TAG, Leo the Therapy dog & More

Ok, So Amanda TAG'd me (I have no idea what this means BTW!) and I have 'no friends' on here to tag i'm going to have to get 5 random pplz to answer the question. Ok so I'm meant to list 5 weird things about myself and my pets.... this seems harder than I thought!!!! LOL!:

1) My dog will readily accept medication by hand and LOVES going to the vet (he literally mugs the poor guy)..... did I mention the chiro as well?

2) My Cat (like Amanda's) is also trained, but I got lost after 'sit', 'come' (nb: not a formal recall *g*) and 'beg'... once you get to 'heel' Amanda - do let me know? I'm thinking about bringing out the clicker... mwahahaha!

3) I don't know if it is weird, but people certianly look at me as though it is - Leo and I play 'zoomies' in the park whereby I chase him and he runs away - more fun than it sounds :P

4) As loud and outgoing as I seem to some, I actually hate meeting new people and often avoid it at all costs....

5) If I like something I become madly obsessed with it..... don't know why but I can't help it :P... eg: completely and utterly obsessed with dogs, books and my fave TV series :D

Ok - so there is the TAG - I think whoever reads this then has to write it in their own blogs... but plz let me know coz i'm a loner in 'blogville'!

Now onto the Therapy work - I got some pics yesterday of Leo doing his therapy work with one of the residents. Her daughter took these pics before I went away but I only recieved it yesterday. This lady absolutely LOVES Leo which is soo good to see - she literally can't stop smiling when Leo is there. Joan (the daughter) took more yesterday so hopefully i'll have more to share - man, I really need to take my camera! But so far the therapy work is coming along nicely and i'm starting to really enjoy myself!

Isn't he just the cutest? I have another resident there as well that insists that he sits on her bed (she used to show and judge Scotch Collies) and another that whenever anyone enters the room when we visit claims that Leo is "her" dog and isn't he just the most beautiful dog ever (well I can't really argue with that can I?!). We actually started Agility at Croydon on Tuesday - not that there is anything wrong with our current club except for the distance. Now we have two clubs to go to which frees me up a little as if I can't make one I can make the other.... oh and the 5min drive as opposed to the 40min drive is much more appealing! We had a great time, I think the highlight of the evening was trying to get infront of Leo to do a front cross and falling flat on my face (hmm... didn't realise running outside was different to inside :P).... Of course Leo did run over and jump all over me as if it was a new game... *sigh*! I actually found he was running much faster outside too, so I guess that is a good thing.... more calories for me to burn! He did really well and it was a prime place to practice some of those dreaded sit-stays for Sunday. I'll keep you posted on how we go... i'm feeling pretty ok about it, but i'm sure by sunday i'll feel differently! I just can't wait to get our very first title... it is sooo exciting but I know if I do that i'll put too much pressure on myself and we'll bugger up!

I have been sooo naughty of late.... I am hooked onto the TV! Shortly after we came back I went on a DVD buying spree... something I shouldn't do! But I couldn't resist :P. I have come back with Gilmore Girls on DVD (no wisecracks please.... it is funny ok! And I feel smart coz I actually 'get' some of their literary references!!). Since then i've been completely hooked on it, and last night stayed up till 1:30am watching it till the end of the 1st ssn. I am sooo peeved with Ch9 for Axeing it IN THE MIDDLE OF A SEASON, and it doesn't look like it will be back on again *sigh*...... WHY do I get soo hooked onto these things... it is like my drug addiction or something! haha! One good thing is that ER is back on the BOX so I watched that on Wed, but cutting it in the middle of the season (done in June or something) it really mucks up the flow as I have no idea what is going on anymore :P.

