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I have had a very busy day. All good stuff though - no boring work. James picked me up this morning and we did a good hour's worth of swimming as we didn't get chance to go last night. When I was young, we'd always get chips from the swimming pool cafe but this pool smells too much of wee to hang around for too long. Classy old Biggleswade. I came home and jumped in the shower so I had enough time to paint my nails. I always always wear nail varnish but fancied doing something different. I put two coats of the yellow on before finding a tutorial on YouTube on how to do the leopard print. I ended up doing it a slightly different way but even if I do say so myself, they look amazing! Bit shoddy close up but at a glance, brilliant. I went to Great Barford to meet the Ginn, Shep and Batch at The Anchor Inn for some lunch. I used to work there and it's changed slightly but not dramatically and I spent a lot of time trying to avoid the eye of my old boss. We headed over to Liz's for a quick cup of tea before I had to rush off to get ready for Sonisphere. I've never been to the festival before but it's been really good. It was only a half day today with one whole stage closed but we've seen some good people. Alice Cooper headlined but before him, we saw a crazy but hilarious band who can only be described as Vikings, Europe who everyone watched for their only big hit, 'The Final Countdown' and Gary Numan who the Marger loves. It has been grey all day and at one point, it looked like it was going to tip it down but we were lucky with only a few drops of rain. Hopefully it rains next week, rather than this weekend as I can't cope with another festival rain incident this year!
I haven't seen Steve in nearly a year now as he's been in Amsterdam on a year abroad with uni. He only got back to Cambridge a couple of weeks ago and as we've both been busy, this is the first chance we've had to meet up. We met outside Kings College and walked back up to the best Pizza Express in the world on Jesus Lane. I always eat the same thing there and so does he but unfortunately, they had forgotten our starters so we had everything at the same time. He told me some brilliant stories about drugs and ghosts from Holland and I brought him up to date with the goss from the last year of uni. We then did some shopping and I bought some yellow and brown nail varnishes as I want to try and do a leopard print on my nails..... The Picture House is just up the road so we went up there for a drink before I left to get the park-and-ride to come home. I popped over to Ginn's tonight with Shep and we ate Malteasers and caught up over cups of tea. Just found out that the brilliant 'Four Weddings' programme might be filming at the hotel soon! I'm definitely trying to get a shift then! BRILLIANT.
Thrilling stuff is waiting for a chinese takeaway. They never have decent art work on the walls - it's always some rubbish print of Koi carp and there is always a tv on. I wonder if there is a set of national guidelines for Chinese takeaways and they are two of the rules? Anyway, managed to have a bit of a lie-in this morning before getting up and applying for two jobs that the Marger had found for me on the internet. But after spending ages filling in the application forms, I suddenly discovered I was not qualified enough for either of them. Who needs qualifications in finance stuff anyway?! Boring. I had the Chinese round James' this evening before watching 'The Hangover' for the millionth time. It never gets boring and you spot things you've never seen before each time. Excellent cheap night in as it's always very tempting when you've worked a lot to go out and blow the lot on silly stuff for the sake of it. Although maybe tomorrow?
Just finished work at the hotel and it's been really quiet. There was a wake today and they thought it might spill over into the night so they got me in to help out and do the bar. Plus we have a full house tonight so they thought it could be rocking but in reality, one man had dinner, a group had drinks at eight but apart from that, it's been really quiet. For the last hour, I simply sat behind the bar in an empty room. Not complaining though because that's an extra bit of dosh! I also worked at the building firm today so it's been a tiring day but hopefully a good money earner. I'm not as tired as I thought I'd be which is always a bonus!
After another poor night's sleep, I rose bright and early this morning to head north with the Marger to go to a factory outlet that sells underwear. Not quite Underworld from Corrie but almost. I need a new bikini for holiday as I only have one that actually fits, and instead of paying up to £40 in the shops, it's much better to visit this place. Unfortunately, they were at the end of their stock and had completely sold out of my size in every range. Gutting. But they get a whole new selection in next week so I'm going to have to go back up there again. The petrol money is worth it though. After arriving back home, James took me out for lunch to The Kings Arms in Cardington and despite the small menu of lunch items, I had a bacon, mushroom and creme fraiche jacket potato and James had a home made fish finger sandwich with chips. This afternoon, we've just chilled out at his house - I had a three hour nap, he did some work before we just sat around in the lounge watching stuff like 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' and 'University Challenge' on television. I'm proud to say that I scored a personal best of 12 in the latter! Brilliant. Doing nothing is so nice after working so hard over the last two weeks. Back to the grind tomorrow though......
