Wanderings Lately :: October 2018

This October was unseasonably warm, and it was only in the last 5 days of the month that the temperature really dropped. This month I visited a new country with work at an interesting time; Macedonia had just had a referendum on changing the official name of their country. It was a busy work trip full of meetings and presentations but it felt very worthwhile and as always I love visiting and exploring a new place.

We also said goodbye to one of the girls from our team at work, which was a nice celebration but also sad because she was a great colleague and had been in the team for quite a while.

In other work related activities, we had orientation this month the first I've attended. It differed slightly from farewell but for both it's really quite an experience to have all of the scholars in one room, these are the only two points in the year where they are. The sense of excitement and anticipation at orientation is electric. It's also quite difficult to get over 1,700 people from all different cultures and backgrounds to all be in the right place at the right time. Farewell is the culmination of their year, so it's full more of stories of achievements, reunions between people who may not have seen each other for the entire year, and of promises to stay in touch.

Finally, this month I attended my final wedding of the year - wearing a different outfit than the others! It was nice to be back in Essex for the day, catching up with friends and witnessing the special day of a lovely couple. Bring on 2019 for more weddings...

Work Farewell

Saying a celebratory goodbye to Cat who moves onto a new role after staying at Chevening for the past 4 years. She was a great colleague and has become a great friend. So although it's sad not seeing her every day, it isn't a goodbye forever! Also who can argue with a buck's fizz on a random Tuesday afternoon!

Final Wedding of 2018

Catch up with Essex friends, at a lovely location, with good weather. <3 p="">

Orientation

Meeting the scholars who I had a hand in offering the scholarship to - from Kosovo where I sat on the panel. Meeting other scholars from all over the world, spending a long and tiring Saturday with some of the best colleagues, hanging out on a big red bus in the middle of the Excel Centre. And this is only a 20 minute journey home!

Yes, #knowledgeisgreat.

Western Balkans #2

A marketing work trip took me to Bosnia (Sarajevo and Mostar) and Macedonia (Skopje). I've been to Sarajevo before but Skopje was new and very interesting.

My selected pictures include; The old Railway Station clock which stopped at 5:17am on 26th July 1963 the exact time an earthquake struck Skopje - part of Yugoslavia at the time, the Vardar river which splits the old and new towns, statues from the Women Warrior Park (and an old version of the Macedonian flag), the view over the city from the Kale Fortress and Macedonian Square where this statue of Alexander the Great is referred to as Warrior on a Horse so as not to anger the Greeks.

I had a much shorter time in Bosnia, so managed only a photo by the Bridge in Mostar and in the BE Sarajevo.

:: 'There's lots of good fish in the sea... maybe... but the vast masses seem to be mackerel or herring, and if you're not mackerel or herring yourself you are likely to find very few good fish in the sea' Lady Chatterley's Lover ::

Wanderings in 2016

Every year, in December, I write a letter to my future self. In it I reflect on the year that's just been and think about my plans for the coming year. When I open that letter a year later, it's strange because the words filled inside describe times that are now two years ago. I like it though, because it's fun to see what things I had predicted for the year and to think of things I did or places I went that I had no idea would happen at the beginning of the year.

These posts are another way to look over the year that's gone and recognise how much I have crammed in. Even when the year has been tough or seemed uneventful or were filled with adventures or even when I wrote about the year in review in September!

These posts help me remember all the things I did, but also put into perspective when these all happened. They have a tendency to blur slightly into one, but going through the photos, I realise that my afternoon tea down the rabbit hole was actually before my visit to the switch house at the Tate Modern and that I went to the Hampton Court Flower show in July, not August.

This year was characterised by one main event; handing in my dissertation. In my 2015 letter, I wrote that I hoped I would get this done but I remember when I wrote that it was so far from my grasp that I didn't think it would ever be over. As I write this I am 1,100 words into my final MA assignment. It's been a hard slog, but it's finally nearly done and I couldn't be more relieved. I am already making plans for post-MA stresses!

Onwards to 2017, Happy New Year!

January

I returned to Berlin with friends Jasmin and Siobhan to celebrate Jas turning 30. This trip was very different to my last - when I visited during my inter-rail trip. Much less pub crawl/hangover and a lot more actually experiencing the city (with a bigger budget to boot!)

I never got round to writing a post about this trip, which is pretty much the theme of this blog and all my trips this year. Re-reading my reflections here, I stand by what I wrote. This is actually interesting as it relates to one of my trips later on this year too.

