Travellers Curse

TRAVELLERS CURSE


The math that I'm now learning, is playing dirty tricks

For every place I visit, I gain another six
I'm supposed to be a teacher, who at least got the gist
So how can take aways, be adding to my list?
It makes me sad and angry that I wont see the lot
It feels really hopeless, but I'm yet to try some pot!
Maybe that'll solve the problem, but then again probably not

Places left unconquered, I haven’t got the time
Beauty undiscovered, mountains left to climb
Why do I need more when I've already had enough
I'd seem like a big whinger if I said this life is tough

Here I am on a perfect day,
In a perfect town, with the sun on display
I can't sit still, not even now
I need a pill, to show me how
Snap out of it enjoy yourself
Some things must stay up on that shelf
Unread, untouched, untried, unheard
Untasted, opened, un's an ugly word

Discontentment has its hold
And will still be there when I get old
Has this new foe been identified
Or hidden well in my mind, while I lied?
Has it sprung up like a plant from the ground
Or have I opened my ears to this tragic new sound?

I am not alone in this mysterious thing
In the Bible I know of a discontent king
Finding contentment was his great quest
What did he discover and what did he test?
Four hundred wives and a gold plated vest
A throne and a kingdom, and now here’s the rest

Wining and dining and reading and study
A mind to be used that was clear and unmuddy
Riches untold and armies for use
Accomplishments piled right up to the roof

He said, "I spy with my little eye,
Luxuries that I wont deny,
I'll grab it all, and then grab some more
Even if this means exploiting the poor"

And what did he see when he took a look back?
Was he content, or did he still lack?

After this quest from a man who knows well
Meaningless, meaningless, life feels like hell
Better to die in the womb really smallThen to ever see light or to ever grow tall
This comes from a king, this guy had it all

In the end life falls hopelessly short
Of what most of us wish from it, hope that it ought
Ecclesiastes is the name of the book
Of this king and his story, go take a look



Will we ever find what we're looking for?
Certainly not if its 'more, more, more'


PART II

Still discontentment has its place
Promoting forgiveness and love and grace
Not satisfied with the world and its wrongs
Or half baked art or terrible songs
Yes we want more this inspires inventions
Most that exploit our discontent intentions
Products we don't need flood all the nations
Nintendo's and Xbox's and even Playstation's

Maybe one day discontent will be no more
When everyone gets what they've been looking for?




But when it all boils down, when it all gets tough
We're all looking for the very same stuff.


We like to judge people and things that they do
In the same situation that could well be you.
Judgement left to the one who knows best
Who sees all of a life, every trial and test.



For those labelled "sinners " understanding and grace
Those smug and secure, get mud on their face.




Some may soon grumble and others may shake
But truths a great road, one that I often take
Sorry to do this and point these things out

Turning thoughts on their heads and creating some doubt
Here’s are some things I’ve been thinking about.




So look deeply now, it gets quite depressing
A girl named 'appearance' is slowly undressing.


One poses for photos another one sings
Recognition for both, and the praise that it brings
Others try and we call them disgraces
Looking for love in prostitutes faces
On the flip side of this is a girl called 'honey’
With three kids at home, and a bank with no money



A hard working woman on a train takes her chances
Avoiding the various judgemental glances
Her child is loud that’s a well known fact
But she tries her best to show her how to act
Embarrassed each time her child opens their mouth
She cries in her seat as the train travels South.




Another man seated a few rows back
Is chewing some gum while the train eats the track
A young man adjacent hears this ugly sound
And thinks of an old man that he'd like to pound
“That selfish rude man is ruining my ride”
On the train he sits, arms crossed, brewing inside.
But when the man gets up to go to the bin
He sees why the man shovels chewing gum in
His breath smells like the death of a thousand sick brothers
All along this kind man has been thinking of others.




Seek first to understand, and then be understood
This advice I try to follow but not as best I could





Your friend cares and listens, becomes your new hero
Their sense of self worth now rising from zero
Another helps fix things, that's all it would seem
But they're getting a fix for their own self esteem.



There's sport and there’s music a chance to show pony
For others the tactic’s being awfully phoney
Yet both just want friends, and both really lonely
Time spent on computers playing RPG's
Wasting hours on end with absolute ease
A getaway from the realities of life
Where they're more in control of the battles and strife


Those 'good people' do something like 'shave for a cure’
My head the spotlight, attention the lure
Maybe even this poem, perhaps written for applause
Was that its real reason, was this its true cause?


