What KT did next

it has been some time

2007-11-11T07:34:00.000Z

Life has been very busy since last blog entry. Been to couple of gigs, some parties, general going out, work has been busy and then there is always facebook!

I love this photo! This is the day Jason, James and I cycled up a mountain in Greece. The road terrain was loose, and it took four hours to climb. At the top we hoped to cross the mountain but found a steep drop and a mad Greek Shepard (well, he may not have been mad, he did shout alot at us in Greek which was kinda scary!)

Last weekend was my dad’s birthday. All my closest family were there and we had a brilliant bonfire party. Usually dad and I dominate setting all the fireworks off, but we just left it to my brother in law David who did an excellent job.

Here are some nice pics:
Katie playing with sparklers
Aus and me, wow that was a big fire!
My big brother Austin, and brother in law holidng my nephew Louis
My sister in law Jane, Aus and nephew Louis

The following day my parents and I went to Ramsholt on the River Blythe in deepest Suffolk. A gorgeous day, mum and dad didn't want to walk too far which was a shame; I could have walked for miles along the estuary.

A lovely photo of mum and dad

Every thing is good!

2007-09-20T11:56:00.000+01:00

Wow, I am on a high after a two week holiday with Jon to Mark Warner Paleros, Greece and hopefully the holiday come down will not happen!

The last two weeks have been loads of fun, lots of tennis, cycling, swimming and windsurfing and for those who know me, outdoor sports is one of my favourite ways to spend time. So it was Kt heaven!

The weather was great, we meet loads of brilliant people and the food was well… okay, but I am relishing English food.

So here goes, list of holiday activities;
Cycling (includes off road and mountains): 150km about 25 hours
Tennis: probably 20 hours on the court
Windsurfing: 14 hours includes 10 hours to achieve RYA 1
Swimming: loads
Drinking: 42+ hours
Eating: oh, I don’t want to think about that
Sleeping: not enough, too excited about stuff!

Holiday photos to follow!

Walking the Dorest Coast

2007-08-12T13:12:00.000+01:00

Recently put a list together of the places I would like to see before next year’s birthday, the big 30 oh-no!

For once I did not spend the entire Friday night drinking, got an early one and headed fairly early to Durdle Door on the Dorset Coast with what felt like the entire traffic on the South Coast.

It was totally worth while. I walked from Durdle door to Lulworth Cove, then to Fossil Forest and back to Durdle Door along the valley and then cooled off snorkeling.

Definitely best walk in ages. There are a few more walks I want to try out there, around Cerne Abbas and Osmington.

Social chick

2007-07-29T10:50:00.001+01:00

This promotional stunt for the Simpsons of Homer Simpson next to the Giant at Cerne Abbas is very amusing!

Well it has been a busy few weeks socialising with friends, bumping into friend randomly on the train, and discovering the addiction of facebook!
Despite the deluge of torrential rain made it my friend James’ 30th Birthday BBQ which was held on Bigbury beach. A very chilled out party and great to catch up with him and Thecla and friends from Plymouth. Disappointingly there was no surf, well not unless your 1cm tall! However, positive there will be plenty of more opportunities to head to Devon.
Been playing tennis regularly and just bought a new racket with the hope my standard will improve or maybe playing with new friend who was 90th best teenage player in Florida. Williams’s sisters have been warned!

Reduce, reuse and recycle

2007-07-14T17:16:00.000+01:00

Reduce, reuse, recycle! (cool Jack Johnson song) It is amazing clearing out unwanted clothes from wardrobes, discovered clothes have not worn and pieces thought I had lost. The local charity shop is now three bags better off! Even better result, now have plenty of space for new clothes! Summer sales watch out!

Surf

2007-07-01T11:44:00.000+01:00

Despite the deluge of Saturday’s rain, headed to Woolacombe for surf. The conditions were 3ft+ and clean waves, with loads of power and it was possible to ride the waves nearly on my board’s nose. It was all happening. A helicopter rescued some person washed out near the rocks.

