Fireworks Night - Sat 1 Nov

per Wikepedia "Guy Fawkes night is an annual celebration on the evening of November 5th. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of the 5th of November 1605, in which a number of catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the houses of parliament in London and kill King James 1."

So we celebrated a little early so that it was the weekend... but we all headed over to Matt's cousin Claire's place on Saturday... for some homemade chilli and fireworks. Felt a bit strange letting off fireworks in the backyard.. has been many years since we've been allowed to do that in NSW!... some kind of just popped and fizzled, but most were great... and only a couple headed off in the wrong direction.. but nowhere near any people thankfully!

Colchester Castle

Yes... it was a little chilly and raining, but we took Connor and headed over to Colchester to have a look through the Castle, which is now a museum displaying lots about the history of the area. There was also an exhibition showing some Terracotta warriors excavated from Shizishan Hill in China which was really interesting. Hopefully one day will get to Xian to see the larger versions

Evening out in Covent Garden

Organised to meet up with a few mates from Oz for dinner at Souk Medina, Covent Garden. Had a great night and Matt & I headed in early to have a look around the markets and watch some of the street performers. It was a really great atmosphere with lots going on.. though Matt's attention was drawn to the live models in the lingerie shop window...

Promenade Park - Maldon

Spent today with Lee and Aaron at Promenade Park. Aaron loved his first ride in the "Monster Truck"

Was a fun afternoon playing frisbee and just getting out and running round a bit. There were a few barges moored there advertising for Christmas functions... a cruise for Christmas in Sydney is great... down the river in Essex, middle of Winter may not be so appealing??!!

The LandCruiser arrives - Oct 14

The Landcruiser has arrived and can now be seen touring the streets of Essex... turning a few heads along the way... not sure if that's cause there isn't really anything like it here or because of the Aussie Rego...

It has an issue with the injectors, but is running fine on gas til we get it fixed.

Only other issue has been insurance... can't find a company that will ensure both a car on Aussie rego and someone who hasn't held an English license for over a year, meaning I can't drive the car. Luckily Matt has a UK license so he's just having to drive me around everywhere at the moment!

Adam and Claire's Wedding - October 2008

Set in a gorgeous 16th Century Gatehouse, Layer Marney Tower, Adam and Claire's wedding was on Saturday 4th October.






It was a beautiful day, with good food and great wine. It was great to catch up with everyone, and to meet Adam's new wife of course!









Sorry Nicole... I didn't wear a hat... but had fun getting dressed up all the same!

Visting the Midlands October

Before we both started work, we were keen to get up to the Midlands to catch up with Pam, Fred, Lauren, Glen, Ellen and Ian - they all helped us out so much last time we were here.

It was like we had never been gone! - lots of chatting and laughter... and food! - you can never go hungry at Pam's! Took a drive around Birmingham, past where I went to uni and had a look at Lauren's new digs. Even had my first ever visit to a Costco... we headed straight to the cheese and wine tasting!! - still it did work, we did buy stuff as a result... They were also sampling Appletiser for all those Tiser fans back home!

No trip to Bromsgrove would have been complete without a pint and a carvery at the New Inn... Fred's local and now also where Lauren works.

Matt and Glen are waaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy to similar for my liking!!.. both really into their 4WDs... we are already penciled in for a 4WD trip to Wales in November - from Coast back into England without touching many roads. Glen also took us along to a Winch challenge in Stourport.. a really pretty area actually... I think Matt enjoyed the 4WDs, but must have felt a bit strange for him to just be watching and not in the Drivers seat.