Some move to the bottle, to take out life’s sting
And some jump off buildings for the very same thing
"God is there a way out, a way that is best?"
¨Come all who are weary and I will give you rest"

I swear I wont get caught up!

Here’s a funny poem, I hope you can read it
I fear those who wont are the ones who most need it
For some of you this poem may be a classic hit
Others will think that this poem is really sh!t
Are you caught up in words is the point, thats it?
.......................
..........................
....think time....
........................
.........................
I know I still am, I found that last line hard to write
That 'bad word' that has obviously given some a fright
I'm still caught up by giving justification
If I wasn't caught up this wouldn't need an explanation

Would it make any difference if i wrote it like **** this?
Though now invisible your brain doesn't miss
What if I tried and replaced the word
With something more tasteful like 'crap' or like 'turd'?

No more explaining or this poems defeated
It's meaning will vanish, it's point being cheated
The point is the point, that’s the point of this rhyme
A pointy, point indeed that may make sense in time

Here are two stories to show where I'm aiming
They should help you see where I stand, what I'm claiming

Derek and I, good friends used to express
The words "I hate you" when we were impressed
'Nice shot, I'm jealous, good job it meant too
This meaning was known, to only a few.

Along came a girl who heard this fine saying
"Not such Christian virtues you boys are displaying"
Misunderstood, we explained what we meant
The words real intentions, the message being sent.

Another time with my great sister Cat
Who I used to joke was terribly fat
At a Christmas party was the time and the place
With family all gathered, cake stuffed in their face
I yelled some mean words that we both understood
And a cousin was shocked that I said what I would
They thought the next family domestic was due
But Cath knew what I meant and I know that she knew.

Now the most hurtful words that I ever remember
Were words in a sentence, perhaps in Novemeber
"We will win tonight" the 'harmless' words uttered
But one boy left that stadium totally gutted.

See, in a much bigger story were spoken these words
Which give them their meaning and here’s what I heard.
"Your useless, your dumb, we hate you go home,
stay off our team and leave us alone"

The sting from that blow, that mighty king hit
Produced words from me, words like "I quit"
Basketball, a game I love playing
Thank goodness mum saw past the words I was saying
Luckily this mum listened and heard
The real true meaning behind that last word

So watch what you speak and guard what you say
You could shatter a dream, or ruin a day
Some words that are 'right' tear down and destroy
Some 'wrong' words may build up, encourage, bring joy
Shit hot, bloody brilliant, you're f****** awesome with surds
I still have my limits with these things we call words.

009 Hello World

After somehow managing some sleep Andrew got away from Kansas City airport and touched down for a quick layover in Salt Lake city, where he was lucky enough to catch the sun coming as it reflected on the lakes.


He landed in Seattle and lugged his near 45kg (100lb) of luggage over to the Green Tortise hostel. Free breakfast, free wifi, a central location and a place under the bed to store all his junk made for one of the best hostels yet.

The next day he took off to explore this great city. In a lazy attempt to be artistic he took some photos at a gallery.


Photos, of some pointless metal objects, well actually this one had a point.


And to be honest, the looked pretty cool despite the money spent


He went to a Monorail station


And went on his first ever monorail trip.


There was a whole bunch of artistic stuff to see in this city.


He thought this fountain was pretty cool but it got even better as he watched some kids fall over attempting to run around the inside of this fountain and keep dry.


Then he found the Space needle


And took a photo of Seattle from the top. "What an awesome city" he said to himself.


He even found his way back to the Space Needle at night in the dark.


But he really cheated because he did have the moonlight to help him. This photo was taken through binoculars on top of the space needle. Full moon.


Good thing there was no moon to be seen at this public market


Apparently this is the World famous Pikes Place market. Well this isn't, it's a huge dead crab


Something fishy was definately going on here.


So Andrew took off down a dodgy street to find a wall covered in bubble gum. Angry that this girl got in his shot Andrew tried to stick her to the wall. When that failed he decided to pioneer the clean wall right next to it. Just another excuse to go back in a few years to see if his legacy has been carried on!


Later that day he was caught speeding at the University of Washington


But he went to their Hogwarts library and studied all day


And then all night, to learn a spell that made them forget all about it.


The University itself was unforgettable.


If Missouri State made Ballarat look bad, which is certainly did! Then this made Missouri State look like rubbish.

The beautiful fall colors combined with their college purple for a winning combination. Which was the case later that night when Andrew went and watched their Volleyball team ranked fourth in the nation.