This is not really a true representation of my day because all I've seen today is pints, kegs, bottles and money. Unfortunately none of the money was for me. Although I did get £5.75 in tips today which I've just fished out of my bra because I didn't have any pockets! Kerching. Today wasn't as busy as yesterday but we still took a good amount of money, despite running out of the good cider yesterday. Chef was in charge today and gave us lots more breaks and even money to get food! I went out on the food run for everyone and got myself some of the good French stuff that I had yesterday. We had a good laugh today and even got to leave early as the bar closed at half eight. Now sitting at home watching the BBC's new adaption of Sherlock Holmes and it's brilliant! Really funny and cunning. The guy playing Sherlock is great casting! Need to sleep though.....
Today I have been working behind the outside Priory bar at Rhythms of the World and it's been very tiring. My family came down for it and left before I did but I took James and Dom over too who are now absolutely hammered. You're allowed to take some of your own alcohol in so they took that and have spent so much money on more. I worked from two until about quarter past ten and it's been fun but tiring. I've poured so many pints, it's unbelievable! I managed to get an half break to grab some food and a quick drink and despite the choice, I went for some French food 'les pomme de te d'Or' or something like that. Eventually managed to leave and now I'm in a pub with James, Dom, Dom's dad and Dom's dad's friends, waiting to go for an Indian somewhere in Hitchin. I'm starving and pretty tired but there is always time for Indian food!
Shep and I went to Letchworth for lunch today so she could check for a shop that sold hair extensions for her new hair colour. She's had the black stripped out of her hair as she wants to go back to blonde but has to go to this mid-way colour, which she insists is ginger, before her hair will take the new colour. I'd never actually been to the town centre before and it had quite a lot of shops but we settled for lunch in Costa Coffee. We put the world to rights over shortbread, a ragu meatball pannini and two coffees. We wandered around, trying to find the hair shop and finally found it in the arcade but after all that, it was closed! We popped into the ye olde sweet shop opposite and I bought us pear drops and rhubarb and custards before we headed home. Tonight, James and I have been to Chiquitos in St. Evenage for dinner and I'd forgotten how much I'd love Mexican food! We shared a Fiesta platter to start, then I had the lamb cana and James had the barbecue chicken fahijas. I would have liked to have had room for a pudding but the meal, especially the starter, filled me up so we just had a coffee and left. James had a Caffe Sombrero which is an expresso with cold milk and a shot of Kaluha. Probably my ultimate drink. But I was driving so I just went for the expresso. Desperately in need of some sleep now as I'm working again tomorrow.
Normally, our power cuts here are quite brief, in the daytime and the power is back on in minutes. It's now been fourty minutes and it's rapidly getting dark. James and I went swimming this evening after my day at the building company so we were back at his house, watching 'The Hotel Inspector' when everything cut out! Debbie is doing some important notes for work tomorrow so I found some candles and lit them so she could carry on. James is complaining that he's bored, despite the fact that his laptop has full charge and is now entertaining us on his acoustic guitar. Denis has found an oil lamp but no oil for it so is looking all over the house because he thinks he has some somewhere. I was painting my nails but the second coat might have to wait until morning now. It's quite exciting really. From James' window, we can see that the church and the market square have electricity so it must be just this specific area of the village. In my dramatic mind, as soon as the lights went off, I was plunged into a horror film and was pretty sure I was going to be attacked by a man in the Scream mask. Nothing of that sort has happened so we're just sitting around now, waiting. I'm now worried about the milk in the fridge and if it might go funny for the morning......
It's Rhythms of the World this weekend and it's being held in the grounds of the hotel I work at. It used to be a free festival and held in ve town centre but it became a problem so it was moved to the grounds. It's much better here because it's all in one place and attracts loads of people despite the £7 entrance fee. This year, I'm working behind the hotel bar that we set up in the marquee and I've been told that we can wear our own clothes but we've been given a ROTW t-shirt to wear as well. It's not quite the most fetching thing but it'll do. Just sitting outside in the sunshine now, waiting for the meeting to finish in the marquee so we can open the bar. Apparently, they're having a drink, eating the barbecue and then heading off straight away so hopefully I should be home early!
