OHMYGOD! It's totally a theatre review of Legally Blonde!!

*Insert squealing girls here*

I'm on the train home to Brixton. What better use of my time than writing a theatre review. Because obviously everyone cares what I have to say about it haha! Before I start that - it was my first day back to school today after mid-term break. And it was *tough*!!! The kids were nuts, quite disrespectful and just consistently talked over me all the time. I had to do a LOT of reminding them that I refuse to accept their behaviour, and boy did they know I meant business. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day! But... on the flip-side I knew that I had yet another Music Theatre experience waiting for me in the evening, so I managed to cope with the day!

I went to the Savoy by myself, but I'm getting quite used to that now. My ticket was £18 and to be honest- my seat was retry great. Up high in the  gods but smack bang in the middle of my row! I managed to sneak a photo of the stage before everyone was told that no photos are to be taken in the auditorium. Oops. There are different rules at every theatre. How was I to know?? That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

The show was pinkalicious. It was so 'right now', 'totally in' and 'bend and snap'. I loved it. I loved the movie too and this show definitely does the movie justice. The girl playing Elle was excellent. A power-house of a voice in a pint sized body!

The guy playing Warner was quite flat- in voice and acting. He was rather boring to watch to be honest- but played the smarmy character well. I loved the characterisation of Paulette as she captured the trailer trash but amazing personality really well. The guy who played Emmett was also great- very lovable which is precisely the point of his character. They had real dogs!! A baby boxer and a chiuiawua for Bruiser (naturally!!!) and they were great- of course the audience always love real animals on stage- lots of 'awwwwww's heard from the audience. Hehe. I have to say that Kyle, the courier guy, was my favourite. I love his theme music every time he strides on stage. Very 'Bow Chicka Waa Waa'. I also love his line: "I have....a package". Bah haha. I also love how he was dressed like Steve Irwin. Hehe.

The set was fabulous- I'm so impressed with all these awesome stages in London that have mechanical flooring... we need a whole lotta money to do something like that at Centrestage!!! It makes everything so seamless though- and the set that appears is always a surprise! Suddenly you just notice it is there.

The use of the stage was excellent. I don't know much at all about good direction but I think I can safely say this director knows what they are doing. Characters appeared from all over the place to sing backing vocals or solo lines- everything was a surprise. I love that!

Sound quality outstanding - although for a West End show  I would think it unusual for it not to be great. The orchestra played underscoring pretty much the whole time. I like those kind of shows- as a muso you don't get bored sitting and waiting to play. Can anyone say "Hello Dolly!"??? LOL. I liked the flute/clarinet/alto saxophone combination score... who wants to do this show in NZ?? Any takers?

All in all a great show- I really enjoyed it. Lots of fun, lots of pink and lots of OHMYGOD!!!!

Oh, and PS:
Dear Legally Blonde. I would quite like to own Elle's shoe collection when you are done with it. Her feet looked about my size. K, thanks- bye!

Oh, and PPS:
Gay or European??

Oh, and PPPS:
Kyle (striding on stage in his khaki Steve Irwin courier man uniform, set to his Bow Chicka Wah Wah Music playing casually in the background)
"I have.... a package...."

Why yes, yes you DO! LOL!

Bonjour! Paris était réellement étonnant!

Jour un à Paris:
So Bryce and I woke at sparrow fart on the morning of the 19th of February to catch the Euro Star to Paris at 6am. How random to be on a train in England, and end up in a non-English speaking country. Bizarre. The two hour, fifteen minute trip flew by and next we knew it we were in Paris. . 

Leaving London. Destination: Paris!!

We were met at the station by Cristie- who was bearing "Welcome to Paris" pastries for us. Amazing. We then ventured to find our hotel. It was quite easy to locate from the station, less than a ten minute walk. Thank god for travel suitcases on wheels! We arrived at Le Dauphin Hotel and checked in. We went up the lift to our room, where to my horror I discovered it was a double bed. Not two beds as I thought had been booked. Bryce and I were about to get cosy haha. We went downstairs and asked about twin beds and then were shifted downstairs to an even better room which technically had three beds, was bigger and had a far bigger bathroom. 

When I say bathroom, I mean disco room. It was a-maz-ing. It had black tiles, nice new quality fittings and a really cool square sink. Not only that, but a HUGE shower - which was made even better with fibre optics in the wall, so it had what looked like LED lights in the grout. And the shower head changed colour depending on temperature I think. Having a shower was quite an experience. And made even better when only the fibre optic lights were on- with the smooth tunes of Michael Buble playing in the background. Bliss. It is my aim in life to someday have a shower just like it. And invite Michael Buble to come and sing for me, live.

