A personal best:
Now Playing: Cult of Luna - The Beyond
Topic: Stephen Says
We have 2 of our books in the front display of our local Oxfam (The Woman's Health Bible & Michael Palin's Diaries for those who care).

Can't Trust that Day
Mood:  lyrical
Now Playing: BBC Radio4
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries

Another week begins. We've had our porridge oats, and are heading to work. Saturday night our friends drove us into London (2 hours is normal to get from Woking area to Brockley, South London), to go to one of their friends' parties. At 4 am we decided there was no point in going to sleep, but by 5am we were asleep. At 7am we got up and travelled to Camden Town for a scrumptious breakfast at Solo (Inverness Street). That journey took almost 2 hours, which again is normal. But it was worth it. After re-fuelling we took the Northern line three stops north to Hampstead, yes we actually made it! The weather was perfect, and we easily found our way to Hampstead Heath, an impressive expanse of greenland on a hill that overlooks London. We did not see one person without white skin. Lots of very self-important people walking dogs, jogging, etc... we began to seriously fade and didn't stay long. But at least we got a sense of the snobbery and elitism of Hampstead, and saw some beautiful homes.

We headed back to Camden Town to buy some cds and anything else. After we just couldn't stay awake any more, we headed back. Once home we set the alarm and slept a few hours. Then, a quiet evening at home.

This week (except for work) holds: NOTHING!

To Do List
Mood:  happy
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries

1. Haircuts
2. Manicure & pedicure (for Elis) but this usually gets left off the list...
3. Take out the recycling
4. Bring a few bags of books/clothes to Oxfam
5. Fill a suitcase of books, and cart them into Mailbox etc. to ship with Fedex or something.
6. Say goodbeye to my pizanno...it's being collected this afternoon
7. Get on a train & meet friends in LDN for a partay.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll be collected enough to explore Hamsptead...

Things are just marching along!

Weekend Away
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries

I realized I haven't blogged yet about last weekend's visit to see my parents in Vaxjo, Sweden.

All in all it was a very good trip, even though I only had Fri. night, Sat. & Sunday morning.

The travel was uneventful, barring a delayed train in Malmo, where I walked out of the train station and took a picture:

Once arrived at Alvesta, I met my parents & we walked through the quiet Fri. night downtown to a pizza palour, where they make combinations like curry, strawberry and pinneapple. You know, those crazy Swedes!

It was good to relax & chat, and then I tried driving the Saab home driving on the right side of the road. Funny feeling.

Saturday, the weather was beautiful. You can see the flawless sky in this picture of my parent's house.

We ate pancakes for breakfast & then my mother & I walked into town to shop at the market & got side tracked by a patio-cafe, and spend a good while chatting.

Once back, my mom made a Greek salad, and we ate out in the garden.

After lunch my father & I went for a cycle ride through the back streets and ample cycle-paths to reach a cafe/hotel situated on a lake. More coffee & Swedish confectionary, and we chatted for a good long while. Very ideal.

Once back at home, reading in the garden on a hammock. Then I chatted with my mom while she prepared dinner and my father worked in the garden.

Our fresh salmon from the market was delicious.

Sunday I went to church with my parents, saw a very sweet baptism, got all emotional in church singing an Irish folk tune, and then had more cake and coffee in the church basement, where I got to meet some of my parent's friends.

Zipped out a bit early to the train station to catch the 12:12. I got home around 9pm, where Stephen had dinner & a clean flat waiting.

In other news, we are stressed. Stressed because we have to be. We have so much to do, and many things we just won't be able to do before we leave 9th June. This Fri. we're having some friends over, Saturday I must get a hair cut, as it's been since early Feb. since the last one...then "sniff" my co-worker is going to collect my digital piano. "Sob" and I'll be without music for a while. Sunday I want to go to Hampstead Heath with Stephen if the weather's cooperative.

Otherwise, we have lots of things to ship and give away, as well as notice to give to the landlord, trips to plan, people to see, and plans to be made.

I find it impossible to contemplate ever moving away from Toronto once we're settled in. Moving sucks!

Yet more comment on the Virginia school shootings
Topic: Stephen Says
A part of me is loath to wade into the morass of commentary on this subject, for the most part due to the fact that the BBC is reporting that the shooting is being most widely dealt with via millions of blogs, so I’m committing the self-same act that I’m criticizing.

I’m also loath to wade into this subject because the point that 30 people murdered in a mass killing such as this is considered a ‘good day in Baghdad’ is being made over and over again on blogs as well; the implicit message being: Western lives are more important than non-Western lives.

