Bev's Blog

Scottish Snowboarding Adventure

2010-01-20T20:05:00.002Z

Just back from a weekend's snowboarding on Aonach Mor with my flatmate Fiona. We were pretty lucky to have picked the only open ski centre for our weekend's adventure with Cairngorm suffering from 'too much snow'!

We drove up to Ballachulish on friday afternoon, with a chippie pit-stop in Callander, checking in to our quirky guesthouse just after seven. We quickly migrated towards the pub which had suffered the fate of bursts pipes following a particularly cold spell, but was nevertheless open for business. Within minutes we were holding free pints, bought for us by a friendly local. Soon after, another local walked in and demanded that the rugby be put on the TV. I was overjoyed to see he was referring to the Ulster vs Edinburgh. The joy was soon somewhat depleted after 80 minutes and a bleak scoreline.

In preparation for our day's exertions, we got up super early and wolfed down a supersized cooked breakfast - the ideal start to the day. We then headed up the mountain only to be told that we were waiting on a wind report before the mountain would be open for business. We finally boarded our gondola at 11am. I have to say I'm getting better at 'boarding, I must be - I'm not in half as much pain as I was after the last time I went!

After our snowboarding exploits, we headed south back through via Glencoe for a stop at the Clachaig Inn where we enjoyed a filling meal and a competitive game of 'guess the sauce sachet' with some visiting Australians. And, despite both confessing not to be big fans of it, we converted the Aussies to HP Sauce.

Carrying on our journey, we drove through the dark (with glimpses of the occasional deer) to the Bridge of Orchy where we were most pleased to hijack two mighty sofas, two pints of beer and a few newspapers to wind down after our tiring day.

The next day we joined the sunday drivers on the road home, diverting via Alloa to visit Fiona's sister, brother-in-law and 5-month-old niece. I can certainly say that after that weekend, I need a weekend to recover!

Merry Christmas Everyone

2009-12-14T23:17:00.007Z

Merry Christmas!
Since my dabble in grown-up people's politics I've reverted back to my usual job of organising the Lib Dem stronghold of Edinburgh West. It was tough to settle back in after my selection disappointment but have suitably realigned myself with the successful selection candidate and he has asked me to be his agent for the General Election - another string to my bow.

Soon after my selection disappointment I took three-and-a-half weeks off and managed to make a whistle-stop visit to see lots of friends...
- I spent a few days in Vienna with Helen and Ed, my crazy friends cycling to China http://helenanded.blogspot.com
- I went to a chocolate fair in Mayfair with Claire, caught up with Euan and Mike in Westminster, went to see Wicked with Susan and Lizzie, and had a pint with Ben and Rob at King's Cross
- I made it to Cambridge to visit Ali and Andy
- I made a dash over to Bonn for a few days with Nicole, Barbara and Christian
- I took a last-minute detour north to see Danielle in St Andrews before returning to work
...it was truly epic!

Since then I have been working hard and indeed training hard. I'm back doing sprint training at least twice a week. It's winter training just now and it's doing me the power of good, am really enjoying myself. I've also taken on leadership of a new batch of Bronze Duke of Edinburgh's Award participants which is really refreshing.

I've also (predictably) been to see as much rugby as possible. Recently spent the weekend in Wales and managed a double-header of Glasgow vs Cardiff and Ospreys vs Edinburgh. Even the week before last I was back in Wales for Edinburgh vs Scarlets, storming victory! Went to all the Autumn tests this year too, including Scotland's triumphant victory over Australia - I wonder when the next time I'll witness such a result will be?!

Last weekend (incidentally the coldest weekend in Scotland this winter so far) I spent the weekend with mates from work in Nethy Bridge. It was MEGA cold. We stayed in a former railway station (now bunkhouse), installed a keg of beer from the local brewery and drank the weekend away. It was momentous. I think it's such a great, unique thing with my job when you meet up for random weekends with your constituency counterparts and have such a fab time.

As always I'm still managing to fit in my staple TV diet including Neighbours, Home and Away, Strictly, Casualty, Top Gear and Spooks - same old same old.

The Christmas fortnight looks like it's going to be a busy one. Got some relatives to visit, some home-returning friends to catch up with and no doubt plenty of food to eat! Nevertheless, if you're about in Edinburgh or fancy a festive phonecall, be sure to get in touch. No matter when Gordon finally decides to call the General Election, the start of 2010 is going to be a busy time for me, so it's recommended to catch up with me now!

Finally, in case you haven't seen my pleas on other media, I am doing the Bupa Winter Run in Edinburgh on 9th January. I'm running for the NSPCC. If any of you have any pennies left after Christmas or have forgotten to buy me a pressie(!) then a sponsor would be just as worthy. You can donate at www.justgiving.com/beverleyhope

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and a fab Hogmanay!

BUPA Winter Run 2010

2009-12-06T19:41:00.000Z

My Federal Conference Speech, Bournemouth 20th September 2009

2009-09-25T11:10:00.000+01:00

Conference,

In my mind there is no question that Scottish Devolution has been a resounding success.

As the preamble of the Calman Commission Report highlights,

‘The Scottish Parliament has embedded itself in both the constitution of the UK and the consciousness of Scottish people.’

Furthermore it has delivered for the people of Scotland.

My reason for addressing Conference this morning however, is, in urging Conference to support this motion, to urge The Scottish Liberal Democrat Party, and, in turn the Federal Party, to take its support of the Calman Commission Report to its rightful conclusion – to undermine the SNP campaign to bring Independence to Scotland.

As the constituency organiser for Edinburgh West where we are witnessing the rise of a largely unidentifiable Nationalist vote, I think it is imperative that we as a party work together to devise a clear message in promoting the recommendations of Calman.

The bottom line is, Scotland doesn’t need Independence, doesn’t want Independence, and won’t benefit from Independence.

Let’s cut the jargon, shelve the phraseology ‘Greater Fiscal Autonomy’ and ‘Home Rule’ and be more articulate in telling the voters of Scotland how the Liberal Democrats will benefit their lives.

As the Calman Report states,

‘It is possible to have a distinct Scottish political identity, and differing Scottish policy choices, without undermining the essential unity of the United Kingdom in relation to matters that are critical to all its people.’

I urge Conference to support the motion.

Time for another holiday

2009-07-18T20:20:00.004+01:00

Following my trip to Vienna and Bratislava, I have been up to my neck in European Election campaigning. It was some of the most frantic weeks I've ever experienced - worse than my Masters write-up! There are so many things to keep on top of when you're coordinating an election campaign, no matter how insignificant the electorate consider it to be. It really did challenge my sanity and patience to the max. Nevertheless with the undiminishing help of some key stalwarts and a lot of hard work the Lib Dems won in Edinburgh West. That is such a strong position to be in going into a General Election.

Anyway, enough about that. Within two days of the election result announcement I was boarding a flight to Malaga with my mum. We were heading on a roadtrip along the south coast of Spain and then north towards Granada. I was the driver at the helm of the rental car, driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time in my life. It was a fun experience in the end, even mum complimented my driving! The first three days of our trip were spent in the resort town of Nerja. It was a very pleasant place and it felt great to spend so many mind-numbing hours lazing by the pool. We even managed to find somewhere there to watch Lions match going on during that week. It was a shame about the cabaret in the evenings of our Fawlty Towers-style hotel. At its worst, a blonde Dot Cotton wearing a baggy one-piece Andrex-peach outfit bleated out 50s classic that even my mum was struggling to identify!

To me, the latter part of the holiday was better. I'm definitely a city person. We were staying in an uber-modern hotel on the outskirts of Granada. The swimming pool was gorgeous. After the heat of the midday sun mum and I spent time acquainting ourselves with the city centre, a really lovely place with lots of character and so much to see. I particularly liked the Arab influence in parts of the city centre like Albaicin. One night we took my Baedecker's advice and searched out a wee Moroccan restaurant where I had my first authentic Tagine, it was a real treat. Of course the highlight of the city trip was the day at the Al Hambra palace - a stunning place and yet so tranquil despite the number of tourists there.

Vienna via Bratislava

2009-05-07T20:10:00.004+01:00

Shortly after the wedding I managed to take a few more days off work and spend a few days on holiday with my flatmate Fiona. We took a rather special Ryanair flight to that well-known central European airport, Vienna-Bratislava! We spent a night and the following morning enjoying the sights of Bratislava though this didn't really take all that long. Visually it's a gorgeous city but the sights only took a morning to tick off. In truth, we were both itching to get to Vienna anyway. In a break from the norm of travelling by bus or train to Vienna, Fiona and I took a boat along the Danube from Bratislava to the centre of Vienna. The sun was shining the whole day and it was a really nice journey.

There was lots to do in Vienna when we got there, even a city marathon if we felt so inclined! We managed to get some tickets to the opera, Der Rosenkavalier, to see Klimt's The Kiss, to visit a cafe Hitler once preached in, to eat lots of strudel and Sachertorte and drink the local ale. All in all Vienna made a really good impression on me. It is a city that has a lot going on and the atmosphere is really appealing - it's definitely somewhere Id like to return to, if for no other reason than to speak more German.

THE Wedding 2009

2009-05-07T19:18:00.003+01:00

As promised I'd better let you know how the wedding of the year went in St Andrews. Well, to keep you in suspense a little longer by telling you all about the hen party first! So I arrived in St Andrews early on the thursday morning to make sure the bride-to-be was alive and kicking and ready to take on my day of fun. Surprisingly, Danielle was both awake and dressed! That's not to say there was plenty of dithering to be done before the festivities began though. First stop was to Danielle's parents so that she could try on her wedding dress for the last time before the big day and Aunty Yvonne could make any last-minute adjustments. After having faffed for a wee bit, we dashed back to Danielle's flat to collect two other hen-party-goers and headed on into town. It was a really nice girlie reunion in Starbucks from where proceedings commenced. Isn't it magic that all of a sudden so many people from such far-away places congregate in the same place? Activity one was a town treasure hunt. It was never meant to be taken too seriously, but the weather was very kind and it was a good wee jaunt to spend the morning partaking in. The twist to the treasure hunt was when the girls made it to the final straight to be met with a gazebo of champagne and relatives. For the first time I've ever known, there was not a breath of wind on West Sands and it was a lovely treat.

Activity two was a surprise trip to The Old Course Hotel for some afternoon tea. The tea list was vast, the sandwich crusts were off and the cakes were delicious! It had been pretty jammy when I booked this as the lady at the hotel kindly offered us the fourth floor bar lounge with the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Old Course - you couldn't beat it!

Activity three was another surprise to Danielle - we took her to the aquarium to feed the seals. Sadly the seals decided they weren't too hungry when we got there but nevertheless we girlies made the most of our aquarium entry ticket and spent ages admiring the fish. That's what happens when you take biologists to a 'fish museum'! As an afternoon treat we walked across town to Jannettas for some yummy ice cream.

The final activity of the day was evening dinner and drinks. We went for dinner at Nahm Jim, the best Thai restaurant I know! Incredibly, the Harris sisters managed to be a massive 45 minutes late - always heartening when it's their responsibility to get Danielle to the church in time for her wedding! Plenty of wine and food was consumed and slowly Danielle's 4 inch heels felt a bit comfier. On a full tank, we headed over to The Rule (better known as the Gin House to most of us) where we lounged around the upstairs area like we owned the place. The table where I was sitting quickly went through the pitcher list like we were drinking juice, I think I have a liver made of steel. It was really nice to finally meet Ben's mum who eventually turned up to the hen soiree, she was so friendly it felt as if we'd met already from what we knew about each other. At closing time, contrary to all hen party rules we all headed over to The Russell where the stags were all hiding out. In fairness we were all itching to get over there to see who had all arrived over the course of the day. We didn't stay too long though. Eventually we four amigos (ali, helen, danielle and myself) found ourselves crashed out in Danielle's lounge reminiscing and discussing the finer points of wedding etiquette for the big day! In true Greenside Court style we revitalised our slightly tired bodies and hazy minds the next day with Eggy Bread.

