#also going out on trips with a mate to places with a big shopping centre cinema and the zoo soo that will hopefully be really fun

[legosloth16]

why yes it is my 21st birthday today, yay for getting older and still not feeling like an adult.

[anemonenemerosa]

Hello hello,

here we go. Thank you for staying with me and thank you @lumosinlove for creating this world =)

This is still dark (but we’re getting a bit better) so please stay safe.

Chapter 10

They stopped in front of a big apartment-building, windows mostly dark, it was almost one in the morning. There was no doorman, no entry hall to the building, just a corridor leading to stairs and a concerningly dingy lift. Ouais, enfin… maybe I pay with my kidneys for this, after all.

The door to the flat opened, Regulus was pushed in and all but froze. He had never seen such a place.

There was no entrance hall in here either, the front door directly opened into a small living room with an open kitchen and a dinner table shoved into a corner, half hidden behind an overloaded laundry rack.

The windowsills were crammed with pot-plants in several states of... health? survival? decay? Books and knickknacks were messily shoved into the tall but sloping shelves lining the walls, which were painted in a soft warm yellow, making the room look sunny and warm, even in the middle of the night.

Nothing, not even the chairs or precariously crooked shelves seemed to belong to the same set of furniture. And was one of the table-legs different from the others?

It was... all over the place, really.

The worn maroon rug in the living area clashed horribly with the big, ugly purple corduroy couch and the mismatched and multicoloured throw pillows.

Posters of 80's movies -Regulus recognised Ghost Busters and Back to the Future- and lots of unframed photographs almost covered the wall behind the couch.

On the far wall were three doors, one closed, one revealing bits of a very messy bedroom, the other ajar, sporting a poster of a rather ancient wooden privy... What. The. Hell.

Regulus did not know what to make of this. He somehow loved it instantly while simultaneously cringing over all the chaos and all the stuff crammed in here. His, stylistically uninspired, mother would probably die of shock at the view and somehow that made the place a little more endearing to him.

However, he always thought of himself as tidy and some part of him died just a bit at the sight of the mismatched socks and shirts littering the part of the bedroom-floor he could see. This place, starkly contrasting the house he grew up in was bursting with life, messy and welcoming instead of an assembly of model rooms resembling what was shown in some posh interior-design magazine. This is what a home looks like, Regulus decided.

He allowed himself to be ushered further inside.

"Leave you shoes here please and put your coat..." Regulus turned around as the sentence did not continue and saw Ben looking at the overflowing coatrack behind the door.

"...Put your coat somewhere you will find it again" he concluded, nodding to himself.

Mateo already went past them into the kitchen and dived headfirst into the fridge. "We have some left-over Minestrone from yesterday, if you want, Reg."

Regulus turned, having disposed of his coat on one of the chairs. As he didn't answer for long enough to be considered impolite, Mateo lifted his head from the fridge, noticing Regulus blank stare

"Is it OK, if we call you Reg? Regulus sounds so stiff..." This warm, infuriatingly disarming, smile. Regulus could only nod.

These people rendered him speechless at a disturbing rate. Usually, he chose not to speak but with them, he often couldn't.

The only one who had ever called him Reg was Sirius and even he stopped that years ago. Could he really be Reg again? Was he allowed to? No, a malicious voice echoed through his head. You do not deserve that comfort. Remember what you did. Regulus felt sick.

"Soooo... Minestrone?" – "I am not hungry, but thank you" Regulus looked at Mateo, hoping he would not call him Reg, regretting his thoughtless agreement.

"When’s the last time you eaten?" Ben asked as he came from the Bedroom in striped Pyjama-bottoms and an old shirt. Regulus tried to remember if he had had lunch today. Not good.

"If you need to think about it, it is too long ago. You eat." The man stated as Mateo chuckled and put a pot on the stove.

"Do never deny again that you are a freaking mother hen", he joked while walking into the bedroom, probably to change, too.

Regulus hovered in the room, wary and utterly confused. He struggled to maintain a safe distance, still trying to fathom what's going on and why these strangers were more welcoming and affectionate than his family ever been.

A quiet but reckless voice in his mind - very different from the sneer that chimed up just a minute ago and sounding suspiciously similar to a younger Sirius- reminded him that he fucked up already and that he might as well go and enjoy his time while the universe and/or his mother were probably already in preparation to take him down.

              ----------------------------------------------------------

A while later he was seated on the ugly, lumpy couch, nursing a bowl of minestrone. He was clad in a much too small shirt ("this is the biggest shirt we have, you are just a giant") and borrowed underwear (his blood-stained sweatpants were soaking in the sink along with his, also bloody, shirt) and wrapped in a baby blue blanket with pink chickens on it. Why does such an item even exist?  

The TV provided mindless background-noise while Ben and Mateo chattered along about anything and everything. Regulus just sat there in silence and listened intently. He never met people who would just go on and lay out their life in front of a person they just met. Let alone a person they found bleeding in the shower, mid-meltdown... Maybe their life history hinted on why they were so careless with private information.

And they really were. They told him everything and Regulus was confident he could write their memoirs by now.

Apparently, Mateo grew up in Manaus, Brazil So, it was Portuguese, not Spanish. ("That's where Rio Negro and Rio Solimões meet to form the Amazonas" The more you know...) He came to the US to study medicine on a scholarship, is in the last weeks of his training and only stays in Slytherin because-

"One cannot choose their training hospitals on that scholarship. No offense, mate." None taken.

They recounted how they met almost five years ago at an airport.  That, after spending eight hours waiting for their delayed flight, they were joined at the hip. "Metaphorically and literally." Regulus went bright red at the innuendo while Ben patted his back sympathetically, shaking with suppressed laughter. He and Mateo were huddled up together in a yellow blanket with... Flamingos? Where did they even get these bird-themed things?

Ben had a sister, Josephine, who stayed here during semester breaks ("But do call her Jo or she will end you.") After Regulus gave a pointed look to the closed door, he was informed that he did not need to worry about their noise as she slept like the dead and even overslept a fire alarm in the building last summer.

Jo was 18, like Regulus but already in her Sophomore at Boston University as she skipped a year in middle school. "Got herself a scholarship and does computer-sciences, the insufferable nerd and know-it-all."

"She's really great, Reg. Ben is just her brother and thus, bound to think she’s annoying." Mateo interrupted Bens speech about his sister.

Regulus allowed himself a minute of going over the relationship with his own brother. Sirius was annoying. Very annoying, to be exact. But if anyone except him had called him out in the past, Regulus remembered feeling a little surge of protection against the git he was related to... maybe this was a siblings-thing.

He focused back on the conversation in front of him, fascinated by the insight of other people’s relations and upbringing.

The siblings grew up in Bristol, Great Britain, and moved to New York when Ben was seventeen and Jo ten but he did not elaborate on why they came here. That’s why I couldn’t place the accent.

Ben had studied Art History at NYU and actually worked at the Art Gallery in the city-centre. Cleaning the rink in the evenings was his means to save money for a tattoo shop he wanted to open in Boston, where they would move, come February, for Mateo’s new job.

He got informed that a note has been shoved under Jos door, announcing his presence, a spare toothbrush was presented and then, at nearly half past two in the morning, he is left for the night with a hug (!) from both of them. How touchy they are.

Regulus was not cuddly, never had been.

Really? You loved to snuggle up with Sirius in bed. The voice of reckless young Sirius supplied unhelpfully. This whole situation was completely surreal but also comfortingly normal.

This is a dream or, more likely, a godamn fever-trip. C’est pourri! This is shit! Regulus sighed.

These people were mad... hell, they didn't even know him. Yet, they took him in, fed him (very good) soup and freaking hugged him good night. They probably even stayed awake that long, filling the air with their complete life-story to keep him from feeling lonely... Allez savoir pourquoi! God knows why!

Reckless young Sirius suggested again to just roll with it and Regulus began to wonder whether he, instead of them, had gone mad.

This life he had a short glimpse into, this night was not real for him. He couldn't have that, considering the family he was born into and his obligation to live up to their expectations. Not to mention that he absolutely did not deserve being cared for after he de facto kicked his brother in the face ruined and his career.

The tiny voice piped up again, but Regulus silenced it with an exasperated groan. Yep, mad.

He surely would not sleep here on this odd couch. He would sit here, mull over all the shit that happened in just this one day, wait for them to wake up to thank them appropriately, return to the Malfoys and sleep there for a week to recompose himself.

[that-one-girl-who-writes]

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.

The Ship of the Dead.

The third book begins with Magnus receiving an ocean survival lesson from Percy Jackson, a Greek demigod who is his cousin Annabeth's boyfriend. The two are there to help him gain skills for their next mission which is to try and capture Loki. The group of einherjars and a Valkyrie must aid in the recapture Loki before his ship Naglfar sets sail at Midsummer, or else Loki will start Ragnarok, a final war between the gods and the giants. 

Annabeth, Percy, Magnus and Alex have lunch, while Alex reminds them they should have already left to find Loki's ship located between Niflheim and Jotunheim. Percy gives Magnus some parting advice, sea gods are vain and possessive when it comes to their weapons, and also reminds him he has a good team.

After that Alex and Magnus take a trip to the Chase Mansion and yet he was wary going there having Alex with him made him feel a lot better, knowing he didn’t have to go alone. They end up finding  a dead wolf at the entrance and another, still alive, wolf is seen looking for a book but Alex kills it. Magnus finds some notes scribbled by Randolph, older notes on the Sword of Summer but Alex feels that the newer notes mean that Randolph may have made a possible plan to stop Loki and that these notes hold the key to defeat her father/mother.

After reaching Hotel Valhalla Magnus summons a ship given to him by his father, The Big Banana, named so by Alex because if it’s bright neon-yellow color. It has five rows of oars and a carved dragon figureheads. Mallory, Halfborn Gunderson, Thomas Jefferson Jr., Sam and Alex accompany Magnus, while they plan to pick Blitz and Hearth along the way. Their conversation is heard by the Nine Billow Maidens, who take them to the court of Aegir. Their father, Aegir, grants them guest rights and tells them they are safe as long as they don't have anyone named Magnus Chase with them. The crew is surprised to discover Hearth and Blitz are held prisoner but they manage to free them with excuses of Halal and vegetarianism. But soon Ran's eldest daughter figures out that the ‘blonde guy’ is Magnus Chase and shouts this. Upon being threatened, Magnus swears to defeat Loki in a flyting contest and to avenge Aegir's humiliation, and the Sea God tells them to escape while he isn’t looking but the crew is still attacked by Aegir's nine daughters. They escape with the help of Magnus' grandfather Njord who appears and instructs them and tells Magnus that the only way to defeat Loki would be by drinking Kvasir's mead. The crew continued on their journey, with Blitz and Hearth on their duo quest to retrieve Bolverk's whetstone and the rest of the crew head to Jorvik.

Mallory and Halfborn start acting weird because of where they died: Mallory died in Ireland disarming a bomb, and Halfborn died near Jorvik. TJ also had some bad experience: Since he was a son of Tyr, he could never resist one on one battles, even if it was a hopeless one, which was why T.J. died in the first place. He told Magnus that even he had a one on one challenge to face himself and he should start preparing for the flyting with Loki.

Since their quest falls with the Holy Month of Ramadan, and so Sam is fasting which baffels Magnus yet Sam explains to him that fasting makes her feel more clear and focused. 

That night Magnus lays down to go to sleep, putting Jack, his sword, back on his chain and tried to fall asleep but he was haunted my nightmares that lead him to wake up with a jolt the next morning. In his dreams he saw how smart and respected Kvasir was treated. One day, he met the dwarf brothers Fjalar and Gjala who needed his help with paperwork that needed to be done, but Kvasir ends up getting killed taking the bait. The next dream is about Alex who was literally kicked out of her house by her dad because he thought that she should be normal. She says that she is normal but her dad replies with having so much potential with something about craft and art. With that, he slams the door behind him, officially disowning Alex. 

When the crew arrived at Old York, an argument breakers out amongst the group and in the end Samirah, Halfborn, and Mallory decide to defend the ship while ‘Blond Guy’, T.J, and Alex go find the giant.

At York, Magnus, Alex and T.J stumble upon a shop called the Jorvik Viking Centre, which they decide to check out but when they tried to break in, Alex found out a part of a wall moved, which ended up actually being the stone giant Hrungnir perfectly blending in to the limestone. Magnus tries to bargain with the giant, and in return for the location of Kvasir’s Mead, Hrungnir wants to have a two-on-two duel with TJ. Alex seemed to know what he was talking about, so she was the one to accept and led them to a pottery studio. Once there Alex paid the owner for 24-hour exclusive use. Alex explains to Magnus that while TJ fights the stone giant, they have to create a ceramic warrior to fight Hrungnir’s warrior.

She gets to work with the pottery wheel and instructed Magnus to roll coils of clay and T.J to cut the slab using the kiln. Magnus asks if Alex has done pottery before, and she tells him about her family that use to have a company called the Fierro Ceramics, and her grandfather made pottery for a very long time but then her father took over, making tons and tons of pots that were bad quality, and the business went down. Magnus remembers in his dream that her father said that she had so much potential in using the craft so he wonders if this is what she was talking about and by evening, the ceramic warrior’s pieces were all laid out. 

They fight Hrungnir and his clay second and win. Just before he dies he tells them the location of the mead: Fläm, Norway. During the fight T.j is injured and Magnus orders Jack, his sword to help Alex while he tried to heal T.J.

While doing so he sees visions of T.J’s memories. He saw T.J's mother warning him not to play-shoot with a stick at a white man and how the white man can shoot you. Another memory was of a teenage version of T.J. staring at a flyer about military services. It then changed to a ship, where his friend complains how the Union put them on a ship, but T.J. was as eager and focused as ever, holding his rifle. Magnus then saw him running across no-man's-land, charging at his nemesis, Jeffrey Toussaint.

Magnus then also has to help Alex during the fight, who also gets injured. She doesn’t want him to o be he does and sees a memory of the time when he had breakfast at Hotel Valhalla but from Alex's point of view. Magnus was across Alex, and Magnus wondered why this was on Alex's mind at a time like this. 

After the stone giants heart explodes, defeating him, a piece of shrapnel ends up hitting T.J in the eye but he assures them that he can walk, and the trio head back to the ship to find Halfborn, Mallory, and Sam exhausted because they just finished fighting water horses. They then set sail for Flām to find Kvasir's Mead.

Magnus find out that the bomb Mallory tried to disable when she died was set by herself since she was encouraged to do so by her mates in Ireland, one of them being Loki, into doing it. Then an old lady, whom Mallory says was also Loki, gave the indestructible knives she has and told her to correct her mistake. Suddenly, Blitz and Hearth appear again and give them the news of Hearth is going to have to face his father one last time.