He snuck into this room to take a photo of a professional looking classroom.


And then their even more professional looking dining hall...

Ok just kidding, they don't actually have on campus dining. Maybe thats why they all look healthy!


Or maybe its the fact that there are mountains for them to climb


An beautiful view of the 14,000ft Mt Rainer beckons in the distance.


Whatever it was, Andrew was in awe of this university. So much so that he stayed for their homecoming celebration. Ok, free Chipotle, drinks and chips was also a motivator.


Now inspired he got back late that night and wanted to study some Astrophysics, but the library was closed so he just took a photo.


The next day he said goodbye to Seattle and America and caught the Greyhound to Vancouver. Again meeting the typical Greyhound crowd.

After a bit of a bus ride he crossed the border and made it to Canada. Before crossing one of his fellow passengers got the royal unpackage as he was asked to remove every item from his suitcase as one by one border patrol checked it. "Good thing i don't do drugs" Andrew thought as his bags were twice as big and he had twice as many. It came to his turn and he was waved through. When the guy who needed to do the royal repackage came back to the bus Andrew found out why he got such a raw deal. Accused for but found innocent of money laundering.

Andrews heart dropped when he found out he was innocent, he could have used a good launder! He was still wearing the same shorts he left in, which would in the end last him 21 consecutive days.


Relief set in as the gear could finally be dumped inside the Cambie hostel and Andrew could go for a walk, as opposed to stumble, to visit Canada place.


The next day Andrew found a church and afterward a nice couple took him out to a Greek restaurant. There is still speculation as to whether this was done to prove that Canadians are just as nice as Americans or because their dollar is now stronger.


Either way Andrew was greatful. Their act of kindness had spared another squirrel from being roasted. Although this one looks like it barely escaped from the flames.


It was nearly time to leaf Vancouver


So Andrew visited Stanley Park


And checked out all the amazing fall colors.


Here was a sample


And another.


On his way back into town he noticed this sign, but became suspicious when he noticed the black radioactive handprints all over it.


This apparent Nuclear Free Zone had even turned the squirrels black, which had never been seen before.


The pizza was still fine to eat though. So Andrew went out of his way to support local business as he went to a range of places offering slices for $1.25


After he was done supporting he went up a tower in the middle of town to watch the sun go down.


And see the city from above


He went up and the sun did come down.


So did Andrew's head when he had to lug all his bags again.


But before he left, he enjoyed a Canadian maple donut at the very Canadian "Tim Horton's"


And then made fun of the Canadian way of saying "chips and gravy"..."poutine"


They kicked him out at just the right time. He saw the sun go down over the Canadian rockies


And then come back up somewhere close to Germany. The clouds turned pinks as the sun rose. One of the best things he has ever seen. Bettering both the Mr Bean and Simpsons movies he also saw during the flight.


After the plane touched down and after a little help from a nice German man, Andrew got on the right train with the right ticket and headed into downtown Frankfurt where he found a backpackers right next to the station.

There were many other things it was right next to which were more adult, but were just as visible as the train station by day and even more so at night.


Trying to stave off Jet lag he went for a walk around the city, stopping at this Opera house for a quick solo


After they booed him off he decided to console himself in a church


Where he found only "John Q Hammons" could be an Organ donor in this country.


The buildings in this city alone were enough to put both Seattle and Vancouver to shame, which is no mean feat.

But if you take one look at the buildings or the cobbled streets you'll see why. Simplicity, ease and efficiency have been thrown out the window for originality, design and beauty. "I think I'd rather the latter" Lorimer remarked as he was questioned at the National builders summit.


Even with all these cool buildings Andrew's mind did wander back to America when he saw this greek. Sources confirm it reads "frats are for people who need to buy friends, or friends to buy"


At first Andrew even mistook this for a pound. Perhaps his mind was still in America.


He soon got into the local spirit by drinking something slightly less strong. Their liter cans are not only in metric, they are a liter!


Tempted to join the locals once more, Andrew controlled himself and decided not to be a brat.


Speaking of brats, this Elephant was caught stealing a ball from the local kindergartener's. Andrew stomped on its trunk a number of times before it coughed back up an oversized peanut. Apologies were in order but instead Andrew bought some extremely cheap alcohol and the Elephant forgot all about it. Fancy that.


Even the Elephant incident couldn't distract him and back his mind went to America. This German dorm room reminded him of Sunvilla.


