Post 7 : Merry Christmas!

...And virtually another month has gone since my last update, time really is flying at the moment! You might be pleased to hear that this one is intended to be fairly brief with everything that's going on at the moment but I wanted to make sure that I took the opportunity to wish you guys a merry christmas and a happy new year. I've never really been very good with Christmas cards (not since my secondary school days where the number of cards you received each day was a direct measure of your popularity) and plus they're not particularly eco-friendly. So...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

 

With the warm weather, the growing tourist population (coupled with us gearing up at work - rather than down!) and a soaring BBQ trade, it really doesn't feel very Christmassy over here at all. And I suppose it doesn't help matters that I am so far from some of those closest to me but I shall certainly miss my family and friends this Christmas and I will be thinking of you guys lots!

It's been a VERY busy month for us, and most definitely a tiring one, but I feel like we've achieved a great deal too. We are obviosusly another month into running the restaurant and it's amazing how much more you can learn in a month! And the restaurant has been really busy : on multiple occasions, we've surpassed the 200+ covers mark in a night which we're told was somewhat of a rarity in previous years. In fact, one Saturday we managed over 250 - which effectively meant that we sold every seat in the house at least twice. Actually thinking back to it, we didn't have enough chairs at one point and I found myself running up and down to Leonie's apartment borrowing some of her dining chairs to try and fit everyone in! We were absolutely exhausted by the end of that shift. But obviously it's certainly not just about numbers and the team tries very hard to make sure everyone leaves after a good meal and an enjoyable experience. (That said, we do get some grade A as$holes in the restaurant from time to time and I really have to bite my tongue very hard - but I'll save all that for another update.)

Our new food menu (thank you Seb!!) and Drinks List are both ready to launch - we just need to line up the till, make sure we're ready in the kitchen and out front in terms of staff training and awareness - and then press the button...

Through some of our wine suppliers, we've also hosted a few wine tastings for the front of house staff to help build knowledge and confidence when talking to customers and recommending wines and food pairings. For myself, my wine awareness has certainly developed a little and I find myself discussing the differences between a Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio and steering customers towards a certain grape variety depending on what they've ordered. And yes, there's probably still a touch of bluff somewhere in the middle of all that at times.

We also put on a lunch for the Camp Quality (children's family cancer charity) organisation where about 80 kids and their carers came into the Drunken Admiral for a meal. The staff dressed up as pirates to help set the theme and we very much hope that the children enjoyed their visit.

Other News

Our boxes have arrived from London!! Yes, all 23 of them. That said, we haven't unpacked much and the boxes are stacked up in a cellar under Craig's house. It's remarkable how quickly you can becomed used to living with very little in the way of personal belongings. It makes me wonder how "ruthless" we really were when we sorted through everything back in London to work out what to ship. Either way, it's good news that the boxes have arrived and everything got through Customs which was the real worry.

Photo on right:  boxes leaving London

Photo on left:     boxes arriving in Hobart 

Shylo (our rescue dog) has been adopted! An interested family flew all the way from Queensland to come and meet her on Friday and then they booked her a seat (kind of) and flew her back to Queensland 24 hours later. We're very pleased that she's found a permanent home and she's been a wonderful (albeit naughty) house guest over the last two and a half months. The house seems a little empty without her hopeful little face sniffing around the place but it's good news for her as she's been spared "termination" and has a lovely new family to look after her. I think Craig plans on fostering another dog so watch this space...

(Update to Blog 10 minutes after first posting : scratch the last sentence - Craig has just brought home another foster dog. Our latest family addition is called Monty and she is very shy and currently hiding under a bush in the garden. She's been mistreated in the past and we're told she is afraid of men - which means that in a house with 3 guys and one Brierlie, she's got some serious therapy ahead of her!)

When in Rome...
I have been here in Hobart long enough now to pick up some local lingo (alphatetical order), some of which I thought I'd share with you - either for your own amusement or to help get you ready for your visit...

To Bag Out (verb)
To give someone a hard time, eg "I was bagged out mercilessly last night following yesterday's disappointing Ashes scores courtesy of the cricket loving kitchen crew.")


Bogan
Basically the Aussie equivalent of a Chav - which in Tasmania may also be used interchangeably with "Chigger".


Cobber
Translates pretty well for the way the term "mate" is used in the UK, eg "thanks cobber!".


