Christmas Special 2009
December 2009, by Gini
2009 started with friends Jo & Shane from New Zealand traveling through London, who we then caught up with for a weekend in Paris. It never stops being wonderful and surreal meeting friends in amazing cities around the world. Paris was covered in snow, which always posed a good reason for red wine away from the cold but it did add an element of romance when walking through the manicured parks outside the Louvre and past the Eiffel tower. We said our goodbyes over an awesome dinner of steak and fites, until next time.
Snow day soon followed in February, which was just magical. The most it had snowed in London for 18 years! It snowed about 20cm deep which meant tubes and buses weren't able to run so work was cancelled for the day! A real snowday! We popped down to our local Queen's park and it was crazy how many people were out in force enjoying the day in the snow. It will be a hard day to match.
March brought the end of our tenancy at Fordwych Road with Lauren and Paul. It also marked one year in England! We all found great flats in North London - Islington. After only two weeks living in our new one bedroom flat on Drayton Park, Marcus and Jess from New Zealand landed in the UK for the start of their OE. No sooner had they landed we had taken off back to New Zealand for Jen (Tom's sister) and Dave's Wedding in Taupo. We took the long trip home as an opportunity to stop off in Japan for a week of mouth watering Ramen's, fresh Sushi, old temples and an amazing culture in general.
We stopped home for a full week which included our second engagement party, Nigel's 30th Dinner at La Citron, Jen & Dave's wedding in Taupo, which was stunning. We only had time for quick catchups with friends before we had to head back to our London life. The sun had started to come out in May so we explored our new area which included beautiful green parks and great restaurants in Islington. May also included Jo and Woody's wedding which was an English delight in the sun. It also brought over the Turner family, Mum and Dad, Graham and Lisa so we made the most of it and booked a greek villa for the family group and enjoyed the beach and greek food for a week. While I was away poor Tom stayed home as holiday leave didn't stretch that far and had to deal with calamities of our bathroom ceiling caving in over the bath. A month later and a few weeks living in a hotel all was back to normal. We also managed to do a few touristy things around London in the sun, Kew Gardens was lovely with all the colours out, Hampton court was just as good as the first time I went (when I was 6) Was London having a good summer?
June started with our new bikes and the notion to cycle to work in the summer, which was scary at first for me, and easy peesie for Tom. It opened up a whole new outlook on London and gave us the freedom to see a lot of the city which would have usually passed us by on the bus or being deep underground on the tube. The ride to work scheme paid off for me and Tom joined a very select group on a Brompton (very swish fold up bikes). TFL Transport for London website also introduced a cycle section which mapped out any route you wanted to take and gave you the safest and enjoyable ride possible. My journey to work takes about 25mins and Tom's takes 15mins (if he goes slow). I can safely say I never thought it would have been possible to bike or walk to work in the huge old city of London. It isn't such a big scary city after all! The bikes brought with them lots of flexibility and many weekend trips, one of which was to Hampstead Heath for a picnic and a brave dip in the ponds with Marcus and Jess. No chlorine here only ducks!
The summer months definitely had its hot days when we were able to meet Paul and Lauren in the middle of our flats on Highbury fields after work with fish and chips for an evening of sun and being outside. It also brought Sara and Luke over to our side of world from New Zealand on their big traveling trip around the globe. We only had enough time for a night at the theatre, The Lion King which was just fantastic with all its costumes and all the songs I still remembered!
I think we had our hottest day ever on the day of Toast, it didn't have the same vibe as Toast Martinborough but it was nice to be around fellow country people drinking great wine (beer for the boys) and listening to Dave Dobyn in the hot hot sun.
July was marked with tickets to Oasis concert at Wembly stadium, which was a first to huge stadium but a second for Oasis, and a first for Kasabian, who were just as good! Noel was looking a bit older since last we saw him separately in New Zealand back in the 90s.
Andy and Nicky arrived from Canada on their last leg home to New Zealand, which kicked started our summer holidays. Their first day in London started with fish and chips, the best we have had in London (it is a hard road finding the prefect fish & chops) but Rock & Sole Plaice, which James introduced us to has never disappointed.
August marked a few long weekends away such as Cinque Terre in Italy (Individual entry) with Andy & Nicky and Dave & Sonia which was just amazing, great walks along the coast, with hot weather and great swimming holes dotted around at each village. The second weekend over the bank holiday was with Jess and Marcus in the Lake District (individual entry) which was pure luxury in our B&B and surrounded with beautiful hills and greenery - a taste of home I would say.
I also managed to leave Tom home alone for a weekend trip to the Isle of Wright with two friends, Nat & Lisa and had kooky two days getting sun burnt and enjoying the beach - even had a dip! Later that month Tom managed to get tickets to one of his favourite groups - Massive Attack at brixton Academy which was just awesome, seeing all the members in action.
