Beach Bums
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Jolie Holland -Springtime Can Kill You
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
We're back from the beach-and I am very red and salty!

It began and ended with pleasant, quick train trips, with a lot of sand, sun and water in-between.

On Friday night we had a late dinner with Stephen's grandmother, chatted, and crashed into bed.

Saturday we had a leisurely breakfast, did some jigsaw, and then set out to the beach. The weather was much cooler than in Woking, so we were quite content. There is really only one direction to walk on this beach, and inevitably you end up in the Haven Inn pub. It has managaged not to for weeks, but 5 min. away from the pub it rained. And not just a sprinkle. A thunderstorm and an almighty downpour caught us out, and we arrived at the pub soaked right through. The beer seemed to taste better for it. Among a similiarly wet crowd in the pub, we waited the 2 hours for the weather to clear, and had a very nice time.

Once back at Stephen's grandmother's we watched some golf, had "tea" (which included chocolates & cakes), looked at photos, did more jigsaw, and eventually got dinner on. Afterwards we watched Billy Elliot until it put us to sleep.

Sunday morning Stephen's uncle collected us and very kindly took us out on their motor boat along the Solent the solent. We hugged the coast of the Isle of Wight and then got pulled behind the boat in a circular inflatable raft. Quite a lot of fun...I screamed a lot and think I've pulled a few muscles.

We then had a relaxing barbeque at his aunt & uncles, which was capped off by strawberries and ice cream. Yum. It really felt like summer in England!

Here's some pix:

Highcliffe beach, Dorset

Stephen, the Canadian at Highcliffe beach, Dorset

Elisabeth, the wife at Highcliffe beach, Dorset

Some wedding guests on their way to Highcliffe castle, who's entrance accumulated almost as much water as we did:

Lovely Hot
Mood:  lazy
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
Stephen's just finished doing the dishes while I'm drinking beer. Ain't married life grand?

It's hot, but wonderful. Except for the brown grass of course.

This weekend we'll be heading down to the Dorset coast (south England) to visit Stephen's grandmother/nain.

I'm reading a book recommended by my aunt called The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. He and some others run a house in Philidelphia with the goal of living Christianity, not just believing it. You know, following the teachings of Jesus and caring for the less fortunate, restoring abandonded and desolate parts of the city,.etc... Their website is:

Click for Jesus

I'm finding the whole thing a bit heavy handed in that it's soooo up on The Way, and the wonderful apostles that they've become. And not so much on being members of the world. On the other hand, it is challenging and motivating in regards to becoming active in helping others.

And it makes me want to learn about how other religions approach community and consumerism.

No more comments until I have finished reading it.

In other news, it's pretty chilled out in Woking town. Considering going to Dublin in 2 weeks for the weekend. Rail & sail all the way, babee

AAAAHHHH
Topic: Stephen Says
Aaaaaahhhhhhh! It's too damn hot & humid here!
Oh, and aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! We've got an opportunity to go to a Spanish resort next month but can't swing the time off.
Oh to live in a country addicted to A/C...

Windsor Races
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
This morning at work I was asked if I wanted to go to the Royal Windsor races tonight--and since I was just planning to go to bed early, I though...why not? The company seems to have many corporate entertaining events where people drop out of at the last minute.

So it took us 2 hours to drive less than 20 miles through the greater London rush-hour traffic, and we made in time for the 3rd or 6 races.

I bet 2.50 on the name I liked the best: Zaafran and came away with 30.00! I was smart and didn't bet any more. Of my own money that is... and at the end of the evening, I was allowed to walk away with a Pimm's pitcher.

My first English horse racing event was very fun. Will have to go back again sometime with Stephen & a picnic.

Stephen did a 9am-9:30 pm shift today, and is not quite as slap-happy as I am. In fact, he's listening to late-night BBC radio 4 and doodling on our bank statement.

Tomorrow at least, he's finally got a day off.

'gnight

Blah
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: Stephen Says
Today was pretty crap. One of the service users died and I spent all day telling people that their friend was gone. The going away party for the old manager will inevitably be a somber though not sober affair in Guildford tonight.

In less personal news, Juan Cole's blog is pretty much required reading right now in light of what's going on in the Middle East.

Ain't life grand?

EDIT:
It was neither somber not sober... Too much disco dancing and now E's got to go get her hair cut & it's raher early still. Ugh. And there's banking to do.

