Hostelling

Living out of a suitcase, sleeping on dead mattresses, hitting my head on the top bunk, the girl who lost her credit card so gets food out of dumpsters and looks like a hippy fairy, showering in tepid water in thongs, tearing thread-bare sheets, the sweet asian kid who wanted a photo with me 'cause I helped her find the shops, living off of the cheapest possible food, sharing stories about far-off lands with total strangers... yep, I'm in a hostel again.

A soggy day in Wiltshire

I went for a job interview today. It was in the sticks – and I mean, the deepest sticks. I caught a train out to Salisbury (note to self – next time you go to an interesting destination, bank some extra time to actually SEE the place!!), and then took a 40 minute bus ride through the middle of some amazing villages to get to my destination.

My first ever experience of actual English villages and wow! I mean, WOW! Ok, so they weren’t all out of picture books, but there were a couple that had my jaw on the floor of the coach not knowing where to look there was so much to see. Even the kid’s play grounds looked magical. I passed one that had a turret and arrow slits on it. So cool!

And the pub I went to! It was called the Rose and Crown in a tiny village called Tilshead and it had beautiful exposed beams and real wrought-iron chandeliers, and was so cosy and yes I’m gushing and I’ve probably seen similar pubs in London but none with that lovely relaxed and helpful atmosphere. One of the workers gave me a lift out to where I needed to be as it was a bit of a walk and I was in my heals. So friendly. Everyone smiled at me too!

Well, the interview went well and then one of the interviewers took me back into town ‘cause it was starting to rain. How cool was that? I do hope I get this job. They were such a nice bunch of people.

Zip! Zap! Zoom!

Emma and Nik visited London for a flying tackle. I met them at St. Pancras (at 3pm), took them to their hotel in Paddington, then we took a bus to Westminster and saw the Abby, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We walked along the Thames and then over to Trafalgar square to see Nelson. We had coffee in the west end, walked to Piccadilly Circus then through Soho and had Lebanese for dinner (saw an amazing belly dancer!) then I sent them home. Next day, we met at Camden for breakfast at Bar Solo, Nik took off to see family and I took Emma round the Camden Markets, we met up with Richard for a cup of tea, bought stuff, saw more markets then met back up with Nik. We then went to Harrods for Lunch (15 quid a pop = OUCH!!!) and had a very successful shopping afternoon. Back to Paddington for an hour of relaxation and a very bad Tim Allen movie (DON’T watch Zoom: Academy for Superheroes – I warn you!), dinner at a small Indian restaurant, with desert at their Hotel including a whole bottle of sticky and I wound my way home. Monday, I met them at St. Pancras again for goodbyes. 48 hours without a breath, and I miss them already.