Blitz, Hearth, and Magnus, in a disguise, go to Alfheim, and face off against Hearth’s father who had been turned into a dragon by a cursed ring. Magnus end up killing the dragon by stabbing a chink in his underbelly armor but now they must decide whether or not to roast and eat the heart of Hearth’s father. Roasting the heart will put his father’s spirit to rest, but if he eats the heart he will take on his father’s knowledge.

Hearthstone asks Magnus to hold the spit that the heart is on, and the two argue over whether or not Hearthstone should eat the heart. As they argue, Magnus ends up dropping the heart into the fire and when he tries to catch it he burns his fingers and licks then to smooth the burn but ends up getting some blood into his mouth. From this, Magnus gains the power to talk to animals.

Back on the Big Banana, the three tell everyone about there mini-adventure Mallory takes the whetstone so no one gets hurt. The ship arrives at Norway, and the hide it in plain sight near a bunch of other ships to make it look like a tourist attraction. The one's who will be off to fetch Kvasir's Mead are Magnus, Sam, and Mallory, the rest will guard the ship.

Mallory spots an old lady, the same one that gave her her knives right before her death and immediately starts chasing after her, Magnus and Sam following. When they catch up with her, the woman revealed herself to be the goddess Frigg and Mallory’s mother. Frigg gives them advise on how to get the mead and gives them a magical walnut they can use to recapture Loki if they succeed in the flyting.

Mallory, Magnus, and Samirah follow Frigg’s directions to location of the mead, and find the meads guardians like she warned them they would. The guardians are nine giant slaves, who have the task of cutting down their master’s wheat field so Mallory offers to sharpen their scythes for them with whetstone and tricks them into competing for ownership of the stone. She throws the stone into the air, and the giants jump up to catch it, forgetting that their scythes are now sharp. They end up killing each other with their scythes and the trio successfully get the mead, and set sail again. They travel to the border of Niflheim and Jotunheim, where Loki has Naglfar docked.

Traveling into the icy lands of Niflheim nearly kills them, but they are given refuge at Thunder Home, with Magnus’s grandfathers ex-girlfriend, Skadi. She gives them cider made from the apples of immortality, which gives them enough will power to survive the frigid weather, then sends them on their way.

The group fights their way onto Naglfar, and Magnus challenges Loki to the flyting. In the beginning, Loki seems to be winning the flyting by insulting Magnus so badly that Magnus begins to shrink but Magnus tries to insult Loki back, but figures out that cutting someone down is not his nature. He focuses instead on building up his team, and points out that Loki has no team. Loki shrinks, and they recapture him in the walnut Frigg gave them. The group fights their way off Naglfar, and escape on the backs of water horses and return Loki to the gods.

Back at Hotel Valhalla the crew is welcomed back as hero’s and rewarded by the gods but Magnus said there was one more favor to ask Odin and in two weeks, Odin's lawyers managed to negotiate with the mayor of Boston and turned Randolph Chase's mansion into a residence for homeless youths now called the Chase Space.

The book ends with Magnus coming to terms with his destiny accepting that his work is never done until Ragnarok but in the meantime everything was fine for him. Magnus says Loki was right about one thing: We can choose to alter the details of the big picture and that's how we take control of our destiny.

[littlemisscrosspatch]

The Christmas Card

A/N: *waves* Here's some Christmas joy(ce) to spread the Jopper love! I've posted this over on A03 under my old Tumblr name, diamondpawprints.

They had left high school back in the Summer and ever since, they had spent a lot of time together. Hopper couldn’t believe it was nearly Christmas and he had decided to do something special for Joyce. They had always been friends throughout their childhood and throughout school, but they had become closer in their last year after working on a final major project together. It started off with study sessions together which started to last longer and longer as they chatted the night away, sharing cigarettes and staring up at the stars. Wanting to get a clearer look at the night skies, leaving their work behind, they would drive up to Hawkins Hill and sit on Hopper’s jacket, looking up. Hopper’s arm would find it’s way around her and she would lean into him. When the weather got colder, they would move into the car, snuggling under a blanket to stay warm. Nothing would happen between them, just the spark growing brighter.

So here he was, writing her a Christmas card, asking her to meet him outside Enzo’s. He had arranged for his mate to set up a picnic (after much bribing) on Hawkins Hill. After they ate, they would take a walk to a place where they could watch the stars. He knew exactly what he was going to say to her. He smiled as he sealed the envelope and headed out to post it.

....

He hadn’t seen her for a week, which was unusual. She had always been busy when he called. She would have received his Christmas card today. and now he stood outside Enzo’s at the time he had said. He wrapped his jacket tighter around himself as the breeze turned chilly. He looked at his watch. She was half an hour late. All kind of thoughts rushed through his head. Had she received his Christmas card? Had he written the wrong address on the envelope? Had it got lost in the post? Had she received it, but thought it was ridiculous? That last one was too horrible to think about. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He was just contemplating about whether he should drive round to hers when he heard her laughter drifting through the breeze. He looked up as she walked around the corner. Her smile lit up everything around her.

“Joyce!” He called, waving at her with the bunch of flowers he had brought with him.

She locked eyes with him, when suddenly her head was turned by someone else coming around the corner, flinging his arms around her and kissing her on her head. Hopper’s heart sunk as the couple walked towards them.

“Hey, Hop.” Joyce chimed. There was an awkward pause as Hop tried to place the face of the man she was with. “Er, Hop, this is Lonnie. Lonnie, this is Hop.”

Lonnie took Hopper’s hand and shook it, too hard for it to be anything other than, ‘back off, she’s mine.’ He suddenly remembered Lonnie had been at their school, but a few years above them.

“Ah, Jim Hopper.”

“Lonnie.” Hopper acknowledged, nodding at him.

“They’re beautiful flowers, Hop.” Joyce admired the bunch clasped in his hand. “Oh, are they for a girl? Are you on a date?”

Hopper stumbled over his words. “Uhm, er. Ye, yeah. She’ll be here any minute, actually.”

“Well, we best be leaving you then. Come on, Joyce.” Lonnie said as he grabbed her hand and started to pull her away. The anger bubbled up in Hopper. Nobody talked to Joyce like that.

“Well, have fun.” She said, giving Hopper a look that told him she had received his letter, but it was too late, she was with Lonnie. He watched them walk around the corner before turning and starting the walk home. He threw the bunch of flowers in the trash, making a note to himself to go to the military recruitment office in the morning.

....

It was nearing Christmas and Joyce had a rare day off. It was the only one she booked all year. It was middle of the week so she could get all the Christmas shopping done when it was less busy. Now the boys were older, it took her a lot less time, so she was sat on the couch enjoying a cup of strong coffee. She was as relaxed as her anxious mind could let her be when she heard the postman outside.

She left it for as long as she could before getting herself together and bracing herself for an afternoon of shopping. Before heading out, she got her mail and sat back in the car. She wouldn’t normally open the envelopes until she got back, but one particular envelope caught her eye. It looked like it had been bashed around and the handwriting seemed familiar to her. She opened the envelope and pulled out a Christmas card. It was of Santa’s workshop, elves rushing around, multi-coloured presents in their hands, on their way to Santa’s sleigh. Snow was falling all around them, lights glowing in the windows, looking warm and cosy. Stars sparkling in the sky. A heart shape cloud wafting from the chimney. Joyce smiled and opened the card. Starting from her name, she read down.

Joyce,

Meet me outside Enzo’s. 7.

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas in person.

Yours,

Hop

She put the card down, confused. They had only just been talking about their Christmas plans. She had invited him and El over to theirs so El could have her first proper Christmas.

“Almost like a family.” Hop had joked. Joyce just smiled.

She put her car into reverse and headed out to get the Christmas shopping done, all the while, butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.

6:45pm rolled around and Joyce drove to the centre of town, choosing a parking spot where she could watch Hopper appear. She didn’t want to be too early. 7 o’clock came around, there was still no sign of him. 7:15 came and went. By half past 7, the butterflies dissipated, worry setting in. What if something had happened to him? He was never late, that was always her. She turned the car back on and made her way to Hopper’s cabin. As she pulled up, the lights were glowing and inviting inside. She clambered out, not knowing what she was going to find inside. Knocking on the door loudly, she heard someone trip over something with a gruff, ‘fuck.’ The door opened to reveal a dishevelled Hopper.

“So that’s why you’re late.” Joyce flicked her hand in front of him, almost as if telling him off.

“I’m sorry, what?” Hopper looked at her confused through rubbing his eyes.

“You were supposed to meet me at 7. Outside Enzo’s.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Joyce.” He shrugged. “Can you come in, it’s bloody cold.”

Joyce stepped into the warmth, brushing past his arm. It sent shivers down through her own arm and she quickly pulled away.

“You told me to meet you at Enzo’s at 7.”

“Joyce, I literally have no idea what you’re talking about. You sure it was me?”

Joyce gave him a death stare. “Well whoever it was, they signed it with your name!” She pushed the card into his chest and he almost fell backwards.

“Geez! What’s this?”

“Just, read it!”

As soon as Hopper looked down and saw the card he had written 25 years previously, give or take, his face dropped.

“Well? Who do you think it was? Playing a ridiculous prank like that?”

Hopper stared at the card and traced his handwriting with his thumb before looking up.

“It was me.”

It was Joyce’s turn to look confused. “But I thought you said-“

“I wrote this during the Christmas we graduated high school.”

“Wh- what?” She took the card from him and looked down at it.

“Oh my god. It must have got lost in the post.” Hopper rubbed his cheeks.

“But-“

Suddenly, the realisation hit Hopper like a ton of bricks. His card hadn’t been delivered. She hadn’t been ignoring him. It had been a mistake. She could have been his all this time. Her kids could have been his.

“I-“ He was lost for words, overcome with emotion. Sara could have been Joyce’s if that goddamn card had been delivered. They could have been a family. “Joyce, I need to take you somewhere. EL? I’M POPPING OUT!” He bellowed, to be greeted with a ‘Yeah.’

...

After getting into Hopper’s car, they took off towards Hawkins Hill.

“Where we going, Hop?” Joyce asked.

“Where I wanted to take you back then, when I sent the card.”

“To wish me a Merry Christmas in person?” Joyce looked at him, a playful sparkle in her eyes.

“Maybe.” Hopper glanced back at her, a glint in his eyes that was only reserved for her. “Here we are.”

Joyce followed him up the hill.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. It should be around here somewhere.” They walked for five minutes until Hopper stopped suddenly. “Here we are.” He said as he vanished into the bushes.

“Hop! Where have you gone?”

“Come in through the trees.” She heard him call from the other side. She brushed through and she found herself standing in an opening. It wasn’t very big, but could fit both of them comfortably side by side.

“Wow.” Her breath was taken away by the view of Hawkins, the lights twinkling cozily beneath them.

“I found this place a few days before I wrote that Christmas card to you. I had a picnic ready and waiting and I wanted to count the stars with you.”

Joyce turned to him. “Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“You turned up with Lonnie.”

Joyce’s mouth turned into an O. “Those flowers, they were for me.”

“Yup. I just never got the chance to give them to you. I had wanted to take the next step in our relationship, but I had left it too late.” He stared out across the town. He had some horrific memories down there, but also some of his most beautiful, a lot of them shared with the one stood next to him in that moment in time. “I had everything I was going to say to you that night all planned out.” He laughed and rubbed his forehead. Joyce turned him gently and moved so he had to look at her.

“Tell me now.”

“Joyce.” He whispered, shaking his head and shutting his eyes.

“Please.” She reached down and squeezed his hand, trying to encourage him. He looked up, seeing the love sparkling in her eyes. He couldn’t help it as he leaned down and kissed her gently. She immediately responded by deepening the kiss and wrapping her hands in his shirt to pull him closer.

As they broke apart, Joyce whispered, “Merry Christmas, Hop.”

[tirsaroundtheworld]

The Nomad MBA Part III - Medellín

The previous months in Chile and Peru had set the bar pretty damn high, but upon arrival in Medellín we were absolutely blown away by the accommodation in which we would spend our final Nomad MBA month. The city has a completely different vibe than the raw, traditional Valparaiso and the isolated, historical Cusco; Medellin is a big city - home to 2 million people, a fusion of 13 smaller towns that are now the different neighborhoods of Medellin, filled with a mix of older and modern buildings and always bustling with life. Different than in the previous months, we would now all live in the same building, which also happened to have a co-working space, a bar, a cafe, a restaurant, a playground, a cinema room, a yoga deck, a meditation room, a music studio, a hairdresser and even a tattoo shop in house. Needless to say, we spent the first week exploring the endless possibilities in this surreal bubble of amazing facilities and other likeminded nomad guests before we started venturing out to experience more of the fantastic city of Medellin.

