Latest Update

Well, it's been a long time between drinks (again), but we really have been very busy. There's been the Messiah, the Elton John concert, Christmas carols, shopping, exams, more than one bout of the flu, a few dinner parties, hockey, Christmas parties, balls, theatre, markets, bowling......

One sad event was saying goodbye to Em and Wog at the end of November. We spent a great few days with them before they left, going to Camden markets, a few pubs and even doing the Jack the Ripper walk! It was great to spend some time with those guys, and we'll miss their games of dice and pub crawls!

Hockey is taking up a signifcant part of my week. I'm playing for Wapping Hockey Club, a hockey club full of young professionals based in east london. It takes me a good 45 mins to get to and from training, but away games can take up to 2 hours to get to, which means that my Saturdays are well and truly full. The long travel time, however, is made much easier by the fact that our team is undefeated for the season, with a goal difference of around 60. I have even scored a few goals myself, something my hockey career is not built on! But in all serious, I'm loving playing this season, and have met a great bunch of "real" londoners (yes, despite popular belief and common experience, english people do live in London), who are introducing me to the english life and their (unique!) language.

We're really enjoying life here at Goodenough. Last week we had our Winter Ball, complete with a 17 piece jazz band. It was a great night - see the photo of Nick and I below!

We have also been getting into the Christmas spirit. We went to the advent carols service at St Paul's cathedral, followed by the Messiah there last week. Both were amazing: the carols service was a processional candlelit service, while the Messiah was just an an incredible concert. I also sang in the carols service here at Goodenough. We have also been eating lots of mince pies with Nat and Peter (sitting round their huge Christmas tree!), and our flat also has a few decorations. There has also been many Christmas drinks and parties (I'll leave Nick to tell you about his!). I think this newfound excitement for Christmas comes from the weather - when it's this cold you really need something to look forward to. As for our plans, we are heading up to spend Christmas with Trish and Pete (my aunt and uncle) and their family in Nottingham. Nick isn't taking time off, so we're coming back to London in before the new year.

I hope all of you reading this have a wonderful Christmas, and a really memorable new year. Lots os love and best wishes from this side of the world!