So it's december, which generally means christmas stuff is happening. In Helston especially - we (luke, shiona and I) went to a very special christmas 'turning the lights on' event in helston main street last week which was pretty novel.
They closed off the street for a few hours (4 cars were very inconvenienced) so they could have fireworks and stalls and hot food and choirs and drumming bands, and horses dressed up as reindeer. There was even a mobile pipe organ playing less than christmassy tunes, but the thought was there....
Someone also felt it was a good idea to provide all the children of the village with light sabres - i'm amazed at the amount of ways there are to hurt yourself with those things. But a good time was had by all, and now Helston looks very festive and nice, and we're all getting into the christms spirit. Even more exciting today is the fact that the sun is shining. Its the return of an old friend. And patients are a little scarce today so i have time to enjoy it. (Lucky i'm sitting next to a giant window, otherwise it would seem that blogging was counterproductive).
Also, I've accepted a job in Bournemouth for next year - still in the south of england but much closer to everything travelwise, and so luke is now looking for employment. We'll start up there in Jan once we get back from Germany.
So all is peachy, though no snow just yet. fingers crossed for germany, though i'm assured i wont be disappointed by many a winter fan.
Write to me!
Love to all!

Howdy!!
So, I found the lost camera, and some spare time, and I'm updating again, but from the beginning...

I know I've put up a fair few photos from London already, but we had a bit of a trip around camden town (punk and goth central), and around the markets there, which were realllllly interesting, but way overpriced, just like the rest of london. There's some very cool graffiti there too... see photo 1. There's a story behind this one, featuring a local artist trying to piss off some whitewashing-to-remove-graffiti councilmen, as far as I can remember. I thought it was clever.

Also had a closer look at the tower of London (still havent quite made it inside on a tour, that will have to wait till the next time we visit...)(Tower of London)

After a short day in London, we headed off to Cornwall (we took a few days to get all the way down to Helston, it takes about 6 hours all up... waaay more than i thought, but take a close look at a map and you'll understand.... )
On the way down we had a stop off at Stonehenge - where as you'll see from the photo, Luke kept up the Aussie tradition of stupidly braving the weather. Most other people were wearing boots, coats, hats, scarves, and were still cringing when the wind got strong. He was blue by the time we got back to the car.

I'll put in a couple of pics with scenery, or from castles and things that we stopped at, all cool, all much the same - i'm not so much into castles because of the history, but more because you get to play hide and seek in someone elses spooky house. It really lets out your inner immaturity.

Although, to be honest, the 'scenery' in the last photo here was way prettier in real life...it doenst really come accross in the photos :-)

The one very note worthy place that we visited on the way down to Helston was the Eden project - with giant greenhouse biomes where they have man made tropical and meditteranean gardens...its AMAZING to go in and look around in. There's about seven biomes, a few linked ones for the tropical climates, and another few for dry hot climates, like desert and meditteranean plants... its very cool. Lots of interactive type things to do for kids. And kid-type adults. And a kick-ass gift shop!! Luke had his first EVER (weirdo) taste of toffee that we bought there. Delicious. OOh, and they have concerts there in the summer during the 'Eden Sesssions'. This year there was among the headliners Oasis, Muse, and Kaiser Chiefs. I'm very much hoping to make it back here next summer.



So, after all that, we arrived in Cornwall. There was a bit of working in between the fun bits, but basically we've been travelling around, lots of walking, lots of pub/shop/cafe/gift shop visiting - there's plenty of quaint fishing/pirate(!!!!!!!!!!!) towns to be visited. I'll put in a couple of nice scenery shots from a walk luke and I did along the coast on the most southern point of England, called 'Lizard Point'. I dont know why its called that.

In order to reach all of these fantastic places to see and spend our well earned money, we decided to hire a car for the weekend... so while I was at work Luke went off to organise that. Bear in mind that most roads here in Cornwall are about a generous 2 metres wide (that's 2 lane!!) and the average 'small to medium' car is something like a mini cooper, and Luke comes to meet me after work, looking all pleased with himself, saying "I got a real bargain for us!!". The vehicle in the photo was returned with only minimal hedge-scratch damage.

So that will be all from us for the time being. We're still in Falmouth for the rest of the week, but will be back to Helston next weekend, but hopefully will own a car by then - again, Lukes job, but I've given restrictions on size this time. Hehe.
Hope everyone is safe and well, let me know how you are when you can!