OMG! Look at the wee lights in the wall. I seriously want this shower.

And this bathroom... I have a thing for bathrooms. Haha.

Anyway- enough about the shower... More about Paris! We made a somewhat loose plan and headed into the central city. There really is so much history and sights to see around every corner. We ended up at the foot of the Eiffel tower but made the decision to not go up this time because the visibility was really poor and you wouldn't have been able to see much. Cristie had already been up- and I walked to the top in 2007, but Bryce and I will be back again and will climb it then. You gotta walk it! None of this going up in the lift business!

This was the best pic I got because the bird randomly flew past at the right moment!

Rain can't stop me now!

It had rained since we arrived, but we continued on anyway - how can you be grumpy about the weather when in Paris!? We then continued on and saw other various sights, Champs Ellysées shopping street (of course) where I bought a really nice top. The Arc de Triomphe etc, unknown soldier etc. As evening approached we headed to Notre Dame. You could hear the bells of Notre Dame from miles away. It was really cool seeing places I have previously seen during the day time in the dark - they are different somehow. We went into Notre Dame where there was a mass service on. What an amazing church it is. I lit a candle for Herbie and Ian and then we decided it was time for dinner. 

The unknown soldier's grave under the Arc de Triomphe

The troublesome trio :)

We ended up in a really groovy area near Notre Dame and stopped in at a pub for a cocktail- then some beer. Turns out that Hoegarden is pretty nice beer. We all tried on Bryce's best purchase in the world ever; a fur jacket. It says it is real too. What animal? Who knows. Bryce thinks Siberian Husky LOL. Sorry Tania and Emily. The jacket made Bryce look like my and Cristie's pimp. Bryce is in love. I am not joking.

Bryce, pimping it out in his new coat.

Cristie's turn... movie star much?

Hmmm... I don't like animal hair stuck
on my clothes... :-/

The strip we were at had lots of little restaurants- complete with men out the front enticing you inside their restaurants. One Greek place was smashing plates at random, but never when you were watching! We ended up at an Italian restaurant (in Paris LOL) because the man at the door promised free sangria. What he forgot to mention was that he meant a thimble sized sangria. Free is free. I had French onion soup which was amazing. 

By the time we had eaten we were shattered having been up since 3.45am so we headed back to our hotel and fell into bed. Incredibly comfortable beds I might add. I can't recall the last time I slept so well! In fact I had set my alarm for 9am the next morning when it went off I thought it was wrong because I was in such a deep sleep and it was really dark outside. Turns out the hotel has the best block-out curtains ever! 


Jour deux à Paris
We woke and dressed and went out to the hotel foyer for breakfast. Yussssssss for breakfast buffet being included in the cost! We had our fill of muesli, waffles and croissants and then went and met Cristie at Bastille to have a look at the markets. And amazing markets they were! I can think of several people who would have been in foodie heaven! 

There was cheese, bread, fruit and vegetables and fresh meat, fish and poultry for as far as the eye could see. It also had other stalls for buying other small goods and snacks. It was suddenly a pity we filled up on our free breakfast. We stocked up on fresh ingredients for our epic picnic lunch; red onion, tomato, spinach leaves- three different cheeses, baguettes and red wine. 

Amazing, fresh market ingredients :)

Voila! Lunch!

I had seen that the Musee Of Victor Hugo was also in Bastille so I headed that direction while Christie and Bryce went for a walk. I couldn't find the museum, and was standing opposite a park looking for a sign, when I heard a thick American voice of which was very familiar! I walked around the corner to see a very familiar face. I could not for the life of me remember his name but knew I'd seen him on movies several times! I decided it was worth asking if he knew where the museum was instead of not going, so I said: "Excuse me" to which he turned to me,  looking a little annoyed. I said "I was wondering if you happen to know where the Victor Hugo museum is?" to which he replied (looking relieved and smiling now) "It's just down there in the corner". I thanked him and went on my merry way. OMG met someone totally famous. In fact he is the most famous person I've ever met. Except I could not remember his name. He was probably relieved and assumed I didn't know who he way. Haha. 

So, try explaining to your travel buddies how exciting it was that you met someone famous that you can't even remember the name of haha. 
The following morning I remembered; John. C. Reilly. Wow. Totally met him in Paris. Yussssssss. Name dropper am I!! You'll have to Google him if you don't know who he is yet!