The next day he took off for Heidelburg, which sounds rather familiar.


If it wasn't America it was Australia. There was some confusion as to why someone would be advertising coffee as Australian. Perhaps our country is exotic elsewhere.


This was a "less impressive but equally excessive" organ found in another of the many beautiful churches that were used as a hideout from the elephant clan.


It was beginning to get to that stage in the trip where Andrew just wants to be home again. But it has been so long now that he has forgotten where home even is.


These feelings don't get rid of immaturity so he felt it necessary to take a photo of this sign. It makes him wonder about the words he says over in China and whether "Lorimer" means something funny to someone over there.


Just before the sun went down he caught a glimpse of the Heidelburg castle which he was supposed to travel to and save a beautiful princess. In the end he got distacted by the beautiful cobbled streets and Chinese buffet's that lay along them.


He rose early the next morning and made the most of the hearty free breakfast provided by the hostel. Little did he know it was a trap and soon he was biting into a stick of poison butter conveniently disguised with the rest of the cheese. As you can see, he didn't get far into it and luckily, suffered only a mild cholesterol attack.


So he walked up to the castle and in full confidence decided to take a vain picture to add to the heroics scrapbook he is making for himself.


After that he took a nice little break in this quiet park.


That little break ended up a bit longer as there were some more fall colors to be admired.


Finally he made it to the castle but it had already been blown apart because he'd taken too long getting there. If you look closely you can see princess guts on the railing.


So he took another photo and went back into town


And then took another photo once he got there.


But it wasn't enough and he consoled himself with some pharmaceuticals.


But then got spotted by the polize.


So he stole one of the many bikes at the train station


And hid behind a giant horse that scared them all away.


Then he went to Allianz Arena to see if he could make it to the next world cup


They said no, so he bought some official gear so he could pretend.


Then he went to the BMW display centre and saw a hydrogen power car and heard some exciting news about Germany's efforts to get the government onside. It made him both happy and sad. Happy to hear that the technology is possible, and that it could work. Sad to hear that governments would rather get a million brilliant minds together to put the first person on the moon than put in a real effort to reduce the harm we are doing to this planet.


With this in mind he went for a walk around the village, home of the 1972 Munich Olympics


The walk soon turned into a run, then a swim, then a cycle as Andrew smashed world records left right and centre.


This beer was in celebration of the 27 goal medals he won with no opposition. Munich 2007, quite a good year for Australia.

Despite the fact that Germans have cheap beer and delicious food those aforementioned bikes keep most of them from looking like Americans!


Andrew's record haul meant being immortalized in statues as far away as Salzburg, Austria.


His statue fit in perfectly with the beautiful city.


And the funny looking traffic lights.


He didn't know whether this green meant it was ok to stop walking and take someones bike.


The first elderly person he tried to do this to easily fended him off, so he gave them his wrestling gold medal and decided to walk.


Also immortalized in this city is Mozart who was born and bred here. The locals are still milking him for all he's worth today. Here he is seen selling confectionery.


Mozart wasn't the only inspiring force in this town. Andrew visited the greatest church he has ever set foot in. It was amazing. Awesome, in the true sense of the word.


Its magnificent detail and sheer hugeness gave him a sense of his place on this earth as well as a reflection of God's greatness and worthiness. The only reason any of those now 26 gold medals were hanging round his neck was because of God.

He has always figured the money could be better used to feed the hungry and clothe the poor. But isn't this what these buildings may have done anyway, provided many jobs for common laborers. Either way these weren't luxuries for the sake of luxuries or lavishness for the sake of lavishness, these things were done with God in mind.


Even when he stepped out of the building he just had to take another photo of it.


And as good as it was, nothing quite compares to the masters own handiwork.


Yes indeed.


Nonetheless, Andrew continued on and went for a walk around another castle


Stopping occasionally to see what the sunset was doing.


It was setting

And so was his time in Germany his second last night spent drifting in and out of sleep trying to decide on the appropriate course of action for a snoring roommate on the bunk below. His thoughts of murder were surprisingly more sane than another of his roommates, who woke angrily long enough to say, "He is a selfish, selfish man, i bet he knows he does it". Though he held back from laughing in his face Andrew decided laughter was the best medicine so he got out his camera to record the hideous sound.

It's on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwk7JhZF2Tw
It gets better as you go, so listen to it all.


Finally morning came and Andrew headed to Neuswanstein Castle, the one disney scabbed their idea off.