Eskie
Portable storage device for keeping beverages cool (and most likely "stubbies" - see below) which is pretty much a national obsession in itself over here. Beer that is not served at virtually near frozen conditions is simply not acceptable.


Loose
Popular colloquialism linked to alcohol intoxication, eg "let's get loose...!".


Stubbie (or sometimes Stubby)
Short glass bottle used for beer - generally about 375ml made with relatively thick glass.


Thongs
Auusie term for "flip-flops" where confusion could lead to a potentially awkward beach day scenario.


Toot
Despite Crocodile Dundee's attempt to educate the world in all things Australian, the Dunny seems to be a pretty outdated term here for "toilet", which I think is rather disappointing. "Toot" however is all the rage, especially amongst the Ladies Who Lunch demographic. (Pronounced like "put" rather than "hoot".)

...That will do for now. I wouldn't want to overload you guys too early.

And I'm now giving surfing a go! It's something that I've toyed with a little on holidays and trips over the years but I've never had the opportunity to sink my wave riding teeth into until now as HK, the Midlands or London are not massively well known surf destinations. But it's time to make the most of what Tassie has to offer and an abundance of coastline and great swell conditions are way up that list...

Rich picking up his board at Stranger Boards in Rokeby

We've had the Sea Shepherd ship fleet in port over the last month which has been interesting for a variety of reasons. The Sea Shepherd organisation is a non-profit marine wildlife conservation organisation and they've been in the press a great deal over their run-in's (literally) with the Japanese whalers. Anyway, we've had a lot of the crew in the restaurant over the last few weeks and they've been an interesting group to meet. The actress Michelle Rodriguez has also been in town lending her support and we had a near miss where Brierlie nearly ran her over as Michelle crossed the road in a world of her own as she chowed into an extra large bag of chips (that's crisps for you guys back home). Whilst it might have made for a good story for my Blog, that was a lucky escape all things considered.

2 of the 3 Sea Shepherd boats moored 50m from the Drunken Admiral

Eat Me!
If anyone is looking for a Christmas gift idea that might save on pounds (well one type of pound anyway) but deliver points on the personal touch, Brierlie has been mastering her baking craft and has built up her own Blog to share some of her treasured recipes...

http://brierlie.blogspot.com/

And that's pretty much a wrap for now... Except to say that we have bought ourselves a house! We hope to settle on the 23rd of December which would make it one of the speediest settlements in history but with a very strong wind behind us, and a little bit of luck, we might just manage it!

Lots of festive love to you all... xxx.

PS - Crays are in season! (Say hello to Mr Pinchy - putting my artistic talents to the test.)

Post 6 : Settling In

G'day! It's probably been about one month since the last post but it only feels like it was a couple of weeks back. I guess that's a sure sign of just how quickly time is moving for us at the moment and how busy life has been. Today (Sunday) is a day off for the both of us and we're still working out what we want to do with the day (which is a VERY nice feeling) and I thought I'd use the opportunity to pen a quick update on how we're settling into life in Hobart so far...

But what update would be complete without some mention of the restaurant seeing as it's such an integral part of our lives since we've been here. I'm pleased to say that the restaurant is going strong, we're getting busier and busier as we approach the hectic summer season. In fact, we broke the 200 mark (covers) for the first time on Friday night with 205 and then we broke that again last night with 218! I understand that it's been a very long time since the restaurant managed over 200 in two consecutive nights so we're pretty chuffed. That said, that number of covers translates into a lot of hard graft for the team and we were exhausted by the time we finished up last night. Absolutely no need for the gym after 7+ hours of running the Yachties sizzling BBQ grill (served on a steel sizzling platter)!

Us in our "blacks" just before opening up for service

We have also had a website refresh and we'd like to say a BIG thank you to our friend, Ash Winch, who has helped with these changes and is the creative genius behind our site. And also to Em for taking some fantastic photos of our restaurant for the website and for the various tourist and conference promotional content that we have produced and launched over the last few weeks. Thanks guys!

http://www.drunkenadmiral.com.au/

We are also in the middle of launching a new food menu (more additions to the 'ol favourites than removing anything), a new wine list (plus cocktails) and potentially even a new dessert menu too. Aside from the wine list and cocktails (which I'm working on... along with tasting our full current portfolio of wines!), these menu updates are being driven by Craig (Brierlie's dad) and Jamison (our head chef & happens to be Brierlie's cousin) with the design expertise coming via Seb (Brierlie's brother), so it's very much a family affair as you can see. But then again, I am pretty sure that everyone in Tassie is related one way or another. Hopefully by the time of my next blog, we will have finalised and launched these new menu's in time for the summer...!

