The only way to revise!

I've spent today revising British Gothic Sculpture for Saturday's exam with particular focus on Torrigiano and the Reformation. Thrilling. It's been lovely and sunny this afternoon so I sat in the garden while reading through my notes again. Like always, after two minutes, I came out with a heat rash on my chest so I had to put on sun cream. So English. Margey made me some Pimms but the lemonade was flat so it was mainly alcohol, strawberries, cucumber and mint. YUM. I like to think I've got a bit of a tan but it's probably just dirt stuck to the sun cream!

Sarah's new tent

Sarah's been to Cambridge today to see her best friend and ended up buying a tent. We're going to a big family party in July and we're all camping in their garden so she needed one for that anyway. She kept joking that she wanted a tipee and found this one in Argos for £50. We've just put it up in the garden, or rather I put it up while Sarah watched and threw stuff at me, and found out that it's pretty rubbish. Sarah hadn't realised that there would be a pole in the middle of it and with the slanted walls, there isn't much room inside! As there is only the outer layer and ground sheet, there is the possibility of her getting very wet and if it's windy, then she's not going to get any sleep. The fun soon wore off so she's going to take it back and get one that's a bit more practical!

The mysterious hole in the walk

Sarah's been tidying her room today after Margey asking her every week for ages and found this hole! She was moving her chest of drawers towards the window and as she moved it, she could hear something making a noise behind it. Expecting a picture or something that had fallen off the top, she instead found this pile of rubble and a massive hole! We think it's from where the plumber fitted the new bathroom as the sink pipes are on exactly the other side of the walk and you can see part of them through the gap. The plaster below is about to fall off too so we need Parge to block it all back up so the wall doesn't disintergrate. I'm finally catching up on the last two Lost's that I've missed. The one we've just watched was so sad and I cried a bit and I hope this next one isn't so emotional!

Hannah's actual 21st birthday

Today is Hannah's actual birthday! We went round her flat tonight and celebrated with Malteasers, bread sticks and dips. You can't have a party without dips. Adam gave her her main present earlier which was a car, very like the one from The Inbetweeners! He did the old chestnut of putting the keys in a massive great box to put her off the scent and she thought he was joking when she saw the keys! I bought her some fluffy dice to be hung from the mirror and Shep got her a stick-on Shaun the Sheep and a Bagpuss for her dashboard. Excellent car themed gifts. Michaela had bought her this hat as a present which played 'Happy Birthday' and apparently she's been wearing it all day. Must have been fun at uni! Han's mum came round too and gave her a massive card, champagne, a photo frame and some dosh which Han's planning to spend on a tattoo sometime this week. I might go along for moral support, aka, hold her down when she sees the needle and changes her mind!

The Carnage after the Moonwalk

My auntie, the Marger and Sarah all did the Moonwalk last night where they started walking through London at twelve and finished back at Hyde Park at half eight. Like last year, they were so tired when they got back that they could barely get out of the car! They collapsed in the living room with their space blankets and numbers still attached to them. I've been on helping duty all day - cups of tea, breakfast, plasters etc. Because they haven't slept for over thirty six hours, they are now all tucked up in bed. I've been a bit tired today from last night and my cold and my feet have been aching from the heels I wore last night but I couldn't really complain when the three of them had walked 26 miles!

Hannah's 21st Birthday

We are having a brilliant night. It's Han's 21st birthday on Monday so we're out tonight. We are in versions of purple and black and this photo was taken in Han's lovely flat. We started there with drinks and I eventually managed to give Shep her present as I haven't seen her since her 21st which was a couple of weeks ago - it's a midwifery dictionary! We're now at Han's friend's uni flat in Bedford and when I sat down, I think I ripped my dress. Everyone says it's the lining so I hope it's that and not the coloured outside bit! Hayley has dyed her hair black and we've decided that she looks foreign, perhaps Latvian. Cheers to Hannah!

A free Zizzis

About a year ago, Sarah won a voucher for free main courses and a free bottle of wine at Zizzis so we went along tonight to the one in Hitchin and had a lovely meal. The food was immense but the service was pretty shoddy. They'd taken away the starter plates before the Marger had finished and nothing infuriates her more than that! I shared an meat antipasti with Parge to start and then went for the roasted duck for my main. Unfortunately, because it's hay fever season (nearly typed 'gay fever' then), I've been sneezing all evening so now I'm a bit snotty. But that's not stopping me from serenading everyone in the car with the 'Only Fools and Horses' theme tunes. That's right - both of them. Needless to say, they cannot wait to get out of the car to get away from me!

