Over the past 3 years (is it really that long?) it doesn’t really feel as though much has changed – but I guess it has. In precis my time since last posting has gone as follows:

-I met a lovely american boyfriend in Oxford and called him Brett

-I got to wear a silly hat and was given a piece of paper saying that I finished a degree

-I moved to London town with the bf

-I got a job in London town

-I decided to move to the USA with the lovely boyfriend

-Decided not to move the the USA after they said they didn’t want me *sniff*

-My mum got married and moved house

-Brett got bonked on the head wearing a silly hat

-I met the bfs american parents

-My sister finally moved out of mum’s house

However, it essentially feels as though I’ve spent the last 2 years sitting in the flat or at work doing not much really. I have an okay job as a researcher for FremantleMedia – though I have to involve myself in horrible things like The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent and American Idols (Oh, and Take Me Out, eurgh). I have a…pension?! How did that happen?

In bigger news my mum got married!!! Yay! And the wedding was lovely – I walked her down the aisle and everyone cried all day with joy… So much joy! She got married in Beaconsfield registry office to the sounds of non-religious music. Apparently if the original intent of the music was religious then the state cannot use it in a wedding service (what bollocks!), so having no back-up we frantically had to search for alternatives. I walked my mum down the aisle to what sounded like backgroundy lift music. Maybe that’s why people were crying?

I’ve just returned from the big ol’ US of A. Me and Brett went for Christmas and I got to meet his parents for the first time. They are lovely, his brothers were lovely, his aunts and uncles and cousins and nieces and nephews and step variations thereof were all lovely. And my stomach is now the size of a small air ship.

And…finally having lived together for two years and with Brett’s visa soon to expire we will be applying for a non-married partner visa so he can stay in the UK, with a view to naturalising. He’s got himself a training contract with the silly law firm Slaughter and May so we are pretty set to stay here now – although this involves me being the only breadwinner for 12 months whilst he does his GDL! The selfish arse.

Maybe the US will happen another day.

And that’s a selected version of my life for the last three years. If anyone feels like visiting do just pop on over above the World’s End pub Camden Town.

Ta ta.

Seems we are all getting too busy to think about blogging! Again, months have past since the last time I told you anything new so here goes…

Just trying to think of things that have happened since I last posted and then putting them in chronological order is far too difficult for my cold-filled head to deal with so I’m just going to write things as they come to me! This week, I’ve been ill and I’m really hoping that’s me done for the winter. Wishful thinking, maybe? But the week did start well. On Monday, while I was at work, about 4:45pm, I had a phone call from a colleague’s boyfriend asking me what I was doing later that evening and offering me two tickets to the O2 arena to see Djokovic vs Berdych at the ATP World Tour Finals!! (tennis). So we (my brother in law came with me as Damian isn’t too bothered about tennis) just about managed to get there in time and it was brilliant! It’s completely different to Wimbledon which I think is a unique tournament anyway. Although I have seen it on tv before, it’s really weird sitting there live while they play pop songs during warm up and change of ends. But getting the chance to go (and for free!) was brilliant as only the best 8 players in the world even enter the tournament so you’re pretty much guaranteed a good match.

Another ‘first’ will be next week as I’m going to one of Raymond Blanc’s restaurants, Brasserie Blanc in Oxford next Friday! I’m very much looking forward to it. It’s not quite as refined as ‘Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons’ but I’m still very excited. We’ve already chosen our menu and I’ve opted for the most traditional French cuisine I could find! Boeuf Bourguignon here I come!  Wow, a lot of exclamation marks in this paragraph!

Damian has booked for us to go to Barcelona for our anniversary next year! I can’t wait! It’s only for two nights but a little weekend away will be really lovely- yay for Groupon getaways! At least this way, I don’t have to think about what to buy him. Looking forward to trying real Spanish tapas bars and sight-seeing. It will be a pretty crammed itinerary as we won’t be there for long but hopefully, it will be long enough to see some of the city at least. I’ve wanted to go since reading ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ but have been warned about pick pockets in Las Ramblas- so hold on to your handbags!

In other news…we have signed the lease for our house for the third year. We still can’t really afford the deposit for a mortgage so we’re continuing to rent but we’re happy where we are at the moment and will just have to wait and see what happens. Damian is hoping for a sizable end of year bonus so maybe that could help!

We’re already planning another trip to Poland. We have recently found out that our friends there (Damian’s best friend growing up and his wife) are expecting a baby next summer so we’re hoping to go out late summer time to visit. I was hoping they might come to England next year but the baby’s thrown all our plans out the window! Still, it’s happy news.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten several things but that means I’ll have to blog again and not leave it so long!

P.S: Any wedding gossip from all you loved up couples?!