I've also sat down and watched P&P since we've been back. Gave me thrills to see Lyme P. and say ooohh... we've been there!! I know where you are walking past! Oh look Mum - there are the Rose Gardens we saw!!! Sad I know, but thrilling none-the-less. So I bet now you are thinking that I never get off the couch... well I do.... sometimes.... I do have to go to work I guess! Speaking of which I am in the process of 're-vamping' my resume so that I may try my hand at getting a 'proper job'..... Don't know when that will be, it is kind of scary... I don't know what to think of it! Part of me really wants to and another part is just plain scared S***less of doing anything like this.... ah I don't like growing up! I would like to keep up the Therapy though if and when I change jobs. At the moment - i'm toying with the idea of working in Animal Health.....

What is it also about not being able to find something that you really want?! While o/s I bought my brother a memory card for his camera and he was over last weekend.... prime opportunity to give it to him, but I can't find it ANYWHERE!!! It isn't like i'd throw it out, but honestly.... where is it? We turned the whole house upside down with no avail... true, my room isn't exactly spotless at the moment, but I was sure I put it in a 'safe' place.... 'safe' it is coz no-one can find it!!! I really hope it will turn up!

Well That is about all of the news I had... not that it is really news... quite boring really but that is the story of my life :P!

Hallelujah I have put up the photos at last!!!!!

Yes, hard as it is to believe, I have finally posted up ALL of our holiday photos!!!!

Photos here

This link will allow you to view all albums. I copied all of my albums there for you to view. If you have any trouble, drop me a line :)

Didn't really do much this weekend.... i'm still reveling in the enjoyment of not having to rush everywhere on the weekend to do training. On Saturday we spent a lovely day down at St Kilda as Scott was back from Syd for the weekend. Took the dog with us and had a walk around Albert Park and then a late lunch. As per usual, wherever we went we got comments and stares about what a gorgeous dog he is (honestly I think he has a big head about all of this!). Nice but also can sometimes get annoying, particularly when they try and guess the breed and insist that he is a cross! Many people also commented about how nice it is that he just sits under our seats while we are eating. Even I was impressed by him!!! But then, it does help when you throw biccies down to him to keep him happy *g*!

Today we just spent the morning training and later had a lovely roast at home! Leo had another great day at training but as per usual buggered up his stays!!! Grrr!! He hasn't done that since he had his hip 'problem' but I think today it was the 'heat' (yeah, like it was really hot... but I guess sitting for 1 whole minute can be tiring!) as well as having evil handler from hell giving you the 'stare'.... I really shouldn't do that!!!! BAD habit!!! I think Leo has a contract signed that every time before a trial, at our last practice he will do something to rattle my nerves!!! So now I have to doubly cross those fingers and toes for a pass!

Well I better be off again! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

The story behind 'Gog and Magog'.... well LMM's ones!

I thought i'll post this up as I have had questions from a few people as to who exactly are these 'Gog and Magog' things I described in my post at PEI..... To put it simply - they are a pair of china dogs with green spots on them. Magog sits on the left and Gog to the right. Gog and Magog initially 'starred' in Anne of the Island when Anne went to stay at 'Patty's Place' (yep I can tell i've lost some of you already). I think in the book, LMM states that Gog & Magog sit beside the fireplace, but in actual fact they sit on the mantle, being smaller than I thought. Anyway - here is the speel on the card:

Gog and Magog are the names of the two antique china dogs that L M Montgoemry introduced in Anne of the Island. The dogs sat on the hearth in the parlour of "Patty's Place", the cottage that Anne and her friends lived in while attending college in Nova Scotia.

A few years later, the owners of the cottage - Miss Patty and Miss Maria, sent Gog and Magog to Anne and Gilbert as a wedding gift. They resided on their hearth that the "house of Dreams" and then at "Ingleside".

The china dogs in the Anne books were inspired by the ones that belonged to LMM's grandfather, Senator Donald Montgomery of Park Corner PEI. They were brought over from Englandin 1775 by Captain James Townsend, an early settler on the island and ancestor of Montgomery.

