Verity Does Blog

Yes. It not suprising that Verity has joined the craze sweeping hte world. Having a blog.

Those interested in her ramblings should follow the link to the right or click here.

Milos, Greece

 
 
 
  

 
 
 
  

Coming Soon: Greece

  

Bump Progress:Week 21

 
  

The week that keeps getting better

It was glorious to open Georgia's blog today and to find the biggest ever post of photos known to man. I have spent altogether far too much of my day pouring over each of them, taking in the details. It took me a while to place the silhouette at Goolwa (my, what short hair you have now Verity). Whilst I realise that there are a number of other people who lookk at her site daily, I can't help but feel that each post she makes is a personal letter to me. SO thank you geordy, I absolutely love each and every one of them (although it drives me crazy with jealousy).

So after this little suprise this morning...imagine my joy, as I logged onto my footy update site, only to find another emphatic Crow victory. Whilst I slobber over each online article and watch the odd game that my parents post to me, it is probably my greatest sadness that I have been away these past two years of Crow domination (Friends? Family ? Bah!). I have always know that the Crows had talent, but to see it so arrogantly displayed (a monstrous percentage, two losses by an aggregate of 5 points) is pretty satisfying. And although I know nothing of Neil Craig the footballer (although his Sturt guernsey was proudly worn for many years by Dave), I reckon Neil Craig the Coach is pretty incredible. There are no doubt many sides with a lot of talent in this competition, but to actually harnesss this and turn it into such an impressive display of power takes something special. I had such nice feelings thinking about the Crows that I have gone online to see if I can find any paraphernalia suitable for babies … (I forsee many arguments of whether today will be a Newcastle United or Adelaide Crows day.)

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Well, another weekend in London is about to begin, and once again, I have absolutely nothing planned. Except cleaning. This past week I have found myself cleaning with a fury unseen before. We are talking 2 to 3 hour spells each night. - I iron pillowcases, wash down laundry cupboards, alphabetize the CDs, flush out every nook and cranny in our bedroom. This weekend I am taking on the pantry and the freezer, and I must admit I’m somewhat excited…

This is not the talk of a 25-year-old. Dear god, what is happening to me?

Right. So Matty Hanbrook (Dave’s old flatmate) will be with us for the weekend and we are going to go on a wild bender which will no doubt involve a 72-hour clubbing expedition.

*sigh*

On another note – Happy Birthday Kieran. 29 today, I believe. Hope you are having an incredibly time in Spain at that festival (I forget the name) and kissing all the girls and making them cry :)


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*update* after standing outside a pub on Bermondsey street for two hours, and after finally getting through to a helpful source, it came to our attention that Matty was not coming this weekend, but rather, the next one. The fact that Dave and I had an earlier debate over this (where I has sworn it was next weekend) has not been forgotten...

Ways to make Heather Happy

In a week which began with me catching my naked arse in the bathroom mirror, and a seeing photo that suggested that I was developing bingo flaps, it appeared as though nothing could possibly cheer me up. Even the delicious heat that has covered London only exemplifies the fact that certain bits of my thighs are rubbing together. I hadn’t thought this would disturb me too much, and the fact that is does I firmly blame Kelly for. To have the only person I have watched go through pregnancy (twice) be the type of person who appears to gain little more than a delightfully cute basketball and a set of stunning boobs, is thoroughly annoying. Instead, I sit here, on my little half-way pedestal of 20 weeks, with thighs capable of feeding a small country.

There has been little consolation in fact that my new-found weight and belly has finally crossed that line of ‘is she fat or pregnant’ and I now get offered (mostly) seats on the tube. (note: people giving me seats on the tube has been my favourite topic for the past few months. Poor Dave gets an intimate run down each day of my two tube journeys. My research has shown me that the good Samaritans of London are predominantly only middle-aged white women and 20 – 25 year old male Canadians [seriously – it has happened twice]).

So it has been a pretty glum week. Everything has gone wrong. The first Lasagne I attempted was a little on the dry side, and too heavy on the sage. The Crows only won by 35 points. Nikki got evicted from Big Brother, Neither Georgia or Mez have updated their blogs. Olivia is getting a kitten (I want one). Dave told me he is skipping the country for a month when I am 6 – 7 months pregnant. Food keeps attaching itself to inappropriate parts of my clothing. The pigment over my lip has changed to look a bit like a moustache from a distance.