And now to the wedding day! While the weatherman (it couldn't have been Rob McElwee) didn't quite match the wedding day weather with the hen day weather, all in all the rain stayed off for the most important parts of the day. It was so grown-up seeing all of us in our glad rags arriving at the wedding. It was a far cry from our uni days! The service was really lovely, despite a couple of microphone hiccups and a blip from the priest which led to me touching his robe (is that illegal or something?! I'm not sure but at least I gained the respect of Mr Harris who said he wouldn't have dared do what I did!). The meal and the reception were also great (although it was taking place in a hall many of us had previously taken exams in) and the ceilidh was fab! It was a pleasant surprise to see Ben Murray rock up late, albeit looking a tad underdressed, and it meant that we could keep our Strip the Willow battle. Not content with the evening we'd already enjoyed many of us then moved on to The Greyfriars (better known as The Tudor) for a nightcap or two. We even managed to kidnap the happy couple for a wee while. Finally, Helen and I made it back to our hotel room where we chatted into the even weer small hours.

It was a really great long weekend in St Andrews. It was fab to meet up with close friends and slightly more distant friends. I'm so lucky to have so many friendships in which, after having not seen each other for ages, we can pick off from where we left off and immedately feel so comfortable around each other. Maybe that's the result of going to such a cosy uni like St Andrews or maybe it's because I'm picky with friends :-)

Really? Has three months passed already?

2009-03-23T22:03:00.004Z

Since my last post I have been busy busy busy - when am I not?! I spent New Year in Edinburgh with friends, tried my hand at snowboarding on real Scottish snow at Nevis Range in February and got promoted to Vince Cable's taxi driver in March - who else can boast such a list?!

Obviously the highlight of the last few months for me has been the Six Nations. Although I may be a Scotland supporter I still find enjoyment in watching the successes of other teams and carrying out post mortems on the slightly more mediocre performances of Scotland. Now we, in the Scottish rugby fraternity, are awaiting two announcements: when's Hadden going to be sacked and who's going to replace him? Personally, I'm confident I know the answer to both of those questions but in the event I don't I've blagged a meeting with some SRU bigwigs as I accompany John to a constituency meeting on Thursday!

So the weekend before last was Scottish Conference in Lib Dem land. It was held in Perth this year, somewhere I haven't spent a whole lot of time. Day one for me was quite a hectic one, as I zoomed up and down the M90. The main reason for this was that I ended up being asked to chauffeur Vince Cable to-and-fro for the day. Obviously, it goes without saying that this was an absolute privilege but, as with every 'VIP' visit, time-frames are tight and there's a lot of pressure to deliver your 'VIP' with care! Vince and his wife Rachel were absolutely lovely. They are now the latest LibDem royalty in a long line who have been subjected to my chauffeurial services - I am afterall the local choice! (petty LibDem joke there, sorry for all you non-LibDems!)

Yesterday was Mother's Day - I hope you all remembered?! In a twist of fate it was agreed that Granny, Grandpa, Mum and Dad would all come over to mine to have sunday roast. The catch was that Granny and Grandpa weren't prepared for this, dad having told them that 'a table in an exclusive restaurant had been booked'. I got up at the crack of dawn (which for a sunday equates to 8:30am) and donned my 'domestic goddess' hat - a metaphorical hat. First I cobbled together a semi-complicated Apple sponge from my Dr Oetker baking book. As with everything in this book it was all in the presentation, however I felt my efforts had been vindicated when dad remarked 'gosh it looks just like the photo in the book!' Then it was onto the timing intricacies of cooking a roast. Roast lamb was on the menu following a somewhat surreal visit to my local butcher who explained to me about the finer points of Black-faced Techsol cross-bred sheep. It all went to plan as the morning progressed and ultimately the mystery restaurant was guessed by Granny, who arrived promptly with the rest of the crew at 1pm. I think Granny and Grandpa were quite chuffed to have finally visited Chateau Bev after having heard various reports from other family members.

This evening I'm sitting doing work of all things - a terrible state of affairs. I think I've slightly overdone it with annual leave in April and I'm going to be really pressed for time on my current projects if I don't forego a few evenings. Nevermind. The evening has been fairly relaxed though, having enjoyed an episode of Ballykissangel, Mrs Henderson Presents and now Notting Hill. 'This yoghurt tastes funny...!' The holidays I speak of are two forthcoming events that I am very much looking forward to: first comes Danielle and Ben's wedding, which is gonna be an awesome reunion and then comes my wee city break to Vienna - somewhere I've wanted to visit forever.

Seeing as I've been sitting with a keyboard on my lap for the best part of five hours now, excluding my desktop at work obviously, I think I'll stop there for now. At least I've finished from somewhere I can start off from next time though - tune in next time for the wedding and holiday banter!

Edinburgh 39-6 Glasgow

2008-12-26T22:44:00.002Z

The festive period in the Hope household was a quiet, relaxed one this year. One notable reason for this was the absence of Brian round the Christmas dinner table - he's currently serving in Iraq. This aside, Christmas is generally low key with the day consisting of slobbing and eating - this year was no exception.

Following Christmas day, Box day was positively energetic as we hit the sales in Tillicoultry. While the sales seemed to be very competitive, it was disheartening to see so many of the outlets were 'closing down' sales rather than just seasonal ones. Once we found our way home, with the help of mum and dad's new toy Gertrude (their SatNav), or rather hindrance thereof, we quickly grabbed a bite to eat and readied ourselves for the age-old grudge match between Edinburgh and Glasgow at Murrayfield.

I met mum and dad in our usual seats close to where the Edinburgh subs sit. Oddly however, I had to straddle across a Glaswegian couple sitting beside them before I took my seat. Ordinarily I'm happy for the odd interloper to sit in the season ticket seats. The fact is that the security is so relaxed that it's easy for away support to err into the home support seats. Tonight though, the security men were a bit more lively, asking to see my season ticket before letting me into the stadium. Therefore, finding two Weegies alongside my parents was somewhat baffling. What added to my dismay at this aged couple sitting beside me, and to be honest, what almost ended up in me releasing my bitten tongue, was the fact that they had clearly not made the trip east to have a good time! Mrs Weegie's banter was appalling. It's all very well for a Weegie supporter to turn against the Edinburgh team and support, but when she began booing some of her own team (namely Colin Gregor and Johnny Beattie) I predicted the first half would be hard work!

Nothing pleased her. The limited edition Edinburgh shirts offended her as she commented 'did someone design that as a dare?'. Simon Webster was an 'eejit', Phil Godman was an 'idiot', and when confronted by a 'Gunners' chant by the Edinburgh supporters she gasped 'what on earth are they chanting?!' - has she never been to a derby match before?!!! It didn't stop there. She couldn't understand the east-side MC and so took to telling him to 'put a sock in it'. It was utterly exhausting. The funniest bit came when at halftime a man behind her stood up and accidently velcroed her hair to his jacket. Considering it was ACCIDENTAL she went ape! Needless to say, at halftime when dad went to the loo, I quickly relocated to his seat, letting him return to sit beside her!

Ultimately, the full-time score brought a great deal of satisfaction, having sat beside such an unbearable woman: Edinburgh 39-6 Glasgow and a bonus point for 4 tries! I'll be looking out for her next week a Firrhill.

Britain's favourite view

2008-11-22T10:04:00.003Z

After another season of by-elections is over, I am taking some time out and have escaped to the country. More specifically, I have come to visit my friend Fiona who is currently working in Whitehaven, Cumbria, as a doctor. In fact Fiona lives in a wee place called St Bees on the west coast of Cumbria. She lives in a pretty, wee cottage in a courtyard where ducks roam and there's a pet rabbit in the back garden. It's just what I need. For those of you who know me well, the absence of a tele is somewhat of a culture shock, but by and large I'm coping just fine!

Yesterday we spent the day in and around the Wastwater area. It was recently voted 'Britain's Favourite View' - and it's not hard to see why. Not content with a waterside view of the valley, Fiona and I donned our hiking boots and headed for the hills. We aimed high and set out to climb England's highest peak, Scafell Pike. Standing at 978m, it is some 366m short of Ben Nevis but nevertheless the climb was very challenging - a lot of scree and very little shelter from the valley gales. Once we got past the constant 'climbing the stairs' stage of the climb, the climb became more exciting as we scrambled and rock-hugged! By the time we reached the top we had gone through umpteen weather systems and felt very satisfied with our achievement. The views in every direction appeared and disappeared as the clouds moved over the area. They were spectacular views when they revealed themselves though. We could see across to Coniston Water in the east and over to the Irish sea in the west - it was beautiful. Our satisfaction was short-lived, however as, faced with now 60mph gusts and horizontal snow, we tried to find the easiest and safest route down. We quickly realised there was no 'easy route down'. After a solid 40 minutes of keeping low to the ground and scaling some icy rock faces we returned to the comfort of 'climbing back down the stairs' - a welcome relief. As Wastwater became bigger in our sights we were greeted with increasing signs of civilisation, not least the little hill sheep who were gazing by the mountain burn. Once safely back to the car we headed for the nearby inn for a celebratory pint (well...one half pint and a cup of tea!) and metaphorically patted each other on the back after our achievement!

After years of doing Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions together, my dad would have been proud to see his girls still climbing hills of their own volition!

By-election Binge

2008-09-27T14:00:00.003+01:00

Summer is over, my holidays have been taken and now my life is due to be consumed by by-elections - lucky me! The huge pile of washing on my bedroom floor tells me that either I've been really lazy lately or I've not been spending much time at home, and while ordinarily, the former would be the case, in fact it's the latter on this occasion. In quick succession I've been away in Germany, at Conference in Bournemouth and then on holiday in Poland. September has been a really fun month.

Bournemouth conference started at 3:45am on a chilly Friday morning for me. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to book some flights from Prestwick southwards, the only problem being that the early morning flight meant that departure from Edinburgh was EARLY! Starting conference with a sleep deficit is not clever. Nevertheless I admirably managed to get through the days with plenty of coffee and remain perky enough in the evenings to dutifully schmooze and network. The one reassurance in keeping to this intolerable timetable came every morning between 8:15am and 9am when Fiona and I went down to breakfast and joined John and Cheadle MP Mark Hunter, who were equally bleary-eyed!

Following a short one-day post-Bournemouth working week, I found myself again packing my things, this time for a week's holiday in Krakow with mum. Not really sure of what to expect from the city itself, I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. The touristy part of the city is quite compact and made visiting the medieval squares, churches and the market hall very easy. Having said that, getting there from our hotel was a bit of a mission. Public transport in Krakow is mainly the tram network - an attractive and historical yet unreliable and downright dangerous mode of getting about! Once you've mastered the tram network however all(!) you have to master is the street names and the Polish vocab. Needless to say it took me and mum a few trips before we felt completely confident of where we'd end up.

It was no secret that the real reason I'd chosen Krakow as a holiday destination was because of my desire to visit Auschwitz. It's not everyone's first choice tourist attraction but for me, having spent so many years studying German history, the Third Reich and the Holocaust, visiting Auschwitz added another dimension to all that I'd learned during my degree at St Andrews. The experience of Auschwitz didn't disappoint.

Now i'm back from my galavanting I'm feeling refreshed, upbeat and ready to tackle the next 'term' of work until Christmas. Immediately I have the prospect of fighting a very winnable Council by-election in Forth ward where Cllr Elizabeth Maginnis died so suddenly at the start of the month. While no-one feels comfortable about fighting elections in such circumstances, I'm relishing the campaign. There's also the lure of the Glenrothes by-election, although the date of this is still uncertain. All in all, October looks set to be an exciting month of electioneering and campaigning.

