Life, the Universe & Everything

I'm leaving on a jet plane..

2007-02-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

Its finally here. I'm off to India tomorrow!

Well, I say finally - its rather sprung out from the bushes at me as time has gone so quickly over the last few months. The past three very stessful weeks in particular have flown by. But work is now done and dusted and a millions miles from my thoughts.

Took today off for last minute preparations and a bit of quality time with Toby. Think I'm sorted and packed.

Not sure how to prepare mentally for this trip. Don't want to turn into a sobbing wreck but also don't want to walk round with an inappropriate grin on my face the whole time. But I am so very excited!

I'll be updating a travel pod for this trip which you can find linked at the side of this blog or by clicking here.

See you on the other side!
belle x

India preparations

2007-01-20T19:01:00.000-08:00

I'm getting increasingly excited but also panicky about the India trip - we leave on Sat 24th Feb and there's so much to do beforehand!

I'm currently in the middle of getting all my jabs which has been more tricky than expected as the nearest place I can get my rabies and cholera is Cambridge so I've been shooting down there after work on a Weds for the last few weeks.

Unfortunately rabies and Hep B require you to have 3 doses (i.e. 3 separate injections for each) and you can't have them in the same arm so my left is Hep B and my right is my rabies arm - both are very sore though!

Have just got a Hindi course from the library to learn a few basic phrases and hoping that will help me to concentrate on the positive aspects of the trip and away from the disease aspects! Other than that my Visa application has been sent off and medical forms to follow shortly so the main things are almost sorted. Phew! Will keep you updated before the off...

The chosen one

2006-10-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

By some awesome act of God I've been selected to go to India with the charity WaterAid on behalf of the Environment Agency.

Only 1 person gets picked out of hundreds, nay thousands, of applicants from throughout England and Wales. And thats me!!

Amazing.

What an opportunity - definitely something I've always wanted to do (and now I'm even getting it all paid for by my employers).

Unreal.

Diversity Week

2006-09-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Dangerous things these 'try a new thing' days at work.

Sooo tempted to get another tattoo.

Toby says I'm not allowed :(

This is Jennys latest, its says Freedom:

Three years!

2006-09-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today is our three year wedding anniversary. Since leather is the traditional gift - yuck - we decided to shun tradition and go to our friends performance evening (called Pint of Poetry and a Dash of Drama) at Charters (wonderful floating pub). But not only go and watch, perform too!

We made a piece from a Rosie Thomas song called "I let myself fall" with Belle sining and Toby playing his viola as a response. The words are:

I let myself fall, I let myself fall, I let myself fall
In love with you
There's no turning back, There's no turning back, There's no turning
back
Since I let myself fall in love with you
Now I picture things, Now I picture things, Wedding bells and
wedding rings
Since I let myself fall in love with you

According to an old rhyme "Marry in September's shine so that your life is rich and fine", thats certainly been true so far. Here's looking forward to many more happy anniversaries
With love, b & t xx

Bhangra & Kayaking

2006-09-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

Went Bhangra dancing on Saturday, it's amazing! So much fun, definately something we'll keep doing. Very sweetly an old Indian couple came up and told us we dance like Indian people - no bigger compliment.

Went kayaking on Sunday. Gots to get us one of these things...we've been saying it for years but probably need to get a bigger car first!

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Pt 2

2006-08-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Wow.

Seriously, wow. It was AMAZING!

We saw so much stuff it would be too hard to list let alone explain and describe so I asked people for their highlights:

Toby loved seeing Russell Howard again in his own stand up & at various other times throughout the festival.
Belle's highlight was seeing 'Street Life' by Renegade Theatre (Germany) - it was an amazing mixture of street dance, live music and digital graffiti. The fact that it was held in a beautiful old church just gave it such a great atmosphere. At £12 a ticket it was probably our most expensive event but so worth it and everyone loved it. Chuffed.
Mum loved it all and was glad we were able to fit in a walking tour of Edinburgh and the Auld Reekie tour which was pretty gruesome and scary. Being out and about in the street with a variety of performers doing their thing is so fun and thankfully the rain held off for most of it! A group of young guys called Out of the Blue were one of the best acts we saw doing a-cappella versions of pop & rock songs, very animated!

We ate well, drank well (Chocolate Soup, amazing), sang along, gasped, laughed and even fitted in quite a bit of dancing! Sitting on the grass in the sunshine underneath a beautiful weeping willow watching the last performance of the 'The Elephant Tree' was a welcome rest and a nice chance to reflect on all that was going on around us.