# This perfect accommodation is called Selina and is part of a chain of hybrid hotel/hostel accommodations specifically aimed at digital nomads and other open minded travellers who are looking to share knowledge, skills and experiences. My room was located at the top floor and had the most amazing view over Medellin - so so lucky! It is located in the rather wealthy part of Medellin - El Poblado - and surrounded by designer outlets, boutique shops, the cutest cafes, all types of lunchrooms and restaurants and an de-li-cious gelato shop right next door. And because we spent so much time there, we became great friends with Selina’s super cool staff, who did everything in their power and more to keep building a strong community and to make us feel at home. We’ve been feeling like kids in a candy shop for the complete month - we could not have been in a better place! 🍭💗 

# Colombia happens to be the home of two of my lovely Imagineering study mates Paola and Ivan, which is why I made my way to Bogota for a weekend of reunion and introduction to the city and Colombian habits in a truly local way, YESS! From the moment Paola picked me up from the airport it has been absolutely lovely - we had so much catching up to do and it was really fantastic just to see her again. She and her partner showed me all around the city; we drove through different areas, we went to the local Paloquemao market where I learnt about fruits and veggies I had never seen before and tried some of the best typically Colombian juices, we went up the cablecar to Cerro Monserrate to overlook (part of) the endless skyline of Bogota, we went to a truly Colombian party with live music, dancing Salsa and shotting Aguardiente, we met Ivan and his family for a city tour through the center and the beautiful historical area of La Candelaria, we went to the Inca Gold Museum, we made a daytrip to the amazing Guatavita and looked for El Dorado in the lake - all the while having ALL the traditional foods; arepa and hot chocolate for breakfast, typical bread rolls for lunch, patacones for dinner, juices to accompany everything, roasted corn as a snack and fermented corn liquor chicha just whenever. And all of that in just one weekend! It was amazing, and SO GOOD to see Paola, Ivan and their families again! Thanks a billion, I am really looking forward to our next reunion! ✨ 

# Back in Medellín, I fell right back into Selina’s inspiring work and study atmosphere, tribe exploring and special events in and around the local community. Somehow the sense that this would be our last month as a tribe in a place like this made us all work harder but definitely play harder too - we had to do all the things while we could! Courses were completed, the job hunting game was strong, new business ideas were formed and loads of feedback was shared during the daytime, after which we ventured further out of the beautiful El Poblado into Medellín’s different areas, soaked up some fresh air in the botanical gardens, visited museums and churches, filled up each and every last bit of space in our suitcases with the nicest things we found in the countless boutique shops, markets and malls all around town, tried out all the food, cheered with the locals while the Colombian team kept progressing in the soccer World Cup, danced all night at the alsmost weeklong Boilerroom party and all the other parties in Selina’s Playground, practically lived in the cinema room and had tribe drinks in the nighttime. Sleep is SO overrated! ✌🏻

# The third week was assigned to tribe travel week, so a small group of us made our way to the airport and flew to Cartagena de Indias - one of Colombia’s prettiest cities and the highlight of the Caribbean coast. Surrounded by a solid, 13 kilometers long, centuries old colonial stone wall, we found Cartagena’s beautiful, brightly colored Old Town - which is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site - with its maze of narrow, cobbled streets, beautiful colonial houses, cute balconies covered in bright pink flowers, the prettiest doors only just visible in the with tropical plants overgrown walls, horses and carriages, massive churches and romantic plazas. No wonder that this stunning place, in combination with its tropical temperatures, beaches to access the warmest sea I ever swam in, the many cute restaurants and cafes and the most amazing shops is one of the most popular destinations on the rise in the world! We enjoyed our days exploring the old town, eating out, walking along the boulevard to the more modern end of town while watching the sun set, tanning at the ugly tourist overrun Playa Blanca, daytripping to and around the beautiful neighboring Isla Grande, watching the World Cup from deserted beachclubs, playing volleyball in the sea and ending the days with vegan ice-cream. Such a good time! 🌞 

# After the rest of the group had returned to Medellín, my Hungarian buddy Attila and me stayed behind to make a trip a bit further along the coast to Santa Marta and the beautiful Tayrona National Park. Santa Marta is only a 4 hrs busride away from Cartagena and has a lovely, lively centre with live music and street artists in the evenings. Other than that it wasn’t that much of a highlight - possibly because we mainly passed through on our way to Tayrona National Park. We spent the night in a lovely homestay and followed our hosts advice to take the bus into the park’s entrance, there transfer to another bus deeper into the park and walk from there. We entered the thick jungle and watched the scenery change the closer we got to the beach. After a refreshing swim once there (and maybe a little powernap on the beach) we followed the coastline until we arrived at the amazing El Cabo camp area, right at a beautiful open area with two bays and a lighthouse on the rocks in the middle. After claiming our hideously gross tent, we enjoyed the amazing view from the rock, explored the deserted beaches around El Cabo and lay down at the beach to watch the colourful sunset while the moon rose through the palmtrees. The no-reception-nor-technologies evening we spent eating fresh fish (and veggies for me) for dinner, talking loads and playing cards until we couldn’t procrastinate going to sleep in the sweaty, smelly tent any longer. That one humid, short and mosquito filled night was all worth it though; we woke up to the sound of the waves and the most spectacular sunrise evur. All of El Cabo breathed peacefulness and happiness while the sun slowly rose out of the ocean and the sky changed all colors. It was fantastic! We washed the memory of the tentnight away with a crisp dive into the sea and watched the time to breakfast roll away with the waves on a stunning, completely deserted piece of beach. After breakfast we packed up our stuff and walked back into the jungle to make our way over rocky hills, through leafy paths with herds of monkeys and all kinds of insects and past old traditional huts back to civilization. What an adventure! 👌 Back in Santa Marta we treated ourselves to the best ever late lunch while watching the World Cup and waiting for the intense tropical rainstorm that we had so luckily managed to avoid to pass. Completely exhausted but oh so satisfied we got to the airport far too early so there was no way we would miss our flight. We never considered the option though that a bird would fly into the engines of our plane while coming in so we would not be able to fly out of Santa Marta that day. Luckily, together with an awesome couple from Australia, we managed to get our tickets changed and find a hostel that would let us in in the middle of the night. After that many peaks it was expected to encounter a low at some point, but we forgot right about all of it when we woke up to another day in sunny Santa Marta. 

# Back in Medellín we had only one week left to do all the things that we still wanted to do before we would all go our separate ways. So we filled our days with hyper productive study sessions in yet another cafe, eating more ice-creams than ever before, watching each other’s favorite movies and documentaries, partying, last minute souvenir shopping, growing even closer with the Selina staff and getting in-house metamorphoses. We went on various tours - from a self-guided citywalk to a busride/boattrip to the colorful town Guatape and its beautiful wetland-sounds-like surroundings to the amazing Transformation Tour to learn about Medellín before, during and after its tumultuous drugs war. On this last tour Fede, our very interesting tourguide who experienced the dangers and negativity from the drugs war first hand and openly shared his intense life story with us, guided us through the different areas of town that were once controlled by Pablo Escobar and his cartel, took us to where Pablo Escobar used to live and where he died, explained that the people sitting on the street’s corners weren’t just sitting there and showed us and how the streets changed after Pablo died and how Comuna 13, once Colombia’s most notorious neighborhood, expressed and reinvented itself through various forms of arts like grafiti and hiphop dancing. Also, he educated us about the many conventional tours that are often operated by Pablo’s family - thus still fueling his empire in a way - and how the Colombian people want to show tourists Colombia’s beauty and friendliness to break out of the dangerous reputation. You can definitely experience that wherever you go! ✨ 

# And then, before we knew it, our final day as a tribe arrived. To not let that get by unnoticed we were all taken to the most perfect location for this special occasion; a beautiful villa - on other days used as the decor of Colombian music videos - on the hills just outside Medellín with the most amazing design features, luxurious rooms, rooftop terrace with hot tub and breathtaking city view. We spent the day doing workshops on reflecting the past months and getting ready for post Nomad MBA life. We ended the day with the most beautiful graduation ceremony, loads and loads of drinks and even more party. And then, all of a sudden, the sun was up and the first bus to rip our tribe apart pulled into the driveway.. All through the day people left to catch their planes back to all corners of the world while me and some others stayed behind for one more night on the South American continent. And then, another short night, a quick last walk through El Poblado, a final FAR toooo big had-to-have-one-last-time Colombian lunch and 7486793 goodbyes later, it was my turn to go. Feeling all weird, very full from all that lunch, all alone for the first time in months and incredibly grateful I found myself boarding my first plane - to Madrid, where I had a loooong 9 hour layover to review the unbelievable three months that I just lived. At the end of this amazing adventure, this is just a small selection of things that made going on the Nomad MBA was the best thing evur:

I made 26 fan-tas-tic new friends from all over the world (and learnt one can still make lifelong friends at 27).

We stayed in the most amazing places and were part of really cool co-working spaces, helping us to really integrate in the local communities.

On top of the online programming course that I took during the trip, I gained tons of new skills and knowledge during the bonding weekend, the weekly workshops, the traveling through the different cultures and the interactions at the co-working spaces. 

Practicing radical transparency, one of the Nomad MBA’s key values, and the openness it results in is a true delight.

The countless unforgettable memories we made during the remarkable fitness bootcamp to Macchu Pichu and the meditation retrait in the Sacred Valley.

The constant personal development that was inevitable.

With mixed feelings I then boarded a second plane that brought me back to Schiphol, where I was reunited with my loved ones. SO GOOD to see them again, I am so extremely lucky to have such a wonderful home full of love to get back to! 

Different from the last time that I returned from long term travels, coming home this time felt more ‘permanent’. Even though my never-ending wanderlust has not nearly been satisfied, there is so much more to see on this beautiful globe of ours and all my travels have definitely made me so much richer, my wallet doesn’t feel much of that and it is time to get back to work and ‘normal’ life. For now though, as I am sure that I will be back! 👋 

[lindoig8]

Sunday-Thursday, 26-30 September

Sunday

I spent most of the day in the van working on my photos and blog: a pleasant enough task, but it always takes much longer than I ever anticipate. We went to the supermarket for a few things in the afternoon and then went out to the Beach Club for their Sunday Roast for dinner.

We missed our on the roast last time we tried because they ran out just ahead of us in the queue, so we got there just after 5 pm and ordered, imagining that they wouldn’t be serving it straight away. Sure enough, it arrived by 5.15 and we were finished dinner and twiddling our thumbs over the second half of our bottle of wine well before 6 o’clock. Needless to say, the restaurant was by no means full (although there were quite a few ‘reserved’ signs on the tables) so we could easily have arrived at 6 or 6.30 and still enjoyed a roast after that. Having said that, the roast was nothing to write home about (so I am writing about it here!). It was a big meal though with heaps of good veges and we needed a doggy box to take the remainders home again.

Monday

We had quite a productive morning once we got up and moving.

After breakfast, we did a little bit of hand washing (an almost daily task lately) and then we tackled replacing our broken door mechanism with the new one we purchased in Exmouth. It was a very fiddly job with quite poor instructions but we finally got the new piece in place and everything is now operating correctly. It is nice to be able the separate the fly screen from the main door and to lock the door securely again. A small but welcome achievement.

Next little job was to clean the flush water for our loo. It had started to grow some algae in the flush-tank so we emptied it and flushed some chemicals and disinfectant through it, then quite a few litres of clean water and it all looks sparklingly clean again.

That took all of the morning but we packed our lunch and set off to explore a little south of Onslow. When we had visited the Information Centre a week or two ago, the woman there recommended that we go to the Ashburton Port ‘to see what they are doing out there’. Onslow is in the Ashburton Shire and close to the mouth of the Ashburton River (and coincidentally, Heather and I both lived in the same little street in Ashburton, Victoria, albeit at quite separate times), so we took her advice and went to check it out. The Port is about 15 kilometres off the highway but when we got there, the entire area is closed to the public. There are two large gas processing plants there (Wheatstone and Macedon) and the whole area is well and truly off limits to mere mortals like us. (Wheatstone is interesting to the physicists among us due to the Wheatstone Bridge – a device used for determining where breaks in power lines have occurred – regrettably, nothing to do with Heather Wheat – even if she were stoned!)

Not ot be discouraged, we left the precinct and headed a few kilometres further to the turnoff to Old Onslow. We explored this area 4 years ago and I recall the scores of caravans free-parking along the banks of the Ashburton River. It is a surprisingly large river (but virtually dry upstream) and we found a place at its very edge to sit and enjoy our lunch. There were a few birds around and we relaxed for close to an hour before moving on to the site of the old town.

There were scads of caravans scattered right along the edge of the river with more coming and going as we drove in, but we eventually reached the site of the original Old Onslow. It seems to have been at least as big – certainly in area – as the current town and there are still a few remnants of the old structures and equipment there. We drove right around the area, out to where the old port had been, around where all the pubs, stores and public buildings had been, even out to the old cemetery. It is quite amazing: there are tens of kilometres (maybe hundreds) of track in and around the old town – all of which was simply picked up and moved to the current townsite more than a hundred years ago. There is not a lot to see – a single bollard where the pier used to be, several acres of broken bottles adjacent (and non-adjacent) to the old pub-sites, a more substantial ruin of the police station and courthouse, but not a lot else. We explored as much as we could and eventually found a beautifully-maintained gravel road that we followed for perhaps 15 kilometres until it simply stopped at the fence of the Macedon gas-plant. It intrigued me why such a wonderful road would be so meticulously-maintained if it led to nothing at all! Very strange indeed!

In due course, we got back to the main road and returned to the new Onslow where we explored a few more local roads, past the salt plant belching fresh salt into a gigantic stockpile, out to the marina and nearby industrial area, and eventually back to the safety and security of our own little cubbyhouse.

Tuesday

Heather started with a big load of washing – time to do the bedding again – while I went back to the industrial area to try to get our tyre fixed. That was a big disappointment because the guy out there found two big tears in the sidewall due to driving with the tyre being too flat.

We spent a fortune on tyre monitors a few years ago, but don’t use them because we have never had a single day without false warnings and failures of the system. We took them back to the suppliers numerous times and they replaced them and did some troubleshooting, but we have never had a day’s value out of them. Their only value is that the system beeps at you if there is a problem with any tyre – under- or over- pressure, rapidly changing pressure, overheating, etc., – and because at least one of the twelve sensors was always malfunctioning, we were subjected to beeping from the moment we started the car until it was turned off – and we never knew if it was a false alarm or a real problem. In this case, if we had the system installed and working, we would have known of the slow leak and saved ourselves the roughly $700 for a new tyre.

But that was not the end of the issue. The guy in Onslow didn’t have a tyre that would fit – and he said our tyres are very hard to get at present. He suggested we ring ahead in an attempt to have one waiting for us in Carnarvon. Alas, none in Carnarvon. Hamelin Pool? No! Denham? No, but he might be able to get one sent up from Geraldton – with a $45 freight charge. But if we are going to Geraldton anyway, he will ring his mate down there to ensure he has one available when we get there next week. Fnigres coresds – you try typing with your fingers crossed!

Wednesday

We fuelled up at the more expensive servo because all four of the bowsers at the cheaper one were out of order. The one we had to use is one of the automated ones so everything takes a bit longer and we had to join the queue of travellers trying to purchase their fuel before we got our turn. Eventually, we achieved our objective!

We then drove the 469 kilometres (by our odometer) to Carnarvon. The map indicates that the distance should be 493 kilometres but our caravan park is 6 kilometres out of the town centre. This is very consistent with all our measurements, with our speedometer and odometer both always being 2 or 3 percent out. This has always been an issue because we have oversized wheels and tyres on the car so all the readings we have are about 3% less than actual. What this means is that although our records show (according to our odometer) that we have just ticked over 17000 kilometres towing the van this trip, it is actually a tad over 17500 kilometres. We always have to over- or under- estimate our figures depending on what we are trying to do – it’s very marginal but if we were running very short of fuel, it could be critical.

We left the tropics behind us when we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, but we haven’t encountered any temperate rain forests yet. It was an interesting drive though with very noticeable changes in terrain and importantly, vegetation as we moved slowly south. Then, just a few kilometres out of Carnarvon, a really big change occurred with lush banana plantations and other fruit and vegetable farms filling the landscape. Our caravan park sits right on the edge of a large pomegranate orchard, something I don’t recall seeing anywhere before. It is also right under the Space Museum that we enjoyed almost exactly 4 years ago. Maybe I won’t bore anyone with that, but it was one of the more important NASA stations during the lunar ventures as well as being the key OTC station that introduced Australia to international television. It is a great museum and anyone who gets close to Carnarvon should definitely give it a visit.

