Chocolate Bunnies

Happy Easter everyone!

Feline Friday 7

You hear of monsters that hate their master/mistress to be away and will ignore them when they come back after a week's absence. Not my monsters: my monsters love me to come back and are scrabbling and vying for attention from the minute the front door opens, Wuppie being the worst! That's why this week I've got a photo of Wuppie, my lovely ginger monster.

From police to ambulance

Tamil Tigers (Sri Lanka) protest outside the Houses of Parliament

My trip to London started with the police, because as I arrived at work, I noticed money lying around and locks being forced open. After the police had arrived, they found that the other side of the building was hit even worse: a complete chaos! Doors kicked in, small change on the floors, stuff knocked over etc. So, whatever I wanted to do before leaving was now not done, because I had to get someone over who could deal with the police.

My dreamhouse in the grounds of Wimpole Hall. Perfectly symmetrical.

I managed to get to the school on time though and after about ten minutes the first people started arriving. Five teachers and fifty-two students (16-18 year olds) piled on board and off we went: towards Calais where we would catch the ferry. The students were mostly quiet, until right after the first stop, one of the boys became ill. He had had a party the night before and was quite hung-over. No need for an ambulance though...

The Globe Theatre

We made it to London (Bromley) in good time and after all the students had left with their host families, it was time for me to find a parking space and make it back to the hotel, where the teachers and I were staying. After finding the parking space (where I wasn't allowed to park by the way) and parking my coach, I went back to the hotel, changed and we went out to dinner.

Living Statue on the South Bank

On day two the students would visit Greenwich (I didn't get the chance), after which I would pick them up and drive them to Buckingham Palace. From there they would walk back to the Tower, where I would pick them up again before driving back to the host families. So, in the afternoon I was basically free to do as I pleased. I bought a quick lunch, took the Underground to Westminster and walked all the way back to the Tower. On the way I had an ice-cream and some cotton candy, climbed the 311 (!!!) steps of the Monument and wobbled my way back to my coach. Ambulance not needed...

One of the planes in the American Hall of the Imperial War Museum in Duxford

Day three saw us driving out of London and towards Cambridge. Our first stop was the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. Flying machines from the Spitfire to the Concorde were on show there and some were still in flying mood! We only saw one little one and I don't have a clue what that was... After the museum we went to Wimpole Hall, a few miles up the road. A lovely great big house with a bathroom that would probably hold my entire house! The bathtub alone could hold an elephant, it was just huge. It was a lovely house though and I saw my dream house as well. Then it was on to Cambridge, where there was some time to do some sightseeing. If it hadn't been for that girl who forgot her inhaler and was squeaking and whistling away. So, I took a taxi back with the teacher and the student to get her inhaler from the coach. Still no need for an ambulance...

311 steps in the Monument and I climbed them all!

Day four was another day in London. This time however, most of my driving would be done between 8 and 11 in the morning and 9 and 12 at night. Nearly a whole day off! I dropped the group off at the Science Museum, drove my coach to a coach park and took the Underground again. I wanted to visit the Imperial War Museum London. I wandered around that musuem for a few hours, before walking (limping, wobbling) back to Westminster Bridge to get some nice shots of the Houses of Parliament. My sister was in town as well, so after she had finished her training for the day, we met up and went out to dinner. We have a shared passion for books, so since we had some time left, we browsed around in a couple (I came away with one book). And then it was back to my coach so I could pick up my group again. By then however, I could barely walk properly any more, I had blisters and my ankles had swollen up something terrible! But I wouldn't need an ambulance for that...

A very fishy windvane on the top of Billingsgate Fish Market

The last day had arrived and after loading we drove back to Dover to catch the ferry to Calais again. The trip went really well and even our most feared area (Antwerp) was relatively easy conquered. We stopped at the Dutch border for dinner and I arranged with my colleague where he would take over. And that's where we needed the ambulance. One of the 18-year olds had been drinking neat wodka for about an hour and a half. Most of the students knew but didn't really know, especially since he had poured the wodka in waterbottles, so nobody realised. However, after downing nearly a liter, he was so drunk, he started passing out. By the time I stopped and handed the coach over, he was incoherent and refused to say anything in Dutch. In the end the ambulance was called and they decided it was better to take him to hospital! What an idiot!!

The Underground (above ground in this photo...)

My trip was good though: fat ankles, blisters, my sister and lots of sightseeing. Oh and a pretty much restored faith in teenagers (apart from the wodka-swilling idiot of course...).

Antonio

You might look at this photo and then at the title again and think: what on earth is she on about now? Well, let me explain.

Antonio has to be Antonio Banderas. He is a nice-looking actor, but the last role I remember him for is the role of Puss-in-Boots in Shrek. And what does he wear? Exactly: boots that look like the ones in this photo.

I took this photo in London last Monday and the woman wearing them, had a really funny walk, which made me think of Antonio even more. So there...

L is for...