And then there came an event that I shall call ‘Alex Webster’.

Ahhhhhh. Webbie. Even though I consistently forget her birthday (and Mez’s) and have not put in the effort to call her for a million years, in typical Alex fashion, she sent me a surprise that has turned my frown, upside-down.

Before I go any further, I don’t want to imply that you should all be showering me with cute little baby gifts and that it is a competition for godmother-ship (but if you take that idea with you, well… that can’t be helped).

Webbie has sent the most incredibly soft, little (faux) fur vest for our little winter baby (now referred to as FredorElla). Both Dave and I dribbled over it enviously as we pondered whether it came in adult sizes. Sadly it wouldn’t fit either of us. It would not get past my fat hobbit-like wrists. And it is a perfect match for the little bear-eared (faux) fur bonnet the Mayo’s gave us. Brilliant.

So a big thank you for the lovely, very unexpected surprise Webbie, and of course to male Al who was not doubt instrumental in picking the colour, style and size of the vest :)

From the mouth of Phoebe...

On World Cup Final Sunday, we hosted something of a party. Well, it was an excuse to watch the game and drink Wine really - but Edwina bought a cake, so I’m going to call it a party. Ginny nad Andy (Dave's parents) were staying with us and we were joined by our favourites, the Jamieson Family. As always, the irrepressible Emily (4) and Phoebe (3) were the stars of the day. The girls are an absolute joy to have around, always such fun, always happy and positive. Well-mannered enough to amuse themselves during the adult tea time, energetic enough to tire out Dave. And so sweet - during the ‘Bouncing on the Bed’ game Emily pointed at my stomach and told Phoebe there was a little baby in there, which stopped the game momentarily as Phoebe stared and touched my tummy as if trying to believe it.

Of the many games and humorous things that the girls did that day, my personal favourite was‘Run and Jump on the Beanbag whilst Yelling Game’ Which, as you can imagine, involved counting to three, then yelling ‘GOOOOOOOOO’ whilst running 5 metres and flinging yourself at the beanbag. The timing and location of this game was impeccable. Not only was it held in front of all the adults – in between the couches and the television -, but it took place for the entire duration of the penalty kick-out. All number of tactics could not persuade them to play the game elsewhere, to do it quieter, or to wait for ten minutes. It probably didn’t help that each time they did it, Dave and I were unable to stifle our giggles, thus reinforcing what good fun we were all having.

In fact, it was such a brilliant game that even after the Penalty Shoot-out, and most of the adults had left the room, many more rounds were played. At this point, I attempted to bring the volume of the game down again, by daring them to do is as quietly as possible. It was at this point that Phoebe stopped running, turned towards me, and became very, very serious. I freaked out a little bit that I had upset her and said that it was not a big deal, that noisy was good. This would not move her from staring at me, frown on her face.

And then she whispered ‘Is your baby sleeping?’

Too cute.

Things I love about living in London:

• That the man selling the Evening Standard at London Bridge always says – “tat’ll be for’ee pee today luv”

• Knowing the quick and speedy way of ordering a coffee at Mamouth in the Borough Markets (‘Two Caps, Out'). Makes you stand out as a local in the crowd of tourists. Respect.

• The strict ‘stand on the right, walk on the left’ escalator policy. No forgiveness for those who don’t adhere. Being foreign/from out-of-town doesn’t cut it

• Front seat, top level of the double-decker bus.

• A million choices of what to do on a Saturday morning (although the choice of breakfast at market with newspaper is almost always selected)

• Chinatown

• London Underground. Gets you anywhere in London, fast. Those who bitch about it have never taken a bus down Magill Road in rush-hour.

• Planning a London Underground journey and testing the fastest routes

• Tate Modern

• The fact that they were planning to build a cinema two streets from where I live… only to have to stop development because ancient Roman ruins were unearthed. (explanation: I don’t like that there will be no cinemas, I like the idea of there being roman ruins in my neighbourhood)

• Urban Foxes

• The most diverse city in the world. My grocer is Egyptian, the deli Pakistani, the hairdresser Nigerian, my next-door neighbours are proper posh brits.