So I found the Victor Hugo museum- and it was amazing. What a huge place he had! Heaps of his original furniture is still there, and you were allowed to take photos. How surreal to stand in the room where he started writing Les Miserables. Very cool. I met up with Cristie and Bryce about an hour later and we ended up in the park that Victor Hugo could look down on from his writing room :) We then had our picnic of filled baguettes and wine (amazing Cristie came prepared with her Swiss army knife so we could cut everything up!). 


After our bellies were full we decided to go find Moulin Rouge. It was easily spotted with all the red lights aglow. Once we had all our tourist photos of that taken we made our way up the hill to Sacre Cour. 

The girls ;)

It was by now starting to get dark, and we had a look in some of the hill top shops and ended up in a square where a bunch of artists were set up. There were heaps who were sketching portraits of people, and I decided that I wanted one. I have seen them in lots of the European countries I went to in 2007 but never had the time. So I sat in the chair and Camille the old Frenchman started my sketch. He did the most beautiful job- I was really pleased. I thought he especially captured my eyes (which he said were beautiful, haha smooth talker!) and made me look more amazing than in reality I look- but you can see it is me for sure. He told me next time I'm in Paris to come and say with him haha! He gave me his card with his address on and everything. He did an amazing job- and if ever I come to Paris again I would recommend him to a friend :) See what you think!  (Oh, and please marvel about how still I stay throughout the process... like a statue!)

Camille, my French Artist ;) I think he loved me. LOL.

We then went and saw Sacre Coeur. Amazingly beautiful inside and out, and has the most stunning view of Paris from above. We were there admiring it all for some time! Afterwards we ate at a French restaurant, being in France and all! We were then so exhausted it was time for bed. After another amazing disco shower!! Hoorah!!

Jour trois à Paris:
Two words. Or is it one? DISNEY LAND!!!!! The sun was shining and the sky was blue- perfect weather for our Disneyland adventure. We boarded the train, and traveled 45 minutes to the park. Once inside, both Bryce and I were bouncing with excitement and didn't know where to begin! We even did a little jumping up and down with excitement but don't tell anyone. I met Goofy and Bryce met Balloo. 

Goofy and I, rockin' on down in Disneyland. 

Balloo and Bryce. Best buddies. 

We were at the park from 11am until it closed at 8pm. I went on The Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Movie behind the scenes tram ride (real fire, wow!), Phantom Manor, It's a Small World (complete with Kiwis!) and others I can't remember right now! Bryce was brave and went on the Indiana Jones ride. Which went upside down. And he thought I would be ok on it!! I was pleased I sat that one out. A woman came off it with her partner and was so upset and frightened I felt awful for her. I know that feeling having once been tricked by David to go on the Scooby Doo coaster at Movie World and now being afraid of *every* ride I go on even when it is not even scary! She was really mad with the guy who was with her too. Whoops. 

This was the last chance to exit The Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Hehe. 

Uncle Bobby.  

Lumiere!! 

I'm so Mary Poppins right now.  

Ahhh! I love this movie!

We took loads of photos on the day- hundreds. It was loads of fun, we felt like kids :) by 8pm we were absolutely shattered. We managed to work out the train to get home and started the 45 minute journey which turned into 1 hour 15 minutes as there was a 30 minute stop at a station. There was an announcement, no doubt about why we were stopping, but neither Bryce or I speak French so had no idea why we stopped. 

About halfway to home a bum got on the train. You see a LOT of those in Paris. He was the smelliest, dirtiest one I had ever seen in my life. He was standing kinda next to me and I was worried something might fall off him and into my hair. So I moved to sit opposite to Bryce. Next thing, the bum sits *next to* Bryce. 

OMG. I nearly died. He smelt so bad. Bryce was like 'What the!!!!???' and later said my eyes were huge when the bum sat down. The bum then started scratching. All over. It was hideous. At the next stop he got off after muttering something to me in French which I ignored. Once he was off Bryce and I erupted in laughter. What can you do but laugh?? It was the scratching that got us both. We both felt so dirty we had to go back to our hotel and shower- including hair washing!! What an experience.

Dear Paris: Please don't let bums who scratch and smell on your trains. 
K. Thanks, bye. 

