwich, which is filled with great local stores and the Greenwich Markets. We strolled around the markets looking at the jewelry, clothes, clocks and other assorted wares. We went past a great stand, which had some amazing glassware.

 We walked about some more, visiting the stores, more than the market stands. We saw a great cartographer, which we want to visit before we leave.

 We then walked up to the park. In a strong and cold wind, we walked up the hill to the observatory. We got to the top, along with a few hundred other tourists. We walked around the park (which is huge) and took some photos of the views.

3rd Feb – Jodie and I went to Brick Lane, famous for it’s Bangladeshi restaurants. We sat in a typical restaurant (After being offered multiple “deals” from multiple doormen) for a free round of drinks and no service charge (tip). We had a great night, and completely stuffed ourselves full of food.

He’s done it… like Shane Warne, he’s turned the game on it’s head ! … in otherwords, I have a job. I’ll be working for Smith & Williamson on a 3 month contract, I’ll start on the 29th of December.