Damien Hirst: Love or Hate?

People are always very divided on Damien Hirst but after studying him for my presentation last term and for the essay I'm in the middle of now, I think he's brilliant. In some of the interviews with him that I've been reading, including the one in this book, he's quite arrogant and can be contradictory but seems quite level headed. Now watching some Mad Men which is brilliant. I've never seen it before and it was quite slow to start but it's getting better. I feel sorry for the wives of these men though!

XXX Hot Peri-Peri Sauce

Nandos have introduced a new Extra Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce which seemed to be more of a bad taste than too hot but Han volunteered, for the small fee of £4, to lick rather a lot of it off Katie's plate! She took a while to pluck up the courage but eventually managed it. Like anything hot, the start was manageable but it got much worse! Much lemonade was consumed to stop the burn but I think it continued for a while. Dunc and Laura went home but me, Han and Katie went shopping. We had a lovely day and I ended up buying a new dress for Ginn's birthday night out on Saturday, another nautical top, a summery dress, face wipes, Soothers for my sore throat and a great find of a real leather bag from Topshop for £3 in the sale! Bargain. Managed to get some work done tonight but who cares when you've got money to burn?!

Novelty Egg and Soldiers

This is one of James' 22nd birthday presents and we used it to make this morning's breakfast. There is a soldier-shaped cutter for the toast and the little soldier holds the egg. Fun in a breakfast! I'm now back in Leicester, playing this immense game called 'Akinator - the Web Genius'. You think of a character or a real person and then answer different questions to help it guess who you're thinking of. So far, it's got John from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Baslisk from Harry Potter, BoBo Fett and John Snow! Brilliant. We've found one that it didn't get though: the Kennedy's dog in Neighbours, Audrey! We're broken the system. Have a go, it's great procrastination.

My two favourite boys

James and Tommy Lee! If only the latter was actually in the room. The former has spent today making his kinetic sculpture for the showcase tomorrow and his study, as you can see, is filled with solder, wood, cable and I don't know what the rest of the stuff is! Electronics shizzle. He bought some wood and cable socket things earlier and is now connecting them together with a soldering iron. I'm cruising YouTube at the same time, keeping him entertained by googling Tommy Lee and Gaga interviews and now I've moved on to to a video on the history of Download festival as it's their thirty year anniversary this year. Brilliant. Still hoping for some immense backstage passes for this year too. Good old family connections!

Empty Cheese Board

This would have been a picture of Sarah and her new boyfriend but she wouldn't let me take one of them! After a day of birthday celebrations for James' step-nan and then the football, we went to the pub in Cardington with them and I had the cheese board that I've been looking forward to all weekend. Nice bit of stilton, cheddar and a goat's cheese. Lovely. I had what seemed to be a pint of white wine spritzer!

Minimal Work Jewellery

Today is a slow news day. So much so that the lack of jewellery that I wear to work is the highlight of my day. Normally I wear two more rings and six more bracelets but I have to 'cut down' for work. It was another wedding today and the bride looked lovely. Right amount of sparkle on the dress as in not much. Sparkles are a good judgement of taste. I've eaten a lot of wedding food, including the lamb main course - I ate about a trillion crisps, thinking that they were laid out for us but then they were put out for the buffet! Ooops. Now going home for some much needed sleep as we didn't get in until half two last night. Zzzzzz.

Dissertation Celebration Night Out

We're in Pizza Express at the moment having just finished a lovely meal. The wine has flowed so we're just about to head out into Leicester for more drinks! Katie and I are wearing our new dresses, Han has a lovely pair of leopard print heels and Laura has delightfully matched her scarf to her dress. Lovely. As always, we've all struggling over the bill and trying to work out who owes who. No one ever knows. Maths is too difficult after wine. Good times!

Shopping with the loan

I handed in my second-to-last essay this morning and then headed into town. I met Shields and Laura for lunch as they'd just finished a lecture walking around town looking at the architecture. Laura recommended Croques in The Lanes and I had an immense jacket potato with chilli. We're off out tomorrow night to celebrate handing in our dissertations and I need a new dress. I looked in lots of shops and eventually settled on a grey beaded number from Oasis. Bought two tops and some earrings in the sale and a lovely Chanel-esque nail varnish in Topshop and eye liner, hair spray and some bronze in Boots. An excellent spend of £68! Now me and Laura are watching the election coverage and so far, it looks like we're heading for a hung parliament. Interesting. People have been turned away from polling stations and apparently, it's been a great turn out. Fingers crossed that the Conservatives don't get in!

