WAITING FOR LAURA

Waiting at Sydney airport
I've got butterflies galore
Over 7 months since I saw her
I've missed her loads for sure.

We've been friends for 13 yrs now
This is the longest it had been
but she's always in my daily thoughts
And a shoulder for me to lean

I can see you coming now Laura
I think you should start to run
Because I can't wait for us to re-unite
And have 3 weeks of crazy fun

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Week 33 - The one where Laura and Ryan arrived!

It was Wednesday and the week was flying by. Anya had received some good news from Laura that they were boarding the plane. They had only been delayed by 12 hrs in the end which wasn't too bad. With Heathrow having been shut she was a bit concerned about them flying but was getting so excited to see them. Laura and Anya had been good friends for a long time now. They met in the first year of secondary school and share many MANY fond memories from over the years.

The girls settled back in to their new room in 'The Wake up' hostel (some taking longer than others) and then headed straight out. Sarah and Little Jenny Allen jumped on a tour bus and Anya went off to update her blog a bit. She'd seen the sights of Sydney before and thought she'd spend the money on going to meet Laura and Ryan at the airport later on instead. She loved doing her blog. It made her realise just how much she loved writing and would definitely be carrying it on when she got home.

After a couple of hours she got a call from the girls to say they had arrived at Darling Harbour where they'd arranged to meet to go to the aqaurium!! And how good was the aquarium!! They practically ran round, checking out all the gorgeously coloured fish etc. And they found Nemo which they were pretty excited about. Anya and Little Jenny Allen made jokes and began to have ideas for a sitcom they wanted to write. They planned to begin getting it all written down when Anya was home. They'd both studied theatre and media so were on the same wavelength. They only hoped that their audiences would as well. After the aquarium Sarah and Little Jenny Allen hopped back on the bus and Anya went to get to ready to go meet Laura and Ryan.

Sitting on the train to the airport she got all teary eye'd. She couldn't believe it had been 7 months since seeing her best friend. She got there in good time and got the prime spot outside gate B. Standing there all nervous she suddenly wondered if they'd have much to talk about. She got her pad and pen out and wrote a quick poem. She loved writing them. She knew they were just pretty simple ones but just loved writing them. Then after what seemed like waiting for hours, Laura and Ryan appeared!!! They were really there!! Lots of hugs and kisses and surprisingly no tears later (although anya try to squeeze some out but they didn't come) they headed back to town, got checked in and went for a much waited for glass of vino in a weird local pub.

Week 33 - The where Little Jenny Allen rode the waves

The next day the girls packed up their backpacks (some taking longer than others) and checked out of 'The Wake Up' hostel. They were off to go spend a couple of days on Coogee beach. After asking some rather rude and unhelpful Australians they hopped on the bus with all their gear. Little Jenny Allen fell asleep, as Sarah daydreamed and hoped that the next hostel was as good as the one they'd just left. She was the organiser of the group, and was good at it. Apart from the Melbourne heat wave making certain trips alot uncomfortable, everything so far had gone to plan.








A kind northener helped them up the many steps to the reception of their new hostel and after a short wait, a brew, and a greasy man at reception telling them how lucky they were to have the room they had, they were opening up the door to their new lovely... shithole of a room.


"Is it me or is it dirty?" frowned Sarah. Anya looked over at the dirty plasters on the floor, and dark stuff that was smeared on the wall, "Hate to say it but it's not the worst i've seen "... But it was pretty filthy and there was sand all over the beds which wasn't the best start.


"The perils of staying by the beach" the cleaner droaned as she rather half heartedly brushed a few grains of sand off one of the beds with her hand "Sorry about that, hope that's a bit better for you" she said as she made a quick exit out the creaking door.








"MINE"! The game continued as the girls relaxed on Coogee beach a couple of hours later. Sarah's eyes continued to roll as she slapped on her oil. "Sarah careful my lovely. We're right under the hole in the ozone layer here or something to that affect. But the sun's well hot" Anya said. "It's ok I don't really burn" she answered "I am going for a swim though if anyone fancies?" Little Jenny Allen jumped up "I will I will!"