If you get the chance to go I definitely recommend it - I know that I'll be going again and again in future. A few tips for survival:

Get a programme from the website in advance, it's worth paying the small fee to prepare as you need an idea of what you want to see and where they are, some venues are far apart and there are lots of very steep hills in Edinburgh!!
Take a bottle of water an umbrella everywhere you go.
The Free Fringe was ace and we had some of our best laughs here so definitely worth investigating and get there early as smaller venues get very busy.
Sleep well in preparation, we started most days at 9am and were still out on the tiles sipping cocktails at 4am (some of the best jazz didn’t start til 3am!)
Don't panic. Its no fun if you’re rushing from venue to venue & getting stressed. Catch a bus/cab if you need to but mostly leave yourself plenty of time for mooching and relaxing in-between performances.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Pt 1

2006-08-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yeyyeyyeyyey! We're off to Edinburgh first thing in the morning with Wendy for 4 days of Edinburgh Fringe madness. So cool.
Have already booked some tickets to the big events. We're particularly hoping to see some amazing dance, comedy and Belles looking forward to soaking in the street atmosphere as well as visiting Scotland for the first time!!

Mums Birthday Celebrations

2006-08-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

Since everyone's now back in the UK and generally around we decided to celebrate Mum's 60th birthday (again!) by having a fancy dinner cruise on the Thames. A limo picked up Mum, Caroline, Jenny, Anna, Mark, Toby and I from St Osyth and whisked us down to London while we enjoyed a champagne breakfast aboard...although most of us had more champagne than breakfast!

The dress code was 'wear something red' which Jenny just scraped through by having a red Volcom logo on her shirt! We arrived at Embankment to meet with another limo which had bought up some of mums good friends from Swansea.

While enjoying some very tasty food, including an orgasmic chocolate torte, we listened to live jazz and watched all the famous sights of London pass us by.

After opening her presents, including some lovely Welsh pottery and a painting of Mumbles, Mum was presented with what can best be described as a flare in a wine glass as we sang happy birthday to her - she was delighted but very, very scared!! We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting & chatting out in the sunshine with drinks on the top deck.

It was a brilliant day and it was really great to catch up with everyone from Swansea - its always good to find out what everyone is up to these days!

While I'm here might as well put in a mention to Liz Hind's blog (http://liz-and-harvey.blogspot.com/) who has links to a whole bunch of Swansea people. More photos can be found on our flikr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/belleandtoby/ under 'Our Lovely Friends & Family'.

Ta-ra for now, Belle x

Fruit & Soul

2006-08-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

Headed down to London for a fun-filled day out.

Started at FruitStock at Regents Park - wicked festival with lots going on, cool music and great atmosphere, although it got very busy as the day went on and very hot...not a great combo. After mooching 'round and enjoying our picnic to the sounds of the Puppini Sisters we met up with Caroline, her bloke Mark, Nick & Connor. Had a blast and I'll definately go again next year!

As the sun started to set we headed off towards Brixton to meet up with the very beautiful Rachael Sharpe who we hadn't seen ages for the Soul in the City event at Brixton Academy. The very talented 29th Chapter were playing and it was a cool event kind of spoiled by the so very bad sound system (or perhaps some very bad technicians).

It finished earlier than expected so we stayed around to grab a late night meal & a couple of glasses of wine with Rachael when who should show up but Becky & Ben (with two very jet-lagged American friends). Had a quick natter and catch-up on life before we all had to head off for the last bus/train home. It was really great to see everyone and I hate that I always leave it so long between visits - don't take it personally I love and miss you all!

Belle xx

Wicked Wild Weekend! Day & Night 2

2006-07-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

Early the next morning we left for Henley-on-Thames for the christening of the newest member of the Rees family, baby Jack. The church was packed and we had a lovely reception thing afterwards with champagne in the sunshine. Belle transformed from 'high society' to 'ska-punky' in the bathroom and we made a speedy exit for the Lightyear home-coming gig in Derby.

It took us hours to get away due to ridiculous traffic jams but we finally got up to Derby in time to meet up with Phil & friends for a few bevvies before the gig.

Lightyear's "one-off" UK reunion tour

Sun 30th July 2006 at First Floor Club, Derby

As usual it was a classic, with lots of sweaty nakedness and general mayhem in the usual Lightyear style. And I for one have missed it, awesome. The pic here is of Chas who arrived painted up as Adolf Hitler...

After a dodgy late night chips'n'mayonnaise with the support act we wandered back to Peterborough dazed & confused but beaming :)

Wicked Wild Weekend! Day & Night 1

2006-07-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

Wow. What an insane weekend!
Found out last Weds that we won free weekend tickets to NASS (National Adventure Sports Show) through the Extreme Sport Channel so very early Saturday morning we packed our boards into the car and headed over to the NEC, Birmingham to join the fun!
We won VIP tickets which included free entry on both days, VIP camping (although we could only stay for the Saturday), VIP party access and a meet and greet with skate and BMX megastars Tony Hawk and Mat Hoffman.

No shit.

You can tell from our faces that we were perhaps a little over-psyched!! We got Tony to sign our birdhouse Hawk design board and even managed to get it in the picture for authenticity...it means too much to us to sell now but you never know, ebay's pull may be too strong in the future!

The party was insane - hanging out with someof the worlds best skaters and bmxers in a VERY messy state! Unfortunately most of our many group pics are of me next to Fabiola Da Silva - the worlds best female aggressive inliner - who looks like Penelope Cruz & is seriously stunning in every photo. Grr...