As a child she was fascinated by the dogs - Gog who looked to the right and Magog who looked to the left - and the story her father told her about them. He said that when Gog and Magog heard the clock srike midnight, they would come to tlife, jump down from the mantle and run around the room! Although she was very disappointed to learn later that the story was not true, Montgomery was intrigued by the dogs throughout her life. In 1911, while travelling to England on her wedding trip, she bought two pairs of china dogs for her own (although these had gold spots).

Although Gog was broken (over 100 years ago), Magog continues to guard the Montgomery family mantle to this day! Visitors are welcome to see him at the Montgomery Heritage Museumin Park Corner (and some very lucky people get to cuddle him *g*!)

Written by Carolyn Storm Collins.

Hope that explains it for anyone interested and that you realise that there is a story behind them and not just some dogs that the 'dog obsessed' Amanda would have loved LOL!

Last Weekend of Freedom

Yes you read right,

My last weekend of freedom has passed and now I am back at work *sob, sob*! Ah well, the honeymoon had to end eventually I guess!

I had a great weekend and it is soo nice not to have to rush everywhere all the time (ie: from one training centre to the next). I spent Saturday cleaning up my room (which looked like a bomb hit it - I honestly don't know where to put all of the books I bought!) and later 'puppy proofing' the backyard. Yep, I thought I better get onto it before I run out of time as I want to fix up quite a bit of the yard so that it can accomodate 2 dogs.... I'm actually really looking forward to all of the pottering around in the yard. So I spent most of the day hidden under the deck putting chicken wire under all the gaps so that 'puppy' can't get through.... lets just say staying in a crouched position for a number of hours doesn't make you feel all that great the next day! But on the plus side I got all of my work done *g*!

Leo was most displeased with my 're-decorating' (it means the cat is safe when he runs under the deck). As per usual, he thought that I needed his help so he wondered around with me, flitting between dad and myself. I am sure that he thought it most interesting that I was allowed to dig in the yard and call it 'gardening' yet he wasn't. I think he also thought that I was burying treats for him also as whenever I finished in one area, he felt the need to nose all the dirt around again to see if there were 'yummies' LOL!

Sunday Leo and I headed back to Obedience. Boy it felt like we had been away for a lot longer than 6-7wks. Everyone has moved back to the middle of the grounds and Croydon looks packed again! One thing is for sure, the aussies are certianly increasing in number with Amanda O and Sarah joining (or would have if somebody didn't forget to mention the vacc cards thing!!!). I think that brings the tally up to 6 Aussies and get this for a ratio - 1 blue merle, 3 red merles and 2 black tri's - thats just weird!!! I'm sure all the red merles are there just to make me jealous as they are all beautifully marked!! All I can say is at least i'm being an individual by having the only BM there *ggg*.... despite the fact that it is one of the more popular colours!

Leo did well in his class and is looking promising for his trial on the 29th (yes, yes, i'm nuts, but the CCD is beckoning me back!). He was really eager in his training and heelwork fantastic with tight turns etc. Lets just hope it stays this way for the trial eh?! We return to agility also this week after a loooong break (about 10wks all up) due to Leo's hip injury (seems to be pretty much 100%) as well as my holiday. I can't wait to get back into it again and I really hope that his dog-walk 'issue' has been forgotten (by him) and his hip stays good!!

Well, suprise, suprise, the whole blog is about my dog and training, but what more could you expect! As for the photos - they are coming - I will post links soon.... so far i'm up to PEI so not much more to go I guess :)

Cheerio!

A day at the Beach

Hello again!

Well i'm back home again but have had soo much fun updating this blog that I thought I might as well continue to let you know all about the happenings in my life (great way of keeping in touch rather than sendling a zillion emails saying the same thing!) as well as my doggy stuff *g*! Of course without the doggy info it wouldn't be me now would it!