At night, we tried to watch more of the short series of DVDs we started last week, but it wouldn’t play as it should – long pauses and complete pixilation being the main problems. We tried to clean the lens, but maybe our cleaner is not in good nick. We were able to watch a film on DVD without a hitch, although when we tried the following night, nothing would play correctly. I will try to buy a new lens cleaner (we have been looking for one for at least 5000 kilometres) but maybe our old TV has reached its Use-by date.

Thursday

We had a fairly relaxed day today – a bit of shopping in the morning and then a drive out to the ocean. Almost by accident, we ended up driving around Babbage Island – an island on the map, but with a road out that indicated many years since it was an island, definitely a low-level causeway rather than anything like a bridge. We drove out on some 4WD tracks and I enjoyed photographing a few shorebirds out there, but we then drove to the end of the island and enjoyed watching a few fishermen and picnickers across the lagoon – but we chose not to tackle the very sandy track out to join them. We also explored the entrance to Oyster Creek – a few desolate clicks out of town in the opposite direction, but quite interesting due to the very shallow area of the ocean that it empties into. All mangrove areas.

We also explored an area shown on the map as a large area of water just north of the NASA telescope. There is not a lot of water there are present, but what there is has attracted hundreds of birds and I did a bit of bush-bashing trying to see what they all were. Most of them were relatively common for me, but I was pleased to see quite a few dozen Black-tailed Native Hens – that I last saw about 15-20000 kilometres ago.

[gloriousgardendonut]

Boats......

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats" - Ratty - Wind in the Willows. So we swapped the campervan for a boat  we have boated before in both cruisers and narrow boats and love it. In fact Simon has a long term plan to live on a boat…….oh as well as live in a mobile home…….oh and in a cottage that needs renovating……and finally on a plot of land where we actually build our house from scratch! We've boated before on the beautiful Norfolk Broads, once in summer, which is very busy, but amazing to see so many boats and once in Spring which was very quiet and more relaxing. We've also been on the Oxford Canal with the excitement of using locks but also the daily worry of not dropping the 'windlass' - that's the bit of equipment essential for opening the locks. We've also been on the Union Canal in Scotland via the engineering marvel that is the Falkirk Wheel - essentially a rotating boat lift that replaced a staircase of locks that took a lot of time and energy to navigate. Doing this in a barge was exciting and scary for those a little uncomfortable with heights. For this boat trip we started in Ely in Cambridgeshire with our boat hired from a boat yard on the Great River Ouse. Ely is a city but it feels like a market town. The cathedral is worth seeing inside and out, the architecture, paintings and fittings are spectacular. Only a short distance away from the centre is the river, which is a hive of activity for boaters and the locals. We spent a day and night in Ely walking along the river, site-seeing and trying the local bars and restaurants. We had one of those days when you blow the gap year budget because it's sunny, laid back and a relaxing place to be. We  made up for the little blow out by spending zilch for the following few days by staying on the boat and relying on the supplies from home - emergency pasta and gin cocktails (Portsmouth gin at that - a present from a friend on finishing work for the gap year - chin chin Jacque Ashton). The boat was a cruiser with two 'wee' cabins, one had seats and a mini kitchen and the other cabin had a bed a wash basin and separate compartment with shower and toilet. A tight space but palatial compared to the van. The compartments were separated by the central driving compartment, where we alternated the role of captain and ships mate throughout the week, although someone took the role of captain much more seriously than the other. The bed was a strange triangular shape with the head part under the bow of the boat (that's the front). On night one claustrophobia set in for me as the space was small, confined and difficult to get out of without doing a backflip. So whilst Simon stayed put, myself and the dog moved to the front compartment where you could convert the seats to two single beds. I had one, Skyler had the other…..until about 5am when Skyler decided he'd jump onto mine and we'd share - a tight squeeze but there's nothing quite as nice as a doggy spooning you. For a week we cruised at 4-7 miles an hour along the River Great Ouse and its tributaries the Little Ouse, Wissey, Lark and Brandon Creek. We also went along The Cam where you can go as far as Cambridge, but we had decided not to visit the bigger towns or cities on this particular trip. Boating is best enjoyed if you sit back and just watch the views go by. As a commuter I spend 2-3 hours a day travelling along the motorways and busy roads of Lancashire, often on autopilot with the main objective of getting from A to B as quickly as possible; A and B being home and work. I spend little time taking in the scenery as a matter of safety. With a small boat it's very different,  there's not a lot you can do other than chill out and spend a lot of time looking at the scenery. Once you do that you begin to see in great detail the views, the wildlife and nature in action. Swans teaching their signets the ways of the river, cows chewing the cud and flicking their tails, herons watching majestically from the banks, dragon flies frantically chasing your boat, ripples shimmering and breaking against the waterlilies and disturbing for a second the stillness of the yellow flowers sprouting from them. The vistas stretch for miles across fields with tiny villages recognisable by their church spires poking out on the horizon and then suddenly the vistas disappear and you are enclosed by reeds or trees of every variety, shaded but penetrated by flashes of sunlight. Every so often there is the excitement of a bridge - or rather getting the boat through it without hitting the sides. Then comes the mooring up!!!! Mooring is actually a simple task if logic is used and all remain calm -  steer the boat in, knock off the power, secure the front end and then secure the back end, job done. Alas, for us mooring seems to cause a lot of tension, a row often errupts with choice language, raised voices and a lot of disagreement about who's fault it was the mooring didn't go to plan! Arguments aside there is something really lovely about being tied to the river bank, knowing you are there for the night far from civilisation in the peace and tranquility of the countryside all 'alone'. That is unless you listen to local folklore which can make you a bit nervous about the 'alone' bit. Local folklore has it that at night out on the paths near the waterways and fens of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk there is a ghostly presence known as the 'Black Shuck'. Described as a large black hound with red eyes as big as saucers that prowls about howling so as to make your blood run cold. Apparently though there are tales of the Shuck helping out the fairer sex who may find themselves  lost in the fens and that he has on occasion  guided them back to the safety of the villages. I could find no details though on what he does to men, making Simon a little nervous when conveniently I was already cosy on my PJs when he had to take Skyler out on the dark mooring for his before-bed pee…………ARH-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Of course you don't need to sleep out in the middle of nowhere with wild beasties. Along the rivers and canals are pretty villages and pubs where you can enjoy the local hospitality, often these moorings are busier with other boaters and locals so there is that sense of safety in numbers if you don't like being in more secluded places. Littleport is one such place, an hour or so up the river from Ely, we stayed there on our first night, crossing a little bridge from our mooring to the Swan on the River,where we had a few glasses of the amber nectar and a lovely meal. Word of warning though, remember you are on a river and you need to be able to walk in a straight line at closing time back to your mooring, otherwise you'll be getting a bit closer to those waterlilies mentioned earlier than you hoped. Of course being on the boat doesn't mean just looking out and doing nothing, being on the boat is a perfect time to indulge in pastimes you might not get a lot of time to do in your busy working week. There's talking, reading, writing,  playing games, taking photos, drawing, painting, maybe like me learning sailing knots and discovering local folklore. Cruising for 3-4 hours a day seemed about right for us as it gives you the opportunity to do some off boat activities too.  Off the boat you can potter around the local area or walk for miles along the river paths (essential for doggy owners - remember the dog needs to pee and unless very clever can't cock their leg over the side). We are suckers for pots of tea and cakes at the village tea rooms and love to get a little mellow at the local pubs. Whilst cruising you may also come across a local markets, village fetes or visitor attractions. We visited Denver Sluice Complex, a historically controversial piece of waterway engineering built to prevent the often catastrophic flooding of the villages and fens around the rivers in  this low level part of the country. Historically this lock and sluice system didn't meet the need it was intended for and blame was put on insufficient funding and miscalculations in its engineering structures (even John Rennie had a go). This resulted in more flooding and difficulties for village and boating trades over many years. Now it is in working order and whilst some feel it is still not as a good as it should be it has prevented further widespread flooding of the area. As for the traditional boating trades, as seen with many other areas across the country an increase in rail and road networks has meant a decline in these trades leaving the rivers free for mainly leisure boating. The railways are definitely evident in the area as the lines cross the river in several places and we did moor up very near the train line on a couple of occasions. Not everyones cup of tea, but we both love the sound of trains and watching with  interest the origins of the freight on the freight trains, these often come from far and wide reminding us of how big the world is away from our boat and little piece countryside mooring. It was strange (van owners will understands this),  but I felt a little guilty abandoning the campervan for a boat at the beginning of the week.  However, by the end of the week we were sad to be leaving the boat behind after such a relaxing week and would have loved to carry on for longer, but boating is not cheap unless you own the boat of course. We agreed as we left that if we ever got a boat it would be a barge rather than a cruiser, with a tiller and not a wheel, the bed would be big and square, not a triangle and we'd have our mooring on the river not in a marina, it would be next to a field and a railway line with a short walk to the village tea shop and pub. Simon as always has begun  researching this and will shortly bombard me with results in his bid to go and live on a boat. Unfortunately he is a hoarder and you can't live on a boat if you are a hoarder, so I have given him a load of charity bags in a bid to get him to have a clear out….. Watch this space!!!! One good thing about getting home was having the luxury of a proper bed to sleep in, although for the fist night I seemed to retain a sense of gentle rocking like I was still on the boat, but maybe that was Skyler pushing his luck and wriggling in for a spoon!!! So again with the words of Toad from Wind in the Willows it's back to the magnificent van (cart) for our next adventure in the gap year.

"There’s real life for you, embodied in that little cart. The open road, the dusty highway, the heath, the common, the hedgerows, the rolling downs! Camps, villages, towns, cities! Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing! And mind, this is the very finest cart of its sort that was ever built, without any exception."

[elizabethenroute-blog]

No place I’d Radler be

“Plans are what you make to keep God amused.”

This is something my mother’s said to me countless times, and although you may not agree with the religious element, the sentiment is still a good point. It’s impossible to live your life the way you want to. Things, people, natural disasters get in the way, and some would argue the beauty of it all is precisely this unpredictability. An algorithm impossible to understand.

However, this was not the remark I particularly wanted to hear when I was planning my year abroad. For some reason I was convinced that I would be given a placement in the centre of Bolzano, with easy train links to Verona and Padua where two of my best friends are studying, alongside all of the benefits that come with living in a university city.

You can imagine the profanity that ensued when I got the email telling me that while I was going to be in the province of Bolzano, my actual placement was situated 75km north east of the city, in Bruneck. A skiing town, which is apparently the Aspen of Italy, with a population of approximately 16,000 (not including mountain cows). I don’t ski, and my home town in rural Herefordshire has a population just 6,000 less than that. To put it in Shakespeare’s words, I would have bitten my thumb at anyone who got on my nerves that day.

Some would argue that I really got one of the worst deals in terms of placement. The nearest other teaching assistant to me lives an hour away (depending on traffic in the valley), the choirs and societies that I’m interested in are a similar impractical distance away, and teaching in a high school with the drinking age being 16 here, the very thought of a night out is completely off the cards.

It really could have been a recipe for disaster, sat in my mountains with no one to easily socialise with, I genuinely could have lost my mind.

However, the past 7 months have taught me that much of your mental state depends on you staying proactive. Now that’s not me saying that people with depression are lazy, not at all. My point is that it’s easy for me personally to get into a low mood when I just sit around, wallowing for hours on end, which I was very tempted to do on several occasions.

To stop myself from doing exactly this, I’ve tried to plan something every weekend. Whether that’s going on a weekend trip to some city or simply meeting for a coffee in Bolzano. Literally just doing anything to prevent myself from sitting on my laptop all day, inside.

This got particularly difficult in February. The weather was grim, which meant I really didn’t want to do any exploring, and I had an essay deadline looming, so adventuring off into the unknown was the last thing on my mind.

Somedays I did just want to lock the front door and snuggle down with a blanket and netflix. One of the pieces of advice you get repeatedly thrown at you before your year abroad is to “say yes to everything”. That’s all well and good, and I can appreciate the want to encourage us to go out and explore. The problem is that sometimes, for your own mental wellbeing, you do just need to say no, and that’s okay. It doesn’t make you introverted or antisocial, it makes you human.

There’s a big difference between being independent and isolated. There’s also a big difference between experiencing loneliness and experiencing solitude. I flick between viewing myself in these two states constantly.

Being by yourself means you really get to know yourself. Not really having had any outside influences, I’ve learned how I like to dress, the sports and films I want to watch and the music I like to listen to. In fact, I’ve missed the sound of my Dad’s turntable so much this year that I’m determined to buy my own as soon as I’m back, so I’ll never be deprived of that sound again.

That brings me on to homesickness, another big thing we were warned about pre-departure. This is something that can strike at the most random moments, triggered by the most random things. I saw some Weston’s cider being sold in the supermarket and immediately wished I was sat by the River Wye on a sunny afternoon with my mates from 6th form, even though it’s been almost three years since I spoke the majority of them.

I was in a bookshop when my eye caught a book on architecture which had a photo of the Birmingham Bullring on the cover, and straight away I felt a longing for Selly Oak, with its glorious odour of fried chicken shops and whatever my fellow students had regurgitated the night before.

One of the worst cases though, is always having to ask for a jug of milk with my tea whenever I go to a café. I could shake off all possible signs of Britishness in both my appearance and my accent, but this request has the power to shatter all illusions in a matter of seconds. The homesickness only increases when they bring you a jug of warm, frothed milk.

So how’ve I coped with this? I’ve surrounded myself with Britishness in the broadest possible term. Watching The Crown has helped a lot, as has being able to listen to everything and anything on Spotify. I truly take my hat off to anyone who had to do a year abroad before Skype, before YouTube, before the internet. Being able to talk to my family and friends at home with just a few clicks has undoubtedly kept me sane, and kept me going.

However, social media is by no means a completely positive thing. I’m guilty myself of always posting the most rose-tinted view of whatever I’ve got up to that week. The problem with that is other people only ever see you having a good time, which is in no way realistic. For me, watching my best friends post photos and updates in the same sunny manner has caused me to enter countless thought spirals worrying that I’m not doing this year properly, that they’re all having a better time abroad than me, and that the last thing they’ll want is me bothering them with my problems when they’re all having such a great time. The reality is that they’re looking at everyone else’s posts and worrying about the same things.

Something that’s really stood out to me over the past few months is how I’ve come to terms with the idea of Heimat. It’s a German word which has no direct English translation, I can only describe it as a sense of home. It’s not necessarily the same as your actual home where you reside, but a feeling of where you belong in the world. This was a tricky concept for me. While I was born in Guildford and spent my early childhood in Surrey/Hampshire, I grew up on the Welsh borders. Yet, I don’t feel I can securely say I’m from either one. I’ve never felt a sense of belonging in Herefordshire, in fact I loathed it most of the time I lived there, but at the same time, I’ve spent such a small fraction of my life living in the home counties that I can’t identify with there either.

