London Back from Tampa Have arrived back from Tampa to London. It was a real shock to the system — 28C to 5C! Actually the thing I’ve noticed most is how crowded London is. Tampa is very open with large 4 lane streets everywhere, with no-one walking on the streets and no public transport.
London Working in Tampa I’m currently in Tampa for work at the moment and while I miss Karina and the kids, it’s a really nice change from the weather in London. Today it was freezing in London, ice in the puddles and so forth while in Tampa it’s 28C. Perfect weather.
London It's beginning to look a lot like ... … we’re staying at home for Xmas lunch. I’ve been desperately trying to find a local restaurant or cafe that will feed us on Xmas Day, but to no avail. They’re all shut! Aaaargh – I have to cook. Not that bad I know, but I have cooked every
London St Nicholas A European tradition is “St. Nicholas”. He comes on the 5th of December and leaves chocolates in your slippers if you’ve been good. Ella was at a friends house who is of European heritage and discovered about this tradition and decided it would be a good thing.Karina tried
London London Wetlands On Saturday 1st December we went to the London Wetlands which is the largest man made bird sanctuary inside a capital city. It’s a great place to visit if you like ducks, ducks and more ducks!Although the wind was very cold yesterday, the weather was fine and it
London Election result 2007 What a huge sense of relief that the voting public has finally woken up to John Howard and tossed that weasel-worded-wally out of power. What’s been really interesting is how much coverage that it has received here in the UK. The Sunday Times dedicated around 4 pages to analysis,
London Trip to Warwick - Day Two On Sunday in Ullenhall, we had our traditional pancakes for breakfast then went for a walk through the fields around the village. Public footpaths are actually rights of way through fields, so you need good boots as it can be quite muddy. Jasper was thrilled to learn that the big
London Trip to Warwick - Day One This weekend we travelled to stay with a colleague from work, Nigel Pigdon and his family — wife Alison, and two kids Annabel and Miles, both 9. They live in a small village in the country near Warwick and Birmingham called Ullenhall. It’s right in the country with small, twisting
London Jasper is a little pig... Quite literally in this case. Today we had his class assembly and his grade did the play of the the three little pigs (with a slightly altered script). We were so proud to see him stand up in front of a group of around 30 parents and about 80 kids,
London The mysterious case of the clean bathroom As always, Ella bumps around at the top of the house after “bed time”. We’ve learnt to ignore her and she doesn’t generally bother us, so it’s an amicable relationship. When we went to bed the other night, we came into the bathroom and found it spotless
London I'm home... Well, I’m back home. I arrived at the hospital 7AM yesterday morning and sat around until about 2.30PM when things actually started to happen. I remember looking up at the clock as they gave me the anaesthetic at 3pm, then the next time I was really aware of
London Gigantic gall stones and ice Tim had his operation yesterday, and is feeling fine – just on Panadol for the pain. They made 4 incisions and did keyhole surgery to get 40 stones out. The two biggies were about the size of a 10cent piece, but spherical. He may be out tonight (Friday), but we’ll
London Cast your vote, but don't use the loo We voted today (I can’t believe so many friends have reminded us to do so, I thought Aussies were apathetic?). Quite a well organised affair, and a good excuse to visit the Australian High Conmmission building in London. It is a very grand building with chandeliers, velvet curtains, painted
London Good bye gall bladder Had a call from the hospital today, I’m confirmed as booked in and get my gall bladder removed on this Thursday 15th, so I can put all this episode behind me soon I hope!Haven’t got all the details yet, but by the sounds of it, it’s
London London on tenterhooks This is the view that confronted me from my office window (well almost, I stole this from the BBC website) about an hour a go. If I was in Melbourne, this would clearly be a large fire at an industrial facility somewhere. Being London however, it’s a potential terrorist
London Regent street Today we headed into the city centre to go shopping on Regents Street, a grand old part of London’s central shopping district. It’s full of “flag-ship” stores and some surprisingly good prices too (depending on which flag-ship store it is!). Window displays are almost always a work of
London Cold weather fun The weather is taking a nasty turn here now, it’s finally starting to really cool off after what has been some fantastic autumn days (no complaining mind you). On Thursday night a storm ripped through and we were amazed how the stunning autumn leaves we’d all been enjoying
London Update on the kids Rather than yet another tourist attraction, I thought I’d update people on the kids and how they are going. Also both of the them said quite amusing things tonight that I thought was worth sharing.Interestingly we are all feeling a bit home sick at the moment. Ella woke
London Legoland again Last time we visited Legoland, we succumbed to buying an annual pass. Today was the last day of the season as they shut over winter, so we decided to head out there again. It was a much simpler journey this time as the train line was open between Staines and
London Guy Fawkes “Remember, remember the 5th of November, gun powder, treason and plot”Guy Fawkes is the quintesentially English celebration – the burning at the stake on a bonfire of an effigy of someone who died by hanging in 1606 after trying to blow up parliament and King James I to remove Protestant
London Halloween The kids enjoyed Halloween, to quote Jasper “This is the best night of my life”.They have been excited about it all week, and were thrilled when it finally came around and people started knocking on our door. They had the lollies ready to go and carved a pumpkin to
London Back in time to Hever castle Back in time not only because of the castle, but because this visit was last Sunday before I went to Dublin. Actually it’s been a really busy week with a lot going on, so a few posts on the way in order to catch up with it all.Last
London Where is the Guiness? Life is moving on quickly here. Less than a week back from Paris and I’m in Dublin for work. I was supposed to be in Tampa, FL USA next week, but had to renege because I really need to get my check up.Anyway, it’s my first time
London Paris - Day Two On day two, I took Ella to the Eifel Tower so we could go to the top. We were there early enough that we went straight up without queuing. It was really cold — around 5 – 6C, but we had a great time together, it was a nice Father – Daughter moment.
London Paris - Day one As Karina posted, we’ve just spent a couple of days in Paris. It was a great time and the kids really enjoyed themselves as well as the adults. It’s been a lot of fun going places with the kids and seeing it through their eyes — mostly a great