The finished product

It's green! I thought it would be the standard black and white but I was surprised to find that the university printing people had gone for a jazzier colour. I hope the markers don't have an adversion to the colour green! I handed the two copies over to our department secretary this morning and it was really difficult to let go. So much hard work went in to it and it seemed a bit of an anti-climax. But tonight, I went to see Iron Man 2 again with Hannah and Duncan and it was even better the second time! Just hilarious.

A Anglo-Italian dinner

Good old Sainsbury's. They do a gift voucher type thing where Margey can top up at home and I get the credit on my half of the card. I went for gnocchi, tomato sauce, cheese and dough balls with garlic butter. There were twenty dough balls in the pack and I wanted to eat all of them but thought that would be too many carbs! Still managed half though..... Met Hannah, Katie and Dunc this morning and it was great to see them. I've missed them over the Easter holidays. They handed their dissertation in today but mine still at the printers so that'll have to be tomorrow for me. Scary times.

My postal vote

As I'm registered on the electoral register at home, I've got a postal vote this year as on Thursday, election day, I'll still be in Leicester. I've never voted in a general election before, only local so this is quite exciting! I posted it earlier so I hope there isn't a deadline for them. I was going to do some work tonight but Laura and I have just watched Flashforward and now I've cracked out a nice bit of 'Twilight' on DVD. I've forgotten how brilliant it is. Edward Cullen is wonderful. And beautiful. How can I become a vampire and be that great too?

Hannah and her antique necklace

James and I are round Ginn and Jakes this evening and we're having a lovely time. I've told the story of my two Blue Peter badges and the time that I entered a Children in Need Christmas card competition. Hannah showed us this shoddy necklace she bought as a child from a car boot sale and has kept it in her special box. Adam thinks it's hilarious but Hannah loves it. I think we should take it into the Antique Roadshow and get it valued. James reckons about £2.50. We've just played the 'celebrity name on forehead' game and Adam got Nick Clegg in three! Han's just got into tarot cards and I'm about to have a reading. Should be interesting......

Printing the Dissertation

Finally, after what feels like a million years, I have finished my dissertation!! It is such a relief. I tied up some loose ends in the conclusion this morning before formatting it to the correct standard. But the hardest thing was actually pressing send on the e-mail, sending it off to the printers. What if it's wrong? What if something's out of place? What if I've written it like a twelve year old? I did my final checks and then attached it to the e-mail. I sat there for about ten minutes having a mild panic attack before I actually sent it. Terrifying. I'm now not going look at the document because I know if I do, I'll see something wrong! Just finished work at The Hotel and I was waitressing for the first half and then they finally let me loose on the bar! It was brilliant. I am an amazing bartender, even if I do say so myself. And if I've learnt anything tonight, it's not to judge a book by its cover.

Iron Man 2

What a brilliant film. It only came out today and has already got some bad reviews. I went along expecting something average but it was as good as the first! Robert Downey-Junior was brilliant as always and Sam Rockwell was a great baddie. Scarlett Johansson wasn't fantastic but maybe that'll be expanded if there is a solo Black Widow film.... But anyway, I would highly recommend the film but only if you've seen the first Iron Man. It's made me very excited to see AC/DC at Download! Afterwards, we hit Nandos and as normal, we had too much of the peri-peri sauce and had pretty sore tongues!

I love Pizza Express

Margey took me and Sarah to the Milton Keynes shopping centre this afternoon as a treat - it's the longest shopping centre in the world. FACT. There was an Italian market on in the big hall at the end and I charmed the man on the cheese stall into giving me lots of samples. Well, he probably charmed me because Margey ended up buying me some gorgonzola piccante as it was lovely. Blue cheese that's not as strong as Stilton and is lots more creamy. I carried it carefully around all afternoon to make sure it didn't get squashed and then ended up trapping it in the car door on the way home. Ooops. Sarah wanted to get some shoes for the summer but Topshop didn't have the ones she wanted and Margey got some trousers and shoes from Next. She was going to buy both of us something but unfortunately I couldn't find anything I wanted. It's always the way. When you have no money, you see so many things you want and vice versa. We headed to my favourite Pizza Express for dinner. Everytime I look at the menu but everytime I have the same thing: bruschetta, followed by the Gran Chicken Caesar with no anchovies. They are truly disgusting! YUM.