Living in South Tyrol has taught me that your Heimat doesn’t have to be an exact grid reference. The majority of people I’ve spoken to here have very cloudy opinions about whether they identify more as Italian or Austrian. It’s a very sensitive subject, in fact. I’ve been shown that it’s okay to simply say you’re South Tyrolean. It is an identity in itself, and regardless of whether I feel more like a Southerner or a Midlander, I’m undoubtedly British.

Going back to the idea of planning, I wouldn’t change my year abroad for the world. Yes, it’s been hard, and yes, I could have chosen to do my Erasmus somewhere completely different like Vienna or Florence. I could have gone for the complete Lizzie McGuire experience in Rome, but I wouldn’t have met any of my hilarious students or my wonderful colleagues. I wouldn’t have proved to myself how amazingly independent I can be, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to live in one of the most beautiful locations in the world. I can’t put into words how much I love the school I’ve been placed in. The students never fail to make me smile and as challenging as it was in the beginning, (teaching in an institution with 90% male pupils aged 14-19 was daunting to say the least) it’s going to be very hard for me to leave in seven weeks time.

Until next time,

Beth ❤️

[aussiboris]

The Rugby World Cup

A Road Trip, The Brave Blossoms arrive, a Sake Tour and the Tartan army 

September 28th 2019

So the second weekend of the tournament arrived! Excitedly, we joined our relatively new rugby friends Glen and Debbie on a road trip to Kobe. This weekend we were going to see the Scots, so we filled the few hours journey with a Scottish playlist of classics including the Pretenders, Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand and of course, The Proclaimers. In hindsight this was good preparation for meeting the tartan army who we would find in excellent (loud) voice. 

We found that there was an ‘English Pub’ called The Harbour Tavern in central Kobe that was already open at 1pm showing the Tonga and Argentina game. 

The Harbour Tavern is somewhat hidden away in a tall building on the 7th floor but we found it. It definitely has the rustic feel and sticky carpet of a traditional English pub. We were quick to install ourselves in front of a big TV as we were particularly keen to see the next match which was the hosts vs Ireland.

After eating some dubiously microwaved ‘beef pies’ we were ready for the main event - Japan’s first proper test. Our Irish friends had travelled to Shizouka with the intention to see their team conquer the Blossoms, but they had not reckoned on the impact of Yu Tamura’s deadly accurate boot. The Irish were vastly outnumbered by the home crowd who went suitably nuts (very unjapanese) when Kotaro Matsushima very nearly scored a try within the first three minutes. 

After that wake up call Ireland looked to regain their composure with Garry Ringrose carrying a try over at 13 minutes. However Jack Carty was unable to convert it so Ireland were ahead by 5 points. 4 minutes later Yu Tamura scored his first penalty.  Ireland replied with a converted try putting them firmly ahead 12 points to 3. Our friends were delighted and we saw them celebrate on TV several times in their bright green wigs. But the Irish team made mistakes and by half time Tamura had kicked Japan back to touching distance  9 points to 12. 

The second half carried on the excitement for the Japanese crowd when the backs put together an attack off the back of a scrum- Lameki charged through the Irish lines only just being stopped before Tanaka was able to feed the ball out to Nakamura who then threw a long pass to Lafaele who popped it to the newly arrived wing replacement Kenki Fukuoka who charged over the try line. At this point The Harbour Tavern erupted as Japan took the lead 14 - 12. 10 minutes later Tamura added a 5th successful kick adding to his large collection of points. The Japanese started to believe this was winnable. Then with 3 minutes to go the try scorer Kenki Fukuoka intercepted a pass and very almost scored a try at the other end of the pitch. The noise was insane. When the whistle blew Japan had won the contest 16-12. There were a lot of very happy Japanese supporters. 

After celebrating Japan’s stunning win in the Harbour Tavern we went to look for some dinner. This was the point that it became apparent that the Japanese had become aware of the World Cup. There had been curiosity from the host country’s citizens - now there was enthusiastic interest. 

As we walked through the streets of Kobe, Rob and Glen were getting stopped by Japanese who wanted to high five them for wearing the Brave Blossoms strip. This enthusiasm was echoed the next morning when we went in search of a Japan rugby top the next morning, overnight they had disappeared. Rob also decided to wear his Japan top on our sake tour where he got mildly harrassed (stroked) by female cashiers. There was definitely a new level of excitement around the city, it finally felt like the World Cup had properly begun.

The next day was Sunday, we made our way over to Kobe’s Nada District, which is home to Japan’s top Sake producers.

Its location allows it access to high quality rice, good water, and favourable weather. Being close to the ports of Kobe and Osaka was also key for distribution.

We started early and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine as we toured the many breweries and museums with our Sake connoisseur friend, Ruth. We got the Rokko liner train line to Uozaki. This is near the lovely walk by the river. 

We then made our way down to our first stop -  Hamafukutsuru. The Brewery has won awards for its “Ginjo” sake. It was a good one to start with as they have an excellent museum on the second floor explaining the Sake brewing process in English with plenty of diagrams. Here we had a small tasting with one of the brewers. He was somewhat of a celebrity as he had clippings of a newspaper article that had featured him. He gave us plenty of different sakes to try as well as sherry and plum wine. Ruth invested in some sake ice cream and we were ready for round two. 

We headed to our second brewery with slight trepidation - if we consumed the same amount as the first in all the stops on the tour we’d be in trouble. Our next stop was Sakuramasamune. This was a smaller set up with a few traditional tools and equipment to see. It did have an attractive looking restaurant so that is where we stopped for lunch for motsunabe. 

After a suitably filling lunch our tour continued to three other breweries.   Kikumasamune Sake Museum, Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum and Kobe Shushinkan Brewery. These all had excellent museums which showed off the huge casks used in the brewing process. Some had photos of past techniques whilst in a slightly creepy approach one had life sized models recreating images from the past. 

As the afternoon wore on we hurried back to the city centre to watch the Wales v Australia game - a game that would potentially decide who would top group D. One we wanted Wales to win as we were hoping to see both Northern hemisphere teams in separate quarter finals in Oita. 

We headed for the “Aussie” pub, the Rock. Maybe a questionable choice. It was rammed mostly with Scots. As we squeezed ourselves into the place Rob and Glen went in search of beer. It was not the most comfortable place but the game proved a healthy distraction from our cramped situation. 

It was a close game with Wales taking the lead within the first minute with a cheeky drop goal. They continued to lead throughout but the six nations champions had to dig deep to stop the resilient Wallabies. The big number 12 Samu Kerevi proved very hard to stop. Dan Biggar ended up with concussion after an attempted tackle. Reece Patchell was mown down by the massive unit and somehow got rewarded with a penalty for his efforts. A brutal physical game that was close right to the end. Only the accuracy of the Welsh number tens boots kept the Australians at bay. To our relief the Welsh won 29-25.

We celebrated with a few drinks in some nice and not so nice bars and some Kobe Beef.

Game day

It was a bright sunny morning. We made our way over to Kobe’s China Town. After some tasty walking snacks, we had a sit down lunch to give us a solid basis for the drinking that was about to occur. So we were ready, off to the Fanzone. 

The Fanzone was located on the edge of the port area with views of the sea. There was a stage with scheduled entertainment that ranged from BMX stunt riding (not sure what that has to do with rugby, but was not the only time we saw this), to a Scottish pipers band, made up of expats and Japanese enthusiasts. There was a large covered seated area where most of the Scots gathered in their festive clobber. A few porter cabins provided food and soft drinks and then there was the bar with its complicated queuing system that kept the rest of the Scots busy. A small merchandise booth offered a small selection of souvenirs, a big screen which switched between showing highlights of the tournaments earlier games and the history of rugby in Japan. Lastly there was a skills area where people could join in some very sweaty touch rugby and a tacking skills area where small children could hurl themselves at a tackle bag and rebound onto a crash mat. Here we spotted an English guy we had met in one of the bars the night before. He was pretty hard to miss as he had a long red cape attached from his shoulders and flip flops. He was throwing himself into the touch game. We chatted to him after and his feet were caked is dust and dirt. 

After we had “absorbed” the atmosphere (alcohol) we decided to make our way to the stadium. This was a few kms away but there were plenty of World Cup Volunteers grasping flags marking our route. We just followed the singing really. 

It got a bit more tricky when getting on the train. We all squeezed in and got acquainted pretty quickly. With our faces practically pressed against the windows, we made it to the next station where the doors opened and let in some vital fresh air. However as the train progressed through the stations more people wanted to board the train. At this point a particularly massive young scot decided he would help make room for the new arrivals by grasping the top of the door and pushing backwards with his arse. Somehow we survived and found space for the new passengers. On arrival at the destination station we all exploded out of the carriage and followed the crowds to the stadium. 

We managed to find our friends at the stadium and made our way inside. We found our seats which happened to be near the front. 

The Japanese embraced the Scots as they touched down in Nagasaki, and their favourite player - Greig Laidlaw or Mr Greig as he is known. He has become something of a poster boy for the World Cup and is currently the most famous Scot in Japan. His popularity has eclipsed the usual stars of Hogg and Russell but his team mates love the game of the attention Greig gets. Apparently when walking through shopping malls they will quite regularly shout out ‘Mr Greig’ and watch delightedly as the mob descends on the scrum half. 

Greig puts the popularity down to the 2015 World Cup where a sizeable Japanese TV audience watched Scotland beat Japan. Greig had a great game scoring 20 points and the Japanese has remembered this.

The warm up started and sat with friends Justin and Mary, we could actually identify the different players faces. After the anthems it was time to experience our first live Haka of the World Cup and it did not disappoint! 

Samoa are a renowned physical side but Scotland had the discipline and the flair. 

Within eight minutes Mr Greig had delighted his fans by drawing first blood with a penalty.  This was followed up later with an impressive cross pitch kick by Finn Russell to Maitland to place a try in the corner. Laidlaw then scored near the posts after being fed by Richie, the no 7.

Ten minutes into the second half, Scotland had a driving maul which was collapsed by Samoa resulting in a penalty try (27-0). 

Maitland then was on for a try in the corner which was denied by Samoa but with a two-knee tackle. Another penalty try was awarded to Scotland. Final sore was 34-0 to Scotland.

The route back to the hotel was pretty eventful. Kobe had put on a lot of party opportunities for the kilt wearing jocks- one place with a covered shopping area putting on food and selling cold beers until the wee hours. But with the prospect of an early shinkansen and work the next day, we didn’t make it too late. Oh to be on holiday and at the world cup! Nonetheless, an excellent weekend in Kobe.

[thisdaynews]

Faf de Klerk: Pants, coffee and Shrek: Q&A with South Africa's World Cup winner

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/faf-de-klerk-pants-coffee-and-shrek-qa-with-south-africas-world-cup-winner/

Faf de Klerk: Pants, coffee and Shrek: Q&A with South Africa's World Cup winner

Rugby World Cup winner Faf de Klerk is arguably the most recognisable man from this year’s tournament, so BBC Sport sat down with the South Africa scrum-half and bombarded him with as many quick-fire questions as we could in half-an-hour…

Faf celebrated South Africa’s World Cup victory in his pants and to raise awareness for testicular cancer is now challenging all men to stop “faffing” around and “up their ball skills”. Will he lay down the challenge to his new royal friend?

Only one place to start – those dressing-room photos after the Rugby World Cup final win over England. Why were you wearing pants with the South Africa flag on?

They are actually swimming trunks. The whole team were sent a pair with the South Africa flag on. I’ve been playing with them on for about three years. They are just really comfy.

Are they lucky pants?

Ha. I’d say they were lucky in terms of me getting to meet Prince Harry and raising awareness of testicular cancer – but I don’t take things into the games that are lucky, like special pants or socks. I do think a lot of people would like to have them now, though.

Meeting Prince Harry in your pants must have been quite a strange experience.

There were actually quite a few of us in our underwear. I think he enjoyed the players just accepting him as one of the boys, not making any special arrangements for him. We had a nice chat and he was just a down-to-earth decent guy. It’s always nice to see a person in such a position being down to earth.

We’ve seen your South Africa team-mates stripping down to their pants for the Faf Challenge – tell me about that.

A charity approached me to help raise awareness for testicular cancer and there are now some great photos of famous South Africans in their pants helping to spread the word. It’s all about upping your ball skills!

Faf was given a hero’s welcome by thousands of South Africans who lined the streets to celebrate during the Springboks’ victory parade

The homecoming at the airport after you won the World Cup – Wow!

Yeah, we did not expect that. We expected a few, but not thousands. It was just so special. We felt bad just running through the crowds at the airport with police because we wanted to stop and greet everyone, but it’s just impossible and we would never have get out of there. But it was very special, seeing what it meant to the people at home.

And what about the open top bus victory parade?

It was just insane. We obviously didn’t get a sense of the support at home when we were in Japan. It felt like the whole country was out to support us that day, just to see a few guys on top of a bus waving at them. It was insane. I never expected it.

There is a clip of a boy crying, who threw his boot up to be signed, that must have been moving for you?

Yeah, but that’s just one instance. That obviously meant a lot to him. Old people, young people, people of all races, crying, screaming, it was magical to see. There are a lot of troubles in South Africa, but that day, everybody just got along, and it felt like everything was perfect in South Africa. It was so special and I will always keep it with me.

You talk about the troubles and tensions in South Africa. Do you think the World Cup win will have a big impact on the country in that sense?

I really hope it does – but being ultra-critical, it probably won’t. But what I know is that there are people in the right positions now, especially on the rugby side. With coach Rassie [Erasmus] going [back] to [concentrate full-time on his role as] director of rugby, he made us a promise that he’ll make sure that things will move forward for the better. They are going to put a lot more work into developing rugby and giving opportunities to people who are not that privileged. The popularity of rugby definitely grew in South Africa over the World Cup, and sport has great power, so hopefully it will make some difference. Even if it’s just 1%, it’s a bit of a change.

Despite being branded “too small” to be a rugby player, Faf has always had confidence in himself, both on and off the pitch

You’re always smiling, you’ve got lots of energy, and like being the centre of attention. Is this how you’ve always been, or is this just a recent thing?

I’ve always had lots of energy; it’s just been about channelling it in the right way. I know I can be annoying, but that’s just my way and hopefully more people than not like my personality. But I think it’s good to have a fresh look on life, especially when the weather gets a bit grim over here.

Do you feel like a kid living out your dream?

That’s exactly the best way to put it. We all say we enjoy playing rugby, but most guys don’t really show it – and some guys I don’t think actually enjoy it. So every time I arrive in the morning, I’ve always got a smile on my face. Once I lose that enjoyment, I will stop playing.

When you were younger, you were often overlooked because of your height – how did that feel?

