November - all in one go (get comfy people)

So we're into November already... oh, and if you are reading this then make sure you've read the novel below that was posted today also. And there are also a few new galleries on the right hand side there.

Well before I get into what we've been up to I just might make a note about the weather. It is a lot colder this year that it was last year at the same time. I predict more snow this winter... well I hope anyway. Today, being the 18th Nov it was only 5 degrees as a max. Its been hovering around 10 - 13 for the last few weeks now and with it being wettish too it feels a lot colder. But anyway, on to the news.

Gem was oncall at the beginning of this month and ended up being called into work on the evening. On the monday night, the guy who owns the buildings in our compound was having a party for Guy Fawkes Day. He put on chilli and potatoes, punch, a massive bonfire and of course fireworks. The bonfire was just in the courtyard and was massive. It started as a pile of wooden pallets about 12 high, with wood piled all around it. Once lit, with a healthy dose of fuel of course, the blaze was about 20 feet hight and we ended up having to stand about 10 metres back from it. The fireworks were quite good and they even filled a few 2lt bottles with oxyacetylene... which when lit makes a huge bang but no flame. When someone filled a plastic container about the size of one of those big water bottles in office coolers with it we knew we were in trouble. The boom was immense, and you could feel the shockwave.

A few days later me, Gem and 3 girls from her work went to watch Mary Poppins in Covent Garden. It was brilliant and the set was incredible. There was so much movement to the set. The ground floor, top floor and roof tops all changed positions on the stage at various times, and Mary Poppins even flew herself. It fairly closely followed the storyline of the movie too.
That weekend we drove into Putney for Gavin, Belinda's new man's, 30th birthday. It was a really good night and we met some nice people. He had set up an ipod with lots of cheesy music so there was plenty of singing and dancing too. All in all a good night, but I think Gav might have been a bit worse for wear the next day :)

On the 10th the four of us took Gems camera and Grants tripod down to Southwark Bridge to watch the Lord Mayor's Fireworks. They were set of from between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge so we were only one away. They were quite good but not as good as the Perth Skyshow ;) We met up with Mark, Gordo and their friend Robbie and went out for dinner afterwards.

The next week when I was dropping Gem at the train station I had the sneaking suspicion that something was different. It was then that I noticed the missing car stereo.... yup, we'd been broken into. I did think the doors were unlocked when I got there but I wasn't quite sure. Lucky for us the thieves had been quite curtious. They didn't bugger up the door but must have got something down the window to open the lock. They took the stereo (but left the front fascia so we can make the next one look pretty and fit snugly), the satnav cradle, the traffic management aerial for the satnav, two cd's, and Gems handcream.... go figure. They also left us our ice scraper. All in all nothing is that expensive that was taken. The cradle cost me £16 and a new stereo is about £50. The traffic management is more expensive but we don't really need that... its handy when you get out of London but we tend to know where the busy spots are now and avoid them anyway. Gem stayed home to call the cops but they said they were a bit busy and would respond in 72 hours. Oh well. Could have been worse, they could have taken the car.

The following weekend we took the bus into Greenwich to go to the markets there. They were really cool and arty and very laid back. After that we went to a nice little pub called The Yacht that is the "First Pub in the West". The food was good and it was nice to get out of the cold. We thought we'd brave the weather on the way back and walk the hour back to work off the meal. It was cold but crisp. Not as cold as it has got in the last few weeks though, got down to about 5 degrees on one day.

As part of Gem getting her visa to stay here, she has had to sit a test called "Life in the UK". She has been studying a book you have to buy for the test for the last couple of weeks as the range of questions are quite broad and indepth, and I don't think any of my english friends would know the answers. It even has stats on religion in each country of the UK, and history, and government etc etc... In the end it's a 24 question multiple choice test that you have 45 minutes to complete and you need to get at least 18 right to pass. Gem did it on Saturday morning in about 4 minutes and passed. So she can now get her visa and will be allowed to stay.

That night we went to Shepherd's Bush for two friends of ours, Leann and Damage's (Damien), engagement party. It was good to see them again as they were part of the crew we used to see all the time from when we lived at the KEG (the sharehouse in Acton). Most of the people from the KEG and the friends we haven't seen in quite a while turned up and it was great to catch up with them all. Leann and Damage are coming to Bulgaria too which will be good. They are a really nice couple.

Sunday the four of us headed down to Kingston-Upon-Thames to do a little sightseeing and a little Christmas shopping. It's a really pretty area, and its got quite a nice shopping centre too so it's a lot quieter and a lot smaller than trying to do Oxford Street or anything like that. We had a few nice things to eat from the markets and then did a bit of powershopping. Was good fun :)

On tuesday night (the 27th) we had a big Christmas Dinner with most of our closest friends (Me, Gem, Grant, Vic, Belinda, Sara, Sam, Al, Magnus, Nicole, Gordo, Mark, Robbie). Quite a few of them are going home this year or away for Christmas, so it was about the only date we all had free. 13 of us (yes I know, but it was supposed to be 14) met in a nice restaurant in Covent Garden and had a really lovely 3 course chrissie dinner. It was really well done and we all had a blast.

Well that ends November except for one rather big point, but that will have to wait for a new post...

Not quite sure how many of you will read this as its getting close to novel length, but we will try to do more regular updates rather than bulk ones like this.

Hope everyone is well and everyone enjoys the build up to Christmas.

Cheers,

Duncan.