Really wanted to stay for Sunday’s surf, and camp the night. However, the campsite was soaked, my car got stuck loads and rather than risk, it sinking over night travelled the long journey home last night. If I had stayed to surf this morning, the current conditions are 4 – 6ft and growing, surf for big people, not petite ladies! Because I clocked loads of miles in my car, I should make up for all those CO2 emissions and plant a few trees!

Muse at Wembley Stadium

2007-06-20T07:46:00.000+01:00

Wembley stadium

Look at the beefy stage, gonna make some noise or what!

Muse rocking Wembley stadium!

The fireworks

The ballerinas suspended from ballons

We went to see Muse at Wembley Stadium on Sunday along with 65,497 other people. The concern about not finding a place to park at Harrow-On-Hill, because everyone heading to the Muse concert would park there, did not materialise. In fact, found an empty car park, but rather than risk coming back to find the car burnt out with no wheels street parking and paying by the meter was the preferential option of £9.70 for six hours (bargain?). Before the concert began we headed into London on the Metropolitan tube, and for around ten minutes we could see the new Wembley Stadium (how exciting!).

In London headed to bustling Covent Garden to watch the street entertainers and (Punch and Judy, a duo act of unicycles and juggling, and the statues) and lunch. We discovered a great Mediterranean café for lunch, Bistro www.bistro1.co.uk. Fresh food, reasonable prices (2 courses for £6.50 in central London!), and moderate size portions (a good place to chill from the hectic crowds). We planned to walk back to Leicester Square underground, slight error in plan as ended up in Dean Street China Town and only recognized it from the last visit there to an Uncle’s Birthday Party, at Groucho club. Eventually found Leicester Square and made it to Wembley Stadium late afternoon. From the tube station it is a ten minute walk to the stadium, but from the entrance of the stadium to our seats it took around twenty minutes (because the place was so bloody huge), had to walk half way round the stadium then up loads of escalators. The strangest surprise was the staff, they were friendly and always helpful without their help we and loads of other people may have totally missed our seats and probably still be walking around the stadium! Usually at gigs, the staff do not want to get involved, this was a new rock and roll we were experiencing!

Muse were supported by Shy Child, Bify Clyro, My Chemical Romance and DJ Zane Lowe between the sets. We missed the first act but the other support acts were good. And felt entirely hyped up for Muse.

As quoted by the guardian Monday 19th June with their five star review “They put on a dazzling show, with flames, fireworks, glitter and graceful dancers spinning below suspended balloons, but their most impressive achievement is making such a vast venue feel so intimate. Bellamy, swapping between guitar and piano, is especially keen to reach fans at the back of the stadium, dedicating Starlight to them. He need not have worried. Every song is a mass singalong and when Bellamy asks everyone to hold up their mobiles, Wembley turns into a twinkling constellation of lights. Two encores later, Muse end with a triumphant Take a Bow, having turned the new stadium into a cosy second home.”

It was an incredible show, and definitely want to see them again! Enjoy the photos!

The show ends with a balloon party.

Beer festival and huge beetles

2007-06-11T20:00:00.000+01:00

A group of us meet up at the Southampton Guildhall for a beer festival on Saturday eve. The festival was already into the third day and unsurprisingly loads of the beer had run out. However, did get to sample some great beer. Stumpy's Tumbledown, a 5% abv beer brewed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Falklands, a nice citric Premium Best bitter. Old Bear's Honey Pot4.4%abv, a straw colored Yorkshire ale with delicate hop taste and additions of the local Denholme Gate Honey yummy! A local blues band also played and they were very good. A great evening and pleasant Sunday treat no hangover!

This eve went into the garden as normal to water the plants and vegetables and found a huge stag beetle on the step, struggling on its back. Stag beetles have rare sightings in the UK, and in a way good to see one. But seriously, it was huge nearly two inches with even bigger antennae and it was moving it's creepy legs(nightmares tonight, and I thought Saturday evening's Doctor Who was scary!).

kite surfing, well almost

2007-06-09T16:36:00.000+01:00

After a patient wait of two months, we enrolled for our two day kite surfing course only to be disapointed by the off shore winds. However, the guys at West Wittering Sailing club said we could use any other equipment until the wind came on shore or go home. It was an incredible sunny day yesterday and being the first day off in ages, that no way was going home an option. Instead we had a go at stand up paddle boarding on a 10ft board about 2ft wide.

