tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14724319168394589952024-02-07T05:19:46.037-08:00i moved to londonkate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-16915114595638266422011-07-03T21:15:00.001-07:002011-07-03T21:27:13.017-07:00one year, one hell of a run<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZ34A09aB2M0x8lPTcEWXmWInvY4zXI9MVHjGcvTwNXTmZTf_8_ABucyDGX3WgnPOotcHOl9Zx5Yq-Fq2orERvec4Ph5WJaP6SffpZlkTFVwnmQ_eA8R-xmYK6rhwDMVOHXbQaIuD3l6w/s1600/IMG_0220.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" >Well yesterday marked one year since I took off to London. This year, instead, I ran a half marathon. I wonder what I'll do next year..</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >I did pretty well. I ran 21.8km in 1:53 and came 19th for my age group, which I'm pretty happy/F*&KING ECSTATIC with. I then rewarded myself with some homebrew and a few jugs of amber at the pub.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >But alack now I am on holidays, and bored out of my brains as I am not travelling this year. I have so far: cleaned my room, put clothes on ebay, read Jane Eyre, done a treasure hunt, played in a wheelchair, trained for a marathon, completed a marathon, fixed my slr, gotten into photography, baked a cake, bought petrol, quit two jobs, got four more jobs, planned next holiday, and finished my London scrapbook, AND I'M STILL BORED. SIGH. Time to start my novel..</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Assorted photos without captions:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZ34A09aB2M0x8lPTcEWXmWInvY4zXI9MVHjGcvTwNXTmZTf_8_ABucyDGX3WgnPOotcHOl9Zx5Yq-Fq2orERvec4Ph5WJaP6SffpZlkTFVwnmQ_eA8R-xmYK6rhwDMVOHXbQaIuD3l6w/s1600/IMG_0220.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZ34A09aB2M0x8lPTcEWXmWInvY4zXI9MVHjGcvTwNXTmZTf_8_ABucyDGX3WgnPOotcHOl9Zx5Yq-Fq2orERvec4Ph5WJaP6SffpZlkTFVwnmQ_eA8R-xmYK6rhwDMVOHXbQaIuD3l6w/s320/IMG_0220.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625348881769473458" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJgsOE4nbtO8bxbfoPCGhqxId-R__IrQ2s0fnd_0m8mXGAulxNo1yok_qG4qaWy0jAN8PR-bQfMr-0QgWe6eKM5S42A0Sn4nX9_YQMRYMBDpibGNrlXdVwdhEV19ijIoNN3tRQGlBRVYP/s1600/IMG_0221.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJgsOE4nbtO8bxbfoPCGhqxId-R__IrQ2s0fnd_0m8mXGAulxNo1yok_qG4qaWy0jAN8PR-bQfMr-0QgWe6eKM5S42A0Sn4nX9_YQMRYMBDpibGNrlXdVwdhEV19ijIoNN3tRQGlBRVYP/s320/IMG_0221.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625348877611330002" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1Xog8CBffdmpEfezXDPpm2uBblVv8n_ZIbOOKJRDZKL7Xfn3IW1sEfqm2YJettQUMmlm4WMxK4nzNXSeYPTb3e79ILmTTq-Txql5o6tNjuIh1ezA4aw5tlO2PiPIFjzKsoVlvqxq0UAN/s1600/IMG_0228.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1Xog8CBffdmpEfezXDPpm2uBblVv8n_ZIbOOKJRDZKL7Xfn3IW1sEfqm2YJettQUMmlm4WMxK4nzNXSeYPTb3e79ILmTTq-Txql5o6tNjuIh1ezA4aw5tlO2PiPIFjzKsoVlvqxq0UAN/s320/IMG_0228.PNG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625348863188723586" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdM0MT9b1__i3l7Bz3jP-CDByJWzW6FwYOTvT3n_vjdvz7qFptOY7k127052uout-nOXN-IWCe9B0Gj8GVgjUwJxctgeohCf3CrI3QMua-f_aiXB8BrDvfFBxIO5ArPuEom56FVrRTX7u/s1600/IMG_0260.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdM0MT9b1__i3l7Bz3jP-CDByJWzW6FwYOTvT3n_vjdvz7qFptOY7k127052uout-nOXN-IWCe9B0Gj8GVgjUwJxctgeohCf3CrI3QMua-f_aiXB8BrDvfFBxIO5ArPuEom56FVrRTX7u/s320/IMG_0260.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625348168168588498" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoqgIe8n65_z1zJE5qVfmqLOL_93YdZoTvXAjDNhCQ0HCKwTVUvvuIPOJBwE0B4z_Cb8Hva9f0UJWrxQL1aCNdrPoWuRdhZmDnDrovYB7Zj-_SVRINzXO6pG-A2RmtoNf4wDuNPAtVcdL/s1600/IMG_0205.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoqgIe8n65_z1zJE5qVfmqLOL_93YdZoTvXAjDNhCQ0HCKwTVUvvuIPOJBwE0B4z_Cb8Hva9f0UJWrxQL1aCNdrPoWuRdhZmDnDrovYB7Zj-_SVRINzXO6pG-A2RmtoNf4wDuNPAtVcdL/s320/IMG_0205.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625348164609737282" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjght6EpT4ZUCKzLt-AB9I0PjLkM59mbqtkMoxFAWiExrz_o9V2HbFYEqc_n_W2wtAGYV4M0CSPoFc5Bh6RX5Y3Bb2lW-LVqip6n0fsq-XxbgES8bkPpn0OTH8W8KMMFRZPH_p3tzMcT81k/s1600/IMG_0026.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjght6EpT4ZUCKzLt-AB9I0PjLkM59mbqtkMoxFAWiExrz_o9V2HbFYEqc_n_W2wtAGYV4M0CSPoFc5Bh6RX5Y3Bb2lW-LVqip6n0fsq-XxbgES8bkPpn0OTH8W8KMMFRZPH_p3tzMcT81k/s320/IMG_0026.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625348153133542690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn57I0eS4wl7xp6q6WmW9TSQuCE9Twm_MTy5cUk33WYxZEYRV4h0suqQrxl4Xt_NB8Q4oidDqmwk56Rpu86kGf3XdryJpMevXOwuCRHQSkworur7rYYfYSFM-WLCaqRaWLkvXS9FLqW6g/s1600/252985_115696685183947_108404649246484_143076_4209113_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn57I0eS4wl7xp6q6WmW9TSQuCE9Twm_MTy5cUk33WYxZEYRV4h0suqQrxl4Xt_NB8Q4oidDqmwk56Rpu86kGf3XdryJpMevXOwuCRHQSkworur7rYYfYSFM-WLCaqRaWLkvXS9FLqW6g/s320/252985_115696685183947_108404649246484_143076_4209113_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625348150998760930" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hdGfeVqO2ZkmPabwTMhSg9PVd005d8jxzcFnlt-e2Wnyy83esp-am08iO3-XGp20tmdg66bu2R7fKNzs4YWMpRJultfkCCJbP7_0UE_RZCO6aB_mAoJbF8FxihihQeb1LxKT3keGpxcM/s1600/251342_115696601850622_108404649246484_143074_2243304_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hdGfeVqO2ZkmPabwTMhSg9PVd005d8jxzcFnlt-e2Wnyy83esp-am08iO3-XGp20tmdg66bu2R7fKNzs4YWMpRJultfkCCJbP7_0UE_RZCO6aB_mAoJbF8FxihihQeb1LxKT3keGpxcM/s320/251342_115696601850622_108404649246484_143074_2243304_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625348147265431442" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-72613380897436726142011-05-31T05:15:00.001-07:002011-05-31T05:24:41.264-07:00Love letters from Bernard: part 1 of 2 in a mini series<span class="Apple-style-span" >So, I've turned into the pathetic student that emails their middle aged business lecturer with ridiculous questions, and secretly admires his unique passion he possesses for quantitative research methods. This is a series of 8, part one. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; "><div class="gE iv gt" style="font-size: 13px; padding-left: 4px; padding-bottom: 3px; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 0px; "><br /><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 0px; width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td class="gF gK" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap; padding-right: 8px; vertical-align: top; width: 597px; padding-top: 0px; "><table cellpadding="0" class="cf ix" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; width: 597px; "><tbody><tr><td style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; "><div class="iw" style="overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; white-space: nowrap; "><span class="ik" style="vertical-align: top; position: relative; top: -1px; "><img width="16px" height="16px" class="c6 QrVm3d" id="upi" name="upi" jid="katefusspatrick@gmail.com" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif" style="width: 16px; height: 16px; background-image: url(https://mail.google.com/mail/images/2/icons_ns10.png); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 0px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; " /></span><span email="katefusspatrick@gmail.com" class="gD" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; white-space: nowrap; display: inline; vertical-align: top; color: rgb(0, 104, 28); ">Kate Fitzpatrick</span> <span class="hb" style="vertical-align: top; ">to <span email="b.mckenna@uq.edu.au" class="g2" style="vertical-align: top; ">b.mckenna</span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td class="gH" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top; "><div class="gK" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; "><span class="iD" idlink="" style="color: rgb(132, 170, 255); text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; ">show details</span> <span id=":4l" class="g3" title="10 May 2011 12:33" alt="10 May 2011 12:33" style="vertical-align: top; margin-right: 3px; ">10 May</span><span></span></div></td><td class="gH" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top; "></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="iF" style="font-size: medium; height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; clear: both; "></div><div class="utdU2e" style="font-size: medium; "></div><div class="QqXVeb" style="font-size: medium; "></div><div id=":4n" class="ii gt" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px; position: relative; z-index: 2; "><div id=":4o" style="font-size: 13px; ">Dear Bernard<br /><br />I am prepared to name my first-born child after you if you change our much anticipated COMU2030 exam from a Saturday to any other day.<br /><br />Yours in hope and research methods,<br /><span >Kate<br /></span><br />ps. I've attended all of the lectures and admire your charismatic approach to teaching.</div><div id=":4o" style="font-size: 13px; "><br /></div><div id=":4o" style="font-size: 13px; ">--</div><div id=":4o" style="font-size: 13px; "><br /></div><div id=":4o"><div class="gE iv gt" style="font-size: 13px; padding-left: 4px; padding-bottom: 3px; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 0px; "><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 0px; width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td class="gF gK" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap; padding-right: 8px; vertical-align: top; width: 597px; padding-top: 0px; "><table cellpadding="0" class="cf ix" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; width: 597px; "><tbody><tr><td style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; "><div class="iw" style="overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; white-space: nowrap; "><span email="b.mckenna@business.uq.edu.au" class="gD" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; white-space: nowrap; display: inline; vertical-align: top; color: rgb(91, 16, 148); ">Bernard McKenna</span> <span class="hb" style="vertical-align: top; ">to <span email="katefusspatrick@gmail.com" class="g2" style="vertical-align: top; ">me</span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td class="gH" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top; "><div class="gK" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; "><span class="iD" idlink="" style="color: rgb(132, 170, 255); text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; ">show details</span> <span id=":46" class="g3" title="10 May 2011 12:42" alt="10 May 2011 12:42" style="vertical-align: top; margin-right: 3px; ">10 May</span><span></span></div></td><td class="gH" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top; "></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="iF" style="font-size: medium; height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; clear: both; "></div><div class="utdU2e" style="font-size: medium; "></div><div class="QqXVeb" style="font-size: medium; "></div><div id=":48" class="ii gt" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px; position: relative; z-index: 2; "><div id=":49"><div lang="EN-AU" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Dear Kate</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">As deeply flattered as I am by your naming rights (there is currently a shortage of Bernards in Australia, but not in France, I might point out), I have to admit that even Associate Professors have no power in deciding exam dates. This should come as no surprise given that administrations always have more power than the practitioners (a point made evident when Joseph Stalin, the head of the Soviet bureaucracy after Lenin’s death in 1924 beat the head of the Red Army, Leon Trotsky to lead the USSR).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Golly, you must have something important on that Saturday!! Playing for Australia … a wedding … an elopement … an appearance on Master Chef ??</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Your “humble[d]” lecturer (sadly unable to comply)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Bernard</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">--</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "></span></span></p><div class="gE iv gt" style="font-size: 13px; padding-left: 4px; padding-bottom: 3px; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 0px; "><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 0px; width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td class="gF gK" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap; padding-right: 8px; vertical-align: top; width: 597px; padding-top: 0px; "><table cellpadding="0" class="cf ix" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; width: 597px; "><tbody><tr><td style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; "><div class="iw" style="overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; white-space: nowrap; "><span class="ik" style="vertical-align: top; position: relative; top: -1px; "><img width="16px" height="16px" class="c6 QrVm3d" id="upi" name="upi" jid="katefusspatrick@gmail.com" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif" style="width: 16px; height: 16px; background-image: url(https://mail.google.com/mail/images/2/icons_ns10.png); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 0px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; " /></span><span email="katefusspatrick@gmail.com" class="gD" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; white-space: nowrap; display: inline; vertical-align: top; color: rgb(0, 104, 28); ">Kate Fitzpatrick</span> <span class="hb" style="vertical-align: top; ">to <span email="b.mckenna@business.uq.edu.au" class="g2" style="vertical-align: top; ">Bernard</span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td class="gH" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top; "><div class="gK" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; "><span class="iD" idlink="" style="color: rgb(132, 170, 255); text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; ">show details</span> <span id=":37" class="g3" title="10 May 2011 12:59" alt="10 May 2011 12:59" style="vertical-align: top; margin-right: 3px; ">10 May</span><span></span></div></td><td class="gH" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top; "></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="iF" style="font-size: medium; height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; clear: both; "></div><div class="utdU2e" style="font-size: medium; "></div><div class="QqXVeb" style="font-size: medium; "></div><div id=":39" class="ii gt" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px; position: relative; z-index: 2; "><div id=":3a" style="font-size: 13px; ">Though the ideas of an elopement or an appearance on Masterchef are truly enticing, I was hoping to work at the Ipswich Races, and provide the respectable punters of Brisbane with beer and wine. I would have happily shouted you a pint and had a big old chin wag about the epistemological relevance of hats and gloves at the races, however now I simply cannot.<br /><br />Ah I suppose it's like you said. Many of us humble BCommunications students will actually end up as administrators or policy writers one day, who will ironically have more power than all you wonderful ripened and cerebal associate professors. Such is life.<br /><br />I suppose I'll have to resort to my original naming idea, "Patrick Fitzpatrick"<br /><br />Your adoring fan,<br /><span >Kate<br /><br /></span></div><div id=":3a"><span ><span class="Apple-style-span" >---</span></span></div><div id=":3a"><span ><span class="Apple-style-span" ></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-size: 15px; ">I lose a pint and a chat, you lose a day’s wages, and your as-yet unborn child awaits a lifetime of ridicule because of a name.<br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-size: 15px; "><br />Life truly is tough.<br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-size: 15px; ">Best<br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-size: 15px; ">Bernard<br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-size: 15px; "><br /></span></div><div id=":3a"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-size: 15px; ">---</span></div></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span></span></p><div class="im"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(80, 0, 80); font-size: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; ">Aaah Bernard, you cheeky bastard you. The clever old fool you are even managed to slip in a Trotsky reference. One day I wish to be a witty sandstone academic with a nonchalant attitude to fashions of the day and ideals of beauty, like yourself. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; ">Forever yours,</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; ">K</span></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></span></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-74480289338784944982011-05-26T05:18:00.000-07:002011-05-26T05:28:30.125-07:00Letters to Opera<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqH5EhxnTIvQ6aCd87T6WFTDjmO60Lg2e5qucL2Gia6mH53_kPYcpgRImbdURCuq63RU-JcLtrVdIRUunBluktYy5hxZHACYfhLQ4w8jFx-sfGp-DIZXJv0OiZo_JaIPME4y-L-cco2VNj/s1600/oprah04.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Today is a sad day for students, stay-at-home mums, dole-bludgers, and generally anyone else who has grown to love tacky daytime television. Yes, it marked Oprah's last show. Maybe the rapture really is coming...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >To mark this sad day, a Norweigan IT company Opera <a href="http://my.opera.com/chooseopera/blog/2011/05/25/oprah-winfrey-we-will-miss-you">published a selection of emails</a> they have received over the years from people complaining or opening up and telling them about their lives, mistaking them for "Oprah". I highly commend them on their efforts to assist the writers with their myriad and slightly concerning issues. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqH5EhxnTIvQ6aCd87T6WFTDjmO60Lg2e5qucL2Gia6mH53_kPYcpgRImbdURCuq63RU-JcLtrVdIRUunBluktYy5hxZHACYfhLQ4w8jFx-sfGp-DIZXJv0OiZo_JaIPME4y-L-cco2VNj/s1600/oprah04.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqH5EhxnTIvQ6aCd87T6WFTDjmO60Lg2e5qucL2Gia6mH53_kPYcpgRImbdURCuq63RU-JcLtrVdIRUunBluktYy5hxZHACYfhLQ4w8jFx-sfGp-DIZXJv0OiZo_JaIPME4y-L-cco2VNj/s400/oprah04.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611000398366129122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 122px; " /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOdE0p7ffUkl4e1ZWk7Q3cM0dNf-C-Am9jVUJ3sZNK7y_Ic6YHtPQtmsLj0uAV4hRBKb9qiZNOxvhHO39c_cOZQfKcxvmFiJV4A3ZvIgPWbsA3yWk7fzkKlI6RacQubTaEozx4Y-kjySy/s1600/oprah03.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOdE0p7ffUkl4e1ZWk7Q3cM0dNf-C-Am9jVUJ3sZNK7y_Ic6YHtPQtmsLj0uAV4hRBKb9qiZNOxvhHO39c_cOZQfKcxvmFiJV4A3ZvIgPWbsA3yWk7fzkKlI6RacQubTaEozx4Y-kjySy/s1600/oprah03.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOdE0p7ffUkl4e1ZWk7Q3cM0dNf-C-Am9jVUJ3sZNK7y_Ic6YHtPQtmsLj0uAV4hRBKb9qiZNOxvhHO39c_cOZQfKcxvmFiJV4A3ZvIgPWbsA3yWk7fzkKlI6RacQubTaEozx4Y-kjySy/s400/oprah03.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611000396345860338" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 295px; " /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftMBZ2jcovK2_B6yjd3x7zwWoj35mdOdlK3tFYl08DE5TzkyNaHWICO1PJ9tG5ciHFLSKSG9J_K6mNZqvMLT369ySvPHSzauNdpuBYroqASAYRMz7lrQSR7VvLudFGwwbl5t8SkXTmLyB/s1600/oprah02.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftMBZ2jcovK2_B6yjd3x7zwWoj35mdOdlK3tFYl08DE5TzkyNaHWICO1PJ9tG5ciHFLSKSG9J_K6mNZqvMLT369ySvPHSzauNdpuBYroqASAYRMz7lrQSR7VvLudFGwwbl5t8SkXTmLyB/s1600/oprah02.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftMBZ2jcovK2_B6yjd3x7zwWoj35mdOdlK3tFYl08DE5TzkyNaHWICO1PJ9tG5ciHFLSKSG9J_K6mNZqvMLT369ySvPHSzauNdpuBYroqASAYRMz7lrQSR7VvLudFGwwbl5t8SkXTmLyB/s400/oprah02.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611000392949414658" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px; " /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX01KrQjivr_-lgpq7ok_RQyG-ZDBWfo8tkFvkxon9-odyBc4Ndko1bgiZQHI5sEBtOfAz69PA5MSzCu3m1soLve4AKQ0awz1MnoQC7MRB_BML1ArNWMheqL2npSKvsZPU1TW9Wl7DIYCk/s1600/oprah01.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX01KrQjivr_-lgpq7ok_RQyG-ZDBWfo8tkFvkxon9-odyBc4Ndko1bgiZQHI5sEBtOfAz69PA5MSzCu3m1soLve4AKQ0awz1MnoQC7MRB_BML1ArNWMheqL2npSKvsZPU1TW9Wl7DIYCk/s1600/oprah01.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX01KrQjivr_-lgpq7ok_RQyG-ZDBWfo8tkFvkxon9-odyBc4Ndko1bgiZQHI5sEBtOfAz69PA5MSzCu3m1soLve4AKQ0awz1MnoQC7MRB_BML1ArNWMheqL2npSKvsZPU1TW9Wl7DIYCk/s400/oprah01.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611000389571786146" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 230px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Goodbye, Oprah. And thanks for the memories.</span></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-80466063210401592322011-05-24T04:31:00.000-07:002011-05-24T05:20:23.608-07:00Back to Bristits<div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum"><br />So in quintessential “Kate Fitzpatrick” style, I ran out of money, got evicted, surprisingly didn’t loose my job, but still lost enough to have to come home to never-changing, recently-flooded <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Brisbane</st1:place></st1:city>.