P.P.S: Anyone watching Strictly (I’m looking at your Jemima!) and if so, who are you backing to win?

Robyn

xxxxxx

so, things that have happened to me since my last blog post:

- started back for my final year at warwick
- it was the christmas holidays. snow, champagne, new years fun, etc.
- I completed two TEFL courses (teaching english as a foreign language – the second was a booster course that specialised in teaching english to young learners. I passed with full marks yay =])
- I quit my job at the library
- I moved into a different halls of residence at uni to be with a close friend. this was probably the best thing that happened to me in the university year
- I applied to be a teaching assistant on réunion island and got the job, hurray =]
- it was the easter holidays. chocolate, coursework, revision, more coursework.
- it was exam period. my final year was fairly crappy for lots of reasons and work suffered as a result, so exams did not go so well and I didn’t get the results I had hoped for. but nevermind eh =]
- I graduated, despite the rubbishy exams – hurray. got to wear a silly hat etc.

things that are coming up over the next few weeks/months:

- going on a little caravan holiday in wales with uni friends. this has become an annual thing in the past few years, should be good fun =]
- family holiday to the norfolk broads
- hopefully some kind of summer job, no luck so far though…
- moving to la réunion, EEEEEK

so another reason for me writing this blog was that I’m going to be away for a pretty long time, chilling on my tropical island, and I would love to see everyone before I go. I’m planning a kind of mega-super-duper-hyper-massive london meet-up of both home and uni friends, which is going to happen on a weekend at some point, date undecided as of yet. it would be loooovvvvvely if you could all make it, especially those of you I haven’t seen in over a year!! I’m going to do a facebook event for it eventually which will have more details, but for the moment please could you let me know which of the following days would be best for you =]

Sunday 21st August

Saturday 27th August
Sunday 28th August
Monday 29th August (bank holiday)

Saturday 3rd September
Sunday 4th September

I’m thinking it will be a hyde park based gathering with games and picnic and drinks, and then moving on to a pub or going for a meal if people fancy it (or just sit in the pub all day if it’s raining). so yeh, please let me know if you can do any of those days, and which ones! =]

I think that is all the news/announcements I have! hope everyone is fine and dandy and enjoying life.

much love, s
xxx

I moved back home after finishing uni, but slowly realised that the job-potential in the homelands was somewhat lacking; so I started looking for jobs in Cambridge again, as well as at home, and the grass looked a lot greener on the Cambridge side. And indeed it was, I was offered a job as a student supervisor at uni, like a teaching assisstant for undergrads (an odd concept, but I wasn’t going to complain!)

So I moved back to Cambridge and am living in a shared house again. My room is fairly broomcupboard ish (I don’t have a lens wide-angle enough to photo it to show you…) but at least it’s cheap and warm! And.. humid, since my washing dries above my bed… Still! Cheap!

I worked one day in my supervisor job but then got offered something better, so I’m now working as a web developer / photographer type (mostly the former) for a Cambridge college! I have my own office, (which is bigger than my bedroom) and my computer and my desk and whatnot. I suppose it’s not a bad working environment really (see photo)

Well that’s a very condensed version of the past 6 months, but I have to go and sleep now. I hope the rest of you all are enjoying your last years of uni / working life! I trust we’ll meet up around Christmas at some point for fun and games and merriment! Yesyes!

John.

so peru was awesome :] I was basically helping out on a conservation project that was running lots of different research projects in biodiversity, mammal studies, bird studies, insect studies…etc. I learnt a lot, including a teensy bit of spanish which I’m hoping to improve by starting spanish lessons at uni this year. I’m hoping to go back to south america at some point to live there so I’m gonna need it :]

there’s a cute photo of a frog from a night walk in the jungle. :] it was an awesome place. the project centre was a ten-hour car journey from cusco along a mountain track, then a boat ride down the river. it was on the edge of the amazon jungle so you’re constantly surrounded by the sounds of monkeys and birds and all sorts of awesomeness. it still feels really weird being back in quiet little amersham.

monkey ^^ at the end of the volunteering time, we went on a four-day expedition and stayed for a couple of days with a native community. they told us all about their customs and traditions, showed us all the medicinal plants they use, we did an archery competition (I came a close second ) and then went rafting down the river on this traditional raft which was basically just a few planks of wood and you just had to cling on through the rapids then the next day we went on a proper rubber raft. so so so much fun.

so yeah, it was the best month ever. :] it’s nice being back though, and I’m looking forward to getting back to uni (though it would be nice to have another couple of months for more travelling…).

so that is my life currently. :] how is everyone else? if you wanna see any more peru-y photos then there’s lots more on faceyb and a few on my dA page.

over and out! S x

what are everyone’s plans for summer? I think we should have some kind of a gathering, so write on here to say when you’re free. :]