The Delightful Miss Susan

Almost like that new cookery programme with Sophie Dahl.... Popped round Susan's tonight for a good old fashioned gossip and we made some cakes. She'd bought some cake mix so we made Betty Crocker's (not White's) chocolate brownies and Cadbury's little cakes. The brownies were lovely and Susan's work collegues will be getting some tomorrow but the little cakes were not so good. We caught up, watched Taylor Lautner videos on YouTube and drank lots of surprisingly lovely grapefruit squash! What good evening are made from.....

James' 22nd Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! On James' birthday last year, I was in Italy with uni and he was in the midst of his dissertation so it wasn't really celebrated. This year, it's been much bigger. We woke up at half seven this morning so he could open his presents before his parents went to work and here they all are laid out by the fire. As Debbie took him shopping for lots of new clothes on Friday, he'd already had the main bulk of his present but they also got him two extra man-cardigans, a scarf, a new fishing reel and some pretend bait things. As I have no money at the moment, Margey leant me some and I bought him the Transformers game for the xBox. Sarah got him two brilliant t-shirts and the Marge and Parge got him the xBox Ghostbusters game and a brush and a liquid for cleaning his vinyl collection. When I eventually get paid sometime this week, I'll buy him his other presents. Sorry again, dear! We slept for most of the day and played on the xBox before going out this evening for a meal with Debbie and Denis to celebrate. James chose The Cambridge Chop House opposite Kings College and it was delightful. I went for the sirloin steak and the creme brulee. YUM. And with the risk of sounding too soppy, James really is the best boyfriend a girl could dream of.(And on an amazing last note, he might be getting a pet pig! There is a pig company where he lives where you can adopt a pig and pay a certain amount per month for them to look after it. You can go and visit it as much as you want and help out if you want to. When it's fully grown, they send it off to heaven and you get to eat it! That might prove to be a bit difficult though..... It's going to be called 'The Baron'!)

My possible new work place

I went for an interview for an internship today at a gallery just off Regents Street. I put my suit on, got the train down to London and then caught the tube across town to Oxford Circus for a five minute interview! The lady was lovely and seemed to like me so hopefully I'll get it. They will let me know by the end of the week so fingers crossed. They host solo artist exhibitions, press parties, opening nights and fashion events. It will be great for networking and finding contacts for the future and because it's only one or two days a week for three months, I can carry on working to earn some dosh. But I might not even get it so let's not count chickens before they're hatched.....

James' Pre-Birthday

As Laura lives in London, we celebrated James' birthday today as well as this Tuesday. She arrived at half twelve just before our lovely lunch of chicken with cheese, covered in bacon with wedges and salad, followed by a concoction of strawberries, meringue and yoghurt which was all very yummy. Debbie had whipped up a chocolate birthday cake that we ate while watching old family videos. James was very cute as a child but very small and quiet. Laura did most of the talking! She got him a specialist whiskey tumbler for his birthday that has been specifically designed for tasting and four bottles of whiskey - one was only just bigger than a thimble and is almost definately the small bottle of whiskey in the world! Brilliant presents!

A unexpected cat show

Had a brilliant lay in this morning after four days of getting up at seven before James took me out to lunch at a lovely pub in Waresley. The sun was out and pretty warm so we sat outside - I obviously went for the ploughmans and James had a prawn sandwich. Our food choices are rather predictable. We spontaneously decided to go to Woodgreen Animal Shelter as we were really close and they had a cat show on! Millions of brilliant cats in one arena. They had so many Persian and Exotic cats but there were lots of bitchy owners guarding their precious cats so we couldn't really stroke them. It was good but people were taking it a bit too seriously.....

Road Trip to Leicester

Two of the books I got out last week were week-only loans so I had to make my notes from them yesterday and then drive them back up to Leicester this morning otherwise it would have been a £3.00 fine per book, per day! Too much money. I managed to blag my way onto campus to park, rather than having to find a space miles away from uni and the library. It was literally a pop-in, pop-out visit because I had to be back in time because Sarah needed the car to go to work. It was lovely weather and with the windows down and the music turned up, it was actually quite an enjoyable journey!