<br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; "><br />But I didn’t come back on ‘just any old day’. Nay, friends. I changed my <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">entire</b> travel plans to arrive on a certain special person’s 15<sup>th</sup> birthday and jump out of a suitcase to surprise them, not telling any of my dear close friends that I was returning in order to keep the surprise a secret. Brilliant idea right? Unfoilable. Ingenius. I should work in government. Until I jumped out of the suitcase, blasting my vuvuzela, shrieking my return to the far corners of Manly West, to a less than impressive audience. The birthday boy, as it turns out, had just fallen off the jetty and needed medical assistance, rather than 3000 decibels of racket boring into his skull and destroying what few brain cells remain.</span></p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzfG9x1loQGYS0SHdp_5Ugceukh24OFDoNoUnCQeNg0PQeEw_IaX9_2apdS6ZALuDNQhLf-SXp8tIFhPjq3OA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; "><o:p> </o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; ">But after medical assistance, things went back to normal and I’ve pretty much adopted the same routine as I had before, from poaching two eggs on toast 9:30am every morning to seeing the same regulars on the waterfront running each evening.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; "><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42dTVr5FKZKRgP2sCx-7nDCeIlY0RioX-G2yJlslKgviQpBGCADpeaupd7h87pP59lpWaJ39FFsNzWWXI4S2STUBjG5dtuobOnsglKfMMOPuU3AGC13qPP-ZyuPDES4N59hneDKle8rUb/s1600/of+pots+and+schooners+022.JPG" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); " onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42dTVr5FKZKRgP2sCx-7nDCeIlY0RioX-G2yJlslKgviQpBGCADpeaupd7h87pP59lpWaJ39FFsNzWWXI4S2STUBjG5dtuobOnsglKfMMOPuU3AGC13qPP-ZyuPDES4N59hneDKle8rUb/s320/of+pots+and+schooners+022.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610253182477788130" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >Still the same old leagsie</span></i></div></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2023uxA7ZIsqF7ij9tRtdHdXGSctbKqTO9XK3jU-qJXm1yiHDvBlpSSr-WfOx52pPbwOIaqR1Sjq_EdlRxCYRS4tYz-YV6qM0T_HPFYieZWqdfCe_2ZlABSoYwzMZM6jZFygGGyYttAr/s1600/IMGP0352.JPG" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); " onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2023uxA7ZIsqF7ij9tRtdHdXGSctbKqTO9XK3jU-qJXm1yiHDvBlpSSr-WfOx52pPbwOIaqR1Sjq_EdlRxCYRS4tYz-YV6qM0T_HPFYieZWqdfCe_2ZlABSoYwzMZM6jZFygGGyYttAr/s320/IMGP0352.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610253175043275954" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px; " /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Harry, you could have your own gorgeous middle class brunette Kate...</span></div></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" ></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i><br /></i></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAG6K5Axo3JnUk1Da4pBUEcXtVJS67jtUnQCyeZJcA5hRb8yobkUSpdbPxcbn0sEVR-IJku2ugy_s987OYypW25mwGLdKhepCelBa26jNPQE8skuL-ECZQARn5OmHKlHjc9o2a3x2b02Q/s1600/IMG_0038.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAG6K5Axo3JnUk1Da4pBUEcXtVJS67jtUnQCyeZJcA5hRb8yobkUSpdbPxcbn0sEVR-IJku2ugy_s987OYypW25mwGLdKhepCelBa26jNPQE8skuL-ECZQARn5OmHKlHjc9o2a3x2b02Q/s320/IMG_0038.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610253170838731986" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>He's not actually taller yet, he's standing on a box</i></span></div></span></span></a><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxt-PiDokY1g2hHIkxuTXyAwm8p-uKdsTXRILH19FRajUj64GQCHQ2IrVbBd3SmUtGbCYtNi02r41QLBgqcwNJiWfNB_snW1a15ne406YinIuxyOgW2aoqt8BhVv7YVQVmikw0kXZlhaP2/s320/IMGP0323.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610253167128517986" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " /></span></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >More silly cakes....</span></i></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; ">After much deliberation about uni – was so confused I even went to two universities for a couple of weeks until I made a decision – I’ve decided to do the exact same thing as I was before. I’ve also got another job at another pub. Surprisingly, it’s lasted more than a month. PB!!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; "><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; ">I’m also interning at an ad agency at <st1:place st="on">West End</st1:place> which is such fun/good experience. So between all that, zumba, personal training, pretending to be a masterchef apprentice, and being a regular at a pub 40 minutes away from me, I’ve hardly had time to scratch myself. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkm1m1iDA9mGK9vwPfz8y8oHca9On41QpYQlLU9xGrJ5P0nNce_4IpPOlTBssJdt_4NvCtnT6RsBenn-9Lk_nuIaQQCQXuxXA685MzeKVO902gJ28T0l3lqMVsFarPLBdB2GlbiKMwmMU/s1600/of+pots+and+schooners+001.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkm1m1iDA9mGK9vwPfz8y8oHca9On41QpYQlLU9xGrJ5P0nNce_4IpPOlTBssJdt_4NvCtnT6RsBenn-9Lk_nuIaQQCQXuxXA685MzeKVO902gJ28T0l3lqMVsFarPLBdB2GlbiKMwmMU/s320/of+pots+and+schooners+001.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610253190770012130" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>One of my masterpieces for the internship.</i></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42dTVr5FKZKRgP2sCx-7nDCeIlY0RioX-G2yJlslKgviQpBGCADpeaupd7h87pP59lpWaJ39FFsNzWWXI4S2STUBjG5dtuobOnsglKfMMOPuU3AGC13qPP-ZyuPDES4N59hneDKle8rUb/s1600/of+pots+and+schooners+022.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >So although it's nice to be back amongst fresh linen and 2ply toilet paper, I do miss Camden's crazy pubs and living in poverty, but living in London. Still, I've got the Royal Exchange, the Royal George, the Elephant & Wheelbarrow, a Citigroup, an Oxford Street, and even a Royal Mail of my own. It's not quite the same, but it will have to do.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-78747570410622350632011-01-01T03:22:00.000-08:002011-01-01T03:34:23.173-08:00bah, humbug!<div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Ah Christmas time. When for once a year, it is okay to eat 500g of chocolate a day, because it’s a gift, and it would be rude not to. When Londoner’s briefly drop their cold uncaring demeanours to wrangle their faces into a unnatural smile and wish each other “Merry Christmas”. When all people, regardless of their religious beliefs (or lack thereof), gather to celebrate a child that was born amongst animals over 2000 years ago and not even on the same day.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">And we only do this <i>once</i> a year?!?!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">For the first time I was not celebrating Christmas with my family in typical Shitspatrick style: home made potato salad, backyard cricket, and gifts of unwanted stationary items. Nay, I am in the country that birthed the Christmas spirit itself. My twelve days of Christmas consisted of figs, snow, blizzards, carollers, <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Regent Street</st1:address></st1:street> lights, pub crawls, chocolate, Harrod’s, Sunday roasts, and the Walkabout (not typically in the Christmas custom but nevertheless worth a mention). My Christmas day itself was the best; from the moment I awoke at 2am to skype the family to when I stomached the last morsel of food my body could take before imploding at 2am, it was indeed a merry Christmas. I and the Motley Crew of assorted ex-pats I celebrated with cooked up quite a filling (and BMI tripling) TEN COURSE MEAL. I bet you’re rolling your eyes, scoffing. “Ten courses? As if!” you scorn boorishly. Many didn’t believe it could be done, but alas, friends, countrymen, romans, look and you will find the truth:<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgUpw_9oS6J35btjbIkEFEXPFaCNMzRudbdk61kxMUWif5OE7EnahWtyFI2gqQwqptgL1VFrJSCIWx1L4Y4dwtE6oDmzcc0JCWuOlc0OlmFwiC4GpsVyyVmWLos_sJiKozBKQocaAB_RE/s1600/xmas10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgUpw_9oS6J35btjbIkEFEXPFaCNMzRudbdk61kxMUWif5OE7EnahWtyFI2gqQwqptgL1VFrJSCIWx1L4Y4dwtE6oDmzcc0JCWuOlc0OlmFwiC4GpsVyyVmWLos_sJiKozBKQocaAB_RE/s320/xmas10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557177873009391602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4naGePAXw-0Epx91GJTRbPUZeDj5uBnta9Wi4nT-es4prRbyvfoyUc5XhnvnqWfRVUg00gvP1rn2N2f7Wt2zodwC9icMQgcHOgX0clY8Ksi2YOUsPbXcip0xYIK5cez-nzeUNLzDy-Qm/s1600/xmas09.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4naGePAXw-0Epx91GJTRbPUZeDj5uBnta9Wi4nT-es4prRbyvfoyUc5XhnvnqWfRVUg00gvP1rn2N2f7Wt2zodwC9icMQgcHOgX0clY8Ksi2YOUsPbXcip0xYIK5cez-nzeUNLzDy-Qm/s320/xmas09.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557177868128114114" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7fZMgAUVz5TbVGfPgVfrAOdfKt3EMazWY_xGOOErcRa5sb6gYvLxhPx3_8t1TCXzeDre3vzXoadIVxQegSWlwJ3cgfw79HiLmPq-_DHliDDSVl4lW0qp33S-Vs8sjoAOwsgUUqZJk-cz/s1600/xmas05.jpg"></a><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Course One: fancy pasta of some sort and eggnog<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Course Two: Soup soup that tasty soup soup<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Course Three: Meat pie<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Course Four: Vege pie<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Course Five: Mandatory turkey and green salad<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Course Six: something....<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Course Seven and Eight: More birds........and tequila shots<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Course Nine and Ten: Trifle and chocolate pudding<o:p></o:p></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7fZMgAUVz5TbVGfPgVfrAOdfKt3EMazWY_xGOOErcRa5sb6gYvLxhPx3_8t1TCXzeDre3vzXoadIVxQegSWlwJ3cgfw79HiLmPq-_DHliDDSVl4lW0qp33S-Vs8sjoAOwsgUUqZJk-cz/s1600/xmas05.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7fZMgAUVz5TbVGfPgVfrAOdfKt3EMazWY_xGOOErcRa5sb6gYvLxhPx3_8t1TCXzeDre3vzXoadIVxQegSWlwJ3cgfw79HiLmPq-_DHliDDSVl4lW0qp33S-Vs8sjoAOwsgUUqZJk-cz/s320/xmas05.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557177861844121282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-IeZAk7i75hxkbfYs8WH1P7MgckRHFkGhgdsAcIqQo2nCViHnE_6NUpMt-hlkPOmsL21UxCV2p9qFCxkgRl42JS7KLStZ5q56LdzQHP2mZ62LYQnc_ksjFoJXoDYxUocFIICjZzvnQXRO/s1600/xmas03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-IeZAk7i75hxkbfYs8WH1P7MgckRHFkGhgdsAcIqQo2nCViHnE_6NUpMt-hlkPOmsL21UxCV2p9qFCxkgRl42JS7KLStZ5q56LdzQHP2mZ62LYQnc_ksjFoJXoDYxUocFIICjZzvnQXRO/s320/xmas03.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557177858679421762" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAbv8GJG8PUBwGd904rpwyTamSZsaTiMJOsS043IYDE2K4dWcX07_CVBlBm0VCxusXA3DFTFMcvahmCY305WnfypUdmdeHenu5npUw1IyKORhKBYCSCd3uXf8j_NAoRIFxUUHGJAXWiAG/s1600/xmas01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAbv8GJG8PUBwGd904rpwyTamSZsaTiMJOsS043IYDE2K4dWcX07_CVBlBm0VCxusXA3DFTFMcvahmCY305WnfypUdmdeHenu5npUw1IyKORhKBYCSCd3uXf8j_NAoRIFxUUHGJAXWiAG/s320/xmas01.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557176969734109602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFhjECI0f-MLgiipGs4jfLGSIRZs9VmdLX0R3Qypf5HWIUskCiumjLfzqo8wBMzv8g3kV2oD6tvbRUvnIEbxJita3VGOCNgbmkgBOCHTrVm1q4R90W1oz1q-h-S5YcdnGOpVMI6DzFV9e/s1600/xmas12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFhjECI0f-MLgiipGs4jfLGSIRZs9VmdLX0R3Qypf5HWIUskCiumjLfzqo8wBMzv8g3kV2oD6tvbRUvnIEbxJita3VGOCNgbmkgBOCHTrVm1q4R90W1oz1q-h-S5YcdnGOpVMI6DzFV9e/s320/xmas12.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557176962642465634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQwB8Ncj2ukHmYBbw8R8P1hYeqYYaeXMu_DcbyWu_oc_aPAgonTa_TbYE-ElvVaRBmdXOv2XYe3wVCiEfQO0ZyGrYFvcS2gzMw-tX0MgtI9FuKcKMLjRK3KJGDO5r8MQRkJiw3l7t67xM/s1600/xmas13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQwB8Ncj2ukHmYBbw8R8P1hYeqYYaeXMu_DcbyWu_oc_aPAgonTa_TbYE-ElvVaRBmdXOv2XYe3wVCiEfQO0ZyGrYFvcS2gzMw-tX0MgtI9FuKcKMLjRK3KJGDO5r8MQRkJiw3l7t67xM/s320/xmas13.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557176962157634370" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkG91k0EwSuhAfyr7wFBuyhK3_xlojK1uSyZn58dIlbSNI5XYdQWBqFljRQ2FxGs2hGCA9y2yuZ8c4hnXrMN0JftUIjLuKIW5ncKuZDRe5ubvY4KZCQPZ5jm6Y97uvW9bgYOZGsMUQOmI/s1600/xmas04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkG91k0EwSuhAfyr7wFBuyhK3_xlojK1uSyZn58dIlbSNI5XYdQWBqFljRQ2FxGs2hGCA9y2yuZ8c4hnXrMN0JftUIjLuKIW5ncKuZDRe5ubvY4KZCQPZ5jm6Y97uvW9bgYOZGsMUQOmI/s320/xmas04.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557176955281243042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YKjTHlGOoLsMZVdXiUx-Mk7m78-SdXmzrcktKj2_iQ1MR-ZyRyxKIJJ5Bm0wNrYjYSN1KWFcoBrzCKTjg29kpZbLLmVhfsP_0A0b_N7DOObrgUbW9kHZ_lUzqzpqCO57X32mYSM3IIF9/s1600/xmas07.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YKjTHlGOoLsMZVdXiUx-Mk7m78-SdXmzrcktKj2_iQ1MR-ZyRyxKIJJ5Bm0wNrYjYSN1KWFcoBrzCKTjg29kpZbLLmVhfsP_0A0b_N7DOObrgUbW9kHZ_lUzqzpqCO57X32mYSM3IIF9/s320/xmas07.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557176945656941074" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Now I’ve never tried the fabled All You Can Eat Ribs and Pizzia at the humble Royal Mail Hotel, but this is as close as I’m going to get to going through what those poor customers inflicted on themselves. Cold sweats, loss of coordination, loss of ability to speak, decline in morals, increase bowel movements, weight gain, and waking up in the middle of the night screaming “No more! No more!” are just some of the results. Luckily a few days working on the chaotic Topshop Oxford Circus boxing day sales gave me an opportunity to forget my lesser worries of a huge appetite and concentrate on bigger concerns – like if I’m going to make it out alive from the pig pen of angry female shoppers each night.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">I’ve also been preparing for my looming travels. I was able to get my Diptheria, Polio, Hep A, Tetanus, and something else shot courtesy of the NHS, but have to pay a whopping 90 pounds for Yellow Fever and Meningitus. And I was pleased to discover that none of them hurt half as much as the haemoglobin needle when you’re giving blood. Now that I’m evicted I’m moving out tomorrow and won’t have a proper address – not that I receive much mail anyway, but just to let you know. OH, and the other night I was lucky enough to score free tickets to Black Country Communion and The Waifs, which was AMAZING. I loved it with every fibre of my being. BCC is a rock supergroup with Jason Bonham (John Bonham's son), Glenn Hughes (Black Sabbath/Deep Purple), Derek Sherinian (just famous because) and Joe Bonomassa (Bloodline). The median age was about 65 and greying mullets and vintage leather jackets were in abundance. But it was mighty craic aaaaaaaaand iiiiiiiiii looooovvvvvveeeeeeeed ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">That's all for now. x</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-50910383997916233322010-12-16T12:45:00.001-08:002010-12-16T12:47:28.984-08:00i bless the rains down in aaaaafrica<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Now that Regent St lights are up, Harrod's has 4672893 customers/hour, and there are bon bons on every Citigroup table in the restaurant, I thought I'd get in the festive cheer and make an update.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Lately I’ve been keeping quite busy with work. This week has been rather crappy, as I have been moved upstairs to Starbucks. While I do get to enjoy skynews live all day every day (and every comprehensive update on this ‘wikileaks’ business which I don’t understand), the managers are always around so I can’t take anything and eat it whenever I want like I can at Costa- which has led me to my what I call ‘Citibelly’. The customers are also a lot ruder, and considering the level of intelligence needed to work for such a company, it seems to be impossible for them to order a coffee properly. Here is a typical sale:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Customer: “Latte”.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Kate: <span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>“Sure.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:36.0pt"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Under breath</span></i><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">: “Sorry, was that ‘can I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">please</i> have a Latte? Twat.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:36.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">*makes latte* <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Kate: <span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>“Latte?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Customer:<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>*waits* *points to coffee* “Is this a latte?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Though I these twats are wearing my patience thin, I will drink my sorrows away at the Christmas party tomorrow night. With a hefty bar tab and free munchies there’s no excuse not to get in the Christmas spirit and indulge a bit. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Also being the impulsive, intrepid traveller I am, I and my partner in crime Bianca jetsetted off to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Amsterdam</st1:place></st1:city> a couple of weekends ago. By “jetsetted”, I do mean “spent 14 hours cramped in a stinking coach with a driver who had to ask for directions”. It was awesome. We spent the weekend at coffeeshops, the <st1:placename st="on">Sex</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Museum</st1:placetype>, the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Vodka</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>, the Heinekin Experience, and more coffeeshops followed by kebabs and toasties when we had the munchies. I have some cool photos of all of that and the snow, but you can bang “<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Amsterdam</st1:place></st1:city>” into Google images and will get the idea. It was definitely worth chucking a sickie at work for, but I won’t crap on about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Coming home from <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Amsterdam</st1:place></st1:city>, it was an unwelcome Christmas surprise to discover that we were being evicted from our flat. Yes, my dated, mouldy, rodent-infested and almost Dickensian flat apparently needs “refurbishments” in the New Year. Can you believe it! It’s almost insulting. With three weeks until eviction date, I decided it was time to put my thinking cap on and make a plan. I briefly browsed the internet (safe) for flats or houses in the Camden/Shoreditch/hipster areas of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>, but there’s not much my meagre Citi-income can manage. My next idea was to follow my strong and sudden urge to move to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Dublin</st1:place></st1:city> and work in a pub and return to my Irish roots (Aye!). However considering their recent economic collapse, I didn’t like my chances, and plus it seems a bit too cold for my low Queenslander cold tolerance. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">But I’ve made a bit of a plan. Considering I’ll be young, homeless, and have a shit job in London, (not the most ideal position for someone of my age), I decided I’m going to piss the job off mid-Jan, do a bit of travelling through Europe, come home for Australia day, then spend a few weeks in Kenya volunteering at an orphanage/teaching English and doing a safari. Then I can come home and be a career bitch, or re-evaluate my prospects of success and wealth in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>. Sounds like a good plan to me! I’m most excited about <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region>. I just picked up a “Beginner’s Swahili” from the library and get my vaccinations next week. I think there’s about seven of them – such fun! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Other than that, not much is happening. Though it is absolutely Anarchy in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region> – it’s snowing again, the student riots are completely out of control, tube strikes and maintenance works left right and centre, all this riff raff about some Wikileaks thing (far too complicated for my small mind to follow) and everyone went bonkers about the X Factor finale which I didn’t even follow. Don’t I look like the fool. I did receive a letter yesterday addressed to “The Queen Kate Fitzpatrick” which is a pleasant upgrade from the derisory “Baronness”. It included a letter from PM Julia Gilliard expressing her excitement for the upcoming royal wedding, as well as a couple of letters from some very creative brothers of mine who have recently graduated and are enjoying the paradise of Lennox Heads (or what remains). The most disappointing news they reported was that our neighbours of 21 years have moved. After they hit the ball over the fence. Doh! It will be a challenge to find other neighbours who are equally as tolerant to my loud late-night renditions of Khe Sahn and Ring of Fire. And I will surely miss being serenaded to sleep by scales on the French horn. Sigh.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Off to the watering hole for some drinks with Justine and Therise. And to book flights to KUNYAAAAA<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">I feel it is fitting to end with a quote.