February

Ah, birthday month! By this time, we had just entered the period of lent through which I had decided to give up meat and be vegetarian. This meant, that I had a special order for the afternoon tea that I went to at Fortnum and Masons to celebrate turning 31. Ne big deal though, because there's no meat in the cakes (or scones that we took home by the box load!)

March

Once again I was up in Oxford, my second student group arrived and we headed to my brother's house for mother's day celebrations. Needless to say, I am fairly familiar with the city now!

April

Jasmin's birthday present from us girls; Alice in Wonderland inspired Afternoon Tea at the Sanderson hotel. I wrote about it in detail, and have a draft post about London's best Afternoon Teas waiting for me to actually finish writing it (in 2017 maybe?!) Anyway, this was really one of my most favourite!

May 

Hmm, May... firstly I had a great little work treat on the 5th May when one of the girls suggested ordering burritos for Cinco de Mayo. It was a lovely day so I wandered out to one of the nearby squares and slipped off my shoes whilst enjoying a little spring sunshine. 

On the 17th I handed in my dissertation. Much to my own amazement I finished it, and even managed to pass which was a miracle in itself!

Finally in May I took my mum for her Mother's day surprise at Hever Castle in Kent (Childhood home of Anne Boylen). I also made a video of this little trip.

June

We managed to pull off a surprise offspring reunion for my mum's birthday, and ended up at a French restaurant on Bermondsey Street which was so great. I can't wait for another excuse to go back.

My netball team ended our losing streak by finally winning the last game of the season. I was totally ill-prepared to run a 5k but managed to drag myself over the finish line at the colour run.

July

I took my Dad to the Hampton Court Flower show on the final day, and watched the chaos of people at the end of day hussling to bag a bargain. I came away with a lavender plant that I have since managed to kill and a lovely picture of restored pages from an old Winnie the Pooh book.

I took a random day off and visited the newly opened Switch House gallery at the Tate Modern and wandered around the galleries sometimes impressed, sometimes disdainful.

In July I also broke my finger at Netball but didn't realise for a few weeks and subsequently have a bend in the end of my finger forever more.

August

I took a solo trip to Greece, and mostly had a relaxing break in the sunshine. I say mostly, as it was punctuated by various people's amazement that I was alone and generally being a bit lost in the evenings. Basically I wouldn't recommended a solo trip to a small Greek Island.

I got about a bit in London in August as well - going Barmy for Sarnies with Siobhan, having afternoon tea at the Houses of Parliament, and using my bonus work holiday to explore a very sunny Kew Gardens.

September

I had a bit of a disappointing Open House weekend in London. I chose the Treasury to explore, only to find out that you actually don't get much access and by the time you realise this, the queue for the Foreign and Commonwealth office  - where we wanted to visit next - is massive. Next time I will be more prepared and plan correctly ahead of time!

In a complete turn around from the previous season, we were unbeaten in our netball league and got a shiny medal to prove it!

October

My plan had been to visit Bosnia in August, but plans got changed and I finally got myself there in October. My friend Vanessa joined me there and we had a lovely couple of days in the city. I took a day trip to Mostar where I was blessed with wonderful blue skies and managed to meet a couple of nice ladies from Singapore who I chatted with over lunch.

I was able to delve a little into the sad history, walked through a small remaining part of the tunnel of hope (which kept the city alive during the siege), and had an eventful night at a quirky local pub where a German man was celebrating his birthday by buying us drinks of (cheap and questionable quality) wine served in metal goblets. As I always say to Ness, when I'm out with her we ALWAYS have a random encounter with strange characters!

We decided to stay in a hostel in a private room, but this was right next to the common room where people were extremely noisy. This was a reminder that I would rather stay somewhere not as cheap and quiet than in a hostel in future!

November

Fireworks at Southwark Park as part of a very large and international crowd was the best!

Dinner in an old tube carriage was fairly cold but exceptionally cool!

Letting my brother choose the film we went to see at the Electric Cinema in Shoreditch was a mistake! (snooze!)

I look weird because I had just woken up. Ha!

December

And so to the final month of the year.

Mum and I headed off to Switzerland to discover the Christmas market of Montreux. We had a lovely room at a big hotel in the town with a lake view. Unfortunately we didn't get (what were likely) wonderful views of the lake, as the weather was foggy for the whole 3 days. 

We made the most of the trip, despite the rubbish weather. Visiting the nearby castle and nearest town Vevey. I had not heard of this part of the world before, but apparently both Charlie Chapin and Freddie Mercury were frequent visitors and Chaplin is even buried in Vevey.

The end of December has been a whirlwind of Christmas parties (how could we not win the fancy dress prize as the Holly and the Ivy?!). I'm looking forward to my New Year's celebrating with friends and heading into 2017 with positivity!