It feels sooo good to be home again and with the exception of staying up until 3am last night coz I simply couldn't sleep, I haven't really suffered from jet lag (thank goodness!). At least i've been able to get through the days relatively 'fatigue free'! LOL! I had one very happy pooch to greet me back at home and has only settled down today (but that could be because we did spend the whole day together!). Since I have come home, every time I go outside, he has been a nutcase, jumping around like a loony in typical aussie style (ie: all 4 paws off the ground and trying to kiss your forehead - alternatively if that doesn't work, we grin, wiggle our butt madly and make some very strange growling noises!). Something tells me he was happy to have me home. Having made firm friends with dad however when we were away it seems he is a little 'divided' with his love though *g*! I went straight back into training mode (can ya tell I missed it) and he was a little star - I think he missed it all, so fingers crossed we'll be back in the trial ring again shortly. Here is a pic of him being a true sport while I 'dressed him up' in one of my souveniers *g*:



Today in order to catch up with a couple of my uni friends (who I haven't seen for what 6 whole weeks!!!) we decided to head down to the beach at Mornington Penninsula with the dogs for a nice day out.... Well the beach we chose was fantastic.... hmmm... lets see it was a dog off leash beach that had no sand, but rocks.... yes, rocks.... lol. So on we went down a little and came to a lovely beach at Mt Martha (with sand) which I think is called 'Hawkers beach' and was really nice... that is if we were at the right one *g*! It was a great day out, good to catch up with the gals and of course enjoy the time spent with the pooches! Whiskey had a ball, but despite our coaxing wouldn't get in the water, while Leo had a blast running around us and chasing his ball and just in general being a loony as he does so well. Here are some pics, but if you want to view more, you can go to my kodak gallery: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3vbgiykl.9qzo2a85&Uy=jbssee&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=1&UV=735528835478_590892551109


Well thats about it from me... i'm not sure if the piccies worked to be viewed on the blog - if they didn't just go to the gallery to view them (again you have to sign in to view them if you didn't last time)... :D.

Cheers

Singapore

Here Again,

Lets see what I can cover in 15mins while we are waiting at Changi Airport to board our plane. Unfortunately the free internet only allows for 15 mins.

We have had a very good few days feasting on everything and I think Mum is in 7th heaven eating foods she has missed since a child :P. Unfortunately for me this included durians (yucky, stinky fruits) that although out of season Mum has still found abilities to eat it in one form or another! Luckily for me this has included many of my favourites too, such as Sliched BBQ Pork which does come by another name (which I can't spell!) and is delicious amongst others....mmmmm! As for the heat - I must say that I am not wel suited to the hot climate's as after spending just a few days here I have come down with a cold - how is that possible?!??! I am in a hot climate for goodness sake!

Ok so besides eating, eating and eating, I bet you are wondering what we did! Well we tried our hand at walking around the city but that got too hot, so we tried shopping but that was too expensive.... LOL. Nah - on the first day we wondered around the city which was good but as I said - hot :P. Unfortunately it was also very hazy due to near by forest fires which spoilt the view a little. But we did get to see a bit of the city itself. The first night we were here we went to the Night Safari which is well known and everybody told us to go and see it. Well.... what we saw of it was good! But as 'luck' would have it.... honestly, it seems to follow us around.... 1/2 way through our visit, the park was closed due to some tourist going off the beaten track (you can walk as well as take the tram around to view the animals) and entered the rhino enclosure. Well, Rhino's being the lovely animals that they are - trampled this person and thus, after rushing her to hospital they had to close the park... grrrr! So what we saw was good, but unfortunately we couldn't go back! The staff were very kind though and did refund our money for us.