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">Asiyefunzwa na mamaye, hufunzwa na ulimwengu<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"">He who was not taught by his mother will be taught by the world.</span></i><span style="font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book""><o:p></o:p></span></p>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-13412899191562277572010-11-28T06:10:00.000-08:002010-11-28T11:44:27.622-08:00ode to burma<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">The other day I read that a bunch newspapers in China were censored because they featured Aung San Suu Kyi (that Burmese political prisoner chick) too prominently. What bollocks! I think my blog is having the opposite problem - I'm not featuring Aung San Suu Kyi prominently <i>enough</i>. So here is an ode to the Kyi-unit to remedy this dire, dire problem.</span></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipe6XR_iYpwpuQuzPXm-BD0dL5g7cM-cDdE57rbFshItOfaX0aqCwc1lZPb1FbFV9_Ip2TaS9k8bpp5qwGHMQL3JYafZVRXGgpd39gMfZO8OqX5VoJC9ERsF-jwlP-vWZAvizeqP4bBMP-/s1600/k11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipe6XR_iYpwpuQuzPXm-BD0dL5g7cM-cDdE57rbFshItOfaX0aqCwc1lZPb1FbFV9_Ip2TaS9k8bpp5qwGHMQL3JYafZVRXGgpd39gMfZO8OqX5VoJC9ERsF-jwlP-vWZAvizeqP4bBMP-/s400/k11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544604470141955938" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Still not prominent enough...</span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXLeOZM2Rtv_SuAL04IBmYh-wpdzZYO5_mXrUpy-XCNk8tKsNmdtdB9pefYA1BgJdCkFFv_QOJSmvXRY916Y08IZWU6rowSbgerxJByQgMNruseMR-AGTwnMma3qTT4iuUcKF4l00mu2E/s1600/k10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXLeOZM2Rtv_SuAL04IBmYh-wpdzZYO5_mXrUpy-XCNk8tKsNmdtdB9pefYA1BgJdCkFFv_QOJSmvXRY916Y08IZWU6rowSbgerxJByQgMNruseMR-AGTwnMma3qTT4iuUcKF4l00mu2E/s400/k10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544604089248969202" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVi7GpsO9Hhh7u96j1vwLAwNc7Bgwini_DaP4nU8c92zmoxYHcsQTsJEdRoAzPg-N9cDuXuozUAJNTxszYlg4m0DtQ8P-xHJVpOZF0Gl9xG3iK02yuIJ1N9RV3iGf86XZz3-bocC547bp/s1600/k09.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVi7GpsO9Hhh7u96j1vwLAwNc7Bgwini_DaP4nU8c92zmoxYHcsQTsJEdRoAzPg-N9cDuXuozUAJNTxszYlg4m0DtQ8P-xHJVpOZF0Gl9xG3iK02yuIJ1N9RV3iGf86XZz3-bocC547bp/s400/k09.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544604082647264434" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGEPpUjuUs1Ax2XBGaS0VMSjXHuBZFWU08se-mkJU7J0ZyZFm5q4EpU1UoeTMDFmJ7VFp5kivv6VJ-0CnqsgQlx68yiXNow-1wzPmjobbR6-ZCqmd6ffrOlC8ihWxYbIzZfUivyamAm3i_/s1600/k08.jpg"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Not yet, maybe a bit more..</span></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGEPpUjuUs1Ax2XBGaS0VMSjXHuBZFWU08se-mkJU7J0ZyZFm5q4EpU1UoeTMDFmJ7VFp5kivv6VJ-0CnqsgQlx68yiXNow-1wzPmjobbR6-ZCqmd6ffrOlC8ihWxYbIzZfUivyamAm3i_/s1600/k08.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 274px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGEPpUjuUs1Ax2XBGaS0VMSjXHuBZFWU08se-mkJU7J0ZyZFm5q4EpU1UoeTMDFmJ7VFp5kivv6VJ-0CnqsgQlx68yiXNow-1wzPmjobbR6-ZCqmd6ffrOlC8ihWxYbIzZfUivyamAm3i_/s400/k08.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544604077079014242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8DpYePT_KcHq1XquB1g006viYQYMx5ib8_WEgJ0KJhgiaOeSBlnyG6JsGQszN7VsoISlGooBmbeSvCGM5J4CoQXgUv8LCf0cevg7UiymXtk2d9AusghUdZkK9du0FFOYPuk9tb9JUU5T/s1600/k07"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 167px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8DpYePT_KcHq1XquB1g006viYQYMx5ib8_WEgJ0KJhgiaOeSBlnyG6JsGQszN7VsoISlGooBmbeSvCGM5J4CoQXgUv8LCf0cevg7UiymXtk2d9AusghUdZkK9du0FFOYPuk9tb9JUU5T/s400/k07" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544604069248120786" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPU5tVxJpKvskGWTGgJsY1aJugucFBOvnBv_7dRUAGACZuxUbfPUTkxTlOcPNOufkQoh9n7bpR4QDbgnf3HXI2uTrchYDktkUN3urD1Z5OTggCDlznMGQ3ZtUWIQJd48woYMdwQszQq_6/s1600/k06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 174px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPU5tVxJpKvskGWTGgJsY1aJugucFBOvnBv_7dRUAGACZuxUbfPUTkxTlOcPNOufkQoh9n7bpR4QDbgnf3HXI2uTrchYDktkUN3urD1Z5OTggCDlznMGQ3ZtUWIQJd48woYMdwQszQq_6/s400/k06.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544604067208814818" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvpLYMnwYMvISOLGKW0LIizlx8vVPPTN8uld4Y3QWPGE3-LioCTODbuqpnmrOMValE6LKLx9de8m3ffWMC4RugjcMsZDNWvWRo8AE3Hoc6TZo4SUn3BCGu-YAMtAbQIKKA0Zy28riaCw1/s1600/k05.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvpLYMnwYMvISOLGKW0LIizlx8vVPPTN8uld4Y3QWPGE3-LioCTODbuqpnmrOMValE6LKLx9de8m3ffWMC4RugjcMsZDNWvWRo8AE3Hoc6TZo4SUn3BCGu-YAMtAbQIKKA0Zy28riaCw1/s400/k05.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544603710466744450" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTaMM7a6xA_lWTOKHVs11I1mM1timcvBCwrWJskkWglm19wJxD6b4W6xoPW-FGBhuW-vHqPWw3WiWXcdlbNoVlLE36quapBxC_OJDcWY6ICYjJOiXbqEX10lm7MlfcOQZiuIt3cVxrMLL/s1600/k04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 264px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTaMM7a6xA_lWTOKHVs11I1mM1timcvBCwrWJskkWglm19wJxD6b4W6xoPW-FGBhuW-vHqPWw3WiWXcdlbNoVlLE36quapBxC_OJDcWY6ICYjJOiXbqEX10lm7MlfcOQZiuIt3cVxrMLL/s400/k04.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544603711188014786" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Vegk16ow7L09UMhyphenhyphenAENy9XD_aR-uB5R3VyMKDpc7bmm3Ezd2c8Ky_YbkVf_MQpb9-MpbwZCmoqfMFuKPzqGrdbATYvQe1fWKYl2ExRwaMKHB2d7fwCUccYVv-MTIV6MCjqSA28Sy2zBX/s1600/k03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Vegk16ow7L09UMhyphenhyphenAENy9XD_aR-uB5R3VyMKDpc7bmm3Ezd2c8Ky_YbkVf_MQpb9-MpbwZCmoqfMFuKPzqGrdbATYvQe1fWKYl2ExRwaMKHB2d7fwCUccYVv-MTIV6MCjqSA28Sy2zBX/s400/k03.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544603704657813330" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9TK4Xa8wCF5w8u7VO_IYJTzTOZ9qSAZYrdfCq7lyAV1-UsOsnQKNH2Mpq-c6CzdZlF7aUHhGJTgCxhIuzea1_DHYD1azU4etlc81S6tSaLCXfiZxYi158WWWTi8GMZbghCnz3lDcZQm0/s1600/k02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9TK4Xa8wCF5w8u7VO_IYJTzTOZ9qSAZYrdfCq7lyAV1-UsOsnQKNH2Mpq-c6CzdZlF7aUHhGJTgCxhIuzea1_DHYD1azU4etlc81S6tSaLCXfiZxYi158WWWTi8GMZbghCnz3lDcZQm0/s400/k02.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544603668899518098" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNcX5hguPo9D8STqO2N4f3ahnTCWXt9EpxUiujSfpwS7ShYHpkKCkXZQQPWAFghEaKqEHvEJeoxeCllhLDiMxm2EhtXTWU-Qtq6a2_3YJc-TN2dVU0seDJ0bqwG4rGBby0JQ_tVg1bnoS/s1600/k01"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 143px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNcX5hguPo9D8STqO2N4f3ahnTCWXt9EpxUiujSfpwS7ShYHpkKCkXZQQPWAFghEaKqEHvEJeoxeCllhLDiMxm2EhtXTWU-Qtq6a2_3YJc-TN2dVU0seDJ0bqwG4rGBby0JQ_tVg1bnoS/s400/k01" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544603669386701938" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Maybe that last one crossed the line..........but now I'm up to date and even with my Chinese counterparts. Y-A-Y!</span></span></span></div><div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div></div></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-18607416434433151862010-11-15T08:33:00.001-08:002010-11-15T08:52:57.155-08:00Thunder, lightning, rain rain rain<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast"">First of all, this is a pretty cool invention. I hope both world poverty and the iRevolution simultaneously continue to progress in great bounds and leaps!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TCbSwOgNzZg?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TCbSwOgNzZg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><insert link="" here=""><o:p></o:p></insert></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast"">Yesterday I went and saw Oliver! at <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Drury</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Lane</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Theatre</st1:placename></st1:place> Royale. Oh my days it was such an amazing performance. Compared to the version of Oliver! I saw at the dilapidated Wynnum community hall when I was about 6, I’d say this one was pretty good. I had vivid flashbacks to year eight “consider yourself” performance number, humming the ‘Oliver’ tune while working in a European sweatshop bakery for a man named Oliver, and the time I was a homeless orphan in London and a little cockney boy took me under his wing to a grimy underground brothel and taught me how to pick pockets. Good times. Followed by sushi, cider, and Shoreditch, Saturday was surely a tip-top day.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast"">I’ve also got a new job. I have been personally selected among thousands of applicants to work at <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Citigroup</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Canary</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Wharf</st1:placetype></st1:place>, the world’s largest financial group. I will be working on the 36<sup>th</sup> floor, alongside some of the richest and most powerful bankers in the world. I will be crafting them exceptional semi-skimmed lattes and slices of mouth-watering carrot cake to feed their hungry stomachs with food and minds with banter, allowing them to continue to rule the corporate world.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast"">This now being my 47893th job in <st1:city st="on">London</st1:city>, I believe I have experience quite a well rounded cross section of jobs that <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> has to offer. From a traditional English pub, to a famous punk club, to an overpriced vintage stall, to the au courant Topshop, and now banking giants Citigroup (or “Starbucks Citigroup” if you want to be completely po-co), I’ve done it all. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast"">Employment comes as a huge relief to me. Though it means I actually have to leave my bed each day and face the chill, it also means I can stop living out of cans. After the successful opening of discount supermarket LIDL on high street – where fireworks are sold next to laundry detergent – I have been enjoying a diet consisting largely of canned soup and instant noodles. However, I did branch out one day, y’know, thought outside the box, went out of my comfort zone, tried new things…but new things can be dangerous. This time I may have gone too far.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLf1T_7gTTiciA91CuTjbilFQjg6kj9pB5zYcg5zabgtW5glBdmyfzLD6w94I4-hhh3z6bzRzw2RDyDxQ7-QHTV28xanKB-6OE3AHwXl6pIsssv0BxTJMt4IGclzqhfoi7mJjXiehmRhe/s1600/IMG_6281.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLf1T_7gTTiciA91CuTjbilFQjg6kj9pB5zYcg5zabgtW5glBdmyfzLD6w94I4-hhh3z6bzRzw2RDyDxQ7-QHTV28xanKB-6OE3AHwXl6pIsssv0BxTJMt4IGclzqhfoi7mJjXiehmRhe/s400/IMG_6281.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539816311201178466" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast"">For 19p, it was an appealing choice. Low in sugar, high in carbs, filling, the goodness of tomatoy nutrition, as well as a quintessentially English choice. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTEaLagJwVhf-coofJ1KgdKKyAfnTXmquBaKjH4pboTrj_5LEObJYHm2U1F_uQ-t5JwjMmTsV_s3YsSoSGF09qim2dTETYlt9SY0vZiUdnSOqIeRHDa1sUp-fKg0oDIIUClwI4M18mnNY/s1600/IMG_6285.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTEaLagJwVhf-coofJ1KgdKKyAfnTXmquBaKjH4pboTrj_5LEObJYHm2U1F_uQ-t5JwjMmTsV_s3YsSoSGF09qim2dTETYlt9SY0vZiUdnSOqIeRHDa1sUp-fKg0oDIIUClwI4M18mnNY/s400/IMG_6285.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539816322690470594" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><br /></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><the other="" picture=""><o:p></o:p></the></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast"">The taste, to sober taste buds, was not the worst thing ever. It was hardly a Gordan Ramsay delicacy, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on the menu of a more standard-deficient restaurant (not mentioning any in particular…*ROYAL MAIL HOTEL*) As you could imagine, the liquid brew slid down my throat smoothly, happily filling my stomach with the MSG-coated goodness of snags and beans. However my stomach didn’t stay happy for too long. I was soon enough doubled over and clutching my stomach in snag-induced pain. But I’ve learnt that like basic hygiene and fitness levels, comfort is something that one must forgo to survive comfortably (or near-comfortably) in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"JF Georgian Contrast"">Other than that, I’ve just been watching too much Dexter and Hollyoaks, finishing an assignment, contemplating my long term career goals, Harry Potter world premier, went to <st1:place st="on">Liverpool</st1:place>, saw MEN at a burlesque bar, and keeping well hydrated in the evenings. Bet you haven’t noticed that I’ve also changed my typeface. It was a branding decision. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNs4rI10Rb1SAzt5kOR3RKB7MrYwo_eSM2iy9V5cSKHBkNggWeyhsk3_VzVPCdMjxpWhToRjyncN2-P0GseyXxUh0aZgkeOfoooRblA9Kkp-nOAwwRvI8G1LVF_Nx-IaK0RIeySZ1Hpk8D/s1600/IMG_6278.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNs4rI10Rb1SAzt5kOR3RKB7MrYwo_eSM2iy9V5cSKHBkNggWeyhsk3_VzVPCdMjxpWhToRjyncN2-P0GseyXxUh0aZgkeOfoooRblA9Kkp-nOAwwRvI8G1LVF_Nx-IaK0RIeySZ1Hpk8D/s400/IMG_6278.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539816378127382434" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><i>Guy Fawkes night just down the street..</i></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNs4rI10Rb1SAzt5kOR3RKB7MrYwo_eSM2iy9V5cSKHBkNggWeyhsk3_VzVPCdMjxpWhToRjyncN2-P0GseyXxUh0aZgkeOfoooRblA9Kkp-nOAwwRvI8G1LVF_Nx-IaK0RIeySZ1Hpk8D/s1600/IMG_6278.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSMs-3QMqTLny_IqyP5J3owe2EdrsA8eJM9sp-17l0KolygInsj66RVcVwr5rau18Ct0H5mrS1QSu3p40IcvRPsFy1eaGQRbIJdR_4s-nhE9aEdRhFekfGza4g_15cbwMnDbX6j0Qtlwh/s1600/IMG_6266.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSMs-3QMqTLny_IqyP5J3owe2EdrsA8eJM9sp-17l0KolygInsj66RVcVwr5rau18Ct0H5mrS1QSu3p40IcvRPsFy1eaGQRbIJdR_4s-nhE9aEdRhFekfGza4g_15cbwMnDbX6j0Qtlwh/s400/IMG_6266.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539816342791513842" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><span class="Apple-style-span">My neighbourhood is a very open-minded one.</span></span></i> </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i></i><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ytBglIO0pmSBgg7zH_F-aqnyEM2SuYxFoMzEEda3BoLqyE04TxgPsmLn_820UHTbZd-Lp6uitz8c7rXEfHHVMdEgPS_ch7QbRCGzVhJd9TRw__Sbqqs3tH4yXt7WF9NtO5JPjYfo97nD/s1600/IMG_6298.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ytBglIO0pmSBgg7zH_F-aqnyEM2SuYxFoMzEEda3BoLqyE04TxgPsmLn_820UHTbZd-Lp6uitz8c7rXEfHHVMdEgPS_ch7QbRCGzVhJd9TRw__Sbqqs3tH4yXt7WF9NtO5JPjYfo97nD/s400/IMG_6298.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539816333967182850" style="text-align: center;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span></span><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Snape kills Dumbledore.</i></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-73803663092407311472010-11-04T14:03:00.000-07:002010-11-04T14:05:26.588-07:00Pride, a wonderful emotionI'm currently in hibernation and have nothing creative to say for myself, so I'm going to let another brilliant blog do the talking. It taught me a lot about the word "pride" and its inner meaning.<br /><br /><br />There are a few different meanings of the emotive word PRIDE. An old saying goes “Pride before the fall”. This pride infers smugness, conceit, or even arrogance and these human traits are never popular as they contain elements of egotism and ignorance. The PRIDE that we love and need occurs when we are thrilled that someone or some organisation does something special and we feel passionate about this achievement.<br /><br />When “Advance Australia Fair” is played as they raise the Aussie flag at the medal ceremony, or when our mighty Maroons lift the State of Origin Trophy (again), we feel euphorically happy, and sometimes emotions will spill over and the eyes become a little watery. That PRIDE is the good PRIDE. There is no egotism here. This feeling is one of sharing and this feeling is often experienced as a group, so it’s personal but at the same time it’s an emotion that unites the group or community. We feel better because our SELF ESTEEM has increased.<br /><br />I can still remember the times when my children were “on show” – either in the school play or scoring the try that won the game. As parents nothing compares to the PRIDE we feel when our children achieve their goals and I don’t mean just winning – I mean “having a go” or bringing some kudos to their group, team or school. As they say “the heart swells with PRIDE” and very often the memory of these moments last for many years, and sometimes as long as we live.<br />During the last NRL season I saw Jamie Simpson score a try and he immediately grabbed the front of his Rabbitohs jersey and kissed the club logo. Jamie is a former St. Brendan’s student who overcame some massive hurdles in his life and in doing so has become an inspiration to many. What Jamie has achieved is incredible but this brave and humble young man is extremely proud of his club and of the wonderful game of Rugby League so he spontaneously and unashamedly demonstrates this PRIDE for all to see.<br /><br />When I witness these moments, I feel PRIDE. I am proud of my allegiance to Rugby League and I know that there are hundreds of thousands of fellow Rugby League supporters that feel the same as me.<br />I know that in a few years time, I will be sitting in a magnificent world class stadium in Central Queensland and our own CQ NRL team will run onto the green grass into the white light. The Central Queensland dominated crowd of 20,000 will come to their feet and cheer for their team. A team with a predominance of Central Queensland players and individually and collectively we will have that sense of happiness, relief that it is here at last. It is this PRIDE that we Central Queenslanders need to experience. The wonderful flow-on effect of this PRIDE is the massive increase in our SELF ESTEEM as a community.kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-27202214871679311522010-10-31T10:37:00.000-07:002010-10-31T10:40:26.362-07:00a pool of liver<span class="Apple-style-span" >Been working, been drinking, went to liverpool, and now I'm cooking dinner. It's a lamb roast. From a box. It has 26% of my RDA of salt but only 19% of my overall RDA but I'm not worried.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >I hope this post pleases you Mark.</span></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-57469426650198594442010-10-21T04:26:00.000-07:002010-10-21T04:39:04.275-07:00london is drowning<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5uA4AaHvH5EWmRP7WSaxmPFJWTnRDvT3MisHRn7gZfw79d4Y3L-PV7ilaPY_hikhMshDIuI2ZiQh0OIpumQa2cUr4qx2so9CdqHWqjJVXoQgi1MwNjLgaSKOmn-NIFW0-Rq573KzbLXT8/s1600/LONDINIUM+autum-winter+071.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530461915844203282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5uA4AaHvH5EWmRP7WSaxmPFJWTnRDvT3MisHRn7gZfw79d4Y3L-PV7ilaPY_hikhMshDIuI2ZiQh0OIpumQa2cUr4qx2so9CdqHWqjJVXoQgi1MwNjLgaSKOmn-NIFW0-Rq573KzbLXT8/s320/LONDINIUM+autum-winter+071.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf0KMCzmRQHZi2m0kGFdk5n49kI_eaFfRjZVI18m6t5jUtye8HQeqe7E5TP1Yws92ZP7saF_4abPK4ZTOfnvBc71s6MvnHXctaKC6uaJpPlbP41ArlfsnrbpA6opiTYw38IOr77zpAU7U/s1600/LONDINIUM+autum-winter+047.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; 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MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530460051085906786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmkefCzQqt1wsE0J1m2rzzQG4_aSmdVl9cDv3mFDKVfjy77YNb31RG4ysKxSowMOJWrwvBuDPU2KWHsJV9nkE1QKunceyxwClFUjxeDap5ep4qijLAMf5bnt8tGsxhmwFbEdfiiU73VGv/s320/LONDINIUM+autum-winter+010.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQHAfcgdA5K4u0eZzQ8c3xJkfMCPHsLEsjwbdU6ZQqSwzVx_BUBZ4B06QqFcwOvfLjP-AfHhS8oP-mMtQHIgS6K-GxxoXjJEfXjPhQzqeuV1rj8xK18X6zhApxvPIXeQvS0KDHw6YH6UO/s1600/LONDINIUM+autum-winter+006.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530460047419515058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQHAfcgdA5K4u0eZzQ8c3xJkfMCPHsLEsjwbdU6ZQqSwzVx_BUBZ4B06QqFcwOvfLjP-AfHhS8oP-mMtQHIgS6K-GxxoXjJEfXjPhQzqeuV1rj8xK18X6zhApxvPIXeQvS0KDHw6YH6UO/s320/LONDINIUM+autum-winter+006.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-64666620500108814952010-10-16T10:46:00.001-07:002010-10-16T10:49:15.498-07:00nahhhhhhh nah nah nah<span style="font-family: arial;">I'm not posting because I've dropped off the face of the earth. And plus I'm enjoying the bad concept film/2 minute noodles/hangover combination too much to string coherent sentences together for your convenience. Still unemployed so I might skip town and catch an unlicensed taxi to Moscow. Good idea?<br /><br /><br /></span>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-24947436517563731872010-10-08T03:00:00.000-07:002010-10-08T03:04:31.832-07:00my birthday lasts a week<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; ">Raindrops and roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright coloured kettles and warm woolley mittens. Fosters and bogans and bands that can’t sing, </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; ">These are a few of my favourite things</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZaPs775UHrYJFTqvufF90vilcxud4PWCsw8bhyphenhyphenBiElW1mtzmK8tecfJb_R5xFx0QBuUPM9eNLKFF3944YEk18StdghQH_xS0PR7_F6f_0gAUsbzf7_IbTN3HKYmQBJH-b5_CejrHx367/s400/shaz.