Blog is Dead

I wonder if anyone reads this anymore? I guess not, its my fault for going all myspace and facebook. Anyway, the point is that noone blogs here anymore. Perhaps we're too old, perhaps we're too busy getting on with real life rather than writing about it here, perhaps we've simply run out of things to say.

I am reminded of a sketch on the Armando Iannucci shows where a man is literally dying of boredom and if he has the same experience twice he will explode. His wife is at her wits end trying to constantly rearrange everything and organise new experiences. I don't know why I feel this is relevant. Perhaps we're all slowly being bored to death by the 21st century. Blogs which were new and exciting a couple of years ago are now old hat. We are constantly trying to reinvent everything including ourselves. Its merely the postmodern age's way of masking the true manner of things, although the problem is that we cannot find anything with enough substance to last long enough to permanently fill the gaps which leak through to our consciousness.

I guess I am just trying to ask; "is there anybody there, really there?"

What I did on my holidays

I went to the beautiful city of Krakow
Ate and drank in the main square, by day ....
...and by night
We did lots of walking around the streets, amazing architecture at every turn
went up to Wawel Castle
and Cathedral
Walking the three miles around Planty, the green belt surrounding the Old Town
We stayed in a beautiful old building
On the third floor
Visited the Wielizca Salt Mines

Where there was a salt cathedral
With a salt Last Supper
There I am, 135m down a mine
This was the drink of choice
This was the terrifying pork meal that was laid in front of me one lunchtime, check out the raw onions

We went to the Tatra Mountains
Tom was there too!
and then back to Krakow for our 10th anniversary meal in the square
where Tom bought me a rose
Then back to Norfolk to the family home
Meeting my sister Tracy's new puppy, Archie
and the old family dog Nell (begging for scraps from Jonah)
Going for a walk with my mum and dad
Rescuing baby shrews
Seeing old friends in Norwich
Who never fail to entertain

Non touristy touring

I have recently been using my myspace blog a lot more than this one, it gets a lot more hits and I like my background. However, I've been trying to think of a way to keep using this one as it is my original blog, and I like the sense of community between me, Marco, Opie and Crispy - although he is shamefully abscent in recent months. Therefore I have decided to use this blog to post photos and write about our days out in Devon. With summer on its way, there should be lots to write about. The myspace blog, I can use for petulent post-teen rants and day to day mumblings.


Yesterday we took advantage of the first sunny day in a fortnight and ventured out into Dartmoor. We stopped off in the stupidly named town of Bovy Tracy and had a picnic next to a river, we then hopped on the friendly, wee bus to Widdecombe in the Moor.

Being the home of the Uncle Tom Cobbley rhyme, Widdecombe has considerable tourist fatigue. The car park was full of coaches, dropping off the EU's elderly for their obligatory 30 minutes of; cup of tea and a scone, a short wander, purchase a souvenir, a quick wee, and then back on the bus and on to the next place. So we instead ventured a short way from the green and found a lovely old Dartmoor pub which was relatively free of grockles (the Devonian name for tourists).


We then walked back to the village, walked a short way in the other direction and again found ourselves alone. My tip for visiting tourist hotspots is always to walk a little bit further than everyone else, and you'll invariably find yourself some space. We walked along a country lane for a mile or so, with lovely views of the surrounding tors and the local cows with calves (for city dwellers I mean baby cows, not lower leg muscles). We then came across a wood which was carpeted with native bluebells and had a stream running through it, magical. The best thing was, that apart for a few passing cars, we didn't see a soul. It just goes to show even the most touristy places can yeild a personal and tranquil experience, just head in completely the opposite direction of everyone else!




A happy tourist

Service Disruption

Just a brief apology that I may not be blogging much here for a while. I have succumbed to the lure and evil temptation of myspace.

Hissy Fit

I am very proud of myself. I heckled the Conservative Shadow Minister for Higher Education, and asked two very good questions without sounding like a complete twat! This was at a university event which was jam packed with young Tories with pink Ralph Lauren shirt collars poking out of pastel sweaters, and sporting such inbred features they wouldn't have looked out of place being ridden by a midget at Aintree. As my friend Chris always told me, Exeter is full of Oxbridge overspill.

We've also been enjoying the summer like weather, which has payed a brief visit to Devon on Friday and Saturday. We had a meal outside in a pub on Friday evening, and a visit to Croyd and Saunton Sands yesterday. I've never been up to the North Devon beaches before and I was amazed by how stunning they are. Lots of surfers, and surf people who have never set foot on a board before but have the money to buy the overpriced surfer lifestyle accesories, but a beautiful area nonetheless.

The very best thing of all this weekend was the two adders we came across when walking the costal path from Croyd to Saunton. The first one was a mean looking adult who reluctantly slinked off from where he'd been sunbathing when he saw us, the second was a gutsy youngster who thought for a second that he could take the two of us on with a display of hissing and gesticulating towards us, until he thought better of it and let us pass. Whoever thought you'd be in danger of being killed by a dangerous animal on the South West Coastal Path?

I need input

Q. What happens when you take one mature student, mix in a bit of easter holidays, two heaped tablespoons of MarioKart, a huge chocolate egg, a large dose of loneliness and a pinch of internet?

A. Me, climbing up the walls.

Seriously, I need help. I have tons of uni work to do, but I can't do it. Its not that its too hard or I haven't got the books (in fact I have the mother of all book piles upstairs waiting to be read). I just haven't got the right brain on. How am I supposed to write politics essays when I haven't been at uni for four weeks, its all gone missing. Filed under 'wait till next week'.

Here, hare.

Happy Easter!

I wish I was one of those super women with the ability to paint eggs, cut out bunny shapes and bake cookies with mini eggs on, but I am just a lazy twentysomething going on 17, who cannot even manage the foresight to buy Tom an easter egg, and has exhausted the confection retailers of Exeter searching for Mini Eggs. There really are none left in the city (except for those sitting atop easter cakes cooling in the stylish kitchens of Victorian three story houses owned by those domestic godesses I so wish to emulate, but sadly fail).

I remember a time when easter eggs remained aplenty in the shops until easter monday when the clever kid would sweep up the reduced price eggs with their bank holiday pocket money. Christ, I love easter egg chocolate. Cadburys, with a jolly easter scene, pure heaven.

Have been lots of fun and outings recently, but I'm sure Opie will tell you all about that. In other news, Tom and me are off to Krakow for 5 nights on 19th June for our tenth anniversary, we're staying in a really cool apartment just off the main market square and are only paying £140 each for the whole chebang (?) , very exciting as we didn't go away last year.

Here is a picture of my garden and house in their spring livery for your viewing pleasure. Spot the Corgi.