• SouthBank and the second-hand booksellers under Waterloo Bridge

• Black Taxis. Over-priced, but well worth it when you can watch a drunken Jo Black fly from one corner to the other.

• The Jamiesons

• Eurostar. 2 hours on a Train to the continent.

• The tabloids. Hilarious.

• Pret a Manger. And the fact there is one on every corner.

• Eclectic fashion. Anything goes.

• English phrases. ‘Well fit’ ‘ innit’

• Cheap Airlines. £13 flights to Amsterdam….

• Wigan Athletic. Got promoted to the Premiership when I arrived last year. Rather than join the Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U bandwagon, I chose Wiggedy Wigan. Coach’s name is Paul Jewel. Genius.

• Oxford St and shops like H&M and Zara

• Television: Tiny Tearaways, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Match of the Day

• Chavs

• Massive bookstores everywhere.

• More galleries, museums, art exhibitions, and shows than you can poke a stick at

• Pub Food. Actually really good over here. Not a schnitzel in sight. Ohh. And they always do roasts on Sunday with a proper Yorkshire pudding.

• Pimms. Heavenly stuff.

• My house and everything in it, especially the tv.

• Marks and Spencers. Most incredible (and expensive food)

• ASDA. Bargains. Best Ice Cream.

• Spending all my time with David Ligertwood. *sigh* He’s so dreamy.

• That it has given me an excuse to write a blog.

• The I can leave whenever I want to. And return to the land of green spaces an docean breezes....

Midpoint

Well, today we hit the 20 week mark of the pregnancy. Which for those of you who don’t know (which would have been me 3 months ago) is HALF WAY.

And it’s about bloody time. It feels like I have always been pregnant. So it’s nice to be sitting at the half-way mark.

Mind you – we didn’t actually know that we were pregnant until the 8 week mark, which means that I’ve really only done 12 weeks of ‘conscious pregnancy’ so I have another 4 weeks until my ‘conscious half way mark’

Argh.

So impatient.

Hurrah!

(the following entry should not be read by Nadine or anyone else who has a bit of technological savy about them and might be inclined to go "HTML? THat's sooooo 2001")

I am going to take this opportunity to point out something I have done below and bask in the glory I deserve. No doubt you greedy readers would simply skip over it, without due consideration, so it is only fair that I draw your attention to it. I put a link IN my post to an old post. And not not by writing go to "www.thisischeating.com" but by writing "click here" and making THAT the link. This involved imbedding HTML into the post which was most tricksy. It may not seem significant, but it is, and it signals the beginning of a beautiful new era...

Yesterday photos, today links, tomorrow... Top 10 most visited blog in the world!

And in other exciting news, if you look at my links to the right there, I have added a few new ones. Exciting days indeed!

- We have a link to Lisa and Mark's Blog (but don't be fooled by the name of a male there, I have a sneaky suspicion that it is 100% the hard work of Lisa) fellow ex-pats from Adelaide, doing their thing in London (and being much more successful at travel than me, hateful organised people)

- A link to the MySpace of my uni mate Kosta, who appears there when he can drag himself from the bar to the internet cafe during his and Ali's world tour.

- A link to my Amazon 'Listmania List' Its basically a self-indulgent list of my top 25 books. I wrote it over a year ago for Georgia nad Pete, so it is somewhat dated (in fact, only one novel - Shantaram - has been added) and sort of reflects a lot of the books I had been reading at that time. Plus I had to delete Bonfire of the Vanities because I realise, that in proper reflection, I didnt really like this book, I had only put it on there becuase it is really fat and impressive.

I hope all this exciting and enthralling news has made up for yesterday's slightly insane raving.

One Year On...

Just a short entry to note the one-year anniversary of the London Bombs. It seems odd to think that this event took place a year ago, because in many ways, it does not seem diminished by the passing of this time. But as Dave is trying to convince me, a year is a very short space of time indeed. They did a nation-wide two minute silence at noon, along with various services at the scenes of the crime.

I re-read what I wrote about the event last year on this blog (in the July 05 archives or click here). It's pretty self-indulgent i think. But then, it was unapologet ically the story of my day, what I saw, and shied away from musing too much about the ramifications, what it meant to other people.