Getting ready to go out. But not really, I'm blogging instead.
Now Playing: The trains, a lawnmower, a couple in the parking lot having an argument
Topic: Stephen Says
What he said.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this meal tonight. I think that a trip to L'Aroma to savour their Sicillian red wine and taste their delicious deep fried Camembert should be done at least every fortnight. The goal for the night: To share a starter so that we don't have to force our main courses down our necks because we're too full and them hmm & haw about whether or not we can fit a desert in and then order desert anyway, even though we can't fit any more in.

To think that E is passing up a rounders match with her collegues tonight for this. They were even unable to tempt her with the promise of free alcohol.
Now how's that for grit?

And in the weirdly ironic department of today's shenanigans; the building of the new Woking arts centre, ironically named (I assume) The Light Box, blacked out most of central Woking today making my various jobs in town all come to nothing.

Then, in the mall while riding up the escalator to get a going away card for my old boss, everything suddenly ground to a halt and every store alarm went of simultaneously and, amongst the cacophony, every security door for all the jewlery stores slammed shut and the voice of God suddenly spoke saying, not that the seventh seal had been broken, but that the Peacocks Centre was on fire and could we all please leave.

Anyway, there's no pillar of smoke hovering over the town so I assume that God sorted everything out in the end. Woking needs its mall, after all.

In conclusion, This is the show we saw last night. I highly recommend it, not just for the fact that Nick Cave wrote all the music and lyrics or for the bungee jumping, rope climbing, underwater choreography, freaky pretentious euro-trashy artful goodness of it, but because it was pretty cool as well.

More Pictures!
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries

Let's see if Angelfire will co-operate and allow the rest of the pictures to be posted.

Also-happy 25th birthday to me today!

_____

Golf carts provided essential transportation between key photo-ops:

My brother Stephen (The Groom)

My brother Mark & bridesmaid

My brother Tim & bridesmaid

The beautiful couple: Stephen & Laura

Cut that cake!

And now we go to South Carolina to Edisto Beach...the view from the 2nd floor:

And chilling out in the A/C:

That's the best of our photos...we didn't capture too much on camera because we were having such a good time.
____

Tonight it's to L'Aroma for some yummy Italian.

Ciao

Pictures
Mood:  chillin'
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries

Here's some pix from the trip:

This is the rehearsal dinner held at the bride's parents house...a tent was hired for the occassion.

In that tent are some familiar faces, mostly Elisabeth's cousins, siblings (in-law or otherwise) and who's that with the cool hat from Target?

And now there is an error with Angelfire so I can't upload any more photos.... please be patient...

Back to life...back to reality
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: The radio going bla bla bla...
Topic: Stephen Says
Wow, it took me all of 2 hours before I was back in work mode, sorting through piled up paperwork, dealing with blah and filing away blah blah. And then I wasn't allowed to leave on time today because I was forced to have a supervision (i.e., management complaining to each other) followed by the ever joyous 'managerial discussion' (i.e., Okay, we've bitched enough, so what are we going to do about it.

Naturally, this part of the day was filled with much more silence than the first part. My suggestion to chalk it all up to existential angst was stricken from the record and then promptly re-instated. Go figure.)

Over at the homestead, we're eating good food and E is driving me up the wall because, instead of letting me plan something for he birthday so it's a surprise, she's declared that she's going to see This Play. Or This Other Play. But she's also going to This Book Discussion by herself. Only This Lecture is also going on on that day so she's going to that too.

Or at least that's what it feels like.

(And chances are, when she reads this, she'll get mad at me and say "That's not what I'm doing!")

(Only it is.)

So anyway, I've booked expensive theatre tickets that I can't return for tomorrow night so I guess she'll have to deal with it and she still has her birthday on Thursday to plan something and do it alone.

...and, oh God, she's just come home...

World Cup 2006
Topic: Stephen Says
Want to know what Matterazzi(sp?) said to Zidane(sp?) to make him flip out like that? "Your wife's a lesbian! A lesbian!"
(Let's hear it for obscure comedic references from the movie Slap Shot.)

Anyway, France deserved to win until Zidane turned into a big ol' jerk and now I'm glad they lost.

The Italians are partying it up in Woking and all I can hear from the flat is cheering & cars honking their horns but the pub was weirdly quiet. World Cup is definitely better in Canada compared to Woking unless you're a chav cheering on Ing-er-lund during the preliminaries.

Ah well, there's always the Euro Cup in two years...