(The secondary message being that global coverage of what is, essentially, a local news story serves as a means to bury more relevant news that doesn’t have such sensational aspects.)

But seeing as it’s the lead story in America, Canada, Great Britain and, I’m sure numerous other countries, it bears comment because once again, the root cause of the shooting will not be explored, giving way to sensational testimonies and simplistic tales of survival (The Triumph of Good over Evil) and the ultimate vilification (Most certainly deserved) of the perpetrator. I’m certain that someone in Hollywood is already drafting next-seasons moving of the week, considering Ryan Gosling as the lead.

So since the blame game is already starting, I’d like to throw my hat into the arena and blame Michael Moore. After all, he made a movie about school shootings that the killer probably saw (Or was at least aware of) and this probably planted the idea in his head. Sure, this is wild, sensational speculation, but so is most of what I’ve heard and read this morning.

bla bla bla
Topic: Stephen Says
Need proof that we brought far too much with us to England? I was packing up my trusty Canadian winter boots today (That I've never needed to wear) and found a lightbulb stuffed into one. Which would mean that today was the first time that I've actually touched the boots wince we moved to Woking, oh, 3 years ago.

blah
Now Playing: Ministry - Rio Grande Blood
Topic: Stephen Says
Elisabeth's in Sweden for the weekend, I'm wallowing in crapulance (Not really - it's sad how little my life alters when she's not around) and so I leave you with the best band to come out of Sweden since Abba (According to me):

Barclays visa folly's pt.2
Topic: Stephen Says
Some of you may remember the stupidity I had to face last week when I tried to pay my Visa and was denied this pleasure because I lacked the appropriate identification...

So today:

I went to Barclays to pay off the 480 pounds on my Visa, passport in hand, lined up, waited in line and...

The person in front of me went up to pay his Visa and I overheard him talking to the casheer how he'd brought in extra ID for it because of problems he's had in the past trying to pay it off. He said something like "This really is a silly thing to have to do, you know."

And she said "I know it makes no sense. We try not to follow it because it's so silly. But it's up to each tellers perogative."

I paid my Visa and didn't have to show my passport.

The moral: Some bank tellers are real big assholes.

Wheels in Motion
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries

Having discovered I have 1.5 days of annual leave to take before I leave my job, I've now booked tickets to see my parents in Vaxjo, Sweden this weekend. I'll leave Fri. & return Sun.

A quick visit, but nevertheless, it will be good to spend some 1 on 2 time with them!

Poor ol' Stephen has to work. Poop.

Wales Road Trip
Mood:  happy
Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
Yes, I will blog today. Although my neck & shoulders are still tense and my hands are sore from gripping the steering wheel so hard.

What our trip boils down to was an uneventful drive through southern and mid-Wales as well as a bit of the Cotswolds. We couldn't see more because I became too stressed out/fried/ exhausted from driving so much, so intensely after such a long period of time not driving at all (5 years!). The most I had driven in a lesson was 2 hours...but that was just jolly country roads or villages/towns. Much of the driving on this road trip was on narrow, winding country roads where the speed limit was 60mph, and most of the turns only allowed for a 40mph velocity. So it required a lot of concentration, which eventually burned me out.

I used to drive long distances between Virginia and Toronto/Montreal, but there was little chance of getting lost, and little confusion over which way to go. This is not true of my experience driving in England, and I'm afraid it doesn't come naturally to me to just go with the flow of whatever happens. Instead I worry and get tense. Bad to be that way, but good to know about myself!

All this to say, we didn't bicker with each other...very much. Instead I just took lots of scenic breaks (see pictures below) and rest stops for mochas and crisps.

With that preamble, we left Woking on Fri. morning around 10:30 and made it to Swansea by around 18:00. We couldn't have asked for better weather: sunny, fairly cloudless, cool breeze...and it stayed this way all weekend! In between, we drove to Tintern Abbey (beautiful location, but we couldn't stop...no parking...too many people!), drove to White Castle (Y Castell Gwyn) which was in the middle of nowhere up the smallest one-lane farming road I'd ever been on. We then drove through some beautiful mountains to Swansea where we found a Tesco parking lot to leave the car while we looked for a B&B. However, it was Easter Bank Holiday weekend, and of course...no vacancies. The guide book recommended Mumbles, a small village just down the coast, as a charming place to visit. So we took off & became embroiled in bank holiday madness! This little one-street village was overrun like ants on melted ice cream. It took a lot of driving back & forth to finally find a parking spot...only to find there were no vacancies in town. By this time the sun was setting and my nerves were very shot!