Early September started with our Croatian sailing trip with 10 friends from around the globe. We managed to get a slight tan for us! and had a lovely time in the sun with a rum and tonic or croatian beer for the boys in hand aboard our catamaran. Swimming at any chance and a spot of fishing - we caught a few!
We also celebrated Tom's journey to adulthood as he reached thirty, the BIG 30 over a dinner with a mixture of old New Zealand and new English friends near Brick Lane in London. Tom put his new tagine to good use with a range of dishes, his specialty the great Moroccan put it all in dish with James on his actual birthday deserves a mention, as does the sea bass from the local london fields market. October saw a few work events for me which always involved delicious canapés, fine champagne and art - what more could you ask for?! Work also had a conference in Oxford so I left Tom in London for another weekend for another city escape, which involved a fortune teller for Halloween! Stating I would be hot air ballooning sometime very soon! hmmmm.
November was a very busy work month for both of us, not really coming up for air until late December. So it made our Christmas functions that much more enjoyable to let loose a little. Clear Channel's party featured on the same night as Avatar premiere in Leicester Square on the 7th floor of the Penthouse club. We dressed to the hills in our best glits and glam outfits and partied with the ice vodka luge, I even walked away with the best dressed girl at the party! Two tickets to the theatre was a nice Christmas treat! The night also marked a high in my career as I was nominated as 'person of the year' within our company so my work hadn't gone unnoticed! which was really appreciated.
Tom's work function took place at our local favourite Albion pub in Barnsbury, with what I'm told was a great three course meal and fine wine from a country called New Zealand - very flash! The night got interesting with their secret santa's and lets just say someone got play dough as a present and didn't go home with any. I would say what was created could in some circles be conceded fine art. We both finished the year with nice lunches with clients, visiting London Christmas markets with mulled wine, mad shopping on Oxford st, experiencing a few days of snow, meeting our new flatmates and enjoying our last month in our cute flat.
The end of December brings if the snow keeps at bay, a week in Turkey with Marcus and Jess.. Fingers crossed!
Back to work on January the 4th but only briefly before we are off skiing it up large in Austria, our first snow trip in Europe! So in conclusion our second year in England has been a great one, and still there is more fun to be had!
So, bring on 2010! the tennies? hmmm needs a bit of work.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Be safe.
G
Snow day soon followed in February, which was just magical. The most it had snowed in London for 18 years! It snowed about 20cm deep which meant tubes and buses weren't able to run so work was cancelled for the day! A real snowday! We popped down to our local Queen's park and it was crazy how many people were out in force enjoying the day in the snow. It will be a hard day to match.
March brought the end of our tenancy at Fordwych Road with Lauren and Paul. It also marked one year in England! We all found great flats in North London - Islington. After only two weeks living in our new one bedroom flat on Drayton Park, Marcus and Jess from New Zealand landed in the UK for the start of their OE. No sooner had they landed we had taken off back to New Zealand for Jen (Tom's sister) and Dave's Wedding in Taupo. We took the long trip home as an opportunity to stop off in Japan for a week of mouth watering Ramen's, fresh Sushi, old temples and an amazing culture in general.
We stopped home for a full week which included our second engagement party, Nigel's 30th Dinner at La Citron, Jen & Dave's wedding in Taupo, which was stunning. We only had time for quick catchups with friends before we had to head back to our London life. The sun had started to come out in May so we explored our new area which included beautiful green parks and great restaurants in Islington. May also included Jo and Woody's wedding which was an English delight in the sun. It also brought over the Turner family, Mum and Dad, Graham and Lisa so we made the most of it and booked a greek villa for the family group and enjoyed the beach and greek food for a week. While I was away poor Tom stayed home as holiday leave didn't stretch that far and had to deal with calamities of our bathroom ceiling caving in over the bath. A month later and a few weeks living in a hotel all was back to normal. We also managed to do a few touristy things around London in the sun, Kew Gardens was lovely with all the colours out, Hampton court was just as good as the first time I went (when I was 6) Was London having a good summer?
June started with our new bikes and the notion to cycle to work in the summer, which was scary at first for me, and easy peesie for Tom. It opened up a whole new outlook on London and gave us the freedom to see a lot of the city which would have usually passed us by on the bus or being deep underground on the tube. The ride to work scheme paid off for me and Tom joined a very select group on a Brompton (very swish fold up bikes). TFL Transport for London website also introduced a cycle section which mapped out any route you wanted to take and gave you the safest and enjoyable ride possible. My journey to work takes about 25mins and Tom's takes 15mins (if he goes slow). I can safely say I never thought it would have been possible to bike or walk to work in the huge old city of London. It isn't such a big scary city after all! The bikes brought with them lots of flexibility and many weekend trips, one of which was to Hampstead Heath for a picnic and a brave dip in the ponds with Marcus and Jess. No chlorine here only ducks!