I’m working weekdays at the mo as a cleaner at a school in penn, which is as fun as it sounds. howeverrr, in two weeks the school breaks up for summer so no more cleaning for soph. :] then I’ll be going up to warwick to sing at the graduation ceremonies (rosie, this means you get to hear us chamber choir lot singing the ‘warwick fanfare’ – it’s horrendous and has fake latin in it, so enjoy that!), then I’m free for a week again, then I’m going caravanning in wales with a group of uni friends, thennnn I’m free again, and thennnn I’m going to peruuuuu!

which is VERY exciting. :]

I’m going over there for a month (catching three separate planes to get there, which is the part I’m most nervous about currently :S), to do conservation work in the amazon forest. should be pretty great. :] I also get to do a little nip over to machu picchu while I’m there, which is equally exciting. so, I guess I’ll do a blog about that when I get back! I’m sure there will be lots to say and squeal about. like monkeys and parrots and pumas and things.

in the meantime, I’m keeping myself busy reading about a bazillion books for next year, and doing this online course in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (ie. TEFL). I’m hoping to be able to use the qualification I get from that to go and teach abroad after uni. fingers crossed. :]

so, that’s all my news really! let’s do summery things like picnics and barbeques. discuss.

over and out x

I had a splendid trip to Arran again back in January, there’s photos on Facebook. And then after an exciting bout of family illness problems I had my work cut out for me with university this semester!

Still, my major project has come along fairly nicely:

SEE – Sneak Preview from John Kingsnorth on Vimeo.

Crikey, its strange to think I’ve handed in my last ever photography project…

And now we’re in the mad rush of Degree Show preparations! And they overlap! Which is exciting and hectic and daft.

So IF anyone wants to seeee the shows, which maybe we could do a nice gathering around, it is in Cambridge from the 3rd – 11th June. I am most free on the 5/6/7th for that one.

The show is also in LONDON and is called ‘Seeing the Ordinary’ (I designed the website for the show heeeere > http://www.seeingtheordinary.co.uk Woot woot.) We’re on there from the 11th – 14th June, and I’m invigilating at some point, so maybe we could meet up and the end of that and do a food, or something. Not sure on the exact date yet though.

OTHERWISE I think a meeting-up with punting is long overdue, so come to Cambridge! Provided I am unemployed, any time from the 17th June to the end of the month I will be doing very little =]

I have been doing a little bit of job-hunting, but its hampered by the craziness of exhibition preparation at the moment! There may be a slight chance of buggering off to Zambia for a while (madness?). We’ll see!

Hope everyone is well and fine and I look forward to hearing from you all again.

p.s. Robyn, your wedding photos look splendid, must be fairly chuffed with them =]

Edit: Oh yes, I went to Stockholm in February too. It was bloody cold. And we walked over the lakes. Because they had, like, ice on them, omg. It was cool, photos on facebook :]

GOOD LUCK everyone for 2010, with whatever you’re up to during it. Hopefully see folks alltogether again in Easterly times (epic final deadlines (for those who have them) depending D:)

Well I’m finally in ridiculously-busy-work-mode after much time of demotivation John is back in action. ‘Dissertation’ due in for about 3weeks and I’m 1,000 words off the limit. Hoping to finish that this week and then work on editing and refining, which I think it’ll need a lot of! Otherwise I’ve spent a number of hours on the London Underground, faffing around trying to be ‘arty’. Luckily my lecturers seem suitably impressed by all the non-sense I’m spouting about my work and intentions, so all is well. Done a bit of astrophotography as well, as a sideline to the project. Other than that, I’ve been roped into teaching support for the 2nd year photographers and their web-design. Who needs teachers with qualifications after all? =]

Since I have no interesting news, the main point of this blog is to start pre-empting the arrival of Christmassy holiday time, and ponder when people are returning from uni / when people are free from work?

Meeting ups must ensue!

Magic and win,

John

Well it’s been a while since I posted, but to be honest not a lot has happened to talk about! Still I thought I’d check in to let you know I was still alive =] I’m still plodding along with the photo-a-day project, which is more exciting than my penultimate photography project to be quite honest. I’m also trying to write my research project which is slowly plodding along, I’m just passed the 1k words barrier, just 5k left for my semi-dissertaion =] Astronomising is much more fun though, so I’m out whenever it’s a clear night, lots to see up there.

This Sunday is my 10k run for cancer research! Blimey it’s come up quick, and training has suffered since returning to uni. Also my housemate who’s running with me is just recovering from some kind of flu, so we shalln’t be running it at world-record pace. Still, if you can spare a couple of pennies in sponsorship I’m sure the CRUK folk would be much obliged. I know I will be anyway =]

Hope everyone is well,

ttfn