"Ok you two go and i'll look after the bags" As they jumped the waves, Anya took some really great pictures of them. She watched as Little Jenny Allen started swimming in with the waves, just like all the surfer dudes were doing. As she got to shore she waved at Sarah and was struck down by a rather strong wave. Anya giggled to herself. Even though she'd met little Jenny Allen a lot of times over the years, they'd never spent this much time together and they were getting on really well. It's always nice to make new friends.


"Did you see me, did you see me? I was riding the waves!!" she excitedly asked Anya after getting rather lost leaving the sea.


"Hahaha. Oh... I... err...I mean yes, yes you looked like a pro..." and then went for a dip herself.


After the wave jumping/riding excitement was over, Sarah and Little Jenny Allen had a doze. Anya just enjoyed soaking up even more sun on to her already much tanned skin. She thought about Greg, who she'd met in Thailand all those months ago. This annoyed her that she was still pining for him after so long but she just wondered whether she would actually see him again. She hoped so.


"Sarah you look a bit red" Anya poked Sarah. "Oh no!"


Tummies were rumbling so they went for one delicious spag bol, followed by a pancake and went for an evening of vodka slush puppies, wine, popcorn, and gambling in the weird tucked away smoking area of the hotel. A scruffy guy from London and even scruffier one from Newcastle tried teaching them how to play the machines (Anya requested this in preparation for Vegas) but everytime he put money in they just pressed random buttons. Like kids would. They found it pretty funny. The guys did keep putting money in though so the girls just continued to act like kids. Then time for weary heads to hit the sac. The girls got to their dorm room with the one working light (making getting ready earlier an arduous task) and fell straight to sleep.








Up early (ish) the next day for a walk. Yes! A walk. They were up for a coastal walk from Coogee beach to Bondi beach. In the book it said that it should take about and hour...








5 hours later they sat eating ice cream on Bondi. Anya shivered under the now black clouds, thinking about how she would sum up the walk in her blog:





Do's and don't of walking the coastal Coogee to Bondi Beach walk....





1. Do pack a rather large picnic
2. Don't start the walk in the midday heat
3. Do play the game 'Mine' as the many hot men do their daily runs
4. Do stop at each beach for a swim
5. Don't spend too long in the Bronte water because you're feet might actually freeze off
6. Do stop for a BBQ along the way
7. Don't use plastic cutlery to flip the burgers. They will melt.
8. Do kick the pigeon that sits on your foot whilst eating your burger
9. Don't follow the americans in having a picture taken on a gravestone just because it looks nice. Weird.
10. Do enjoy the great walk with many photo moments that your camera will wipe off due to virus anyway
11. Do wonder how you took so long to complete the walk
12. Do have ice cream when you get to Bondi Beach
13. Do get home and changed and go out for a cheap pizza sitting on the beach in the evening
14. Do run back to the hostel when it starts to rain
15. Do get very upset when a text from Laura and Ryan says that their plane is delayed due to the snow and they won't be arriving on time.

Week 33 - The one with Brad and Todd

Brad was a 6ft 2" gorgeous piece of man. He was 29, single, loved to travel and was considering moving to england. He'd heard about a great town in Sidcup in Kent and was keen to visit. He craved a girlfriend, preferably blond and tall with a SE London accent but with some Polish family. She would share his love for music and the arts and travelling.

It was Sunday, and Brad had a day off from his job as a historian. He did some charity work on the side as a music therapist and he also played semi pro football. But today he had a free day. He went out for his twice weekly run and half way round his usual route he stopped for a stretch and a drink of water. Just as he was about to set off again he heard his name being called.

"Hey Brad! BRRAAAAAD!!!!"

It was Todd! Todd, who he hadn't seen for 5 years. They used to be best friends and grew up together. But just after they finished university, Todd got himself a psycho girlfriend. He never did have much luck with women. But as time went on Brad and Todd saw less and less of eachother. They stood for 10 minutes and had a catch up. Todd told Brad how he was once again single. He'd seen the light when Kylie, the psycho girlfriend, ordered him to get his tackle shortened, or else she'd simply 'trim some off herself when he was sleeping'...

