Finally... an update!

Thursday, August 10, 2006 a 9:07am
By jodi

As per usual it's been a long time coming... but I've managed to upload a few more pics and will now endeavor to add a short blurb. It's nice to know that people actually come and take a look at my photos and find out what I've been up to. So let's see, what have I been doing over the last four months?

Probably the most interesting trip was to Egypt in May - one week by the Red Sea. This is the third time I've been to Egypt in as many years, and had a great time. Craig and I went together this time and stayed at the Hyatt Regency. The room was lovely and we spent our time reading, eating, swimming, snorkel ling and generally relaxing together. We'd had a hard few months work beforehand so we were in desperate needs of R&R, and the Red Sea is definitely the right place for that. I also managed to fit in some wakeboarding, my second attempt, and had a great time. I'd love to do it more frequently, but it's a bit tough in London!!!

Egypt marked the end of Craig's stint in Manchester, and for the last few months he has been back in London. Since we don't see each other during the week we make the most of our weekends and have been away to Wales, Bath, Brighton, Cornwall, the Peak District and Stratford recently.

The trip to Newquay was part of work celebrations and was really good fun. Definitely made better by the fact that we all get along really well - we're more friends than colleagues. We ate at some great restaurants, went out to a few bars, gave surfing a go, had a bbq by beach, played cricket and went for a bike ride to a winery. The weather was gorgeous which made it even better.

Another trip is planned to celebrate the completion of the project in November and we might be heading to Spain for that. So that should be interesting!

We have also done a bit of camping recently - having recently kitted ourselves out with a tent and all the accessories. Our first trip (and Craig's first attempt at camping) was in the Peak District. It was a bit of a nightmare finding somewhere to pitch, but we got the last place at a farm and set-up for the weekend. We had a really good time. Walked up Man Tor (highest peak in the district) and around the area. It was hot, hot, hot by English standards and it gave us a good workout. Really enjoyed ourselves though, and even managed to cook ourselves dinner on our little gas stove.

Our next camping stint was at Global Gathering - a huge music festival held each year near Stratford-Upon-Avon. That was also a nightmare to get to and set-up, but once there it was brilliant. Managed to see Daft Punk live, along with Tiesto, Digweed, Shapeshifters, Paul Oakenfold and loads more. It was definitely something out of the ordinary. I only slept about 4 hours over the weekend though so the drive back was treacherous. I had to have the windows open to keep me awake! But I made it and slept the rest of the day! :-)

This week Craig's in Turkey and from what I can gather from his texts is having a fantastic time with his friend Nazli. Sounds like the holiday has consisted of swimming, walking, talking and drinking coffee with Crown Princes. Jealous - me? Never!

As for immediate plans... Well I'm leaving my project in Manchester after 15 months (OMG has it been that long) and will be based in Edinburgh during the week from September onwards. I had wanted to get back to London for a while but hey-ho such is the life of a consultant (for how long though I don't know!!). I'm having a leaving doo next week which should be fun, though I'll be sad to say goodbye to everyone.

And my birthday is on the horizon - 28 this year. I will be spending the day with my family and Craig is probably going to take me to Prague as my present. We'll also (fingers crossed) be going to Ibiza in September, and France in October. So I might get in a few more countries by the end of the year if I'm lucky.

And that's about it for now. There are gaps I know, but you'll fall asleep if I try and write about everything. That or I will! Until next time then....

Entries from Aug 10, 2006:

Aug 10, 2006

Jodi