A Marilyn Moment...

London is officially having a heatwave.

(It does make me chuckle at the thought of a mere 32C sending weatherpeople and policymakers into paroxysms of fear and foreboding, causing them to issue warnings to the old, young and mums-to-be.)

London does not do heat well. Its narrow streets swelter and arterial roads melt, its transport system buckles and its buildings steam, constructed to retain rather than dispel the heat. People visibly droop as the mercury rises and breeze is a rare thing on days such as these.

Which is why I stood my ground this morning.

I got to the station a few minutes earlier than my normal train courtesy of what I like to call a 'fast bus' (one where not many people make it stop and/or get on). I heard the speaker crackle heralding news that the next train wasn't stopping. I had been standing in the shade, positioned where the door usually ends up when my train stops.

Rather than step back as I'm usually wont to do, I stood still, flattened my palms against my light summer skirt and as the train raced past, I let the breeze swirl around me.

I felt my body sigh in sheer relief.

It was all over in under a minute but my Marilyn moment stayed with me all day.

Even now it makes me smile.

ps...and speaking of smiling, my smile will be getting bigger and bigger as my special day approaches. Just 15 sleeps to go peeps...

Double Digits And Drowsy Daffs...

If you've been speaking recently to anyone living in the UK, you will know that we have felt the grip of winter's chilly fingers well beyond the 'start' of Spring. Night-time temperatures have dipped below 0C for far longer than usual and the days have nipped at the noses, fingers and toes of anyone daring venture into the outdoors.

But last weekend, things shifted. The sun appeared, the mercury climbed into the mid-teens and I found myself moving to the patio at Gidday HQ to breakfast, read the paper, paint my paws toenails and anything else I could think to do that meant I could stay in the warm mellow sunshine.

The days are getting longer too (I mean versus the night, not that we are getting more than our requisite 24 hours). In the last week I have walked from the office to the train station three times, a wonderful 15-20 minute respite in the fresh air dividing the frantic busy-ness of the office and the cocooning commute of the train. 

The best bit is that Spring colour is starting emerge. There have been signs of spring here and there but it would seem that the week of double digit temperatures has opened the 'blooming' floodgates (geddit? blooming...did you like what I did there?) and the tree out the front of Gidday HQ has burst forth in a riot of delicate pink blossoms.

And the daffodils are out. Their yellow heads have lifted from their winter sleep to bob drowsily in the breeze, lining paths, meadows, gardens and even the main entrance to the office. The Metro has been filled with pictures of Wordsworth's host stretching across the Lake District in a golden sheet of colour - a sign of lighter, brighter days to come.

I have always loved daffs. They are such joyful, hopeful flowers and nothing makes me happier than a big vase of bobbing sunshine-y blooms. In Australia, they are in season around August and Mum always bought me a humungus bunch for my birthday so for me, there has always been a really strong association with family and happy times.

When I first arrived in the UK I was having a really difficult time, and I remember sitting on the bus, gazing out the window and quietly despairing about how I was going to keep getting up each day and build this 'new life' I'd crossed the world for. The bus rumbled over Kew Bridge and suddenly the view was filled with hundreds of dancing yellow daffodils splashed across the Green. My heart lifted, my resolve stiffened and in that moment I felt that somehow, things would all turn out.

So for all of you lovely Gidday-ers who enjoy my expat ramblings here at Gidday from the UK, you have a host of drowsy Spring daffs to thank. 

 

And every year, when those glorious golden trumpets appear again and toss their spritely heads, I remember that moment on the bus nine years ago when an unexpected burst of Spring gave me hope and I found the courage to keep building my dream.

Last of the Summer Wine?

It's a rainy Sunday here at Gidday HQ.

I can hear the occasional car swish by on the wet street outside and this morning my feet slipped easily into my fleecy purple slippers, my toes sighing in toasty relief.

There are no shouts from next door's football-playing children today, confined to indoor pursuits by the inclement weather. 

And earlier this week, I bemoaned my lack of an 'extra layer' as I stood on the platform at West Hampstead station and felt the chill in the air through my jacket.

Autumn has arrived in earnest this week with its chill-blue skies and brisk damp air.