As you can see it was pretty impressive, but unfortunately you were not allowed to take photos inside, Andrew was tempted more than once.


However, the scenery outside more than made up for it.


Well and truly. The further you tilted your neck up, the more snow you could see. It even started snowing while Andrew was there.


After the tour he hurried to the bridge to see if he could get a better view of the castle; in the process running into a nice view of another.


Balancing the camera on the railing of the bridge didn't seem wise so Andrew asked another guy if he wanted his picture taken, which really meant, "Will you take a picture for me after i take one of you", but of course nobody ever says it like that!


After the picture it was time for a public transport marathon. 7 changes to get back to where it all began, Frankfurt Hauptbanhof. A flawless performance was required for this feat and Lorimer delivered, despite some shaky moments provided by tardy trains.


From one form of transport to another Lorimer found his way back to the airport and over to the motherland. Excited to not feel bad for speaking English.


His first experiences weren't so good as he took up a few too many seats on the overcrowded Tube. "Please mind the gap between the train and the platform" were the friendliest words chanted on that ride.

He got to the hostel and things got worse. First of all the prices were in Pounds and secondly there were Australians everywhere. The talk coming from their mouths made him ashamed.


Things got better when he decided to tour the real life Monopoly board. This was Trafalgar Square.

This was Park Lane...just kidding. The Red section all but finished.


The pace was hectic, the dog and the thimble couldn't keep up


By the time he'd reached the Thames river it was just him and the Iron


They went by the London Eye.


Said "hi" to Big Ben, who should probably go on a diet.


And visited Westminster Abbey


Then said goodbye to all three at once.


Then they went to see some shy guards who were to afraid to change infront of them.


The Iron was then hired by the Queen and Andrew was left all alone.


They told him he didn't have any useful skills like the Iron, and that his resume had been put in a file with the rest of them.


Andrew wasn't sad, he saw it as an opportunity to tick off another space on the Monopoly Board. "Go to jail". His fence climbing was cut short by the horse, who didn't want him to get around the board first.


His dream shattered, he went back to his hostel on Piccadilly Circus and came up with a new plan.


He would try and make himself more sophisticated by watching a few plays. While it nearly killed him knowing the exact exchange rates when handing over almost 60 pounds for the "Lion King" and "Stomp" he considers the experience well worth it. "Both shows were unbelievable", critics raved Andrew agreed after seeing Stomp for the second time.


After the 8 o'clock show he strolled all the way back to the Hostel expecting the street to be full of drunk people. Instead it was full of people having their dinner at 11pm, almost seven hours since the sky turned dark.


The stroll gave him another opportunity to hit up some of the lesser known streets on the Monopoly board.


If there were a gullible street, Lorimer would have put hotels on it, as earlier in the day he was hussled out of 40pounds by two con artists. On who was suspiciously winning most of the time and the other with the same Turkish accent who was running the game. With a recently lost credit card, an empty bank account and a heart full of greed Andrew put the minimum bet of 20 pounds on the bleedingly obvious fact that the barcode was under disc 1.

Bleedingly obvious it wasn't, as Andrew's money was taken from him! Another twenty was handed to charity when Andrew desperately attempted to gain back what he had lost.


Even 8 hours and the calming effects of shameless advertising weren't enough to settle him down.


All smiles before crossing the Tower Bridge, the site of the Con.


Painful, painful memories which weren't helped by Andrew's constant currency conversion.


A parade went by St Paul's to cheer him up, but that didn't work.


Everything in London became tainted after that.


Not even the Monopoly board was making him smile anymore.


Or buildings that look better suited for the moon.


This bad attitude continued as he passed by the light blue section.


And conquered all four railways.


He was in such a state that he didn't even enjoy taking a photo of this and remembering the boys from "Woods 5"


Infact he has such a bad attitude, he's decided to take over...

But to be honest London was far less positive than my experience in Germany. In Germany I would be looking at a map and someone would come up to me and say, “benötigen Sie jede mögliche Hilfe” to which I could only just shrug my shoulders. After this I would be asked “do you need any help” to which i replied 'yes' every time. One guy got off his bike and walked me toward a hostel that remained illusive after several directions. Another lady gave me her bus ticket. People went the extra mile.

In London not once was i approached for help and on the Tube you were more likely to find 24-carat gold than a smile!


At least i saw the London bridge before all this happened. On it i sung the childhood song and realised, contrary to popular belief London bridge is not falling down, not even when i jumped on it. And to be honest their wasn't a fair lady in sight, I'm in England!