City of Connections

Whilst Hobart may be affectionately referred to as "Slobart" by some of the locals, it's surprising just how much has been going on here recently. For example, we've just had the Austrlian and England cricket teams in town as they warm up for the first Test in Brisbane, together with all the media and touring fans entourage. In fact, we have had pretty much the entire teams (both England and Australia) plus many of the team managers, commentators and photographers into the restaurant over the last few days, from the likes or Ricky Ponting through to Keven Pietersen. (And unsuprisingly given my interest in the sport, I've actually served both tables without realising who they were until I was prodded later on in the night.) We have also had Sam Neill staying in the apartment above the restaurant as he is here along with Willem Dafoe filming a thriller about a hunt for the now thought to be extinct Tasmanian Tiger...

And for my own part, I can't believe the surprising number of little coincidences and random connections that I've had along the way here. I suppose it's small city but even still. Here are a few examples: one of my wine rep's is actually a first cousin of one of my earliest and longest serving friends from my Hong Kong days, one of the Test cricket media entourage happens to be very good friends with one of our favourite couples back in London and whilst playing a game of mixed doubles the other day, it turned out that my partner was actually the mother of one of my friends from back in London. We're looking for a house at the moment and our real estate agent is actually also one of our gym's instructors and also happens to have starred in one of Craig's horror movies from some time back. And the list goes on and on...

Speaking of friends, I am very fortunate (and this is by complete chance rather than design) but one of my very closest friends, Rich (otherwise known as The P) actually moved out from London to make a new life for himself here in Hobart a short while before I did. It's pretty crazy but very cool having such a good friend of 15+ years whom I associate so strongly with life back at University and London living over here on the other side of the planet with us. It also helps to strengthen that centrifugal force that will hopefully encourage more friends and family to come and visit (and maybe even stay...). The P and I were also treated to a visit from another very good friend from our university and London days, Chris (AKA Crispy), who is living in Sydney these days.

Crispy and the P dining with me at the Drunken Admiral

Other News

The Godfrey-Kemp fleet has very recently increased to a whirrling 10 wheels in stature since the last blog, with the newest addition being a jazzy little Honda Civic. Call me greedy but I was struggling a little having to share a car and thought it best to pick up a cheapie just for the sake of a little bit of independence. The car was first registered so long ago it's virtually a "classic"!

All 10 wheels of the Godfrey-Kemp Transport Fleet

I have also joined the Domain Tennis Centre which boasts a total 18 courts - all of which are floodlit! This is a major bonus from my perpsective coming from Hong Kong and London where space is such a premium and rules and regulations concerning noise and light are such an issue. The club is pretty awesome and actually hosts the Moorilla International every year in January as a lead-in to the Australian Open (kind of like Queens for Wimbledon). But probably my favourite feature of this club is it's setting, nestled neatly up high on the Queens Domain (small hilly bushland) with magnificent view of the River Derwent and Mount Wellington. I have just started playing in their Pennant competition which has now provided me with the competitive element that I was looking for.

And to finish this posting off, I will sign off with a selection of photos taken over the last few days which have entertained me in some way and help to sum up everyday life here in Hobart. Anyway, I wish this blog's readers well (assuming there are any!) and would love to hear from each of you if you can spare a moment...

The Aussie Drive-Thru Bottle Shop (you don't even have to get out of your car!)

The Hobart Xmas Pageant (just like the equivalent on Regent Street. But without the lights or the X-Factor finalist.)

Summer's here - time for a sun bake & a BBQ
(Photo: Shylo & Craig)



Giving the boat a wash after a fishing trip with the Mellors



Hobart's waterfront - a mix of the old and new



A bit of DIY action in Craig's backyard

Post 5 : The Drunken Admiral

G'day from Hobart!

I guess it's been about 3 weeks since the last post and whilst I had intended to write an update sooner, both the restaurant and settling into Hobart life have kept us pretty busy! I thought I'd use this update to introduce you to the restaurant...