A Minute of Mayhem

Today was the funeral of Malcolm McLaren. His son and his step-son from his relationship with Vivienne Westwood encouraged people to have a 'minute of mayhem' at twelve o'clock whilst the funeral happened. They wanted people to do what ever they wanted in memory of McLaren. I was sitting at my computer working and Sarah was catching up with some TV in the yellow room so at twelve, I blasted 'Anarchy in the UK' out of my computer and we jumped around the living room for the length of the song. It wasn't exactly anarchic or total mayhem but it certainly tired us out! The funeral sounded entirely fitting for the godfather of punk but it's still sad that people of our generation are dying. The older we get, the more things get real. Scary stuff. But I did enjoy jumping around for a few minutes! For some reason, the internet on my phone isn't working so for the first time, I'm having to upload this via a computer. So if it looks different, that's why......

Rude Boy Sarah

Sarah loves to drive like a rude boy with her glasses on, chair rolled back and with one arm on the wheel. She drove me to James' tonight in the Ka after a long day of dissertation and we listened to some Usher and Taio Cruz on the way. For sisters who look quite alike, we are so different...... Debbie has just given me a master class in writing an introduction as I'm rubbish at them so tomorrow I'm going to completely finish my third chapter and then get cracking on that bit. Oh, the life of not doing work. I cannot wait for two things at the moment: one - to get my loan through and two - hand this stupid thing in.

Bit of European Football

The football is the highlight of my day because the only thing I've done all day is work. I've cracked out another 1,000 words but taken away quite a few too. I'm getting ever closer but I just can't wait for it to be over and done with. But so close, yet so far unfortunately. Sitting in front of the computer is tiring and makes my eyes hurt but I have to do it. Vicious circle.......

Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Cambridge

As I've been working so hard, James took me out for lunch in Cambridge today. He finally finished his marketing essay yesterday so we went to Anglia Ruskin first so he could hand it and headed into town. We wandered around for a bit before deciding on Jamie's. It's opposite the Corn Exchange and is pretty non-descript from the outside. But inside, it's beautiful. I can't remember what it was before but it has a massive dome and marble pillars and they've installed the kitchen along one side. Just as we went in, who should walk in but the cox of the Cambridge team from this year's boat race. He seemed fairly nice but the girls he was with were poncey Cambridge girls who tried to push to the front of the queue - the maitre d' was having none of it. We had an Italian bread selection to start, I had the sausage pappardelle for my main and James had the prawn linguine. We didn't have the room for a pudding each so we shared a chocolate, raspberry and amaretto brownie. YUM. I would highly recommend it!

Work Work Work

My life is all about work at the moment. This is my desk in the yellow room where I'm spending all my time at the moment. Two dining room chairs and the computer chairs hold all my books and then what ever I'm working on at the time is on the desk in front of my keyboard. Fun fun fun. But I've got a lot of work done today though and had a quick break to go to Waresley garden centre with the Marger to get some bedding plants for the garden. Tres exciting.

Yum Pizza

Today has been good but tiring. Woke up late enough to not have breakfast and go straight on to lunch. Me and James hit Potton Co-Op and bought this immense pizza - mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and pesto. We ate it while watching the Manchester Derby - City should have won though. It has been such a lovely day that all I wanted to do was to be outside but I had to do more work on the diss and then go to actual work. I've just finished and it was another wedding. I've discovered that they have a cold milk machine in the kitchen and that I'm allowed to help myself when ever I want so tonight I've gone mental on milk. Probably drunk a cow. Instead of having a wedding cake tonight, the couple had a cake made out of cheese! Not a cheesecake but different sized cheeses stacked up! It was truely amazing. I love love love cheese and am not a big fan of cake. So anyone who comes to my wedding (many, many years in the future) can expect a massive cake of cheese! It smelt brilliant...... Margey and Pargey have been out for a meal tonight to celebrate their wedding anniversary but they've just got back so I've requested a big milk and now I might text ahead for some cheese.....