FACT: Stand Up Paddle Surfing is a style of surfing where the surfer uses a paddle to move through the water while standing on a surfboard. Stand Up Paddle Surfing is derived from its Polynesian roots. The Hawaiian translation is Ku Hoe He'e Nalu; to stand, to paddle, to surf, a wave. The spirit of the Stand Up Paddle Surfer is one of Aloha.

We headed over to a tidal lagoon and from surfing experience found it easy to stand on the board (it seemed twice the size of my own surfboard, surfer friends would understand how easy it is to balance), and can pick up speed very fast. Turning took a while to work out. Jon (who has never stood on a surfboard), had a go and spent the first ten minutes practicing falling off the board! And telling me how stupid it was, then he discovered his balance on the board and he was off. Of course when we swapped he fully denied he enjoyed it and said it was okay! Whilst Jon was on the board, thought do some swimming to keep warm swimming from one side of the lagoon to the other. As swam back realized there was a strong rip and it was hard work trying to swim out of it that when I got back to shore my legs felt like jelly!

In the afternoon we did some power kiting and the wind was becoming stronger and had changed to onshore, that the kite also picked me up about a foot off the ground. The wind continued to pick up and we finally had a go at kite surfing on the beach and learned how to launch the kite, bring up to 12 o'clock and then land it. Sounds easy? These kites were 14m across and have to be launched at the end of the wind window otherwise it’s a fast drag up the beach and onto land, and probably knocking a few people over.

Today the instructor postponed the course as there is no wind. Shame but hopefully we can complete the rest of the course soon, it is a lot of fun, quite complicated but very enjoyable.

Pefect Sunday Roast Dinner

2007-05-21T18:37:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, some friends came round for a home cooked roast dinner.

We had roast chicken, onion and sage stuffing, roast potatoes and parsnips, peas, carrots, and gravy followed. For desert, apple and blackberry crumble with custard and the more adventurous custard and ice cream!

Here’s how: Baste a medium size chicken with lemon juice, garlic and lemon thyme and cook in gas oven (would tell you gas mark, but the values have rubbed off) for two hours. This makes the chicken skin crispy and keeps the inside tender. Par boil the potatoes (peel lots and halve) for 15 minutes. In the meantime, pour some olive oil in a roasting tray and add mixed herbs and warm in the oven. Drain the potatoes and then add to the hot oil, make sure the potatoes are coated with oil. Put the potatoes and chicken in the oven at same time. In meantime, wash and peel parsnips and carrots enough for four people. Check the chicken every half hour and lift the chicken to allow the juices to escape from inside and then it can cook in own juices. Rattle the baking tray with the potatoes; this will get each side nice and crispy. About fifty minutes before the chicken is ready add the parsnips to roast in the chicken juice. Boil the carrots twenty minutes before the chicken is ready. When the chicken and the roast vegetables are ready, drain the chicken juices into a saucepan add a chicken stock cube, water 500ml (try and use the water from the drained potatoes), stir gently, and heat gently and this will make fantastic gravy. Boil the peas for a few minutes. Allow the chicken to rest for five minutes, and then carve. Arrange the chicken and vegetables onto nice plates and allow friends to help their selves.

To make the crumble: Cream 4ozs of margarine with 4ozs of sugar. Then add 8oz of plain flour, and rub the flour in until it resembles bread crumbs. Secret tip, now add teaspoon of ground cinnamon and handful of porridge oats and work through the crumble mixture. Peel two large apples, core and dice, put in a bowl add ladle of hot water (off the kettle boil), a few cloves and microwave for two minutes. Weight out 2lbs of blackberries, place in saucepan, add pinch of sugar and ladle of hot water and heat gently. When simmering, add the apple and stir thoroughly. Now add to deep ceramic cooking dish, then out the crumble mixture of top. Place in oven for 40 minutes. Serve with warm custard, or as some of my friends prefer both custard and ice cream!