Staggered out around 2am for the 2 hour drive home (oops. thank you Toby!) thoroughly drunk, sweaty and knackered but still extremely excited!

Home again

2006-07-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Phew - what a scorcher!
Had an amazing BBQ Friday night with pals and neighbours (Toby set fire to a stool & Belle drank way too much). Enjoyed the incredible storms on Saturday and finally got around to getting back in the surf on Sunday and realised how much I need it.

One more year (or less) then we're off. I will live by the sea, and be home again.

Dunkerque

2006-07-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

Harrowing. So many questions, so much soul-searching.

How do you switch off from the horrific truth of the Holocaust?
Who are we to talk about living in 'a climate of fear'?
What would you give to fight for your cause? For your pride, dignity, faith, for justice.
Would you give your life…even under torture?

"Not in my name": I think of the French Revolutionaries who died, head held high, while I walk alongside my friends in an anti-war march for troops to leave Afghanistan and Iraq. How great their cost and how insignificant mine.

I cried at a photograph of a solider at a Polish concentration / forced labour camp in Russia. He stands proud, skeletal fellow prisoners laying at his feet, naked to the waist except for his last remaining piece of uniform - a cloth hat - staring determinedly eye-to-eye at the man on the other side of the fence. That man is Himmler, the head of SS and the man responsible for the horror he was experiencing. I don't understand the notions of pride and dignity, at least not to this extreme. But I was proud of this man. And of the millions who stood up against evil oppression - only to be crushed by its disgusting malevolence. But not for nothing, we now know.

The blessing of hindsight.

Top o'the morning to ya!

2006-07-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

Since Phil had to work we cut the weekend short and I decided to head back to the big smoke to be a part of the action! Caught up with Caroline (my big sis) as she and few friends hung out at an Irish Festival on Peckham Rye.

Pure comedy. From laughing at CDs of a fat Irish farmer gazing lovingly at a chicken singing “Everybody Wants My Fanny (The Fanny Song)” to haggling for old postcards of Frinton-on-sea and a Doodlebug...just why?

Very impressed that Nick and Connor continued to drink beer (and the latter Guinness of course, getting back to his Irish roots) in the sunshine through very thick hangovers. Even more impressed when Connor and Toby jumped on to “the death machine” fairground ride designed to make you hurl!

After getting our tokens from the token booth (classic Vent family Tenerife phrase!) we went on the dodgem’s and a few brave ones dared the waltzer, well everyone bar Vicky and myself!

After a few pints at Ca’s local we headed back to Peterborough for 1.30am. After a very hectic weekend it didn’t seem to surprise anyone when I pulled sicky on Monday morning..oops!

Derby daze..sorry days

2006-07-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

Ran away after work on Thursday for a few days of good old Flip fun, Derby-style!

Headed straight off to a skate jam and BBQ at the Blue Dog..although I didn't end up eating anything and instead spent the night talking with very cool, very nice strangers before propping up a very drunk Phil on our way round the streets of Derby and then home for a pipe and a pancake. Took some photos on my new camera but left them at Phils so watch this space!

On Friday took Phil on a motorbike lesson in Long Eaton. It was ace! The instructor said I was a "right little speed freak" but that we were both naturals. Can definitely see myself becoming a biker chick - but without the bandana and leathers! belle ;)

The moon on a stick!

2006-07-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Headed down to Lahndahn to catch up with my peeps for a class comedy night out in Bloomsbury. Got a bunch of free tickets to ‘Edinburgh & Beyond 2006’ (hosted by Al Murray The Pub Landlord) filming for the Paramount Comedy Channel but didn’t realise how amazing the line-up was until we got there.

Half way through my night was truly made be the appearance of Stewart Lee, STEWART LEE!! Most chuffed. Also, Russell Howard was amazing (one to watch) so we made plans to see him at the Fringe Fest in Edinburgh when were there August bank holiday weekend.

Got some ace birthday presents including the complete League of Gentlemen CDs and Panic at the disco! album. Apparently more to come on my family celebrations weekend in Essex :)

Pimms '06

2006-07-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Its that time of year again - time to dust off the tent and meet up with friends in a field somewhere for a weekend of drunken sports and whatever else ensues!

This year we were in a little village called Mollington, nr Banbury in Oxfordshire from 24-25 June 2006. The usual crowd were there: me, Toby, Paula, Dom, Sarah, Paul, Jen and this years new comer Rosey.

After the compulsory food and booze run we headed back to the campground for some boule, field cricket, beer and Pimms - naturally!

With the sun going down and people getting pinker it was time to crack out the BBQ's. Discovered a new method of preparing corn on the cob, involving manually lubing it up with butter - thanks Paul (sir)! One meat-feast later and I cracked out my own birthday cake with compulsory oversized 2 and 9 candles (..they were out of 6's!).