Hobart's waterfront and the Drunken Admiral (mustcard-coloured roof building on the left)

Some Drunken Admiral Facts n' Figures

• Setup 30 years ago by Craig & Leonie (Brierlie's parents) and it's a bit of an institution here in Hobart;
• Located in a beautiful spot down in Hobart's charming waterfront - right by the fishing boat moorings;
• Seats 110 covers in one sitting - but usually runs two sittings on busy nights;
• Dining venue first and foremost but is also home to a lifetime's collection of all things nautical - an impressive maritime museum in its own right which diners love*;
• Approximately 30 staff - with about 10 in the kitchen, 14 Front of House and a couple of cleaners;
• The DA is haunted! We have at least 3 resident spirits: a China-man complete with his conical rice hat (hangs out in the ladies toilets apparently), a mischevious adolescent girl in victorian get-up and a short-tempered pirate (affectionately known as Black-Beard);

* Which is wonderful except for making it difficult to deliver meals with all the enthusiasts and amateur photographers in the way!

A New Beginning...

As of the 1st of October 2010, myself and Brierlie took over running the FoH side of things to form a partnership with Jamison who runs the kitchen. (And happens to be Brierlie's cousin. Everyone seems to be related one way or another down here.) Big shoes to fill as we took over from Rocky who was an absolute bastion of knowledge and experience having worked in the restaurant for 19 years!

Rocky handed us the keys on Friday the 1st - and since that time we have been at the helm steering our own course at the restaurant - whilst learning the ropes simultaneously. And although we've both had a lot to learn and pick up, my own learning curve has been a particularly steep one. Brierlie has had the advantage of having grown up working in the restaurant and is very familiar with how it works, the meals, many of the staff etc etc which has proven very helpful. If a picture can paint a thousand words, my own learning experience is probably best described by the photo below (taken at our staff party just before we took the reigns). That's me on the top row in the flannel (obligatory wardrobe fare for all Australians), far right-hand-side of the photo.

The Drunken Admiral staff party - B centre front and me far right

And the reason this photo is such a helpful descriptor of my learning experience thus far is that it demonstrates how everyone else seems to know what they're doing, where things are kept, how things are done and all work together in perfect unison and then there's me - pinging around like the little steel ball in an 80's pin-ball machine. But I think I had to go through this "acclimatisation" in order to learn as quickly as I have needed to. And whilst there is still so much more to learn and ways that we can both develop into our new roles, I am pleased to say that I have learnt a great deal in these few short weeks already.

Our experience so far...

It's October 23rd today (as I type this) and in the 22 days we have been running things, we have served 2,672 covers which averages out as about 121 diners per night. Some nights are obviously busier than others (ie Friday and Saturday) of course but we have had 4 nights where we have looked after more than 170 per night. And that feels super busy and in all honestly, things get pretty intense and a little stressful during our busiest couple of hours. In fact, the restaurant team (both kitchen and FoH) seems to seriously step up a gear during this period and the intensity of the activity almost makes a humming sound like a swarm of worker bees where everyone falls into a groove - in which one seems to enter a trance-like state and readily forget that you may be tired, thirsty, need the bathroom and so on, until that mad rush ebbs a way a little and regular conscienceness resumes.

Me fixing Seb's bib (for the infamous Yachties meal) on his birthday

As for my own role, my objective has been to learn EVERYTHING, from setting up the salad bar and polishing silverware, through to running meals out, managing our stock (and suppliers) and cashing up at the end of the night. And I suppose this is another reason why the learning curve has been so steep. But in truth, whilst it's been a great challenge, I have genuinely loved it and the sheer volume of learning and development has been fantastically stimulating and rewarding.

That's probably enough restaurant chat for now. In Other News...

We have bought ourselves some wheels and can give Craig and Leonie their own cars back now - much to their relief I am sure. We've bought a Ford Laser which had already been named the White Rocket by the previous owners (friends of ours) whom we bought it from. And Craig has also lent me his mountain bike which I've been using to get round the city - and you soon realise just how hilly Hobart actually is!