We decided to try the Marriott at Swansea or else head towards Cardiff. We should always be able to find something there!

No vacancies at the Marriott---goodbye Swansea...you looked interesting, but not to be. Finally I saw a rest-stop with a "bed" icon indicating a roadside hotel...and viola the blessed Days Inn came to our rescue just outside of Bridgend. This being Stephen's birthday-we had had no lunch or dinner...just snacks in the car. So I convinced Stephen there would be at least a sandwich or even a slice of pizza at the rest stop. All that awaited the hopeful was a cold cheese and onion pasty. Which we ate on the hotel bed watching The Bodyguard. Not exactly what we had in mind!

Saturday morning, I felt refreshed (as could be) and after a coffee and Cinnamon swirl at the rest-stop, we headed north to see how far we could go. We got as far as Dolgellau, which is just inside the Snowdonia National Park. We ate lunch at a lovely pub (I had a fish & chips---my vegetarianism has been broken only to include fish when deemed important enough). Then at 14:30 we had a choice to push on north to two places we had wanted to see: Harlech castle (supposedly the most perfect example of a castle in Briton) and Portmeirion, an eclectic town filled with imported buildings of all styles. Basically, an architect running wild on the coast of Wales. Both of these were also listed in Rough Guide's "35 Things Not to Miss" in Britain. However, Stephen pointed out, correctly, that in three hours, when we'd finished seeing these, it would be 17:30 and we'd have to drive to a place to spend the night. Would there be accommodation, and where would we eat? Plus, my nerves were testy, so how did I feel about night driving and possibly another night at a rest stop?

The trade off began, and we headed direct to Shrewsbury in Shropshire (England). We got there in just enough time to catch the Visitors Center still open, paid the 2 pound commission for finding us a B&B accommodation, and we thankfully parked the car, freshened up, and walked into Shrewsbury for a pint at the Loggerhead (a pub so old it is being closed down for repairs in 2 weeks, as it is "falling into the street"). Then we searched for dinner...most everything was booked up, but after some coercion, I had Stephen agree to Thai food. Which was a winner. Tempura vegetables, spring roles, jasmine rice, green curried veggies with coconut milk, sweet & sour vegetables (with Pinneapple). And a bottle of rose. The town itself was full of half-timbered buildings, craggy alleys, old churchs, bridges...but then a few ugly modern cement buildings and high street stores. However, the feel of the town is quite pleasing as there is a lot of independent shops for food and crafts. Seems to have a good mix of music, art, museum, history etc...and a "stumpy redstone mass" of an Abbey. The River Severn loops around the town, and its history is of an old Roman post, as well as a staging post, and thriving market town. Mostly we were happy to casually stumble across a town so easy to accommodate the last-minute traveler and pleasing to be in.

Sunday, Easter, we woke up and enjoyed a scrumptious vegetarian breakfast at the B&B breakfast room. It was a little like fawlty towers in that a husband and wife shared all the duties of checkin/checkout as well as cooking and serving breakfast. They were very efficient, but I could imagine if someone rang the desk bell demanding to check out during breakfast--all hell could break loose!

We decided to spend the day leisurely driving back to Woking via the Cotswolds and Vale of White Horse. However, my body was not to have it. After about an hour of driving, I told Stephen I was feeling the first signs of stressing out, and wasn't sure how much I could do today. We decided the smart and safe thing to do (also in interest of avoiding unnecessary arguments) was to drive directly back to Woking via the motorways. Four hours later we were home. And a good choice too..I sprawled out on the bed, arms outstretched, numb.

However, we saw a lot, and hopefully once it's all absorbed, we'll have some more in depth observations to make.

In the meantime, some pictures---

Stephen at the White Castle

White castle

Elisabeth thought she'd be safe in White castle...

White castle and Welsh countryside on a beautiful sunny day...

The happy Birthday boy

Somewhere along the road in mid-Wales

Again...somewhere along the road...

Stephen didn't realize the gate wasn't lock.

A beautiful portrait of a 31 year old.

A beautiful portrait of a 25 year old.

Same place...it really did warrent all these pictures!

Dolgellau, had a lovely pub lunch. Beautiful stone village.

Somewhere by the road in mid-Wales

A quirky hardware store in Shrewsbury.

A bridge in Shrewsbury, over the River Severn.

The abbey in Shrewsbury.

A shop sign in Shrewsbury.

The Thai restaurant in Shrewsbury.

Yes, we've stopped again...

This is now by the side of the road in the Cotswolds.