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525613449507633378" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Shazza and I have much in common.</span></i></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-39634841126241978352010-09-27T02:50:00.000-07:002010-09-27T02:54:35.980-07:00Handschriftensachverständigungsvereinsvorsitzendenversammlungstagungsraum<p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU">In hindsight, I probably didn’t give a realistic account of what could be considered the greatest weekend of my life (also known as Oktoberfest). It was truly amazing – the food, the beer, the scummy drunken Aussies. I wish I could <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU">Not knowing much about this ‘<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Germany</st1:country-region></st1:place>’ fellow other than they are the world’s leading exporters of Bavarian beer, efficiency, and Jews, I decided to do a little research. I was pleased with what I found:</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU"><span class="mw-headline"><strong><em>World War I</em></strong></span></p></span><p align="justify"><em>Also known as the Great Music Wars. </em><span style="color:#002bb8;"><em>Franz Ferdinand</em></span><em> of Austria and the Kaiser Chiefs of Germany had an ongoing battle for world chart supremacy, decades of violence had gone on between the two rivals, so Franz Ferdinand released a single called “Take me out” which was an offer of peace, asking the Kaiser Chiefs to go out for a nice Bratwurst and a pint of beer with them and talk things over. </em></p><p align="justify"><em>Unfortunately the Kaiser Chefs saw this single as a taunt on their military capability and athletic prowess and this ended in the unfortunate assassination of Franz Ferdinand. This resulted in the Great Music Wars of </em><span style="color:#002bb8;"><em>1914</em></span><em> – </em><span style="color:#002bb8;"><em>1918</em></span><em> and the defeat of the Kaiser Chiefs. </em></p><p align="justify"><em>Germany was so taken with grief at the death of their leaders they called for </em><span style="color:#002bb8;"><em>Franz Ferdinand</em></span><em> to have to sit in a small isolated room listening to non-stop playback of Kaiser Chief songs. After 3 days and 4 hours later Franz Ferdinand was found dead with his hands over his ears.<br />(Wikipedia, 2010)</em><em></p></em><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU">On arriving to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>, my fellow well-travelled passengers gave me various pieces of advice. One told me not to - under any occasion, even in solitary - do the nazi salute. (“What, this?” I asked inquisitively, lifting my arms up…before very suddenly being tackled to the ground) Another told me not to mention showers or yellow stars and I’d be fine. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU">Considering <st1:country-region st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> a) boarders <st1:country-region st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region> b) has towns named ‘<st1:state st="on">Hamburg</st1:State>” and 'Frankfurt' c) is full of fat people, you could make some serious assumptions about the calibre and importance of food in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>. And oh my cowboy boots, are those assumptions correct. Over the three blissful days of booze-filled fun, I indulged in sauerkraut, pork knuckles, huge pretzels, gingerbread, beigels, sandwiches, paninis, crepes, many a bratwurst (sausage), pimmels (chips), and probably a lot of other stuff that’s really bad for me but I can’t remember because I was distracted*.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU">The beer was also brewed to an exquisite standard. Of the 6 490 600 litres of beer which is consumed at Oktoberfest, I believe I consumed at least 12L of it. I can’t be too sure, but I reckon I tried Lowenbrau, Hoffbrau, the Bavarian wheat beer with a monk on the front, a Lowenbrau ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">radler’</i> (which is German for ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">shandy’</i>, which is in turn slang for ‘pissweak’), Paulaner and Augustiner, while visiting about 6 of the 14 tents. Most of them had pretty cool traditional Bavarian decorations and entertainment all day long, and to keep you in form stopped every ten minutes or so to make everyone toast. The Oktoberfest toast is sung and goes “Ein Prosit, ein prosit’, then a long word which I could never pronounce so I just kind of hummed and faked it, and then you took a swig of your 1L stein. Of course, if you were playing drinking games on top of that your stein would empty even quicker, so you can see how it’s a vicious cycle. Yeah the steins are 1L each, they’re such a challenge. Everyone had stein-related bruises on their hands from holding the steins up to their mouths all day. I can hardly imagine what the poor beer wenches go through. But they get 20 000 Euros worth of tips for the two weeks, so it would be worth it. That’s incentive enough to learn German solely for that purpose. I’M KEEN.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU">So other than that, I haven’t been up to much. As soon as I got back I got into jobsearching (which for the record is quite difficult when you don’t have internet access or a printer) and have about 7 job possibilities so I’m not too worried at the moment. Poor, but not worried. In fact I was at a job interview on Friday, and I found the King’s College orientation day in a series of tunnels nearby. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Tunnels.</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Open day. King’s College.</i> Amazing. Oh yeah so if you find yourself signed up for King’s College Gynaecology Society, I will be in the opposite side of the earth giggling into a cupped hand and admiring my own hilarity. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU">So I decided to detox after Oktoberfest as I felt royally sheizenhousen after putting my body through that ordeal, however it hasn’t really worked out considering I’ve been out drinking for the past four nights. I’m going to take a break this week though and preserve my liver for next weekend which happens to be my birthday weekend! Oh how lovely! Yet simultaneously depressing, as nobody will know where to send their birthday packages they have for me**. I plan a bit of a bender which may or may not include drinking by the Camden canal, club NME at Koko’s, Barfly, Proud, happy hour at the cocktail bar, dancing on tables <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">somewhere</i>, NRL grand final at 7am Sunday, and the infamous once-in-a-lifetime journey to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Church</i>. Come if you can! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU">*distracted being synonymous with ‘very drunk’<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Narrow'" lang="EN-AU">** Flat <st1:address st="on"><st1:street st="on">56 Crowndale Court</st1:Street> <st1:city st="on">Camden</st1:City> <st1:postalcode st="on">NW1 1TY</st1:PostalCode></st1:address> would be an option.<o:p></o:p></span></p>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-9056243446606777912010-09-23T12:05:00.000-07:002010-09-23T12:18:49.035-07:00das land der bier und nudists<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">So last Thursday, with a mind as open as limitless as the tangent of fx= 3x²y, I climbed aboard the Busabout prison van to serve my sentence at the Oktoberfest concentration Camp. From this moment onwards, I suffered pain and infirmity at the hands of a selected few ‘guides’ (as they called themselves). Oktoberfest is definitely a memorable experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life, as now that I know what pain feels like it makes the painlessness of normal life simply blissful. Eighteen long, uncomfortable hours were spent on the bus, and the most disturbing part of it was being subjected to the torture technique of ‘Austin Powers’. While the Guides planned the future torture to come, we feeble prisoners whispered amongst ourselves of the crimes we had committed to be there – enjoying our youths, having an open mind, being free agents – and the dreaded agony which loomed before us, which rumoured to include the infamous Camp Thalkerchin shower chambers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Arriving at the living quarters, we were stripped of our identities and branded with an orange wristband, then changed into our debasing uniforms. The men were subjected to uncomfortable leather overalls (‘ladenhosen’), childishly long socks and simply humiliating shoes. The women were burdened with ‘durndls’, consisting of off-white low-cut blouses, hefty and unsightly-patterned dresses, and stockings and shoes. And how the Guides laughed at us! The humiliation was nearly too much to bear; some broke down and cried, while others tried to foster revolutionary fervour and remind the enemy of our common faults: our nationality. The ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie’ chant was quickly quelled by the Guides who reprimanded the rebels for their actions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">We then were piled back onto the prison van and transferred to a camp called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Munich</i>, a mean trick as all the signs were in a foreign tongue which none of us spoke. We were shepherded into the first torture tent called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">The Hoffbrauhouse</i> where we were given our first dose of the Yellow Poison. This deathly liquid is the most common form of torture at the Oktoberfest Camp and is administered in huge 1litre doses. The first night they tested the waters, giving us a mere 1-2L each, while on average prisoners are generally given 6-15L per day. The adverse side affects we suffered from the initial dose gave us a preview of what was to come for the next few days: dizziness, headaches, loss of ability to speak, loss of decision making abilities, loss of balance, vision impairment, and acting completely out of character. Those prisoners lucky enough to retain some of their abilities were able to get on the Busabout prison van back to Thalkirchen, but a couple including the pitiable yours truly were completely bowled over by the Yellow Poison and the foreign surroundings, and was forced to negotiate the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Autobahn</i> or the train lines which previous prisoners had slaved away building for us. On arriving back at the Camp, the scene was dire: the majority of the 70 000 prisoners were stumbling and swarming about, completely inebriated by the Yellow Poison, not knowing what they were doing, yelling out infanities, stewing in their filth, speaking in tongues, dancing, kissing, hugging, crying, fighting…it was a sad day in the history of humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Conditions didn’t improve in our living quarters. Our tents consisted of a thin and worn material stretched over the cold, dewy, Deustch (Deustch, as a matter of interest, is a German word for "fat nudist") grass as we struggled to find warmth in whatever scraps of materials we were permitted. But that torture didn’t last long, as a Greater Torture was soon forced upon us: a 5:45am rising time. Our breakfast rations included pieces of bread with plastic cheese in between, a meal that some would consider fit only for animals, but ney was fed to us. At ridiculous o’clock, dressed in our ridiculous uniforms, we returned to ridiculous Munich and were herded through to the Oktoberfest Camp where our patience was tested in a <b>queue</b>, a unique form of torment which is unheard of in most of Europe, <i>especially </i>in London. After the horrid queue, we waited in some kind of a chamber with long tables and chairs, were fed rations of salty and doughy pretzels until suddenly the clock struck midday and it was once again time for the Yellow Poisen. Female prisoners dressed like us (no doubt who had committed the severest of crimes to earn such grim penalties) administered these doses, and my, they were high. Some people were given 6L in only a few short hours. Some were lucky and only escaped with half doses. I think (though I can’t remember properly, I was quite affected by the Poisen) that I suffered about 6 or 7 litres of Poisen that day. Before I was completely knocked out by the Juice, I do remember consuming tainted chicken, pork knuckles, sauerkraut, and pretzels, as well as conferring with Japanese spies, standing on tables, and yelling out the Prisoner’s Cry of hope, ‘Ein Prosit!’. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">The next day followed much the same. Some selected few were taken away to a faraway castle for more torture – undoubtedly these prisoners were suspected spies and were keeping information from the Guides. I and a few other prisoners were tossed into the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Hoffbrau</i> torture tent that day, where we cleverly avoided the infamous and highly dangerous pig pen. The aim of the pig pen is to cause the sufferer as much pain and humiliation as possible by ripping of whatever underwear they are wearing and tossing it atop some sort of statue. Drowsy from starting the Poisen far too early, I retired to <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Camp</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Thalkirchen</st1:placename></st1:place> early to toss and turn in the utter coldness and lonliness of confinement.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Finally the last day. You’d think they’d go easy on us, inflict us with lesser punishments or even let us off the hook completely. Ney, my friend. These people have no consciences, no morals, not even a scent of decency in their structures. They are the most malicious collection of cells you will ever meet. We were taken to not one, not two, but up to six tents for injections that day. Then while still feeling the adverse affects of the drug, piled unto the Busabout Prison van to suffer the same eighteen hour ride home, - home to Freedom. Many of us awakened to notice our cash had mysteriously disappeared, our clothes were in a terrible state, our bodies were weak and sickly, our skin oily, our statures 5kg the heavier, and our morale had reached new lows. One last torture called ‘It’s complicated’ (also known as ‘death by rom-com’) and we were nearly free. At last we stumbled out of the prison van, having served our once-in-a-lifetime sentence at the Oktoberfest Camp, back to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>. Perfect, sunny, happy, simple, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> full of people more than happy to help you. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> full of people that speak perfect English. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> where jobs are readily available and stable. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> where living costs are so low. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> where it is not acceptable to wear ridiculous durndls and ladenhousen. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> where it is warm. <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place> where it is sober. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Arial Narrow';">So that is it. Friends, family, future employers, cyber stalkers, computer software programs, and small children banging away on a keyboard who ended up on this page...let it be known.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Arial Narrow';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I SURVIVED OKTOBERFEST CONCENTRATION CAMP 2010. </span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><br /></span></p>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-77679999135337240672010-09-15T02:45:00.000-07:002010-09-15T02:47:06.373-07:00Das ist life, jah!<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">What do the words ‘unemployed’, ‘noninterventionist’, ‘abroad’ and ‘slightly magnetic’ have in common? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Other than a shitload of syllables, ME. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Once again, I’m unemployed and off to another country to indulge in the 200<sup>th</sup> celebration of the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and some sheila via the four Greatest Gifts to Mankind: Malt, Hops, Yeast, and Water. I’m lugging myself into a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">coach</i> (also known to the layman as a ‘bus’) to some small country town called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Munich</i> to freeze my plaits off, wear drindls, eat sausages and giant pretzels, and down one litre steins of Lowenbrau and my arch enemy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Bavaria</i> beer. With my extensive knowledge of the German language, wars, cuisine, and culture, I believe I will fare quite well, and there is definitely NO NEED* to check up on me this weekend. Repeat, NO NEED**. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">And to disappoint all you sceptics who are brimming with impatience to shriek in my face with a big sneering grin ‘I TOLD YOU SO! I KNEW YOU’D FAIL!’, I didn’t get fired as such. In fact, I’ve never been fired <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">as such</i>. I’ve been alerted via text message to hand in my uniform, I’ve been informed that my role is no longer available, my fictitious three month trial period has been discontinued – and this time, there is simply no job for me when I return. So, as I learnt in my third ‘dismissal’, ‘<st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place>’s tough’ (a phrase containing the words “no” and “shit” comes to mind). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:36.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">No use crying over spilt milk. Nod is as good as a wink to a blind man. It’s not worth a brass razoo, a cracker, a pinch of goat’s shit, a rat’s arse, a row of beans – tuppeneny or a two bob to get as toey as a Roman’s sandal, to crack the shits, to get as mad as a cut snake, a hornet, a maggot, a meat-axe! <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’m onto bigger and better things. To get bleary-eyed, pickled, sauced, screwed, soused, sozzled, three sheets to the wind, under the affluence of incohol, pissed as a fart, a cricket, a newt, a parrot – as full as a bull’s bum, a fairy’s phonebox, a seaside shithouse on a bank holiday, a pommy complaint box…I’M GOING TO GET SHITFACED.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">And what, you may be wondering, am I doing to ‘maintain homeostatis’ as I so gently phrase handling the mature responsibilities of paying rent and feeding myself? Well I have two interviews next week and have pestered many a pub and café on <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Camden High Street</st1:address></st1:street> on my way home. I’m also writing for a music website (I’ll post it later) and looking into part time work and shit like that that Other People (who aren’t Me) do. What else have I been doing? Drinking! I had sweet shifts last week (work has been great, really) and managed many-a sneaky pint in with my various Londoner (well mostly Australian) friends who I’d love to name them all here but I’m momentarily distracted by the name “Smith”. Oh and my beloved Justine came down for a night! I won’t go into what mischief we got up to, not because it was one of those nights where I talk shit and would rather forget it, but because I simply can’t remember. Ah, the spirit and vigour of youth.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Well now my NI number has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">finally</i> come through (meaning I get a whole 2 pounds off tax when I get paid) I am visiting my local GP until he (or she, I understand how this whole ‘feminism’ and ‘gender equality’ thing works) either finds something wrong with me or praises me for taking good care of myself. Either way, I’ll make a drinking game out of it. So, until I return from das land der bier und mein kampf with a head full of lead, 10kg heavier, and a great contempt for public toilets, auf weiderstein!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">*As a sidenote, my number is 07583301557 <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">**The dialling code from <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> may or may not begin with 00 and end with 11<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><br /></span></p>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-13572142457240169632010-09-08T09:23:00.000-07:002010-09-08T09:27:28.712-07:00Moving in the right direction<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Bonjourno senor<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Since my last post, I have been inundated with many questions from my scores of adoring fans…Kate do you realise what haggis actually contains? Can you tell me where job centre is? Excuse me miss, can you please get down from the marquee? But that’s not an accurate cross section, so here are the more frequently asked ones, answered for my little darlings peace of mind…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Why haven’t you posted lately?