But this year, it has crept up on us all.

The trees have not heralded Autumn's arrival with their usual fiery display of foilage, confused (it has been said) by the 'poor summer' and an on-again-off-again burst of warm sunshine around the August Bank Holiday weekend. 

Last of the Summer wine?

It has tiptoed quietly in, behind darker mornings and shorter evenings, allowing us to stick our proverbial heads in the sand and pretend.

But in the dark of each workday morning this week, I have found myself automatically reaching for my 'cosier' dressing gown, where it has hung patiently all Summer, behind the bedroom door.

And after Monday's invigorating reminder, my Autumnal work coat was brushed down, readied to commence its Fall 2012 season on Tuesday. And I wore tights to work.

Most years, we accept the transition from English Summer to Autumn's embrace with a little moaning and a stiff upper lip. (After all, how else can one start a conversation with a Brit if one is not up on the mildly depressing vagaries of the weather?)

But if you listen closely, there is still a hopeful whisper of an Indian Summer, another burst of sunshine and warmth before the nights close in and mornings become crunchy with frost for good. 

So in spite of the Autumn chill, I shall leave a few lighter items in the corner of my wardrobe, still within reach yet just outside the more immediate array of cardies, polo necks and mid-season jackets that I suspect will be needed in the coming weeks.

And socks. Yes, I think socks will become a constant at Gidday HQ from now on as well.


New Tesco socks - ready to go

So could someone please explain to me why I spent an hour yesterday painting my toe-nails?

News From The (New) Patch...

Last week marked the start of Wimbledon with some unseasonably warm weather...and a few torrential downpours. The newspapers have been filled with pictures of flooded roads and cars abandoned to the eddies of the rising waters.

But not in London.

While it's had its grey moments, the sun has shone down on London town and bathed the city in preparation for summer...

Oxford Street still looking all Jubilee-esque

Great College Gardens, Westminster on the way from Westminster tube to Head Office

And not just on the outside either...

Lit in glory, the ceiling at the Wyndham Theatre, near Leicester Square


Gidday HQ has not been spared a spritzing of summer either and I am delighted to report a couple of exciting developments at my new 'patch'.

Those of you who have been reading along for a while now may remember the trials and tribulations of my first patch, featuring any number of pot-reared veg, a few herbs and the curious case of the disappearing 'strawb'. Well over the last week, I've discovered a veritable panopoly of shiny red berries hidden beneath the leaves overflowing the old strawberry pot...

Luscious and ripe, my strawberry plant has more than just survived the move north of the river

And last but certainly not least, there is a new addition to Gidday HQ. Delivered and legs reattached this weekend, it seems fitting that it has emerged on to the back patio in all its glory after such a week. So without further ado...

TAH-DAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...and there's a big umbrella too!

And the first Gidday soiree is already scheduled...

Your 2012 Five A Day - July

It's July already and the sleeps to go count down will be starting soon. How have you been enjoying your Summer so far? Here in the UK, the festival season is off to a traditional start. 

After a rather damp River Pageant to mark Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee at the beginning of the month (which left The Royal Husband with a urinary tract infection), the pee-ing down continued with the Isle of Wight festival being a bit of a mudbath last weekend, giving all those Surrey-shiny Hunter Wellies the chance for a proper outing.

Speaking of pee-ing, this month's Violent Veg sees the return of Colin Carrot who, having recovered from his brush with danger with the little ones, has this month decided to live life on the edge...

So have a fab July pea-ps!

(Geddit? Pea-ps instead of peeps?)

Oh and there are only 31 sleeps to go...just in case you were wondering...)

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Bliss For The Worker Bee...

This weekend is a Bank Holiday Weekend meaning some celebration of British-ness has given we worker bees next Monday off.

True to form, the skies have opened, the temperatures have dropped to single figures - 8C is the high for today, THE 5TH OF MAY (yes, that's me shouting) - and the forecast is not filling me with the hope of any improvement.

As usual.

But a damp-on-the-outside weekend can hold many joys.

Like a cover-to-cover reading of my beloved Saturday Times...



...some inspired planning for my Roman Holiday... 