Happy Holidays!

2008-08-22T20:54:00.007+01:00

Today my summer holidays started in earnest - with a trip to the dentist! It was so satisfying setting up my 'out of office' reply for my work email. I am on holiday until the 1st September, and not before time. While it was my choice to save my trips away until the end of the summer, I feel like I have been excited about going away for ages. The weekend has a lot of treats in store. Tomorrow is the first rugby match of the season - a friendly game between Edinburgh and Wasps. Danielle is coming down from St Andrews and we're going to spend the afternoon swooning over fit rugby players. In the evening I'm going to take Danielle to her first ever Fringe show. We're going to see Ed Byrne. I've admired him for a while, especially now that he's made the big-time regularly appearing on Richard and Judy! All joking aside, he's got a fantastic reputation and his ticket prices are above the average, ergo he MUST be good.

On Tuesday I'm finally leaving the country for a while and visiting my second home...Germany. I'm heading over there with Mark and we're going to meet up with Alasdair and Clare while we're out there. Alasdair has already booked us a table at the quirky restaurant where you eat in darkness. I'm very excited about that! It was my only touristy request for this trip, given that I've been to Berlin twice before.

To many, coming home from their summer break would be the anti-climax to their summer. Not me! Just yesterday I received a phone call from the nice man at Mazda to say that they've found me a green car (for quite some time the prospect of a 'spirited green' Mazda 2 was in jeopardy). What's more, it may even be the case that I'll get to collect it on September 1st!! Another day off work may beckon, just so that I can acquaint myself with my new acquisition...! Mal sehen.

Over the past few weeks I think I've added a crazy 10 'new' DVDs to my ever-growing film collection. The reason for new being in inverted commas being that three of my most recent purchases were Mrs Doubtfire, Dirty Dancing and Titanic - nothing new about those films! I really must discipline myself when I visit Tesco or HMV, but the lure of offers or the enpowerment of clubcard points always mean that I succumb to buying more. Having said that, I can somehow justify my binge-buying by adding that no DVD gathers dust for long. These past few days I have watched about five DVDs just because evening tele has been so rubbish! In fact, as I write, I am watching Dirty Dancing for the second time since I bought it on Tuesday!

In need of a holiday

2008-08-10T21:26:00.003+01:00

It's now been a couple of weeks since the Nats took control of Glasgow East and still I find myself catching up on my sleep. Work levels in the office have risen, the flat, suffering from neglect, needs cleaned, and, most urgently, I need some clean clothes! It is a fierce combination but by the end of August I pledge to have kept on top of everything...well, in truth I'll be bailing out and holidaying in Berlin.

The news story of the month so far is that I said a sad farewell to my loyal Clio. After nine years at my mercy, it was decided she should move on. I was sad to see her go but I am comforted by the prospect of a new car - already christened Kermit. Unfortunately, due to my wacky taste in colour, I am having to wait for Kermit for a few months, but once he arrives I'm sure he'll quickly fill Clio's shoes. In the meantime I'm reliant on my bike and my parents taking some spontaneous holidays (so I can pinch the Volvo). I think after two months this lifestyle will wear off - how am I meant to carry £40 worth of shopping on my handlebars?! To make matters worse the weather has not been being very kind so I have been forced to subject myself to public transport, which in Edinburgh, during the festival, at the mercy of the Council's ad hoc roadworks plans, is somewhat treacherous.

I'm learning Polish at the moment. It's testing me greatly. I'm doing the whole CD 'parrot' effort - at times it can be comedy, at others just down right unpronouncable! Hopefully, by the time I head over to Krakow in September I'll at least be able to string some sentences together.

So at the moment it's festival time in Edinburgh. The town is heaving. I trekked along the Royal Mile yesterday and just felt like a t-shirt saying 'I'm a Local' would have been really beneficial. My destination was the Fringe ticket office. Never again am I going to subject myself to that queue - it was intolerable. Trying to be as friendly as possible I was declining every person offering me bits of paper. In the interests of cutting out the middle-man I decided they'd be just as effective at binning them as I would be. After about ten minutes in the queue a man claiming to be an act on the Fringe approached me with his flyer and I again, in as nice a manner as I could muster, told him to keep it. What was different about this occasion, however, was that guy started publicly mocking me as I stood there - needless to say he was English and the best tack he could take was that I was Scottish and clearly entering the spirit of the Fringe. Bloody English!

That incident aside, I've been really enjoying the Fringe this year. I've already seen Jason Byrne and I have a few shows lined up for this week. I tried to drum up some enthusiasm for heading to the Spiegel Tent with some mates from school on Friday but, somehow, I found myself instead spending most of the evening in an old man's bar in Tollcross - I hate it when that happens! For the first time, this year I will be rounding the Festival off with swanky tickets for the fireworks. I'm really excited about that and I'm taking my mum with me - she's never seen the fireworks from Princes Street Gardens before, nevermind sitting in front of the orchestra.

Hectic Times

2008-07-09T22:06:00.003+01:00

Gosh, the days may be at their longest just now, but with my current lifestyle it would be great if either the sun could make more allowances for me or God could make time stand still for a wee while so that I can catch my breath.

Finally the Scottish campaigners have been 'blessed' with a Scottish by-election...in Glasgow East of all places! Over the past few days I have been acquainting myself with the more hidden nooks of Calton, Parkhead, Baillieston and Shettleston. I'm so pleased that we organisers north of the border are finally being allowed to flex our abilities and have some more responsibility when making key decisions. Unfortunately, the down-side to a Scottish by-election is the absence of the crack-team workforce from down south who are understandably pretty reluctant to make the journey to Glasgow to trudge the streets.

At the moment even my social time is being squeezed although I'm still managing to make time for friends - energy-levels permitting! On Friday there will be a momentous happening in Edinburgh when we four Greenside Court girlies will be reunited for the first time since Helen's wedding. I'm being hostess with the mostess for the evening - I've already bought in the Choco Leibnitz biscuits (a St Andrews tradition). I think I'll be sticking to Ribena for the evening however, as Saturday sees me heading north to Balado for a heavy weekend of drinking - I'm off to T in the Park. After an unexpected turn of events, Fiona (Wylie) and myself spontaneously acquired a couple of tickets and thought it'd be a good laugh for the weekend. Having said this, a bit of luck with the weather would be so much the better (I've just order wellie boots online...to be on the safe side).

Call me MA MA

2008-06-15T20:57:00.004+01:00

After months and months and months of waiting I have finally been awarded my postgraduate masters degree from Cardiff. It has been so long since my course finished that even I am having trouble remembering exactly what I studied! So now I am Beverley Hope MA(hons)German MA(European Studies)...or something like that. People say that we're now in a world where one degree isn't enough to go far in life, but now I'm wondering if even two is enough?!

To celebrate the envelope finally coming through the door, mum and I went out for dinner (while dad played golf). We went to A Room in the West End. It was a really nice treat and the food was lovely. In fact mum even branched out and tried ostrich. Further to that treat, Fiona and I went for a shop in the Gyle one night after work and I treated myself to a dress from Monsoon. In my somewhat warped logic I decided I could justify it by keeping it long enough to wear at Danielle's wedding...it's next Spring. Otherwise, I could wear it on the odd occasion between now and then without being seen by Danielle, Ben or anyone else I think will be at the wedding!

I am realising that, for those of you regular blog readers, you'll have noticed I haven't giving you a plot analysis of Neighbours for a while. Well, all I have to say is brace yourself - two Ramsay Street stalwarts are leaving this week and it's going to be emotional. I love spring TV scheduling, it's great...with the exception of Big Brother, controversial I know. Tuesdays have been awesome with The F Word on (although it was even better when it was preceded by How To Look Good Naked). Wednesdays have been compelling while The Apprentice has been on and there have been tornadoes sweeping through Wisteria Lane. What's more, Shipwrecked has been on at the weekend - perfect tele to recover from hangovers with!

Now it's sport sport sport all the way. Although the rugby season is over and my walks to Murrayfield (from my flat two minutes away) have been put on hold until the friendly Edinburgh match against Wasps in August, the test matches have been taking up most weekends. When not rugby, there's the Euro 2008 football, Queens/Wimbledon, Formula One and then eventually there's the Olympics. Interestingly enough I ended up watching the Triathlon World championship from Vancouver today and was surprised to see British woman Helen Tucker win the event! The other week I ran the Race for Life for Cancer Research UK. The course was only 5km and, while it didn't kill me, I did feel quite knackered by the end of it. How triathletes manage lots of swimming, a 40km bike ride and then lots of running is beyond me! Nevertheless, my 5km effort raised £180 for charity. I think I've now been bitten by the distance bug (ok, to some of you 5km may not be 'distance', but speaking as a 200m sprinter...!) My next challenge will be the Loch Ness 10km in October.

I don't know about you, but lately I've been getting evermore guilty about watching those 'pull-on-the-heart-strings' adverts that have been asking people to give blood. In short, the advert worked. To try and overcome my fear of going to the walk-in centre I thought I'd recruit some friends to come with me one evening after work and I created a Facebook event. I'm guessing most of the people I invited are like me and mentally thought of every possible excuse not to go. I have been being that person for so long but now I feel I should act my age, endure the twenty minutes it takes to give blood, and save a few lives. Sadly, in reality this is not how events panned out however. Fiona came along with me - at the time she was a blood-donating virgin. We both waited patiently in the waiting area (Fiona more patiently than me, since I had left my car at the mercy of the parking ticket vultures) until we were eventually called. After the first consultation I was banned from blood-giving - my haemoglobin was too low, or, 'the blood wouldn't sink'. Fiona on the otherhand was clear to proceed. Having dragged her along, I felt obliged to accompany her through the rest of the process, and to be honest, I'm glad I did. People in the bed area were keeling over left, right and centre, and yet I was chatting to Fiona so much that she didn't even notice!

Yesterday I did my domestic goddess bit around the house. The highlight of the morning was my herb-planting endeavour. I'm very excited about my kitchen window-sill at the moment. Practically since the week we moved in, Fiona and I have had a basil plant, and aside from almost letting it die of thirst in its first few days, it's thriving. Heartened by this, and spying the '2 for £2' offer in Sainburys, mr basil has now been flanked by mr coriander and mrs parsley. Being a bit daring, I've even planted the seeds of some marjoram, chives and thyme. Perhaps this is a feat too far, but we'll see if, between the two of us in the flat, we can keep them alive. The feat thereafter is finding recipes with the said herbs in them and then being able to actually cook them!

My new toy

2008-05-13T20:44:00.003+01:00

For the first time since I started my new job I thought I'd treat myself...to a new bike no less! It is beautiful. For the bike nerds among you it's a Carrera Subway, it's a wee 16 inch frame and it has town/trail tyres on it. For the more aesthetically-oriented among you it's charcoal grey and has a bell! To keep my mum happy I have also invested in a sexy fluorescent yellow top - the complete look is something to behold. And so, on and off for the past two weeks (i'm a fair-weather cyclist) I've been cycling to work. It's a straightforward route with a fairly hefty hill at the end. This is fine though, since I get to free-wheel down that same hill on the way home! The fun comes towards the end of my homeward journey however, when I have to fight my way along the greenway buslane with all number of Lothian and private buses. I'm getting the hang of it, but I will say that I find it a bit ironic that the most vulnerable road-users are made to share the same lane as the biggest bullies on Edinburgh's streets (taxis are included in that)!

