My birthday

I love my birthday.  I’m not a big party person, I hate being responsible for others’ good time, so I rarely organise anything other than a few drinks with a few people.  But I still love my birthday.  Not even for the presents, though those are obviously very nice and gratefully received, but more just for it feeling like a special day, hopefully not having to go to work, and when anyone asked you to do anything, like make tea, you can say “but it’s my birthday!”.  Oh and the cake, I love cake.

This birthday was to be great!  Firstly not so great that John wouldn’t be here but he sent me an AWESOME present!  For year and years, in fact since 1999, when I went travelling after leaving school I have wanted a large map for the wall to stick pins in.  At times I’ve even bought a poster but never used it, it’s been too big or too small, or on a wall that you can’t actually stick pins in.  Well John got me a big old fashioned style map, exactly the right size so as not to be too big and take up half a wall but big enough to have city details, and even the US states, which is a piece of geography I really need to brush up on.  It comes with different colour pins and a key; red for where you’ve been, green for where you want to go, yellow for fave place ever (Brighton) and blue for next planned trip.  Blue unfortunately has been relegated as his shaft is too wide and when you take him out to replace with red, the hole’s too big!  And that won’t do at all.  There’s also a plaque which says “Mel & John like big maps and holidays”.  I told you it was awesome.  Thank you John, love you!

So it was up to Bean to put up with my “but it’s my birthday” bleating.  However we had the best day ever planned so this wasn’t going to be much of a problem.  The first tickets we booked were for the evening session at the US tennis open.  I’ve spent years wanting to go to Wimbledon and I’ve never made it, been here 3 months and already been to the US open!  We then thought about going to a matinee performance on Broadway, I looked at ones where we could get some cheaper tickets, those of you who know Bean will know once I mentioned Spiderman there really wasn’t any other choice!  And as I will go to practically anything it was fine by me!  Finally the morning Bean planned a surprise birthday brunch venue!!

So to start at the beginning!  John’s present had arrived the night before, very well timed, and I resisted the urge to open before getting on skype with him.  A quick skype with Mum and Dad and then we were setting off for Manhattan.  Couple of detours via Century 21 and the Apple store for Bean to correct some purchases and then on to Serendipity!  This place is AMAZING, it’s been made famous by the film Serendipity, they go for coffee here, but was also a haunt of Andy Warhol amongst others.  It’s now a beautiful café, very vintage shabby chic white chairs and floors place.  Sells a load of tat, souvenirs and toys for some reason in the entrance, but also has very cool mugs, tea cups, general café paraphernalia and the recipe and ingredients for their very famous frozen hot chocolate.  We ordered a frozen hot chocolate each; I had an omelette and Bean a turkey sandwich thing.  Turns out the chocolates are as big as your head and think my omelette must have had half a dozen eggs, but it was one of the nicest I’ve ever had.  This place is also more famous for its desserts; it’s open late night and always has a queue to get in.  We weren’t coming and not having a pudding!  We did opt to share, a lemon ice cake frozen fruit ice cream ridiculous extravaganza!  It was fabulous.  And we felt thoroughly sick after but it was totally worth it.  There are before and after photos that I will try to attach.  Highly recommend this place to anyone who is ever in New York!

Second stop Spiderman!  The Broadway show has had mixed reviews, and it’s been closed down a couple of times because of injuries, but apparently that is all behind them.  Also the music is by U2, which I didn’t know.  The flying scenes and action and sets are incredible, very, very well done.  They use all the DC comic style stuff and the flying really is very cool.  They should have spent a little more time on the lyrics of the songs and the general story, but I have a feeling it’s aimed more at 5-10 year olds so maybe I should have expected that!  Very enjoyable couple of hours, and considering the cheapness of our tickets we had amazing seats.  And my nephews will be seeing some Spiderman themed Christmas presents so all good there too.

Then I took us on a bit of a wrong detour to get the subway to the tennis, but we had time for a quick glass of bubbles in the Oyster Bar underneath Grand Central station so not so bad.

We met up with Adele again at the tennis.  Can you believe that despite that enormous brunch we have by now also shared three mini cupcakes, and had a hot dog and fries for dinner (I told you it was mainly about the food!).  Our seats in the Arthur Ashe stadium were right at the top (getting used to this recurring theme) and the view was great.  And we were further excited by the matches we were going to see being Maria Sharapova followed by Andy Murray!  The evening was perfect, nice and warm but not too hot, comfy seats and a good view.  Another plus for me was the misfortune of the guy sitting along from us who had bought his date one of the Grey Goose tournament cocktails that comes in a commemorative glass ($16 no less) and then she stood him up so I got the cocktail, and the glass! Poor guy but yay!