  ...or a few choice flicks (thanks to a free trial from those kind folk at LoveFilm)...

...from the fabulous cosiness of the Gidday HQ couch.

But best of all?

I have nowhere I have to be and I have 3 lovely days in which to do whatever I please.

Now THAT'S worth celebrating.

I Feel Pretty...

I was out and about earlier and while there's still a nip in the air, there are blossoms everywhere, leading me to believe that Spring might have finally arrived.

Early in March I was delighted to see some scattered daffs under a tree in nearby Victoria Park...

Then we had a couple of weeks of gloriously sunny weather (remember that time when we were warmer than you beloved Melburnites?) We were all delirious over here and there was even a breathy mention or two...could this be the year that we have a 'good summer'?

Then it rained for a few weeks and I had to resort to bringing the outside in...

Bunches of daffodils are cheap here at this time of year and last between 10 days and two weeks

But today's blue skies and spring-like 14C (I know, my expectations have lowered considerably on the temperature front over the last 8 years) have brought forth a veritable tour-de-force of blossoms...

I was crossing the High Road in East Finchley today when I snapped this glorious spread behind my bus stop

I noticed these buds on my side fence from the kitchen window last weekend which are now in bloom. I don't know what they are so if any less horticulturally challenged than me can advise, I would not look stupid in my own garden be grateful

These are growing in random plastic buckets in the back garden. Haven't a scooby what these are either. They live without much input from me. This makes me look good happy.

London is so unbelievably pretty in the Spring - I actually think it's one of the things where it beats Australia hands down.

Even Google is getting in on the act!

Google 22nd April 2012

But lest you be misled, I should let you know that after a glorious t-shirt and light jumper walk this morning, it's now raining...

Yes indeed, Spring has definitely sprung.

You've Got Mail...16 Sleeps To Go

I staggered out of bed this morning to be greeted by a drizzly Saturday and have been faffing about (great word that, faffing) instead braving the elements and getting out to do the list of things I need to do.  This is also known as re-prioritising and is a very useful skill to have here in the UK, saving hours of damp trudging and allowing one to enjoy the soothing sound of the rain from a dry and comfortable vantage point at the front window.  But I digress.

My faffing meant that I was home when the postman arrived.  Nothing exciting really comes through the mailslot: just the usual assortment of bills to pay, flyers advertising things I could never imagine needing and To The Homeowner letters from local estate agents wishing to sell my little flat from underneath me.  But today was different.  As I whipped around, startled by the metallic clunk of the mail flap, I saw a flash of girly colour.

'Pink!', my little heart cried.  'Could it be...my first birthday card?'

And so it was.

Itinerant Father and Erstwhile Wife have won the Birthday Derby again, and although 2 days later than last year's stirling effort, getting in with 16 sleeps to go can only be vigorously applauded.  (Sounds of wild cheering and me doing a little 'Hooray it's my birthday soon' dance around my postage-stamp-sized lounge room).

The card (we are allowed to open birthday cards pre-special-day in the Hamer clan) is a testament to their continued concern about my welfare in a faraway land and featured some handy hints for me to consider in my advancing years:

An ode to ageing gracefully

May your bum stay firm and pert

May your boobies not head south

May your lippy never blend

Into thin lines round your mouth

May you eat a ton of chocolate

But never gain a pound

May you always look your best

Whenever Brad Pitt comes around.

May you never wear big pants

Or grow unwanted hair

And Birthday Girl if all else fails

May you be to sloshed to care!!

Well, don't mind if I do!  And I have 16 days to plan how...

Dad & Bev, thanks for the birthday tip and the lovely wishes.

ps...for a little more detail on the Birthday Rules according to the Hamer clan, click here...my sister sums it up so succinctly in her comment!

Life in London...The Highs And The Lows

When I sat down at my computer tonight and started to tap-tap-tap away, I couldn't quite decide what to post about.  It's been a long 48 hours and I feel a bit knackered after all of the highs, lows and running around that seems to have constituted life in the UK over the last couple of days.

You see it all started Thursday night. After dinner with an old work friend, it was a long bus ride home through a ridiculous amount of traffic, resulting in a rather late night and significantly less sleep than is sensible on a 'school' night.  A Low. 

