thank god i'm not in PR

as lee pointed out - i got the link to his website wrong. very wrong.

it is www.eco-shout.org

apparently the org and com are two very different beasts

apologies -

cabin fever

well, i really stuffed up going on about the good weather in that spring post.
since then, the weather has been rubbish (see how english i'm getting - i can type with an english accent :)
this weekend being no exception. i should have known, as this weekend it is glastonbury and there is some natural law that festivals=rain=mud=gastroenteritis (for the unlucky ones)

mid-summer and 16 degrees



what made it worse, it that we were going to fly over to the continent for a party(as you do) and catch up with my pa. but best laid plans and all that, my grandpa got sick, dad has gone to help out and we have got busy at work aswell so decided to stay put. but grandpa is getting better so that is what matters.


anyway, dont think we have been idle. with 5 weeks to go until we pack up shop, we have stuff to do. yesterday we did a bit of consuming - got some gear for our trip. i was very happy with my wind up lantern...although with one minute of winding required for 8 minutes of light - maybe ask me in a couple of months how much i like the wind up lantern. still, it is an advance in green power and i persuaded rohan to put (quite alot of (in fact, a third of what we spent that day)) our money where our mouths are, so to speak. also purchased was; one card table, two camp chairs, one gas stove, 4 gas bottles, a electric pump, an esky and previously mentioned lamp. oh yes, we will be camping in Style ; ) i copied pip and took a photo of it all...evidence that i might be getting slightly overexcited about trip and very bored at being stuck at home on weekend.





you cant see the tables/chairs because we left them in the car but also in the pic is our tent - it is enormous! but actually quite modest in relation to others we saw. you can get tents with wings (as in west, not as in lets fly to europe in our tent) these days.

being housebound, we have seen quite a bit of glastonbury on the teev. i particuarly liked bjork dancing around like a crazy little pixie. would have loved to have been there for that. the rest of the stuff i'm a bit take it or leave it. escpecially when you have to contend with mud and teenagers.

yummy northern hemisphere raspberries

rohan, he isnt really possessed, just trying to keep his eyes open in a photo for a change.

in other news, rohans big brother lee is now running a website that is sort of set up as a network for green initiatives - a green hub if you like . it is really awesome and i have added a link in our sidebar aswell. simon, there is one for melbourne too so you should get involved. being a lawyer is no excuse.

and that is all i think for now.

Ax

solitude

so after a few weekends of socialising i have finally got the chance to do a bit of relaxing - bliss -and other than the rowdy saffas downstairs, it is just me, a cuppa, jjj and well, this blog. rohan is off paintballing with the boys from work for the day. i am feeling a bit sorry for him because it is unusually muggy today and also i think he has pissed off a guy from work recently who may seek his revenge today. oh well. still, it should be good for him to destress a bit. i hope. i might head down to the shops and get some kind of a poultice (sp?) for his return, but probably not (i am a frazer/parr afterall).



i did some obligatory shopping thismorning but these days i find i am more likely to buy a book or cd than some clothes. not sure what is wrong with me - i might need to see someone about that. also got to speak to my sis for the first time in a while today which was good. if you see her, hassle her about studying.


last week (week before?) the internet just seemed to go ballistic with all the facebook shenanigans. i'm not sure i can keep up with it. i think i might stick to keeping this old thing and keep facebook for poking people...or my virtual life might take over.


so - in order -

the last may bank holiday weekend we headed to the unexplored (by us) north of england and were greeted by the most miserable weather i have ever experienced -constant rain(or drizzle), cold and wind (the trifecta of crap weather). That the peaks district was still quite spectacular (not in its peakiness however as greg pointed out a couple of times) says something about the area because really the weather was bloody awful. we had planned to do some walking (sort of - had some books) but lucky we didnt have our heart set on anything because it wouldnt have been much fun. instead we were reduced to going underground into some very average miners tunnels and (and this is just not fair) spend hour upon hour in the pub next to our accomodation drinking beer (thank god for the pub!) we also got to catch up with Kate and Andy who have returned to the UK after 3 years in Oz. and eat bakewell tarts in bakewell. cant complain about that.
said pub
engineers - happy to be in a hard hat even on holiday



greg, robbie, me and dry stone wall


the next weekend our venture up north was slightly more successful. we went up for Kate and Andy's english version of their wedding reception and took the opportunity to see some of York at the same time. I also went to see the house my grandma grew up in (searching for answers) - which was kinda cool.

windows of the impressive York Minster (not my grandmas house)


banks of the Ouse - York



drinking on the banks of the Ouse - York,

man of the manor

Ax