Firstly I wanted to post the follow up picture to the crochet/knitting practical joke. This is the photo I managed to take when he came to work that morning:
I also wanted to post a photo of the table I finished before I left Australia:
One of my mosaics
The trip over was quite fine. Korean airlines leave a little to be desired. There was no personal entertainment (a bit pathetic to complain about but not when you’d been assured that there would be!), and they had generally run out of my choice of food by the time I was offered it. Anyway, they do provide a free stopover at the Hyatt in Seoul which includes a buffet dinner and breakfast so I can’t really complain about that.
My bedroom for the stopover
I have now settled into my cute little cottage. There are two bedrooms on the first floor seperated by this staircase which is rather steep and which I have nicknamed the ‘Stairs of Death’….
On the ground floor is a dining room, a sitting room, the bathroom and my orange kitchen:
On venturing to the far end of my very long backyard, I found many little treats. There are two tomato plants, a chilli plant and an apple tree. I was also ecstatic to see this creeping over my fence:
My blackberry bush
of which (using the apples from my tree), I created a yummy crumble:
My first work placement is going really well. It’s far more interesting than I thought it would be. I’m doing research for articles and blog posts and also cataloguing war memorials, answering enquiries and amending errors. I will get the opportunity to do some fieldwork so that will be exciting.
On the weekends, I’ve already done a couple of day trips. My first one was to St Albans where, after traipsing through the markets, I was able to catch Evensong at the Cathedral.
St Albans Cathedral
My godparents were visiting the UK and treated me to a few outings while they were here. I saw Oliver! at Drury Lane Theatre with them and the next day we went to Bletchley Park.
Enigma machine
Turing Bombe reconstruction
Colossus Machine
It’s a fascinating place. I have not yet seen Enigma so I must do that.
Most recently, I auditioned for the BBC Symphony Chorus and I GOT IN! Yay! Even more exciting is the fact that the first concert is going to be “Not the Messiah (He’s a very naughty boy)“ in the Royal Albert Hall. I’m a Python fan and can practically recite the Life of Brian so it’s exciting to be singing in it not to mention the fact that Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin are all going to be there! Woohoo.
8 Comments
I was only thinking about you yesterday and wondering how you were settling in – I see I didn’t need to worry! Brilliant news about the choir, you’ll have a lot of fun with them. And I’m very very jealous of your blackberries!
oh wow, so many cool things!!!! LOVE the ‘after’ knitting pic, that’s awesome
love the little apartment and fully understand the joy of real live blackberries which have not been sprayed
loving the field trips AND an excursion to Bletchley Park! You must see Enigma, it’s a great movie – the book is great too, slightly different as they so often are, but both very satisfying and VERY interesting, especially for those of us who do not have a British background and no real huge knowledge of the ins and outs of the war.
and the choir! That’s PHENOMENAL – thrilled for you, you will have a blast!!!!! Awesome!!!!!!!
All wonderful, great and exciting news.
Ooooh my friend sings in the BBC Symphony Chorus. Great choir
If you fancy a Hampshire tour, let me know…
What a plethora of exciting things and fascinating pictures. I am really glad things are going so well. Well done on the audition, too. How all very exciting
Very exciting news all round!
Your little cottage does not look unlike mine. My kitchen is not orange but I also have steep stairs with a bedroom on either side, so I think from your description, I will easily be able to imagine you as you potter about your domain. (My garden is not long, nor does it have its own blackberry supply!)
i loved the practical joke! did you knit especially for that, or just happen to have some knitting on hand…?
your photos are beautiful, singingsemele – it makes me happy about the blackberries and yummy things you can make from your own back yard
it’s good to see you – you’ve been missed! although, you’ve been very busy…as evidenced by your pictures!
and a huge congratulations on the choir!!!
sorry i’m so late in reading your news of late. thanks for all the fantastic pics. how exciting!! and so many congrats on the chorus!!