Jour quatre à Paris:
We woke for our alarm at 4.30am and I checked my phone for messages as I always do. I had two. One from Mum and one from Jacinda- both with news of the Earthquake in Christchurch. We turned on CNN and were met with footage that looked like something off the movies. My first reaction was hope that my family down there were ok- then I thought of all my friends who have family there. What an awful disaster... We keep hearing snippets of what's going on. With the updates I am reading on my TVNS News application on my iPhone... I can say that I am just so proud to be a Kiwi. What a wonderful nation we are. 

Both Bryce and I felt so strange knowing that something that huge is going on in our home country yet we are so far from those we love. To anyone reading this, our thoughts and prayers are with all the families and friends of anyone in Christchurch. It does however, make our three day adventure to Paris rather trivial. We are about 20 minutes from London on the Euro star as I type this, nearly 'home'. We are on holiday until Monday the 28th. Amazing. 

Keep safe, tell those you love that you love them, and keep smiling. 

Cheery bye :)

Welcome to Brixton. Home of Sharon Osborne and David Bowie.

I am not joking. Sharon Osbourne and David Bowie are both really from Brixton. How ironic. Bryce looks like David Bowie. Especially with his new haircut he got during the weekend. 

Bryce's new 'do'

Robbie and I. 

Bryce and his idol. Amazing.

So Bryce and I have now been in our place for not quite a week. It is a great size, and is big enough  so that we are not in each others pockets which is fantastic. We have a couch each (so spoilt!) and it works out perfectly as one is a 2 seater, the other a 2 1/2 seater, so obviously I get the shorter one- which is nearer the heater on the wall. Win! The water pressure in the shower is OUTSTANDING, although the bath over shower is built up quite high for some reason, so I have to literally climb into it, and my head nearly touches the ceiling. Imahgine Bryce's predicament. Haha. I also have to be careful stepping out - it is quite a drop! We have central heating, so it is deliciously warm all the time. We have a washing maching *and* a dryer, so we don't need a laundromat... AND our bills are included in the rent, and we have paid up until April. That means all the money we get each week is ours to play with. Amazing.

We are starting to settle into routine, although haven't done much cooking at all yet, because there is NO crockery etc in the kitchen, and I am not sure I really even want to go buying any! We have knives, forks, spoons, cups, bowls, plates and mugs. But that's it. Oh! And a potato peeler Jacinda sent me as a flat warming present hehe. I might have a look in an Op Shop and see if I can buy a pot and pan. But nothing fancy. It is depressing that things are not going to be matching in any way, shape or form. Those who know me well, will know that things *have to match*!!! But I am slowly getting over it.  Tonight I have made pesto and blue cheese stuffed chicken breast wrapped in bacon, baby potatoes and salad. NOM. Bryce is learning new cooking tricks and taking notes.

On Sunday, Bryce and I went to the 'Titanic' exhibition at the O2 Bubble. What an amazing place the O2 is - it is like Bio-dome the movie... a little city inside a dome. Trees and paths and shop fronts etc, it really is pretty cool, but strange at the same time! The exhibition was fantastic. The exhibits were well put together and flowed nicely. We paid the £5 for the audio guide, which was totally worth it as you learnt so much more than what was printed on the posters on the walls. The most interesting atefact for me was a Clarinet that was recovered. I felt so sad to read that the muscians didn't really know whether they were on the ship as staff or as passengers, so had no idea when it was their turn for the lifeboats. But at the end of the day,  they decided to play until the ship sank. The Clarinet is in great condition considering, and had a simple key structure. It is so amazing it was recovered.. but made me feel sad to look at it and think that someone played it until it fell from their icy hands to the bottom of the ocean. It was quite a moving exhibition. 'Titanic! The Musical' CD was on sale in the gift shop. Tee Hee. 50,000 Oranges, TITANIC!!!!! Morning Captain Smith... haha. I went home and listened to the soundtrack on my iPhone.

We were not allowed to take photos inside the exhibition, but this was outside :)

The last week before half term is ticking along. Slowly. The kids are ratty, which is strange as it has only been six weeks. Our kids in NZ get like these kids are now in the last week, after they have had 9-10 weeks at school. Swings and roundabouts I suppose. I am slowly decorating my music room the way I like it. Coloufrul and busy. Although it is difficult when supplies are hard to get, and the output of these kids with the half an hour per class music lesson is less than desirable. Slowly, but surely it is gettng there!! I will sort some newer photos on here sometime soon.

I have come to the conclusion that the students behave the way they do, because they are bored, or do not understand what is going on. This is my biggest problem with whole class teaching. I feel forever frustrated that I can not teach all 30 children individually, but I am also aware that 5-6 students are acting up because they don't  understand, and 5-6 are actng up because the work was too easy and they have finished - so now think they can annoy their classmates. I feel frustrated because I *know* there is a better way. Far out - GROUPING would be better than this (OMG did I just say that?????)