That was my actual birthday all over; I managed to extend it slightly by having drinks after work the following day.  A few lovely people turned up and we found a really good burger place.  The Central bar in East Village is an Irish bar with a nicely cheap happy hour and a very, very good burger.  It’s all about the food!

Must catch up!

Also must admit to not being very good at doing this consistently frequently! I will give the excuse of so much happening, including John finally getting here (yay!) that I’ve been distracted, but that will also distract from the actual catch up. I’m going to try and keep this chronological but we’ll see how that goes as well…

Here goes, think I need to go back to mid-August.. yes that’s right and the second baseball game. This was another work do, but on a larger, bigger, betterer scale. The first game I went to was minor league, but this was to be “The Mets” and how you say “Major League” (cue very exciting). I was also asked to partake in tailgating, after asking for an explanation as to what this entails, it means people with trucks, or pick ups, will come to the game early, meet in the parking lot (car park), and let down their tail gates (back of said truck/pick up). Inside the tail gate will be booze and snacks galore! Sounds like a good plan to me. I was then slightly disappointed when I arrived that nobody had a truck, nor a tail gate, and we had a civilised little marquee in the car park, but there were snacks and there was booze so that much was true. I was also very grateful for the marquee because the sun was hotter than the sun that day and without the shade we all would have died. We really would have. So on to the game! We were in the equivalent of the gods in the theatre, right at the top, on about the fourth or fifth tier, frickin’ high that’s for sure. I’ve never had a problem with heights but it took me a moment to not be bothered by the feeling we could plunge to the distant field below pretty easily. Anyway, the game starts, I was also surprised by the half empty stadium, I put it down to a Tuesday afternoon but in addition to that apparently the Mets SUCK right now (pretty much bottom of the league), and so even their hardcore following have given up coming to a game that they’re gonna lose. I did however see some of the hardcore following in the shape of a woman in her 50’s wearing head to toe Mets paraphernalia, I don’t just mean t-shirt, I don’t just mean t-shirt and shorts, I mean t-shirt, shorts, hat, shoes, even socks, I’m betting her underwear matched too. And she was with her husband and 10 year old son, who declined to even wear a baseball hat, which is pretty much a requirement. A grown woman I tell you, well I never.  Anyway, the first game I saw, nothing much happened, but by the end of the day I had seen a home run, lots of normal runs, and cheerleaders, so pretty muh what I expected.  This game, being major league, I was expecting more, but I got much, much less.  I’m sad to say I can confirm that in baseball; nothing happens.  In 10 innings there was one run, made by a guy who got all the way round, but not in one go (a home run) but by two other guys hitting it far enough so he could get a base at a time.  And that was it!  Nothing else happens, and weirdly, they don’t even have cheerleaders!!  Apparently that’s just American Football and the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team.  I’m learning something every day but that was pretty disappointing.  Still, sitting outside, thankfully in the shade, with beer and hot dogs on a Tuesday afternoon instead of being in the office was a good way to spend the afternoon!

Right that was point 1 on my 11 point list (with additional sub-points for larger items) so this is either gonna be the longest write up ever or I’m going to have to split it up.  Wouldn’t want to bore you would I…. will promise to try not to.