We stopped by the local pub in the evening for a pint and to catch the score (World Cup, football, anyone?). We obviously made quite an impression as a group as on leaving they asked us to try not to have sex on the way home...

After a slightly sticky night we woke up to a full English cooked by Paula, Sarah and Paul - this truly was camping in style! Walking off our breakfast we stumbled onto local National Trust land and found a very cool obelisk and summer house (see cheesy pic).

Looking forward to Pimms '07!! belle x

Another year older and none the wiser

2006-06-27T01:31:00.000-07:00

Yey! Today is my 26th birthday (and also the first National Veterans Day in the UK apparently). Big love to my birthday brother Phil Culf, looking forward to some insane Derby-style nonsense on our 4-day weekend!

Decided to shun the "getting older" feeling - even though I now won't qualify for youth discounts anymore - and instead embrace a "look how far you've come" point of view. Although I did rush to the train station last night to renew my Young Persons railcard while I could! ; )

Have already received several cards & presents - including an excellent new underwater digital camera! Be prepared for the onslaught of photos as I get over enthusiastic with all its special functions. Used it camping last weekend at Pimms '06 and am taking it to Derby this weekend for skate jam madness...watch this space!

Although I am in work today (boo hiss!) I am going down to London tonight to meet up with friends and family for a comedy night out (huzzah!). More details to follow tomorrow...

Mwah! Annabelle xxx

My favourite dolls

2006-06-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

As a very sweet surprise got pampered silly yesterday by my far-too-good-for-me husband. *blush*

Spent a very twee afternoon in the English countryside, cycling through fields of wildflowers alongside a steam train and picnicing by the river with swans flying overhead. Watched a boat go through a lock which was kinda cool..in a geeky work related sort of way.

And then, very unexpectedly, got whisked off to see the Goo Goo Dolls at the Brixtonian in the evening. Although I had motioned for us to buy tickets ages ago I had no idea when the gig was (well, thought it was around my birthday) so it was as good as a surprise!

Got home very late / very early and very drunk...I had started to regret my choice of a skirt and flip flops!

Strawberry Fair 2006

2006-06-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Sun, booze, dancing and hippies. What more could you want for weekend madness!

Had an ace time at Strawberry Fair again this year. This time we didn't have our bikes with us so it was easier to kick back and chill out to the max, man.

I had fun slinking to the band "Little Dog", bad name but great music; think of a cool UB40, with a little more ska spice! We ate cherries and nectarines chilling to a band who sounded just like Primus, completely as weird and off the wall (including the melodic sounds of an air raid siren)!

As the sun set we sat & chuckled at a bloke sleeping beside us as his family (and very naughty little girl) piled grass onto his paunch so high that you almost couldn't see him anymore. People stopped to take photos, including one very drunk topless guy who laid down beside him and spooned the grass covered man. How can you sleep through that?! Tee hee!

After some beer, cheap BBQ-d corn, Jerk chicken and rice'n'peas (I say rice...) we sang along to "Hey Jude" with a band whose lead singer didn't know the words!!

Made it home around midnight feeling very festivally...i.e straw in my hair and mix of beer and mud on my legs!
belle xxx

Londoninium encore

2006-06-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Tues 30th May
During a last minute, mad, why-the-hell-not kind of mood went to see The Editors in at Brixton Academy with Al and his old friend Jenny.

Ace night but due to drunken night bus shenanigans missed the last train home. Oops.

Fortunately had time off in lieu due so took Weds off work and spent time mooching round Tate Modern instead. Al, whom everyone loves persuaded the guard to let me go into Anish Kapoor’s sculptural installation Ishi’s Light - even though you're not allowed to and there is a small rope to stop you doing so!
It was amazing - when you step into the dark interior of the sculpture, you become part of a column of light generated at its centre. Also the sound is like being at the centre of a giant conch shell. Very cool!

Again pottered back to Peterborough tired but happy & kind of wishing I lived in the city whilst secretly knowing I'd hate it too. I miss the beach; I need to be by the sea!

Hey spaghetti arms...this is my space

2006-05-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.myspace.com/godsfeet

Be my friend? belle x

The nth Bank Holiday this year!

2006-05-29T13:33:00.001-07:00

Hello hello, just finished recovering from rather mad weekend in the city (London that is) with my sis and her mates and felt it worth of a blogging!

Actually started out as a perfectly innocent and sober meeting with work on Friday morning. By afternoon I had met up with Caroline and drunk half a litre of cider and two very large glasses of wine.

Ca’s flatmate Nick joined us for a drink before we decided to not to go and hang out at the park and instead went for some odd food (and more wine). I’ll go no further than to say they had rook on the menu. Yes, rook.

Since it was Nicks birthday decided to crash overnight & stay for an afternoons BBQ-ing before heading back to P’boro at 6pm for Katie’s BBQ (just how many sausages can a girl eat in a day?...that wasn’t intended to be smutty…) However, best laid plans and all that.