I am forever stunned by how little content knowledge they have about anything. I'm talking about Kids who don't understand the concept of 1/2 of something... and having no clue about the probability of events. In fact that was what I was to 'supervise' this morning.  I can hardly call what I was asked to do 'teaching'.  All students in the class were to do the *exact same bookwork*. The teacher had said it was all taught yesterday, so I just needed to hand out the books and get them started. No. I do things differently. I decided to re-cap, just in case some were still confused. It turns out that most were confused. So I started from the beginning and was met with students questioning why they needed a learning intenton and success criteria, when they were doing maths and not literacy. Oh my. Kill me now.

I went over probability and some got it so continued with the bookwork. A couple finished it in lightning speed so I had to find something else for them to do. About ten still had no idea - until I showed them some visuals on the smartboard... then things started slowly clicking into place. I am talking the most *basic* form of probability, e.g. the weather will be rainy tomorrow type examples. And these kids are ten and eleven. Wow. Just WOW!

I am still waiting for my induction meeting, to be told things I don't know yet and to talk about how things are going - how am I finding the teaching etc. I am disappointed to say the very least that this 'music postiton' has turned out to be just 30 minutes per week, per class. And after half term - year 5 are being taught 'singing' by someone coming into the school, which becomes their 'music', so I will then be teaching Religious Education. On the upside - this half term I learnt all about Sikhism and the Ten Human Gurus. When I will need to use this information, I do not know!

I am enjoying the Nursery (3-4 year olds) and Recepton (5 year olds), but only because they give me cuddles and I miss having cuddles - it is a good emotional boost for the week ahead to say the very least!! I also like it because they are so easy to manage, and would do anything for the teacher. I am tired of being 'slimed' by them though (for those of you who are unfamilair with this term, think of the trail a snail might leave behind, but imagine the snail is a childs nose...and the trail a stream of green!!!!). I adore my Year 4s, who I see for 4 hours a week. I am slowly warming to Year 5 and 6 but find their behaviour (trivial complaining) not so great. It is exhausting!!

This afternoon Bryce and I met Cyril, an elderly Gentleman from across the road. He is lovely, and quite interested to talk to us. We also met Maureen from next door (not the side of the house that bang on the wall when I play my flute). It was good to meet some neighbours.

On Saturday morning at 6am this weekend, Bryce and I travel 2 hours and 15 minutes on the Chunnell to Paris. It is quite exciting to know we are going traveling, and also... going to DISNEYLAND!!! We intend to see some sights, do Disneyland, and go shopping. Because we can. And we can always go back again. It is an advantage that I have been for three days before, so I have seen a lot already - but there are places I'd like to go back to again, and places I didn't make it to last time. Very excitng. I will think of you all as I sip wine and eat cheese filled baguettes on the grass near the Eiffel Tower. I am sure there willl be a 'Oui, Oui' blog to come, so until then....

Cheery Bye :)

All I want is a room somewhere... far away from the cold night air...

Wouldn't it be lover-ly?? Oh yes, yes it would! And it *is*!!!!

So Bryce and I woke up this morning at about 9am and got organised for our day. We went and had some breakfast, and made our way to Balham to pay for the next two months rent and pick up the keys to our new flat. Once we arrived in Balham (this was the first time I had been to Balham, and is where my sister and Oli lived for a year) we made our way to Foxton's real estate. They didn't have the keys for our place on site, so we had to wait for about an hour and killed time perusing all the shops Balham has to offer. Which appears not be be very many!

Once we had the keys in hand (a *very* exciting moment!) we had to gap it to get to the station and get to Ealing - back to Tony and Maria's who we had stayed with for 5 weeks as that was where all the bedding we had brought from Argos was. We were on the clock, because I had organised a 'Man with a Van' (what a BRILLIANT idea!) to meet us at 3pm in Tooting to help us shift our stuff to the new place. We finally got to Tony and Maria's at 2pm, and thankfully they were not home because we have not seen them since we left two weeks ago, and we literally were in and out in under five minutes and would have felt terrible if they had been home, a real "Hi... Bye" situation!