Alongside this lifestyle change, I've been upping my training for my 5k run on June 1st. I've been gymming most nights and on non-gym nights I've even been swimming - one of my most hated pastimes! In fairness, my trips to the swimming pool haven't been too traumatic. Having said that, during my most recent trip I was close to killing a small child in the changing rooms. Just when I was coming to the end of my swimming adventure, towel-drying my hair about to leave, a small boy arrived with his mum. He'd clearly just been dragged away from the TV and what he had been watching had had a profound effect on him...he was singing my most hated advert song: ah ah ah ahh ah ahhhhh, ah ah ah ahh ah ahhhhh, ah ah ah ahh ah ahhhh, ah ah ah ahh ahhhhhhhhh ah. If you haven't guessed it from that, I'll enlighten you - it's that damn Lloyds TSB song! Needless to say I decided I could finish tying my hair up in the car...

From the new flat

2008-04-20T20:27:00.003+01:00

Here I am sitting in my new sitting room, overlooking Murrayfield stadium, surveying one of our TWO balconies where two rather randy pigeons are getting quite cosy! Sadly this sort of tranquility in my life never lasts long. I'd never really complain about the pace of life that I set myself, but reflecting now I do wonder how I manage to fit so much in! In the last three days I have had lunch with a Greek girl called Penelope, seen Brian O'Driscoll playing rugby, had tea with my cousin Matthew, been for a massage, gone shopping, done some housework, played with a pygmy hedgehog and a skunk named Peanut, dined with an MP and friends, played the organ at a church service, and met a school friend from long long ago! My life is never dull! While I'm taking the opportunity to sit down and have a cuppa just now, I'm really taking a liberty doing this, having not yet packed for a two-week trip to Cardiff - I'm off on the campaign trail. I'm heading south to win the Council elections for Cardiff LibDems - a stomping ground I'm quite well acquainted with. I'm hoping to make a few social visits while I'm down there. Unsurprisingly I'm also fitting in a rugby match, The Ospreys vs Edinburgh - who'd miss the opportunity to see James Hook?!!!

A few weeks ago me and my flatmate Fiona managed to squeeze in a wee flat-warming. Lots of friends came round, some taking the 'Daytime TV' theme more seriously than others! I'm sure we'll manage a few more parties over the coming months(... I'm finding myself dreaming more and more frequently about Eurovision).

Shamelessly, I'm now going to ask you all very nicely if you'd maybe visit a website: www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/beverleyhope So I'm doing a wee 5k run for Cancer Research and it'd be wonderful you'd all sponsor me. I'm running on 1st June. Thank you to the friends who've sponsored me thus far, it's really appreciated.

Spring is just around the corner...

2008-02-16T20:08:00.004Z

Happy 2008!
I have been horribly lame at keeping my blog in check lately. Nevertheless that means I have all the more to write in one blog entry. This year I spent new year in Dublin with Lizzie.

Inevitably this meant that some pretty funny adventures ensued. Ironically, the most memorable of these was when I was at my most tipsy, when Lizzie verbally abused the Eastern European bouncer of a club telling him 'politely' to go back to his own country! On returning from Dublin I promptly jumped on another plane to Cardiff. (Yes, I am a poor excuse for a LibDem with the number of internal/short-haul flights I take...I will no doubt be caught up with in this life or the next) Me and my parents headed south for Cardiff vs Edinburgh. It was literally a whistle-stop trip, featuring a quick visit to my favourite hairdresser, a game of rugby and a sly drink with friends. The bonus came towards the end of the trip at around 6:30am, when I boarded the same plane home as the Edinburgh team! I managed to blag a rolo from Ali Hogg and an imperial mint from Mikey Blair!

Since the winter break I have been getting stuck in to my new job. I am John Barrett MP's constituency/campaigns officer. It is a really fun job. To date, I have not woken up with the dread of work in my belly so it's all good. What I actually do is quite hard to define, but at the very least it's a really varied job that really challenges me. What's more, the people I work with make the job so enjoyable - the LibDem group of representatives' minions is a young, fun one and so after-work socialising is a regular event. I've also been lucky enough to have reason to head down to London. While the main reason has been to attend courses, it has meant that I've had my first visit to Portcullis House and the House of Commons. My next visit will be on monday...

My other exciting news of the month is that I'm finally moving house! Having survived since August living with my parents in their two-bedroom 'retirement flat', I have finally arranged to move in with a friend from work. We are moving into a flat in Roseburn where I'll be a stone's-throw from Murrayfield. A flat-warming party will be on the cards very soon.

Hopefully the next installment of my blog will be soon. There are lots of things coming up this month though so either I'll be so bombarded I'll forget to blog or my next blog will be jammed full of exciting things (or so I'll think!). I'm heading north for scottish conference in Aviemore towards the end of february, followed by a wee visit from Claire and a magical mystery tour to the west coast. I'm moving in to my flat and then taking the short walk to Murrayfield for the Calcutta Cup. Hope to hear from you all in some form or other soon!

P.S. I hope you're all loving the fact that Neighbours is now on Five. The weekend omnibus is a godsend! Aussie-hour is inspired!

Long awaited

2007-12-24T14:56:00.000Z

It seems that a lot of time has passed since I last updated my blog. Since then a lot has been going on in my life! In August I took a week's holiday/'research trip' to Bonn/Cologne which was fantastic. Although it rained for pretty much the whole week, visiting Robert, Christian, Barbara, Joela and Nicole was great. It goes without saying that you five are all welcome in Edinburgh anytime!

Soon after returning from Germany I finished up working in both Schuh and the Rugby Club and packed up my student pad in Cardiff. At the expense of entertaining him for a few days in Cardiff, Brian helped me carry my stuff down the four floors to my car and accompanied me on the drive north to Edinburgh.

Having relocated home (i.e my parents' two-bedroom flat) I had left myself about a month to write up my dissertation. That time was the most stressful time I have gone through EVER! Suffering from the claustrophobia of working at home I regularly relocated to the local library or The Elephant House to put pen to paper. Nevertheless it was not until my parents jetted off on a month's cruise that I finally got the peaceful environment I craved. In the end, my dissertation on German versus European federalism was finally submitted, though I have to admit that I should have devoted more time and attention to it than I ultimately did. No matter, what's done is done!

At the tail end of this writing-up period I managed to get myself a job in Edinburgh working for Edinburgh South Liberal Democrats as a constituency organiser. While this job was both only 25 hours a week and a temporary contract, this job enabled me to make lots of acquaintances in LibDem circles and I found myself really enjoying working there. Unfortunately, the prospect of extending my contract could not be realised as funding sources were limited, however I have since landed on my feet, successfully obtaining a full-time position in Edinburgh West for John Barrett MP. I start in January.

At the start of December I took a wee jaunt south to Cambridge, London and Kent. Helen and myself took the train down to Cambridge to visit Ali and Andy. Overall we spent the few days being touristy, visiting popular landmarks, such as where Colin Firth struts under the cloisters in Pride and Prejudice!

From Cambridge I carried on south to London for dinner with my Cardiff flatmate Claire at Gordon Ramsay's pub The Narrow. I highly recommend it to anyone heading to the big smoke - it's an informal, dresscode-less bar/restaurant with the yummiest food at a reasonable price (no, Gordon is not paying me to advertise!). Afterwards I managed to catch up with Cat and Euan in Leicester Square. Day two in London was spent predominantly in and around the Dome. In the morning Claire and I visited the Tutankhamun exhibition. It was really informative but required a lot of concentration as each room followed the pattern of housing numerous artefacts with accompanying textboxes. Added to this, the whole place was mobbed, so, as you can imagine, my patience slowly deteriorated as I went round. After dashing over to Covent Garden to meet Tom for lunch and a wee walk down Regent Street, Claire and I returned to the o2 Arena to finally attend a concert that we had been waiting for for about 8 months...TAKE THAT!!! Unsurprisingly, the concert was fantastic and seemed to go by in a flash. It's a pity we weren't a bit closer to the action, beside the over-audience walkway ideally! To conclude my wee holiday, Claire took me to Canterbury to show me the sights. Claire will be glad to read that this trip finally dispelled my preconception that Kent may as well be called greater Essex! In a last little spurt of excitement on my way home, my two hour stay at Gatwick airport was dramatically enhanced by evacuation! Sadly (perhaps fortunately) the reason behind it would appear to have been a stray lit cigarette in a toilet but, nonetheless, standing in suspense on the apron for 40 minutes was pretty fun!

Over the Christmas period I have been dashing around, attending social engagements, visiting relatives and catching up with friends. Having run out of flowery language to describe this with, I think I'll just end with some fun photos!

So now it's Christmas Eve. I'm sitting cosily in my lounge watching Miss Potter with our Christmas tree twinkling on the balcony. Slowly, I will start jenning myself up for my organ-playing at church this evening. I am now the permanent organist at Drylaw church and this time of year is fairly demanding! At least, after tonight's performance I am rewarded with pressies. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Floods are judgment on society, say bishops | Uk News | News | Telegraph

2007-07-01T22:54:00.000+01:00

Floods are judgment on society, say bishops | Uk News | News | Telegraph

So Proud!

2007-05-16T15:14:00.000+01:00

So last week I had a stressed-out Mum chatting to me on MSN because her and dad had been invited to yet another swanky dinner (dunno how they do it!). Needless to say, mum was stressing over having nothing to wear! Anyway, as the conversation goes on, she reveals that this posh dinner was being hosted by Edinburgh Rugby in the Caledonian hotel. As many of you will imagine, I began turning very green when I realised this!!! They had only been asked along to a complimentary end-of-season dinner with all the boys! What's more the story doesn't end here. So along they went last thursday evening, eating like royalty and brushing shoulders with some of my favourite men. After dinner there was the end-of-season awards ceremony for the players, Ben Cairns getting most promising player, Chris Paterson getting best try of the season etc etc. This was all very well and good. Unbeknown to my parents, however, a special award had been lined up, a 'best supporters of the season award' - can anyone guess where this is going?!!! Yep, you guessed it, my parents were hauled up on stage to accept this particularly prestigious award! They received a professionally taken framed photo of them sitting in the stand at Stradey Park, oh the pride. Admittedly, given the amount of time and money my parents invest in following the Gunners, they do totally deserve it. Afterall, this season they have only missed one match - an away game they couldn't make because they were moving house. What it is to be retired!

An unexpected lull

2007-05-07T18:00:00.000+01:00

Since submitting my first 100% coursework essay last week, I've gone through a bit of an academic lull - mainly self-engineered. Instead I've been working my socks off in Schuh and doing a few shifts at the rugby club. Working at Schuh is going really well. All the new people I've met there so far are really friendly and they've been keeping me right in my first few weeks. What's more the discount I get from working there is going down a treat. I've bought myself two pairs of shoes so far, but apparently I can buy up to 16 discounted pairs within a year so I'm keen to make inroads into the company's profits! At the moment I'm working 11 hours a week, although they have that horrible policy of keeping us behind til everything's done at the end of the day, meaning that I often give them more of my time at no extra cost - I hate that! Many of you will be proud to hear I'm also abstaining from driving to work at Schuh (it's about a 30 minute walk), although I do object to wasting virtually an hour every day traipsing to and from work, especially in the rain.

After months of anticipation, I finally went to see Spiderman III at the weekend. In my opinion it was great! It may stink of American cheese at times and be full of moral superiority, but I've always loved Peter Parker and his wee romance with MJ, so finally getting to see the outcome of the trilogy was fab. Now I'm waiting to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3, followed by Shrek 3! What a summer!

I'm off on holiday to Paris on Thursday. This trip has crept up on me quite nicely and I've only recently realised how soon May 10th is! Uncharacteristically I'm completely unprepared, haven't even arranged currency or travel insurance yet! I'm heading out to France on the Eurostar with my friend Libby for her birthday. As many of you know I've never been to France, nor had the inclination to go, but now that it's all booked, I'll try and embrace the experience!

