Jump to page: << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 >>

Monday, 26 February 2007 - Six months, already!
It dawned on me on Friday (during one of my lengthy lunch-time meanders around Glasgow ) that as of today I've now been in the UK six months already, shit! It doesn't seem very long ago that I said to my flatmates in Brisbane, “Right, I might go to Scotland now” just before leaving for the airport hehe. It also dawned on me that a shit load has happened during these last six months. Firstly (and by far the biggest highlight) was travelling through Europe for a little over a month. Having had the travel bug for as long as I can remember, that was a bloody amazing experience (and one no doubt to be repeated a lot over the next few years). Then came the big job hunt that only lasted a month and ended with three companies fighting over me, the flat hunt which only lasted a fortnight and scared the hell out of me, and of course there was the enduring of the dick-shrivelling Scottish winter after living in the Brisbane climate for 19 months. Aside from an awesome long weekend in Prague and a few of random trips for work, the last couple of months have been mainly spent settling into a routine, and doing a lot of wandering around Glasgow and the towns between here and there.

It hasn't all been fun and games though. My first Christmas away from home was a lonely one, New Year's was a big non-event after the Hogmany street party was cancelled due to the weather, and I was pretty homesick for a while. But all that aside, I've met a lot of cool people over here who have all helped to slowly dissipate the homesickness. My flat's great, my job's great, I've earned enough in just the last few months to safely pay off what's left of my student loan back home (which will make me 100% debt-free), I've got several trips in the pipeline for this year (some I've mentioned, some I haven't - I'll put more details up as soon as I know them), and summer's coming (or so they tell me). Now I just need a bike and I'll be set - possibly a birthday present to myself in June.

Thursday, 1 March 2007 - No more student loan for me! :)
Yup, as of today I'm now 100% debt-free (except for the fact that what was left of my student loan is now on my credit card, but that's a minor detail ;) I graduated from university about three years ago with an NZ$18,000 student bloody loan hanging over my head. I chipped away at it whenever I could, and when I got to the UK last August there was around NZ$8,000 left owing. My first three pay cheques have taken care of that though - hooray for the pound! ;) Also, as of today, I've officially survived my first UK winter - phew! Apparently they just seem worse and worse as the years go by.

Lately there's been a lot of hoohar in the free newspaper I read on the train every morning with people writing in about which city is better - Edinburgh or Glasgow. Opinions seem to be split 50/50, and some either like or hate both hehe. Anybody following this site will be well aware of my opinion, and for those who don't just read this, and this. The two shots above are of sculptures located in the respective cities showing the layout of each city's CBD - Edinburgh on the left, Glas-Vegas on the right. Edinburgh has the prestigious New Town (where I live), the Edinburgh Castle atop the crag overlooking Princes Street Gardens on the right, Calton Hill off to the left, and Old Town in the distance; it's bloody nice I tell ya! What does Glasgow have - a big and ugly grid! Each to their own I guess.

Saturday, 3 March 2007 - Scottish weather!

Bloody beautiful day today, but it was looking pretty dodgy out west towards Glasgow so I stayed and wandered around Edinburgh for the day. The shot on the right is looking along the Royal Mile.

Never a shortage of things to see along the Mile: bagpipes galore...		This white guy trying to legalise the green stuff because it will reduce both crime and global warming apparently...

This Chink playing a Chinese Violin. I've heard these plenty of times but don't think I've ever actually seen one - pretty cool...
Taverns galore...		(Ihis one's from a Family Guy episode, hehe)...
And at the very top, Edinburgh Castle (I'll go in sooner or later).		The weather was still great at this point, so I carried on heading south(ish).
These clowns were dancing around waving tea towels or something to flutes and an accordion. Sixty seconds later they stopped and went into the pub.
Just south of the city are The Meadows. It's a bloody nice area around here, and if I didn't end up replacing Mo's flatmate I probably would've set up camp down here. Note that the weather is still good at this point hehe.		Some time after leaving the Meadows the wind came up, the dark clouds rolled in, and pretty much without warning it starting pissing with rain! I didn't know exactly where I was and so started heading down a road that I thought would lead me back into town. But I very wrong hehe. I'd completely lost my bearings and ended up walking for ages in the wrong bloody direction. I eventually found my way back into town an hour later, by which stage I was drenched and it was completely sunny again hahaha. Scottish weather! I've learnt not to waste my time with umbrellas over here - it's too damn windy and they don't last long.

Sunday, 4 March 2007 - Lunar eclipse!
I was out on the piss in town last night for a mate's birthday, and we started getting txt's around 10:30pm about a lunar eclipse in progress.

The geometry of the Sun, Earth and Moon during an eclipse of the Moon.

I was out on the piss in town last night for a mate's birthday, and we started getting txt's around 10:30pm about a lunar eclipse in progress. These were both shot at around 11pm as the Moon was emerging from the Earth's shadow. The shot on the left was taken by me, and was about as good as my camera could muster. I stole the shot in the centre - it's slightly better ;)				I shot this while stumbling home at 3am - a pretty good effort I'd have to say!

Wednesday, 7 March 2007 - Craptions!
I've been collecting these for a while now - Craptions - enjoy! :)

Thursday, 8 March 2007 - Free flights, sins, and Leprechauns!

An email went round work this morning about RyanAir giving away free flights in town today! All you had to do was make a poster singing RyanAir's praises and you were guaranteed a free flight for two - sweet! So I put together a rather half-arsed 'poster' on a piece of A4 in about two minutes flat and headed down there. There was already a massive queue by the time I arrived, and a Leprechaun prancing around and giving out the goods hehe.