My time in the motherland was soon to get a little worse as on my way to Sally's i left a book with contact numbers and some journal entries at a train station. That was the final slap dealt to me on my way out of the big city. What a relief to get out to the county and see a friendly face.


I was extremely glad to see Sally and glad to be breathing some fresh air.


The first thing we did was go on a hike in Wales.


Sally bought along her boyfriend Alex. I tried to steal him (see above)


It was a beautiful hike spoiled by nothing. Not even the left hand side.


It got even better when we stumbled upon Lake Australia. Yes i am most certainly missing home but at least this is close...ok well its gotten to that stage where i am counting down the days till i get home but doing it in a way that makes me think i have longer to go than i really do. I guess i think it will come quicker that way. Since i plan to be back on Christmas day this is very hard to do. Everytime someone shouts out the days left till Christmas my mind secretly knows how long i have left.

Another tactic i use is one marathon runners would. I break the time down into smaller more managable parts. Alright 7 days in Spain, 8 days in France, etc. Not that this is a painful experience, i just want to be home real bad.

Enough of my psychological problems.


The next day Sally went to work and i went off to see Bridgnorth. I found this sign rather funny.


And also this one.


I thought about knick-knocking but then i realised this door could be coated with that same paint!


Apart from seeing a good friend, the purpose of this visit is to evaluate one of three very different English towns. In the north, (Newcastle) the South, (Brighton) and in the Middle (Bridgnorth). The rating will consist of a whole range of mostly irrelevant criteria, which are.

Natural setting

Atmosphere

Mother factor

Music played while I'm in car

Weather

Architecture

Driving ability

Food

Front Door

Photos Taken

Each criteria will be scored out of ten and then random bonuses may be added.

Bridgnorth has scored highly in most areas. This old man definitely added to the atmosphere.



The Bridgnorth killer ducks were a bit of a problem though


But i saved that little princess to make up for last time, and had the ducks well and truly straightened out.


The weather there was typically English as was some of the slang i learned.

“You alright” is like saying hello and doesn’t require a response of “yeah I’m fine thanks” or “yeah, ill just have a look around”

Also “baps” is the same thing as a burger or burger bun

The Mr Bean cars were English too. Oh, all the memories from my childhood.


I never remembered this on Thomas the Tank engine. This 100 yard cliff railway was used to transport goods from the river to the town above. I only rode it because a nice shopkeeper and i got talking (something that never happened in London either) and she gave me a free ticket.


The next day i went to a town called Ludlow which also reminded me of my childhood next door neighbours, the Ludlows. On the way there the bus driver made a special loop for an older woman who needed to get a prescription. Ah, i love the country!


The signs in Ludlow were pretty blunt, for the sake of the animals i hope their knives weren't.


There were some classic buildings


And a nice castle to climb on


And even a market to try some free cheese.

I got back later that night and got "the talk" from Sal's dad. This was not a talk about birds or bees, but rather... golf. Just like the other "talk", this is something i will never forget.

So i left on a high note and said goodbye to Sally, her family and her lovely little town.


I hopped on a bus that Leeds to Newcastle where i couldn't wait to see my friend James. here me and another bloke set out in search of a free toilet. The was no way i was paying 20p 2 pee. We succeeded in our mission without resorting any gutters and got back on the bus.


The sun said goodbye and moon said hello. A few hours later i was in Newcastle saying the same to James. Just like in Bridgnorth i was immediately offered a beer and soon felt right at home.


The next day we also went on a road trip. Not quite to a different country, but to something i had never seen before...the English coast.


We had the beach all to ourselves, not that we were ever going to make use of the 8 degree water (sorry farenheighters, you'll have to convert)


The sun also came out for another rare appearance. Followed by another rare appearance of meat on my plate as i couldn't resist the lure of comparing Australian and English fish 'n' chips.


Like old days we walked around with a soccer ball at our feet. Tempting whatever cars would come our way with a human target.

And then before 4pm the sun was setting. Ridiculous!

The next day i was shown the sights of Newcastle.


I challenged this Angel to a wingspan contest and lost.


Speaking of lost, on that hike i did with Sal and Al someone lost this lovely new beanie i'm now sporting. Perfect for this cold, cold weather.

So that was it, Newcastle is over. James' front door is the greatest and i am just back here for tonight before i fly off to Spain, France, Italy and Poland for a little over double the price i was hussled for!

Let it go Andrew, let it go

Love you all hope to see you soon.