Hey all,
So this is going to be a pretty half-assed update, mainly due to the fact that although I do have photos and what not to put up, I seem to have misplaced my camera among all the crap that I have had to carry (well, Luke has mainly done the carrying), from one B&B to another....
However.... Cornwall is very nice.... I've worked a few days in Helston, and I'm now in Falmouth for just under a fortnight before I'm back to Helston again. Falmouth is actually really cool, and Luke and I are considering staying longer if he can find work, otherwise, we'll have to move somewhere a tad more industrious....

The roads here are a bit nuts.. in orange you have enough room for 6 cars to drive side by side comfortably on your average 2 lane road, and here you see a bus and a lorry (yes, that's right, I said lorry) trying to pass each other on a road that would be a tight squeeze for one vehicle, each driving up onto the side hedge, folding in the side mirror so it wont get squased, and hi-fiving each other and having a chat as they pass ... witnessing this though made me much more comfortable about lukes choice of hire 'car' last weekend, photos of which shall be posted as soon as i find my missing camera.

I'd best leave it at that, I could bore you all (the few who are still reading this) with tales of fabulous weather and charming locals, but i'm not a liar. I do love it here though :-)

Hope you're all well, please comment/email me when you get a chance...

This first picture is a Nordic chessboards, you cant really see in the pictures, but there's cool little details, like the rooks (in this ones they're guys holding shields), are biting their shields, and the queens are holding their heads in despair. Fun.
The second pic is a tiny tiny (like 3cm long) gold chariot...very cool.
I dont know why this last picture came up sideways, cos its the right way round in iphoto... but anyway, this is a picture from the Irwin yoga section.

And that's it.

Here's some assorted ancient egyptian dead people.

This clock here operates by a ball-bearing rolling down a tilting plate, then when it gets to the end the plate tilts the other way, and off it goes again. Suprisingly mesmerising to watch.
The second pic is the first happy buddha i've ever seen, which seemed photo worthy.
The last one didnt have a plaque explaining what it was. I just assumed it was from the first recorded greek naked orchestra - percussion section.

That leopard thing is made out of tusks, and all the little black spots are spent shells from weapons used in African wars. That's recycling for ya.
The gold egg thing (there's a specific name for it which i cant remember) was sooooo detailed, really amazing to look at. Hard to see in a photo.
The eagle i just put in cos it looks freaky.

So now we have the outside of the museum, and an example of the ever popular pet piercing. I'm hoping it will make a comeback.
And finally, a statue from easter island. scary.

And this is a statue of Ramses, made from black granite. That's all I have to say about that.

Daytime of the night at the museum

So today I went to the british museum - cos its free and time consuming, but WOAH its also awesome. Here's a brief selection of my favourite pics...

This first one is the rosetta stone...really cool to look at, the engravings are way smaller and more detailed than i had imagined. Although to be honest, i hadnt often imagined the rosetta stone.

London Town

Hey everyone, so now that i'm back from ireland and still unemployed (an annoying and long story so i'll spare you) I'm back to filling the time. I've already put some of these pics up on facebook, but these are from a day I spent checking out the main touristy parts of London... the first one is a church (and the hotel i stayed in) aka the tower of london. They're very hospitable. Bit noisy every hour though. The second one is tower bridge, next is I believe the tower of london...I was confused for a bit because it didnt look very towery, but i think its the bit with the prison and where they used to execute people. Dont quote me on it though...by that part of the tour I was tuning out more than i was tuning in. The next pic is pretty cool...its big ben seen THROUGH the london eye. Nice! And the last is me in a phone box. Pretending to call someone so I wouldnt look like a nutter. Pretty sure i still looked like a nutter. I actually went on that trip before Ireland, but never got around to putting up the photos.

As for job prospects, its been an absolute nightmare getting all my registration organised...dont get me wrong, i'm all legal to practice, but its taking forever to regsiter with the NHS (who are the equivalent, albeit inferior equivalent, if that makes any sense) and most optometrists arent really interested in hiring me until I can claim through the NHS. Once i'm registered i've got jobs coming out of my ears, but until then, i'm pretty much chilling out. If this takes heaps longer I may even come back to Aus (was coming back for Johns wedding anyway) and chill out in rent-free bliss. We'll see. I am determined to make this entire thing worthwhile though, but as it stands, that may mean i'll have to stay 53 and a half years in order to make it worth the effort it's taken to get here and qualify. And to everyone who owes me money, now's the time to pay up :-)
On the upside the weather here rocks! Everyone keeps saying how hot it is but I reckon its perfect, lucky i'm unemployed so i can enjoy it...