It was disappointing but luckily I have great parents who have always supported me. South African rugby players are notoriously big and some coaches just got stuck in that mindset and decided I wouldn’t make it because of my height and that was that. It didn’t matter how big I got physically. But it just gave me the motivation to prove them wrong, as I’ve always believed in myself.

Faf endured a torrid time during his first stint playing for the Springboks, but on moving to Sale he regained his form and confidence, in part helped by the club’s family values – and despite the Manchester rain

You made your Springboks debut in 2016 – when they had a dreadful year. You lost eight of your first 11 games, were sin-binned against Wales and then dropped. Did you think: That’s it, I’m done – I’ll never play for my country again?

There were a lot of problems within the squad, a lot of new players, a lot of new management – we never had structure; there wasn’t clear direction as to how we should play. It’s funny, though, because I always thought I’d be involved and that I was good enough. But being dropped gave me the opportunity to come to Sale.

When you joined Sale in 2017, the selection rules at the time meant you wouldn’t be eligible for South Africa. Was it a hard decision?

No. I always wanted to play in the UK or France. I felt I was falling out of favour and then the opportunity came out of the blue, so I felt I had nothing to lose coming here but a lot to gain. I knew I couldn’t play for the Springboks for the next two-and-a-bit years but I could be selected for the World Cup if I played well enough and that was always my goal.

What have you learned most from playing in England?

To adapt while the game is going on. The weather doesn’t always allow you just to run with the ball. The wind might change, it might start raining. I learned the running game in South Africa and the more nitty gritty stuff over here, so I think I’m now well rounded when it comes to playing styles.

What’s so special about Sale? It seems like one big family.

Dimes [Steve Diamond, Sale’s director of rugby] is family orientated. He wants a tight-knit group. He wants to be involved in your life if you’d like him to be. The club really go out of their way to make it as comfortable as possible for us. We have socials, parties. If we play in France, they’ll give us a few days off for team bonding. So we spend a lot of “off time” together.

I know you enjoy going to the countryside. Does that remind you of being in South Africa?

Yes definitely. I’d like to do it more often, but it’s a case of weather permitting. We’ve been on some team bonding trips in the countryside – walking in the Lake District and shooting in the Peak District. I love nature, getting out there just relaxes you. I love being out in the open and the wild. It reminds me of home and grounds me a bit.

Faf’s three loves – his parents, coffee and his girlfriend

It must be really tough with your girlfriend being in South Africa?

Yeah, it’s been really tough but finally we’ve decided that she’s going to move here next year, which will make things easier. We usually meet up every four to six weeks and spend two weeks together. We message a lot and speak a lot over the phone; she’s not too keen on FaceTime, but I force her to do it. We’ve obviously had some troubles over the two years as all couples do. She studied for six years to be a pharmacist, so she didn’t just want to give it up. She would have to do another two-year course to carry on being a pharmacist in the UK – so if we decide to stay here longer, she’ll do it, but to begin with she’ll do something else.

What is your favourite English phrase?

“Simply lovely” is probably my favourite. That’s quite nice; I like that one.

Any English traditions or habits you’ve picked up?

Coffee dates. The English are always going for a coffee. If a new coffee shop opens up, a few of us will go and check it out. I also drink a lot more tea since I’ve been here. I’ve had a few Sunday roasts but we also like a good roast in South Africa, so that’s not so strange for me.

I understand your dad emails Sale’s press officer asking for videos of all your games – is he your biggest fan?

Well, a lot of people tell me they are my biggest fan, ha! But him and my mother are for sure. They love to watch my games. Especially when I was a kid, they’d make so much effort to be at all my games. Even now as an adult, it means a lot for me for them to be there.

Faf often gets toldby fans that he looks like Prince Charming from Shrek – and enjoys interacting with them on social media. He is also a big fan of motivational messages on Instagram

I know you’re a man of meticulous detail. Are you a perfectionist?

No, I’m not a perfectionist. I just like to do a lot of work off the field. I watch our own matches to see how both myself and the team can improve, and I’ll watch a few games to look at the number nine and 10 that I’m going to play against, looking at any weaknesses or strengths so once I go out there, I know what they are going to do.

Is it true you keep a notebook to help you prepare for games?

Yeah. On the bus on the way to the games, I’ll read through my notebook and write down a few goals that I want to achieve in the game. It’s something I’ve learned to do, and it definitely works, because if I pick up on something that I need to remember and I write it down, then when I read it on the day of the game, I don’t forget it.

So you’ve won the World Cup and many think you’re the best scrum-half in the world – where do you go next?

I love the game and I always want to improve. Just because you’ve won the World Cup, it doesn’t mean you’re the perfect player. There are always things to work on. In my eyes, I’ll never be the best in something. We’ve got a lot of goals at Sale that we haven’t reached yet. I want to win a Premiership and a Champions Cup. I also want to inspire kids to come to the club. Even if I won everything, I’d still want to improve. And maybe another World Cup in four years time, that would be amazing… if I’m still around! There’s also the [British and Irish] Lions tour [to South Africa in 2021] coming up; that would be great if I get the opportunity to play in that.

I spotted on Twitter that someone had tweeted saying you look like Prince Charming from Shrek – do you get that a lot?

Ha. Yeah I get that a lot and also Lord Farquaad, the little guy from Shrek, just because he’s short, but I don’t think I look like him. But yeah, I get a few good memes from fans. They’re funny and I think I’ve got a good sense of humour.

Finally what are your three pieces of advice for kids wanting to be the next Faf de Klerk?

1 – Don’t let anyone get you down, no matter how negative they are towards you.

2 – Work really really hard. Even if you can do 1% more than the next guy… it might make things take a bit longer, but it’ll be worth it.

3 – Believe in yourself. Constantly talk to yourself and tell yourself you can do it.

Faf de Klerk was speaking to BBC Sport’s Henry Ditchfield.

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[geneseoabroad]

Groningen, The Netherlands- Sarah

1) Why did you decide to Study Abroad? Specifically, what made you choose to go to Groningen?

I always knew I wanted to study abroad in college- I have been very lucky to travel earlier in life due to my father’s job. This fostered a love for travel and immersing myself in new environments. I chose Groningen because every single person who had went there absolutely loved it! I had not heard one negative thing about the program, and loved that the city was so accessible by bike and very student-oriented.

2) What was your favorite part about Groningen?

It’s so hard to choose just one thing! I love so many things about Groningen. My two favorite things were: living with so many fellow international students my age and being able to bike anywhere in the city within 10-20 minutes. I made friends for life from around the world and learned so much in my time there. And as for the bikes, it just made life so much easier! And the city centre was less crowded since cars aren’t allowed inside. Dutch architecture, bikes everywhere, and a student city made Groningen a dream come true!

3) Describe a day in the life of a student in Groningen?

I would wake up and go to the communal kitchen in the student residence (known as Korno) I lived in. I would catch up with my floor-mates, make breakfast and head to class. The bike ride to class was about 10 minutes to the city center, and it was the best way to wake up in the morning and appreciate the beauty of the city. I would attend my classes for the day and often go get lunch with friends at a cafe nearby. Depending on how much work I had, I would go to the library, or get some grocery shopping done at the beautiful outdoor market at the Vismarkt in the city center. The day would end usually hanging out with my floor-mates in our common area, making dinner or heading out and enjoying all that Groningen had to offer.

4) What were your accommodations like?

My accommodations were different from what I expected, but everything I needed! (The picture above is of me and a friend sitting in my room, we had huge windows and the rooms were a good size too!) It was about 10 minutes from the Faculty of the Arts, but super close to Zernike, the mathematics and business campus. Korno, my student accommodation, had about 300+ international students. There were 15 students on each side of the floor, and we had our own rooms but a shared bathroom, common area and kitchen. This set-up was great as you could have your alone time, but come join your floor-mates whenever you wanted to. I met some of the best people on my floor, and it was amazing to meet so many people from around the world.

5) Did you do any traveling while abroad in Groningen? Where?

Yes! I was so lucky to be able to travel around Europe while in Groningen. I went to Belgium, France, Italy, Greece and also traveled around in The Netherlands. I took two big trips with my friends to Italy and Greece during the breaks that students had in Groningen. My favorite place I went to was Naples, Italy. It was so full of life and had everything was so incredibly beautiful (the picture below is from a rooftop in Naples featuring Mount Vesuvius!) 

6) What is one thing you wish you could have done differently?

I am grateful to say I regret almost nothing from my time there. I only wish that I was more open in the beginning and less afraid to talk to the people I lived with. Eventually, we all became close but I wish I felt more comfortable in the beginning. Still, the experience was amazing, and I wouldn’t change a thing!

7) What did you enjoy doing in your free time?

In Groningen, I loved biking. I would often go on bike rides around my student accommodation and discovered this beautiful field to watch the sunsets where horses would roam freely. I also really enjoyed going to different cafes around the city, biking to nearby parks and cities and just spending time exploring Groningen.

8) What is one thing that anyone interested in going to Groningen that they should know?

Groningen is a small city, and very student-oriented. There are so many Dutch and international students, so most activities and events in the city were catered for younger people. I loved this experience, as it felt like everyone related to each other and really loved Groningen. Also, be ready to bike all the time and maybe practice before going there after looking up the Dutch bike traffic laws.

9) What was something you didn’t expect to experience while abroad in Groningen?

I did not expect to feel so integrated into Dutch student life. I felt so comfortable biking around, going to the library and really getting involved in the way of life in Groningen. I did not feel like an ‘outsider’, and would be flattered when someone assumed I was Dutch.

10) How has studying abroad impacted your life?

Studying abroad has changed me in so many ways. While I have lived abroad before, living in Groningen and meeting the most incredible people has opened my horizons immensely. Studying abroad has redefined for me what it means to choose your own path, it has redefined love, friendship and how I see myself and the world. I know it sounds so corny, but studying abroad has changed my life forever, and I am beyond thankful.

11) Would you recommend that other students study abroad in Groningen? Why?

Yes! A million times over! Groningen is the perfect student city- there are a ton of things to do, so many incredible people to meet, and it will become your second home. I left a piece of my heart there, and I promise, if you study abroad there you will fall in love with the magical place that is Groningen.

[seaboundbysunrise]

Well to be honest, I’ve neglected this blog, and I probably would have continued if one of the new cadets who joined last month mentioned that they’d actually read it (cheers Andy!) so I decided that I should probably give it an update now I’ve got some free time. So, without banging on too much, what’s going on now?

Well I finished my sea time. I paid off my final ship yesterday after a long five and a half month stint. In a strange way I wouldn’t say that it’s any worse than doing four months – at that point, you’re committed to the ship life, so you just take it day by day. I’ll talk about that more in a future post, for now let’s talk about my second sea trip.

I finished college one week into August and a week later I was joining the Anvil Point in Marchwood. Being one of Foreland’s point class vessel I knew what to expect so I wasn’t too apprehensive. Upon arrival I was told that we were heading out to Duqm (Oman) via Duress (Albania) as part of the Saif Sereea exercise after a short stay in Devonport, Plymouth. So, what is Saif Sereea 3? Here’s a heavily condensed explanation taken from the Royal Navy website:

“Saif Sereea is a joint British-Omani military exercise intend to reinforce the relationships between Britain and Oman. The overall aim of the exercise was to test the UK’s expeditionary warfare strategy and maintain strategic relationships with our allies in the Persian Gulf. Involved in the operation was the HMS Albion, HMS Dragon, HMS Blyth, HMS Ledbury, RFA Cardigan Bay, RFA Lyme Bay and us, the MV Anvil Point.” Duqm (despite essentially being a carpark in the desert) is an important place to hold as it is a fantastic loading/offloading port, offers growing dry dock facilities and is situation in a prime spot for any action involving the red sea, the gulf of oman or the suez canal.

The trip started normal enough – the obligatory few rough days across the Bay of Biscay followed by an easy sail passed Gibralta and into the Mediterranean. Our first port of call, Durres, is one of the largest cities in Albania. The berth was situated right in the city centre meaning that you could go from cabin to cold beer in under three minutes – not bad at all!

Duress is what I’d call a developing city – it’s going through a period of redevelopment following the economies collapse in the late 90’s and a short period of literal anarchy in ’97. As such, you can go from well developed touristy area to less developed areas including half finished buildings and squats within a street or two. The conversion rate was definitely in our favour – you could enjoy a three course meal plus a few beers in some of Trip Advisors top ranking restaurants for under twenty quid which was great. Every other store seemed to be either a coffee shop or an ice cream stand (costing around 80p and £1.40 each) with both being really high quality. All in all, if you enjoy your food and you’re in the area already (it probably isn’t worth a trip alone) then it’s worth a visit! The amphitheater, one of the oldest in Europe, is well worth the £1.50 entrance fee, if only to soak in the surrealness of standing in a building originally built during the second century AD whilst simultaneously being surrounded by housing. Luckily the Albanian government are looking into treating it as the area of historical importance that it deserves to be but I can’t see anything happening soon. Meanwhile, sadly, it slowly falls into disrepair.

After hurrying across the med with a storm on our stern we moor up at Port Said for the night. Port Said is the entrance to the Suez Canal – as soon as day starts to break we pick up anchor and begin to lead the convoy through.The Suez Canal is a sea level waterway opened in 1869, providing a direct route between the North Atlantic and the North Indian oceans via the Mediterranean. It is of great convenience to seafarers, removing the need to sail around the horn of Africa and brave the South Atlantic and shaving over four days off of most middle east to europe journeys. An average of 47 ships traverse the 120 mile canal every day. The Suez itself will take about 10 hours to transit, but still requires three separate pilots. On one side you have Egypt – for the most part desert, occasionally broken up by military bases and statues – and on the other, Israel, a combination of more desert, 80% finished but completely derelict cities, small towns and the occasional expensive looking resort.One of the most notable sights is the Mubarak Peace Bridge. Despite only being opened in 2001, today this 2.4 mile bridge is unused, becoming little more than a photo opportunity and an entry into numerous ship’s log books. It’s an exciting transit the first time you do it, but by the third time it loses it’s appeal.

Around a week later we arrived in Duqm – visually, it looks like a cross between a car park, a DIY military base and a very isometric scrap metal yard. Over the next few days the rest of the task force arrived, filling the port with grey ships. Over the next few weeks we would spend our time delivering equipment to the task force, conducting maintenance alongside, sitting at anchor and occasionally taking part in exercises (although this rarely extended beyond slowly sailing around a designated square whilst the liaison officer took part via comms). One big issue we had was the lack of any real speed – eventually we began to run out of fresh water (we can only generate our own when sailing at over 8 knots), requiring us to take on fresh water from the quay side. It was drinkable but it wasn’t the clearest or freshest I’ve ever tried, and it certainly had a tint by the time we got back to the UK.