All the ingredients used were organic, and the blackberries handpicked and frozen last summer.

Now enjoy! A couple of bottles of wine are the perfect accompaniment. We were lucky enough to dine outside on a pleasant sunny afternoon.

weekend fun

2007-05-13T12:57:00.000+01:00

Celebrated Issie’s Birthday in Portsmouth last night. Attempted to catch up with her mates drinking but after Friday’s session couldn’t manage half a beer. Didn’t matter, had loads of fun watching her friend’s band at the Havana bar.

Recently went back to Devon to see friends used to work with in Plymouth. Thecla and I went surfing and spent the entire time in the water just chatting and not concentrating on the surf (well, it was a small day). The next day, we bought some body boards and headed to Polzeath. Waves are always more punchy on North coast, it was about 4ft+ out back and sure would be fun on a surf board if you don’t mind feeling being trapped in a washing machine. There seemed to be loads of wipe outs, but we had it sorted and had loads of fun on the body boards nearer shore. Alas, no photos.

After all that hard work, headed to Ellie’s and Paul’s and were treated to delicious Mexican food. We also played cards which involved wearing hats. The winner wore the president’s hat, and the loser had to wear a scratchy brown beanie (mainly worn by Rory).

Thelca wearing the President's Hat

Paul's hat with a pink cushion accessory :-)

Rory snapped in his desperate attempt to swap the “L’ers,” hat with Ellie!

nearly the weekend

2007-05-03T21:11:00.000+01:00

Well, a few days ago during a school day, Jon sneaked off to the pub with his mates for the afternoon. When I came home he had already fallen fast asleep. Bless! However, it was irresistible to catch this photo of him all snuggled up to his teddies!

played tennis for three hours this eve, it was great fun but feeling very hungry!

have a great bank holiday weekend! This weekend plans are to surf every day in Devon and Cornwall and more importantly catching up with friends.

oh, I got 80% in my MCSA section 1A part 4 exam!

finally a surf on the West Sussex coast

2007-04-29T15:53:00.000+01:00

Okay small waves, but clean, water was fairly warm, nice and sunny! Great way to have spent Sunday morning!

Just submitted my final exam answers for my MCSA section 1A and feel deserve few beers! Only 7 more sections to go....

Learing how to kite surf

2007-04-22T19:53:00.000+01:00

excellent control

Jon having fun

power kiting figure of eight (honest!)

How cool! We just completed a two hour kite surfing induction course on land at West Wittering. In a few weeks time we will be in the water. This afternoon was great fun, it is amazing how much speed can be made with the kites. Nearly knocked a couple of people out...

After all that hard work, it was great to chill out over a beach BBQ and a beer!

Last weekend it was my mum's birthday and mine. This year, the family and my friends (one I have know for +20 years), went out for a pub lunch at a tiny Suffolk village called Clare. Lunch was great, very good home cooked food. My nephew Louis discovered and adored the children's playground but he wouldn't let me play on the bridge!

Louis: Kt, you're not allowed to play

Kt: but no one is looking, PLEASE!!

Enjoy the pictures.

Tennis

2007-04-12T21:21:00.000+01:00

Tonight was my first tennis evening with the University of Southampton's staff club. The people were nice and had some good games. Last year my tennis was awful as had tennis elbow, but this evening went well and managed to play comfortably for almost two hours. Looking forward to playing next week! Wimbledon next year!

Back to work

2007-04-11T19:26:00.000+01:00

Hope every one had a lovely Easter. We had a very relaxed one, went cycling, went to the beach, had a BBQ, meet up wih some friends and did some gardening.

Basically I have started to keep a blog as some friends currently keep one and I think these are great to keep in touch and up to date with them, especially as everyone is doted aroung England and the world! So please feel free to book mark this address and browse.

After a very relaxing weekend of getting up when ever, it was bo hiss when the alarm clock went off this morning! Still, good to get back to work and catch up with every one. Very good girl today and went to the gym afer work. However it was the first time at this gym and it took me twenty minutes into a programme on the bike machine, before realised how to change the time from the default 90mins to 20mins!