2 pm - Tesco's for booze and enough food to feed a very large group of drunken friends.
4 pm - A couple of glasses of wine while chopping veg for kebabs
5 pm - “Get the crystal”…try setting up a gazebo with no instructions in the rain when you're half cut.
6 pm - People start arriving. Several drinks of anything I could find and crazy conversations with some very cool new people found me glancing at my watch at about 10pm. Oops.

At some point the following things happened:
(a) Viscount Kingley arrives (a giant Viscount biscuit, soon to be appearing on http://www.pimpmysnack.com/). Annabelle eats far too much and has to remove herself from the vicinity.
(b) Photos were taken of tattoos, a cock piercing & there were some dodgy gay-on-non-gay tongue encounters!
(c) Drank far too much home made sangria, made with sherry and vodka as well as the more traditional ingredients.
(d) Fed an apple from (c) to someone with an apple allergy…double oops.
(e) Sat on the kitchen floor talking with an angel called Al (for short) not realising everyone else had left / gone to bed.
(f) Came within shouting distance of a homosexual threesome
(g) Had a close encounter with a beautiful red urban fox and watched the sun rise with Al who wouldn’t let me laugh at him telling people we saw “two beautiful tits in the bush”
(h) Watched people eat old BBQ meat for breakfast…with humus. Apparently, blueberry pie is also an acceptable pita bread filling.

Made it back to Peterborough for 6pm the next day after zero hours sleep and no food...still smiling ;)

Happy Easter!

2006-04-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

Ha! Had an amazing morning with Jesus today. Was physically knocked to my knees today over a scripture – that’s never happen to me before!

I really struggle with the whole Bible thing. Our church sees it as "the infallible word of God" and being the big over-thinker I am (or "reading something into everything" type which may well not be a good thing) I struggle with that. Infallible? There are lots of anti-God websites that will pull out the "evil" and contradictory parts of the Bible for you so I won't but there are some bits which have lost social relevance over the years...so I kinda feel that undermines the idea of infallibility. Guess I have more of a "God-breathed" perspective.

Anyway. Today just went to show, no matter how clever the devil thinks he is - Jesus is always the victor!

Today God spoke to me through Isaiah 40 and my guilt knotted my stomach. But I'm not too proud to bow before Jesus and apologise for the brat I've been. Just because I have "issues" with the Bible doesn't mean I need to distant myself from the church, God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit. In fact it’s those things that will help me see it through!

As much as I have held the Message version of the Bible at arms length in the past I found it to really ring true this time, Isaiah 40. Check it out if you have the time.

Must go and stuff chocolate in my mouth now, purely to stay culturally relevant of course!! (Gave choc up for lent so feel I deserve it in some sense!)

Much love & best wishes
belle xx

Road to Damascus...

2006-04-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

After four years of deliberation I finally bit the bullet and went for laser corrective eye surgery on the 31st March ...

I now have better than 20:20 vision and don't need to wear glasses anymore! YEY!!

Praise God for Ophthalmic R&D and for Ophthalmologists (which has to be one of the worlds most squeamish jobs!) and for our jobs which will help us to afford it!

I have been grossing out those who care to listen with the gory details...it was pretty grim but totally worth it! The first two days were terrifying as my eyelid muscles were so weak I physically couldn't open my eyes - so grateful to have Toby around to help & pin me down to put my eye drops in every 2 hours!! Since then it’s been getting better and better everyday, I even drove today for the first time since my op!

The first thing we did was buy some fab new non-prescription sunglasses, my first pair in over 15 years! I have to wear them whenever I'm exposed to UV light for the next few weeks. I'm very excited about being able to see while swimming, surfing and diving but have to wait a few months for that - however I'm keen to try out my new depth perception so we're off mountain biking in the Peak District tomorrow!

belle xx

Kazakhstan

2006-02-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know I've updated our flikr account with some images of Kazakhstan (December 2005). There's just so much to tell its needs its own dedicated post - so watch this space! belle x

Baby I can drive your car!

2006-02-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

Woo-hoo! After 3 months of hard-core practicing I've finally passed my driving test - yey!

I first took & failed my test in 1998 before heading off to Uni but only started learning again when I found out I needed to for my new job.

I passed my theory test (with new hazard perception) in Harlow in October and passed my 45 mins driving test with only 2 minors.

Now Toby has to share our baby smart car!! belle x

Bishop Gore is dead?

2005-12-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

Bishop Gore Comprehensive that is - grammar school to Dylan Thomas and secondary school to three of the Vent family (Mark, Caroline & Annabelle). Toby & I went for coffee with a guy and his sister-in-law is a teacher at "a hideously rough inner-city type school in Wales" - turns out its Bishop Gore and things have gone downhill since we were there (or maybe not!).

So right now the insiders view is that looks like old BG might be closing in 2009 - joining the other sleeping giants like Dynevor and Dillwyn Llewellyn schools and newbies like Dylan Thomas Community School at Cockett.