Next day we went to Sentosa Is. but unfortunately it was a little dissapointing being so expensive to see all of the sights. There were things to see but costing around S$10 each attraction a lot of it wasn't worth it. We did go and see the 'Pink Dolphin' though - yes you read right - PINK dolphin - actually they start of grey and as they grow older turn pinker. They put on a rather amusing show with the dolphins and later (after paying extra of course!) I got t go up and pat the dolphin. Was worth it IMO, you even got a pic (which was an awful one with my eyes shut so NO you can't see it!) which didn't make it to expensive. The ticket to view the dolphins also let you into underwater world which was an aquarium... also good but not fantastic. The attractions were also a little dissapointing coz it was basically - see the attraction (ie dolphin show) and that is it - there was nothing else to keep you around and see/ read information about the animals etc. One thing is for sure - food is great, level of technology is great, transport brilliant, but attractions definately need work! Later we went to Chinatown to wonder around and devour some 'mooncake' and later take this bus that took us to see the light show of the three main 'cultural cities'. It is a rarity that this year, three asian festivals overlap with eachother and thus, there has been a big celebration and the bus took us around to see these lights and explain the festivities. You'll have to ask mum more about it, but basically the Chinese have their 'moon/lantern festival', indians have another (Deepavali) and Malay's another (Hari Raya Puasa)..... was very interesting to see all of the decorations.

Today we spend the day with my Cousin and his wife and wondered around the shopping malls trying to resist spending more money. It was good spending time with them before we had to come to catch the plane. Well I think that is about it! Off home tonight and then you will all be wishing I was back o/s again. I hope you enjoyed reading the blog and I can't wait to see you all and here what you have been doing these past 6 weeks!

Chiao!

Last few days in the UK

Well here I am again - boy I certianly seem to be on the net a lot all of a sudden - ah well the saying goes, it never rains but pours! Well I have emailed you all to tell you I have some pics uploaded, and i'd love to put them up here (or a link) but my technology expertise (or lack of) unfortunately doesn't stretch that far :). Anyone able to help me out?? Anyway, I hope you were able to view them and enjoyed them!

* ETA - lets see if this works.... to view the LA photos click http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3vbgiykl.6yzwl2o5&Uy=c64epg&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=1

and to view Canada click http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3vbgiykl.68xjne2t&Uy=omdolz&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=1

Unfortunately, I don't know how to get it to just have one word as opposed to the entire address.... argh..... HELP!!!!

The last few days have been pretty quiet... by our standards anyway! Sunday was spent with my Uncle and family. Although our bags are brimming over with all of the stuff we brought with us and all of the stuff we (ok, ok, I *g*) have bought over here, we still went shopping on Sunday with my uncle who was determined to show us the new 'Tesco' opened nearby. As my Aunty says - most people when they come here will want to be taken to the sights - whereas my uncle loves to take us to Tesco's *g*! For those that don't know - Tesco is a HUGE (Did I mention huge?!) chain that sells everything from fresh groceries to clothes, electronics etc.... kinda like Coles and Kmart combined! Yet, despite my vow before we left that I wasn't going to buy anything, I still managed to walk out of the shops with a few items of clothes and gadgets (not from Tesco but from a clothing outlet and 'poundland'... where things are actually all priced at 1 pound as opposed to the Ozzie $2 shops!

Yesterday we headed off to London city again, with the hopes of catching a theatre show, but we were a little skeptical as we didn't want to pay too much. The main ones we had on our shortlist were 'Billy Elliot' (rave reviews) and 'Wicked' (New musical about the withces of the Wizard of Oz'). Billy Elliot was a no-go with tickets only available at full price (69 quid).... hmm... when u multiply that by 2.5, we thought we didn't want to see it that much! Wicked also didn't seem likely as it has only been released for 2 wks and is a completely new musical, having only been shown in broadway over the last 12 mths. When we enquired however, they had two tickets 'up with the God's' but clear view for 19 Quid :-D! Needless to say we eagerly took them as the reviews for this new musical have been very high. Well, we weren't dissapointed! The props and coreography were fantastic leaving nothing to be desired. The lead singer was to die for - her voice was amazing - one of the best i've heard in a musical for quite a while! She had such a clear, powerful voice! Actually the lead singer is from the original broadway cast which is an extra treat! Honestly - if it ever comes to Oz - you must see it as it is well worth it! Basically it tells the story of Glinda and the 'Wicked witch from the West', how they knew each other and how one turned evil and the other 'good'. Very enjoyable and music was brilliant. I actually thought that hey - we could buy the CD and it would be the cast that we heard (which is never the case at home, always being the London Cast), but unfortunately, as luck would have it - it was the Broadway cast :-(. I'm assuming it is so new, they haven't recorded the CD yet... Just my luck!

