Just because he can :)

Blood, sweat and beers

Australia Day 2013

Decked out in my green fishnets and flagged boardies, 

I covered myself in cheap flaky tatts and jumped 

head first into 17 HOURS of exhaustion and pure madness.

From midday,

To very late,

 the building was buzzing, non stop!

I was in a sauna all day! The upstairs bar was ROASTIN'!

The small team I was with up there were a bunch of troopers. 

Starburst, grapes and Oreos in hand, we survived!!

The cleanup was epic, delirious, sticky and 2 hours long. 

The bar made 135grand in one day :o

Unaustralian expectations of 30 young bar staff, 

truly patriotic results!

The next day... Round 2 in paradise!

 I saw the same mental people lining up at the bar. 

Bunch o' crazies!

Luckily, day 2 was quieter. 

(Yet within an hour I still managed a shoe full of cider)

We were all a bit batty from the day before but

stumbled our way through with roaring success.

I think, just maybe, next year I might like to drink in a sunny backyard.

Beers in hand, J's ringing in my ears. Doesn't seem right any other way!

That's different...

The other end of my Wednesday mornin' skype session

only child !

It's been since.. never that I have lived a place, without either of my gorgeous sisters in shot of a hug 'n' giggle.

I've always been fortunate enough to have at least one of them around..
First time for everything, right?!
Last week, after 4 and a half years of living here, V said goodbye to London and boarded a plane back to Aus.
As one does, she accumulated a shitload of stuff which made packing quite the overwhelming task !

After hours of ruthless sorting and packing,
we got her back zipped tight and ready to go.

Among everything else, we managed to pack fifteen favourite t-shirts,
shoes, more shoes, a pair of gumboots, a souvenir bus,

how many bags V?!.. the sneaky bitch managed SEVEN bags in total,

and a litre of British booze to boot.

Amazing. 

Silver lining... my wardrobe has never looked so healthy!
Gloves, jackets, hats, you name it!
The wool and warm bits are coming in handy with the wintery English weather :)

From seedy sing alongs in the sauna to Pimms in the park, 

I thoroughly enjoyed having her around for my first year in London.

Will miss her loads but couldn't be more 

excited for what the next leg brings her way!

umm..

One upside of V going back to Aus..
her earmuffs are keeping me toasty warm! 

... did I mention it's been SNOWING!?

Yeah yeah, broken record here isn't posting anything but snow pics on social media.
But it's pretty, and fluffy, and I like it.

Thus.. some more photos, of ze snow:

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..

Look, see !

Tada! ... Footy field

  Day time on my street....

... night tiiiime!

Holy circus balls!

Myself, Wez and V went to see Kooza!
Circus de Soleil's latest and greatest tricks.
Holy moly, it was nuts!
Photo's were sneaky so not spectacular but we had a great view :)

You forget what you're seein' is real.
 People riding bicycles on bits of rope...

And acrobats that flexible that they walked their feet around their own heads...!? Made me feel very inflexible . whilst these girls can kiss their own asses I can't even bend down and touch my toes!
This dude casually stacked chairs and did a hand stand.. as you do!

T'was mental and awesome.
A last min cheeky upgrade meant we were in a box (thanks wez!!!) It was press night so there were celebs everywhere. Noone that I recognised but V was buzzin off it!

Royal albert hall, and a wonka bar

 AND a golden ticket!!.. she wishes!

First time for everything

At 7am this morning I looked outside my bedroom window and saw snow.

Not full covered.. but the rooftops, trees, cars and sidewalks and were all dusty :)

It is my first sighting, therefore must be noted!

I've not been outside since.

Eat, Drink, Recover. Repeat.

2 weeks on and I haven't posted my new years celebrations.
From the 28th dec (feels like forever ago!) to the 2nd of Jan, Wez and I went to Derry.

The first day was Baps birthday. 

Rather than drink ALL day, we started off with a fresh 

walk up to Grianan fort in Donegal (how irish?!)

 

some just can't hold their horses! 

Come evening time there was shots..

 and hugs..

 and dancing..

 and nipples.

For a day of recovery, we headed to the pub. (we invited the guys from Baps bday along, but at 2pm the following day, they were still at it O.o)
Sandinos is a local that holds a trad session every Sunday.
Random guys and women, old and young bring along their instruments, group in the corner, and fill the pub full of Traditional Irish song. It is truly awesome.. it scared my hangover, shakes and any worries I had far away! (I can't find my photo of it?! No justice in photos anyway, you'll just have to head to Derry and experience it for yourselves.)

Day 3.. Hangover recovery. Then off to bring in the new year at Keiths house!

More food..

 More drink..

more dancing..

 and 8am shenanigans!

These people in Derry can drink! They do not stop til the sun comes up. The sun would NOT come up!?
9am we called a cab and nursed in the new year huddled in Pajamas.
I didn't have a hangover as I had plently of time to drink myself sober. UK has changed me man!
So, I sat and took in the year as it was with a cuppa tea in our splendid accommodation.

On our last day, Wez gave me a mini tour 

about the 'city' before we headed to the airport.

    

Awesome trip! We were both knackered by the end of it.

2 weeks of lazing, eating and socialising can really take it out of ya!