Found out some info about it on the net:
The Inside Swansea Council blog
Welsh Labour Assembly Members website

And nothing at the shockingly lame:
Official Bishop Gore homepage

Belle x

Fellowship at work

2005-11-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday I had my first fellowship meeting at work -it was was great!
We watched an alpha video and prayed and talked about starting a business alpha for non christians in Royal Haskoning (the company I work for). Its great to see that so many people I work with are christians!
Toby x

Upwards & Outwards!

2005-11-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Well hello, so sorry its been so long but many a weird and wonderful thing has happened since we were last here.

First things first, I'm writing this at my desk at work: my new job at the Environment Agency as Strategic & Development Officer in Flood Risk Management for the Anglian Region... including working on Shoreline Management Plan's (a passion inspired by my dissertation). I get to travel all over the Anglian region from the S. Essex / River Thames to N. Lincolnshire / River Humber from our base here in Peterborough.

So yes, for the quick ones amongst you, we've moved! Now living in a little village on the outskirts of Peterborough and, contrary to Becky’s first impressions, its amazing! Beautiful surroundings & loads going on. Great area, especially if you like a) bikes b) nature c) recycling d) H&M (we have two) - all of which we do! We have a cute little house, garden & amazing workshop shed for Toby.

We have found THE best church ever for us - Peterborough Community Church. The first week we went we spent ages signing up to stuff / finding out about the church in the community at their Mission Fair - I've already signed up for Prison Work & Toby's looking at the music group. We were SO welcomed, with lots of calls, visits & cards from various people in the church - so nice! It’s a free church with amazing gospel type worship which blew us away as we entered the hall. We looked at each other & knew that it was completely right for us - everything else that came afterwards has only confirmed it for us - YEY!

Other good news is:

Mark is home with mum in Essex (just had a visit from Caroline who was back briefly from Afghanistan).
After a rocky start Jenny is enjoying life at Uni in Miami, despite a major hurricane or two!
Camilla & Mukhit have set Christmas Eve 2005 as their wedding date so we're off to Kazakhstan with the Foot family on the 17th December returning on the 27th Dec for Vent family New Year celebrations in Essex. For those who don't know where in the world Kazakhstan is here's a map (it’s the same size as the whole of Europe!).

More news soon...

Reel Big Weekend

2005-09-27T02:56:00.000-07:00

Had a great weekend in London & Bucks, a brief summary:

Spent Friday with about 100 under-15's at 'Aquasplash', Leisure World, Hemel Hempstead. Didn't know it was 'Disco' night so threw ourselves down slides to the sounds of "...get some nookie tonight..." whilst being blinded by flashing lights. All good fun! Became very obvious that we were the only ones there with breasts (Belle) / body hair (Toby) but fun all the same.

Headed into London on Saturday for a stroll around Regents Park, went for lunch in lovely restaurant amongst the rose gardens. Sat in the sunshine with a glass of wine listening to Bach being played on the piano nearby. Great grub too! Did the MSN maze which was a bit lame so headed over to the British Museum to catch a glance at the Rosetta Stone and a head from Easter Island.

As it started to get dark moved on to Kentish Town for a few drinks and a meze dinner before going to see Reel Big Fish at The Forum. Support bands were quite good but very off-the-wall - especially 'The Skindreds', a Reggae/Hard-Rock band with a Welsh Rastafarian lead-singer. The Matches were really good but sound was a bit fuzzy. Reel Big Fish were incredible of course, doing all the old classics & favourites like 'Beer', 'Where have you been?', 'Take on me' and 'She has a girlfriend now' and of course 'Everyone's Doin' The Fish'. There was some wicked skanking going on!

After getting back to Bucks in the wee small hours we crawled into bed (well, trailer tent in the front garden) with that familiar ringing in our ears. On Sunday got to meet Mukhit for the first time, went to church, had a fried breakfast for lunch and visited Bekonscot Model Village in the afternoon...all part of entertaining Mukhit through British eccentricity! He seemed to take it all in his stride though, even topping off the evening with a pint of Guinness & a meal at a local pub.

Onward and upward?

2005-09-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

Good News: Toby got his letter from Royal Haskoning offering him the job he's been after for months (as a CAD Technician)
Sort-of-Bad News: They've offered us a much lower salary than we were expecting / hoping for. Still, is enough to live on and, as soon as Annabelle gets a job, to clear debts with too. But money really isn't everything and Toby will be happier there; good global company, good prospects etc. Start date is 10th October 2005 so not much house-hunting time left!

Good News: Camilla & her fiance Mukhit arrive in the UK tomorrow after what sounds like a very traumatic journey from Kazakhstan (via Israel ??) . Latest gossip is that Camilla wants to get married on Christmas Eve...
Bad News: Mark's not coming home today as hoped for, should be early next week instead. Preparations for a welcoming but potentially boozey home-coming are already in place!

Back to Bucks this evening (get in a quick swim on the way) to briefly see Tobys parents & siblings. Day in London tomorrow before hitting The Forum to see Reel Big Fish in concert - should be rocking!! (or should that be skanking...) ;) belle

The Family Photo (April 2005)

2005-09-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Family Photo (April 2005)
Originally uploaded by belle & toby foot.