After another day at the building company where I made up CDM files, photocopied plans and filed lots of invoices, I rushed home to have dinner. Marger was going out to the lower school's presentation night so she wasn't eating but she'd bought me some gnocchi and arrabiatta sauce. I had that with cheese while watching Neighbours before I quickly had to get ready for James to pick me up to go to the cinema. We were planning to go to see Toy Story 3 anyway but James' mum wanted to come too so the three of us went along. We booked the tickets on Sunday for the 3D version and after reading the rare reviews, we were expecting something good! It was amazing! All the great characters were in it and Woody was brilliant as always. Buzz had some immense comedic lines and it was all I though it would be. Now about to go to bed and really suffering with my asthma because of the heat. Let's hope I can sleep tonight!
I have been at the gallery today and it was pretty chilled as normal. I got there a bit late as there were problems between Stevenage and Kings Cross on the train line and then the Victoria tube line was experiencing delays. So when I eventually arrived, I sat there for several hours before eating my lunch. The other intern said I could go out for an hour but I didn't have anything to do so I went to the nearest cafe. I bought a latte with a hazelnut shot and a Belgium chocolate brownie. Normally I don't often eat chocolate but this was really good. I had a lovely chat with the Ginn on the way home and now I'm sitting in the cool (the fan is on), watching Austin Powers 2 and waiting for Inglourious Basterds to beginning on Sky Premier. Rock 'n' Roll.
Tonight we had a barbecue despite the fact that it wasn't sunny or that warm! The Marger made some immense lamb burgers that we had with potato salad, freshly baked rolls, couscous and salad. YUM. Parger managed to cook the meat without burning any of it, which is rare as he is notorious for going a bit over-zealous with the flames. James ate with us too as we'd spent some of the day at Woodgreen Animal Shelter as they had a dog show on! I didn't get home from work last night until two and then got really scared when I though Sarah was a burglar. I had a long sleep and was planning to sleep for ages until James woke me up with information on a dog show. Really, we only went to see Basset Hounds and as we saw the only three there in the car park on the way in, we didn't stay for long. I wanted to steal them and run off but knew that even if I ran off quickly, the Basset Hounds would be so lazy, they would barely manage a fast walk.
Work yesterday ended up being a fourteen hour shift which was so tough! I was on the bar until twelve but then we had to reset and hoover for todays's wedding. When I eventually left at two this morning, two mother members of staff were still there! I had a great night's sleep and didn't get up until eleven. I quickly had a shower, had lunch and now I'm back off to work. I wasn't meant to start until three but I'm starting at half one now. Hardcore.
I'm having to do this entry really early today because I'm working from midday to midnight. I'm going to be tired tonight! This week has been really busy with seeing the family at the weekend, the gallery, working for Liz's dad, graduation and now work as a waitress and bar staff. I think there is a wedding in the marquee today so I'll probably on the bar in there. I'm tired just thinking about it!
Although this looks like an industrial unit, this is actually my local swimming pool. Today I worked another day at Liz's dad's building company where I made cups of tea, filed statements and advice notes, photocopied more architectural plans and looked for locations of building works on Google maps. It's so much better than doing nothing at the gallery! Although he ran four miles today, James still wanted to come swimming tonight. We got there at just after half seven and swum until quarter to nine - we would have stayed later but I got a weird form of cramp in my shin so we got out, stinking of chlorine. I'd forgotten how dirty swimming pools can be - this one really smelt of wee, there was hair every where and a plaster touched my hand when I was swimming. Ranky. It makes me want to develop some form of OCD..... Now watching some 'Cops with Cameras' before bed. Great day.
