Good old London – being an Aussie, you can always find lots of mates
to catch up with. First on the list: Lisa and Dave, mates of mine from
those long-ago days at uni. They were awesome hosts, welcoming me with
Dave’s special bangers and mash when I arrived! It had been a while, and
it was great to catch up on their lives in the UK. During my time with
them, Lisa gave me a tour of her and Dave’s work (the Royal Science
Institute, brilliant), we wandered around Oxford and Regent streets to
check out the Christmas lights and elaborate store-fronts (to me it was
amazing – after the non-event of Christmas in Indonesia, the biggest
Muslim country in the world!), and we went to see a theatre version of
Edward Scissorhands. It was great fun. The other reason that the two of
them are champs is because they let me use their house in Queen’s Park
as a base while they were away for Christmas.
Because
most of my friends were working during the day, it gave me a chance to
see a bit of London (and its shops) during the day, and catch up with
people during the night. I was able to share a few wines in London’s
oldest wine cellar near the Thames with James Mac, an old uni buddy of
Ange’s; share a few beers with Sally and Schuey at the Regent Hotel down
the road; catch up with Fritha, a new friend from the wedding, for a
drink on the Thames; randomly find out that Rob M-L was back at home,
and share brunch and some Christmas shopping with him in Camden; and of
course buy myself a few Christmas pressies. But I couldn’t help myself
from converting all the costs to the feeble Aussie dollar! So it was
another reason I was thankful that I had a gratis place to stay. And
justified all my purchases. :)
And then, the most
random thing that’s happened to me in a while: while strolling across
Westminster Bridge, James and I ran into a distant relative of mine,
Tanya, who was coincidentally on holiday too. We both looked at each
other and at first couldn’t put names to faces, we were both so out of
context! But after a few seconds we worked it out. It was great to see
her – I’d only met her a few times after discovering I had a third
cousin I didn’t know about! – and to get out of the cold, the three of
us went to the nearest pub for a couple of beers (see a trend emerging
here?).
Tanya and I spent the next day on a Thames
river cruise up to Greenwich to check out the Meridian, and meandering
back to the city afterwards. It was great to have a friend to hang out
with, who had just as much free time on her hands as I did! And I would
never have gone there if she wasn’t planning on it.
And then onto the next adventure, with a certain Mr Zul.
Zul
is one of the biggest legends I know, with a cracker smile and cheeky
approach to life that makes him fun to be around. We used to work
together in Liberia for ICRC, in 2006. I hadn’t seen him since then, so
was looking forward to it. He was born in Cameroon, but educated in the
UK, and had gone back to university for further study in Media and
Communications at Bournemouth University after finishing up with
humanitarian work after a few amazing destinations. So I jumped on the
train and headed down to Bournemouth to hang out with him for a few
days.
I got quite a welcome when I arrived – a big hug
and pick up from the train station, an impromptu tour of his great
little town, a trip to the beach, followed by an amazing roast chicken
he’d made for our lunch. I felt very spoiled! It was nice to be taken
care of, I realised how much I missed it in Indonesia! The beach was
only 5 minutes away from his flat, and albeit cold and windy, being
winter, I could imagine in summer it would be a cool place to hang out.
If the wind ever stopped and the water ever got warm enough. Hehe! I
never imagine beaches when I think of the UK, but being an island I
guess it must have them somewhere…
The next afternoon
we drove to Weymouth, further west. It was quiet, and many guesthouses
said ‘full’, but were just closed during the off-peak season. Weymouth
is another picturesque coastal town, with old stone buildings and a
clock tower along the seafront, with a wharf at one end. We had come
here to visit Zul’s mate from uni, who owned a nightclub and was hosting
a big pre-Christmas bash there. After a tour of his club – which was
amazing – we went for dinner, before coming back for a night on the
town. The place was pumping, mainly upstairs in the club area with DJs,
but also downstairs in the recently renovated, beautifully dark and
seductive Moroccan-inspired Kas-bar. And the drinks were flowing… Zul’s
mate kept cracking the bottles of champagne all night. Rad!
The
next afternoon I received a tour of Bournemouth University and then
onto the centre of town for some last-minute Christmas shopping,
followed by watching an English Premier League game at the local pub,
followed by trying to console him further (Chelsea had already lost)
when his car was clamped for being parked illegally and he had to pay a
huge fine… boo! We’d even moved the car once already, after parking
illegally the first time, to what we thought was a legal park!
So
it was at the train station the next day that I was sad to part ways
with Zul. But we both had new adventures to look forward to – he was
heading to Switzerland for Christmas and skiing adventures with a group
of good mates, and I was heading back to London before cruising up to
Manchester for Christmas with Lucy and her family. It had been a great
few days with Zul, and I greatly appreciated all the effort he had gone
to – I hadn’t felt that special in a long time! Amazing what a true bit
of hospitality can do for you.
Back in London again, I
checked out the Natural History Museum (my favourite building in
London), which featured the National Geographic Wildlife Photographer of
the Year. As usual, it was an amazing exhibition. I was also happy to
catch up with two more friends, Sally and Isaac, for dinner one night –
Isaac played footy with my previous boyfriend Matt, and we had become
friends through him. While I had seen Sal at the pub a few nights ago,
it was great to hang out with both of them at their place, and to find
out what Isaac had been up to.
You can check out the pics here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=60812&id=543196685&l=34f29e40aa
Christmas Eve, I packed my bags (again!) and jumped on the train, direction: North.
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