However, I did find it fascinating watching the stream of humankind that was advancing steadily from Hyde Park (Kings of Leon playing apparently) who were squeezing themselves into the much smaller entrance to Green Park tube station - this all viewed from my comfy seat on the top deck of the (almost stationary) number 14 bus.  A (slightly smug) High.

My rather epic struggle into work on Friday morning was a definite Low.  Let me tell you here and now, a long commute is not conducive to morning perkiness at the best of times and I was rather concerned I might drop off and find myself well past where I wanted to be.  But Friday is fish and chips day at work - always a High.  (We have a canteen that provides  meals at lunchtime so my evening toast consumption habit is not nearly as careless, lazy or diet conscious as it may look - ooh, there's another High). I booked a couple of days off work to have a 4 day weekend around my birthday (yes peeps, the countdown is a-comin'!) - another High. And then on the way home, there was a last minute invite to a 4 year old's birthday party (pizza-making at Pizza Express no less) on Saturday which dealt me a quick one-two: A High (to be invited) then a Low (realising I would have to get up early to get errands done before I went).

Today was a rollercoaster of Highs (wine, cake, pizza, 15 kids in cute hats making their pizza - aaaaawwww!!) and Lows (emergency locksmith call out, aborted afternoon drive to Southend-on-Sea, 15 kids full of excitement, sugar, squealing-type noises, more sugar and hysterical tiredness - uugggghhh!).  The weather started off a bit grey and average too (Low) but by the time we were sitting outside Starbucks at the O2 shopping centre this afternoon bathed in sunshine, it seemed that tomorrow's promised dip into Summer had made an early appearance (High).  An incident-free trip home and a little visit to Waitrose for bread, newspaper and a few bits (I do love Waitrose!) were the happy pieces that tipped the scales in the right direction.

But here's the best part. 

I have a day at home tomorrow with  he promise of glorious sunshine and a fab book to read.

High-di-high campers!  Life just doesn't get any better.

...and here endeth the post that nearly was not.

12 Steps...Losing My Religion?

I've been dashing about London in the rain today - appointment to appointment, jumping around puddles and waging a battle with my brolly in the wind. (Incidentally, I lost that battle but managed to snaffle a cab so feel I won the war.)  It seemed that after posting my moment of inspiration on Facebook this morning - "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about dancing in the rain" - the fickle London weather seemed determine to dampen my mid-week mambo.

On the homeward-bound bus at last, I opened up my weekly Australian Times e-newsletter (I've had a whole new love of commuting since the advent of my Desire) to be greeted with the question Are You Losing Your Australian-ness?.  After the rubbishing I got while visiting loved ones in Melbourne over Christmas (about my Ocker-Oh's referring to my tendancy to intersperse flat 'Australian-speak' with a few English-sounding Oh's and Ah's), I thought I should read on.

Lee Crossley actually identifies twelve signs of disappearing Australian-ness but I am pleased to report that I have only identify five signs after seven years of living here:

THE phrases 'Mind the Gap' and 'alight here' no longer seem a tad odd.  In fact, I find them quite sweet and quaint.  I mean who 'alights' anything any more?

YOU no longer grumble on a crowded tube.  Simply hours of fun to be had 'minding the gap' and 'alighting'.  Plus no-one likes a whinger.

YOU expect miserable weather.  And am conversely delighted to a slightly hysterical degree at any 2 plus run of warm-weather-days. I must point out here that we are classifying mid-20(c)s as blissfully warm. I just do not have the wardrobe/patience to deal with anything hotter any more, unless lying prone next to the pool/beach in holiday repose.

YOU start to wonder where all the English people have gone in London.  Yep. Pretty much. I think they all live 'elsewhere'.  Like Oxford.  Or Spain.

YOU accentuate the ‘ie’ in unbelievable.  Actually pronounced un-be-leeeeeeev-able and can be applied to any moment of wonder/dismay/disbelief.

Yes, 5 out of 12.  That's 41.66%, an average of about 5.9% a year.  By my reckoning, that means this insidious creep will have completely subsumed my Ocker-ness in just under a decade.