The graduation gowns are awful to wear - without pins, they don't fit at all and slip down massively. I got up nice and early this morning before getting ready and heading to Leicester with Marge, Parge, Sarah and James. We grabbed some lunch in the Piazza and then went into the Union to collect my gown, hat and colours. All Batchelors of Art had red and silver as their colours so I had painted my nails previously to match. I was going to have a professional photo taken but the queue was an hour long so we went outside to take some of our own. I'm not very good at posing for nice pictures and all I wanted to do was play Batman with my gown and run around. Mature. We met with Katie and her lovely parents and then met Dunc and his lovely mum and sister on the way to De Montford Hall where we were graduating. We thought we would take more pictures when we got out of the ceremony so we registered and went in. I was sitting right at the front near to Han and Dunc which was great for chatting but meant we could see absolutely nothing on the stage. When it was eventually our turn to go up, I managed to successfully walk across the stage, shake the chancellor/dean's hand without falling over! As we all filed out, it was just our luck that the heavens had opened and it was bucketing down. Our hopes of hat-throwing pictures were dashed. After a quick meet and greet with our departmental staff, the five of us left to go to a surprise meal that Margey had planned. And Nanny and Grandad, Auntie Jayne, Uncle Barry and Holly and Grace were there too! Well kept secret, everyone! The meal was in San Carlos and over the course of the evening, we saw Dunc and his family and Vicki and her family. The food in there is so good! I went for whitebait, steak and the creme brulee, although I meant to order pannacotta. Rookie mistake..... Over the course of the day, I also got some great presents! James got me Rob Brydon Live on DVD and a relatively unknown film about a dog show called 'Best in Show', although there are more gifts from him on the way, everyone chipped in and bought me a motarboard charm for my Pandora bracelet, Nanny and Grandad got me a graduation teddy bear, Jayne and Barry got me some flowers and Margey, Parge and Sarah bought me some amazing Vivienne Westwood earrings in turquoise blue and orange. They are really beautiful and I shall keep them for special occasions. Thank you everyone for a brilliantly lovely day.
Today I've been to work at Liz's dad's company. It's a building firm so I work in the office, rather than out laying bricks, photocopying building plans, sending out tenders and using the post franking machine which is really fun to use. Well, it's fun for a bit and then it gets quite repeatative! The people in the office are all really nice and I get to wear jeans and flip flops so it's a pretty good environment to work in. Last summer, I was only there from half nine until about four but today I was there from nine until half five as it was a really busy day. Loads of business had come in that had to be allocated and resent out. I popped home, quickly shovelled down some dinner and headed back out to Ginn's for a night in. I provided an Easter egg that I still hadn't eaten and Pez brought a sparkling raspberry juice drink, peanut M&Ms and some Minstrels. I used to have a slight nut allergy but that seems to have cleared up so I went mental on the M&MS. Those E numbers with some orange squash made me go a bit crazy for a while - I'm not used to that much sugar! Now hopefully, despite that, I can get a good night's sleep in time for my graduation tomorrow!
You know your day hasn't been enthralling when the highlight is a mug of milk and a slice of lemon tart with woofy cream of an evening. I've been at the gallery today and no-one came in all day apart from a couple of girls who want to be interns. More interns. I went to the immense salad bar next door for lunch and I wish I could eat there everyday! You have a choice of bases, which is anything from lettuce to various pastas, and then you get to choose five from the lists of meats, fish, vegetables, dairy and carbohydrates, before deciding on a dressing. Lots of choices but the end result is brilliant. I went for Cos lettuce with chicken, brocoli, olives, mixed peppers and mozzarella balls. YUM. That's how bored I've been today - salad and lemon tart have been the most exciting things. Sleep is actually more appealing right now after a very busy couple of days. Zzzzzz.......
James and I have ended the weekend at Dom's house but we started today still in Suffolk. I'd set an alarm for just after eight but woke up in our tent when it was light and boiling hot so assumed I'd over slept. I checked the time and it was quarter to four in the morning. It was so hot and just got progressively hotter from then on. Eventually, most people got up at half seven so we did too, got dressed and packed my tent down. After a long drive home, we popped into my house and headed to Hamerton Zoo for James' second cousins' third birthday party. We got there and saw tortoises, tigers, vultures and cheetars before having a fabulous picnic and playing on the play ground. Before a quick stop at James' house, we then headed over to Dom's house for a barbecue. This was interrupted by a quick stop up the road to cut down the rest of a rotten tree. It wasn't quite safe but needless to say, it is now secure. Tonight, we settled down to watch the World Cup final. Dom, James and Ollie are all supporting Holland but I'm sticking with my Spanish roots and supporting Spain! Viva Espana! AND SPAIN HAVE JUST SCORED' BRILLIANT! It was a bit awkward when I celebrated as no-one else did...... Come on, Spain! Hold it for two and a half minutes!