We started to panic a little at the time, so I text the 'Man with a Van' and asked if we could instead make the time 4pm. We had to go from Ealing to our new flat in Lambeth before going back to Tooting to collect the rest of our stuff. We got off at Brixton station which is a 15 minute walk to our flat, but with all the bedding we were carrying we jumped on a bus, it was a 2 minute or so ride, then a 3-4 minute walk to our new place. I had still not actually seen the flat... only in photos. Bryce had sorted it all on a day he had off! An exciting moment, and also an 'OMG I hope I like it' moment.

After fumbling with the skeleton key lock (it doesn't seem to work all that well!) we were in, up the stairs and dropping the bags on the kitchen floor. I had a very quick look around, then it was time to get out of there and back to Tooting to meet the "Man with a Van". By fluke we found a bus which was going to Tooting Broadway, so hopped on, and half an hour later we were back in Tooting. When we arrived Bryce needed to get cash out, so I walked on to meet the "Man with a Van".  On seeing the van, I realised there were three Indian men in the van. I had been under the impression that Bryce and I would be able to ride with them to the new place, but there wouldn't be room. We loaded up the van and Bryce made it back with his cash. Bryce was great and said 'We booked you thinking we could come with you now. We need to both come. Not just one of us...' etc. The Indian man looked angry, but the other two men got out, and we climbed in. Nice work Bryce. Even if the Indian man looked all angry, didn't talk to us the whole way there and turned up the heat so much Bryce and I started panting like dogs. Haha.

When we arrived at the new place, there was an agent standing outside. She explained to us that the landlord and a potential buyer were locked *in* the flat. Someone had locked the dodgy skeleton key lock we had left unlocked. Bryce had a go fiddling with it, with no joy, and then the Indian man (after we had handed over our £40 for 20 minutes of his time, but it was so worth it!) came and helped - and got it open! All a bit of a laugh, really. Fancy being locked *inside* a flat?! Eep!

The flat we have secured is in Lambeth, and is on the market for sale. This is the reason that it is so cheap, and includes power/water/gas. It also means that there will be people coming through to view the house, but we have been promised that an agent will always be present with them, so I guess that is OK. There is an off-licence literally three doors down from ours, so running out of milk is never going to be a problem, and wanting a cheeky wine at whatever time will also not be a problem! We have been told that we will be given 6-8 weeks notice if the flat sells, so we are happy with that. It is in a reasonable area, the fact that Brixton Prison is a stones throw away down the road makes it somehow feel safer.

So, at long, *long* last we are in. We had a few laughs today - the whole thing made us feel like we were on "The Amazing Race" as we were rushing about everywhere. Every now and again we did some running just for the hang of it. It made it all so much more exciting! It is such a relief to finally have my own room (no offense to Bryce) and a space to call 'home', even if just for a little while.

I'm sure there will be more adventures to be had, but until then... some photos...

My room... I am loving the mantel piece, with the hole for shoes and the pretty flower lights around it...  

Our lounge, with the comfiest couches in the world ever, and lots of shelves to put all the knick-knacks we don't have! 

Looking from the lounge into the kitchen. A decent size, for sure, and a washing machine *and* dryer. Spoilt much!? The bathroom is through the door you can see. 

And looking from the kitchen up to the lounge and bedrooms. My room is the door on the left. Bryce's is the other. 

Cheery bye :)

The Police come to my place at night time.

Ok, so whilst skyping Mum this evening I had a visit at 11pm from two London Police Officers.
Bang bang bang on my room door. Bryce was out.
Me: "Hello??"
Them: "It's the Police"
Me: "Is it really the Police??" (not being able to see through my door and being all alone here you can't be too careful!)
Them: "Yes. It's really the Police. Open the door please."
Me: "Is it really, really the Police??" (still not feeling it was safe to open the door!)
Me: Thinking... what has Bryce done???!!!! I open the door and it really was two Police officers. They asked me who lives next door to me, upstairs etc. I was like,
"I have no idea...". The Police woman said "How long have you lived here then?"
Me: "A week... and I leave tomorrow...."
Them: "Well the back door was wide open and we walked up and into here, very dangerous in this area. Follow us and lock it please.

Me. OMG. What an adventure.

Abbey Road and acting 28, looking 22!!!

On Saturday I met up with Cristie at Camden markets as she had not been before. Even though I had been, I saw so much more the second time!! Always more nooks and crannies to poke around in. I got some really amazing spiral earrings. We had a photo with the Town Crier, so very cool. He is good on that trumpet too!