The White Rocket outside the DA

At Craig's place (where we are living most of the time at the moment), we have taken in a rescue dog from the pound. Her name is Shylo and when she moved in about 3 weeks back she was a terribly nervous and skinny looking thing. She had clearly been physically abused previously and it has taken a great deal of time, patience and affection to win her trust. The good news is that she has come on leaps and bounds and is doing really well now - she's put on some much needed weight, she's wagging her tail (no easy feat for a battered dog) and she's even coming into the house of her own accord and causing some mischief. In fact, she has recently eaten one of Brierlie's brand new work shoes. And lucky for Shylo, Brierlie was encouraged to vent her frustration elsewhere.

Shylo - our rescue dog

Shot taken at Craig's place. And yes, he does like to collect some fairly strange things

Rightio, for risk of boring any faithful followers I will leave it (this posting) at that. And wish you all well and please continue to keep in touch - we love receiving news and updates from you guys however short and sweet...

I will round out this update with some advice for anyone thinking about applying for an Aussie visa any time soon. Now that mine is back and approved, I have received my application documentation back. Based on my experience I think that the photo you are required to submit with the application is a very important factor and may swing the decision one way or the other. And the Aussies are a particularly patriotic bunch with a strong penchant for all things home-grown and manufactured. I reckon my photo below swung it for me without question...

My visa application photo - the deal clincher

Post 4 : Life In Transit

G'day from Hobart!

...So it's a good couple of weeks since the last blog which was jettisoned out admist the rush and mania of our last day in the UK before we taxi'd to Stansted in time to catch our flight. I've just had a quick read of my last update (Post 3) and I think it's fair to say that my emtional state that particular day managed a pretty good imitation of Hobart's weather patterns since our arrival here on the 20th - 4 seasons in a day!!

Suffice to say it's been a very busy last couple of weeks for us. We were picked up in a taxi on the 13th of September, together with our hefty 116 kg of luggage, and we drove to Stansted in time to catch our Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur. Given that we were supposed to travel with 20 kg (check-in) and 7 kg of hand baggage each ( and were therefore more than double the limits), the check-in procedure with Air Asia and with those that followed before we finally arrived at Hobart International (really?) Airport five flights later was anything but fun. As we lined-up for each check-in, we had to pysche ourselves up for serious battle and you'd have found us ripping open bags, unpacking, packing and then re-packing them, checking stuff with Left Luggage, until we had finally managed to find an optimal solution, minimising our excess baggage fees whilst checking-in successfully (without triggering a riot at the check-in counter)!

Waiting outside our Disraeli Road flat for the cab to Stansted with our 116 kg of baggage!

Needless to say, if we were ever relaxed about flying with too much stuff previously, this notion has now been well and truly beaten out of us for good.


Air Asia Review
We caught 4 flights with Air Asia and as a result, I think we came away with a fair representation of what the airline offers an economy traveller. The flights were very reasonably priced, although you do seem to have to use KL as the central hub for all international travel. Perhaps we were lucky but all 4 flights departed to schedule and arrived on time (or even ahead of schedule). I'd best describe it as the EasyJet of long haul travel, where seats can be pre-allocated online at no additional cost. But after that, you pay for pretty much everything from in-flight entertainment (about £6 for the player) to meals and drinks, although again these can be pre-booked ahead of flying. In short, we felt like we received a value for money service and would use them again - but good to be aware of what you've paid for (and what you haven't) upfront.

Anyway, we arrived into Kuala Lumpur and enjoyed a couple of days' exploring Malaysia's capital city ahead of 3 nights on the beautiful and untamed island of Langkawi...

Highlights

• Fish Spa & Reflexology - both new experiences for me and seem to be offered everywhere in KL. The Fish Spa basically involves sticking your legs (from the knee down) into an acquarium whereupon thousands of fish swarm in and feed off the excess skin until you've silky-smooth pins and tootsies.
• Para-sailing above (and island hopping around) the 99 islands that make up the archipelago of Langkawi (103 islands in fact when the tide is out).
• A new number 1 entry to my "Best Sunsets Ever" chartboard surveyed from the Babylon Beach Bar (awesome vibe and super-chilled) on Cenang Beach (Langkawi).
• Fantastic value pretty much everywhere in Malaysia (from hotels and food through to shopping and transport), eg the Royal Chulan Hotel in KL where we enjoyed 5-star service at 3-star prices.
• Wild monkeys - everywhere!!