So next, Bean’s visit!!!  So, so, so excited to have a friend to visit, and especially as it was coming clear that John wasn’t going to be able to make it over in time for my birthday so having Bean here was ace.  Just to clarify for those who aren’t sure, Bean is Sheena Sudra, or “my friend Bean from university”.  Bean was working in Chicago and coming via New York before going home.  And we had fun, fun, fun!  She spent the first couple of days with her friend Adele who lives on the Upper East Side (this is Gossip Girl world for those of you who know, I do not know, or did not, but now I do).  Having been there Bean decided if she were ever to live here she would live on the Upper East Side, then having gone to Brooklyn she was going to live there, and then having been to mine, Jersey City is the place to be.  Honestly it’s very hard to decide where to live.  Right so I first met Bean with Adele on the Frying Pan.  This is a huge old barge that’s been converted into a bar and is permanently moored on the west side of Manhattan.  It’s loud, and cool, and has live bands and a pretty good place to meet.  From there we went to Dans Le Noir, a restaurant totally in the dark.  Pitch black dark like we haven’t known since before emergency exit signs, it doesn’t even have those.  Blind, or visually impaired, waiting staff seat you and serve the food and drinks and you are completely at a loss.  Using cutlery is practically impossible.  Bean did do a very good job we could hear her clicking away, but your fingers are the only way to have any idea if you’ve picked anything up, and if you’ve tried everything on your plate.  Especially as you don’t know what you’re going to eat.  You choose a three course set menu; red – meat, blue – seafood, green – veggie or white – could be any of the above.  Adele and I opted for red, Bean for white (very brave).  On arrival you’re taken through several layers of curtains, so it gets progressively darker, I found myself opening my eyes wider and wider expecting that to help, and then the waitress said if anyone is finding it a bit weird just close your eyes, and it does suddenly feel ok.  You sit down on long canteen benches, you’re sat with other people so you meet them too, and you feel around for your cutlery and glasses.  Unbelievedly we are sat next to not only English people, but English people who grew up literally a street over from where Bean lives in Gants Hill!  The waitress then brings a jug of water over and plonks it in front of Adele and tells her to pour some.  The initial WTF is followed by an explanation that you have to put your finger inside the glass and pour, when the water touches your finger, stop pouring, simple as that!  Pretty simple, although repeating this with the wine (cloaked in a protective padded cover, just in case) left me with a glass full to the brim.  I didn’t spill it though, and I even admitted I’d had more that my share.  Aren’t I nice.  The food was pretty darn good, each course was a sampler of a few different dishes, and fine dining quality (and no, we all ask but it’s obvious really, the chefs are not blind, it’s just the waiting staff) and very enjoyable.  I have always wanted to have a go at the taste test in Masterchef where John Torode cooks a dish and then the contestants have to identify all the ingredients.  This was a bit like that and it turns out I’d be rubbish.  No idea what most of what I was eating was.  Was quite pleased that Adele was sure we had steak and I was thinking it was a lot like steak but not quite, and it turned out to be buffalo, so given I would have never guessed that I was pleased with that.  The dessert however was one of the best I’ve ever had and I struggled to identify any of it.  It was just lovely and I’d like some more please.

Ok two down and a lot to go, that will do for now it’s dinner time!

It’s August allready

I can not really believe I’ve been here three and a half months and I definitely didn’t think John still wouldn’t be here but there we go. but it will only be about a month until he is here! The redundancy stuff didn’t work out, so no money, but the good news is he has now handed in his notice. He actually finishes work on 31st August (just two weeks away!) but because I’m back for Erica’s wedding on 8th Sept (yay) and we have the flat in Brighton until 22nd Sept John will actually come over somewhere between 12th and 22nd (when coincidentally my parents will be here, yay again !) depending on how wrapping up loose ends goes! So nearly there, at last!

I am also very very excited to have my first non-husband visitor! Next week Bean (my friend Bean from university as I may have described before) is coming to stay and will be here for my birthday! Can’t wait! She is currently in Chicago with work but is coming to see me on the way home, we’re going to Washington DC for a weekend and going to the Open tennis, sooo excited! I will let you know how it all is but I can tell you now it will be AWESOME!

Other than that it’s a UK based update! I came back for the Olympics, we saw both Jessica Ennis  and Mo Farrah in the main stadium but no big finals, just their heats. Incredible though, also managed to catch up with loads of friends in London and Brighton, and family, even my lovely cousins in Lymo. But not Lymo friends we managed to miss each other, I’m still sorry guys we have to skype soon! Please!

I’m also more than relieved to have been in UK for the Olympics, the first few days in US drove me insane. Most of you will have heard this rant all ready so sorry for the repetition but oh my god how rubbish was it! The network’s tag line was every minute of every medal. Bullshit. Every minute of every American athlete doing every boring pre-recorded interview they could fit in but certainly not a well rounded coverage. I expected them to focus on the US athletes, of course they would, as every country focuses on their own. But have some moments for the other countries. I’m pretty sure that most Americans will think America won every medal, are the best at everything and there weren’t any other events, i’e  the ones where the US weren’t successful. It sucked. Thank god I came home. Although had I stayed here I probably wouldn’t have been aware of what I was missing!