Bugger!* Best bring out the big guns...

*Please don't take offence.  Click on the link if you really think I am being rude.  I am not.  Truly.  I'm just a laconic, dinky-di colonial.

ps...if you want to keep a watchful eye over my continued slide progress, find out what the other seven are by going to Lee Crossley's article here and keep checking in at Gidday from the UK for updates. 

Hot To Trot...Maybe Not

Well, here we are at the 10th of April already, we have just enjoyed two weeks of glorious weather here in Ol' Blighty and there's been a whole lotta blue skies, sunshine, short sleeves and bare legs around. 

Sitting at my front window watching my washing drying happily (bet you didn't know washing could be happy) and listening to the birds singing and the bees bouncing (there is a massive hairy bee trying to get in through my closed window - right next to the open door - he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, this bee), I wondered how my kith and kin were faring on the under other side of the world.  Facebook updates of late have not been full of sunshine to say the least.

Upon investigation (it's Sunday and I am avoiding ironing by finding such things as this to keep me 'busy'), I have discovered that Melbourne (where I hail from) is looking forward to drizzle and a top temperature of 17C...it is April and my home-town is about halfway through its Autumnal segue into Winter so this is not unexpected. 

But London's temperatures have soared (ok so I use the term a little loosely) into the 20s this week and this unexpected burst of 'hot' weather not only upset my 'what-to-wear-to-work' planning (summer-y items get packed away for the Winter - much like a family of bears - in a suitcase or in the ironing - not the bears you understand, they are probably in a cave somewhere) but also played havoc with yesterday's Grand National field at Aintree. 

Today we are set to reach 19C (and 21C tomorrow)...

- which is more than Melbourne...and Adelaide...and Canberra! And is alarmingly close to Sydney's 22C...

Truly a moment for we Aussies (from those southern states anyway) to savour...

Until it all comes to a screeching halt on Tuesday with a forecast top of 12C...hmmm perhaps I'll wait a little longer to unpack/iron those summer threads.

Sunday On My Mind...

Today's weather has left a lot to be desired, particularly after yesterday's more inspiring blue skies, so I have been getting on with a few chores.  And washing (of clothes, dishes, hair) done - and trying to avoid looking at the enormous bag of ironing on top of the cupboard - I finally ventured outside between showers (the precipitous, not bathroom kind) to trim winter's obvious bleakness from my surviving plants and to cut a few choice bay leaves in preparation for tonight's culinary exploits - a Kym-style take on cottage pie accompanied by roasted squash.

To my surprise, I could see rows of tiny 'bud-lets' along the seemingly naked stalks and in recent weeks, my continental parsely seems to have been inspired back to life.  The bay tree by the door soldiers on as always and my strawberry plants may just be redeemable with a little TLC so there's a chore for next weekend already.

The weekday mornings and evenings are getting slightly lighter now and during the week I was delighted to see that my daffodil bulbs had emerged, green and stoic and heralding Spring-around-the-corner.  But today, bay leaf snippets in hand and having pocketed my almost redundant secateurs, I turned to check on my brave little daffs only to find four - YES FOUR - flower buds nestled amid the greenery.

And after last year's flowerless haul, there are no words to describe the joy that the prospect of those happy, yellow blossoms gave me today.

The year is looking better already...

Did Somebody Mention Christmas?

Last we left things (see Lazy Saturday), I was bracing myself for a rather chilly foray into Kingston to run a couple of errands before heading over to A's for red wine (yes more), a home-cooked dinner and some girly telly. 

So I set out just after 4pm (you know, just after our 'sun' has gone down and it's, well...dark), crunching down the sporadically-gritted path to the bus stop, resolutely telling myself that a) it was not as cold as my nose was telling me it was, b) it was ok not to walk all they way into Kingston today because it was cold/it was dark/time didn't permit and c) that I would feel much better with these errands off the to-do list. 

And then I got into Kingston to find...

...the lights are up...

...the tree is out...

...and there's a gorgeous new old-fashioned sweet shop in Castle Street (where I spent about 20 minutes wondering around in child-like amazement).