For the rest of the day before we went to see the show, Mum and I ambled around the city and decided to go and visit the museums. I am really no 'arty farty' person so didn't have a particular interest to go and see the 'Victoria Albert' museum, so Mum and I decided to split and meet up again. I went to the 'Natural History Museum' and Mum to the 'Victoria Albert' (both are next to each other). Was really good wondering around, but at the same time not as exciting as I would have thought seeming that I have studied it all at uni these past 3 yrs :-(... but I still enjoyed myself and the kid inside of me loved all of the interactive stuff. Well all I can say is that our Vertebrates lecturer taught us well, as I could remember most of that, but when I went into the 'human body' section and was explaining LH does this, which causes FSH to do this and Oestregen to do this, I was at a loss :P..... Darn reproduction, I knew I hated that subject for a reason! All in all - very interesting and in the 2.5 hrs we gave each other, both Mum and I only completed a small portion of the museums.

Well tonight we head off to Singapore for our home leg... 3 days in Sing until home time (ah you poor, poor, people!). Feels good to know that we are coming home now. But one thing is for sure, this 12 hr flight is NOT looking appealing! I still can't believe that to date, Mum and I haven't eaten each other yet, or bitten each others heads off! It's been a good trip, but suprisingly minimal arguments :-0. I can't believe we have covered so much ground! We have driven over 1 000 miles around UK (Mum wanted me to add that in.... I think she is proud :P) as well as travelling around Canada by our itty bitty selves (Mum driving again) so it is hard to believe that it is all coming to an end so soon :). But I guess it has to eventually.... and then i'd have to go back to work..... nooooooo!

Well thats it from me again..... Until next time!

London Road Trip Pt 2

Hi All,

Well here I am again, and quite tired as today we finished our road trip around the UK. Boy it is getting hard now to remember what I have written and what we have done since, so hopefully I can sum this part up appropriately!

I think the last time I wrote we were in Llandeilo, Wales which was pretty uneventful, well in terms of blogging anyway *g*! Basically we spent the day and a half we were there catching up with friends which was nice and also relaxing. The downside of relaxing is that when we left the next day to head off to Bath, Mum and I were both quite tired only having 1/2 recharged our batteries which is generally the case when you relax for a day after being on the 'go' for so long. So on the day we arrived in Bath (Mum got us there by herself with me professing I was NOT tired in the car yet constantly waking up 1/2 an hr later and having no idea where we were!) we wondered around for a short while and went to the cathedral and vaults there (incase you are wondering yes I am cathedral'ed out!). We then checked into our B&B and decided to 'rest' for a while, with me waking up on the bed a good 1/2 hr later..... oops! We had actually arrived in Bath for the 'Jane Austen Festival' but would you believe that it had ended three days before we got there! So the next day, rather than repeating what we had seen last time we were there with the boys (Roman Baths, Pump Room and Jane Austen Centre) we went to the 'Costume Museum' which was really interesting (we got to try on corsets too and let me say i'm am not sorry they are no longer used!) as well as just meandering around the town yet again. After lunch we left Bath to make our way toward Basingstoke where we decided to stop for the night. This is where the fun begins! Before making our way to Basingstoke we decided to go to a 'small' village called Adlestrop which was supposed to have a connection with Jane Austen. The reason we found this out is that Mum found on the net prior to us leaving a 'blog' I guess of someones travels to see JA. She recommended that we go to this quaint little village where there is lovely countryside surrounding it and a charming curch to visit (for JA). Well we got there and lets just say that for what we saw there wasn't a whole lot there! The church wasn't anything altogether flash either! What a dissapointment! But we did pass some nice horses when we stopped to ask for directions to the church, and I was ambushed by a lovley Lab puppy so I guess the trip wasn't all in vain hey!

