Wardy’s Travel Blog

Happy birthday Kris!!!

My good friend Kris celebrated his birthday yesterday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATE!!!! 28 years old. Damn you are old!

London pub crawls…

Well… what an experience. 23 pubs, 30 minutes at each, one drink at each (1/2 pint), 10-15 people all wearing hats = one drunken experience.

As I moved house I got a leave of absence for the first half of the day but got to experience the fun and frivolity later on. And what fun it was. Ahh the memories! Walking through Soho singing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody was certainly a stand out moment.

From what I hear there are websites dedicated to designing London pub Crawls. The two most famous ones are:
- Monopoly - self explanatory and not for the faint hearted
- The Circle Line - for the insane! Especially on Waitangi Day when what appears to be 2 million kiwis crammed into every train on the circle line drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

Londoners bring a whole new meaning to going out for a big night!

Well done Broncos… thanks for a great season Storm!

Another season of Rugby League has finished and my team, Melbourne Storm, unfotunately lost the grand final but won the season. And the hearts of a nation with their amazing gamesmanship, spirit and ability.

Thanks for the memories boys!

To the victors: Congratulations from a Queenslander. From what I have read they played a great game and a re deserved victors.

Seeing that the first team I supported in the top national grade was the Broncos, I have a bittersweet feeling of joy at their victory.

Now… for Queensland to win the State of Origin again next year…

Ciao for now…
Ian

Moving

Regular reader will know that recently I have been getting around a fair bit. Over the last month my life has slowed down fractionally. So I decided to move house. OK … there were a few reasons: work - I am becoming permanent, travel - save on the time to get to work, cost - save around 200 pounds a month on train tickets, and availability - my current place is disbanding so I needed to move.

So where am I moving to? A town very close to where my grandmother (Mum’s mum) was born. A nice little place called Guildford.

I have also realised that since February last year (when I landed on these fair shores) I have moved house 5 times (including this one). Hopefully this will be the last one for some time! Once I get settled expect some photos of the town in my photo gallery…

Um… a night out with a difference!

A friend sent me this link (http://www.starkersclub.co.uk/index.html) the other day. it is for a nightclub in London that insists everyone strip naked before entry. OK… just after getting in.

I am probably, ok am definately, a bit too prudish to be cavorting around in public wearing nothing more than socks and shoes and a big grin, but I am sure that this place gets pretty popular.

Anyway… have a read of the site… they even explain what to do when you get an erection!

Nothing more needs to be said!!!

And now for the weather… English style

Over the past 10 to 20 years the weather bureau has become very good at predicting the climate for the upcoming days. In Australia that is.

Over here (England) things are not so accurate. Sort of. And I think they have created a work placement program for out of work political script writers.

My example has been lifted from a great free newspaper in London: “Metro”, and it really made me laugh and lightened my day at work…

It reads:
Earlier this year, the Met Office and other forecasters predicted ‘milder than average’ winter…which normally means it is going to rain. (This is funny seeing we are in a drought… HONEST!)

Now the long-range forecast points to (THIS IS THE BEST BIT!!!) ‘near average temperatures and an approximately even chance of wetter or drier-than-average conditions’.

What more can I say about that.

Spooks…

There is a great series produced by the BBC: Spooks - MI5 not 9 to 5. Each season has been brilliant and ahead of its time. Compelling and compulsive viewing.

Tonight I got to see the first 2 episodes and I am really looking forward to seeing the third tomorrow night. My appetite for the fifth series has well and truly been whet.

In Oz I believe the series is run on the ABC and if you get a chance to watch it sit back and enjoy. It certainly beats the pants off Neighbours or Home and Away…

What it means to be an Aussie

A friend of mine (gday Caroline!!) sent me this the other day… Thought it was so funny that I have decided to share it with you all.

Being Australian is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV.

Only in Australia:
• Can you get a pizza to your house faster than an ambulance
• Do supermarkets make sick people walk all the way to the back of the shop to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front
• Do people order double cheeseburgers, large Fries and a DIET coke
• Do banks leave both doors open and chain the Pens to the counters
• Do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars on the drive and lock our junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage
• Do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won’t miss a call from someone we didn’t want to talk to in the first place
• Are there disabled parking places in front of a skating rink.

NOT TO MENTION…
• 3 Aussies die each year testing if a 9v battery works on their tongue.
• 142 Aussies were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new shirts.
• 58 Aussies are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers.
• 31 Aussies have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged in.
• 8 Aussies had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.
• 543 Aussies were admitted to Emergency in the last two Years after opening bottles of beer with their teeth.
• 2000 eight Aussies cracked their skull whilst throwing up in the toilet.

Whilst talking about funny things… Found this yesterday and it made me realise why I don’t get hangovers and some of my friends do (g’day Lou)… http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20416126-13762,00.html

RIP - Brocky and Crocky

What an horrific week for Australia. 2 world renowned stars left the stable of Australian celebrities within 5 days.

Firstly there was Crocky - a lovable lunatic with as passion for our wonderful fauna. One lesson i learnt from him is to understand the bahaviours of those we fear. The more familiar you are of them, the less fearsome they become. But never lose your respect of them!

Secondly, Brocky. The king of the mountain. A legend of Australian motorsports and actually a nice bloke… at times. I remember the days spent watching Bathurst and arguing with Andy (my brother) about whom was better: Brocky or Dick Johnson. Usually Andy won that one.

These two remarkable “ordinary” blokes were more extraordinary for their desire to be seen as ordinary people. They had tackled the world, earned the respect and love of their country and friends around the globe.

I remember looking at Google news on tuesday and there was over 4000 articles about Steve Irwin!

Whilst the void of their departure will take time to fill, we can celebrate how they became a part of our lives. And be thankful that they left this life doing what they enjoyed most: playing with Australian fauna and driving a car on a mountain.

RIP Crocky and Brocky. Thanks for the memories.

New photos…

Forgot to mention… I have added some more photos onto the site.
- Poland - I was there last year with Kris and Monique just after Pope John Paul II passed on
- Estonia - Andy and I went there on a boat trip from Stockholm in January 2005… Hurricane ripped through the Baltic while we were there and it was a fun trip back!
- Stockholm - Added a couple photos from 04 and 05

Ciao!