Brad was secretly relieved (as was Todd) but told Todd he was sorry to hear the news, as you do when a friend tells you of a break up. "Ah no don't worry. I just wish I saw what she was like before. I mean she used to joke about her knife obsession but I didn't think she ever really meant it. Don't suppose you're around tonight for a proper catch up? We could go in to town for a drink. Maybe get the ferry over there, we haven't done that for years?" Brad didn't have any plans, so they agreed a time and went about their days seperately. They both lived in Manly which is north of Sydney...

"...it's possible to drive here from the city but it's much nicer to catch the ferry in the evening as it gets dark and the opera house and harbour bridge are all lit up" Anya explained to the girls as she gobbled down the delicious Nandos that they were eating for dinner. They'd spent the day doing a bit of shopping in the city (some taking longer than others). Little Jenny Allen bought a new camera after MUCH deliberation, they'd argued with sales assistants in a clothes shop, and then decided to head over to Manly beach for some sunshine. It was here that the game 'Mine' got invented. It originated from the film 'Finding Nemo' but the girls' game was slightly different in that instead of claiming food as 'mine' they would hypothetically claim random, keen on the eye men, as 'mine'. Sarah rolled her eyes each time either one shouted 'MINE'. She was in a happy relationship with Theo who she'd left at home with his new playstation. Whilst the girls perved over men on the beach she would lay with her factor 4 oil on, thinking about Theo and how much she missed him.

"That Nandos was sooooo good" said Sarah "Why don't they do the chicken like that in england?" Sarah was a bit of a Nandos expert and liked to test it out all over the world. That and McDonalds chicken nuggets!

The girls left with full to the neck bellies and tired heads, got to the front of the queue and waited for the ferry back to the city. They were keen to get a prime spot for the perfect view of the opera house and bridge.

"Jenny" Anya said as the boat pulled away from Manly "Have you seen the view?" she pointed just ahead. Little Jenny Allen's little jaw dropped and Sarah rolled her eyes. "You two are such perves". There stood two gorgeous blokes right at the front of the boat.

"MINE!!" they both giggled. "Which one is yours Jen?"

"The smaller one with the green top, he's so cute"

"Good coz I want the tall one. He is HOT!" Anya dribbled.

"They must have perfect girlfriends" Little Jenny Allen sighed.

"Yeh they must do looking like that"

Sarah even got in on the game and slyly took some pictures for the girls. They all laughed as she did it.

"Hey we should name them and put the pic on facebook and tag our names for them" Anya suggested. What are you going to call your one Jen?"

Jenny pondered for a second... "Todd"

"Haha" Anya laughed at the typically Ozzy name "ok I'll call mine Brad."

Week 33 - The one with the sailing

Now Little Jenny Allen used to work for the Gcap media group in Leicester Square. It owned radio stations such as capital FM, XFm and classic fm etc and she loved it. She loved her boss, the people, the location. Until one day it all changed. Her boss, and Ozzy, moved back to Sydney, company dinamics took a turn and then, to cut a long story short, Little Jenny Allen found herself jobless. It was sad times for Little Jenny Allen. She managed to find a new job at a film distribution company but it wasn't radio, which was her love. Just before coming away to Australia for a sun-filled holiday she went for an interview at Magic fm. She wanted that job so badly and was still waiting to hear. Meanwhile, Little Jenny Allen had been in touch with her old boss Scott. He was thrilled that she was in Sydney. So thrilled that he hired a yacht...