The summer months definitely had its hot days when we were able to meet Paul and Lauren in the middle of our flats on Highbury fields after work with fish and chips for an evening of sun and being outside. It also brought Sara and Luke over to our side of world from New Zealand on their big traveling trip around the globe. We only had enough time for a night at the theatre, The Lion King which was just fantastic with all its costumes and all the songs I still remembered!
I think we had our hottest day ever on the day of Toast, it didn't have the same vibe as Toast Martinborough but it was nice to be around fellow country people drinking great wine (beer for the boys) and listening to Dave Dobyn in the hot hot sun.
July was marked with tickets to Oasis concert at Wembly stadium, which was a first to huge stadium but a second for Oasis, and a first for Kasabian, who were just as good! Noel was looking a bit older since last we saw him separately in New Zealand back in the 90s.
Andy and Nicky arrived from Canada on their last leg home to New Zealand, which kicked started our summer holidays. Their first day in London started with fish and chips, the best we have had in London (it is a hard road finding the prefect fish & chops) but Rock & Sole Plaice, which James introduced us to has never disappointed.
August marked a few long weekends away such as Cinque Terre in Italy (Individual entry) with Andy & Nicky and Dave & Sonia which was just amazing, great walks along the coast, with hot weather and great swimming holes dotted around at each village. The second weekend over the bank holiday was with Jess and Marcus in the Lake District (individual entry) which was pure luxury in our B&B and surrounded with beautiful hills and greenery - a taste of home I would say.
I also managed to leave Tom home alone for a weekend trip to the Isle of Wright with two friends, Nat & Lisa and had kooky two days getting sun burnt and enjoying the beach - even had a dip! Later that month Tom managed to get tickets to one of his favourite groups - Massive Attack at brixton Academy which was just awesome, seeing all the members in action.
Early September started with our Croatian sailing trip with 10 friends from around the globe. We managed to get a slight tan for us! and had a lovely time in the sun with a rum and tonic or croatian beer for the boys in hand aboard our catamaran. Swimming at any chance and a spot of fishing - we caught a few!
We also celebrated Tom's journey to adulthood as he reached thirty, the BIG 30 over a dinner with a mixture of old New Zealand and new English friends near Brick Lane in London. Tom put his new tagine to good use with a range of dishes, his specialty the great Moroccan put it all in dish with James on his actual birthday deserves a mention, as does the sea bass from the local london fields market. October saw a few work events for me which always involved delicious canapés, fine champagne and art - what more could you ask for?! Work also had a conference in Oxford so I left Tom in London for another weekend for another city escape, which involved a fortune teller for Halloween! Stating I would be hot air ballooning sometime very soon! hmmmm.
November was a very busy work month for both of us, not really coming up for air until late December. So it made our Christmas functions that much more enjoyable to let loose a little. Clear Channel's party featured on the same night as Avatar premiere in Leicester Square on the 7th floor of the Penthouse club. We dressed to the hills in our best glits and glam outfits and partied with the ice vodka luge, I even walked away with the best dressed girl at the party! Two tickets to the theatre was a nice Christmas treat! The night also marked a high in my career as I was nominated as 'person of the year' within our company so my work hadn't gone unnoticed! which was really appreciated.
Tom's work function took place at our local favourite Albion pub in Barnsbury, with what I'm told was a great three course meal and fine wine from a country called New Zealand - very flash! The night got interesting with their secret santa's and lets just say someone got play dough as a present and didn't go home with any. I would say what was created could in some circles be conceded fine art. We both finished the year with nice lunches with clients, visiting London Christmas markets with mulled wine, mad shopping on Oxford st, experiencing a few days of snow, meeting our new flatmates and enjoying our last month in our cute flat.
The end of December brings if the snow keeps at bay, a week in Turkey with Marcus and Jess.. Fingers crossed!
Back to work on January the 4th but only briefly before we are off skiing it up large in Austria, our first snow trip in Europe! So in conclusion our second year in England has been a great one, and still there is more fun to be had!
So, bring on 2010! the tennies? hmmm needs a bit of work.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Be safe.
G
Queens Park
Where is he?
March: Our leaving day, bye bye fordwych and flatties!
100 metres down the road from us
Turkish delight for little guy
Our local church, just stunning
and it keeps going
Highbury fields walk through, another local park
Peacock! just inspiring
Oasis at Wembly Stadium, awesome!
Ting Tings at Somerset House with Paul & Lauren
Work mates in the front, old school friends at the back
October: Seabass from London field market and tagine!
Delete Christmas: Merry Christmas!