It has to be said, however, that my day-to-day run-ins with 'France' do not translate to me getting on well in Paris. For those of you confused at what I'm getting at, one of my five flatmates in Cardiff who I regularly lock horns with is French. Flat living-conditions over the past month or so have deteriorated a lot, and my tolerance of everyone's comings and goings, cooking habits etc. has plummeted. Lately it's been necessary that I work in my room a lot and therefore I have spent days at a time in the flat, which has been driving me to despair. Since my last essay deadline, however, I have been making a point of studying in the grad centre or in various coffee shops/parks, meaning I spend less time 'at home'. It's a horrible feeling when your home is no longer your place of sanctuary and relaxation, but rather the complete opposite!

Anyway, finally for today, I'd like to say that my thoughts and prayers are with everyone up in St Andrews mourning the loss of Matt (Howell). It's such a horrible waste when someone so young, with so much to offer the world, dies so prematurely. (Matt died at the start of last week in an accident in Russia)

Where are the April showers?

2007-04-19T23:34:00.000+01:00

Yet still the April weather is remarkably pleasant! What is going on?! While I don't have the beautiful beaches of St Andrews to spend time on reading articles and planning essays, nor for that matter a nice view of the coast from a library window (the Arts and Social Sciences library here back onto a railway track), I have found some park benches in some pretty locations suitable for relieving me from my desk. At the moment I'm at that stage in my work where I've read lots, my brain is fairly frazzled, a plan of sorts is coming together, though patchy, and yet nothing of significance has been formulated - the stage where every distraction possible is being employed to avoid putting pen to paper. The avoidance is now at such an advanced stage that I've even taken to watching the Colin Firth adaptation of Pride and Prejudice for the first time!

It seems like it was months ago that I was back in Edinburgh. My week there was really good fun, though I have to say I did pack a lot in and really could have done with another holiday on return. It was soooo nice to catch up with so many of you. It's so bizarre how much my wee city has changed since I was last there in December. All of a sudden there are new buildings popping up everywhere, new shops emerging (like White Stuff on George St and the Swatch shop on Princes St - two of my favourites!), and people from school who I'm sure can't be old enough to frequent bars, appearing draped over stools in my local! On a more personal level, it was so amazing to hear that one of my mates from school is due to get married this week and that one of my mates from athletics is due to give birth this week! All of a sudden I'm feeling like I should be acting like a grown-up...maybe another day.

Many of you will be sad to hear that my little Clio packed in the other week. She decided to shed her exhaust the night before I was due to drive to Cardiff airport. In a fit of intolerance my dad announced to me that I should sell her, but after a week of reflection he has abstained from repeating such a 'suggestion'. Instead I have seen that she be taken good care of and she has been restored to her former self, at a price. I am hoping that now she can behave herself and cost me nothing for the rest of the summer. I have so many roadtrips and outings planned while I'm down here.

I've got myself a new job in Cardiff now. I'm working in Schuh and feeling very much in my element! There are just too many shoes I want to buy now. I think there's some sort of psychological game going on, created by Schuh executives, where the guilt of an employee choosing to buy one pair of shoes over another compels them to buy more and more shoes, thus turning Schuh's wage deficit into a sales profit - they're onto a winner! In my opinion the discount card is just a blow softener, now that I'm not grateful for it :-)

Spring is in the air

2007-03-26T22:38:00.000+01:00

As if by magic, with the clock change, the weather has transformed itself here in Cardiff and it looks as if the season we call summer is nearing. (Although I do live in the wettest corner of the country, so no doubt I have just jinxed everything!) It would be great if the sunniness could just hold out until the weekend, since there's no longer Six Nations rugby to keep me indoors. A wee road trip would be fab. Speaking of the Six Nations, what an anti-climactic occasion that was! Overall I really enjoyed the weekends of sport, and the shifts at the rugby club have been very banterous, especially when we got to wear our national shirts of choice! More often than not, wearing my Scotland shirt with pride, I would be the butt of all jokes and insults, however this was made easier to bear on the night when Scotland beat Wales - I had the smuggest face in the bar!

Aside from a month full of rugby I have been studying pretty hard too, unusual for a Masters student you might think(!) At the start of this semester there was a mix up with one of my key modules and as a result I was steered towards a WWII literature module, yes that's ANOTHER war module, woop woop! All in all, catching up with the module has been relatively easy, although given my academic history, dare I say I'm feeling all Holocausted out. Not to worry, it's light relief from my politics module :-)

So last week, at long last, Casino Royale came out on DVD. I feel like I've been waiting AGES to see Daniel Craig's steely blue-eyed gaze again. As if by fate, I was also dealt a bout of fever, headaches and snottiness last week (I don't want to call it the flu as it only lasted two days, but it was intense!), giving me virtually no option but to curl up and swoon over Mr Bond (as best one can in their sickbed!) I don't care what the critics say, or anyone else for that matter, Craig is by far the best Bond since Connery!

Moving on, so last night I went to see My Chemical Romance in concert. Perhaps to some this may sound like an odd choice of band for me, and indeed the rest of the rabble that went along to the gig at the CIA were not exactly people I would usually hang out with, however, Claire and myself donned our best emo get-up and lethargically (I think this is a good adjective to describe how emos saunter) made our way down to where it was at. I have to admit they were a really good live band, and what's more, unlike other bands of the same genre, you could actually differentiate between the songs - I felt like we were on to a winner!

Once Claire and myself had mastered the art of the emo hand salute thingy and the rhythmic bobbing we had fully established ourselves as bonafide fans. We considered this concert a good warm-up before we go to Wembley to see Muse in June!!!

Finally, I am coming home next week - hooray! I haven't been in Scotland since last year and I'm chomping at the bit to return, even if it is only for a week. No doubt after a day of mummy-fussing I'll be desperate to get back to the safety of Wales again! If there's any of you out there who feels like taking up some of my time in Edinburgh, feel free to let me know where you're at.

Back to the grind

2007-02-07T23:20:00.000Z

Evening fans!
Here I am once again sitting at my desk, with Bagpuss on my lap, about to give you another dose of my life. Well, after the stresses of exams and deadlines I treated myself to a week off last week. Claire, Karen and myself began the week of fun with a trip to Megabowl. It did feel a bit '10th birthday party'-esque but it was a jolly, non-pub way to start the week. On day two of the week of fun, me and Claire made a horrific realisation - we'd finished the last bottle in our crate of wine! Now unable to get through an evening without a swig of Vino Tesco, we duly went online and ordered another 12 bottles!

At some point last week Claire and myself enhanced our week of fun by indulging in a spot of Leonardo DiCaprio c/o Romeo and Juliet. For some reason, perhaps because both of us have seen the film so often, or perhaps because of the wine glasses in our hands at the time, we took to picking out some of the obscure lines in the film, such as: 'marvellous much', 'ascend her chamber and comfort her', and 'by my head here come the Capulets, by my heel I care not'. Not stopping at that we have now started using them in everyday conversation, adapting them to suit our purpose!

To complete my week of fun I went through to London for the weekend to visit lots of peeps and catch up and go out and be merry. It was so surreal initially walking into a restaurant in Soho to see so many friends that I hadn't seen for so long! Of course it was very cool at the same time, and we all bantered away like we'd never been apart. Saturday was a day spent in the pub. A very random mix of us St Andreans, both Scottish and English (and Irish and American and and and), gathered to watch the Calcutta Cup - a day I had been waiting for since beating the Auld Enemy last year! Sadly the outcome was not favourable this year but thankfully there were only two somewhat docile Englishmen (namely Ben and Rob) sitting in my vicinity so the taunts and jibes were pretty muted. A random on the tube made up for that on the way home however, as he spied my rugby shirt.

So now my week of fun is over and I must jumpstart my brain into academic mode again. I have three modules this semester, one of which I am particularly scared of! It involves knowing US foreign policy inside out and being able to spontaneously answer complex questions asked by a brainbox tutor who doesn't use words with fewer than five syllables, like 'bipartisanship' and 'confederalisation'!

January Jollities

2007-01-16T23:49:00.000Z

Having sobered up after Christmas and New Year, January is proving to be quite dull. Revision and studying has finally hit (a mere five months into my masters!) and the days are merging into one another. Me and my flatmate Claire are living for our weekly shop in Tescos. In fact, revision has hit us so hard that we've started going to supermarkets further afield just so we can extend our time away from our desks! Personally my favourite so far is the Sainsburys in Roath, simply because the first person I saw when I arrived was Rhys Williams! In the interim days between food shopping we've kept ourselves sane (relatively speaking) by taking heavy doses of Cold Feet. To the unsympathetic among you it may seem as if I am making a mountain out of a mole hill with all this study malarky. In truth I do only have a two-hour exam worth 20% to sit and a research proposal to write, HOWEVER the amount of reading I am taking on board for both is very time-consuming and quite mind-zapping. I will be glad when February arrives.

To break up the monotony of revision I took a wee trip to Glasgow at the weekend. Indeed it is not my destination of choice but the BBC were paying for BA flights and a four star hotel so I wasn't complaining. All I had to do in return was represent Wales in a pilot quiz show thingy! The majority of the 50 of us representing Wales all got on really well - it's amazing what happens when you gather 50 outspoken 'Welsh' people together! When we weren't stuck hanging around in a BBC canteen, we were drinking together and being very jovial.

Today me and Claire went to the gym - the second time we've been since deciding that taking up membership would be a good idea (New Year's resolution n all that). Contrary to my body's wishes I leapt out of bed at 8:15am ready for a brain-energising workout. The exercise actually made me feel pretty good and my endeavours were rewarded with uninterrupted concentration levels all morning while I read about the origins of Europe - you're all as enthralled as I am, I'm sure! In fact me and Claire have made a repeat appointment with the gym tomorrow at the same hour of darkness - we'll see how long this momentum lasts!

Christmas Festivities

2006-12-29T14:53:00.000Z

This whole 'life in full' thing has come unstuck somewhat - sorry! Let's recap the last month...

Well, December started with a delivery at our student flat cum prison compound - the Tesco man cometh. In preparation for the festive season me and my flatmate Claire invested in one or two (well twelve) bottles of wine - in theory an outrageous plan, but in practice one of the best decisions I've ever made! Since then partying has been fun, inexpensive and maximised dancing time by reducing queueing for drinks!

Completely unrelated to this acquisition, the 7th of December saw Bev missing her first class - OMG!!! To be fair, I think I did pretty well to manage to make it so far through the semester. The tactical skive came about after a day's long slog in the Grad Centre writing an essay. Then God gave me a sign that it wasn't meant to be by opening the heavens shortly before 5pm (when my class was due to start) and spitting out golfball-sized hailstones! It would have been far too treacherous for me to make the 100 yard walk along the road! What's more, by this point I had a pint in my hand and good, banterous company around me. Three hours later we were still sitting there, drunkenly partaking in a pub quiz and ordering Dominos Pizza - happy days!

*For those of you reading this knowing full well what I got up to in the week I'm about to skip, please let it slide this once!*

On the last Wednesday of term myself and Claire embarked on a mammoth undertaking - Christmas dinner for twelve! It took weeks of preparation, lots of shopping aisle deliberations, and a very sexy pink holdall (ask Claire!) When the evening finally came around, our very bland living room miraculously transformed into a festive haven of crackers, presnts and mistletoe. True to what usually happens when us lot get together, the evening descended into debauchery and lots of raisin weekend-esque party games - no prizes for guessing who conjured those up!

So finally I decided to head home for Christmas. Of course it's nice to idealise what Christmas at home is going to be like, but over the years I've come to the conclusion that reality rarely lives up to such visions! Indeed my time in the homeland started with the small matter of moving house, a situation in which I was never going to see my parents' best side! Oh the stressing! 'Where am I going to put this highly important ornament?' 'Where did I pack the Christmas decorations?' etc etc. In our case, added to such remarks were things like 'Bob, this door's got a mark on it', ' Bob what does this switch do?' due to the fact that our new flat was actually BRAND new.