We have an annual gathering at my mum's cousin's house in Suffolk and today was this year's. They live in an old pub with lots of land out the back so we camp in their field - there is also a trampoline, swimming pool, play equipment, a tractor, a marquee, a fire area and a tiny tractor with a trailer that we can drive! It's pretty uncomfortable to sit on though. We convoyed over here early this morning in three cars as Sarah's James had to be back for DJ'ing tonight, and James and I have to leave early in the morning for a birthday party. We had an immense lunch before hiding in the house and in the marquee for shade as it was so hot! Their new pool is massive and nearly everyone went for a dip but I had the beginnings of sunstroke so I stayed out of the sun but as the sun went down, we got comfy to watch some of the men play boules. Here, Parger had obviously won the match but they were all quite good. Normally we play rounders in the day time but it was far too hot so we had to wait until after seven to play. It was still boiling hot! We've just had a fantastic barbecue and now we're sitting around on camping chairs slowly getting a bit cold. At least I won't be too hot tonight to sleep!
This morning, James and I went to visit his grandad and his wife at their house and they invited us to their bowls club to play some bowls. James was pretty good and has obviously inherited the skills for bowls but his grandad was amazing! He's actually won his own cup that he donated to the club. I wasn't so hot at it - it was really unnatural to aim the ball away from the target to make it get there. We had lunch there before going back home so Shep could pick me up to head to the cinema. Up until two weeks ago, I thought it was only me out of my home friends who liked the Twilight saga but it turns out Shep does too! And not just a little bit, she is quite obsessed with Edward. We can't decide if we're Team Jacob and Team Edward. The film was brilliant and although they missed out lots of bits from the book, it was still magical. When I got back, the Parger had just got back from his VIP day at Silverstone and he'd bought me a Button hat in luminous Red. Pretty jazzy but might come in handy in tomorrow's heat!
After cleaning the tent throughly for the weekend, James and I popped over to Liz's new house to drop off a 'Welcome to your New House' card. As we pulled up, Angela was outside with the electricity man and invited us in for the tour and a drink. The house is absolutely amazing. I will miss their old house but this one is like something from Grand Designs. Liz's room is fantastic and she has her own balcony! Wonderful. After sitting in the garden with Angela for ages, we headed off to Toys R' Us to buy James' cousin's twins a birthday present. We're celebrating their birthday on Sunday and needed to buy something that they could both enjoy. There were so many things we nearly bought. I wanted to get something creative like Playdo or paints - James wanted to get a farm yard set and there was also the choice of plastic food, educational games or Duplo but in the end we went with indoor ten-pin bowling. I think James wants to play with it more than the kids will! Tonight I've been helping Margey cook quiches for the party on Saturday - I say help, I actually mean wandering around in the kitchen, trying to eat them!
Today, James and I went to Biggleswade so he could sign up with some job agencies to get some work while he looks for a proper job. We went into Asda to see if they were selling Lego Harry Potter cheaply but it was still expensive there - I want to play it! When we got back home, Marger was off shopping to Sainsbury's for food for the weekend so we went with her. Margey's cousin is holding a family party at her house at the weekend and we're all making food and taking drink along and camping in her field over night. I say 'we', I mean the adults rather than us kids. Me and James were in charge of getting the alcohol and we managed to get everything apart from Sarah's mixed fruit Kopperbergs. After coming back home, we had dinner while watching the football. Good old Spain managed a goal in the second half which has sent them through to the World Cup Final on Sunday. Viva Espana!
I've spent today updating my CV to start applying for proper jobs. Proper jobs and the real world seem like scary scary things. But through the Guardian Jobs website, I've applied for three jobs today so fingers crossed. Parge read a statistic today that seventy graduates are applying for every one graduate job. Sounds very unpromising for the future. Tonight I've been round Pez's to watch the football. We were going to go for a drink but as it wasn't that sunny and we were the only two who could make it, we stayed in and supported the Netherlands in the semi finals of the World Cup - her dad, as you can see, had his orange football shirt on and the support paid off! They won 3-2 so hopefully it'll be a Netherlands v. Spain final. I have to say that to support my Spanish family! Now I'm at home, watching a brilliant interview with Tom Jones. He is so amazing and someone I've grown up with. Obviously not literally but Parge loves him and has passed that down to me. Great man.