I am however glad to be back. Had a hectic week at work, a lot of changes, I have a new boss who I am yet to meet but it’s all good change! And a very successful weekend finally applying for my full CIMA accreditation which is good because had I not met the September deadline (5whole years after finishing my exams) they can revoke them all and you’re back to square one! I knew I always functioned better with a short deadline! And I rewarded myself with a load of shopping today in Manhattan. They may not cover the Olympics well, but they put on a  good shopping spread that’s for sure. Sorry bank balance x

A brief hiatus…

I know it has been a while! Long days at work, plus John’s visit (yay) plus that inevitable dip in motivation to keep it going all happened in the last month. But, it’s time I got back on the horse, so here I am! Obviously there’s been a lot going on so I will pull out the ‘highlights’ and hopefully not go on too long.

July 4th – is a massive deal here, we really should make more of an effort on St George’s day. The main fireworks, by Macy’s I believe, are on the Hudson River. Apparently Brooklynites are upset that a few years back the fireworks were switched from the East River to the Hudson for some anniversary of the Hudson, and they never moved them back! I can understand why they’re upset but I am glad they are where they are as that’s my side of the river! My apartment is a bit far south to see them from the balcony, although I reckon I might have seen a bit. But instead I got in touch with Chris and Jeta who live in Hoboken, which is a bit further north on the Jersey side, and closer to the fireworks themselves. It was an absolutely sweltering night, the humidity was ridiculous. I headed out about 8pm, with the fireworks due at 9.30pm. The crowds were immense. Some had obviously been camping out for a good spot for a while; deck chairs, coolers, blankets galore. Unfortunately you can’t drink in public spaces in US, this would ruin any outdoor social event in UK, but as we know the Americans are of more exuberant stock, some of them either got there pissed, or really didn’t need it. Everyone was in high spirits anyway! I found a spot along the river front and soon after Chris and Jeta joined me. Jeta also took advantage when a 12 year old girl left her front row spot and we were right at the front! I know that sounds mean but children have to learn… and also there was room for her further down so didn’t feel too bad! The fireworks were ace, reminded me of November 5th’s at Alex’s except the heat was from the air in general rather than a massive fire! Afterwards we went for a drink (thank god) and even when I left at about 11pm the PATH train station was still closed to overcrowding, glad I could get the Light Rail (tram) home. The next day we had a team bagel breakfast in the office. Turns out I was one of about three out of twenty or so who went to watch the fireworks, appears I’m still a tourist.

John’s visit – yay I had my husband here for almost ten days! Managed to get the week off work and so we played house. Most of the big furniture, like our bed, is still in the flat in Brighton so we were on the sofa bed. We still need things like blinds in the windows but we did manage to get a desk and shelves, and a lovely coffee machine. I say machine, it’s called a Chemex, and has no need of electricity but it makes coffee so that’s a machine in my book. We didn’t just buy house things, we chilled on the balcony (a lot), gave John a proper tour of all the local bars and restaurants, one evening on the Iron Monkey’s roof terrace we stumbled across a new brewery’s launch of their beers. Bottles for $2 and the brewer’s themselves were there. Their brewery is local and gives tours so let us know if anyone wants to go when you visit! We also went to the Bodies exhibition which is an insight into the human body using real cadavers… bit creepy but very interesting!

What else… other points to note are the Conrad Hotel roof terrace which serves enormous glasses of Prosecco with ice lollies inside. Brilliant idea and exactly what you need on a hot summer’s evening. I also went to Shake Shack which is by far the most popular burger chain in NY. People will queue for hours to get one of these burgers, having now tasted it I don’t know why it’s held in such high regard, it was good but nothing special. The reason for its mention in here is its Dog Menu! Yep, right after adults, kids and even babies, you can order treats for your dogs. I know a few reading this who will appreciate that, mentioning no names Richardsons!

Other outdoor activities have included my first baseball match this week with the department at work. It was a minor league match, the Brooklyn Cyclones playing a Maryland team at Coney Island. I thought I would now the basics, which I did, pretty much Rounders for adults. Those fond of the sport didn’t appreciate my comparison to a school girls game but that was the only way I could explain it! I did pick up some more useful bits about the innings and the score system. Again it was baking hot so really glad we had a corporate box to escape the heat in. Afterwards we walked down the board walk of Coney Island (as I imagine Blackpool to be) and found a bar with the most limited number of drinks ever, but it had enough.