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

On our way to Ireland we would usually have some time left to visit this small village on Anglesy in Wales. And even though it's a small village, it has a big name. There are 58 letters in the English language, 51 in the Welsh (ll is considered as one letter, as is ch), making it the longest place-name in the British Isles and one of the longest in the world.

St. Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave. That's the official meaning of the name.

It wasn't always this long. In the nineteenth century the name was Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, but they felt they needed more tourists and lengthened it to its current form. Most signposts still use the older name or an even shorter version Llanfair PG. So, if you ever find yourself in the area, just follow the signs, get your passport stamped and have a nice cup of tea in the restaurant.

For more L words please check out: ABC Wednesday

Away

Over the next few days my posts will be quite rare, since I will be leaving tomorrow morning on a school trip. Some school I've never heard of is going to London for five days and I will drive them there. London, Greenwich, Cambridge. I will bring my camera and try to make some great shots while over there.
See you on Thursday!

Great day!

First of all, I would like to thank David from Authorblog for his inclusion of my blog (well, the "K is for..." post) on his post of the day. I didn't make it, but I was a topcontender. Thank you so much David.

Today was a great day: beautiful weather and an easy trip: high school students. I've written about high school students before and more specifically about the teachers and that most of the time they seem to think that any trip on a coach is a free for all and to hell with all school rules. So, when I realised that I would be driving high school students today, I was expecting the worst. As you do. But as I said, it was a great day today.

I had 17-year olds on board. Students who will be taking their final exams in only a few weeks. Perhaps that was also the reason half of them didn't show up. There was only one teacher on board, who knew very few (if any) of the students and who sat next to me the whole trip. But the combination of age, school level (preparing for college/university) and number (only 25) helped to keep them quiet and friendly. The teacher went to check up on them once and they were sitting quietly. Talking to each other and looking outside.

On the way back we got caught in traffic, but I was prepared and had a video going. Half of them were watching, the other half were chatting. No problem there. When we neared the school, I got the teacher to take a binbag and collect all the small binbags, so the coach was clean on arrival. When they left the coach, most of the students said goodbye and/or thanked me.

Do you know, I might actually start liking high school students...

Feline Friday 6

When my monsters are outside, they do run into each other from time to time and if they do, they have to check whether it's friend or foe. So, a little sniff, a little lick and they're on their way again!

4-0

I've talked about my dislike for football (soccer) several times, so you might be justified in wondering what on earth I was doing at the match between the Netherlands and Macedonia yesterday! Well, for starters, the ticket was given to me for free. Secondly, the atmosphere during a professional game is quite different to the atmosphere during an amateur game. And thirdly, sitting in a stadium filled with thousands of fans is so different (read: loud) compared to sitting in front of the little box at home.

So, last night I found myself sitting on seat 145 in row 12 watching the antics of 22 blokes chasing a ball around the playing field. Around me were thousands of people in weird or weirder get-ups (predominantly orange coloured) shouting, whistling, clapping and in general generating an awful lot of noise! Brilliant.

The first half was dominated by the three goals of 'our' team, the second half by players deciding they were tired and laying down all the time. It got quite annoying. And then, the medics had to come out with their stretcher and one of the Macedonian players was carried off. They had only just deposited him on the side of the field, when the Dutch goalkeeper hit the ball, a teammate and a Macedonian. All at once! So, the medics rushed back in, but this time weren't needed. I was in stitches. Right at the end there was another goal by the Dutch, so the final score was 4 to 0 for the Dutch.

The fans were happy, including the ones on my coach, I was happy and my mood has definitely shifted from down in the dumps to It's Spring!!!

K is for...

Kilmacduagh

Ireland is absolutely chock-o-block full with churches, church ruins, graveyards, monastery ruins and the like and this is no exception. If you get off the beaten track in the Burren (Co. Clare), a fantastic 'rocky place', you might pass this site. It's Kilmacduagh and it used to be a monastery. However, when the English decided they would become Anglicans, Catholicism was banned and anything related to that faith was largely demolished. This is one of the sites that didn't make it.

This photo was taken late in the afternoon in October of 2005. My sister and I had been visiting the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher and were on our way back to our Bed & Breakfast in Spiddal (Co. Galway). Because I had done that trip through the Burren several times before, I knew where to go and we stopped at this place. The sun was setting, it was quiet and the only ones watching us were several cows and their calves. The setting was just so peaceful!

The large tower you can see on the left side of the church is called a round tower. Several explanations have been given to their use and their function, but the most general ones are: it was used as a look-out, a focal point for visiting pilgrims, a bell-tower and storage. The idea that monks would shelter in them in case of attack (Irish, Vikings, English) has been left to rot lately, because that would mean sure suicide. Set fire to the place and they were trapped, since the doorway was three meters above ground and the ladder (more used than stairs) was usually taken up in the tower to avoid strangers entering. Most of the round towers that have survived through the years have survived because of their shape: the wind can't really get a grip on them.

How can you not love Ireland?

For more K words please check out: ABC Wednesday