Rach in her room

Rach in her room
Originally uploaded by GDog.

we call it urban chic

we call it urban chic
Originally uploaded by GDog.

look confused

look confused
Originally uploaded by GDog.

melbourne

melbourne
Originally uploaded by GDog.

Enema

Ahh Newport. Another locum described it in true veterinary terms – if Wales was having an enema Newport is where they’d insert the hose. I don’t mind the place really but honestly have no desire to walk the streets round here after 7pm. I am also getting a particularly good insight into the ramifications of inbreeding in a population and it ain’t pretty. Having said that, a lot of the clients are lovely and take great pains in pretending they can understand what I’m saying in my New Zealand accent.

I am trying to leave Newport behind every Tuesday and have been on a lot of little excursions. Since I wrote last I have been extremely academic in my choice of destinations. I have checked out Oxford and Cambridge and definitely rate Cambridge my favourite. Cannot imagine actually studying in a place where a college chapel is the same size as the cathedral in Sydney and you can’t sit on any grass anywhere in the city for fear of leaving an impression, but thousands do learn stuff there. Went to Stratford upon Avon along with the rest of the European union to check out the Baird’s town but found it all a bit too populated. In Summer in England everyone gets so bloody excited when the sun is out that any town with a vaguely interesting past becomes full of pink people and icecream vendors and it loses some (if not all) of its appeal.

I’ve also explored Devon and won’t bore you except to mention that Canberra has nothing on Exeter in the round-about stakes. There are four huge roundabouts in the centre of the city, all with at least 6 lots of traffic lights on them and three lanes which you have to traverse to get off. As you can imagine, I went round and round and round and round etc for a large proportion of my visit. I joined Yvonne and Alistair (Mums friends) for a short break on the Isle of Wight where Victoria and Albert used to go to get away from it all (accompanied by their 9 or so children). Yvonne is Maria in a parallel universe and I’m at a loss how they have been compatible as friends for so many years. All I did was walk, for 8 hours a day, for 5 days. It was awesome, and some of the views, particularly of the chalk cliffs where Tennyson used to wander, were spectacular, but sitting down and reading/watching TV etc were out of the question (I did sneak in a half hour of the Simpsons while they were swimming in the pool in arctic temperatures).

A few weeks ago I decided to go to Glasgow to see my friend Gina and managed to find a one day conference to attend so I could claim everything as a tax dodge. Glasgow is meant to be the ugly cousin of Edinbrough but I was pleasantly surprised. It did rain the entire time I was there but you can’t expect anything else from Scotland.

I have had sort of had travellers burn-out since then and have stayed fairly close to home though I did go to Windsor last week to meet Momoko (friend from school) and her BF. Got to see where the queen lives on the weekends at Windsor Castle, which was a whole lot more lived-in and intact than all the castles in Wales. The queen currently has 18 dogs due to the demise of her mother and sister, and they are all corgis and dacshunds – how good would it be to be their vet! Would have to specialise in spinal surgery and myelograms though.

The parentals have managed to extricate themselves from my animals and arrive here on Friday so hopefully I’ll have some interesting anecdotes from our travels in Morocco next time. Do miss yous all. Enjoy Summer. PS Don’t mention the cricket
Soph

Sophie's Latest Missive

Gday everyone at home,


Once again I’m writing one of these hideous group emails. I am trying not to but I don’t get access to a computer often enough to keep up.


More unfortunately I am writing this at the end of my three day shift so am not my usual upbeat self (yes, I can hear you snorting all the way in Newport).


Ahh Newport. Another locum described it in true veterinary terms – if Wales was having an enema Newport is where they’d insert the hose. I don’t mind the place really but honestly have no desire to walk the streets round here after 7pm. I am also getting a particularly good insight into the ramifications of inbreeding in a population and it ain’t pretty. Having said that, a lot of the clients are lovely and take great pains in pretending they can understand what I’m saying in my New Zealand accent.


I am trying to leave Newport behind every Tuesday and have been on a lot of little excursions. Since I wrote last I have been extremely academic in my choice of destinations. I have checked out Oxford and Cambridge and definitely rate Cambridge my favourite. Cannot imagine actually studying in a place where a college chapel is the same size as the cathedral in Sydney and you can’t sit on any grass anywhere in the city for fear of leaving an impression, but thousands do learn stuff there. Went to Stratford upon Avon along with the rest of the European union to check out the Baird’s town but found it all a bit too populated. In Summer in England everyone gets so bloody excited when the sun is out that any town with a vaguely interesting past becomes full of pink people and icecream vendors and it loses some (if not all) of its appeal.


I’ve also explored Devon and won’t bore you except to mention that Canberra has nothing on Exeter in the round-about stakes. There are four huge roundabouts in the centre of the city, all with at least 6 lots of traffic lights on them and three lanes which you have to traverse to get off. As you can imagine, I went round and round and round and round etc for a large proportion of my visit. I joined Yvonne and Alistair (Mums friends) for a short break on the Isle of Wight where Victoria and Albert used to go to get away from it all (accompanied by their 9 or so children). Yvonne is Maria in a parallel universe and I’m at a loss how they have been compatible as friends for so many years. All I did was walk, for 8 hours a day, for 5 days. It was awesome, and some of the views, particularly of the chalk cliffs where Tennyson used to wander, were spectacular, but sitting down and reading/watching TV etc were out of the question (I did sneak in a half hour of the Simpsons while they were swimming in the pool in arctic temperatures).


A few weeks ago I decided to go to Glasgow to see my friend Gina and managed to find a one day conference to attend so I could claim everything as a tax dodge. Glasgow is meant to be the ugly cousin of Edinbrough but I was pleasantly surprised. It did rain the entire time I was there but you can’t expect anything else from Scotland.


I have had sort of had travellers burn-out since then and have stayed fairly close to home though I did go to Windsor last week to meet Momoko (friend from school) and her BF. Got to see where the queen lives on the weekends at Windsor Castle, which was a whole lot more lived-in and intact than all the castles in Wales. The queen currently has 18 dogs due to the demise of her mother and sister, and they are all corgis and dacshunds – how good would it be to be their vet! Would have to specialise in spinal surgery and myelograms though.

The parentals have managed to extricate themselves from my animals and arrive here on Friday so hopefully I’ll have some interesting anecdotes from our travels in Morocco next time. Do miss yous all. Enjoy Summer. PS Don’t mention the cricket

Soph