And last but not least....my first pint of genuine Irish guiness. And it was great. Although see the glasses i'm wearing? They're gooooone....someone stole my sunglasses case thinking i had sunglasses in there...ahahahahahhaa i had the last laugh. Although I still cant see. Bugger.
And that was my holiday.
oh, and i know i briefly mentioned it earlier, but i'm pretty sure i've secured some locum work in the lovely portside town of hastings for the next couple of months...and i have a very nice recruiting agent looking for full time work for me when i get back from Aus, so john, i will definitely be at your wedding. Huzzah!

So this is the second last set of photos....the first one is to demonstrate the awesome and undisputable power of the signpost, and the second one is O'briens tower. O'Brien was apparently this rich guy who built a tower up there on the cliffs so he could take impressionable young women up there who he hoped would be so impressed by the beautiful views that they would offer other beautiful views. Rumour has it he was successful.

So this set is mainly from the Dingle peninsula - really really nice here, it was probably my favourite part of the whole trip. In the town of dingle there's this bar that is also a hardware store, and as soon as you walk in people just stare at you....and follow you with their eyes while you buy a drink....and watch you while you drink it....and watch it as you quickly leave.... a bit creepy but its an experience....
We also payed a visit to a beach...which some people swam in...crazy... but it was nice. The Horse and carriage picture is from Killarney, again very nice, but very touristy, they really hammed up all the leprechaun jokes etc... it was nice enough, but not worth 12 euros in my mind. But hey, it was part of the tour. Oh, haha...and the randy leprechaun...its a hostel that's owned by the paddywagon tour operators, so its basically filled with people on their tours, and the drivers get together in the pub to catch up. I wouldnt say it's classy, but its unique. And bright green. And marketed as 'a traditional Irish pub'. I dont think so. Oh, and the photo I put in of the island, see how it looks like a man lying down? There's a whole big story about it, which is fairly interesting but far too long for me to remember it, basically its supposed to be a giant that died for some romantic and noble reason...

This is Blarney Castle! The place of gross stones you're supposed to pash (after thousands of other people have already had that pleasure) and overpriced souveniers. There's not a whole lot to say about it, as castles go, its quite a good one, cos there's lots of little rooms you can go and look around in. Not the sort of place i'd want to live though. The caves are quite cool though. On the last photo there you can actually see someone kissing the stone... eww....

Hey all,
I'm going to have to do this in stages, cos i have a few photos from my holiday in Ireland, and i suspect if i do it all in one go its going to look terrible. So these first few photos are from a day in Dublin - you can see the spire on O'connel street (its called the stiletto in the ghetto), and it makes it really easy to find the centre of town.... There's also a picture of me on the ha'penny bridge, which i'd never heard of but people tell me its famous. I think i took a picture of a busker making sand sculptures...that was pretty cool... basically that day i went shopping, so there's not a whole lot to talk about... the guiness souveneir store was pretty cool though. i didnt want to spend too much money because i still dont have a job (although I will be working in hastings very soon i think) but there's a novelty hat i am SO going back for. Oh, and the brazen head is the oldest pub in Ireland, built in like the 12th century or something. It looks better on the inside :-) I'll move on to the next set of photos now...

I PASSED!!!!!!!!

That kinda sums it up to be honest. I'm gonna go sleep for about 16 hours now.

Brush with fame

Well, not really....I had my second lot of exams today, and one of my examiners was soooo funny...not in an intentional way. You know the guy out of the first series of little britain, the guy that owns the B & B in scotland, and plays the pipe/recorder type thingo while reciting strange riddles and saying "yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees" to everything?
He was my examiner today.
I had an ocular diseases oral exam, and everytime i would say anything correct, he would keep saying "yeeeeeeeeeeeeees" just like that guy. And he looked like him too! Specs and hair and old looking clothes and everything. He was a caricature waiting to happen. If i wasnt wetting myself with nervousness, I would have laughed. Chlamydial conjuncitivitis has never been so funny.

Tulips and the spread eagle...

Howdy,
So not all that much has been happening, I went out the other day with some mates of mine here, out to camden markets and had some lunch. We spotted a local pub there that made us stop and look for a bit... apparently you often get aussies looking at this pub and wondering how they got away with it. You can book in for private parties too. Not really 'laugh out loud' funny, but i havent been anywhere else yet, i have nothing hilarious to write about!! I am planning on going to Ireland after my exams though, pass or fail, i'm gonna go have a bit of fun.
Oh, but, i did receive a LOVELY bunch of flowers today, not trying to brag or anything...but look how amazing they are. Just thought you'd all like to see how good flowers can be.