Well, Fazel isn't strictly family (yet...?!) but this was a rare chance for all of us to get together before Mark went away, Ca headed back to the Embassy in Afghanistan and Jenny flew off to Univeristy in Miami. We had a costume murder mystery dinner party, Fazel cooked and it was amazing! A very funny evening ;)

Photos

2005-09-19T05:01:00.000-07:00

WeddingPhoto
Originally uploaded by belle & toby foot.

Finally managed to suss the photo thing. Wedding ones are now up - will be backdating & adding more in the coming weeks, watch this space!

Cream Crackered

2005-09-19T02:32:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!
After a very hectic week & weekend I'm propped up at my desk with huge bags under my eyes desperatley trying to concentrate (and clearly failing, hence the blog).

Bad News: Didn't find anyway to live in Peterborough - with 2 weeks til the off! Had a successful reconnaisance mission up there anyway gathering various estate agents property lists & contact details. Also had a swift shufty around some of the different areas to get an idea of where might be nice. I have, as yet, been unable to find a cinema in Peterborough...Toby assures me they must have one.

Good News: Drove to Stamford Hill on Sunday for what will hopefully be our last visit to see Mark! His earliest tag release date is the end of this week (23/09/05) so he'll be home soon, yey! Looking forward to having a pint and a chinese take-away in celebration (his request).

After a solid weekend driving Tobys back to work this morning to greet his new assistant. We worked out he got about £25 an hour for his overtime last week, and a free bag of Haribo StarMix!
It feels like its all going very well at the moment, just waiting on confirmation of Tobys job at Royal Haskoning, results of my interview at the Environment Agency and response to sending my CV to Royal Haskoning (at their request!). Finger crossed, eyes to heaven and all that...

belle xxx

The Waiting Game

2005-07-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

After hearing that I didn't get my dream job with the Environment Agency :( Toby & I have been going nuts applying to as many suitable positions as we can find all over the globe!

Feeling very frayed right now so any spare prayers would be greatly appreciated. It is so time to move on but we can't seem to get out of here! It doesn't help that God is being very quiet and we can't seem to hear his whispers amongst the shouts of debt and rejection...

On a lighter note, its been good to have time to catch up with old friends and family. We're off camping with a group of mates this weekend and I'm hoping it'll give us some space to breathe.

Ta ra for now,
Belle xxx

Pimping New Ride

2004-11-04T01:39:00.000-08:00

Yey! Last night we picked up our new smart car. We're so blessed as its so much better than we were expecting & at an unbelievably low price (£2700). Its yellow on the outside and blue within, brilliant for the summer (and touring Europe)!

Here's what the brochure says:

smart fortwo coupé passion : for the style-conscious customer, the smart fortwo coupé passion offers air conditioning, electric windows, SOFTOUCH automatic gearbox mode, and the TRIDION safety cell finished in sophisticated silver. For the safety conscious, the car also has ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) with HBA, ABS with EBD (Electronic Brake-Force Distribution) & 2 airbags. All this rounded off by a 54bhp engine that's at home both in the city & on the open road.

We also got loads of extras like a glass roof, super cool alloy wheels, luggage compartment cover (£45.50), 6-stack CD changer (£245.00) and CD holder (£24.50). Its done about 50000 miles which isn't bad considereing its a 2000 model.
Its also already taken part in the smart London to Brighton Rally - hopefully we'll get to go too next year!

The Two Ronnies!

2004-10-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last night Toby, Jenny, Mum and I joined Mark in London to see the filming of a new series by the Two Ronnies!
We met in the queue outside BBC Television Studios (White City) a mere hour before the doors opened. Once inside we were delighted to be told that there was a special surprise - the ticket numbers we were given at the door doubled as entries into a prize draw. On offer were 2 signed copies of Ronnie Barkers biography! Needless to say, we didn't win. But it was close, had we not pushed in to the queue with Mark the people behind us wouldn't have won. ;)

It was incredible to watch them together - bluffing their lines and laughing along to old Two Ronnies sketches we all watched on VT. They always made sure the audience were having a good time and that we knew what was happening.

It was a real experience and kind of odd to see such British comedy legends in the flesh - to see two people you've grown up watching on TV looking so much older and maybe a little frail (in the case of Ronnie B who reminded us all of Gramps!). But they've still got it...the tongue in cheek jokes, the fast paced wit and even faster paced monologues! It was a joy to be there and something I'll always be proud of.

We met a Python!

2004-10-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went up to London to meet up with the family (sans Jenny) for OktoberFest!

The day started with the 12th Annual Raindance Film Festival - held at the UCG Shaftesbury Avenue (in the Trocadero Centre). www.raindance.co.uk. We had tickets for :

14:00 – ALEXANDER MACKENDRIK MEMORIAL: TERRY JONES
The ex-Python and prolific filmmaker will screen a surprise film of his choice, followed by a Q&A session.

