Travels with my brother

Julian with a new mate in Edinburgh

I managed to get on the same flight back to the UK as my brother which made life a lot easier - even though Singapore airlines refused to upgrade him (shame on you Singapore air). Julian coped really well with his first long-haul flight since he was 9 years old, and was treated nicely by the airline and airport staff.

When we got to my place in Tunbridge Wells it became evident that there was no way he would be able to hang out there on his own as the stairs were just too tricky for him to manage on his own. That was a total bummer and meant we had to re-jig some of his holiday, but fortunately he was able to stay longer in Dundee with his friend Eileen, who's place is all one level.


Once we'd both recovered from jet-lag, we threw ourselves into a sightseeing frenzy, so that Julian could tick off everything on his list. He did a hell of a lot, and quite a bit on his own (including going to Ireland, and finding his way around London). Travelling is hard enough when you are able-bodied, and Julian took it all in his stride. Good on ya bro! He was lucky enough to be around for the Last Night of the Proms in Hyde Park, and we also went to the Tower of London, the Dungeon, Madam Tussauds, the Natural History Museum, and to Legoland (where I enjoyed myself immensely, I must confess) amongst other things. Julian fulfilled his wish of having a beer in a pub in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and is now a cider aficianado.

No trip to the UK is complete without a visit to Primark!

Julian went off to Cardiff and then to Dundee, Stirling, St Andrews and Edinburgh, before returning to my place to go to the yearly reenactment of the Battle of Hastings. The battle was great fun, and was basically full of people who haven't grown up yet putting on costumes and playing at pretend. Why I haven't taken up this sort of thing years ago, I don't know, as clearly it is a hobby that I would be well suited to. It was all quite professional; there was a market where you could buy food and anything remotely related to medieval life. Families were everywhere - what kid wouldn't love this day out? - and you had to get in early to nab a good position to watch the battle. There was an official commentator, and he got the crowd into the spirit of things, as we hoorayed Harold and booed William; then the charging of horses, and clashing of swords got underway and the Bayeaux tapestry came to life. Predictably the outcome was William 1, Harold 0.

This appeared over the field, just before the battle. A good omen for William?...

The next day Julian and I headed off to Llangollen (pronounced Clan-goth-in, if you're interested) as Julian wanted to visit the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Llangollen is very cute and quaint, and most of the locals speak Welsh. We stayed at Riverside Mews, which as it suggests is alongside the River Dee. We walked practically every inch of Llangollen, and went to visit Plas Nywydd, a gloriously gothic house. We sampled welsh fudge (which tasted suspiciously like NZ fudge...), welsh oggies, welsh cheese, welsh beer, welsh cider, but I think we were most taken with the only establishment that was open on a Monday night - the chinese restaurant, where we were given a choice of rice or chips with our meal!

Autumn hits Llangollen

Plas Nywydd

From Wales, Julian went on to Dublin, thus fulfilling another life-long ambition to visit the Guinness factory. He now has enough Guinness-related paraphenalia to furnish an Irish pub. he also went out to County Wicklow to see where we Emmetts came from long, long ago.


Anyway, despite a few hiccups - especially with transport, Julian had a good holiday and I had a fun time hanging out with him and showing him around. Ooh, and big-ups to Madam Tussauds who let disabled people in for free!

Home Again: Take 2

Ok, so I did not anticipate moving back to NZ so soon, but hey that's life! The simple truth is that I cannot handle the stress of living so far away from my parents and being worried about what's going on with them. Sounds terribly self-sacrificing doesn't it? Don't be fooled, it's really all about me : )

My last few days was a whirlwind of farewells. I hate saying goodbye. But it's funny, what used to REALLY irritate me when I first got to the UK was that I kept only meeting kiwis. Now it's a great comfort to know I'll see a lot of my friends again when they come back to NZ either to live or on holiday. Thankfully many of my non-Kiwi friends are visiting NZ soon, and I'm sure I'll go back to the UK for holidays. I already have plans...