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Because I’ve been busy doing other things, like setting the world record for Most Sausage Rolls Consumed in a 24 Hour Period (10 if you were wondering) and maintaining homeostasis. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Have you got any tattoes in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Camden</st1:city></st1:place> yet?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">No. But I’ve met a very nice young DIY tattooist who has a home studio and is willing to cut me some sick rates on a Southern Cross on my back, maybe Carpe Diem around my neck, and a Julia Gillard caricature on my arms. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">How are you?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Swell!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">What are you eating?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Eggs, mainly. Because there are so many ways to cook them (runny, on toast, in toast, scrambled, boiled, raw, the one where I put stuff in with it and mix it around the pan, etc). Obviously sausage rolls as well, and also I have indulged in green tea, a quite poorly crafted sub (slow service and untesselated cheese as well – definitely not returning), and any rotten fruit or vege I can negotiate from Yousef (“rotten” is quite an abstract, concept word here). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Have you done much sight seeing lately?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Though the prospect of immersing myself in busy places of interest (interest here is a strong word) with mind-atrophying brainless tourists and overpriced food outlets is very appealing, I’m momentarily distracting by twiddling my thumbs.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">How is work?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">GREAT. This is the first job where I can swear and yell at the customers. Are these the toilets? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">What else would they be dipshit</i>? Can I have your number? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Fuck off twat</i>. I want two JD and coke. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">WAS THAT TWO JD AND COKES PLEASE?</i> Though I’m paid at minimum (or below) wage, 5.75/hr, and tips are pretty bad, it’s lots of fun, and I feel myself getting more ‘cultured’ with every Polish gothic metal song my ears are greeted with. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">When are you coming back?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">I don’t know.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Can you please lend me a pound?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Funny that, I was going to ask you the same question mate. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Have you made many friends?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Many plans to travel <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place>? <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Yes, actually next week I’m heading to Oktoberfest in <st1:city st="on">Munich</st1:city> (which happens to be a part of a small relatively unknown country called <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">GERMANY</st1:country-region></st1:place>). I also have unplanned plans to scope out Brighton, and maybe <st1:city st="on">Dublin</st1:city> and <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Belfast</st1:city></st1:place> after my birthday sometime. Hey it’s my birthday in two weeks!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Are you homesick at all?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">For <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Brisbane</i></st1:city></st1:place>? Yeah right.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Did you get my letter?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">No, I didn’t, you’ll have to send it again. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Flat 56, <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Crowndale Royal Court</st1:address></st1:street>, <st1:address st="on"><st1:street st="on">Crowndale Road</st1:street>, <st1:city st="on">CAMDEN</st1:city> <st1:postalcode st="on">NW1 1TY</st1:postalcode></st1:address>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Your credit card is declined, did you want to pay with cash?</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Ummmmmmmmm…I have some money outside…my friend out there – in the urine-stained poncho – he’s got my coins….i’ll be back in a tick………….<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">I’m looking for Her Majesty Kate Fitzpatrick?</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Yes, that’s me. What are you looking at? Get back to work my royal subjects and make my kingdom as clean as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">Who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-she-bop?</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">I did. It’s there for a reason.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow"">I hope that keeps all of you eager beavers settled for awhile. This week I’m busy working, sleeping, a little bit of studying (up to week two yee haw) and consuming bulk pints most nights. Staff drinks after work are keeping me in form on the weekends and through the weekdays I have accumulated a network of various drinking partners for different nights, ranging from a famous convicted graffiti artist to a German cupcake vendor. Sadly two more of my friends are heading back to their countries having served their sentences in London, however one more has come over, and my good chum Justine is coming down from the mid and/or highlands on Friday. Now having mastered the modern ‘convenience’ of the gas stove, I must focus my efforts on conquering the ‘broom’ contraption, while simultaneously putting my nasty hangover to the back of my mind. Ah, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">multitasking</i>, a women’s worst nightmare. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow""><br /></span></p>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-82859594955565073862010-08-24T03:43:00.001-07:002010-08-24T04:10:54.203-07:00A misst ye sae muckle!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEKsjh5GfnZkYxyk_QyyglnBzDDOoZt_LQh1kKJi7Kr08DVjSKmHc4UYtNS8vo2CwpQeE7myOkb5fnbVQXEGrH4-Bgcu1awDlqrVeY8NAKqntyKze7V1oRn4ZN8w3LZEayZgFaxukjcP9/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+048.JPG"></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Arial Narrow';">Guid mornin, hou ar ye?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Arial Narrow';">Welcome to my wrap up of the Land of the Gaels, the country which in fact shares the same island with <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> (yes I sealed my MENSA application yesterday), is abundant in ginger-topped outcasts and chlorophyll, and deep fries everything from their mars bars to their first born children.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">Well before we kicked off on a lengthy, uncomfortable, and little-planned eight hour bus trip, my partner in crime Jenni of the Sky, Thane of the Pavement, and I and a few others embarked on a night out on town. Like many other of our cultivated nights in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>, it started with cheap cocktails and free kebabs, and ended at a people-powered revolving dancefloor at a heavy dub and bass underground club at Shoreditch, where the only evidence of orderliness, staff, or security was a man at the door holding a shovel. Somewhere between these two extremities we danced on a bar while our friends in a band played. Totally not gloating though. But it was a bar. And a revolving dancefloor. In a club. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Revolving</i>. Ingenius. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">After a swift recovery, some speedy packing and some nifty negotiating, we were soon on our way to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">SCOTLAND</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Where the main exports are sheep, silly accents, and WHISKY. All of which I’m pleased to say we experienced in our weekend abroad. Arriving in <st1:city st="on">Edinburgh</st1:city> in the middle of the Fringe Festival was mind blowing; I can’t believe I ever tried to defend <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Brisbane</st1:place></st1:city> as ‘cultured’ and ‘refined’ when I arrived. Flyers and pamphlets were flung into our faces left right and centre in the most inventive of ways, while castles lined every skyline; and what excited me most of all was that I finally found where all the young people are hiding. Not in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>, no, everyone’s old and worrying about tax and the economy and Katie Price’s new scandal. All the young people are busy in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region> being ridiculously good looking art students. Though this is not true for everyone, we (in our good faith and sense of adventure) witnessed a bunch of unfortunate looking students performing improv for one of the most painful hours of my life. We were seduced by the witty title of ‘Edinburgh Fridge’ however it takes more than a pedestrian pun to pull off an hours’ improv about ‘The Esoteric Superior Paradise Process’ and ‘Michael Jackson Mischevious Harry Potter and the Troublesome Teletubbies’. Luckily our spirits were soon lifted by some classic Bells’ Whiskey and musical comedy. The walking tour was also really good. I thought <st1:country-region st="on">Australia</st1:country-region>’s 200 year history of convict settlement and bogans was pretty impressive until I heard about <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s history and the Scottish Enlightenment. Yeah there’s heaps of stuff about English Rule, pirates and Vikings, Loch Ness, Crown Jewels, haunted castles, and giving the keys of the city to a dog…but most importantly and notably in Scottish history (though has been overlooked on Scotland’s Wikipedia page…this may need fixing…) Scotland is where Harry Potter was imagined. AND WRITTEN. So there was pretty much no other option for Jenni and I than to spend our afternoon trawling through the cemetery where JK Rowling found names for her characters, dining at the café where she wrote it, and wondering what spells would keep us warm from the cold.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">The next fine sunny day we made our way to <st1:city st="on">Glasgow</st1:city>, which I found to be hardly as impressive as <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Edinburgh</st1:place></st1:city> as it chiefly reminded me of Brisbane and <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Queen street</st1:address></st1:street> too much. I think we definitely saw the ‘best of’ Glasgow though – that is, the ‘best of’ the inside of a pub where 10 pounds (10 Scottish pounds mind you) got us five pints and two cocktails. That said, two of the pints were bought for us ‘because it’s nice to see a new face in this pub’ (read: we haven’t seen a female in this pub for a few years)(the pub was similar to a TAB)(yes we drank cocktails at the TAB, what are you looking at?). But then, our main agenda in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region>: BLINK 182. With a median age of 14, the crowd was made up of fat, sweaty, Scottish emos who seemingly hadn’t showered in a few days and all ate Chinese for dinner. It was pretty rough, a few people fell on me from the sky and I have quite a few bruises, but my God blink were awesome! They played all the classics, and for the encore, Travis Barker played drums UPSIDE DOWN. That’s like, revolving, but in a whole nother direction. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Revolving. </i>Again. Ingenius.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">With that we spent the rest of the night at the very cold Buchanan Bus Station Hostel before an eleven hour bus ride home. Which was followed by an hours’ bus ride home, an hours’ frantic packing, another hour on the tube to Heathrow, a dramatic and somewhat uncalled for staged scene at the security gate, and then an eight hour flight to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Singapore</st1:place></st1:country-region> for young Jenni as she leaves this wondrous country of Tea and Scones. Though good effort for her, three countries in one day. She’s a woman of nerve that Jenni. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">As for me, I did get fired from my Earls’ Court job. No matter how much I tried to be posh, my inner bogan shone through. You can’t polish a turd. Or you can take the girl out of Wynnum, but you can’t take the Wynnum out of the girl. But on the positive side (of my being bankrupt and unable to afford rent), I have a new job at <a href="http://www.theworldsend.co.uk/">The World’s End</a> and the club underneath called <a href="http://www.theunderworldcamden.co.uk/">The Underworld</a>, where some really small local-you-probably-haven’t-heard-of-them bands have played like Nirvana, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Babyshamles, Goldfrapp, Pete Doherty, and others. Really underground, really indie. You wouldn’t understand. Though it’s mainly an extreme metal club – this week on of my favourite bands Motion City Soundtrack are playing which is I dunno TOTALLY AWESOME! Not being good with names, plus working with a bunch of generic hardcores, I have been identifying my co-workers by their earring size and distinguishing tattoes. There’s Spiky Stud, Gaping-Holes-In-Ears-Mike/Mark, Middle-Nostril, Fat Man with Naked Girl on Arm, Fat Man With Long Grey Hair, and Dreadlocks from <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Melbourne</st1:city></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">So that’s what I’ve been up to lately. Mainly getting fired, running away to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and working in a hardcore pub. And also being extremely disappointed and worried about the lack of certain and stable government in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. At least with a hung parliament I kind of feel that my vote actually counted in the bigger scheme of things. My vote which I threw into the ballot box while singing Khe Sahn. My vote which I may or may not have been decided by a Magic Eraser. My vote which was definitely below the line. <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, aren’t you glad I vote? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">Well keep me updated, yeah? And as they say in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region>,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">TURN UP THE EFFING HEATING, AYE!?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEKsjh5GfnZkYxyk_QyyglnBzDDOoZt_LQh1kKJi7Kr08DVjSKmHc4UYtNS8vo2CwpQeE7myOkb5fnbVQXEGrH4-Bgcu1awDlqrVeY8NAKqntyKze7V1oRn4ZN8w3LZEayZgFaxukjcP9/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+048.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEKsjh5GfnZkYxyk_QyyglnBzDDOoZt_LQh1kKJi7Kr08DVjSKmHc4UYtNS8vo2CwpQeE7myOkb5fnbVQXEGrH4-Bgcu1awDlqrVeY8NAKqntyKze7V1oRn4ZN8w3LZEayZgFaxukjcP9/s320/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+048.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508927726348393858" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">My vote needed to be well documented to properly count.</span></i></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5JmbWu-ALerYo0KDdNAxsu-RIZofBTpMndo4Bwgc0CE6qTGzcIrNNDCRAPGHITUYbndypm_lx5rHzPm7ng7xYda4I00NQFKwuQTJJfrAV3kkZ9Df_Pz-xBp2bTDw3061lVUrf-DCHSrS/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+219.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5JmbWu-ALerYo0KDdNAxsu-RIZofBTpMndo4Bwgc0CE6qTGzcIrNNDCRAPGHITUYbndypm_lx5rHzPm7ng7xYda4I00NQFKwuQTJJfrAV3kkZ9Df_Pz-xBp2bTDw3061lVUrf-DCHSrS/s320/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+219.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508927720299735938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Like hurling in Ireland and eating in Germany, Quidditch remains Scotland's national sport. This is the training pitch.</span></i></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6-wIKYtAkv_YUkYWadolELEepmeJZkvGX8KCr1Y4-63q_edrl0s-kW7s-8FtpjLEKcViNMgOzPQE6JUW6p0RNK2zTVKDWBFIFtbWAu0zioqo5q4oKletk8h23JJeTK9ULnp4XyFlCO8q/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+208.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6-wIKYtAkv_YUkYWadolELEepmeJZkvGX8KCr1Y4-63q_edrl0s-kW7s-8FtpjLEKcViNMgOzPQE6JUW6p0RNK2zTVKDWBFIFtbWAu0zioqo5q4oKletk8h23JJeTK9ULnp4XyFlCO8q/s320/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+208.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508927715573301154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2SqQFSU017diH67soYFWl0u7W7qYBvuWIvkIoswdSQqiPbCfxtUPYERWnXjoOn-xes-iyxI0qZjuxasOhJWePBG7t_-t2yyx_S94AGlIynG7hnkdG7FiDUI4UxrCE9pg5ltssy7UEI9p/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+190.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2SqQFSU017diH67soYFWl0u7W7qYBvuWIvkIoswdSQqiPbCfxtUPYERWnXjoOn-xes-iyxI0qZjuxasOhJWePBG7t_-t2yyx_S94AGlIynG7hnkdG7FiDUI4UxrCE9pg5ltssy7UEI9p/s320/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+190.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508927701793212210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Casually trawling through the cemeteries of Edinburgh.</span></i></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRS6Q8JJyapMjLYuF8DqMDWSTD5ENlDp3SP8Du8ekOcUP5A0NRnQ1-laLuJBr0jrkLdWVnPfPqfUbJuedamkHN4Frv5_nDnfbgJX8lcEuQJj7ZP6Yirm4faLDMaftZROvpom-Rkm3FRmw/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+178.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRS6Q8JJyapMjLYuF8DqMDWSTD5ENlDp3SP8Du8ekOcUP5A0NRnQ1-laLuJBr0jrkLdWVnPfPqfUbJuedamkHN4Frv5_nDnfbgJX8lcEuQJj7ZP6Yirm4faLDMaftZROvpom-Rkm3FRmw/s320/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+178.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508927698711034818" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliLYpNntXvYuHys5b8cM_6Y6CbCCP-HhQjsgmdiS7rK25IpAVtpz9M1XFLzAi7sQ9QPxobRxxUlmp_jaDFM3juPrQXqyYfQDvBjRV-e9ahjkD9aHWE-IgRVI7ZzC0j5aJWtOwohXWMP4E/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+174.JPG"></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliLYpNntXvYuHys5b8cM_6Y6CbCCP-HhQjsgmdiS7rK25IpAVtpz9M1XFLzAi7sQ9QPxobRxxUlmp_jaDFM3juPrQXqyYfQDvBjRV-e9ahjkD9aHWE-IgRVI7ZzC0j5aJWtOwohXWMP4E/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+174.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliLYpNntXvYuHys5b8cM_6Y6CbCCP-HhQjsgmdiS7rK25IpAVtpz9M1XFLzAi7sQ9QPxobRxxUlmp_jaDFM3juPrQXqyYfQDvBjRV-e9ahjkD9aHWE-IgRVI7ZzC0j5aJWtOwohXWMP4E/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+174.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508926331872942322" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Oooh...aah....well I never!</span></i></span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfcAq9OeWSaHmnw-BFCGmFD1z23sjmYckMuOCZsqGDhnMX97FiqSfDkVuNwWKctUAxCmbXFZaSgUFTAK7jPkrUJmHtxjM-G-k3cjicXEMlAvaJs1fBsf-avGJxAox3JXLRAmC9-b2CXrB/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+165.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfcAq9OeWSaHmnw-BFCGmFD1z23sjmYckMuOCZsqGDhnMX97FiqSfDkVuNwWKctUAxCmbXFZaSgUFTAK7jPkrUJmHtxjM-G-k3cjicXEMlAvaJs1fBsf-avGJxAox3JXLRAmC9-b2CXrB/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+165.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508926322501588690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssSmCX19BpJ3Cqrh_olgjCfQzSvdKvYdm9K_o7fqYMesATdFnABN5jnV8C5apou-iI5hJmwa20VYzxaQmWeX972o6N6Eao1FqD7yENC22zf2_cK1wJL-Mi7za-LPWmGnRqB2R6OsrPXN8/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+154.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssSmCX19BpJ3Cqrh_olgjCfQzSvdKvYdm9K_o7fqYMesATdFnABN5jnV8C5apou-iI5hJmwa20VYzxaQmWeX972o6N6Eao1FqD7yENC22zf2_cK1wJL-Mi7za-LPWmGnRqB2R6OsrPXN8/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+154.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508926319546376242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In one of the best stories I've heard in years, this dog was given the keys to the city to save him from being murdered. A real life Lassie. As you can see, hundreds of years later, people from all over the world take a pilgrimage to this statue to pay their respects to a beacon of hope in a world full of misery.</span></i></span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjw39KLv60x-6LPW1ZXjrId4GqLkwnqxWALUpkPParg78BP2C-2Afdf6wy-6JxYc6hBUH7ebC9PnEKta861ZKGn558FOPKzvW_2kxharXJEvfmqkGOC8RluLBBswKDTj7Q2b1aUWunXNy-/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+138.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjw39KLv60x-6LPW1ZXjrId4GqLkwnqxWALUpkPParg78BP2C-2Afdf6wy-6JxYc6hBUH7ebC9PnEKta861ZKGn558FOPKzvW_2kxharXJEvfmqkGOC8RluLBBswKDTj7Q2b1aUWunXNy-/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+138.