I still find it quite upsetting to think about, especially with my current heightened emotional capacity. Today's Metro (the free newspaper you grab before getting on the tube) was full of individual stories, today’s news websites filled with pictures of mourning. I still find myself drawn to reading stories by survivors, stories from bereaved families… it is all so moving.

Anyway. I’m not too sure what im trying to do with this post – this event is quite small compared to the greater atrocities happening every day, in less prominent locations than London. But I guess you are naturally more shocked by those that happen close to the bubble you live in. So I’m just trying to say, that in the face of reading and seeing so much about these crimes again, I just wanted to note how much I feel for the families of the 52 dead and for the hundred of people disabled.

I think the world is a pretty scary place to live in right now, and I feel that the emotions that divide us, those that encourage people to hurt one another, are only becoming more pronounced and more radical. I’ve tried to stay away from too much political comment on this blog due to the fact that I’m pretty disillusioned by how things have gone in Australia - and in the greater western world - over the past few years. And I’ve been afraid that if I started to speak of staggering list of poor choices the Australian Liberal Party and their allied governments have made… well…. that I would never stop. This blog would become a very angry and depressing place to visit. But I in light of where we are, 1 year on from these crimes, 5 years on from that cataclysmic event on US soil, it is impossible to not see that the paths that has been taken by our governments, by our media are a combination of small steps forward and giant leaps back

And I’m not saying I know what the solutions are – no doubt it is complicated beyond my comprehension. But I just wish that people took a little bit more interest, that people were a little bit more indignant, that people believed in the importance of their vote when going to poll. There is very little difference in the economic impact that the differing major political parties can have, in my belief. SO when it comes to having my say in where the world is heading, I absolutely believe that we need to move towards a government that has agenda which promotes moral choices and supports those who need it most.

Cos the fat are fat enough.
And David Hicks is still sitting in an inhumane prison that contravenes the Geneva Convention as Alexander Downer stuffs himself with another Danish.
And now Joe Bloggs, loyal employee of 23 years can be fired, without comeback, because he takes a backseat at work, to look after his 8 year old daughter who has been diagnosed leukaemia.

Oh. My. God.

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to start.

The next election is not far off, I’m hoping that things will change. But then - I thought that perhaps having taken us to a fictitious war that broke international law (and the massive list of lies and poor choices) would have had some impact last time… So I’m not confident. ….

So perhaps redneck Australia needs to make baby steps. Having a majority over the house and the senate is a ludicrous idea, so I'm going to pin my hopes on this victory.

Apologies for the rant. I’ve worked myself up now. But after a year of peaches and cream I’m allowed my two cents. Today demands it.

A blatant attempt to get Eleanor to look at this website more frequently.

  

Paris/World Cup Photos

Below are some random photos from the first leg of mine and Olivia's trip - to Paris. Dave joined us for two of the days in Paris before he trotted off to Germany to watch Australia's historic move into the second round of the world cup.

Note: to those eager beavers (Geordy, Kieran and the General) who check this website every day - i have not had time to add the considered, witty comments I am known for as I have had to sneak a hour on the computer while Dave watches the soccer. Check back soon for better explanations...
xxH

World CUp Germany 2006: Pre-Game Warm-Up

 
 
 
Spot the Aussie.

Australia v Croatia (1-1), Stuttgart

 
 
 
 
The draw meant that Australia went through to the second round of the World Cup. A proud day for Aussie soccer. To bad that they were then to face the accomplished divers (read: cheats), the Italians. 

The Picasso Museum (Paris)

 
 

"Paris In the Summertime: A Montage"

 
 
 
  

 
 
 
  

Heather 'Works It'

  

Olivia and I take photos of eac other in front of Notre Dame. I will let you decide whose is better.

 
  
....Yes. That IS my head.

Collecting Ticks in Paris

 
 
 
  
Notre Dame Cathedral (from the rear), The eiffel tower (duh), Sacre Cour and the Arche de Triomphe. I appreciate that the outfit I am wearing in the final photo is plain scary. I could have sworn it looked hip in the mirror of the hotel.... Damn hormones.