My flight home was the usual long-haul horror. My flight was delayed, but I didn't mind as it meant I got to hang out at Heathrow with Victoria for a bit longer, and that I spent less time in Shanghai (where you have to clear customs and then check back in again. Theoretically I could be running amok in Shanghai right now. A lucky escape for China, I think!)






Is cannibalism alive and well in Shanghai? Who is Cate? And why does she go so well with coffee?



I saw lots of movies on the plane, the best of which was a German film called 'Die Welle' (The Wave), which is set in a high school. The students are taking a class on autocracy and argue with their teacher that a situation like Hitler and the Nazis could simply never happen again, so he decides to do an experiment with them. He sets himself up as the class leader and manipulates them to do everything for the 'greater good' of their class. Most of the kids discover they love the sense of belonging he creates and within a few days they have their own uniform, logo, salute etc...and it all turns to custard. It gets my nod for movie of the year.


I also feel compelled to share with you all a conversation I overheard on the flight to Shanghai, I found it so funny I wrote it down immediately. I swear it's true, I'm not making it up. In the row over from me was a group of trendy/arty/muso type young people, and here's what went down between two of them:

Girl: ...No, my Dad is gay and has a boyfriend, and Mum has a boyfriend too.

Guy: Wow! So what, do they like, all live togther or something?

Girl: No, but they get on really well with one another. It's all very cool and grown-up and stuff.

Guy: So your Dad is gay. What's up with that? How did you happen? Was he always gay?

Girl: Oh yeah, but like, he and my Mum were properly in love. Mum was the first woman he was ever, y'know...with. They got married and just went their separate ways after a few years. But they get on really well. Mum just loves my Dad's boyfriend who's a transvestite ex-stripper.

(Stunned silence)

Guy: Wow. Your life is like, so amazing

Girl: It's not a competition...Although if it was, an ex-boyfriend of mine is a terrorist...

I think she might possibly win if life was a competition, don't you?


Anyway, I now find myself in Wanganui, unemployed and living with my parents...aaaahhh!!!! Nah, it's alright. I should be able to pick up some work with DIA for a bit while I try and get a real job. It's not too much to ask for a job that actually interests me is it? Anyway, I hope to be back in Wgtn soon.
In the meantime I am busy organising my parent's lives (they love it, really) and doing exciting things like pruning trees and walking the dogs. Here's a couple of reasons why it's good to be home (and yes, it really is that warm and sunny in Wanga-Vegas!)...

Some things I will miss about the UK

Here are a few of the things I will miss about the UK...

And not forgetting...

..

Best of British Day

Part of the Angela-is-leaving-the-UK events was a "Best of British Day". It was the brainchild of Tors, and she was ably assisted by by Debbie. Basically it involved me being photographed wearing a silly hat with various British icons. Totally my sort of thing, in other words. Not that I've ever needed an excuse to wear a silly hat.

We started the day off with a Full English Breakfast at the famous Smiths of Smithfield Markets and Tors and Debbie

got out their lists of things to get my photo with. Debbie even had reasons why with her suggestions, such as

'The British are famous for having built an Empire, so why not go to the place which shows off all the stuff they've nicked from other countries - get your photo taken with the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum'. Tors also had things like 'discuss the weather' (not hard as it was an appalling day weather-wise), 'queue for something' and 'take every mode of public transport'.

So after I had donned my Union Jack hat, pinned on my Union Jack Badge, and clutched my Union Jack flag, I felt equipped to tackle the challenges of the day. And as if I had a big "PLEASE MUG ME" sign on my back...

Amongst other things I had to get my photo with/ at:

* a London icon (the Eye)

* a Bobby (had to settle for a parking warden)

*outside my favourite High Street Shop (M&S, in case you wondered)

*a statue

*a Blue Plaque

*a street/postcode sign

*a double decker bus etc...

We also found a really good Banksy off Tottenham Court Road which was a bonus.

We were defeated by the weather in the end, which seemed appropriate really. But we made the most of things by retreating to Tor's place to watch Hot Fuzz and Strictly Come Dancing. You just can't go wrong with Bruce Forsyth...