Our experience at one of the many Fish Spa's in Kuala Lumpur

Sunset from Cenang Beach, Langkawi (outside Babylon Beach Bar)

Lowlights

• Travelling with 116 kg of baggage between the two of us.
• Missing breakfast at the Royal Chulan Hotel in KL (alarm set incorrectly). For anyone that has ever travelled with Brierlie, you may well be aware of just how important enjoying the complimentary breakfast is to her. Not a good start to the day, sends a nervous tingle up my spine to think of it...
• Entirely inexplicable laptop mal-functions (mine and Brierlie's) as soon as we took off from London. They're both in with Hobart's Hypertronics at the moment but with so much critical information stored on mine, it feels like I've lost a limb.
• And obviously, way up there is missing loved ones back in the UK ;-(

Unforced Errors

• Shopping in Kuala Lumpur despite being ridiculously over-weight (baggage) before we even touched down.
• Setting our alarm for 8.30 on what we thought was a 24-hour clock (and missing Royal Chulan's incredible and complimentary breakfast).

So to bring you up to date, we arrived from our adventures in Malaysia into Hobart early last week and since that time it's been seriously full-on and a hazy blur as we have studiously worked through out-of-control To-Do lists, ranging from sorting out bank accounts, tax file numbers (like National Insurance), settling in our new home (currently living with Craig, Brierlie's dad in his beautiful but uniquely eccentric house in Sandy Bay), looking for a car, fixing up phones (ongoing...), sorting out Medicare (equivalent of NHS), driving licenses, joining gyms, catching up and seeing friends and family... not to mention getting stuck in at the Drunken Admiral with gusto! We worked our first two shifts at the DA on Friday and Saturday nights - not the gentlest of starts however, doing over 140 covers on each night.

I will save a proper update on life here in Hobart so far and at the Drunken Admiral for my next update as my head's still spinning.

View over the river Derwent from Craig's house in Sandy Bay (Hobart)

...And to finish off, I'll include a random monkey shot - one of the 1,686 we took whilst we were staying on Langkawi.

Post 3 : Hasta Luego...!

Sniff, sniff. Somebody pass me some tissues.

Goodness, it's hard to know what to say at this point. We returned after a fantastic week's holiday in Greece yesterday and today we set off for Tasmania (via Malaysia) in only a few hours. Bags are pretty much packed (although we're waiting for some washing to dry - come on British weather, give us a break!) but I keep thinking of things that I need to do before we go and my mind is working overtime.

Whilst at the same time I feel like a walking emotion, red raw and ripe for picking. Our good friend Mark just sent a farewell note with a You.Tube link (see below) which certainly struck a highly strung chord with me this morning after an emotional farewell with my parents and Sarah at Gatwick at 2 am yesterday morning, many "goodbye's" to lots of amazing friends yesterday during the day, a Last Supper at the Hare & Tortoise in Putney and then waved my brother and sister off to work this morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DArtWpCU-IE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DArtWpCU-IE

So it's with a very mixed bag of feelings that I (attempt to) zip up my over-stuffed bags, clear out my room (for the first time since we moved in to the flat back in 2001) for Sam to move in to, feed Teedle some special treat cheese gratings, consider how on earth we are going to avoid extortionate excess fares at Stansted later today (yes, I know - Stansted!!) and cross fingers that we haven't forgotten anything absolutely vital.

But as fragile as I may be feeling today, I am also very excited and I am so grateful to be embarking on this adventure together with Brierlie, safe in the knowledge that we have a whole host of friends and family waiting to meet us on the other side of the planet and ready to help us to get stuck into this next chapter...

And as I keep reminding myself and all our friends and family here in the UK, it's not "goodbye" at all. I have always hated "goodbye's" and will do what I can to avoid them. And ever since my first Spanish lessons back in 1994, I have had a particular affinity for "hasta luego" which translates (as I'm sure you don't need to be told) colloquially as "until later" which sums up perfectly how I feel about things as we face down the barrel of the Air Asia* flight that we'll be boarding in a few hours' time.