Cider with Lost

Nice literary pun there. We popped up to Leicester today to see Auntie Jayne and so she with Sarah and Margey could do some walking in training for the Moonwalk in May. I left my phone at home which really threw me - it's amazing how strange I felt without it! While they were out walking, I went into uni to collect some books that other people had finally returned - I had meant to text Han, Katie and Dunc to see if they were around for a catch up but no phone meant that I couldn't! I met the walkers for lunch at the tea room near Bradgate Park and had a lovely Ploughmans before meeting Grace from school. On the way back home, I suddenly had a productive moment and got a good 400 words written in my notebook that can be typed up tomorrow. Brilliant. Now having a rest with a Magners and some Lost and Criminal Minds but the latter is a particularly scary one but I can't stop watching. Bad times.

The Leaders Debate

This is television gold. We have a general election coming up on the 6th of May so for the first time, we are having a series of live debates with Gordon Brown, Nick Clegg and David Cameron. All the leaders have gone for a tie of the colour of their party apart from Brown who has chosen a cheeky bright pink. I though I was pretty sure about who was getting my vote but this has really shook it up. Cameron appears to have had a spray tan and is a bit too smug while not actually answering the questions. Brown is getting in some brilliant digs at Cameron which has made me like him more although I know it's not about how witty the candidate is. Clegg is making some great points but is getting a bit sidelined by the other two although they both keep brown-nosing him: 'I love you, Nick (but I hate you, David)'. It's much better than I thought it would be and there is two debates on the way. I hope this brings the importance of voting to the awareness of more people and especially young people. I think it's terrible that some people don't vote because it is so important! Vote, everyone, vote!

Anglia Ruskin University

Popped over to James' university this morning as he needed to get some books for his music marketing essays and pay a fine. I suddenly realised that it's a great resource for me to get some books for the old dissertation. It used to be the Cambridge Art College so its library is full of art books. I thought Leicester was quite well stocked but here at least the books weren't all out and pesky people that haven't returned them. I managed to get four books on Gilbert and George and two excellent ones on British controversial art in the seventies. Brilliant. We went into McDonalds and got more stickers for the monopoly board game. Sarah and James have got us some over the last few days but we still haven't won anything. I'm hoping for a holiday or maybe just the 500k cash..... I've done lots of work this afternoon and James has procrastinated. A lot. He was one step away from actually hoovering the house. I wish my life was a bit more rock and roll sometimes.

That day Tommy Lee tweeted me

I'm not one to use abbreviations or text talk but as Usher would say, O.M.G! I saw earlier that James was following the great man so I did and then tweeted him to ask when the new Methods of Mayhem album comes out, not expecting a reply, as only The Harker actually gets responses from celebs on Twitter! I thought James was winding me up when he told me but oh no: Tommy Lee had tweeted me back, informing me that the album will be out on worldwide release on the 13th of July. EXCELLENT. What a lovely man. I think this is my favourite picture of all the blog entries I have done so far. Wonderful. On the down side, I found out earlier that Sotheby's aren't taking on any more interns on for the rest of the year so I haven't got the placement in September. But Tommy Lee tweeted me so screw you, Sotheby's.

Dissertation Day

Who knew the death of a great man would help with my dissertation? Malcolm MaLaren, the manager of the Sex Pistols for those of you who don't know who he is, died last week from cancer so there have been many articles over the weekend about his life. I hate to gain from someone else's misfortune but I have read so many interesting quotes from the man that have gone straight into the dissertation! I spent the day mainly doing work but saw James this morning and then went round Shep's for luncheon as she's off to Egypt with Coops tomorrow. We heard all Em's tales from Tour in Salou, involving much nakedness and faecal matter. Not quite your average week away!

A lazy Sunday afternoon

Although we didn't stay out really late last night, I've still been really tired today so I've done literally nothing. We met Sarah's new boyfriend this morning who seemed nice - he is also called James which could get pretty confusing! I spent the afternoon at my James' house, watching Lost and Criminal Minds. Margey made an immense roast dinner and now me and James are sitting down to watch 'District 9' with one of my Easter eggs. James' new phone is still brilliantly interesting but not fully functioning yet as his number hasn't transfered over. So far, so good with the film... I normally don't like sci-fi films but this isn't too bad!

Happy Birthday, Sheppy!

Had a great sleep last night but was up bright and early for a trip to Cambridge with James as he wanted to buy a phone. We spent ages in Phones4U and eventually he bought a Sony Ericsson Vivaz which is pretty fancy. We bargained with the sales man and he left with a £25 a month contract, £90 in cash and we both got a free phone protector! Kerching. I quickly got ready this evening and now we're out for Shep's birthday - we gave her her presents at Ginn's house and now we're at a Chinese buffet to celebrate. I thought she hated Chinese but luckily she now loves it! Me and Pez are drinking some horrid cheap wine so it should be an interesting night!