So the next morning the girls got themselves ready (some taking longer than others) and headed to Darling Harbour. And then there was Scott. Next to the yacht. They hugged it out and then Anya and Sarah ran off to buy some sea sick tablets, suddenly remembering a particularly sicky boat trip 5 months ago in Thailand. And then theyw were off. Joined by 2 of Scott's mates, and their very own skipper. And an esky of champagne, wine and beer. Sorted. Off they pootled out in to Sydney harbour. The day was a glorious one with not a cloud in the sky. Little Jenny Allen and Sarah clicked away with their cameras as they passed under the Harbour bridge and the opera house for the first time. Anya simply enjoyed the moment with a glass of champagne. She was now a flashpacker. Backpacking was so last year. The general relaxed chat and giggles continued until the actual sailing began. The sail went up, the engine turned off and the wind took it's course. It was one of those situations where the activity sounds and looks gracious until you actually do it. 'A bit like riding on an elephant' Anya thought. 'Looks great and like something you might like to try out, until you're up there, saying 10 Hail Mary's and 3 Our Father's in a desperate hope that you won't go plumeting down the side of the mountainous Asian jungle.' So these things do have their down sides. And boy did the boat go down... and to the side! Scott, Sarah and Little Jenny Allen held on tight as the yacht sailed across the sparkling harbour. But the girls didn't look as relaxed as Scott.

"Just chill out and enjoy it" he kept saying.

Anya sat at the other side looking down at their worried faces and laughed at them. At them. Not with them. At them. Until the wind tipped the boat even further. So far that Little Jenny Allen's elbow got dipped in the water. Sarah said she'd never seen her move so quickly as she shot to the other side of the boat and practically chained herself to the bar so she couldn't fall anywhere.

Soon enough the yacht tipping excitement calmed down and they stopped for a dip. Sarah and Anya jumped in and swam to a nearby beach, once again fondly remembering when they did a similar thing in a lagoon in Thailand. They had a nose, picked up some shells, (but didn't pick their nose in case that confused you) hopped over some fish heads and swam back. The esky got emptier and the crew got merrier. That was until they sailed back the other way and this time Sarah and Little Jenny Allen laughed at Anya from the other side of the boat. At her. Not with her. At her. And after a quick Titanic moment at the front of the yacht (not the sinking one) it (oh and not the one when the string quartet played their last piece) was (and definitely not the one where a little old lady throws a multi million pound jewel in to the ocean) time to head back. They all jumped in to a cab and headed to Scott's house, picked up his lovely wife and went for an evening at 'The London Pub' in Balmain. A wicked day. And that wasn't it. They all got treated to a curry back at the house later on.

And back at the hostel as they girls got to bed, Anya closed her eyes and complained that she felt like she was still on the boat and felt a bit sick. Little Jenny Allen handed her a sea sick tablet and she happily went off to sleep.

Week 33 - The one when Sarah re-appeared in the blog!

Anya sat waiting for the seat belt sign to switch off. The flight from Perth to Sydney had gone really quickly. She thought about the poem she'd just finished and hope that she'd continue to be inspired to write. It was definitely a new love of hers. Then it really dawned on her that she was only 30 minutes from seeing Sarah, who came to Thailand. Who had made her birthday so much of a treat in Bangkok 5 months ago (5 months? Really? She wasn't too happy at the thought of nearly being half way through 26). Who she'd become so close to since leaving the UK. Her tummy started to tingle as she waited to exit the plane. As she waited for her luggage. As she sat on the train to Sydney Central. As she checked in the Wake Up Hostel, Pitt Street. As she went up the lift to the 4th floor. As she put the elctonic key card through the door...

"Aagghhhhhhhhhhhh"

Suddenly there were two screaming, jumping girls in the room. All the tummy tingles turned to tears as Anya threw her arms around Sarah. And there was Little Jenny Allen as well. Little Jenny Allen was a university friend of Sarah's. Anya had met her a whole bunch of times over the years on various wine-fuelled nights out in London. She too jumped up for some jump/scream action and Anya petted her on the head with acquainted affection.

And withing 5 minutes of catch up speed talking it felt like they'd never been apart. They threw on some clothes (taking some longer than others) and headed downstairs for a bopping night at the hostel's 'Side Bar'.

And now for something completely different...

So it was time I was most excited for. It was time for my friends from home to arrive in Australia. Sarah and Jenny had landed in Melbourne a week before but I was going to be going there later on with Laura and Ryan so said I'd meet them in Sydney the same day they got there.