* Perhaps we will provide a review on this relative newcomer to the air industry (it's allegedly the Easy Jet of long haul travel - could be painful

Speaking of the flight, it's a strange one thinking about it. It's the first one-way itinerary that I have booked since my flight over from Hong Kong to London back in the summer of 1995 on my way to start at Warwick University. Looking back on the last 15 years, it's very easy to feel very nostalgic and I could easily get lost in thinking back over all the incredible experiences and adventures I have enjoyed whilst based out of the UK. In short, I have loved my time here and I feel like I have evolved (in both positive and less so ways) significantly since I moved to London in the back end of 1999. I have loved the weather and crowded tubes and roads a little less if truth be told but it has been a blast and I'm far from done with it yet. I cannot wait to come back soon and enjoy new adventures down the line. But what's absolutely irrefutable (sorry, no time for spell-check right now) is that it's the people that I have shared this period with that has really made it so incredibly special and memorable (aside from the Spoof evenings ;-)) for me and I will miss them dearly and I cannot wait for them to come and visit us (did I mention free accommodation?) and for when we come back to visit them...

It feels fitting to offer up some snaps with this particular blog capturing just a few of the fantastic evenings, trips and experiences that we have shared with some of my favourite people to say our "hasta luego's"...

After dinner at Busaba Ethai with Mark, Oliver, Phil, Rory, Simon W, Anna and us two

More of a Goodbye than an Hasta Luego - whilst I have made some very memorable trips in this fella (and loved this car in the way I now understand how a man can bond with a car), I do hope that we manage to sell it before I return in 2011!

Feeding Teedle some very creamy (grated) cheese - her favourite! I will miss Teedle and I'd like to think she'll miss me too! Even if just for the cheese supply.

Hasta luego Putney Lawn Tennis Club (PLTC) - for the relatively brief period I've been a member, I have loved my time at the club. This is me and my coach Stu after a particularly sweaty (for me) last coaching session.

The family in Greece on our week long sports and action-fest on Kos and the surrounding islands. Great trip, huge fun and lots of amazing memories!

On our last day of holiday, trying to re-create the infamous Toyota ad.

And some shots of London that we took when we drove ourselves round on our own late night London tour - an amazing city and somewhere that finally felt like "home".

Houses of Parliament

Good old fashion red phone box - not many of these in Tassie!

The Last Supper (12.09.10) @ the Hare & Tortoise, giving out some "presents"

The Last Supper gang

Post 2 : Packing Up & Shipping Out

Turning Life Upside Down : Step 2 : Box up your life and get it shipped


There's little else so far that has made this move seem much more real and imminent as sorting through 10+ years of life, working out what to take / what to leave / what to throw out and boxing it all up. Whilst we setout with a "ruthless" mindset to weedle out taking anything with us that wasn't absolutely essential, somehow we still ended up with 23 packages to ship!

Carnage in the bedroom

 Some random shipping trivia:

Strangest item shipped:
It's a close call between an Indiana Jones style leather whip and zebra spandex leggings
(All part of the fancy-dress collection, I assure you!)

Heaviest item shipped:
Brierlie's new KitchenAid food mixer (compact but so heavy!)

Most extravagant item shipped:
Simon:  4 x tennis rackets
Brierlie: boxes (upon boxes) full of handbags and shoes!

Most pointless item shipped:
3 x inflatable seagulls (where was the ruthless mindset here??)

Item most sorry to leave behind:
The Beamer ;-(
(Excluding Teedle (our flat cat), family and friends of course.)

Current consignment status:
Boxes packed, collected & enroute (we hope!)
 
Expected date of arrival:
8 - 12 weeks (with a hope and a prayer!)
 
...So now we're living out of a couple of suitcases essentially and that's far from ideal. Here's hoping that Brierlie's impressive shoe collection doesn't weigh the ship down too heavily...

23 packages ready to go

Blind descent

Bye bye stuff, hope to see you soon!

Post 1 : Bon Voyage Party

Turning Life Upside Down : Step 1 : Host a Bon Voyage party

According to popular protocol, you really can't go anywhere without first organising a farewell party for friends and family. We had a fantastic night on the 7th of August with many of our closest friends and family - nicely timed to coincide with Brierlie's 25th birthday so there was lots to celebrate! Not that we needed an excuse of course.

 

The Love Boat party invite

And what kind of party would it be without a theme?!? Perhaps it was a little cliched but we anchored for a Love Boat theme to tie in with the Bon Voyage celebration. Suffice to say, the party was a lot of fun and we were very pleased to have such a large crew on board.

I'll let some photos do the talking...