Venice - the Grand Canal

The bells from St. Mark's woke me up on the hour, every hour, last night and then they peal for what feels like a million hours at dawn so I didn't sleep too well. We had breakfast and then packed everything up before leaving the cases in the hotel storage room and heading over to the Doge's Palace. It had some great paintings there, including a Titian fresco that he completed in three days. The parliament room is one of the largest rooms in Europe and houses the longest canvas painting in the whole world. I do love a good fact! There was a stupid bird in there though so we left pretty sharpish - knowing my luck it would fly into my face, even in a massive room.... We walked over to the Rialto bridge to do some shopping and then had lunch by the Grand Canal - this was the view from our table but again, the pigeons loved it by the water so Margey and Sarah were on constant bird watch. We bought our tickets to the airport before having a lovely drink by the water front and watched the police chase the men that sell the fake designer bags - I've drunk so much peach juice in the last four days, I'm surprised I haven't turned into one. Got our cases from the hotel and caught a water bus that took forever and caught the coach to Venice-Treviso airport. We're now at the gate, waiting for the plane to arrive - I'm hopefully going to sleep all the way home. Pargey better be on time to pick us up!

Venice's Rialto Bridge

I slept better last night so getting up at twenty past eight wasn't too bad but after a quick breakfast, we were up and out and walked to the Gallerie dell'Accademia on the other side of the Grand Canal to see their extensive collection of Veroneses, Titians and Tintorettos. Unfortunately, their most famous painting, Giorgione's 'Tempest', is on temporary loan else where. We then walked along the Grand Canal until we reached the beautiful Peggy Guggenheim Collection - when we were here last year, the front was being renovated but it's been finished now so we got to go out there and play a bit of The Waving Game. We had lunch on the south side at a hotel where John Ruskin stayed on his Venetian visit although my sandwich was very disappointing - who puts mayonaise with mozzarella?! Headed back to St Mark's Square by water bus which took us under the Rialto Bridge as you can see above. Margey and I popped into the Basilica to see the fabulous mosaics before joining Sarah on the water front for an excellect peach juice. The sun was blazing so I now have a bit of sun burn as well as a terrible heat rash on my chest. Bad times. The Margey Mooley has also got a bit of sun burn but we really didn't think it was going to be this hot so we didn't bring any suncream with us! Tonight we've had a lovely meal - I had gnocchi and then escalope Milanese with the amazing rosemary roast potatos. YUM. Did the obligatory dance in St Mark's to the cafe orchestras and now we're about to go to sleep, ready for our last day!

Venice from the Campanile

Today we got up early and had a lovely breakfast at the hotel - I went for the bread rolls with various cheeses, Margey had yoghurt and a croissant and Fatty BoomBoom had yoghurt and bread with blackcurrant jam but at the rate she ate the jam, there won't be any tomorrow! To beat the tourist queues, we went up the Campanile first to see this amazing view over Venice. Due to its height and location, you can't actually see any of the many canals from the top. FACT. I was the map reader today and managed to get us over to the Ca' d'Oro which houses a magnificent art collection and was a great place to play the waving game from. The Waving Game began when I was in Venice with university last year and is basically waving at the people on the water buses until they wave back! Not exactly rocket science but it's really enjoyable when people wave back and it always makes them smile. Simple things please simple minds! We grabbed some lunch on our way to the old Jewish Ghetto and then wandered through all the tiny alleyways to get to the Rialto bridge. We have been really lucky with the weather again today and me and Margey have got little red noses from the sun! Hopefully tomorrow will be the same.... Unfortunately, my flat little black shoes have been rubbing my feet so I've had to resort back to the dreaded Birkenstocks that were the only pair of shoes I wore for the five weeks we were in Italy last year. Needless to say, they smell!