And finally the Olympics are here! And why am I writing this at this time rather than watching the Opening Ceremony? Because it’s not being shown here!! So upset! And no it’s not being streamed live on the internet either, believe me I’ve checked. So I have to wait until 7.30pm local time here to see it. Disgraceful, I’m also avoiding facebook, I was enjoying everyone getting caught up in the atmosphere but now I don’t want everything to be given away so no fb for me. Probably shouldn’t be too upset about that but it is my main link to everyone back home!

Right I will try not to be so long next time, reliant on doing some fun things I guess. Oh the photo I posted of the freak storm last night did not do it justice, if you can be bothered, look it up on CNN website, amazing video and photos on there, it really was spectacular.

What a storm!

Sitting on the balcony in 30 degree heat. Suddenly it was as if night fell and the rain came crashing down. Tropical storm!

Tuesday afternoon fun!

Freedom Tower; Red, White & Blue for Flag Day (I think)

I’m back!

Imaginative title I’m sure you’ll agree…!  Anyway, I am back so there you go.  The visit home was with very mixed feelings, sad news and reason to go but really good to see all the family and friends that I managed to fit in, sorry those of you that I didn’t.  And got to spend a week with Johnface, yay! The BBQ’s, meals out, even a theatre trip in there (if you haven’t seen Avenue Q – go!) and the one night I think John and I got home alone was great (I won at scrabble – a rare feat against my husband, the King of getting all his letters out at least once a game).

But now I am home away from home again, it was somehow sadder to say goodbye this time as the novelty of the brand new wasn’t there, I know what it’s like here now!  Obviously I’m still glad to be back but wish John was here and we had all our stuff – going between the air bed in the bedroom and the sofa bed in the lounge is getting a little old now.. but still, there has been excitement already!

Did you know that June 14th is Flag Day in USA?  I had never heard of this, it turns out most people in my office haven’t either.  But it’s a pseudo national holiday, some companies allow it (mine does not!) and it’s the day that America officially adopted the flag.  So as I said hardly anyone in the office knew about it but we all found out, firstly because the Freedom Tower was lit up red, white and blue the night before and the night of, but also because the president, yes Barack Obama, was scheduled to visit the Freedom Tower and tour the World Trade Centre site that day.  I admit, I don’t know a lot about his politics, I understand that if I did I would believe he’s “better than the alternative” but up til now I haven’t had a lot of interest but I was really, really hoping to catch a glimpse of him.  I’ve never seen the UK Prime Minister (any of them) but this seemed a lot more exciting.  Luckily my desk is on the Freedom Tower side of the office building so we had a view of the traffic chaos when they closed the roads (many disgruntled employees that they also closed the subways to get home), the staging area where he was due to appear, the legions of armoured vehicles parked in the vicinity and most exciting of all – the snipers on the ledge above the staging area were almost opposite us on the 30th floor, and we had some of our own just 2 or 3 levels below us.  Massive guns!  And yes, these snipers were to take out any sniper who tries to take out the President, in case you were wondering.

Obviously the hype was more exciting than the event, at one point someone got wind that he was actually in Ohio that day.  But it turns out when you have lear jets at your disposal you can do both!  But I’m sure I saw his cavalcade of cars leave, that’s as close as I got.  But still, a distraction in the office none the less!

The other office news is that the lifts, or elevators, are being upgraded.  I know this doesn’t sound like news but believe me it is.  It takes a good ten minutes to get anywhere if you have to get a lift.  Now some will be out of commission during the upgrade causing longer waits.  Apparently they were supposed to plan it so none would be unusable during peak hours.  On Wednesday, at 8.45am there were queues everywhere, the wait was ridiculous.  Turns out they had taken 2 lifts out of every bank of 6, out of commission (that’s 8 out of a total of 24).  That in itself isn’t why I have decided to write about it, but that the next day, as an apology and to distract us from the wait the following day, they were handing out free doughnuts.  Grown men and women, professionals, who yesterday were foaming at the mouth, totally appeased by a doughnut!  I found this hilarious, but the strategy obviously worked.  And I didn’t take a doughnut, I will only accept Krispy Kreme in bribes and these were inferior.

I was going to move onto other things but I think this is long enough already, and I have to decide whether to go out or not… I know I should but I’ve been writing this with a ridiculously cheap fizzy rose wine and it’s gone to my head, and it’s surprisingly nice so I may continue… Stu you would be jealous!  So I will leave on an unexpected note.  On returning to the US, the usual queues and passport control and the very stern looking officials.  When I was passed back my documents, Curly, yes that really was what was on his name badge, wished me a “Welcome Home”.  Lovely.