So grab a brew, sit back and enjoy the next 4 weeks adventure with F.R.I.E.N.D.S...


Please note that hald way through the filmng of this series, my camera picked up a virus and all 900 pictures from the start of the year were wiped out and non recoverable. Sad times.

ANOTHER GOODBYE

I felt like a did something mean today
Because I made someone close to me cry
But I couldn't have done it any other way
As I was merely saying another goodbye

I've become quite used to this feeling now
But I can control any tear from my eye
Because although I've made some really good pals
There's always yet another goodbye

But there is a moment that still gets to me
Saying it didn't would be telling a lie
When I was leaving my family
The very start of another goodbye

And every so often I go off in a dream
Even though I do have some months to go
The thought of it makes me happily beam
For that rather special and awaiting hello

Week 30 - WA - my last night in Dunsborough

Well all good things come to an end eventually, and what felt like 2 minutes, but really was 3 weeks just absolutely flew by. I felt so at home in Dunsborough and loved every minute of it there. But it was time to move on as my UK buddies were on their way over and landing in Sydney...

So on my last night we went to a cafe/restaurant in Yallingup which was a favourite beach of mine. Another lovely evening and all the girls joined us. And then we went to watch the sun set over the beach.

Up early the next morning. Shelley, Abbey and Mia were off to Perth to see a show, which worked out well for me as I got a lift there too!! So they waved me off and I hopped on to my plane back to Sydney.

Week 30 - WA - Australia Day Wknd

So I mentioned Shelley's party which was a success. It started off the wknd of Australia Day which is a national holiday here (26th January). And then the Sunday Shelley kindly treated us to a concert to see The Waifs. I'd never heard of them before then but they're really good. I think they're quite big in America and really big in Oz. http://www.myspace.com/thewaifs

Annie Di Franko was a warm up and she was really good as well. All going on my list of new stuff for the ipood!

They played at the gorgeous Leeuwin estate winery. Think there was probably about 3000 people there. We took a picnic and a blanket and had a really really great evening. Charlie the dog didn't fancy it though so he stayed at home.

And on actual Australia day I worked at Petra. But went out for some celebrations in the evening so didn't miss out on it all :)

Week 28/29/30 - WA - Days in Dunsborough

So apart from all the hard working at Petra there was plenty of other things that filled up 3 week...

Making new friends

Hanging out with Mia's friends was fun. I became quite close to Emma as well which was nice. Emma is 21 and has just finished studying Interior Design at uni. For her final project she designed the interior for a new cafe which is soon to be opening and while I was there the furniture and fittings etc were all falling in to place which was pretty exciting for her to see all happen. She's going travelling to Canada this year and I'm trying to persuade her to pop in to London as well. So as well as Emma we hung out with Emily, Alisha and Ingrid, Darcy, Camisha and others that I've probably forgotten. Sorry if I have! And also a load of the lifeguards that were there for the summer and are from cornwall. And then there was Shelley. I didn't expect to get so close to Mia's mum but did. She's a great lady and we had lots of chats and giggles together :) And of course there was Charlie. Charlie the gorgeous little fluffy part of the family (Charlie is a dog). I'm not that in to my cats or dogs, although at a choice I'd go with dogs, but Charlie is the nicest dog I've ever met I think. And much to Shelley's dismay, he does a great play dead trick that Mia taught him. Sorry Shelley I know you don't like it but I was well impressed when Mia showed me that!

Morning walking

I decided enough was enough and it was time to get rid of the muffing sides, so started getting up early doors and go walking with Shelley. We did an hour every morning. Didn't feel like much of a chore though as the views were lovely, walking by the beach each morning!

Wine bar/The pub/Pizza night!

The places to drink and eat! (when I wasn't working!)

Jumping off bridges/rocks

All the girls who have grown up in Dunsborough are crazed nutters. They swim out to big rocks and jump off them for fun. One day we went out to 'bombie rock' but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it so stayed and took pics! And another day we went to canal bridge and I was ordered to jump or we wouldn't go home. So I HAD to do it. It's just the height thing. I know I've jumped 14,000 ft out a plane (had to just remind you of that one) but this is different. There's loads of water crashing against rocks and stuff and once you're in the current takes you off somewhere. But anyway I did it. Twice. I did say i'd do 'bombie' rock before I left but didn't quite get round to it!