Venice - the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Square

We woke up extremely early this morning so Pargey could drop me, Sarah and the Marger off at Stanstead for half five so we could get in a full day in Venice. Our flight was on time and I slept the whole way which I normally don't do but if anything, it made me more tired! We didn't fly directly into Venice but to an airport that is 30 minutes away so we had to catch a coach. After the coach, we got on the water bus from the station and headed to our hotel. It's 30 seconds away from San Marco so in a great location for getting around and eating. For lunch, I went for the tourist menu of a nearby restaurant: lasagne to start followed by grilled chicken with lemon and chips. YUM. This afternoon we walked along the front until we left touristy Venice behind and found some real Venetians and a lovely park. Had a quick peach ice tea (the best foreign drink) before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. It wasn't great and for once, I disliked both my main course and my pudding. Quite rare for me but as usual, you can't go wrong with bruschetta as a starter!

Small crocodiles/alligators

After a great sleep, I had a very late breakfast and headed over to James'. They needed some more fish food so we all went over to the Japanese Koi Company in Henlow. I'm not a massive fan of fish - they don't terrify me like birds do but their scales and wigglyness creeps me out a bit. Laura wants a reptile for her flat so we looked at all the weird geckos and lizards - one actually jumped from its branch at Laura but it just hit the glass and slid down to the bottom of its cage thing. Two animals that I nearly missed were these two fellas - they were sitting really still and were the exact same colour as the bits of tree next to them! The rest of the day I have been packing for our trip to Venice tomorrow. We've got to get up at four in the morning so I'm off to bed now to catch some much needed zzz's!

A very long Easter Sunday

Yes, two Easter eggs! For the first time ever, James bought me one - neither him nor Margey could find my favourite, Guylian, so James went for a similar version and Margey got the classic Cadbury's milk chocolate one which comes with a great mug. I'm not a quick chocolate eater so both eggs will probably last me a whole month. Sarah has eaten her Mini Eggs one in less than twelve hours...... Got up nice and early this morning at Liz's and had some lovely tea and chats before James and Laura picked me up to go to their auntie's house. They have lots of family with young kids on that side and their Auntie Jenny has started to host an annual easter egg hunt. Unfortunately, we three, at 21 and 24, are considered too old to play but James took much pleasure in showing that he had spotted many on the way into the house so could have been the victor of the egg quest! After a lovely buffet lunch, I came home to get ready for my first shift of my new job after a tiny nap. I was so tired before it but that's nothing compared to what I am now! I was thrown in at the deep end, waitressing at a wedding but luckily no bar work. It was actually quite enjoyable but knackering, and I've got my next shift after this week's trip to Venice!

The Great British Seaside

Despite the weather forecast of winds and heavy rain, me and James got up early this morning and drove for two hours to get to Aldeburgh on the east coast. It tipped it down all the way there but just as we reached the outskirts, the sun broke through and it was glorious! Somehow we managed to get a good parking space and walked along the front where the beach is stoney but massive and you can see it behind James here. We popped into a pub for a quick drink and then got some amazing fish and chips. Can't beat some good English grub. Just as we were finishing eating, it began to rain again so we went back to the car and headed home. I've quickly got ready for tonight and I'm just waiting for the Ginn to pick me up. We're off round Liz's for some drinks and then off out in Bedford. Liz hasn't been home since Christmas so we need to make sure tonight's a good'un!

Rose's 18th Birthday

Today is Pezza's sister's 18th and here they both are looking delightful and slightly like twins! Pez invited us to the party and we've turned out in force - me, Em, Ginn, Shep, Liz and her friend Rosie from Brighton have pretty much taken over the living room. We're the oldest here apart from the adults but it's brilliant because we haven't been all together for ages! Me and Shep have been scaring each other with horrific horror stories, Ginn is pretty wasted as she has been drinking for about eight hours, Pez is steadily drinking more and more but seems perfectly sober. This is what good times are made from!

Ladies and cups of tea

Woke up extra early this morning as James had to go to work but it meant that I was awake and ready to do some nope dissertation. The words haven't been flowing well in the last few weeks but today I sat at the computer and bashed out a good 780 in a couple of hours. Well done me. Who knows if they're written well enough though?! I met the Ginn and Pezza at The Old Maltings (I should become a resident - twice in two days) and had a lovely cup of char. I finally remembered Pezza's birthday present and here she is holding it: a massive bottle of rum. Ginn, as usual, wanted to be in the picture - here she is with the tea pot, despite the fact that she had a coffee! Tonight, I've been to see 'Kick-Ass' at the cinema with James and it was actually rather good. McLovin' was brilliant as a baddie and that 19 year old who's with Sam Taylor-Wood did a great American accent. I went with quite low expectations but it is well worth a viewing!