One perk from our time in Duqm (aside from the tan) was getting to visit the RFA Cardigan Bay (thanks to my classmate Rich who was also taking part) and the minesweeper Ledbury. Both offered very different seafaring experiences – the Bay felt very much like a hive city whilst the Ledbury was very old fashioned and claustrophobic (well, it is almost forty years old). We also made it over to Container Town – a rough town operated out of… well, check the pictures, containers – that only really opens when there’s enough ships in to make it viable. With over 5 military ships and us around... it was definitely worth opening the bar. We stayed for a couple, rinsed the wifi and got a pizza from the pizza hut container (yes, they even had a franchised pizza hut guy!) before heading back to the ship. It’s no London but after three weeks of Duqm heat it was a great change of pace.

The journey back was uneventful. And there’s a hard truth in that – back home, everyone will assume that each trip will contain some great story, but this is a job, like any other job and some trips are just…uneventful.

Now, my company will do it’s best to pay it’s trainee’s off in Marchwood. It’s simple (being a uk port) and cheaper (as they don’t have to buy international plane tickets) so it’s a bit of a no brainer. In all honesty, it works for me – I can be home within 2 to 3 hours so it isn’t actually a bad home port. However, this time I was to sail with the Anvil to Gibralta, enjoy a night on the town, and fly back the next day. Seeing as I’d only flown once in my life at this point, that was quite exciting.

I can see why sailors get excited when a Gib stop is planned. It’s so convenient! The port is only ten minutes walk from the town, everything is in pounds, home from home mobile internet access and the place in general feels like a mixture of Spain and England. We moored up at midday and by one we’d finished unloading our miniscule amount of cargo, leaving us with time to explore! I broke off from the group and decided to climb the rock myself – I didn’t make it to the top but I did stumble across Jew’s Gate Cemetery where I called it a day and wandered back into town.

One boozy night later (sensibly I decided to skip the casino) and I’m ready to fly back home. With a chronic lack of flat ground in Gibralta, their airport is built along their border with spain and the runway essentially leads to the ocean. It’s quite a surreal feeling, watching the plane speeding towards the water before pulling up. In terms of training, this was a bit of a strange trip – we actually did very little consistent sailing or cargo work, but the amount of time spent alongside or at anchor gave me a lot of time to learn on the hands on element of the third mates job. It is easy to become complacent when things are quiet for a while so I’d advise making a list of what TRB tasks you can be finished in any time period and being proactive in finding (or creating) opportunities to do so. I probably could have been more forthcoming with what I needed to complete and returned with a fuller TRB, which would have made the new trip easier, but due to the nature of this run there were some parts which just weren’t going to get done. Still, that’s easy to be said in hindsight – the trip certainly felt full on at the time!

My next post will probably be split into two and a 5 ½ month trip is a bit too large for one blog post before I reflect on dissertations, finishing your TRB and making the most of the time you’ve got.

Until next time,

Stay lucky.

[billinghamn]

2019 Feb – Setting Up our New Home: Week 1 (Fri 01 Feb to Sun 10 Feb)

Fri 01 Feb 2019

We awoke at a local hotel and it had been snowing hard. Not what we expected to find on the morning of our first day in our new home!

Our Sky man arrived early doors, and fitted the satellite dish to the corner of the house. He was happy to route the cable through the loft and down through the open hatch, leaving me with some spare cable. Later on that would be the first cable I routed down the newly formed cable route from the under stairs cupboard in to the loft.

Today we had underfloor heating being laid in the HOG ahead of our laminate being put down. The Rayotec team (James and his mate) arrived at about midday. The sparky (Billy) didn’t make it from Brighton due to the snow. They laid the insulation and the heating mats and identified the cable routing from the consumer unit to thermostat on the wall in the HOG. They were done in 90 mins or so.

The British Gas Hive engineer was due, but cancelled the previous day. We didn’t have a new date for them to install the multi-zone Hive system, but I would ring them in due course to get that organised.

I had a big plan for creating a cable route from the under stairs cupboard to the loft, so that I could store the rack out of sight, and route my cables up via the loft to wherever I needed them. So whilst Vick was opening boxes, I started (tentatively) digging out a channel upstairs in Bed 2’s fitted wardrobe.

Sat 02 Feb 2019

Our carpets were fitted which took all day, but the guys did a great job: Nick, Nathan and Jack from Tapi in Abingdon. The place was starting to feel like a home. Just got the HOG and the gym to floor (laminate) which was due to take place in a week or so.

We enjoyed our first glass of champagne in our new home.

Sun 03 Feb 2019

Enjoyed a trip to our local Starbucks in the wintry weather, still in my shorts! We will be making this trip every morning when we are at home, so time to be nice to the locals!

Started digging out the cable channel on the kitchen wall. The Site Manager had provided the plan of joists in the ceiling, so that I could find a slot in between the joists.

We erected our desks and made the Study usable as best we could ahead of our first day back at work tomorrow.

Mon 04 Feb 2019

First day back at work - it felt quite odd us both sitting in the same room working. When we were both on the phone at the same time, it was quite difficult to hear, so we will need to work out some sort of sound barrier when we move in to the HOG.

Finished off the downstairs cable channel as best I could. Decided to compromise on the mess against a workable solution. Drilled the two holes into the under stairs cupboard.

Tue 05 Feb 2019

Second day back at work, and we seem to have settled down in to working in our study. The study was in quite a decent position, compared to the view around the rest of the house!

Wed 06 Feb 2019

We received a lovely surprise from Nat, Stew, Janet, Su and Dave this morning: a hamper from Fortnum & Mason. Wow - we are lucky people. Some tasty looking goodies in there!

Billy arrived to fit the electrics for the underfloor heating in the HOG. Took him just less than 3 hours and the underfloor heating was working.

Thu 07 Feb 2019

With the rack installed in the under stairs cupboard, I fitted our Sky Q Silver, Sky Q Mini and Samsung Blu Ray player in to the rack. I feel like we are starting to get some control over all of the devices we have hanging around.

I installed the first Unifi WIFI Access Point on the landing ceiling, and pulled the first CAT6a cable through the wall. However, I had clearly forgotten how to fit a plug on to a CAT6a cable. It took me 9 attempts before getting it right. It was a great feeling when my network plug/cable tester lit up all 9 connections in the correct order!

Fri 08 Feb 2019

Turned my attention to installing the loft ladder in the house (we also have one ready to be installed in the HOG), and overall it went really smoothly. However, I did make a mess of the ceiling!

To feed my OCD, I tidied up the rack cabling, and on a more human note, we both registered with a local GP in Abingdon

Sat 09 Feb 2019

First morning off – we went to Starbucks at Oxford services whilst the car was busy charging. Carried on to the Westgate shopping centre in Oxford to go to John Lewis to enquire about the curtain/blind design/fitting service. I can’t say we were inspired by the team, and although we organised a design visit (4 weeks in the future), we ended up cancelling it a few days later.

We headed over to Oakland Furniture Village (which was closing down) to check out the bedroom furniture, and then Wickes on Burford Road. From there we picked up some black downpipes for covering the cabling between the house and the HOG.

Received a gardening shelving unit, which would sit next to the stairs and would house all of our hubs, with some plants. We now call it the “Hubs and Tubs” shelving unit.

Sun 10 Feb 2019

Drove to Whitney and tried the Starbucks there – very nice spot. I can’t say I was that impressed with the picture that Vick took of me in Starbucks - looks like living with Vick is taking its toll on me!

Popped in to B&Q at Whitney and picked up some plaster board to start the repairs on the cable route I created between the under stairs cupboard and the loft. Got that fixed to the walls in Bed 2 and the Kitchen.

Vick transformed the dining room, cleaning and sorting boxes etc. She was keeping things moving along whilst I was still in destruction mode.

I tried to fish a string down from the loft to the gym (following the line of a coax cable), aiming to drop a CAT6a cable to feed the TV. Unfortunately, the spoon got stuck and its now lost forever! That would need to wait until I get a fish wire (a tool to help route cables behind walls etc), which was ordered from Amazon the same day.

The Yale hub failed to respond when I plugged it back in with the aim of configuring it. Burning smell coming from the hub, so had to unplug it, and report it to Yale. Got a new one a couple of days later.

[omgkatsudonplease]

So Im planning a trip to Scotland soon and really have no idea where I would like to really visit. Since you seem to know alot about Scotland, is there anywhere you would suggest I visit? Sites to see?

i’m actually most definitely not the first person you should ask about doing touristy things in scotland as i haven’t been there yet (i’ve been to the uk, but not scotland), so instead, here’s @kazliin​‘s guide to scotland:

Edinburgh (the capital) - there's loads to do in Edinburgh including Edinburgh castle (make sure you're there for the 1 o'clock canon), Edinburgh Zoo with the pandas and the penguin parade, Edinburgh dungeons if you like cool scary historical tours, if you're there from the 4-28th August definitely go to the Fringe Festival because it's full of really amazing acts and shows. There's also lots of museums and historical things to visit like Greyfriars churchyard. 

 Glasgow (the biggest city) - Glasgow is full of things to do. There are lots of amazing museums like Kelvingrove, Riverside and the Science Centre and historical things like Mackintosh house and the Tall Ship. Glasgow also has a really good music scene so there are big venues like the Hydro or little famous ones like King Tuts where people like Oasis and Paramore played before they were famous. Glasgow is also the best for shopping so places like Buchanan and Sauchiehall street and good places to go. There's also lots of weird and wonderful things to see in Glasgow like Sharmanka and there's plenty of theatres and opera houses if you want to see plays/shows/opera etc. Glasgow is also surrounded by lots of mountains (as are lots of cities in Scotland) so there is plenty of outdoor activities and hiking to do 

 For other outdoor things, Scotland is very beautiful so there are lots of things like Lochs to go and visit if you want to do outdoors stuff. Loch Lomond is very pretty with lots of good walking trails and hiking opportunities around it, as places like Loch Ness (plus you can try and spot the monster). Scotland also has hundreds of castles and they are always worth going to see. Some like Doune Castle have had famous things like Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Game of Thrones filmed there and some like Eilean Donan are very beautiful and full of lots of history, especially Jacobite stuff. 

Wherever you are in Scotland, there is almost guaranteed to be a castle nearby and they are always worth visiting because they usually have fun guided tours or cool things to do and see. 

There are loads of other historical things in Scotland that are really fun to go to. Places like the Wallace monument in Stirling (it's not just a monument, there are historical reenactment, costumed guided tours and things like archery), Calanais standing stones, the Antonine wall, St Andrews cathedral etc. It all really depends on what you're looking for, cultural, historical, outdoors or city life. 

But you can pretty much guarantee whatever city you go to, if you pick up a tourist brochure at the local visitors centre there will be tons available to do. 

Apart from that just remember to pack an umbrella. Because you'll need it.

From what I’ve picked up in my research for BtDS, I know that Scotland is known for scotch (of course), and mead and fruit wines (there’s a couple interesting small wineries that specialise in those things). 

Also, there’s a railroad line from Glasgow that goes up to Maillaig (which is roughly where I’ve located Torvill lol) called the West Highland line that has been rated the top rail journey in the world (even past the Trans-Siberian railway). It goes past Loch Lomond, I believe. Parts of the Hogwarts Express were filmed there, as well as in Maillaig, and also from Maillaig you can take ferries or other trains out to islands in the Hebrides, which are another set of really great locations for hiking and photography and things. 

As for other cities you could visit if you’re in the Highlands and stuff, I’ve heard Inverness is pretty cool. It’s the capital of the Highlands, and there you can find Macbeth’s castle, the fields of the battle of Culloden, etc. Fort William is also on the West Highland line, and is the location of Fort Con, which is a pop culture convention! Besides that Fort William is good for hiking and outdoorsy stuff, and is also the setting for a lot of films as well (Braveheart, Harry Potter, etc)

If you’re really looking to get away, the Orkneys are a good place to do so, though I hear it gets terribly cold up there all the time. There’s some fascinating cliff structures up in the Orkneys that definitely influenced the look for Torvill, so yeah. 

If you.... um. Want to go seal watching (because why not?), harbour seal pupping season in Scotland is from mid-June to roughly mid-July or August (followed by the moulting and mating seasons), and you’ll get to see tons of the cuties all over the Hebrides and Orkney and Shetland and stuff. There aren’t as many harbour seals as there are grey seals (and I know you’re not going to Ireland but bruh, Wicklow City in Ireland has their own Katsudon -- look up Sammy the Seal!) but from the photos I’ve seen they’re all ridiculously cute. 

Hope that helps?

[rememberthattime]

Chapter 41. London & Paris

This four-part holiday post picks up where the preceding Thanksgiving post left off. It’s 11/30 and work asked me to join a week of meetings in London starting 12/10.

This is late notice, especially with a Christmas trip to Hawaii already booked for 12/18. London’s calling and its pitch was so tempting:

London: “Hello, it's me. I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet, to go ov-”

Mike: “Stop there. Yes.”

Alright, so a week after my family wrapped up their month in Australia, I’m heading to London. Dope. It’s a work trip too, so I’m flying business class. Double dope.

I arrived a day early to scope the old stomping grounds. Activate bullet points:

I always have terrible jetlag, so I woke up around 4:00 on Day 1. What to do… I was staying near London Bridge, so decided to go on a jog past the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

Once the sun finally came up (at like 8:00… winter in London), I decided to tube up to Chelsay and I’s old neighbourhood, St John’s Wood. I picked up my jolly ol’ faves, a Pret black filter and acai pod, before strolling through our old neighbourhood streets. These streets are lined with big, well-kept, old-money houses (including Paul McCartney’s), which Chelsay and I used to love walking past on our way up to Hampstead. I took a few pictures of the old street to show Chelsay later, and as I was snapping a shot of a particularly large house, a cop pulled by. He stopped. So I stopped. Then he got out at asked what I was doing! OMG I know what this looks like – the cop thought I was trying to rob these places! It was slightly raining (classic London), so I had my hood up, and he thought I was scouting houses to break into! …2.5 years in London and no run ins with the police. Now, within a few hours of returning, I’m going to jail. This is what happens when Chelsay isn’t with me – people see me walking alone and get immediately suspicious! (I later found out that Paul McCartney’s house had been robbed the night before, so its genuinely possible these cops thought I was the culprit and was looking to strike again.)

I aced my run-in with the fuzz, so they let me continue my walk. Over the next several hours, I passed through Primrose Hill, Hampstead, Hampstead Heath, Regent’s Park, Marylebone, Soho, Regent’s Street, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Southbank on a long long long stroll through my former city.  

Let me pause to reflect on my first day back in London. The crisp air and chilly breeze felt right. The old, wobbly, but well-kept homes were charming. The escape from the outdoors for warm meals at L’Antica or Tortellini Cup or Honest Burger fit. The empty peaceful lanes of Hampstead felt cosy and quiet. And the City streets and famous landmarks reminded me that London is a world capitol.