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508926312643050098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><i>MMM DEEP FRIED HAGGIS.. marginally better than Meadow Cakes</i></span></div></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KIK8W1Q_5BzGxdIeokpKXdcnucoO-OBBH-5vAxmGMU849hbVpDylWNoHFZoaB-mX_9pxxk2WwkAWxFRp4mtDG66KhjZTqt9ZbeWdcrdjQTyRc8s5DZehWujVcb39qDCLTmoJabz1G6yb/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+136.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KIK8W1Q_5BzGxdIeokpKXdcnucoO-OBBH-5vAxmGMU849hbVpDylWNoHFZoaB-mX_9pxxk2WwkAWxFRp4mtDG66KhjZTqt9ZbeWdcrdjQTyRc8s5DZehWujVcb39qDCLTmoJabz1G6yb/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+136.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508926304526892898" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">If you're gonna buy it, deep fry it!</span></i></span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMcqjo_5M68bRnNriOqNHDBaYm02XsXfJJIoqYkSxzGp_f_XdBjF5VAEwjkaEX0TKW77CpEwmv_66HmoV166gZ9E3_bM7gn-td7vpBKUXQkNCFI7Aqx52ctkKOhC_z7evoZWcSkka8Q7V/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+126.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMcqjo_5M68bRnNriOqNHDBaYm02XsXfJJIoqYkSxzGp_f_XdBjF5VAEwjkaEX0TKW77CpEwmv_66HmoV166gZ9E3_bM7gn-td7vpBKUXQkNCFI7Aqx52ctkKOhC_z7evoZWcSkka8Q7V/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+126.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508925806422743042" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBNMZ49PwxdL2RxhwXA13VVf-JjpyYk3qEFzqIsIcp3jl-sRAug0iDg655fkFYn8fc0gE__eGZEkXsVPHPexhwBegl2j0qXOYeIlCSSnXx-O1NAyfhBJQMaL0uhPB3GrGd6vZbvS58kZ7/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+073.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBNMZ49PwxdL2RxhwXA13VVf-JjpyYk3qEFzqIsIcp3jl-sRAug0iDg655fkFYn8fc0gE__eGZEkXsVPHPexhwBegl2j0qXOYeIlCSSnXx-O1NAyfhBJQMaL0uhPB3GrGd6vZbvS58kZ7/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+073.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508925799410137138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRkMcL9dAodwF77B3ORQHh3z1LZKVr9Ybai5A4W5HWLsxKEUEx4-scmC-5ZVqRN4cLOzLcI9RUOvc6Wgz7eGKTgOXEdjkKwFYy-Mru0AxDtFp3ln0ZIu61ecjHJsNFyUqWIy8732ov8Hr/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+102.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRkMcL9dAodwF77B3ORQHh3z1LZKVr9Ybai5A4W5HWLsxKEUEx4-scmC-5ZVqRN4cLOzLcI9RUOvc6Wgz7eGKTgOXEdjkKwFYy-Mru0AxDtFp3ln0ZIu61ecjHJsNFyUqWIy8732ov8Hr/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+102.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508925794278595058" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TPXvlVze1HKdYyI8qjIn3z-Z1mDaC3jrhPsxC3y5U8nWW4YjTEk1nTBD1ozWGXfC_nk4OxWDJyVr3zGaKNsIdY8y_Hz-pgp1T7LBBZ4trIeTQCLRQ-V2hEyIQl_uMorPnbCbNH9yQRfJ/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+096.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TPXvlVze1HKdYyI8qjIn3z-Z1mDaC3jrhPsxC3y5U8nWW4YjTEk1nTBD1ozWGXfC_nk4OxWDJyVr3zGaKNsIdY8y_Hz-pgp1T7LBBZ4trIeTQCLRQ-V2hEyIQl_uMorPnbCbNH9yQRfJ/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+096.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508925790200502514" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnHWZhfNw-YM9T7vWB5fntO3OPqGKSbW0Q1bpkbsMXELrRo3HcnIC5d5DbymaJUQR-R6uN0siu_p0zXKE4DrFgCLw6kCcb1gf0qu9zLgJyJw9GRq7OTtch8rbe-V5wDNbBDvqh6f349wW/s1600/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+076.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnHWZhfNw-YM9T7vWB5fntO3OPqGKSbW0Q1bpkbsMXELrRo3HcnIC5d5DbymaJUQR-R6uN0siu_p0zXKE4DrFgCLw6kCcb1gf0qu9zLgJyJw9GRq7OTtch8rbe-V5wDNbBDvqh6f349wW/s400/WEE+BIT+O%27+FUN+076.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508925780363884530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-79941273532418304222010-08-19T03:45:00.000-07:002010-08-19T03:59:49.353-07:00le crowndale cafe<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />While I conquer the washing machine and recover from Scotland, I thought I'd make an update on how I am getting along, as few people believed I am capable of feeding myself properly or even working a gas stove for that matter (turns out gas should be turned OFF if not in use).</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now that I'm unemployed again (The Courtfield and I went our separate ways..you can take the girl out of Wynnum, but you can't take the Wynnum out of the girl) the challenge has arisen to feed myself creatively yet on a tight budget. And I embraced this challenge head on and you will be pleased to see that I have come up with a delectable range of foods for any occasion that would nourish a growing young girl such as myself. So sit yourself down at le Shitspatrick Steakhouse and take a look as our finest chefs prepare you London's greatest dishes which are up there with Jamie Oliver and that other fat British guy from Masterchef.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">THE SHITSPATRICK STEAKHOUSE</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;">on Crowndale Mansions</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">**All meals are served with natural garnish freshly picked from the courtyard gardens (garnish subject to dirt and forces of nature) **<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><b>STARTERS</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Black tea with wholemeal bread crust<span style="mso-tab-count:2"> </span>67p<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">A la raw Toaste – a matured slice of bread wrapped in oxygen, lightly garnished with happiness 75p<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Room temperature water (options available: still, fresh, tap, toilet, recycled) 25p<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><b>MAINS</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">French toast (no milk – lactose intolerant alternative)<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1.50<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">May-or-may-not-be-off crispy garden salad<span style="mso-tab-count:3"> </span>67p<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><i>A lucky dip of various leafy greens found in the Crowndale gardens garnished with natural dressing.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Medium-rare scrambled eggs <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> $1<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><i>Taking runny eggs to a whole new level. Ideal for the adventurous eater or egg enthusiast.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Soup of the day – <b>now with no ‘bits’</b>! <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 3"> </span>90p<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><i>A vegan and gluten free alternative</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Complimentary leftover balls<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><i>a delicious variety of bite-sized pieces of food served at room temperature served on cutlery and plate glazed in <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>residual protein-synthesizing-saliva and lingering sauce</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Baby food puree <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:5"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>70p<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <br /><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>contains all essential vitamins and minerals essential for a growing human being pleasantly packaged into a <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>small calorie restricted easy to digest meal</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">House Haggis<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>50p<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><i> best not to ask</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><b>DESERT</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Tea with milk<span style="mso-tab-count:2"> </span>$1<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Milk with tea<span style="mso-tab-count:2"> </span>$1<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Chewing gum<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>80p<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><b>SIDES</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Banana bits</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Watermelon dregs<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Meadow Cake<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">All meals are subject to seasons and income. Some food may contain traces of mould. You may remove/scoop out the mould yourself or ask one of our friendly chefs to do it for you for a 80p surcharge.<br /><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:Arial">Tips are welcome. All meals are suitable for children. There is no free wifi. Unisex toilets are located on the right hand side of the kitchen sink. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:Arial"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial">I will update with Blink 182, revolving dancefloors at Shoreditch, getting fired, Edinburgh Fringe, Glasgow, Jenni's sad farewell and other stories from the vault soon. Living, working, AND STUDYING in London gets very tiresome you see.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial">As they say in Scotland, A NOD'S AS GUID AS A WINK TAE AND A BLIND HORSE, AY!</span></p></span></span></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-85278249103858647432010-08-10T05:33:00.000-07:002010-08-10T05:42:53.534-07:00youth is wasted on the young<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHh6FZSbzf317uCn_uKi7LstRDdd6tv5RgVVtIDzbZWgmlzWU2khCVWEIARP0pHe5J3hyphenhypheni16wsTIWEjgLQVdHtdGf0_TYXFbSGqAtWg_lsFp_M1-o6rY_nXBg7LzO7e8NJdxwA7tCzufs5/s1600/LONDINIUM+007.jpg"></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">If there are three things I love in life, they are beer, Gilmore Girls, and lapels. And my oh my, the last two weeks my fortunate eyes have been blessed with enough lapels to make even David Bowie weep. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;">So I have been rather lazy with updating this damned thing lately, as I have discovered the Meaning Of Life and have become embittered by the constant reliance of humanity on the internet. In other words, I haven't found the time to drag my lazy ass to a Maccas or a free wi-fi pub in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Camden</st1:place></st1:city> to stay in touch with my brilliant friends and family back home. I like to think that I put my own personal spin on ‘loyalty’, in what could only be described as a liberal interpretation. Well yesterday marked five weeks since I've been in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Tea</st1:placename></st1:place> and Scones, which unexpectedly coincides with five weeks since Queensland Police experienced an unprecedented 78% drop in alcohol related arrests and 7/11 encountered a 66% decline in cheese and bacon sausage roll sales. Sadly I failed the “putting two and two together” lesson in Year 1 Maths and thus cannot possibly think there is any correlation between these events whatsoever. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;">Now back to the lapels, and all things lapel-related…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;">In order to perfect my imitation of the London hipster, for the past couple of weeks I have been deviously spying on the Camden mod-rocker in all his lapel-wearing coiff-sporting glory, and tracking his lifestyle choices, income levels, socio-economic status, places of worship, spending habits, attitudes, values, and beliefs, and fashion and musical tastes. I think by now I can be considered an expert on the subject at the very least. With various friends I have in the London area (including falafel-reactionary Jenni, Lady of the Swans Steph, Warwick Todd-in-the-off-season-Grant, and Her Royal Highness Krysi) I have been enjoying mingling with the hoi polloi at Camden pubs (frequented by not only myself but Schapelle Corby’s other sister (no, not the one named after a car (triple brackets!!)) Amy Winehouse), dancing on-stage with bands that you are probably too lowbrow to have even heard of, salivating at the Shoreditch vintage markets, sleeping at art studios, reading NME, drinking organic half strength rice milk hazelnut lattes (two artificial sweeteners thanks – no sugar) and generally being more indie than you can ever fathom. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;">Don’t believe me? Check this out!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHh6FZSbzf317uCn_uKi7LstRDdd6tv5RgVVtIDzbZWgmlzWU2khCVWEIARP0pHe5J3hyphenhypheni16wsTIWEjgLQVdHtdGf0_TYXFbSGqAtWg_lsFp_M1-o6rY_nXBg7LzO7e8NJdxwA7tCzufs5/s1600/LONDINIUM+007.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHh6FZSbzf317uCn_uKi7LstRDdd6tv5RgVVtIDzbZWgmlzWU2khCVWEIARP0pHe5J3hyphenhypheni16wsTIWEjgLQVdHtdGf0_TYXFbSGqAtWg_lsFp_M1-o6rY_nXBg7LzO7e8NJdxwA7tCzufs5/s400/LONDINIUM+007.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503760496977608178" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 176px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3wn2xGmEybMv9TJScbQRiaZcFkyq0STEk_M90ybMcyzozlbQG-QheFTJaTxU1RY3uqmBj8uBsTjsn7eJ4qtTeugnqAMz530zGs8O8GFiTg-5ErGmvSceIrtBGPPcMbd4KE-aI2rnvT5j/s1600/LONDINIUM+006.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3wn2xGmEybMv9TJScbQRiaZcFkyq0STEk_M90ybMcyzozlbQG-QheFTJaTxU1RY3uqmBj8uBsTjsn7eJ4qtTeugnqAMz530zGs8O8GFiTg-5ErGmvSceIrtBGPPcMbd4KE-aI2rnvT5j/s400/LONDINIUM+006.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503759444259936082" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 220px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDLzGMul2o2FzsW1bFSdzb4NfFSx7BVZS2dbwzPnPYiciLX-tvPJhuvrmj2Oy8x_kmp0XultSyEuqHTb2-68-9Ar_Okq7EWdJm9IVGi9nsK79kYSWNl6v0tWq7B6DsI7PvIaPUjI-9R66/s1600/LONDINIUM+005.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDLzGMul2o2FzsW1bFSdzb4NfFSx7BVZS2dbwzPnPYiciLX-tvPJhuvrmj2Oy8x_kmp0XultSyEuqHTb2-68-9Ar_Okq7EWdJm9IVGi9nsK79kYSWNl6v0tWq7B6DsI7PvIaPUjI-9R66/s400/LONDINIUM+005.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503759435370217682" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 220px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2LLaaLAQgttnk2jZkXxnmXoAuYsAOWy0AZoXAyR9ht74uOG3Tzfci79zmq11F10bs5N5mnA3RFA5NhWkVk6cA03p3pqRL7guHKI-dTc12s5pZVGqZV9d2YgLXzdUl-42MXmZLX97FYZh/s1600/LONDINIUM+004.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2LLaaLAQgttnk2jZkXxnmXoAuYsAOWy0AZoXAyR9ht74uOG3Tzfci79zmq11F10bs5N5mnA3RFA5NhWkVk6cA03p3pqRL7guHKI-dTc12s5pZVGqZV9d2YgLXzdUl-42MXmZLX97FYZh/s400/LONDINIUM+004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503759427810353858" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 220px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgtes-9m1l7V8YSl7hmzcGTL857s1rVrQMQxqERIWs7_Y4S9BTmtMD1jMPsVc1B_5wJ21t3u8VeU__jTzJMTdImqBzHFUZgNWabEnNTYoyxI93M0FLGFRBkneqqdowceR3XzXBvYkvEfO/s1600/LONDINIUM+003.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgtes-9m1l7V8YSl7hmzcGTL857s1rVrQMQxqERIWs7_Y4S9BTmtMD1jMPsVc1B_5wJ21t3u8VeU__jTzJMTdImqBzHFUZgNWabEnNTYoyxI93M0FLGFRBkneqqdowceR3XzXBvYkvEfO/s400/LONDINIUM+003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503759419580647090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 220px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizBqpe9P_K2b7JOsW_vlHzrGNCaEQ4dmZ82D-3R-6Lj2r5dKGKC-1EnVdS7cPAnsa5j68Tv5cyDOe6UauByR8hsnn27RoPSXk9501qRv2RcVzq8hCCvFJ2ardTx5EYwUpbxPVprsXPsYPt/s1600/LONDINIUM+002.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizBqpe9P_K2b7JOsW_vlHzrGNCaEQ4dmZ82D-3R-6Lj2r5dKGKC-1EnVdS7cPAnsa5j68Tv5cyDOe6UauByR8hsnn27RoPSXk9501qRv2RcVzq8hCCvFJ2ardTx5EYwUpbxPVprsXPsYPt/s400/LONDINIUM+002.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503759415904826946" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 176px; " /></a></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><br /></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;">And I also learnt about <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s more, uhm, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">lax</i> economy, where you can trade two things of relative value, like an old school market exchange. For example, it is very acceptable (especially in the early hours of the morning) and stores are more than willing to exchange whole watermelons for a satisfying chicken and chips feed. Or, alternatively, you could exchange your dignity for free falafel pellets swathed in nauseating white sauce of a questionable nature. A free market for all!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;">And like the EKKA attracts carnies, like flies swarm to streaming fresh dog poo, last week The Courtfield via the Earl’s Court Beerfest magnetized the patronage of every illiterate tourist, every mentally unstable nomad, and every seedy old man that Earl’s Court could summon. It was hectic. Whatever small globules of dignity I had left after the falafel incident have been drained by this demanding experience. Even more taxing, I have been working about 37289 hours in the past couple of weeks, with only two nights off to achieve all the above. With all this bar experience, I am pretty much rendered an expert on a) talking pub bullshit b) maximising tips c) warding off unwanted attention. Don’t believe me? Here’s the Shitspatrick Big Book of Working in an English Pub.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;"><b>Talking B/S</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;">Already having a sound repertoire in talking bull, you’d think I would be a natural in this field. And you’re right, I am. However after taking two weeks off before starting work I needed to fine-tune my skills and allow for a more nationalistic approach, focusing my banter and witty retorts on the wars (past and present, though I would generally stick to the World Wars if I were you – it’s a more universal thing), being a convict, being a met east kangaroo champion, speaking ‘Australian’ as opposed to ‘English’, all things Forster’s, and of course, our gallant Prime Minister affectionately known as ‘Koschie’. The old punters – even the ones who have been to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> (whereabouts in Austraila? –<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Christchurch</st1:place></st1:city>) love it. Love. It.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:black;">That Aussie sheila behind the bar? Yeah she’s a right riot. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b>Maximising Tips</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Mostly this can be achieved by utilising the skills you have attained in 1. Talking B/S, but it can also be helpful to focus your energies on Americans, hand out as much coinage as possible, and dolefully note that you haven’t eaten in four days and am sharing a room with a delightful family of rodents who enjoy Wednesday’s Desperate Housewives on BBC.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">W<b>arding off unwanted attention</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Coming home at 1:30am at night in the World’s [Seediest] Capital, this can be a very uncomfortable situation. It can be lessened by open declarations of transexuality or androgyny, wearing baggy clothes, or smelling quite ‘off’ (this can be achieved by avoiding showering for a few days and dousing oneself in beer). Though one could also take a ‘pint half full’ approach and turn it into an opportunity – you crave a kebab right, and Yousef from Kebab House craves company – so with some cunning manovering and sly comments, you now have yourself a kebab! Ingenius! And thanks to Mohammed (not kidding, it’s his name) at Food & Wine, I have a nightly supply of expired fruit and veg. Who said <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> was the world’s most expensive city to live in!?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">So ladies and gents, family and friends, cyber-prowlers and NASA engineers alike, my fortnightly update has come to a close as I feel the circulation in my legs beginning to wane. I am off to bigger and better things – to vote, as a matter of fact. Alas, that is why I am at the library for the internet in the first place – to seek the major and minor parties long term political objectives and how aligned they are with party policies and ideologies in order to make my first informed decision in the coming election. Looks like I’ll just have to make a donkey vote instead. Some other things I’ll be doing this week that you should be insanely jealous about: UK Mobile Phone Throwing Championships, art farty stuff at <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Camden</st1:city></st1:place>, going out tonight (!!), paying for my OKTOBERFEST tickets, dancing on stage at a Shoreditch gig in matching lycra dresses, running through Regent’s Park with the pigeons, and spending my monthly paycheck in its entirety. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-77664379283835476772010-07-26T04:29:00.000-07:002010-07-26T05:11:46.197-07:00from sudbury to camden<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-size:medium;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div></span></div></span></span></i></span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwvLhnXAQgfBkTEXK0FFzmOoGuw5-_6WxoLPEiDRaSWfVq1_MZHTB9gv3qzJ5-PYT_nQAZvqA7aJP6kECw20qoJojqe_ok58zErl3gV8KWLtIrjzwUr9vOvcFJQIqJm0R6kCLBouoZrgj/s1600/LONDINIUM+088.JPG"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So the time came for me to leave the humble old town of Sudbury Hills to move on to bigger and better (and more central) things. Though my presence proved invaluable for fetching Foster’s from the fridge, opening tricky bottles, and stimulating lulling conversation with questionable input, I felt that in the words of Gough Whitlam, “It’s time”. But Sudbury Hills and its’ many wonders will always occupy a special place in my heart, in the same way that my nostalgia for rusty nails and asbestos walls also holds a special meaning in my heart. So it was with great sadness that I took a last tour of old </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sudbury</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, seeing the sights and sounds that its’ CBD offers (or 200m of main street). To enlighten you unto some of these hidden beauties of </span></span><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">London</span></span></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, here is what I saw at </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sudbury</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">…</span></span></span></p></i></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"></span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-size:medium;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aWg2wVpsx8R3nyol8ZebWELwECTLc4HcH2SPf1BW2jcULH8Dj5_KClhmxauyNg2-LF6TnYqQQj7Lpp-CMkvAwV0IfLfch7XS6UmWo8ciTv3HXHxJYCxPXdg0u6YBRadw-Z7r_NrmRU7i/s1600/LONDINIUM+084.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aWg2wVpsx8R3nyol8ZebWELwECTLc4HcH2SPf1BW2jcULH8Dj5_KClhmxauyNg2-LF6TnYqQQj7Lpp-CMkvAwV0IfLfch7XS6UmWo8ciTv3HXHxJYCxPXdg0u6YBRadw-Z7r_NrmRU7i/s320/LONDINIUM+084.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498182338053939330" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When I saw porn sitting atop of my Dr Seuss, it was obvious that Sudbury and I had different artistic ideals</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">.</span></i></div></span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dQHp1v5y7O3zLiPM3PZU8VHI2yAI9fnpjUL3Zomzu_l054xEfCzR8ca6_gyy1rpJpMs8HGYkiOHzw-JO1CF1IQdZdp-eqtUiF7JBGFYYdUvP2ab4fQrahxJdw74DciDcG-lD3MXEdHtD/s1600/LONDINIUM+083.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dQHp1v5y7O3zLiPM3PZU8VHI2yAI9fnpjUL3Zomzu_l054xEfCzR8ca6_gyy1rpJpMs8HGYkiOHzw-JO1CF1IQdZdp-eqtUiF7JBGFYYdUvP2ab4fQrahxJdw74DciDcG-lD3MXEdHtD/s320/LONDINIUM+083.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498182331345044466" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Only 'safer' than 'Nontoxic Food' next door.</span></span></i></div></span><div><br /></div><i><br /></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlC1S36nAh1I_dm9wR_jngodGPjB_2hZL8cpBm3WCzViOXrccySoJAKsvvjQ1CwX5vL1i3QOhdWTNy2LCvYnHO66VmJTQxhSgrz9azgQNDfFpMOzHAlie23rnLhTd1Ia8sMInb9SW8aCfK/s1600/LONDINIUM+082.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlC1S36nAh1I_dm9wR_jngodGPjB_2hZL8cpBm3WCzViOXrccySoJAKsvvjQ1CwX5vL1i3QOhdWTNy2LCvYnHO66VmJTQxhSgrz9azgQNDfFpMOzHAlie23rnLhTd1Ia8sMInb9SW8aCfK/s320/LONDINIUM+082.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498178782369189170" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sudbury can be characterised by two things: Chicken, and Muslims. This photo has them both in it, which is why it is great.</span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVpLXKkjjO8UyEX9Y_n4stKxRFPPKYjOzwoSDEoDd4IgY8DrnYMQ4Cs_Ptk-CEJY4YoKn7fCIU6Wwds6oP3tVaiT5gOD4rPtCAsEufM2un_nDLYNKV6xciJXdzUSJPDtS_WN0dL1gbsJr/s1600/LONDINIUM+080.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVpLXKkjjO8UyEX9Y_n4stKxRFPPKYjOzwoSDEoDd4IgY8DrnYMQ4Cs_Ptk-CEJY4YoKn7fCIU6Wwds6oP3tVaiT5gOD4rPtCAsEufM2un_nDLYNKV6xciJXdzUSJPDtS_WN0dL1gbsJr/s320/LONDINIUM+080.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498178777098978658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Chicken shops in Sudbury are as widespread as Centrelinks in Logan.</span></span></i></div></span><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XSvLsVUFiUrnIi8MNq-p6YeLr_kpV12OTB2JzwPOfvX6W5Mt0OmZdSCWuMWxaynQdj2HZCYTJ3N-Bq3k1GYlBGKrAQSFRP49paiEINHtwxbaDznf1knQ4BNoK_q3Z7rfec6t9_qmOmKl/s1600/LONDINIUM+079.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XSvLsVUFiUrnIi8MNq-p6YeLr_kpV12OTB2JzwPOfvX6W5Mt0OmZdSCWuMWxaynQdj2HZCYTJ3N-Bq3k1GYlBGKrAQSFRP49paiEINHtwxbaDznf1knQ4BNoK_q3Z7rfec6t9_qmOmKl/s320/LONDINIUM+079.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498178766041471682" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4 Privet Drive.</span></i></div></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i><br /></i></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApm8tikNyBQr6nLNyNSNcgMDVubdjpUZPY3XOlaXgSW8ycwtaTl6UOo47VfkLY1qZTuKRTbJYZjQ6ab3CPRSIFjfRPX1ykqu3W51DiU6XqvPWnLd5B9du0sbg-6A6lvHQfXEjWEMX7X5B/s1600/LONDINIUM+078.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApm8tikNyBQr6nLNyNSNcgMDVubdjpUZPY3XOlaXgSW8ycwtaTl6UOo47VfkLY1qZTuKRTbJYZjQ6ab3CPRSIFjfRPX1ykqu3W51DiU6XqvPWnLd5B9du0sbg-6A6lvHQfXEjWEMX7X5B/s320/LONDINIUM+078.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498178754408602994" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Gas here is a luxury good.</span></i></div></span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1xsvD92wqZxA46sU3gTlJzyFtvvOeRaCDlC2_VpfDO1tWyl_g8Ip-YBJTZdDMIwqMp5uGq-ZehNhURWmaONv5ncz7SGVmEcpr9V6TVK1vgNf1FgL9TTMPEfZUz7BIc-0iY_ksPqM7Qg-/s1600/LONDINIUM+074.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1xsvD92wqZxA46sU3gTlJzyFtvvOeRaCDlC2_VpfDO1tWyl_g8Ip-YBJTZdDMIwqMp5uGq-ZehNhURWmaONv5ncz7SGVmEcpr9V6TVK1vgNf1FgL9TTMPEfZUz7BIc-0iY_ksPqM7Qg-/s320/LONDINIUM+074.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498178751471542354" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ah, and those crazy Irish boys with their crazy ISO settings.</span></i></div></span></div></div></span></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And after lugging my enormous luggage across five different tube stops (thanks to ‘improvement works’ disrupting the lines), I arrived at my new hometown, </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">CAMDEN</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. I decided to explore my new neighbourhood and discovered that my backyard is home to the Electric Ballroom, Camden Proud, Camden Barfly, Koko, Underworld, and of course the markets! So imagine living in the valley, but minus the wankers and double the hipsters. I can tell I’m going to like it here. Oh and did I mention Amy Winehouse is my neighbour? Well she is, and we’re doing lines of coke later. What’s more is that it’s quite similar to my modestly beautiful hometown of Wynnum, so I pretty much already feel at home. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwvLhnXAQgfBkTEXK0FFzmOoGuw5-_6WxoLPEiDRaSWfVq1_MZHTB9gv3qzJ5-PYT_nQAZvqA7aJP6kECw20qoJojqe_ok58zErl3gV8KWLtIrjzwUr9vOvcFJQIqJm0R6kCLBouoZrgj/s1600/LONDINIUM+088.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwvLhnXAQgfBkTEXK0FFzmOoGuw5-_6WxoLPEiDRaSWfVq1_MZHTB9gv3qzJ5-PYT_nQAZvqA7aJP6kECw20qoJojqe_ok58zErl3gV8KWLtIrjzwUr9vOvcFJQIqJm0R6kCLBouoZrgj/s320/LONDINIUM+088.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498182358731943954" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Like Wynnum, Camden boasts many impressive vintage and op shops including this one especially tailored to the mature population (or those of us who appreciate a mature fashion style).</span></i></span></div></span><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEihKpG1VceBh5cvdcMGpQXiT0iossOGFAJaCtBxJqo_TcqY9q_3k0kdX_kNX-bSAkwDOLTjbMqkxtWDcApiUwBnW4HJ4_PZ-1KztH3uqnDOTMTmq1YyXx8jWtccMjcv-LFs_CEqjndL7a/s1600/LONDINIUM+085.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEihKpG1VceBh5cvdcMGpQXiT0iossOGFAJaCtBxJqo_TcqY9q_3k0kdX_kNX-bSAkwDOLTjbMqkxtWDcApiUwBnW4HJ4_PZ-1KztH3uqnDOTMTmq1YyXx8jWtccMjcv-LFs_CEqjndL7a/s320/LONDINIUM+085.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498182349423240066" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Op shops and markets and novelty betting agencies, oh my!</span></span></i></div></span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AvZDwNvv5SrvLaQdyFP5_0_3g7n-Q9ZWk5m0RC4I86r0b5fuJwwxJ2YffoL8vbLPkefHtfiD3KK19i_viotNWwF9l6WZXxJSzwUcaQs4TMRl2P98a6vmP3Z2tj-h6RbJI6r0Ig9b4pc-/s1600/LONDINIUM+087.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AvZDwNvv5SrvLaQdyFP5_0_3g7n-Q9ZWk5m0RC4I86r0b5fuJwwxJ2YffoL8vbLPkefHtfiD3KK19i_viotNWwF9l6WZXxJSzwUcaQs4TMRl2P98a6vmP3Z2tj-h6RbJI6r0Ig9b4pc-/s320/LONDINIUM+087.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498182339372038626" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nothing screams quality like this aesthetically pleasing "99p stores" sign.</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIihxNQpamrh540rapo6l8yjig0S37AOngZLjEjcagvmyISVFErXQFUBc81EZJ3AsotYXUpqtsxjwMaoqXxDPmsC1HlrhYWAKu_GFKNRQs7qDe6LPIDYmju3H504IVftvaBs6zVypVNd9l/s1600/LONDINIUM+097.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIihxNQpamrh540rapo6l8yjig0S37AOngZLjEjcagvmyISVFErXQFUBc81EZJ3AsotYXUpqtsxjwMaoqXxDPmsC1HlrhYWAKu_GFKNRQs7qDe6LPIDYmju3H504IVftvaBs6zVypVNd9l/s320/LONDINIUM+097.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498184967860811058" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-size:medium;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><i>The stunning panoramic view of Kings Cross Station from my bedroom window.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><i><br /></i></span></div></span></div></span></span></i></span><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCDthfHSlsJlY-rwAR0aR8MhY3qbNzeiXKelQpyXX0lmxJZun9dnrnkXKy-mWJ2dCdzOVk5bNuZcALYwmwJrSRGB7z6YHTfLyIDHVxZLck9Z6eyZAeczGFA83UQXhYpCQ7fpRKJl40FEy/s1600/LONDINIUM+094.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCDthfHSlsJlY-rwAR0aR8MhY3qbNzeiXKelQpyXX0lmxJZun9dnrnkXKy-mWJ2dCdzOVk5bNuZcALYwmwJrSRGB7z6YHTfLyIDHVxZLck9Z6eyZAeczGFA83UQXhYpCQ7fpRKJl40FEy/s320/LONDINIUM+094.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498184955559449490" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-size:medium;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">That Nice Launderette - nothing like That Lousy Launderette in Sudbury.</span></span></i></div></span></div></span></span></i></span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvGDisZfmXQMqfI2oswKB2q3L7QYtFOeELGrv-GSv3vbRjAx6aot7appmmcvqq8c5JMw2ky-vz5XI8sFKfqXIyeQ12FDifx_6iB-lnqeP0EZ8y6md7z7a5pOwBzzxDtuUh89lKJt3O_af/s1600/LONDINIUM+092.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvGDisZfmXQMqfI2oswKB2q3L7QYtFOeELGrv-GSv3vbRjAx6aot7appmmcvqq8c5JMw2ky-vz5XI8sFKfqXIyeQ12FDifx_6iB-lnqeP0EZ8y6md7z7a5pOwBzzxDtuUh89lKJt3O_af/s320/LONDINIUM+092.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498184951174040946" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-size:medium;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">With EVERSHOLT STREET right down the road, I'm sure I'm going to feel right at home</span></span></i></div></span></div></span></span></i></span></div></span></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><br /></span></i></div></span></div></span></span></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The only down side is that it’s quite a hike from my work, with a nightbus coming only hourly after I finish at 12:30, which means I won’t get home until 1:45am. I haven’t seemed to mind too much, as usually after work, two pints of each beer are poured while us hardworking bar staff kick on from where our raucous patrons left off half an hour earlier. I’m loving work at my classy Earl’s Court pub, with an eclectic mix of Aussie, gay, and posh patrons to keep me entertained. However a main challenge is to fine tune my pub banter skills. Usually I am on the producing end of talking drunken BS to bartenders, but now that I’m on the other side I have to choose to either take a mature line and make rational contradictory arguments, or seep to their level and talk BS right back to them. Ah, the paradox of being a bullshit artist. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now that I’ve set myself up (meaning I’m employed, found a home, and no longer bankrupt) and have a few mates here and there – and am networking my way into the ‘</span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Camden</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> scene’ - I’m starting to get busier, so don’t expect too much. In fact, I’ve almost forgotten everyone in </span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Australia</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> anyway. Why is this “Mark Fitzpatrick” person who plaguing my Facebook? Who is this “Halle Johnson” character that sounds a bit familiar? Deary me!</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p></i></div></span></div></div></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-84386606779145804432010-07-19T09:38:00.000-07:002010-07-19T11:59:39.407-07:00hee hee<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">Today I felt a bit blue, about being homeless and all...so I watched this and re-discovered my inner creative genius and felt better.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KrlMLc6PDqg&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KrlMLc6PDqg&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-18930794698612780432010-07-17T06:18:00.000-07:002010-07-19T02:57:13.469-07:00oh my days!<div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><br />Despite the perfect snoozing weather of late, I felt obliged to get off my backside and do some touristy things and ‘enculture’ myself. So I visited the two museums, a theatre, an art gallery, two cathedrals, and some random cricket field named ‘Lords’ which I talked about earlier. I feel these escapades are best explained through pictures (or for the highbrow of you, a ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">visual narrative</i>’) with a few anecdotes here and there to complement the visual aids. Enjoy.<br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><br />Firstly I made my way to the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Dickens</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Which. Was. Amazing. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family:Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyW1U8g44PwhjRvLvUYLsqQHhwYNTAUuHNxfEZiT916X6xlDt2mSkzNviUTU6gvjp6WWxjID7dsgoNTUGrF-VZIgFfmSrnmmZqTsUtSTYFFM2OWGXJI3A7VGxdUkbsYY-jeGjMb0T5Yth/s1600/LONDINIUM+119.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpae4l6HIMVIAdpXspPArrbb84qrcrhL5XWB0eRGntX0C62IeWrZzfVDmEz0onImhrvFLmllM0c0cZBtoI9Jou0jCfW3S3GXIKojzDN1viZlsuetjZXSEoKIbW61RBhf8SnSilgI1LkmI/s1600/LONDINIUM+098.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpae4l6HIMVIAdpXspPArrbb84qrcrhL5XWB0eRGntX0C62IeWrZzfVDmEz0onImhrvFLmllM0c0cZBtoI9Jou0jCfW3S3GXIKojzDN1viZlsuetjZXSEoKIbW61RBhf8SnSilgI1LkmI/s400/LONDINIUM+098.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494865400919248242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiWOYcAd0oXNKXp8Ru904kYuPKNbBGKtPAlpnOhzjaDZW6-qNcmRxTU0ZB9qkJDcynPQMPRJxT1lPUVaQ9qIoPUvlqqlOzZ0VCxJKpODLjtatc-RRCWasxhuTogGSp9Erx6odbIBeX_QV/s1600/LONDINIUM+084.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiWOYcAd0oXNKXp8Ru904kYuPKNbBGKtPAlpnOhzjaDZW6-qNcmRxTU0ZB9qkJDcynPQMPRJxT1lPUVaQ9qIoPUvlqqlOzZ0VCxJKpODLjtatc-RRCWasxhuTogGSp9Erx6odbIBeX_QV/s400/LONDINIUM+084.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494865388575555138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YKUn2oe6WKu07c2az0XfOk29jXO78lWv_nxApxsfLUWfLDIIFBnGIeAT9zCobit2vRgUShGUPEpZJjxbHotDRfOqhBAFZfIdUzgtR7E6IWunmuZBCtHgVeCnVBDmHKZHXhT2KO6vnRZO/s1600/LONDINIUM+068.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YKUn2oe6WKu07c2az0XfOk29jXO78lWv_nxApxsfLUWfLDIIFBnGIeAT9zCobit2vRgUShGUPEpZJjxbHotDRfOqhBAFZfIdUzgtR7E6IWunmuZBCtHgVeCnVBDmHKZHXhT2KO6vnRZO/s400/LONDINIUM+068.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494865386760421970" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvCKN6Vy3XCJioQK3Lnoz_8Ne-zmDm4ZFFU5rQvv_OmQn0zCHowNMdjsQZIIK5360Aibi0RHkVod9ZQybEBoRvNlwUZYIamlh4nn-e_W10k4Onb_rN8iHQXnYApb8VDcMPOlGcA6msSnq/s1600/LONDINIUM+053.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvCKN6Vy3XCJioQK3Lnoz_8Ne-zmDm4ZFFU5rQvv_OmQn0zCHowNMdjsQZIIK5360Aibi0RHkVod9ZQybEBoRvNlwUZYIamlh4nn-e_W10k4Onb_rN8iHQXnYApb8VDcMPOlGcA6msSnq/s400/LONDINIUM+053.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494865377949390098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></span><p></p></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">However the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">British</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place> on the other hand, I found as boring as bat shit. It was full of ancient mesapetonian relics and crap. Each medallion, ancient coin or ceramic bowl I saw atrophied my mind a little more and brought me to the brink of my existence.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"> <o:p></o:p></span></p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyW1U8g44PwhjRvLvUYLsqQHhwYNTAUuHNxfEZiT916X6xlDt2mSkzNviUTU6gvjp6WWxjID7dsgoNTUGrF-VZIgFfmSrnmmZqTsUtSTYFFM2OWGXJI3A7VGxdUkbsYY-jeGjMb0T5Yth/s320/LONDINIUM+119.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494867341043293842" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-family:Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The </span></span><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Great Court of a different kind,</span></span></st1:address></st1:street><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> where Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDMXzdtYMo5KxPMskhyphenhyphenGWaYnUmaqvhs5NSyT-K0bZx8tE9XEo-gxAMOooWmDuUC_lpUkKLEIo6lQR1Rj3M0wfFz5mW4u_yJSggRJpEKFjRwUAoTmAetNHhFzTMouwobI1CfkGBsGSIgy5/s1600/LONDINIUM+142.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDMXzdtYMo5KxPMskhyphenhyphenGWaYnUmaqvhs5NSyT-K0bZx8tE9XEo-gxAMOooWmDuUC_lpUkKLEIo6lQR1Rj3M0wfFz5mW4u_yJSggRJpEKFjRwUAoTmAetNHhFzTMouwobI1CfkGBsGSIgy5/s320/LONDINIUM+142.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494867371727176242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqJgg8vluw5y0Vh6BvdRkzlOsu4hmefckCCJ0r1mp3819qLwHL82kr5rCem7Ko3nBBFy1g_DplYU8hDlF7Z2x3GL1KgERS9NX6FAudbAKzNKFsiClA-EBciPa6YVdk-45cTUYALfWzbi7/s1600/LONDINIUM+132.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqJgg8vluw5y0Vh6BvdRkzlOsu4hmefckCCJ0r1mp3819qLwHL82kr5rCem7Ko3nBBFy1g_DplYU8hDlF7Z2x3GL1KgERS9NX6FAudbAKzNKFsiClA-EBciPa6YVdk-45cTUYALfWzbi7/s320/LONDINIUM+132.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494867360925776914" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-family:Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Only freaks of nature like Sarah could appreciate such needless hocus-pocus relics</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrreSWoKYUV6WRqDtoa1mf4BJZW3XTDZ70keNawO_r8nT09-QmpNIcE-3sHRqW-LGqXi7aHw1L57c0cUx5fmL7quakna0jEpAgkvS5vaNsGMS34p95T3uTeF2zxNoZM55PPAWeNtbDbESL/s1600/LONDINIUM+136.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrreSWoKYUV6WRqDtoa1mf4BJZW3XTDZ70keNawO_r8nT09-QmpNIcE-3sHRqW-LGqXi7aHw1L57c0cUx5fmL7quakna0jEpAgkvS5vaNsGMS34p95T3uTeF2zxNoZM55PPAWeNtbDbESL/s320/LONDINIUM+136.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494867351032805074" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxTYmf6jJ0FmiI_OmqXahKFbP_gB7PLTO-RvDcRDm-Eofq5SVYi8Te8cNhhNkfHUYkoz73lIMf26w7hEdQSJV4PH2iujQfyUYMzYL43_8q-tlFnd6zrcmJlD5h1j1bbde4EiyGd9hdH9E/s1600/LONDINIUM+123.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxTYmf6jJ0FmiI_OmqXahKFbP_gB7PLTO-RvDcRDm-Eofq5SVYi8Te8cNhhNkfHUYkoz73lIMf26w7hEdQSJV4PH2iujQfyUYMzYL43_8q-tlFnd6zrcmJlD5h1j1bbde4EiyGd9hdH9E/s320/LONDINIUM+123.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494867349982488914" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-family:Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This clay pot is probably the sacred object of worship of an ancient Mesopotamian civilisation..</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">On Wednesday I ventured out in the harsh <st1:city st="on">London</st1:city> winds to see the famed <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">London</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place> (which may or may not be falling down). Though I have always prided myself on a good sense of direction and common sense, I simply couldn’t locate the bridge, but instead ended up at a gothic cathedral at Southwark which was quite splendid.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXA15phWKfTdfU518h4ZBTkvZgjPcyE1vorFPkavc86QqzzDq8u8qmM2V1a6jEBPfS-2BoiXiPHM_I276jehO5Edk9OhvPx0DIYS9WSxfJ1ft5v-XIEVtueFhTiUTt8ZPT00ZmJius0sEi/s1600/LONDINIUM+190.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXA15phWKfTdfU518h4ZBTkvZgjPcyE1vorFPkavc86QqzzDq8u8qmM2V1a6jEBPfS-2BoiXiPHM_I276jehO5Edk9OhvPx0DIYS9WSxfJ1ft5v-XIEVtueFhTiUTt8ZPT00ZmJius0sEi/s320/LONDINIUM+190.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494869729475546930" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZ4-B23wT54UjZw3d6L8HfkSC85HnaRB-fvf0wLM0z7eo-WafDXVqieOmjxeIOSMFjDQjbIvhXtgzjQlcomI4_s-oTZpPSBQZViJooixKxbXjkthuua0IfqeyaS6YfhqZDCLevUazHAL-/s1600/LONDINIUM+182.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZ4-B23wT54UjZw3d6L8HfkSC85HnaRB-fvf0wLM0z7eo-WafDXVqieOmjxeIOSMFjDQjbIvhXtgzjQlcomI4_s-oTZpPSBQZViJooixKxbXjkthuua0IfqeyaS6YfhqZDCLevUazHAL-/s320/LONDINIUM+182.