In my 10 days 'at home' I did manage to catch up with lots of friends however, which was a bonus. At Christmas time my favourite catching-up activity is definitely Christmas Eve. This year a whole group of us headed for drinks at the Cramond Brig. It's fun because not only can you catch up with mates from school that you haven't seen for a while, but you also get to person-spot people from years above and below you at school and speculate about what they're doing with their lives etc. After the pub the tradition is to head to Cramond Kirk for some carols and the watchnight service. For me, there are two highlights here: Minister Russell's annual terrible joke (this year was no exception!) and singing the Twelve Days of Christmas with added standing-up/sitting-down coordination. Aside from those two things the service is fairly run-of-the-mill. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without it though!

Finally, we've made it to the present-opening bit. Well, this year I got the Cold Feet DVD box set. Having had to leave my videos at home due to the absence of a video player in Cardiff, many of you will realise that this present has filled a significant void in my life! I also got a lovely silver necklace from my brother, which came as a pleasant surprise, and some vouchers from my Granny. Christmas day for us was a quiet family affair, mainly spent sat in front of the TV. Personally, the Vicar of Dibley was the day's highlight - I can't wait for the New Year episode!!!

So now I'm back in Cardiff having flown south last night. It's like I've never left! Tomorrow Libby arrives and Hogmanay celebrations will get underway. I'll try and find time to report back on how that goes!!! Hope you all had a jolly fesitve time and hope to catch up with you soon.

Already week 5!

2006-11-01T16:26:00.000Z

With this semester going as fast as it's going, I'm gonna be back in Scotland before I know it! So let's pick up from one of my last entries when I said I'd return to the Fratellis gig. First of all it seems like it was ages ago! At the time I was really looking forward to the concert. All the mates I went with had consumed the album for the whole day getting themselves in the mood and it was billed as a pretty drunken affair. When we got to the venue there were some support acts (well I say support acts, but actually it was the NME tour and they were meant to be reputable bands but I didn't know either of them and they weren't up to much!) and so we all headed to the bar to get tanked up for the main act. Eventually the trademark perm graced the stage and the crowd got going. First they sang Creepin up the Backstairs and us girls entered the sweat pit in a attempt to get nearer the front. In the end we found this to be pretty uncomfortable and retreated a bit - afterall it wasn't as if we couldn't hear them! The Fratellis really are a fab band to see live. One of the best bits for me was in between songs when they chatted to the crowd in their broad Weegie accents...they made some comment to the effect of 'isn't funny that we could say anything up here and nobody would have a clue what we're saying!' - clearly they didn't realised there was at least one native among us all!

Since then I've been up to lots - here's a quick run-down: I've attended two of the dullest research seminars ever, I've been to a talk by Peter Mandelson, I've given my first European Studies presentation, I've had a visit from Lizzie, I've been on one and a half dates, I've been promoted to members bar barmaid at the Cardiff Blues, I've been to Swansea and Mumbles (where Catherine Zeta-Jones is from), I've cooked a roast dinner and washed my car!!! What a list! As for what's to come over the next wee while...I'm hopefully going to Bath sometime this weekend, I'm working at Wales vs Australia on Saturday, and then next weekend my parents are visiting. I'll make sure my next blog is a bit more detailed, this one's just a snippet of everything because I've been so rubbish at updating it recently!

Cardiff Oddities

2006-10-20T00:07:00.000+01:00

So in one of my last posts I ranted about some of the peculiarities of living in Cardiff (see 'Did you know that on Sundays in Cardiff you're not allowed to drive in bus lanes...'). It would appear that those little matters were only the beginning! Here are a few other oddities I have come across in this very bizarre city...

1) The cash machines here dispense £5 notes!!! That's just wrong. I thought the purpose of cash machines outside student unions was to rob the unsuspecting student of as much money as possible, knowing full well they'd just keep spending at the bar until they have no money left! I'm sure there was a conspiracy with the one in St Andrews when it was ALWAYS out of £10 notes and you had no choice but to take £20!
2) My local Post Office is staffed by two parrots - no joke! They fly about behind the glass counter. It's quirky to say the least!
3) If you're having trouble picking out a Welsh accent (never usually a problem really) then just listen for this defining phrase at the start of every sentence...'to be honest though'! It cracks me up every time! They have various other stupid phrases, but that's the one that's slowly turning me Welsh.

I'm sure as my year goes on this list will grow and grow!

What a whirlwind week

2006-10-14T12:45:00.000+01:00

I can't believe how fast this week has gone! It's been a good week though. For those of you who'd like to 'witness' my goings-on I have (hopefully) managed to create a link to lots of my Cardiff photos for your perusal:

So to cut the week short I'll start from Wednesday - Monday and Tuesday are toooo long ago for me to remember! So, as usual, I transported myself from the land of nod into the real world with the help of Chris Moyles - the best way, I find! Thinking that I was going to have another day of milling about my room, pretending to be doing important things, I received a welcome text message from Alex inviting me to partake in Orange Wednesday at the cinema. I duly obliged, and off we went in his swanky (but quite manky) Mini to see The Departed at the Bay. I had been wanting to see it for a while and it definitely lived up to expectations. I would have been sooooo mad if Matt Damon had survived!!! In the evening a group of us (the usual suspects!) erred from the path of mainstream-dom and went to Cuba (a club) where there was a Brazilian themed night. It was a good night! The music was (as expected) very Latin and Exotic and at around 11 there was a Capoeira display. The boys in our group weren't all that enamoured by the night, but us girls enjoyed it!

On Thursday I had my first REAL seminar. Our supervisor is a guy called Prof. David Boucher and he seems to have everything under control. This whole Masters malarky all seems very straightforward, dare I say easy, so far. Apart from telling us all about Greece and Rome and their place in European history, he lets us girls choose how we'd like to be assessed this semester!!! We got to choose our assessment/exam weightings and how many essays we wanted to submit and everything - it was all very odd! I'm not complaining though! My thursday seminars finish at 8pm so it's a bit of a mad dash to get to the postgrad pub quiz on time, but nevertheless we scurried along the road to defend our title! Sadly we missed first place by one point this week, but the ultimate outcome was still the same - we still won another 24 bottles of Reef. This week we're being a bit more canny and saving them for a big night out.

I think I'm gonna stop there for just now, my ranting really is becoming uncontrollable. You'll just have to tune in next week for my chat on the Fratellis gig!

Did you know that on Sundays in Cardiff you're not allowed to drive in bus lanes...

2006-10-09T11:48:00.000+01:00

So the phrase of the day yesterday was 'In Scotland, on a Sunday...'. It came about as I took four of my new friends on a road trip to Cardiff Bay. First of all, Cardiff bus lanes are still in action on a Sunday - how pointless! My reaction to this revelation was 'In Scotland, on a Sunday you can drive in the bus lanes' - it seemed pretty common sense to me...apparently not! Next, we arrive at Cardiff Bay and I naively ask where the Sunday parking is? Silly me! In Cardiff, on a Sunday, as with every other day, you have to pay for parking. Admittedly it wasn't as pricey as I expected, but it still wasn't free! For me, it's these little things that hamper the smooth cultural transition when a Scot moves to Wales!

Anyway, enough of that. So last night there was another Union pub quiz on the go, except this time it wasn't just for Postgrads, but a free-for-all. As our team gathered we were all getting pretty cocky, thinking that this would be like taking candy from a baby (or taking lots of free booze from lots of booze-thirsty freshers). How wrong we were! The quiz was a bit alternative, to say the least. First of all there were two hosts, who would have been better suited hosting some late night channel four mess about. Then, there was the obscurity of the quiz rounds! One round was all about super heros (not just shallow super hero knowledge required, more like 'what colour were the incredible hulk's socks?') while a later round was all about Steve Irwin. In principle I liked this sentiment, but then the sporadic playing of the theme tune to Stingray soured the atmosphere somewhat! Needless to say, we didn't shine in this pub quiz as we had in the postgrad one.

After the quiz we all headed to the Taf, the hip and trendy name that disguises the main union bar. To give it its dues though, it does sell very reasonably-priced drinks and accommodate several games machines! At this point, I should maybe name and shame the usual suspects present for this particular evening of fun and frolics: there was myself, Claire and Karen in the girls corner, and Ed, Alex and Pete in the boys corner. Once we'd all had a few drinks, Alex took it upon himself to organise another classic pub game - the one where you all write your name and phone number on a piece of paper, swap the paper and then hand out the phone number at your discretion! Everyone got into the spirit of the game, although Karen and Pete were being a bit coy at first, and everyone successfully distributed the numbers, although the outcomes weren't always as successful. Late-starter Karen had the most luck, when she started chatting up some guy by the dart boards, only to then find out he was a mere 18!!!

Eventually we got kicked out of the Taf. A new custom, which I am finding agreeable is this whole food-after-the-pub concept. I didn't partake in it too often during my St Andrews days (normally cos I was too legless to get there) but here in Cardiff you need a good meal inside you before you attempt the gruelling walk home! Hence, our first stop on the way home was CHIPS. By this time it was maybe about 1:30am and we'd messed around in the streets of Cathays for long enough - bed beckoned. Our next group night out will probably be Thursday (yes, the next postgrad pub quiz) so no doubt there will be more stories to be told then!

Friday Night - Ring of Fire Night!

2006-10-02T11:30:00.000+01:00

So just because of the stupid photos of this night I have, I thought I'd add an entry about our Ring of Fire game the other night! As always I began the evening by giving reasons why I was NOT gonna get drunk, the main one being that I was gonna be pulling pints from 12:30 onwards the following day. And, true to form, this excuse was set aside and, on this occasion, the drinking games began! A group of us played Ring of Fire to the death (well, to the death of Karen who got the final king!) Here are the pics of her drinking her Cherry Lambrini/White Wine/Vodka&Pepsi cocktail...

All in all the evening was a good laugh, even if the consequences the following morning were hard to stomach! I made it to the Arms Parks and struggled through my stint of pint-pulling during the game, to then be promoted to one of the clubhouse bars. Although by this point I was fit to drop, I was rewarded with the presence of some fit Cardiff rugby players and an even more attractive barman!

Cardiff Carnage

2006-09-28T16:46:00.000+01:00

I have been in Cardiff for 11 days now and I still haven't begun any kind of constructive work - I am once again feeling like a Fresher! Me and one of my new flatmates (Claire) have been partying practically every night. The nightlife in Cardiff is really brilliant. On Monday evening the postgrad freshers week activities kicked in and we haven't looked back since! Monday night started with speed meeting in the Grad bar followed by a cheesy disco. Tuesday morning was very hazy and I'm sure the phrase 'I'm never drinking again' was uttered! Needless to say I promptly carried on pickling my liver that afternoon when I had to attend a 'compulsory' department meet-and-greet cheese and wine. It was only then polite to compliment the cheese and wine with a wee trip to the local pub. On Wednesday morning I felt like it was Groundhog day! Swiftly my body rejuvenated itself however, and me and Claire reluctantly headed for the postgrad pub crawl. Although I started with good intentions, ordering an orange juice, I soon saw the light and nominated myself as kitty carrier (we were a group of 13 and we each put £10 into the kitty and ordered bulk rounds). It has to be said that it's the best pub crawl I've been on to date! To be honest, the mornings seem to be getting easier and this morning I was up and raring to go by 9:30. Tonight is tequila night at the Grad centre and, at the moment, I am thinking that me and tequila really won't get on...watch this space!

So that's my week so far. What else have I got on the horizon? Well, I am pleased to say that I have baggsed myself some tickets for both The Feeling (12th November) and the Fratellis (13th October) - I can't wait for either! I am working at the rugby again on Saturday, should be a manic bar as Wasps are the visitors and they have massive away support. I finally start classes on Monday. Not forgetting my wee holiday to Berlin in November. I have the feeling that this semester is going to fly!