From Adelstrop we decided we better head onto Basingstoke if we were going to find accomodation. Unfortunately we didn't arrive at B. until around 6ish so we couldn't rely on the tourist info to find us accom. The couple of places we tried were booked out. Never fear we thought - we'll just travel down toward Alton which is where the JA museum is anyway and surely we'll find something along the way (Alton is about 20min drive away). Away we went but we didn't pass any B&B's to stop at.... hmm... surely Alton itself will have places to stay... nope after enquiring all over town it seemed that Alton was booked out - what is it - Census night in and around Basingstoke?!?!? The prospect of sleeping in the car was starting to look like a reality! Finally someone rang around for us and found us a room somewhere 20mins away from Alton (yep, you guessed it, back in the direction we came but down another road!). Well.... at least we found a room, right?!?!

After a rather adventurous night, we were planning on a uneventful day around Hampshire (Alton, Chawton and Winchester). First stop was to go to the Jane Austen Museum in Chawton - a short drive/20min walk from Alton. Sure we thought - lets be adventurous and walk. Well we spent a few hrs looking around Alton (in typical museum style it wasn't open until 11am), and then set off on our journey. I decided to be smart as the designated navigator and rather than walk on the road we'll cut through the park.... I know where i'm going I said! Well, we came to an intersection that I couldn't see on the map - surely we must keep walking straight..... Mum spotted a sign that told us to go to Chawton to walk straight on - so we did.... but the further we walked, the more of a sinking feeling I felt that we had gone the wrong way.... 20 mins the lady assured us.... but after 20 mins of briskish walking we still were nowhere (it seemed) near Chawton. I finally realised where we had gone wrong but decided that it was too late now to turn back so kept walking following the map around. So rather than taking the 'walking track' we had infact followed the driving area to get to Chawton - and the long route at that! But we got there at last and had a nice look around JA's house. I really enjoyed it there, being more into JA than the Bronte's, but of course not as much so as LMM. LOL. Well on the way home we decided to take the 'walking' route and low and behold we were back in Alton in a good 15mins..... no comments please!

From Chawton we then travelled to Winchester to which the attraction was Winchester Cathedral - a nice cathedral for one and another that it is where JA is buried. It is a spectacular cathedral and I reccomend a visit for anyone in the area. I believe they said it was the oldest cathedral in the world??? We both wish we had more time to spend around Winchester istelf, but we had to head back to Basingstoke as this is where we had booked our accomodation (this was booked before we left for a change).

So that brings us up to date to today. We had a fairly easy drive today not travelling for more than an hour. Also we had finished all of our 'sights' yesterday so decided that today we would go to Windsor and Steventon church (the one sight we hadn't seen). Steventon Church was where JA spent the first 25 years of her life as this is where her father was a rector. Again, an interesting church, but by this time I was getting quite sick of them and it was becoming - a church, is a church, is a church! Windsor was lovely but unfortunately we didn't put enough money into the ticket machine, not thinking it would take us more than 3 hrs to look around! I does! Queen Mary's miniature doll's house was amazing - each item elaborately made as a miniature of the original ie: real jewels, real silver etc. It even had working plumbing and electrical faciltiies! Unfortunately while walking through the state appartments we had to rush through a little so didn't see each room to its full value. On the whole it was most enjoyable however!

We then went to return the car back to heathrow (can you believe it was still in one piece!) and returned to my Uncles place where we are to stay again until our flight to Singapore on Tuesday Evening. Not sure what we will do yet - tomorrow will surely be for some washing and 'relaxing' again, and perhaps Monday back into town and possibly see a show? Dunno. As for Singapore, agian i'm not sure what is planned but we will only be there for 3 days before we return home! It seems like this trip has gone on forever yet at the same time has flown by. Well until next time I better go.... bueaty sleep is beckoning you know (yes, yes, I know i'd have to sleep for many years before it does me any good, but hey, I might as well try!)

Cya all!