Before we went in Terry had arrived and was waiting in the entrance with some of the audience who had arrived (including us). Other people had Python stuff for him to sign so Toby asked if he could have his photo taken with him. He said "of course" so Toby dragged mum into it (she was really embarrassed) and I took the shot - Toby's very proud of that photo!

The film he chose was the Wind in the Willows (1996) for which wrote the screenplay, directed & starred in. The Wind in the Willows features an all-star cast from the cream of British comedy including:

Terry Jones (Toad)
Eric Idle (Rat)
Steve Coogan (Mole)
John Cleese (Mr. Toad's Lawyer)
Stephen Fry (The Judge)
Michael Palin (as a type of Telly Tubbies sun)
Bernard Hill (The Engine Driver)
Julia Sawalha (The Jailer's Daughter
Victoria Wood (The Tea Lady)
Nigel Planer (The Car Salesman)

and Nicol Williamson as Badger - although Terry told us that Sean Connery was meant for the role initially. Unfortunately he rang shortly before filming and said he couldn't do it - prior commitments or something - what a shame, he would have been so cool and very well suited to the role!

It was a fun film but the best bit was the Q&A session afterwards! It was cool to hear him talk about all manner of things, of course some of it Python related. He has such a great voice!

Toby was brave enough to pose a question so he asked Terry

"What happened with the ending to the Holy Grail - where the police came in - did you just not know how to end it?"

Terry laughed and said that it was supposed to mimic a film the Pythons had seen at a film festival on the Champs-Elysées in Paris. The film "ended" with a long scene of traffic circling the Arc de Triomph and the lights simply come up for the audience to leave. As they walked outside that was exactly what they saw and he said they all felt there was a real impact in that. Apparently the cinema film-boxes / tins for the Holy Grail had instructions on them for the house lights to be lifted 30 seconds into the final scene but of course, Terry said, no-one read or followed these instructions so people just sat through 10 minutes of nothing!

He's a lovely bloke and it was good to hear him talk about his life & his projects - its striking how very down-the-earth he is about his achievements.

Toby was so excited to have met him...1 Python down, 4 to go!

Afterwards we went to Belgo Centraal, the Belgian restaurant in Covent Garden that specialises in their beer! Caroline and Fazel met us there. We ordered from their special Oktoberfeast (pun) menu where you choose any four tapas style dishes from a set menu of sixteen and receive four very different tasting beers selected to compliment the food.

PROS: Mostly good food (although a little stingy in portion size), in particular the duck in Hoegaarden jus and the Leffe icecream!

CONS: They were a little militant in their booking times and rushed us on our courses. Fazel, who ordered after us, had all three dishes at once as the early birds had none!

It was a very eventful evening that saw us receiving lots of free stuff - including a round of different flavoured Schnapps, a yard of ale for Mark and lots of exclusive Delerium Tremens tasting glasses to take home as souvenirs!! All the booze disappeared quickly, even the strawberry beer which was a little fizzy, so needless to say we were all a little foxed on our departure!

One fun day all in all!

P.S. Terry Jones was also a writer in the Two Ronnies - so watch out for our next Blog!

Chronia polla

2004-09-14T02:38:00.000-07:00

That's Happy anniversary in Greek (transliterated)...a little tribute to Toby's heritage!

Yep, yesterday we celebrated our 1st Wedding anniversary (13th September 2004). YEY!! Its so hard to believe its been a year already - the time has flown by proverbially!

These are some of things we did to celebrate:

We retreated as we had the house to ourselves and had a naughty but delicious Chinese meal with champagne.
We exchanged gifts - Belle bought Toby The Monty Python's Autobiography and Toby bought Belle a self-healing inner tube and some champagne (see above!). However, these were a substitute for the real present which has been delayed in the postal strikes!
We reflected on the last year and how we've changed as individuals and a couple.
We talked about the different memories we have of our time in Canada, how we've grown in faith and how much happier we are as people now we have someone to love who loves us equally.

We're so thankful to God for helping us to find each other & for blessing our time together. We've having the kind of life I only dreamed about, every day is amazing! The best bit is that its only just begun - finding the purpose for our lives and the potential we hold is so incredibly exciting I can only pray that we'll learnt not to compromise.

We have everything we want and I hope God can extend our love beyond our comfort zone. Part of life's fun is being challenged and exploring new things.

Velcome!

2004-09-07T05:09:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

I'm killing time in my lunch hour right now as its chucking it down outside!

Quick re-cap on what we're doing:

Toby

Head designer at Goldstar Fabrications in Colchester, Essex and loving it

Belle

Working with R&D dept of Tendring PCT (NHS) in Clacton, Essex and not loving it

NEWS

We're flat-out searching for Gods purpose for us at the moment (and paying off a few debts in the mean-time).
Living in Canada was amazing & really a place we both fell in love with.
Camilla is off to Kazakhstan for a year to work in a school teaching English
Caroline is making plans for Afghanistan
Jenny is back at Uni in Essex - 2nd year and counting!