Not so nice

Hi all, little bit off topic but with the good comes the bad. At the beginning of this week I  was told that my lovely Nan was not well. And late Friday night she passed away. Really, really sad for all of us and her many, many friends. We can only be glad that she had a very full and long life, reaching the grand old age of 101! I think I’m right in saying she was born the year BEFORE the titanic sank! And we had a fantastic 100th birthday party last year which really was great.
This also means that Mum and Dad had to cancel their trip over here but there will be plenty of time for that. Looking for an upside is that I will hopefully be able to come back home for the funeral. Which although will be horribly sad I will get to see family, and friends, and John! Which I really am looking forward too! I miss you all so much.
So I’ll keep this brief, sorry to bring a downer,  will be sure to find fun things to do to cheer me up and report back! And hope to see some of u in the coming week or so. Xxx

Where to eat

Right, where to eat.  I have now tried a fair few establishments and haven’t found a bad one yet, so you can pretty much eat anywhere, hurrah!  There’s Captain Al’s, which is the closest to the apartment. It does a million different burgers, lots of draught beer and has a dartboard.  so that’s John sorted, when he gets here.  Get here now please!  There’s the Light Horse tavern which serves a mixture of fresh seafood, oysters and stuff, as well as steak, burgers and brunch menu.  I have also discovered their chocolate milkshake, a really thick, heavy, chocolatey milkshake. Yum. My parents are arriving on Thursday this week, to stay for 10 days, Dad will be pleased about the milkshake, as well as the beers of course.  Then there’s Amelia’s Bistro, so far I’ve had a steak and chips, no that’ll be steak and fries, and an eggs benedict.  All very good and they do cheap cocktails at various haooy hours, hurrah again!  These are just a few of the places that are all within a couole of blocks or our apartment. So far, so good location!

Further afield things have got a bit stranger.  On Friday I met Chris and Jeta for a night out in East Village. This is where the cool cats go, or apparently the ‘young’ people who all live in Brooklyn go to in Manhattan.  What? But I live in Jersey, this can’t be right… the young and cool surely aren’t in Brooklyn, just coz that’s where the Beastie Boys hail from surely not!  But yes I am getting some stick for living in Jersey City.  And it’s fair to say that everyone here is very defensive of the precise location they have chosen to live, and everywhere else is rubbish, or trash.  But I do understand why people slate Jersey, it’s not one of the infamous five burroughs, but that’s why our apartment is so enormous, we have a balcony and a view.  Yes it would be great to live in Manhattan at some point, but as an easer inner, Paulus Hook (the lovely part of Jersey City we’re in) will do just nicely thank you.  20 minute commute is just lovely, and didn’t I just bore you with a lot of detail of lovely local restaurants slash bars?

Right so the East Village, we went for Japanese, I took some photos of the very cool menu which lookes like a manga cartoon with hardly descernible food items, so if I can get it on here I will, apologies in advance if I don’t. The choices were definitely eclectic o say the least.  Liver, intestine, fried frog, amongst others, Jeta was also sure there should have been a bull’s penis but we didn’t see that!  We ordered somewhat more conservatively, and I’m glad that I didn’t get the guy on the next table’s order as whatever it was, was MOVING! I’m told it was some clever vegetable thing and not actually a living thing but we’ll never know for sure, freaky.  The good news is that the house beer was only 8 dollars a pitcher! Chris wasn’t that enamoured with it, a bit of a girl’s beer as both Jeta and I liked it, but at that price, well you have to have a couple!

We then went to a comedy club, and improv group who interviewed a guy from the audience (who’looked a lot like my Dad, that’s not especially relevant) and they imrpovised around it. It was a little hit and miss, amd they were a bit theatrical, including songs. Slightly cringey for an Englishman, but still pretty good.  At least the one type of white wine they did was good. I couldn’t drink any more beer.

Can’t really think of a way to end this, wasn’t planning on writing anything tonight. And again sorry for the typos, if I try and go back to correct them my cursor ends up somewhere else entirely. Similar issues to the ongoing Skype ones, seriously if anyone has any tips let me know!

Missing everyone, especially John, looking forward to Mum and Dad arriving on Thursday, I’ll be sure to let you know what we get up to! xx