This is pretty much all my day consisted of. After a busy weekend, I really didn't want to get up this morning but dragged myself out of bed and got on the train to London. My day went much quicker at the gallery and there was a lovely intern there with me today which meant that I had some one to chat to. Unfortuntely, there was no toilet paper in the gallery toilet so everytime, I had to stumble up the road in my heels to Caffe Nero, buy a coffee and use their toilets. At that rate, it's even more pricey that the Kings Cross ones! I think this is the closest any drink has ever come to James' laptop which I'm borrowing every Monday but don't worry, James. I didn't spill anything on it! Quite a few people came into today which was good so it was all going swimmingly until the water cut out. We couldn't decide whether to stay or not but at half six, we closed up and headed home. I met the delightful Susan on the train on the way home and we swapped work stories all the way home. Overall, a much better day at the internship!
Only the British would have a roast dinner in sweltering temperatures. We didn't get back to Brighton until half two last night as Perez Hilton's party went on really late. We had to miss Basshunter in the end because we were so tired but stayed for Kelis who was fantastic! There was barely anyone there so we got really close to the front without even trying. Diana Vickers was awful, The Hoosiers didn't even play live which was awkward and the childrens choir were good but really out of place. We got up late again this morning and headed to Liz's local pub for a roast dinner with Rachel, Cat and her sister, Becky. I went for the lamb which was immense and we sat in the garden in the sun. I've now got a really odd collection of tan lines from wearing different clothes all weekend in the sunshine! I caught the train back home but due to engineering works, I had to get off at London Bridge, get the tube to St. Pancras and then get back on a train to get to Bedford. A stressful transport day but a really brilliant weekend. Thank you for having me, Liz!
This week I won tickets for Perez Hilton's party at IndigO2 at the O2 Arena, One Night in London! As I was in Brighton today, I invited Liz and we travelled up to London this afternoon. We didn't get up until half twelve today as we didn't get in until half four this morning! Tired. We went to The Signalman to watch some tennis before getting ready and jumping in Liz's mini. We've just had dinner in Zizzis and managed to print off our invite to tonight in the O2 shop here as I'd forgotten to do it and Liz's printer was broken. Tonight is promising to be good with Kelis, Diana 'Claw' Vickers, The Hoosiers, Basshunter, Peaches and some sort of children's choir. ODD. I think Fearne Cotton is here - maybe we could have a picture together to prove that we don't look alike?
I travelled down to Brighton this morning on the train and met Chester and his brother randomly which meant the journey went quite quickly! Liz picked me up and we headed back to hers to meet up with her friend, Cat, who's staying with her. We got changed and then headed down to the beach. Brighton has great transport links and we caught a train to the main station and then walked down to Pret a Manger for a picnic. We ate it on the beach but when it clouded over, we headed to the pub and watched the Holland v. Brazil match and it was brilliant - very pleased with that result! The sun came out again so we headed back down to the beach with Cat's friends, Lucy and Rachel. It was so lovely and warm and we stayed there for ages before heading the The Druid's Arms for some Thai food. We've just got ready for our night out in Brighton and we're heading down to Funky Buddha by the sea. Good times.
By 'The Rising Sun', I mean a pub, not Japan. I spent the day with James and the particular highlight was a 'dogumentary' on Sky1 called 'Dogs in Frocks' which was about an annual parade in Santa Barbara where owners dress their dogs in costumes. Nine labradors were dressed as aeroplanes and some other dogs were Hugh Hefner, his girlfriends and the Playboy mansion security. Brilliant. Claire picked me up this evening and we headed over to the pub. Lucy met us a bit later and we sat outside in the garden and by garden, I mean several tables in the concrete car park. Classy. We had a good chat before moving inside because my eyes started really itching from hayfever. My left eye got so bad that I had to take my contact lense out but that only made it worse. It's now a bit better but quite sore. I hope it's better for the weekend and that I don't have to wear my glasses for much longer!
