Lords of London

Ello ello, good day to you young squires and lasses. It is the last few weeks of my time here in England and I've finally made it to the centre of the British empire... Nodnol! (or London to you non-red dwarf fans). The Van Engen girls, Cat and Jess came over from their European travels to be joined by myself for 4 days of fun & exploration. It was great to see friends from home (even if they are from Hobart).

To be honest though after the bull runs, Gallipoli, historical festivals and reenactments etc London was a bit of an anti-climax. It was beautiful but not really an exciting adventure or memorable highlight. Although doing all the nerdy stuff we could was still fun especially our trip to Kings Cross Station. We found all the streets and stations from the monopoly board (except one :o( and visited a few interesting places. 221b Baker St home of Sherlock Holmes and Buckingham palace where we saw the changing of the guard. The guard band played the Indiana Jones theme at the palace. Really cool but no idea why...


My personal highlight of London was my trip to Lords the week before. The Home of Cricket hosted the 1st test between Australia and Pakistan and i was there to watch the first days play. Although light was bad our lads fought bravely and did ok. To me it was a great day to just sit back and relax as my days left in this country slowly but inevitably come to an end.


I have another nephew now too. Claire and Rob Sykes gave birth to a prince of a lad named William Jacob. Another reason to thank God and pray for a safe and swift journey home :o)

Running with Bulls - Pamplona Spain

Epic, unreal, can't believe they still do this. Cannot believe how much fun this was. So wish I was back in that arena dodging bulls.



The bull run was ok. There was a panic as the bulls came and i dramatically fell over as the bulls passed us. By the time i got up they were long gone. We chased after the bulls to get into the arena... and then the fun began. One at a time they release 5 baby bulls into the arena who chase all the idiots (including my good self) who remain in the arena. Corks are attached to the horns to stop gouging but the baby bulls love to hit and flip. A few guys even got stuck on the horns and carried. I got a bit too close twice myself and the 2nd time i had to grab his horn cause he'd hooked under my jumper.



Made a lot of friends this trip and will put this day down as one of the best of the year, gotta be in my top 3. Next time I go I might try to see a bit of Spain while im there :oP

Congrats to my little bro Matt who has found a girl that has the the unfortunate affliction of being attracted to him. Hope she likes Harry Potter :o)

A part of History

Before I say any more on my travels I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my tales. Knowing that you care enough to see what I'm up to means a great deal to me and my thoughts are always with all my family and friends back home and I am really looking forward to seeing you all again for the wedding. (And give presents for those who asked nicely :o) If I may I'd like to I ask for prayers for continued safe travel and God's guidance in times ahead - specifically Malawi and the role of this child at the start of next year

I had a brief look of Wales by spending a couple of days at it's capital. Words cant express the breathtaking effort to make Cardiff's castle design and decoration as amazing as it was. From the childrens walls painted with Aesop's fables (to bring humility) to stain glass windows of father Abraham's stories in the bedroom. The ladies tea room had gold plated decorations, an internal fountain and by itself is worth 30 million. The Welsh culture were very friendly and surprisingly patriotic. They hate the English of course and the biggest rift comes from the fact their flag (the dragon) is the only omission from the union jack.

Wimbledon was a lot of fun. Camped out all night to wait to buy tickets in the morning. Saw Hewitt and Federer both win their matches but they didn't compare to the match on court 18. Isnar and Mahut played to 59 games each on the day we were there. Titanic effort from both players and despite the length of the game (and the fact it was tennis we were watching) every point was watched with excitement and anticipation. I'm chuffed to have had the pleasure of watching these two gladiators battle it out and to have been there for such a historical contest.