Look at these suckers and all their effort. That's mine on the right (Google images for the eye and the love heart, and RyanAir's website for their logo - done!)

My half-arse effort was enough for a quickie with the Leprechaun and a free flight to... Dublin, Ireland (just like everyone else, hence the Leprechaun hehe). I (and they) say "free", but needless to say that's not entirely true. Taxes and other random fees totalling £20'ish still need to be paid (as opposed to the actual flight itself which is around the £5-£10 mark hahaha, that's how they get ya!). Anyway it's as good an excuse as any so at some stage (before June 30th) I'll try to head over there for a long weekend, and drink copious amounts of Guinness :)
Apparently no one told the fuzz what was going on and Mr. RyanAir had a little explaining to do.		No one told this silly old codger either, who was busy preaching from his Bible down the road hehe.
On my way back to work I got stopped by the guy with the orange scarf and his mate with the camera. They interviewed meabout whether I have any sins I'd like to wash away, and offered me some of this stuff for free: "Sin-B-Gone Soul Scrub stain remover: tough on sin, gentle on skin" hahaha! According to the label on the back: "Spray six inches from affected area. Apply to problem areas of the body. Spray on your head to combat sinful thoughts. May require more than one application. Do not use in conjunction with holy water or any other sacrament." It's just water, and I think they were university students or something (probably in film), but bloody funny nonetheless.
The Glasgow Rangers footy club are playing someone tonight, and there were a heap very drunk supports spilling out of a bar just down the road from where I work. All day we could hear singing and chanting hehe. Even the guy cleaning the gutters got some unwanted attention. Never a dull moment! :)

Saturday, 10 March 2007 - The second-worst, and most "Dismal" town in Britain (officially)!

Welcome to Cumbernauld! Some 20kms northeast of Glasgow, this shitty, grey, concrete hole of 50,000 loser was in 2003 voted the second-worst town in Britain (see here) and in 2001 in the most dismal place in Scotland (see here). There's not much here other than ugly buildings and ugly people breeding more ugly people. Surely this WRX was just visiting! Cumbernauld came into existence in the 1950s along several other towns (including Livingston) when Glasgow's population was overflowing and the slums were given the opportunity to move elsewhere (and make more slums hehe). The idea didn't work too well.
Damn, that's ugly!		For fun the local youth apparently throw shopping trolleys down hills hehe.
After a rather bemused wander, Jen and I found the stunning Cumbernauld Shopping Centre.		I don't think I've seen a shittier bloody mall in all my life! Half the shops appeared to have gone bust and closed down, and there were a lot of fatties just sitting around watching the world go by.
Poundland was by far the busiest shop, with everything costs just £1 hehe.		A crock of something else springs to mind.
As I do I tried to make the most of it and have some fun on the kids' toys. Mr. Man and I got on great...		...but I pissed off Paddington Bear when I couldn't fit in his car ;)
We found a cafe for lunch, and polished it off with a big-ass chocolate sundae. It was goooood! And with that, we left.

Tuesday, 13 March 2007 - Cricket World Cup!

I don't know how many of you out there follow (or are even interested in) cricket, but the 2007 Cricket World Cup kicked off in the Caribbean today - hooray! The dirty Aussies have won the last two tournaments (in 1999 and 2003) so they'll be going for the hat-trick. As for the Kiwis, well they embarrassed the Australians in their three-match tour to New Zealand just recently, but we go up and down like the tides so who knows. Even Scotland is competing but they'd be lucky to get anywhere. I contemplated going over for a few games before meeting Mo in Florida next month, but I can't really afford it - bummer!

Saturday, 17 March 2007 - St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated the world over in honour of some dude named Saint Patrick who died on this day some 1,600 years ago. Doesn't matter how long ago it was (or what he did), it's as good an excuse as any to have a festival and get drunk! Guinness was naturally the weapon of choice ;)
The weather was its usual crap so we spent most of the day in a bar watching the final round of the Six Nations (Scotland finished dead last, hahaha shocking!). After a lot of rugby and a lot of Guinness, it was food time, yeah!
One of my first introductions to Edinburgh was the Cambridge Bar, on my second night here or something. It's an English bar in town that does incredible burgers (just the thing for when you're on the piss). When we arrived tonight the place was packed full of Poms who had just watched the England vs. Wales match, but since Wales won (their only Six Nations victory this year) they cleared out pretty quickly hehe.

Jump to page: << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 >>

Page Comments

Oops forgot to add the pic so that u can b jealous - Mo

Loading image...

I see a Leprechaun, and he tells me to burn things - Aaron

Loading image...

Hahaha yeah sometimes I can!! And looking good - though I think you've got some food on your face just there :p - Aaron

Loading image...

i know.... i was excited when i heard about that but was too late.... and can you actually get your food in your mouth at all!?! look at me in my dress at the ball!!!!xx - Sam

Loading image...

You almost got your chance 18 months ago: "In December 2005, thanks to articles penned by Clare Grant for the Cumbernauld News, the entire Town Centre won a public nomination for demolition in the Channel 4 series Demolition, where it was voted 'the worst building in Britain'. Hahahaha!! - Aaron

Loading image...

Amen. - Aaron

Loading image...

Hahaha yup, a lot of Chavs (known as 'Neds' in Scotland hehe). - Aaron

Loading image...

Amen to that. Excerpt from the newspaper this morning: "Passing through Cumbernauld recently (non-stop, of course)..." hahaha classic, so glad I went there!! - Aaron

Loading image...

hahaha definately prefered Livingston out of the 2 ;) - Jen

Loading image...

According to this website, it has the highest suicide rate for females in Scotland!! They didn't look very happy ;) - Aaron

Loading image...