We grabbed a hot chocolate from Pret (omg LOVE!!) and then ventured to Abbey Road... Home of Abbey Road Studios, only one of the most famous recording studios in the world!! Probably better known as where the Beatles recorded. Amazing. I'd been before, but it has to be said that this time was so much better because Cristie was as excited about it as I was! She was literally bouncing around screaming! AMAZING! We hung around the studios, snuck behind the gates and took photos (Cristie got so much closer, almost on the steps!) and stopped traffic (literally) on the famous pedestrian crossing. So very cool. 

Oh yes... it's Abbey Road. 

How's my amazing stride looking?

We then managed to get on the right bus but the wrong direction and it took us forever get back to Oxford Circus. An awesome day though so we were happy. 

School news. One to one writing help is going really well- it's my favourite part of the day! Today I was relieving in year 3 and a student came up to me to tell me that another boy had spat on his back. It reminded me of how yesterday I was minding my own business walking along New Kent Road and this huge black guy (who might have had turrets?) was shouting out expletives etc and was quite scary. I made eye contact with the footpath and kept walking. He then spat on the back of jacket. Disgusting. If he wasn't so scary and big I would have said something. I was unimpressed to say the least. London. 

Anyway, so this student comes up to me this morning and says "Michael spat on my back" so I called Michael over. I asked him if this was true. He looked me dead in the eye and said 
"I think you look like a man, Miss." 
I was like; "Whhaaaat? Excuse me?" He repeated himself. What the?! So I sent him to the Head teacher. She asked him to write me a letter of apology, which he handed to me and tried to walk away. I called him back and got him to at least read it to me. Hahah. Hmmmm... a man. Here's his letter. LOL

I look like a man. That's different!

I was also talking to one of the Year 1 teachers. She was telling me about her life in a nutshell. She had been married 34 years and found out her husband had been cheating on her with someone half her age, so she left him. She was at that time a Head Teacher at a school in Tooting, and decided that she needed to reinvent herself, start again. So she went from being a Head Teacher, to a classroom teacher... a nobody I guess. As she was telling me about this I couldn't help but think how similar our situations were. She said; "So, what brings you to this cold depressing country then?" and so I thought, what the heck. I explained that my marriage only lasted a year, and I decided I needed a complete change of scenery, and left a great position of responsibility at my previous school etc. She was looking at me so strangely. She then said, "But aren't you an NQT?? (Newly qualified teacher) You don't look old enough to have been married and have had all that responsibility" . I just smiled, and said "No...not really...". She thought I was 22!!! She couldn't believe I was 28... join the club. I wish I could be 22 again! It is really funny because all the teachers I have spoken to have thought that I was fresh out of uni and about 22-24 years old. None of them have seen me teach so thank goodness that's not why they think I am so young and newly qualified! Young face apparently. Lucky me!


It has been an exciting day... because I was running late to meet Bryce so ran into the lift down to the train at Elephant and Castle Station just as the doors were closing. It was jam packed, but I decided I was already running late and I could cope being sandwiched with all those people for 30 seconds. OMG. We got to the bottom and the doors only opened about 5cm wide. Everyone went really quiet. I had a knot in my stomach... not only was I stuck in a lift, but I was sandwiched in one with about 30 others! Thankfully it was less than 5 minutes before we were out. 


News on the flat is that we HAVE ONE!! Oh yes we do... I am so excited. It is about time I unpacked and felt less like I was just on holiday and more like I live here... It is in Lambeth still, about 15 minutes from the other place. The address is:


180a Lyham Road
Lambeth
London
SW2 5QD
England

I'll expect copious amounts of letters and packages. Haha. We might be moving Friday, but will definitely be in by Saturday. I really can't wait to feel half normal. And UNPACK! What a novelty!! The link to some photos of it is here: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/search?bedrooms_from=2&location_ids=1021-49&price_to=350&property_id=754426&resource=thumbnails&search_form=map&search_type=SH&submit_type=search but you'll have to copy/paste this address I think. 


I am slowly (with my *very* limited three hours of music teaching a week) putting up displays of work the kids in my music classes are doing... it is starting to take shape! 


Anyway, I will leave you with some photos... until next time!


Cheery bye :)

This is a display the year 3's did today.  I didn't consider how that age don't use staplers, so it was interesting...
On each slip of paper it says ways that the instrument allocated makes sound... a good visual. Looks pretty. 

Year 6. What does music look like/feel like/sound like. My favourite one is:"Music feels like spending time with people you love". BLESS!

Information wall about what each year level is focusing on.

I have walked past this poster many times in the station and thought how much Simon Pegg looks like Bryce in this pic. Bahahaha! Someone agree with me, puhleeease!