Date with Dylan

So I was in a queue of the wine bar one night and started chatting to Dylan. Actually I think he started chatting to me... we didn't end up getting in to the wine bar as it was too packed so went on to another bar I can't remember the name of now and had a nice evening chatting. So then went out a couple more times. Oh and played pool. I used my pool shark game. And I beat you as well didn't I haha. I'm not sure that blokes are too happy losing to a girl. But it was because he sunk the black so it doesn't really count as a true win I don't think. Hope that makes you feel better :)

Midnight dip in the ocean

Again - crazed nutters. Do they not realise there are sharks???? And there's been more shark attacks in WA as well this year. But I got laughed at for bringing up my shark concerns. It was a full moon so we went off for a midnight dip. It was really cool actually.

My tour guide Mia

Mia took me out for a day of being a tour guide. We went to the Cape Naturiste lighthouse, built in 1903. I won't go in to the facts and figures of it all but the view was great and it was well windy. She also took me around to see a bunch of rocks and gets annoyed that I don't remember the names of them. Bear's rock, Sugar reef, BIG rock. HAAHAHA. There. I remembered. Unless there was 7 more that I forgot. Big rock was near where Mia used to live. We climbed to the top and observed even more gorgeous views, and showed me where they used to play as kids.

A day of babaysitting

We landed a day's job of babysitting a couple of lovely kids who Mia knows. We went to the beach and buried ourselves as mermaids. I don't think I've been buried in the sand since I was about 7 yrs old. It's pretty relaxing!!! And then we chilled out, watched a film and made some scones. Mia apparently doesn't like other people having jobs so did alot of it herself haha.

Beaches upon beaches

The beaches really are stunning there. And there's loads to choose from. A favourite was Yallingup. The sand was good, the water was crystal, and the flies were quite minimal compared to other places. Bonus. So most mornings when everyone was free, we would be down on the beach by about 10am and stay til midday. The afternoon heat was too much so we'd go elsewhere then and then maybe re-convene in the evening when it was cooler again. Cooler being about 25 degrees by the way. In the evening.

On the boat

Mia's dad has a boat so one evening we went out on it. Fun times. The engine was a bit poorly though so we had to go in a bit early but it was still cool.

Shelley's party

Shelley threw a great party one weekend. it was a great success with loads of people coming along and good food whihc I'll be getting recipes off Shelley for!!

Drive in cinema

I thought these only existed in films haha. But they don't. One night we went to a drive in, bedded up the boot of the car and cosied down for 4 hrs whilst we watched two films back to back. They should definitely sort something like it out in UK. Ok ok maybe when it stops snowing...

Mcleoud's Daughters

It's the best soap around and Mia got me hooked. It's cheesier than any british soaps we've got and it's awesome. The first one I watched I remember thinking 'this is sooo bad' but then Mia got out the boxset. GOOD!

Week 28 - WA - my new job at Petra

"Petra is a cafe which is located between Dunsborough and Yallingup. It's an olve estate that has six olive varieties of Italian, Spanish and Greek origin. The olive groves occupy about half the land area with the balance given over to the three picturesque dams, landscaping and perserved natural areas for the abundant wildlife" http://www.petraoliveoil.com.au/

To say I was going to 'work' was a bit of a false statement. After 6 months of not having to work, I was looking forward to getting stuck in. And I'm not saying it wasn't hard work because there was always serving and cleaning etc to be done but the setting alone made it such a gorgeous little job to have. I loved it. It was open every day and we served bruchetta with an array of delicious salads and olives etc to go with it. And on Friday and Sunday nights they did a Pizza night where you brought your own wine and sat and was served pizza all evening watching the kangaroos drinking from the dam below and the sunsetting. It was just a great location and I didn't mind one bit having to go to 'work. All the people were lovely and really welcomed me in.