So I actually left in what feels like forever ago, the 26th of April, with the whole Haywood clan, my travelling buddy Pip and some stragglers (Morey and Brenno) to the airport at 2am in the morning.
A cheeky stopover in Kuala Lumpur left us with enough time to meet up with Dan Condon, see the Petronas Towers, go to the Batu Caves, try to be sold millions of wooden sculptures/bowls/crap that we don't want and then head out of there.... Air Asia here we come...
Which, surprisingly wasn't so bad...
London
Nevertheless, we ended up in London, the three of us, looking totally bedraggled and tired and making our way over to Surrey to stay with some of Dan's friends from his 'GAP YEAR' (quote Sophie Jennings). Right next to the Chelsea Football Club, I might add, not bad.
Regardless, we hung around London long enough to see the Royal Wedding in Hyde Park. With Ed Robinson, some cheese and wine and some free cupcakes from some posh Londoners who took a liking to our Aussie accents we were in the prime position to see the 'kisses' on the balcony! awww...
Hanging around London for a few days I managed to see a hell of a load of art (more on that later), Harrods, Convent Gardens, the Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral, The Only Way is Essex, the Millenium Bridge, the madness of Royalists and just crazy people alike and some of Patto's living room... rather then the crazy partying we had promised ourselves.
Liverpool
Up to Liverpool and ahoy, we're staying with more of Dan's friends... the lovely Mr Will Gudgeon. Here we soaked up some Liverpoodlian sights such as the Beatles Museum, Tate Liverpool, Docks, Slavery Museum and lots of bars. Liverpool has around 5 Universities and therefore a huge night life for students and hugely cheap drinks deals. Beers don't come in pots and pints are around £1 at most places.
The Trek
So Liverpool was also the planning ground for our Great Trek... a trek to rival all others (namely Lesbian camp AKA Wilson's Prom spectacular) and the Overland. The trek was 70 miles over 6 days and bascially looked like this:
Stunning, isn't it? It runs right through the heart of the Lakes District from South to North. If I could say that I ever experienced the sublime, it was in the Lakes District.
The long and the short of it is that after 4 weeks of fabulous weather, the heavens opened and decided to rain a bit on us. Luckily our £20 tent kept us nice and dry and we didn't even need it when we stayed at Skiddaw House (below) the highest Youth Hostel in Britain! Minor detail: I actually got quite sick and so we couldn't finish the whole thing. Bugger.
Now
So after finishing our trek and heading back to Liverpool we stayed a couple of nights there and now we're in Glasgow, just arrived after a rather long 7 hour bus trip.
So, that was supposed to the 'brief' part, but sorry, there was just too much to tell.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Wedding: 'A Small Family Affair'-Wills...(shucks you joker)
Sitting in Hyde Park the atmosphere was absolutely electric and it was awesome to see the spitfire fly above us (so close) after the ceremony. In the days after, I actually found myself getting caught up in the hype... I flipped through tabloid magazine reading about the comparatives times of the TWO kisses on the balcony... ! Woah two!... I religiously looked into the designer of the dress and watched the American news reports which had come in with lip readers to read the Royals lips during the ceremony!! What...! And like everyone else, I fell in love with Harry... Man, he's such a bad boy... and that car idea, putting balloons on it, genius.
The Phone
Yes. you may have heard about the phone. Since getting over here I've been having a bit of trouble with my phone (it not being unlocked and all) so had to splurge on a new one for £1... I could not have been happier when the cashier pointed out which phone I had just purchased at such a bargain basement price... His hand pointed towards the stand and my eyes lighted on the phone picture above, The Commemorative Wills and Kate Alcatel Special. It was as though all my dreams had come true. Not only was this phone kitted out with a cover bearing the couples entwined initials on the back, but also their photo as the background. Who cares about not having dictionary when your rign tone is automatically set to 'God Save the Queen'... sheer joy.
Medication
Having learnt a little from Patto about how to be 'Reem' (bogan/chav word for hot) I think we were pretty well prepared for Medication, which can only be described as unbelievable. Thousands of people packed into a club which plays all the latest hits from J-Lo and sells suspiciously home-brew seeming alcohol to unsuspecting customers. Whilst some opted for costume and most normal clothes, I did appreciate that the club had shelled out some money to hire 'Reem Girls' (pictured below):
Whilst I'm not sure what exactly was required of their job description, I think it went along the lines of 'Wear Little, Look Hot'. Basically clad in underwear, Reem girls walked around the club to general cattle calling or standing up on stage looking disinterested as they swayed to the beat on their 11 inch heels.
More interestingly, there was a fight. This is how it began. Our host, Will Gudgeon, recalled in introducing us to the club ' oh no, I've never seen a fight there'.... Amy, however, decides that it's hilarious to shove back someone who had incosiderately jostled her on the dance-floor. Using her derrier to it's full effect, she actually managed to push one guy A into guy B. Guy B is suitably unimpressed and therefore mouths something (admist the music din) to the effect of 'What the F*&$ are you doing?' to which Guy A's response is a simple punch in the face. oops.
The Night We Slept in a Stranger's Garage
Having already labelled ourselves pre-hike the 'no gear, no idea' crew, we knew that there were probably going to be some mishaps. The first of which was on our first night in Ulverston, a little town which we had planned to camp before we started the hike.
Problem 1: We reach Ulverston and there are no campsites that take people with tents.
Problem 2: It's just started raining
Problem 3: As we walk into various establishments we realise that no one has any rooms.
crap.
Luckily, on the train to Ulverston we had met a nice French teacher who after graciously suggesting some good pubs along the Cumbria Way also offered that if push came to shove he'd find us somewhere to stay. Naturally, in this hour of desperation, we call him. He says he'll call back. Our hopes aren't looking up as it appears that we've been stood up, gotten the old 'I'll call you...' line before we even went on date... Luckily, Scott rang back and offered us some space at his parents house, just out of town! An awkward but funny and relieving meeting ensued as we ventured out to the little township of Scales, where we were greeted and offered the garage floor! yes! We couldn't be happier! And with a cup of tea in the morning and a lift into town we were stoked. Thank you universe.
ART-WANK
Ok. So I've exceeded myself here so can't really be bothered writing up all the things I've seen. Here's a brief run-down:
- Ai Wei Wei's installation at the Tate Modern, London. Literally thousands of hand-crafted porcelain sunflower seeds all splayed ou on he floor.
- David Goldblatt's apartheid photojournalism at the V and A
- Light Nights Festival. An Arts festival in Liverpool which had everything from grass-roots type installations and photography to works in the The Bluecoat, all in different venues across town
- The Tate Liverpool. A seriously good sculpture collection which had in it everything from Dali's Lobster phone to one of the replica's of Duchamp's Urinal.
- National Gallery- and who better to take me around the Medieval Art Section then the great Matthew Champion.
- British Museum-Exhibition on drawing from Picasso to Mehretu which highlighted the necessary use of drawing, still, amongst artists across all types of mediums.
Missing you all.
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