Whispering, Wicked, Soho and Chinatown

So being I had no voice but am not physically sick, I made the most of my Wednesday and went to the theatre. (Thanks Mum for this amazing suggestion!) I saw Wicked. Whilst not my favourite show it certainly had some fantastic points. The leading ladies Elphaba and Glinda (or should I say Gar-Linda... With a Garrrr) were stunning. Especially the girl playing Elphaba- amazing voice- gave me goosebumps whenever she opened her mouth. The set was like WOW. Quite amazing, all electric set changes, seamless! The storyline was very good - and had some deep themes running throughout which were cleverly woven together. 

I don't think I really "got" the dragon. It seemed a little random. Costumes were fabulous- especially the Emerald City ones. The music was tight although not many songs are particularly memorable... I can recall three right now. I didn't think it was overly appropriate for some of the orchestra to be jamming before the show and at halftime- I dunno, it felt inappropriate. The part for me would be piccolo, flute, alto flute and soprano recorder in C (which I listened out for but didn't hear...) All in all it was a great way to spend the afternoon- not talking! I didn't feel compelled to buy any show themed trinkets. Being a Wednesday it was not very full, but still I was seated in the God's - but still had a good view.

 Up in the Gods... but still a decent view :) And only £22 a ticket...

The Dragon... I didn't quite get... but looked cool!

I went back to work on Thursday, and was in Nursery, then Reception for the morning and did one-to-one writing with Year 5 in the afternoon. In Nursery there was a boy called D'Marni who is half Jamaican - amazing looking and such a bundle of excitement and fun. He comes up to me and said "Hello Selah" and I replied "Good Morning D'Marni! How are you?" His eyes opened up really wide and he said in the most serious voice "Who stole your voice? Where did it go?" so I explained someone must have it, and asked "Have you got it?" I then checked up his sleeve, in his gumboot and in his pocket. I looked at him and said, "Well, you don't have it...I better keep on looking". He looked up at me, shrugged his shoulders and said "Well, what can you do?". I had tears it was so funny. It is amazing the things these 3 year olds come up with - of course mimicked from their parents!


Later in the morning I was in Reception (5 year olds) and one of the boys, as dark as the night but the most beautiful wee thing, Jaiden, came up to me as I was lining the class up for 'dinner' (lunch) and wrapped his arms around my waist. He looked up and said "I really love you Sarah". I looked down and he was grinning up at me, then he started drumming his hands on my boobs!  I was like UMMMM????!!!!!!!  *KIDS!!!!* They are my school LOL's for the week!


I had some fantastic news this week, Friday morning. Sean Wallendorf (a boy in my class in my first year of teaching) emailed me to let me know that he is the Head Boy of Rangitoto College this year. I felt so proud! In the moments that followed that email I felt old. How can the kids in my first year already be in their last year of school?!??! But incredibly proud of him all the same :)


Flat update. Not much of an update really. We *might* be moving on Monday or Tuesday. But I have heard this *might* word so often, I don't believe it. So we are still in Tooting... but this is OK for now. I am looking forward to my own space though!


Today Bryce and I met up with Cristie in China Town (West End). As luck would have it there was plenty of entertainment, being Chinese New Year. (Kung Hei Fat Choy by the way!) so there was plenty to see - a Chinese Dragon dance and stalls etc. We ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant which was not great. (Remind me not to have Chinese again...) and from there we walked through Soho and into Covent Garden. We came back as far as the Strand and went into the Savoy Hotel for fun... we considered a High Tea but at £37 we decided today was not the day! 

It doesn't look very busy here... but it was!

Or fortune cookies...

From top to bottom: Bryce's, Crisite's and mine... Speculations eh???!! Cristie's was *freaky*. Bryce's was... Wha??!

We saw *another* Rolls Royce Phantom (they are far too common in London town!) and I have seen where Legally Blonde is on at, which is great as I am going on the 28th February. We went to the Australia/New Zealand/South Africa and Canada shop (very disappointing NZ section but Cristie got some Vegemite and some PawPaw ointment, so it was a win). We ended up having dinner at an Italian place and had an amazing three course meal and drink for under £20. Awesome. 

Musicals and theatres. How I love thee.

The troublesome trio

Common. Common as muck. But pretty to look at. 

All in all a good day - especially being we had no real plans. Sometimes those days turn out to be the best!!!


Until I have more exciting stories to tell you, 


Cheery bye :)