Reel Big Weekend

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?

• 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)

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

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

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