So far so good

2006-09-23T12:22:00.000+01:00

After a two day car journey via Sheffield I have finally made it to Cardiff. I got here on Monday and since then things have been going swimmingly! I have now met all five of my flatmates, Max, Luna, Gemma, Claire and Lee. They're all lovely and fairly susceptible to falling into my Neighbours/Home and Away routine - it's all good! My room is very new, and sparkly, and has been enhanced by a few choice items purchased in Ikea. I'm settling in well. Over the past few days I've been acquainting myself with my new city, I've walked into town, walked through the park, visited my local Tescos (it's ENORMOUS!), hunted out the Student Union, and sussed out where my European Studies department is. Cardiff really is a beautiful, very accessible city and every time I go out I find a new wee undiscovered corner.

It may sound as if I've been really busy this week, but actually it's been quite a chilled out week. I've done lots of lounging around on my new sofa and spent most mornings snuggled up in bed. That's not to say I haven't done any labour, I have. I was successful in getting a job at Cardiff Arms Park, working on the bar on match days. As you can imagine, I am in my element! I did my first shift yesterday at Cardiff vs Glasgow and I had a really good time. The beer and the banter were both flowing!

Two days to go

2006-09-15T14:32:00.000+01:00

So my room is full of boxes and suitcases, my mum has upped the nagging - it must surely be time to move out! Last night was the night for farewell drinks in town with friends (old and very new!). The evening started off in Bar 38, then later we decided that it was not pretentious enough for us so we meandered over the road to Tigerlily instead. I can highly recommend the Pear and Cardamon cocktail! Once we had spent a fortune there we moved on to Le Monde and finally downstairs to Tokyo. The end of the evening quickly became a haze of southern comfort and coke! It was a good night out though and a really fun night to remember as my last night out in Edinburgh for a while. The down side to having such a good night out though is the fact that I am feeling pretty rough now, so much so that I almost opted for not watching lunchtime Neighbours in favour of sleep - I must be getting old!

Two weeks of thumb twiddling

2006-09-04T21:42:00.000+01:00

It's been about two weeks since I finished working for EF and up until now I had been keeping myself busy sorting out all my worldly possessions, readying myself for the forthcoming upheaval (not only do I move to Cardiff soon but my parents are moving soon as well!), managing to scatter a few nursing shifts throughout for good measure too. Now however, the novelty of condensing old uni files and throwing out much-loved but long-unwatched videos is most definitely wearing off. I just wanna get down to Cardiff and start something new.

I'm leaving Edinburgh on the 17th September. I'm already feeling very sorry for my poor wee Clio, which will be rammed full of all my 'necessities'! On the way down I've arranged to stop over in Sheffield with Libby's parents, whom I have not seen for ages. It'll be nice to catch up with them. Once I'm in Cardiff I have so many things planned! Aside from all the formalities of enrolling and sussing out where my seminars and things will be, I have already pencilled in all the Cardiff Blues home fixtures and lined myself up with an interview at Gap. On top of all that there will be the fun side of things too - hopefully meeting lots of nice, friendly, new people and going out and having an amazing time.

Eventually some kind of routine will form around all these plans. I'm hoping that I can restrict my money-earning work and my academic work to during the week so that my weekends are freed up for me to take off in my Clio and explore the surrounding area. South Wales (and South-West England for that matter) is not an area I am familiar with and I intend to make the most of my year down south by visiting lots of new places and getting to know new cities. Having free weekends will also mean that I'll be an idle hostess for anyone who feels like visiting - nudge nudge!

Anyway, my adventure doesn't start for another two weeks and I must content myself with following the lifestyle of my retired parents and live on a meal-to-meal basis until then!

Finished EFing and still no time for blogging!

2006-08-28T22:54:00.000+01:00

So my last blog entry promised a special corner of mention for my lovely Hong Kong group of EF kids - well here it is! Towards the end of July I was given the pleasure of leading a nice, obedient, friendly, manageable group of Hongkanese kids for three weeks. At first, there were of course some cultural and communication difficulties, but once the kids realised that life here was not as regimented as at home and that everyone here speaks English with an accent, we were up and running! With this group of EF kids their London stay fell at the start of their holiday, which for us leaders can be a bit challenging because we have to immediately strike up some kind of rapport with the foreign leaders/teachers and familiarise ourselves with the students (if for no other reason than so that we can identify them all as they saunter along busy London pavements!) Soon myself and my co-leader Bryan managed to get some good banter going with the group and the Hongkanese leaders relaxed and began taking things at our pace. In Edinburgh, Bryan and myself then halved the group for doing activities around the city and this meant that we began forming our own posse of favourites. My favourites tended to be the boys of my group, simply because once they had sussed out the day's activity (be it Dynamic Earth or the National Gallery) they would all come and join me (predictably) having a coffee and chat away to me. Overall, the group's standard of English was very impressive, and it made my job much easier. (I have since had a Chinese group and communication with them was very difficult indeed!) What I found funny about the Hong Kong group though was the variety of English names they had chosen for themselves! (I believe at around primary school age they choose an english name for themselves) Some of my favourites were 'Hilda', 'Rocky', 'Ocean', 'Herman' and 'Yo-Yo'. Towards the end of the group's stay I was invited to have a farewell meal at their expense at a traditional chinese restaurant. It was a really fun evening. The food was tasty (although I first I was quite daunted by the feast in front of me!) and I had the company of my usual boys to entertain me and keep me up-to-date on the relationship saga between two of their Hong Kong leaders - scandal!!! Well here endeth the 'corner' set aside for my Hong Kong group, so I'll conclude with some photos of them all...

A wee update

2006-08-08T22:38:00.000+01:00

So what have I been up to? Well, for starters I had a great birthday party the other week. I went out for dinner with a group of mates (their mugshots are below!) The food was good and the wine was even better! We went to Zizzi's at Ocean Terminal, somewhere I had been meaning to go to for a while - it is a great evening setting as the massive windows overlook the docks and Britannia and the bar is lit with pretty, colourful lights and everything. Afterwards we headed townwards for some clubbing action. First we stopped at Mood, somewhere I had been before and quite liked. On this occasion however (perhaps every thursday night?!) it appeared to have turned into chav central, so after a few cheap drinks and a couple of free shots we moved on to a more demure setting on George Street - The Dome.

We chilled out there until closing and then headed downstairs to Why Not where we danced the night away. As is tradition on my birthday I bumped into some old school mates (Andrew Durward and Mark Cairns) and I chatted to them for a bit. ***For the uncensored version of events in Why Not you'll have to ask someone else, because my account of entirely what happened was somewhat clouded by alcohol!!!***

The morning after my party night I was forced to rise early and get on a bus to the Highlands with my EF group of 39 Hongkanese. Sitting hungover and sleep-deprived on a bus driven by a maniac bus driver wasn't the worst place I could have been but it was pretty close! The trip was something of a whistle-stop tour for the kids. They got to marvel at Scotland's coffin-dodgers at the Caithness glass centre in Perth, then they got to compare them to the coffin-dodgers trawling the streets (or should I say street?) of Pitlochry. Finally they got to experience public toilets in Inverness before arriving at Carbisdale Castle. The following day's itinerary was much the same except Perth and Pitlochry were exchanged for Fort Augustus and Fort William!

Well, enough of the EF chat for now. I have promised my Hong Kong kids (who have access to my blog) that I will write lots of lovely things about them, but I think I will devote a post solely to them, so I won't mention any more work-related matters for the time being. This evening I took my parents to see the Soweto Gospel Choir who are performing at the Queens Hall as part of the Fringe. They were amazing!!! I recommend that you all go and see them. They are such an energetic group who clearly have so much fun performing. Their voices are also immense, not to mention their reportoire. I came out of the concert with such a smile on my face - definitely a 'warm, fuzzy-feeling' moment!

Tempting Fate

2006-07-27T15:34:00.000+01:00

So I have some exciting news to impart to you all. I may be being a little hasty in divulging this information to you, but anyway...I have an audition for my all-time favourite tea-time quiz show Countdown!!! I'm sure that to those of you who know me well this news will come as no surprise, it has been an ambition of mine for while. I will let you all know how it goes! I am confident that some day soon I will be sitting beside Des :-)

A slave to EF

2006-07-25T19:36:00.000+01:00

Well if you've been wondering where I've been for the past few weeks, I can inform you by stating just two letters - EF! My job has taken over my life of late. For the past few weeks EF Edinburgh has had over 260 students from Spain, France, Italy and Russia on its doorstep and I have been at the heart of operations! I have met some really nice kids and some great leaders who I hope to keep in touch with. On the flip side I have had some horrible, obnoxious kids who have been testing me a lot! At the end of the group's Edinburgh stay they head down to London for a few days and we leaders get to accompany them down. On paper this may sound like a perk of the job. In reality it's somewhat different! I was assigned responsibility for the group of 68 spanish kids during their stay in London. We left on the 6am train on Friday morning. From the outset things were very 'testing' as the train announcer informed us that we'd have to change trains at Newcastle due to a train shortage. Imagine, if you will, 68 students and 3 leaders sitting happily in reserved seats in coach B of a very, very long train. Now imagine having to herd them all to the luggage car, accessing their suitcases and transferring them to the opposite end of another train at Newcastle. Now add the complication of having only 10 minutes within which to complete the task. Finally take into account that the reserved seats notion goes to pot and that the students have to find themselves seats on a packed train!!! Indeed many of my students had to stand in the vestibules for the entire journey - what a farce! Anyway, that was the start of my London trip. It got progressively worse from there on in. I finally escaped the carnage early on Sunday morning when I had to dash to meet my next incoming group from Hong Kong. Things became much easier with the Hong Kong and arrangements went much more smoothly. Finally today (my birthday!) I returned to Edinburgh and a spot of respite.

RSVP Hall of Fame

2006-07-13T12:25:00.000+01:00

So, it's my birthday in a couple of weeks, and some of you have been invited to a very prestigious evening in honour of it. Here are the mug shots of the RSVPers so far...

Doing my bit for the LibDems!

2006-07-13T11:57:00.000+01:00

So here is my plea:

Yesterday the LibDems won an unprecedented victory against the Government in a debate on the lop-sided Extradition Treaty with the United States.

Three former employees of Nat West bank, together with south Londoner Babar Ahmed and up to 20 more British residents, face extradition to the United States under a treaty signed in 2003 that grants fewer rights to British citizens than to Americans.

Just four Labour MPs voted in favour of the treaty in the symbolic vote called by the LibDems yesterday afternoon.

UK citizens can be extradited to the US without the United States having to make a clear "prima facie" case that they committed a crime. Yet we need to meet a much higher level of proof if we wish to extradite US citizens to the UK.

Adding insult to injury, the Government hasn't even convinced the US Senate to ratify the treaty.

The Liberal Democrats have been campaigning against this treaty for three years - ever since it was signed. We were the only party that voted against the extradition rules when they were brought into force.

But the battle isn't over: the Nat West Three, extradited today, are only the tip of the iceberg. Many other extradition cases are in the pipeline, and will be decided under this unfair treaty unless the Government acts now.

Thanks to yesterday's debate and vote, the House of Commons has signalled its clear condemnation of the Extradition Treaty. It would be great if you could do the same!