It all fit so perfectly. It felt like I’d never left. Everything was muscle memory. From tapping my contactless card on the tube gates to finding the exact right train door for the easiest exit in St Johns Wood. Even the way I addressed the Pret checkout was weirdly familiar: “Hey mate, just a black filter please.” I would never have noticed these trained actions while in London, and certainly didn’t remember that I’d learned them. I realize it’s only been a year away, so how much could I have already forgotten, but this wasn’t “remembered” or “forgotten”. It was subconscious. Involuntary. Just so natural.

I was in London for work, so the next few days were mostly filled with meetings. I knew I had a short-day Friday though, so I planned to head to Richmond, Chelsay and I’s favourite neighbourhood. Rather than fly back from London to Sydney then Sydney to Hawaii, I changed my flights to just fly from London to Hawaii directly. This meant that I also had the weekend in London to visit more of our favourite spots.

The week went by quickly, and I actually had a few evenings to walk the town: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Tate Modern, etc.

Given I’d already done so much in London, I started thinking… Could I take a last-minute trip to any other nearby cities? I found GBP 40 flight to Inverness, where I could visit Isle of Skye again! No, Chelsay would kill me if I did it without her. BA just introduced a direct flight to the Laplands, where I could see the Northern Lights! No, again, Chelsay would kill me... The Eurostar is still pretty cheap and convenient – Paris? A return to our wedding venues 15 months later!? Baguettes!?!?!? I booked it.

I still had one last day in London though, and I spent it in Chelsay & I’s favourite neighbourhood: Richmond. I’ve written about Richmond in the past – just 15 minutes from the centre of London, but so cosy and quaint that it could be the Cotswolds. Petersham Nurseries lunches, Ole & Steen cinnamon rolls, and of course, one of my most beloved places in the entire world, Richmond Park. Walking through the park again was surreal. Ethereal is the world that continuously comes to mind. Even on clear days, there is a low, foggy haze in the distance. Fields of heather gently waive in the wind. Knobbly trees cling to the last of their crunchy dead leaves, and stags and doe hide away in the dense forests. I was simultaneously choked up and grinning from ear to ear.

Alright, need to move more quickly. I still need to write about Christmas in Hawaii and New Zealand in my next posts. Next up, Paris. Bullet points, go:

I happened to visit Paris while the Yellow Vest protests were happening. These had turned violent the past few weekends, but given increased police presences, things seemed under control. I did have to knock on a few locked doors to get into shops, but c’est la vie. Actually, one problem caused by the protests: a few of the municipal building more than locked up… They just closed. One example was Chappelle Expiatoire, Chelsay and I’s wedding venue. I’d hoped to visit, but it didn’t look possible this trip (foreshadow).

I started in Chelsay and I’s favourite neighbourhood, hilly Montmartre. This place drips Parisian, from the ubiquitous outdoor cafe seating, to the corner boulangerie, to wrought iron-terraced buildings with classically French steep grey rooftops.

Next, as the sun was setting, I hit up some of the more touristy spots: the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Pont Alexandre, Champs Elysees. I’ve mentioned that Paris lights up at night like no other city, and this is especially true in the rain. I went on a photo-taking rampage and returned to Montmartre to re-capture some of the spots I’d been earlier in the day.

The next day was a wedding reunion tour. I started with breakfast in the Luxembourg Gardens… We went there the day after the wedding, but it wasn’t really a critical location for the festivities. It’s just one of my favourite spots.

I then crossed the Seine via Pont des Arts, where Chelsay and I had some of our best wedding pictures taken. We also left a lock on this bridge in our 2012 trip.

Sticking with the wedding picture theme, I made a stop at the exact bench Chelsay and I had our shots taken in the Louvre colonnade. I was so content to just sit, and stop, and think, and look out, and remember. (This actually inspired this Christmas’ photo album present to Chelsay).

I stopped in at Le Meurice to visit our reception in the Pompadour Room, but there was an event. No surprise – nice snag by whoever had booked it.

I was heading back to my hotel, but was pretty close to Chapelle Expiatoire… After failing to get in the previous day, I decided to give it another shot. The doors were still locked, but I saw some movers transporting items behind the gate. Using animated hand gestures, I explained that I’d gotten married there only 15 months before, and asked if they could let me just peak back inside. Initially they were hesitant, but eventually gave in. Can’t fight love. I had to take a very different route in this time though: the movers only had access to the basement, but there was a ladder that led up to a window, which I could crawl through into the Chappelle’s garden. Regardless, I made it in, and a rush of memories and emotions hit me as soon as I contorted through the basement window. I was so happy that I Facetime’d Chelsay immediately from the gardens. Roaming be damned.

Last Paris bullet, and one final wedding reunion stop: Le Bon Georges, our wonderful Welcome Dinner bistro. I’d reached out to Benoit as soon as I audibled to Paris for the weekend, but unfortunately he was away. He gave his staff a head’s up I’d be in though, and they all treated me so well. Some of them remembered Chelsay & I and our Welcome Dinner, and I certainly hadn’t forgotten the unrivaled Steak Polmarde, which I still believe was better than the Wedding Dinner steak at the two Michelin-starred Le Meurice.

Well, even with bullet points, this London + Paris trip is already three pages in Word. That’s two out of four posts in this holiday marathon. Half way!

How to wrap up this London & Paris reunion post? I’ll simply say that it felt right, and just surmising as I write this on 1/4/19, I think I’ll be writing about more of Chelsay and Mike’s adventures in these two wonderful cities soon.

[aethelar]

*whispers* where did you live in patagonia, what language did they speak, was cow's milk really common, was it hard to grow things yourself, what kind of wildlife is there, can you find wifi easily, how did you get there in the first place? *really wants to visit but has food allergies and is an awkward duck who also wants to know everything*

Ok actual serious informations times let’s go

Where in Patagonia

It depends how long you have; if you’re going for a shorter holiday, it’s probably best to stick to one or two areas mentioned below because travel between places is long and, particularly in winter, unreliable. If you’ve got more time, then this is what I’d recommend:

Start in Ushaia, Tierra del Fuego. There are regular flights from Buenos Aires and it’s the southernmost point that’s easy to get to; an excellent starting place. This is the fin del mundo, the end of the world; cruises to Antarctica leave from here, you’ll find some excellent cultural centres and museums, and some lovely walking in the surrounding areas and national park, penguins, flamingos, glaciers, everything. Thoroughly recommend a boat trip as well that takes you out into the Beagle Channel because a) BEAGLE CHANNEL and b) the guides are fabulous fountains of knowledge and very happy to answer the genuine mountain of questions you will have.

Next one is Puerto Natales which is the jumping off point for Torres del Paine national park - you may have to go via Punta Arenas to get here, but that’s no hardship at all because it’s a lovely town. The big thing here is walking in the national park; the famed W trek is a five day monster that in summer is packed but much emptier in winter - though do bear in mind that the lodges might not be open in winter and camping is only for the experienced. There are a variety of shorter sections you can do as day treks; for practicality, we did a series of these instead of the full five day one. You’ll get mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, bright green lakes, and empty horizons (though again, in summer it can be much busier)

And Perito Moreno Glacier is an absolute star of a place; it gorgeous, and one of the most peaceful places I’ve been, and has various walking trails around as well. You can take boat trips but honestly only do this if it’s crowded on the land, otherwise you won’t get the freedom to just stop and marvel for like four hours. You’ll want to stay in El Calafate which is around an hour or so drive away (there are loads of people offering shuttle buses so no worries) - this is glacier hotspot with Los Glaciares national park so definitely a good base for taking trips out to the mountains.

On the other hand, if you want to stay in the mountains rather than taking day trips to them, you want my favourite place in Patagonia: El Chalten. This is a small, remote town, very quiet, lots of places closed during winter and only open in high season, absolutely fabulous bakery down on the main road near the bus station. The only thing to do here is walk. (Or, well, variety of outdoor sports I guess but I’m a walker so walking is what I did.) Plenty of routes you can do from the town itself that make nice day treks, some of them challenging, some of them more accessible. This was the absolute place where you walked from the door of the hostel and only stopped walking when you reached the edge of the mountain / lake / glacier / world - take thermos, sit on your rock at the conquering peak of your day, and enjoy the view. In summer, the road north from here - Route 40, the Carretera Austral - is one of the most famous and beautiful roads in South America; in winter, alas, it’s closed.

And those would be my top four places in Patagonia. If you have the time, then honestly seriously consider pushing north until you hit Santiago (it’ll make the flights easier apart from anything else!) If you do, then keep eyes out for Bariloche (in the Lake District, absolutely stunning scenery and many chocolate shops, excellent walks and kayaking and even skiing if you get the season right), Chiloe (very spiritual, ancient forests, plafitos which are houses on stilts over the water, and watch the sun setting over muelle de las almas - the dock of souls - which is a bridge leading off the edge of the island to the horizon and one of the most special places I visited. Bring a torch for the way back. Don’t make my mistake and forget that it gets dark after sunset) and Pucon (adventure sports! Natural geothermal hotsprings! There’s a giant volcano and the only done thing is to climb it and then slide down on a tea tray there is a story here but this post is getting long so maybe another time) on the way to Santiago.

Language

All of Chile and Argentina speak Latin American Spanish. It is an accented form - “ll” is pronounced like a hard sh or soft j sound unlike the standard y sound, for example - but I had no trouble understanding or being understood and I speak Castillian Spanish. Most hostels and the like will have people who speak English, and there will be English guided tours if you want one, but if you’re buying your own food in the shops or speaking to local people then you’ll find Spanish useful. Even just a few phrases! De donde son is a question everyone asks, so learn the answer - Soy de Inglaterra or Estados Unidos or whichever country you’re from. Buenos dias is said to everyone at all times; buen dia is good morning; Me encanta su pais means I love your country and Hay una cama libre por esta noche is how you ask a hostel if they have any beds free for the night. That should be enough to get you started. (I still haven’t worked out how to do accents on this computer so apologies for those lacking)

Milk, Growing things yourself, and other food

Milk is not a common feature. Tea is drunk blank, coffee with powdered cream, and you have yoghurt on your cereal. I didn’t notice I’m afraid if it was cow’s or not, but I would assume it was? I don’t know what the hot chocolates were made with but my money is on manna from heaven so that may or may not be cow. You won’t find milk hard to avoid if you need to though.

As far as growing things yourself goes, we honestly didn’t try this one. We were living out of backpacks in hostels, so we relied on local markets. That being said do be aware that meat is a lot more common than vegetables and in certain areas, fresh vegetables can be expensive and hard to come by. There’s usually a good array of tinned or frozen though! Taking a wild stab, I’d guess it’s not the simplest thing - most of the wild vegetation was hardy grasses or shrubs rather than trees or flowers, but this may change in summer. I have to say, seeing trees again as we went north was a huge relief - coniferous trees in Bariloche and deciduous trees (deciduous trees! ancient forests!) in Chiloe. Flowers didn’t properly come back until Bolivia; we arrived at four in the morning in Sucre and it was like the whole night smelt of flowers and I may, possibly, have cried.

The big local foods were barbecue (particularly lamb) or stew; lots of meat, much more than you’d be used to eating, but you need it for the warmth. Ushaia is also particularly famous for spider crabs and has a lot of fish. If you’re cooking for yourself big towns will have most things and small towns you just have to be creative. Root vegetables, steak, and potatoes are almost always available. Breakfast is usually cereal and yoghurt with fruit or bread and dulce de leche, but the bakeries have some fabulous things - pastafrola is a delicious jam tart, alfajor is a caramel biscuit sandwich, both are amazing. For chocolate, rama (logs) are where it’s at and turista chocolate shops sell them in huge quantities.

And drinks; hot chocolate is of course divine but the other thing everyone drinks (in Argentina at least, less so in Chile) is mate - this is a herbal tea (I think?), quite bitter and earthy but very nice, which is as much a part of society as it is a drink. But it’s genius, because it’s socially acceptable to take a thermos and a mate cup with you everywhere you go and just drink tea constantly. It’s also a social drink and often shared; the rules we learnt are as follows: when the cup is passed to you, drink a small bit, and pass on. Don’t hog the cup. Don’t use the spoon to stir or mess the leaves up. If you say thank you when you pass it back, that means you’ve had enough and won’t be included in the next round. You can ask what blend of mate people use, but don’t be offended if it’s a family secret.

Wildlife

The most commons things to see are guanacos (a wild cousin of the llama), condors (which are huge), penguins (king penguins year round, magellanic penguins in their breeding season September to February), flamingos, sea lions and sea birds. And land birds, actually, though I’m not so good at identifying them - definitely woodpeckers and something that looked like a crow. Foxes are harder to spot but still present; further out to sea are whales and dolphins.

For best chances of seeing wildlife, you may need to pick up day trips eg out to the penguin colonies or on a whale watching tour, but you’ll certainly see some things just by going out and exploring by yourself. One thing that was happily lacking was mosquitoes; absolutely no issues with biting insects at all. Again, summer may be different!

Wifi

The only place we had problems was in El Chalten, which very occasionally had power issues in the whole town. Don’t worry; all heating is gas based. Ain’t nothing turning that off. Otherwise wifi is readily available in hostels and even in some cafes and bus terminals; it might not be fast enough to stream HD movies, but we never had problems with the speed for normal usage.

How did you get there

We actually went as part of a larger trip spanning as much of South and Central America as we could fit in and travelled almost exclusively on buses. Honestly, this is absolutely fine as long as you can sleep on the road - buses in Chile and Argentina are high quality, they bring you hot sweet coffee in the morning, and apart from the weather things run on time and efficiently. Journeys can be long; overnight is standard, if you’re skipping out the in-between places you can find some longer journeys. 

If you’re visiting only Patagonia then I’d recommend flying; Ushaia definitely has an airport, and I believe El Calafate does too. The land route up to Santiago follows the Andes and is gorgeous, well worth it, but the land route between Ushaia and Buenos Aires is less spectacular. If you want to include Buenos Aires you could either break up your flight to Ushaia by stopping here for a few days, or travel Ushaia to Santiago then cross the Andes to Mendoza and travel to Buenos Aires from there. These are the Argentinian plains; huge open spaces, lots of wine. 

Et voila! Let me know if you have any other questions about things; Patagonia is an awesome place in every way and yes you should visit. Don’t let food allergies stop you. And pack jumpers that can layer and good walking shoes. And a decent knife! If you’re doing your own cooking, number one thing you’ll find useful is a sharp knife because hostel kitchens may or may not have good ones available. It makes such a difference. One of the ceramic ones with the cases is ideal because it won’t accidentally cut holes in your shirts while it’s packed.