Archive for August, 2012
It’s official!
I can now officially (and very happily!) announce that my travel memoir Keep Calm and Carry Vegemite has been picked up by Momentum Books (Pan Macmillan Australia’s digital publisher) and will be released in early 2013, along with Die, Yummy Mummy, Die, a compilation of my Desperate Housewife columns from my time writing for the Courier-Mail.
Yay!
Our last day in England…
This morning I realised this was it — our last full day in England.
We’ve spent the last fortnight driving around the bottom of England, saying a last farewell. Feelings have been mixed on this extended goodbye. We’re off to Spain next for a Mediterranean cruise and the husband has been watching the weather there every day and wondering why we’re still in England at all. There’s no denying it, the weather all over the UK right now is terrible. Currently colder than winter than Brisbane, with rain, rain, more rain and a side of rain. Naturally, the English carry on with what they believe they should be doing in summer — driving to Cornwall, eating ice-creams and swimming — because that’s what you do in summer, even when it’s 16 degrees (and there’ll be no chance for another year). Personally, I found something much more suitable at the B&B we stayed in… The Shack. If you booked in advance, you could indulge in a lovely three course dinner in a beautiful little stone building complete with a fireplace, all to yourself (which we stoked up, trust me). Gorgeous!
The Shack
Anyway, after making our way through Dover, Hastings, Brighton and most of Cornwall, we now find ourselves in Bath, waving bye byes. And it’s the perfect place to do so, with a magical mix of Roman, Georgian and Victorian history (and bucks and hens parties and vomit, unfortunately, but you can’t have everything, can you?). Despite thunder and rain today, we managed to pack a lot in — the Roman Baths, the Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum, the Circus and the Royal Crescent.
The Royal Crescent
I have to say the highlight, though, was Superdrug, where a shop assistant got incredibly excited in my presence. ‘Are you Australian?’ she asked, after hearing my accent. When I told her this was the case, she actually jumped up and down, clapped her hands and squealed, ‘Oh my God, I love Australians! Oh my God, you’re Australian, that’s so cool! I love Australians! Oh my God!’.
Seriously, I couldn’t have asked for a better send off. I’m considering paying her to follow us to Luton airport tomorrow to give us an even bigger, rock star-like goodbye with screams and fainting.
Well, that’s it from me, I guess. Until next time, England. Hopefully it won’t be too long between visits…
