the royal wedding

my line manager and i had just finished my rather late yearly appraisal - which went great - when we bumped into the big boss, who said that was perfect timing. we were just on time. we looked at each other. just on time for what? the wedding, of course! ah, yes. the wedding. neither of us were that fussed about it. i'm not British, and i couldn't see the point of watching something that would last hours anyway. quite apart from it being the middle of the working day! but when we made it back to the reception, we saw that most of the team was clustered around 2 computers, the wedding streaming online. someone even went and got speakers.

i went back to work for a while. no point in watching anything until Kate got there. my line manager did the same. but soon, the big boss was saying this was like the world cup - i.e. worth stopping work for a bit for. it was really very nice of him to allow for the interest, especially considering only 3.5 people were actually British (one is technically British but grew up in France, so it doesn't really count). i ended up watching Kate walk in and the vows, but then went back to work.

later on, i had a meeting with someone else. it was funny, cos we just missed the kiss on the balcony by about a minute - 'unfortunate' as far as i was concerned, terrible for someone else! ah, the drama...

still, i must admit they do make a lovely couple, and it seems more real than Charles and Diana, seen as they've been together for about 10 years. they really seem to love each other. i just hope she can bear the whole royal thing...

seeing old friends

apart from my sister, i was only planning on seeing an old uni friend while in London. but A. had other plans for me. she'd organised for me to meet up first with a very old friend, whom we've know pretty much our whole lives. i hadn't seen him in nearly 20 years! but it was great to see him again and meet his wife and friends, all in a gorgeous flat in Notting Hill. the following day, we had dinner with an old school friend, whom i hadn't seen in at least 5 years. we'd been in the same class one year, and followed some courses together another couple of years, and even worked for the same organisation for a while, but it was weird: i just didn't remember him being so funny. it was really nice to catch up. and really unfortunate that neither my sister nor i was feeling too good - we'd been up till 3am at the other guy's place and hadn't slept all that much, and despite the sun, there was a rather chilly wind going through London, so we really weren't on top form. but i'm really happy A. took the time to organise all this. it was really good to see all these guys again.

more Forest of Dean

just before we set off for where i'd get my bus to London, we had a little time for a last walk in the Forest, around a big pond. how i'd love to live there!

bluebells in the Forest

the Forest of Dean is a gorgeous, gorgeous place! for once, being there late Easter means the bluebells are out. i went a little crazy: 17 pictures in about 10 mns. here are just 2... they of course don't do it justice, but what the hell.

Cardiff

i hadn't been in Cardiff since the rugby world cup in 1999, so i really wanted to go back for a visit. S. and i got in the car, picked up T. on the way and made our way down to meet T. after a quick cuppa, we walked into town - nothing much had changed on the way there, which was nice, but there were some new shops and other changes in the centre. once we'd had a look around, we took a bus to Cardiff Bay, that i'd never seen, and we met up with J., whom i hadn't seen since 1999 either. the weather was absolutely gorgeous and we had a great time. and it felt like we'd only parted yesterday, not like 14 years had gone by...

Bristol parking lot

check in - done
boarding - done
take off on time - amazingly, done
land early, unheard of with easyjet - done
picked up by S. and the twins - done
leave the car park - 45 minutes! it wouldn't let us out!

apparently, they had brand new machines for paying, but the only one in the parking itself was out of order, so after 15 mns of walking around looking for another one, we (me and this guy from Cardiff who was also trying to get out) walked back to the terminal to find the machine that was there. when we finally got the right machine (long term parking and short term parking each have their own machine!), it took most of my money before breaking down. couldn't get the card back, nor the money. found someone 'in charge', who was adamant there was a booth at the entrance/exit, where we'd be able to pay directly. we hadn't seen any such booth, but we were out of options, so off we went. T (my companion in adversity), said he'd follow us so that he could back me up, should the booth people not believe me about the swallowed card - really nice!

it took us another 20 minutes to get out - it's long and complicated, but includes driving around for a while and getting both my card and money back. it was weird as hell, but finally, we got out. thank god for that!

the course

i got all my coursebooks last week. i'm starting an online management course next month. and here i remember thinking, when i finished my masters, that that was it. no more studying. ever. (i wasn't thinking of things like language courses, but things like official degrees). not very realistic, i now realise. anyway, i've already read most of one book, which is more a companion-book. i'm also nearly done with chapter 1 of the coursebook itself, but some of the activities take more time than others. it's a learning process. but as i've been reading up on this for 2 months, i've already got a pace, which is nice. let's hope i don't get stuck!

hot/cold yo-yo

it doesn't have to be hot. we're only in April. temps above the 20s are not necessary. what i would like, is that the whole hot/cold yo-yo thing that's going on right now stops. going around in a t-shirt one day, only to have to wear the winter coat again the next is just not fun.

dinner on the balcony

temps are really high for early April. last night, i was able to have dinner on the balcony, which was really nice. my lilacs are blooming, as are various flowers around the building, so that and the bird songs made it very relaxing.

the weekend

what a weekend! the weather was gorgeous. well, especially yesterday: it was really hot for a 2nd of April! i was able to really make the most of my balcony, which was great.

today, i did loads of stuff in town: first i met up with the crowd at a park in town - after a slight breeze, i personally started baking! then i spent 20 mns on my inline skates. if i didn't start today, i knew the chances would be slim for me to get anywhere with that this year, what with my online management course starting in a month. the point of those 20 mns was to train myself to stop... which didn't really work. i only made 2 measly attempts at stopping and let's face it, they weren't in any way conclusive. i think i need more help from Mr. J. on that one! i ended up spending most of the time regaining my balance and going for it. picking up speed is not really a problem, although i'm always careful about who and what is around me - not being able to stop and all! and finally, i met up with A., who was just back from her trip in Asia. definitely a productive day!