Please write to the Solicitor General and ask him to support Nick Clegg’s Extradition (United States of America) Bill that would repeal parts of the Extradition Act 2003 and bring an end to these unfair extradition procedures:

Mike O'Brien
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

(Personal letters are the most effective way of lobbying him)

A summer of EF

2006-07-03T11:56:00.000+01:00

I have been down in London for the past few days with my first EF group of the summer. They were 20 Italians between the ages of 14 and 19. It has been a really nice group to start off the summer of EF carnage. Their London stay was really successful. We arrived on Thursday, at around lunchtime. We took a wander through Hyde Park and then I let them have some free time to acquaint themselves with the shopping streets of London. In the evening we went to Planet Hollywood for dinner and later returned to Hyde Park for some Football, Frisbee and Frolics! On the Friday we braved the underground. The place was heaving! We travelled to Westminster to start their walking tour of all the important things to see in London, arriving at Buckingham Palace in time for the changing of the guard. After lunch we walked over to the South Bank to go on the London Eye. For the rest of the afternoon I let the group do any last-minute shopping, and visit any final attractions of their choice. We met up again for dinner before heading along to ISH to join lots of other Italian students to watch Italy vs Ukraine. After breakfast on Saturday I said goodbye to the group as they boarded their choach to Heathrow. I spent the rest of the day with Danielle, Ben, John, Rob and Luis. We sat in a pub on the South Bank for most of the day. Conveniently my train back to Edinburgh was booked for 4pm - just as England vs Portugal kicked off. I left the guys and their coronas in front of the tele.

Yesterday (Sunday) I spontaneously decided to go and do a spot of munro-bagging. Kieran came along too. I picked him up at Perth and we drove up to Loch Tay. It took us about four hours (round-trip) to climb Ben Lawers. The weather wasn't that great, but it was conducive to hill-walking. The views from the top were still really impressive.

Finally got a degree!

2006-07-03T11:30:00.000+01:00

Well at last I have graduated from uni. Graduation was quite an experience in spite of the fact that our 'celebrity' graduand was some random architect bloke instead of someone like Michael Douglas. I was a bit disappointed about the amount of time we were allowed to ponce around in our gown but dad made sure that the necessary photos were taken with me in the Hogwarts attire. It was a gorgeous day for the garden party and the sparkling wine flowed freely! Once all that was finished and parents were safely dispatched back to their B&Bs there was a mad rush to eat and get ready for the Ball. I plumped for a hearty fish and chips option to absorb the evening's alcohol. The Ball was brilliant. Nicole, Alex, Julia and myself went quite early to guarantee space at the bar and plenty of complimentary ice cream and candyfloss. We also took full advantage of the chocolate fountain fondue. The ceilidh was good fun and I managed to persuade Luis to partner me for the Cumberland Square Eight (he didn't know it was a basket dance!), then I had an Orcadian Strip the Willow re-match with Ben Murray - the last time I danced this dance with him I ended up on the floor! Throughout the night I took tons of photos, figuring that this would be the last opportunity I'd have to get some nostalgic snaps.

My favourite part of the night was when Zebra Jam were performing - I think they're fab! As the evening was coming to a close I bumped into Simon Cross (Edinburgh Rugby player extraordinaire) and we had a spot of banter to round off the evening. Who know's what I was ranting about to him! Poor guy!

The World Cup is taking over my life

2006-06-17T12:08:00.000+01:00

I don't know about you guys, but I have been glued to the World Cup. Over the past week I have been working short days so it has meant that I have made it home to see on average one and a half matches of football a day. Quite how I am finding enough time in the day to then fit in both Neighbours and Home and Away is pretty amazing! To top that all off, my evenings have been culminating in adding the day's football results to my BBC wall chart - I really must get out more!

My stint of nursing is actually over for now, I did my last shift yesterday. I start my real summer job on Monday. I will be taking foreign students around the sights of Edinburgh and London. After my initial three days of that I will be heading Fife-wards to immerse myself in the joys and sorrows of graduation. I got a phone-call the other day from my Granny wondering how easy it would be to get 2 extra tickets for her and Grandpa. Bloomin' 'eck! As if there isn't enough faffing about to be done this week, I have to go and scavenge for two extra graduation tickets as well. Why couldn't she have shown some interest sooner?! Personally, I think she was waiting to see if she had any bowling fixtures on the 23rd before settling for coming to St Andrews! What a woman! I am now being woken up by dreams of my Granny trying to hold a conversation with someone like Dr Gratzke! If that dream does become a reality it'll be well worth seeing!

I'm off out again tonight. I am once again sacrificing Casualty for a night out in Edinburgh. I wouldn't mind except that dad broke our video recorder the other week and I can't even tape my beloved hospital drama. As I said earlier though this is a case of 'I must get out more'. It's Fiona's birthday so we're heading into town for a jolly evening and it's a chance for me to catch up with school mates that I haven't seen in ages.

Three week void

2006-06-11T18:57:00.000+01:00

What are you supposed to do in the three weeks between finishing exams and graduation? There's only so much 'celebrating' my liver can take, I'm skint, and I'm not really up for full-time employment either. Here's my compromise...

On the weekend after I finished my exams I took the train down to Manchester to meet up with Fiona and then we drove down to Cardiff to do a recci. We booked into a swish hotel and then headed out for the night. Our quest was to mingle with Welsh people! We ate at a yummy Italian restaurant where we were serenaded by one of the waiters - he definitely wasn't welsh though. Then we went to a groovy 80s themed bar where they had a cardboard cutout of the man himself...David Hasselhof!!! (pretty sure he hasn't got any welsh blood) As we began striking up banter with guys who we thought were locals we noticed a certain twang missing in their accent - they weren't welsh at all, they were ENGLISH! By an awful coincidence, we were in Cardiff over the same weekend as the Division Two play-off between Grimsby and Cheltenham and the bar was full of sorrow-drowning Grimsby supporters! Once we left the cool 80s bar, me and Fiona (with Grimsby supporters in tow) were lured into some seedy late-opening club. We happily danced the night away, semi-ignorant to the state of the place and the state of the clientele. Here we met our first bona fide Welshman called Geraint (see photo!). We finally made it back to our hotel at around 4:30am.

The next day we got up in time for breakfast - this did manage to settle the stomach but did nothing for the sleep-deprivation. Afterwards we somehow managed to haul ourselves around the uni campus and suss out the accommodation possibilities before driving back up north to Manchester.

Since then I have been filling my days with shifts at my local hospitals working as a care assistant. More often than not I start at 7:30am - quite a shock to the system! I have a number of jobs, ranging from serving meals to emptying catheters. The other day we received a new patient onto the ward where I was working. She was a lovely old lady who was very nimble on her feet and had a big appetite. As the doctor carried out her preliminary assessment on this old lady I overheard the doctor asking her 'can you tell me what year it is?', to which the wee old lady replied '1908'! I thought it was so cute!

What a finale!

2006-05-27T14:43:00.000+01:00

I know I called this blog 'bev's life in full', but you're just going to have to get used to a few catch-up summaries from time to time...this is one of them! What have you missed? Well, among other things, I visited the zoo! I went last weekend with Libby and her mate Danny. I believe a good time was had by all. I think the whole experience was definitely on our level, particularly the Close Encounters event (we were surrounded by 5-year-olds!)

I have finally finished uni - hurray! This landmark was (predictably) celebrated in style. Nicole, Susan and myself appeared from our last exam, only to be met with bucket loads of ice-cubed liquid, water pistols and other such delights. After a quick shower, and a necessary stomach load of food the pub called. We all met up in the union. I had (what I'd like to think was) my last shot on the dance machine, and almost won £40 (except Jamie was too hasty on a Teletubbies question) on Who wants to be a Millionnaire.
Then someone came up with the revelationary idea of mixing Neighbours with White Wine...an impromptu party at my wee cottage got underway! To be honest, from here onwards the evening get quite hazy...After Neighbours Lizzie had the 'revelationary' (maybe 'outdated' would be a better adjective here) of putting on a spot of Boyzone. All of a sudden wine bottles turned into microphones and the kitchen stools turned into Westlife props - hours of fun ensued!
Somehow, we all managed to transport ourselves back to the union, where we were obliged to carry on drinking at Sheree's party - it was a tall ask! All I remember is ranting at the barman about the difference between coke and pepsi!

Magically (as happens with every night out) I woke up the next morning in my cosy bed with a snuggly Bagpuss. With the hangover soon quenched by some over-the-counter drugs, I began packing up my things and said farewell to St Andrews.

One down, three to go!

2006-05-15T17:12:00.000+01:00

What a relief to have my first written exam of the semester under my belt! It wasn't the most stimulating of exams, consisting of a question on text-messaging and a question on advertising, but nevertheless it's over! Now I am treating myself to a spot of relaxation and will be meeting up with my old flatmate Ali J. What's more, due to the small inconvenience that was my German exam, I missed lunchtime Neighbours and will of course be indulging in the teatime omnibus!

For revision purposes I watched City of Angels last night (yes, the one with Meg Ryan). Despite the slating many of my friends gave this film, I actually quite enjoyed it. To be honest though, anything was going to be more enjoyable than memorising German phrases and History dates. You may be asking why on earth it counted as revision...well...believe it or not, the Germans made the film that City of Angels is based on (Der Himmel über Berlin) and it's one of the films I have to analyse in my exam on Thursday...fun fun fun!

A Satisfactory Day

2006-05-13T20:15:00.000+01:00

Well, today started off very productively for me. I got up bright and early (around 9:30am) and spent the morning swotting in the Bean Scene. I can now tell you that the Iron Curtain wasn't really made of iron! From about 2pm onwards things went downhill revision-wise though. Back at the cottage I got a visit from some random double-barrelled LibDem bloke wanting my support for some up-and-coming ballot I was supposed to know about...I blagged it. He was a nice enough guy, but the whole flat erupted into laughter the second he left in reaction to his 'secondhand car salesman-like' banter! Afterwards Cat and myself took a sly trip to Jannettas. I got back on my tv-watching perch just in time for the start of the Scottish Cup. What a match! Of course I wish that Hearts could have won during regulation time because then I could maybe have fitted in an extra 30+ minutes of revision..!

The evening has since been capped off by a bonus-point win for the Gunners over the Dragons - superb! For the rest of the evening I am now going to try and resist the temptation of the telly and get on with some more swotting. I'm getting the impression my first week of blogging could get quite repetitive - the constant struggle between procrastination and revision, who will prevail?!

My weblog is born...

2006-05-13T13:33:00.000+01:00

The email that sparked this creation...

Hi all!
Well, this week is revision week here in St Andrews - a week I have chosen not to take too seriously! I did start a spot of revision at the start of the week, but it was so difficult to concentrate when the weather was so lovely. I felt a pity to be stuck inside. On Tuesday I spent the day revising in the garden but that ended up in sun burn - oops!

Thursday night was the staff/student dinner that I organised. We went to Pizza Express and it was a really good evening. I made a seating plan (typical me) to try and split up the tutors a bit and they were actually really relaxed and lovely to chat with, which was surprising. The banter was flowing!
Ironically it was the oldies of the department that carried on with the masses to the Gin House. Sadly they didn't last long enough to make it to the Union however! I had a very merry evening, which culminated in a paddle in the sea! Then me and my mate Jamie wandered around the Old Course, swapping the flag poles around and throwing them in bunkers etc. - it was really funny, just harmless antics!

Yesterday I hosted a BBQ in our back garden. The weather decided not to coordinate with my al fresco plans however, and it did intermittently rain a bit, never mind!

Now, I am going to pause for a spontaneous thought. Maybe I should create myself a blog spot?! They're all the rage these days and then that would mean that you guys could catch up with my frolics whenever you want to! Interesting...watch this space!

The mums from the thursday morning creche that I help out at gave us helpers a farewell gift yesterday - an ingenius one at that! They gave us each a £20 voucher for the Bean Scene. I am going to take full advantage of this and camp myself there tomorrow for revision purposes. Waiter-served coffee on tap will be much appreciated! Aside from coffee, tomorrow's aim is going to be to digest as much of Germany's history since 1949 as possible - hurray! My history exam is on Wednesday. I have decided it's not worth getting too stressed over these exams, I'm gonna take my usual laid-back but focussed approach. Ali is gonna be in town from Monday and she will be a welcome refuge from revision!

Well, I think I've written a healthy email this evening despite my bleary eyes and sozzled brain! I will say cheerio for now.