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494869725124492274" style="text-align: left; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></span></p><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8H3W3_i8PkRXtDo4ZuvN-UphCK6nM864l7qbvrWababIgmbEvA7vivfQF__hdBgpDrk_iGckFuwVfxTEkQDrKlQO0sI09l7fEzyiYHTJpoiAvdrFL5BRrDv_8kAdpeIKNxiPABpggSG-5/s1600/LONDINIUM+186.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8H3W3_i8PkRXtDo4ZuvN-UphCK6nM864l7qbvrWababIgmbEvA7vivfQF__hdBgpDrk_iGckFuwVfxTEkQDrKlQO0sI09l7fEzyiYHTJpoiAvdrFL5BRrDv_8kAdpeIKNxiPABpggSG-5/s320/LONDINIUM+186.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494869710395400018" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-family: Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">No, I didn’t pay $2 for a photography permit, SO SEND ME TO HELL</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-AU;mso-fareast-language:EN-AU;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">!</span></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3aUa2KRwGu0KLYX6w_Io7n5C00uK2IAUqrOSlJnuUrF2R_4lnAuPz3wa_A4SKQ_8VcwEOkH0F46GiN77Xpl2HY2_cXaNOfccKEcDh6sh2IZ1GzLIAjasMUvxkV6Gc6m36dupjkwXA-xc/s1600/LONDINIUM+177.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3aUa2KRwGu0KLYX6w_Io7n5C00uK2IAUqrOSlJnuUrF2R_4lnAuPz3wa_A4SKQ_8VcwEOkH0F46GiN77Xpl2HY2_cXaNOfccKEcDh6sh2IZ1GzLIAjasMUvxkV6Gc6m36dupjkwXA-xc/s320/LONDINIUM+177.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494869707536552290" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0l6H__QxpHqw2X2FOP7nljjsJUdUvpI1bwtp1AetetuI85oho0s1I1U2O9sUIy4cU_D9Oo74bcpSL_EfBpp5uAK7iy8TXBkaxJ4a_iDvST8Pq1vGPnoutw4q4WCq9h-QEAdetre5MHdqs/s1600/LONDINIUM+160.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0l6H__QxpHqw2X2FOP7nljjsJUdUvpI1bwtp1AetetuI85oho0s1I1U2O9sUIy4cU_D9Oo74bcpSL_EfBpp5uAK7iy8TXBkaxJ4a_iDvST8Pq1vGPnoutw4q4WCq9h-QEAdetre5MHdqs/s320/LONDINIUM+160.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494869698639735010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Then I excitedly made my way to the Globe Theatre, which was a bit of a let down – possibly because I chose not to pay the ridiculous $12 entry to the museum and thus was left with the invigorating attraction of the gift shop. At the moment it is Henry VI season at the Globe, which would be worthwhile seeing while I’m here. But although I can appreciate a good history performance, I’m more of a tragedy or comedy kind of gal when it comes to Shakespeare, and was disappointed when the elderly information lady scorned at me when I asked when Macbeth was on. Some people! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K3XZ5lZJOmtUeCw4R1VZcpktl7bVqCbUvMLqY0o4zZP95aGFEkVgYScjFKFMX1haVu5qYimEWIlQS_ouBLkrr7KrJDCxcPl0dUbQQXpJ3eq0pil2HoAFPnSak1_NLXf-rNrQwasfGjKE/s1600/LONDINIUM+193.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K3XZ5lZJOmtUeCw4R1VZcpktl7bVqCbUvMLqY0o4zZP95aGFEkVgYScjFKFMX1haVu5qYimEWIlQS_ouBLkrr7KrJDCxcPl0dUbQQXpJ3eq0pil2HoAFPnSak1_NLXf-rNrQwasfGjKE/s320/LONDINIUM+193.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494871335038188738" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXA15phWKfTdfU518h4ZBTkvZgjPcyE1vorFPkavc86QqzzDq8u8qmM2V1a6jEBPfS-2BoiXiPHM_I276jehO5Edk9OhvPx0DIYS9WSxfJ1ft5v-XIEVtueFhTiUTt8ZPT00ZmJius0sEi/s1600/LONDINIUM+190.JPG"></a></span></span></p><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "></div><p></p></div><p></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Then the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">TATE</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Modern</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Art</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Gallery</st1:placename></st1:place> – now we’re talking real art! There is nothing that stimulates me more than things of voyeurism, poetry and dream, states of flux, impressionism and chance, energy and process, and material gestures in art. None of that wishy washy ancient artefact shite of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">National</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>, this is culture at its finest. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywD-ynVY1o74Sv52afcD49ZraxberdnSh8-yubEdUvXZvwVbTimINEDKJ68Gd18y9ODbYzvmRNx5GKH2HdCI1tLpn7AqaSHww8w9F5JwIvFjri0lj2lpC_s_AiS7qr000KVgmfR-8Xbl9/s1600/LONDINIUM+210.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywD-ynVY1o74Sv52afcD49ZraxberdnSh8-yubEdUvXZvwVbTimINEDKJ68Gd18y9ODbYzvmRNx5GKH2HdCI1tLpn7AqaSHww8w9F5JwIvFjri0lj2lpC_s_AiS7qr000KVgmfR-8Xbl9/s320/LONDINIUM+210.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494871360194185938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYTWaTYd6GBY_aM5skD0ovFTHHki5l61sMYwMBPfssRF9dg_krLwRUOHIEXtbUr7EpwuZcyFCxmZSxtMr-cg5wv0jAg7-8n_nlYfwm2DstKzpvgC-0JhdsvevbYP0dTsaP5trjrGghcuMM/s1600/LONDINIUM+206.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYTWaTYd6GBY_aM5skD0ovFTHHki5l61sMYwMBPfssRF9dg_krLwRUOHIEXtbUr7EpwuZcyFCxmZSxtMr-cg5wv0jAg7-8n_nlYfwm2DstKzpvgC-0JhdsvevbYP0dTsaP5trjrGghcuMM/s320/LONDINIUM+206.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494871351171687330" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomQ5NaL9F5EWTpFo8LmeGBvM2xhBX98suML6E_7t3FAiZRgKLNvxEIBbTG-Rb6v3O_JwErGqf8P93HmnsX18aJFJ1tmvLhbI7p2Sm28SJEuIjygmgJWFE5QCOoOOVR4WcSC7s3qqDHt7d/s1600/LONDINIUM+204.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomQ5NaL9F5EWTpFo8LmeGBvM2xhBX98suML6E_7t3FAiZRgKLNvxEIBbTG-Rb6v3O_JwErGqf8P93HmnsX18aJFJ1tmvLhbI7p2Sm28SJEuIjygmgJWFE5QCOoOOVR4WcSC7s3qqDHt7d/s320/LONDINIUM+204.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494871345297456994" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMn37ZkRQhRGfwdIjCv7SkkKmMFnEuX0SG16q0muDCeiZ0YfosTscLpumA9PkT1tWWJY0fKTDvj-7FQugzN0b3TxOn37eH7RcRJimRXxD2RsMA-3d_w6bNO8RhFuZdkw15iGjmMwjvSJEa/s1600/LONDINIUM+199.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMn37ZkRQhRGfwdIjCv7SkkKmMFnEuX0SG16q0muDCeiZ0YfosTscLpumA9PkT1tWWJY0fKTDvj-7FQugzN0b3TxOn37eH7RcRJimRXxD2RsMA-3d_w6bNO8RhFuZdkw15iGjmMwjvSJEa/s320/LONDINIUM+199.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494871344060380146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K3XZ5lZJOmtUeCw4R1VZcpktl7bVqCbUvMLqY0o4zZP95aGFEkVgYScjFKFMX1haVu5qYimEWIlQS_ouBLkrr7KrJDCxcPl0dUbQQXpJ3eq0pil2HoAFPnSak1_NLXf-rNrQwasfGjKE/s1600/LONDINIUM+193.JPG"></a></span></span></p><div><div style="text-align: center; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial">Heading over the <st1:placename st="on">Millennium</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype> I found <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">St Paul</st1:city></st1:place>’s Cathedral, another feat of the great Sir Christopher Wren. I browsed the crypts and the ground floor before effortlessly climbing the 200 steps to the whispering gallery then 120 more steps to the birds eye view over <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDMXzdtYMo5KxPMskhyphenhyphenGWaYnUmaqvhs5NSyT-K0bZx8tE9XEo-gxAMOooWmDuUC_lpUkKLEIo6lQR1Rj3M0wfFz5mW4u_yJSggRJpEKFjRwUAoTmAetNHhFzTMouwobI1CfkGBsGSIgy5/s1600/LONDINIUM+142.JPG"></a></div><p></p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7v2BVsz1XANVo8aOe1RtYbraW1heN2K1XgCJkV9Zm4a_VrfuwrNniGs2fErmBgwTHoZ2VYlcLnPDDlaS6ZdW7zg2X10ZE9yM3iXSOhTUaqptyK0ti29UpS8lbgR9W2sGGoVSCUJTe4uMN/s1600/LONDINIUM+250.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7v2BVsz1XANVo8aOe1RtYbraW1heN2K1XgCJkV9Zm4a_VrfuwrNniGs2fErmBgwTHoZ2VYlcLnPDDlaS6ZdW7zg2X10ZE9yM3iXSOhTUaqptyK0ti29UpS8lbgR9W2sGGoVSCUJTe4uMN/s320/LONDINIUM+250.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494878700731894770" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbFIUs2yqmqsc23iI7cGV34JGFl3v5KMqyR1mmNw4hd24HR4iKMxClDgDWDRHmeKAydDD2gbIm2gVijgJxxVD6qZZOdMfvDA76q-MFXw3KsTVJHXG9gyElPmrDxibai2RnhFPp-oNTr2A/s1600/LONDINIUM+248.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbFIUs2yqmqsc23iI7cGV34JGFl3v5KMqyR1mmNw4hd24HR4iKMxClDgDWDRHmeKAydDD2gbIm2gVijgJxxVD6qZZOdMfvDA76q-MFXw3KsTVJHXG9gyElPmrDxibai2RnhFPp-oNTr2A/s320/LONDINIUM+248.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494878693591788066" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFL7YF3FnQQdJGYlmo2YNhP_9YhVr4BofA1AvtChq1b-qcihNRL7eFJkH6IJklADzoe13zE-8ygj_U-9AVjYoshVGXMlLfXS5-X1IN2ifXGAqq1pzasNGoQLneMnuainIlr7wsoQn6AAg/s1600/LONDINIUM+251.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFL7YF3FnQQdJGYlmo2YNhP_9YhVr4BofA1AvtChq1b-qcihNRL7eFJkH6IJklADzoe13zE-8ygj_U-9AVjYoshVGXMlLfXS5-X1IN2ifXGAqq1pzasNGoQLneMnuainIlr7wsoQn6AAg/s320/LONDINIUM+251.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494878685109669906" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbeLIa77u7Hkk_h8wSx7IiKXeH6V28XaGxVEY8BYD_aYEgmkFkqM93Uz4dOhG4m5Qhkwto6Z0eOLP0YHbjSMZX8eMGJRRTpNqyEefFQHd9OKYUKU9JiMSbmIUNfFrGWnc1KcA0mL2DSESu/s1600/LONDINIUM+261.JPG"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbeLIa77u7Hkk_h8wSx7IiKXeH6V28XaGxVEY8BYD_aYEgmkFkqM93Uz4dOhG4m5Qhkwto6Z0eOLP0YHbjSMZX8eMGJRRTpNqyEefFQHd9OKYUKU9JiMSbmIUNfFrGWnc1KcA0mL2DSESu/s1600/LONDINIUM+261.JPG"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbeLIa77u7Hkk_h8wSx7IiKXeH6V28XaGxVEY8BYD_aYEgmkFkqM93Uz4dOhG4m5Qhkwto6Z0eOLP0YHbjSMZX8eMGJRRTpNqyEefFQHd9OKYUKU9JiMSbmIUNfFrGWnc1KcA0mL2DSESu/s320/LONDINIUM+261.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494878682066702658" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">And how can I forget my day at Lords! I spent the rest of my weeks money on a ticket allocated to a ‘Damien White’ to see four hours of cricket in quite volatile weather conditions – but it was completely worth it. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscS4QYf7J7kkYSDs-GoxYVL5BAR1a4cS8NO4aOshH5JknPcA6BnlQnn0GiInAVgQ8CkRHfQY7jL-L3V6bQF20BwwTeGyfKC_iSsnm8e4zm94gzndLSHKQIcZG1X249vyOZ8Qh7vDLPy6R/s1600/LONDINIUM+281.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscS4QYf7J7kkYSDs-GoxYVL5BAR1a4cS8NO4aOshH5JknPcA6BnlQnn0GiInAVgQ8CkRHfQY7jL-L3V6bQF20BwwTeGyfKC_iSsnm8e4zm94gzndLSHKQIcZG1X249vyOZ8Qh7vDLPy6R/s320/LONDINIUM+281.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494876348104090322" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6oV9wvDKoM7t_EubsavOfT_kTgSbWM1yXyaMY4GMdDFWR17nK1nVYkLi2Bu0SEGHVN8fH8s__xIqgUQB7XSqQ7ylNuOwU2r_8tmZcCQaocBVRUcu8k4-dJC4TV1p1q-Lly7ZEvQk-xP2-/s1600/LONDINIUM+289.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6oV9wvDKoM7t_EubsavOfT_kTgSbWM1yXyaMY4GMdDFWR17nK1nVYkLi2Bu0SEGHVN8fH8s__xIqgUQB7XSqQ7ylNuOwU2r_8tmZcCQaocBVRUcu8k4-dJC4TV1p1q-Lly7ZEvQk-xP2-/s320/LONDINIUM+289.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494876340406482818" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEZDxokswUCuUTVsKbl88JHYLRbvXw7PTpd-ysaAsbfmK79l0AvJFGddBUb6c5TeywTAf0rLCH6eBjFjynvV-kCwKzBpPoPuqhDjA1jrsgDLqdaO568jiIqnBPGX7Z8NXxtcwN4dZrzbs/s1600/LONDINIUM+292.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEZDxokswUCuUTVsKbl88JHYLRbvXw7PTpd-ysaAsbfmK79l0AvJFGddBUb6c5TeywTAf0rLCH6eBjFjynvV-kCwKzBpPoPuqhDjA1jrsgDLqdaO568jiIqnBPGX7Z8NXxtcwN4dZrzbs/s320/LONDINIUM+292.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494876337291185826" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnojsRbyhZ3k09-6Xa5PzonRd3T2_cIx-r5IqzTl-90epPe5XrFGbPM2oUCBDOS63gID2_eCbxOMwaCCh5uUTX5FWQuQdGP3jqC_TdEqPpypDHB_N46m0vU_U33_mqjuxZ4b2bpxTyOFE/s1600/LONDINIUM+293.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnojsRbyhZ3k09-6Xa5PzonRd3T2_cIx-r5IqzTl-90epPe5XrFGbPM2oUCBDOS63gID2_eCbxOMwaCCh5uUTX5FWQuQdGP3jqC_TdEqPpypDHB_N46m0vU_U33_mqjuxZ4b2bpxTyOFE/s320/LONDINIUM+293.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494876327548802994" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSJebr5lXJNLbxEHPa-lYmDyh8qd3XQvSjk_yaeZYLNpPxmGeQpuWd8IX_PkSf9j5v4alzWmtBh2o03vy9NfElgyaJztPLv1V7T7ktR6bllAYdrqWKrG6JgwceN-hhgrToey8XB8we-Q4/s1600/LONDINIUM+313.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSJebr5lXJNLbxEHPa-lYmDyh8qd3XQvSjk_yaeZYLNpPxmGeQpuWd8IX_PkSf9j5v4alzWmtBh2o03vy9NfElgyaJztPLv1V7T7ktR6bllAYdrqWKrG6JgwceN-hhgrToey8XB8we-Q4/s320/LONDINIUM+313.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494876318032897186" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Mum you will be pleased to know that although I did forget my iron tablets, Guinness is actually full of iron and good for strength. I learnt this on my first trip to “The Office”, the heart of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sudbury</st1:place></st1:city>’s CBD where most of the business is done. At this quaint little establishment, the Guinness flows freely, Halloway girl is played frequently, and the Irish dance madly. It’s a great craic. And come 12 o clock, after last drinks had ‘officially’ been called, ashtrays are promptly distributed to all tables and the pub became a haze of cigarette smoke. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Well I’m off to enlighten myself with the five o clock news and then later hit up the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Camden</st1:place></st1:city> scene. A good mix of activities if you ask me. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:Arial">And as Confucius says, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Arial">“What you lose on the swings you make up on the roundabouts.”</span><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywD-ynVY1o74Sv52afcD49ZraxberdnSh8-yubEdUvXZvwVbTimINEDKJ68Gd18y9ODbYzvmRNx5GKH2HdCI1tLpn7AqaSHww8w9F5JwIvFjri0lj2lpC_s_AiS7qr000KVgmfR-8Xbl9/s1600/LONDINIUM+210.JPG"></a><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyW1U8g44PwhjRvLvUYLsqQHhwYNTAUuHNxfEZiT916X6xlDt2mSkzNviUTU6gvjp6WWxjID7dsgoNTUGrF-VZIgFfmSrnmmZqTsUtSTYFFM2OWGXJI3A7VGxdUkbsYY-jeGjMb0T5Yth/s1600/LONDINIUM+119.JPG"></a></div></div>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-1036669246357288822010-07-16T09:18:00.000-07:002010-07-16T09:27:01.765-07:00i'm locked out of my houseand there isn't much to do around here except eat chicken or use the internet cafe, both of which I am doing.<br /><br />I have some great stories and pictures for when I feel motivated enough to write about them. For example, in the past three days I've visited two museums, an art gallery, a theatre, two cathedrals, and a cricket ground (you probably haven't heard of it, it's called 'Lords' or something silly like that). Anyway today I spent the rest of my weeks money on a ticket so I was shouted three pints of a beautiful lager named <span style="font-style: italic;">Kramenburg</span>. Now its taking its toll. But it's perfect weather for an afternoon siesta as the test ended early (thanks to some smashing catches from ye olde Pointing and Hussey) and I could really use it as I only got home from work at 1:30am this morning. The Piccadilly line is amazing if you want to go to Heathrow at any time of day or night, but you know people live in Uxbridge too!<br /><br />Time to explore the depths of Sudbury Hills. Love Kate.<br /><br />PS. Raoul Moat is a legend.<br />That is all.kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1472431916839458995.post-468957623466530642010-07-13T05:39:00.000-07:002010-07-13T06:15:16.221-07:00i've also been to ireland<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">Aye!!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">For the past four nights or so I’ve been dossing at a small house in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sudbury</st1:place></st1:city> with nine Irish men and it’s SUCH A CRAIC! My weekend activities have included<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list 36.0pt"><span style="font-family:Euphemia; mso-fareast-font-family:Euphemia;mso-bidi-font-family:Euphemia"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Euphemia">drinking copious amounts of Foster’s<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list 36.0pt"><span style="font-family:Euphemia; mso-fareast-font-family:Euphemia;mso-bidi-font-family:Euphemia"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Euphemia">watching Rocky and Star Wars 1-6<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list 36.0pt"><span style="font-family:Euphemia; mso-fareast-font-family:Euphemia;mso-bidi-font-family:Euphemia"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Euphemia">watching a hurling match<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list 36.0pt"><span style="font-family:Euphemia; mso-fareast-font-family:Euphemia;mso-bidi-font-family:Euphemia"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Euphemia">discovering the beauty of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>’s outer suburbs<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">However first a hot travel tip which I learnt via experience: DON’T MENTION THE WAR. In fact, don’t mention ‘catholics’ or ‘protestants’ at all. This especially applies in regards to the Irish and the Germans, though in general it’s not really a good conversation topic. Consequentially, I’ve been copping much crap about being a convict and invading the aborigines. Although I’ve tried to explain to the lads the concept of ‘terra nullius’ and how in all fairness the land was rightfully ours for the taking (I mean spears vs. guns, there really is one clear winner) however they just don’t seem to understand.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">On the up side, I’ve got a job at a pub called The Courtfield in <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Earl Court</st1:address></st1:street> which is quite nice. I had a trial shift last night and it was pretty good, although I’m still getting used to the currency – in all honesty what is the point of a ONE PENCE other than to weigh down your wallet? And all the beer and ales were a bit foreign too, they have funny names like Hoegarden, Hobgoblin, London Pride and Starpromen or something. The only one I knew was Stella <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Artois</st1:state></st1:place>. It’s pretty classy so obviously I fit in well.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">And yesterday I went and looked at a flat in Sheperd’s Bush. Though I didn’t end up getting it, I did get myself a drinking date. Personally I think it was all a matter of presenting yourself well and translating first impressions which made this come about. Here’s a reference for your convenience:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:28.3pt;margin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:27.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">“I didn’t know how to open the gate, so I jumped it instead” <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Translation</b>: I’m an easy-going and active girl with a great sense of adventure.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:28.3pt;margin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:27.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Euphemia"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:28.3pt;margin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:27.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">“I’m homeless, but I’m not sure if I need a place to live or not at the moment” <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:28.3pt;margin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:27.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">Translation:</span></b><span style="font-family:Euphemia"> I am a flexible and intrepid traveller who lives in the moment and doesn’t tie herself down with nancy-pancy permanent plans.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:28.3pt;margin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:27.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Euphemia"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:28.3pt;margin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:27.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">“I don’t know if I have $500 to pay for it at the moment…”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:28.3pt;margin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:27.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">Translation:</span></b><span style="font-family:Euphemia"> I am a free spirit who isn’t consumed by capitalist strains.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">A more pessimistic person may have perceived these extracts as ‘disorganised’, ‘disastrous’ or ‘weird’, luckily I choose to surround myself with people with a positive zen and an optimistic attitude.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">On the money front, things aren’t looking that well. I have one pound left and $0 on my Oyster card. How I will eat or get home tonight escapes me, but being the hippie I am I’m not fussed at all. I have some cool doss house pictures I’ll try to put up but my battery is nearly out and I rely on the Maccas free wi-fi for these short but brilliant insights into my new life. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Euphemia">Oh and as a sidenote, I miss Laura Boland immensely, and 1<sup>st</sup> Contact Kickstart have been a major help in getting my shit together. I would recommend them highly to anyone. I am especially excited about the five day gym membership and my 7324902347<sup>th</sup> copy of the tube line they gave me in the package. I suppose the bank account, NI number and job assistance also helped a bit too. Cheers 1<sup>st</sup> contact.<o:p></o:p></span></p>kate shitspatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01771047470086309599noreply@blogger.com0