Buoyed by all this festive cheer (and a reunion with my phone which seemed to go quite smoothly), I crunched on to A's who had promised an evening of home-cooked lasagne and mooching on the couch, curled up under blankets and just feeling all warm and toasty. 

I didn't think it could get any better, but it did... 

She was making lamingtons when I got there!

Eeeeeeeeeee (aka squeal of excitement)!

Delicious little chocolate-dipped, coconut-covered bundles of sponge-cake yumminess!

And not wanting to be rude, I had three...

I think Christmas may have come a little early (27 days actually) this year!

Lazy Saturday...

It's a been quiet Saturday so far, gratefully received after a 'big one' last weekend and a mid-week, impromptu 'red, red wine(s)' session which took me a good sleep on Thursday night to recover from but was hugely enlightening from a getting-to-know-my-workmates-more point of view.

My first on-line grocery shop arrived promptly and without any horrendous substitution errors. (Someone at work told me they ordered wine and got baguettes???  Now THAT would be disappointing!)  Sainsbury's Online may just become my new BFF.

So I'm tapping away here with some Kylie tunes in the background before I head out into the chilliness (yes, people, the snow coat is out!) to be reunited with my phone (it's been a looooong 3 weeks) and buy the Saturday edition of The Times. 

I love a lazy Saturday...

ps...only 28 days to go peeps...that's 4 weeks 'til we all talk turkey and dis' the fat man...the widget thingy never lies!

22 Sleeps To Go...Objects of My Desire...

Let's all take a little respite from World Cup mania for a moment and chat about a couple of very exciting occurrences in the GiddayfromtheUK house today:

Firstly, I have FINALLY upgraded my mobile phone (after my G1 was stolen in March and the contract ran out in May etc).  

Eeeeeeeeeeee!!! (that was a squeal of delight escaping) 

Sitting beside my blogging-elbow is a sleek and sexy HTC Desire - aptly named as it has just become the object of my Desire...I may be in love....sigh!!!  Is it wrong to want to sit and play with it to the exclusion of the glorious day outside?

And that brings us to a nice segue to exciting occurrence number two - the glorious day outside.  It's hot peeps, gorgeously and gloriously, sunshine-y, top-down and heat-on-my-face hot...enough for me to have finally taken the fan I bought 2 years ago out of its box last night and assembled it (tapping into my IKEA skills from way back only sans allan key).  I am now enjoying its soft background whirr after much pondering about whether it would actually work...

...which segues beautifully into a long-awaited News From The Patch announcement (speaking of wondering about things)... the strawberries are coming!  Yes, a couple of tender green berries have appeared amongst the greenery - we are checking on them daily like a couple of proud parents, largely to try to avoid a repeat of last year's berry-napping incident, but also because we are saddos and can't help ourselves!

And although not part of The Patch as such, the other exciting news is that the mini-jet rose bush that J gave me 4 years ago (on our first Valentine's Day together), after blooming marvellously in Year 1 and then stubbornly refusing to be bloomin' anything since, has graced us with two luscious, velvety-red blooms.  Could this be a sign, I wonder...persistence, patience and a bit of tough love overcoming the odds to glory in the end?

We could do with a bit of that here!

A REMINDER A LITTLE LESS GENTLE THAN THE LAST ONE:

There are now only 22 sleeps to go people - that's 21 days if you are here in the UK or in Australia - to what I have come to call with considerable affection, 'The Big Birthday - Plus 1'.  I have already arranged my first birthday present to myself too - taking a four day weekend!  I love weekend birthdays...

Date Night: Breathless Anticipation...

Here we are at the 31st May...for me the last day of Autumn.  And I'm kind of peering ahead into the Summer months, hoping that the recent burst of glorious weather here in the UK is not all behind us, given that the sunshine-y top-down temperatures of yesterday have disappeared into gloomy greyness today.

I have just had 6 days off in a row and, as I'm feeling rather chilled and not at all like getting ready for work tomorrow, I have convinced the lovely J that we should go to see Sex & the City 2 tonight.

(I think I can just about hear your barely baited breath in anticipation of my critique but don't you worry...there will be plenty of opinions...as always!)

So toodles, cheerio and all that!  Date night has begun...