Your 2012 Five A Day...September

This month's Five A Day pickled offer from Violent Veg seems more than a little apt given my August of foodie frolicking and wet whistling.

The month started off not so well with the only thing pickled being me as I fought the last vestiges of chickenpox with solitary cake consumption. But things picked up and soon I was off to Barcelona for a little city break with Seattle-A. A social month followed with several long overdue catchups (over drinks naturally), a sojourn at the opera, a Turkish feast (complete with some compulsory participation in the national sport of belly-dancing) and finishing with a little social DIY: painting the town multicultural and then an audit to reinforce the foundations of friendship.

So what multicultural pickling opportunities could possibly be left as we head into Autumn?

Krakow
As you read this I will be enjoying a short break in Krakow. It is higly likely that amid the history and splendor of this medieval town, I am finding a few opportunities to sample a  local beverage or two. Stay tuned for more about my exploits soon.

Seattle
This week I will be enjoying a final London fling with Seattle-A before she and hubster jet off to pastures new. And I'll be booking my first trip to the city of Starbucks - although I expect I'll be looking for beverages of a different kind.

France
I'll be hearing the people sing again on a figurative visit to France as this month I have booked to see Les Miserables. I saw it for the first time when I was 17 and it remains one of my favourite musicals. There might be a tipple or two at intermission.

Fashion
So we move away from potential travels to culture of a different kind: fashion. Ballgowns to be exact. The V&A has an exhibition running, British Glamour since 1950, which features ballgowns and evening dresses galore. And what goes better with posh frocks than a spot of champers?

So that's my pickling month planned peeps...what are you up to?

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Commuting Gems...The Broad's Hair

During the first part of my commute (which a 15-20 minute trip on the bus), I often use the time to scroll through my emails, clear out the superfluous and read through the balance.

Late last week I came across a forwarded funny that made me laugh out loud...and pretty much look like a dill in front of my early morning commuting brethren.

So at the risk of completely plagiarising someone-I-don't-know's clever story or offending someone's religious sensibilities (you should look away now), I have decided that I should share it.

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In a parochial school students are taught that lying is a sin. However, Instructions also advised that using a bit of imagination was OK to express the Truth differently without lying. Below is a perfect example of those teachings:

An attractive young woman on a flight from Ireland asked the Priest beside her, 'Father, may I ask a favour?' '

'Of course child. What may I do for you?'

'Well, I bought my mother an expensive hair dryer for her birthday. It is unopened but well over the Customs limits and I'm afraid they'll confiscate it. Is there any way you could carry it through customs for me? Hide it under your Robes perhaps?'

                                        

'I would love to help you, dear, but I must warn you, I will not lie.'

'With your honest face, Father, no one will question you.'

When they got to Customs, she let the priest go first. The official asked, 'Father, do you have anything to declare?'

'From the top of my head down to my waist I have nothing to declare.'

The official thought this answer strange, so asked, 'And what do you have to declare from your waist to the floor?'

'I have a marvellous instrument designed to be used on a woman, but which is, to date, unused.'

Roaring with laughter, the official said, 'Go ahead, Father.

Next please!'

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Hope this made you laugh out loud too.

Going Global...

Here we are at the last bank holiday in the UK before Christmas and I am ensconsed at Gidday HQ catching up on a whole lot of the must dos after a few days of fun to-dos (and not a small amount of alcohol). The washing machine is whirring in the background, the ironing pile is lurking within eye-shot - which I must address one way or the other (ie. iron or put away in the cupboard) - the UKHot40 is playing on the telly and my water bottle is within reach.

So let's start with Saturday: a day of short sunny bursts and bouts of torrential rain under a largely grey sky. And an evening of cocktails and mighty fine cuisine as four work friends painted the heart of London's Soho multicultural - at a Peruvian restaurant. This is what happens when a Turk, a German, a Frenchwoman and an Aussie, all obsessed with food, get their heads together for a girl's night out.

After a flurry of emails late on Saturday afternoon, a plan was hatched and a few hours later, four happy expat ladies were sitting at the bar in Ceviche, watching the intermittent drizzle against the window with cocktails in hand. Ceviche is new to the London restaurant scene, having only opened in February this year, and has had some terrific reviews (including one by yours truly over on Weekend Notes after our super Saturday soiree). I won't repeat here what you'll find elsewhere - suffice to say we left four very happy ladies. And it wasn't just the cocktails.

Sunday morning dawned and after a kick-start of croissants, coffee and copious amounts of water - how is it that so much drinking can be so dehydrating - I was off again, this time to the Edinboro' Castle in Camden for a farewell do.

You see, in just under two weeks time, A-used-to-be-down-the-hill will become Seattle-A. Yes, she and hubster are moving state-side to the land of the free, the home of the brave and city of highest rate of sunglasses purchases per capita in the US. They've bought a fabulous new pad, booked the movers and are starting their own round robin of goodbyes to old London town.

And yesterday, under the canopy of trees in the sun-dappled beer garden at the Edinboro' Castle, was a gathering of their wonderful circle of friends. Almost ten hours of repartee and reminiscing, of howls of laughter and a little just-between-friends political incorrectness, of re-connecting and fond farewells, to wish them well in this next exciting chapter...and to book our respective berths at Palazzo Seattle.

So this weekend has been a poignant reminder of the power of my expat friendships, both old and new, and the importance of trusting my instincts in reaching out amongst the myriad of connections I make each day, week, month, year.

Saturday night heralded the start of a 'four girls from four nations' friendship.

And while my own personal farewell with A is still to come, Sunday was a celebration of a friendship that began just two weeks into my expat journey. That's more than eight years of life in the UK together. Opening the pages of this next chapter in our friendship has me feeling a little sad, but excited about the possibilities that will follow for both of us. 

You see we, my friends, are going global.

A Travelling Penn...

Just a couple of weeks ago I fell across the blog of an old friend.

Actually I should clarify: she's not old. For matter neither am I. And I'm sticking to that.

Tanya and I worked together in a turbulent time of tea, tuna and tomatoes a couple of years before I left Australia. While I've been making hay my way here in Ol' Blighty, she upped sticks and taught English in Korea for a while without having any local lingo under her belt (among other things). You could say she's a baptism by fire kind of girl.

(I confess I can't remember which bit of Korea peeps. Apologies. Tan, you'll just have to do a proper guest post on Gidday *wink*)

Anyway, it's called travellingpenn.

Tanya has started her blog to record her experiences as she undergoes her transformation into a emergency communicator for World Vision. We are only seven posts into the journey so far so it's the perfect time to get in, so to speak, at the grass roots.

Her writing is warm and lovely, the tone ranges from self-deprecating to poignant (yes already - in seven posts!) And let's face it, her job, facing one of the world's greatest humanitarian issues - child poverty - puts her in a unique position to share, to make a difference and to enrich the lives of those with whom she has the enormous privilege to come into contact with.

As I said, she's only seven posts in and it promises to be an extraordinary journey.

I hope you'll share it too.