Just Another Smith...

The Journey... After a very very early start and some fun on the motorway (Mum dozed, I slept and Dad took the wrong junction) we arrived at Gatwick ready for our flight. Our gate number wasn't due until 5.25am so we headed to Starbucks for breakfast. Having filled up on a muffin and a large tea I was ready to fly. We popped to Boots to buy a meal for the plane and then it was time to make our way to Gate 559. Luckily it wasn't too far to walk and we were soon waiting in the departure lounge. We were both surprised by the abundance of small children on the flight. Queuing to board, we amused ourselves by people watching. Our seats were 22E and 22F, with me in the window seat. There was a small palava finding a space for the cases overhead. Mum's fitted a few rows in front but, being terribly British, I let ladies behind me take the other spaces. Unfortunately this meant my leg room was now slightly diminished, but I squished in regardless. I think we both slept for the

I am delighted that after a fabulous time away over the summer, I have booked a short autumn break with my mother to Morocco. Already this year I have visited Barcelona with Sarah, New York with my family and obviously Japan with Guides. To be able to tick a fourth continent off the list, all in one year, is exciting to say the least. I have to wait until October, but I'm sure it will fly round super quick. We will be staying in a traditional Riad that we fell in love with. Not only does this place have a jacuzzi and WiFi.. they also have a cat!! I can't wait to explore the beautiful city if Marrakech, and I'm sure this won't be the last I post about it...

Tonight I went to Milton Keynes Theatre to see Shrek the Musical with my dear mother.   What a fantastic evening we had. I am a massive fan of the Shrek franchise and, unashamedly, can quote most of the first film! I wasn't too sure what to expect from a stage version, and was most pleasantly surprised. Our seats were G3 and G4, as far back as they come.. literally in "The Gods". In all honesty, these were probably some of the better seats. We could admire the stunning sets and colourful costumes. Puppetry was used in the production to portray the dragon and Gingy. The dragon in particular was genius, she pranced and danced and flew all over the place! The cast all did a sterling job, and the characters stayed true to the film. The mannerisms and asides from Donkey were perfect, and delivered with great comic timing. My personal favourite though was Gerard Carey, who played the saucy Lord Farquaad. He was the source of several innuendos and was just hilarious i

It's amazing how quickly reality hits when you return from a holiday. I'm no stranger to that melancholy feeling that accompanies unpacking your bag, wrapping up warmer or pouring over photographs to remind yourself that you HAVE been away. This time is no different.   My holidays are always something a little bit unusual... I like to feel like I'm doing something worthwhile with my time away, and "giving back". I can honestly say that I was part of something special at the Jamboree, a volunteer working to ensure that the 33,000+ participants had the time of their lives. WAGGGS have given me so many amazing opportunities over the years and I am proud to have represented them in my role.   How many people can say that they have lived and worked peacefully alongside people from all over the world? Made decisions and solved problems despite language barriers and cultural differences? We were reminded in a speech at the Closing Ceremony that we are the future

I woke up at exactly 5.26am, fantastic. I decided to make the most of it this morning though and trailed the floors for access to the roof. That wasn't possible, so I popped out onto the fire exit of the 13th floor. It was too cloudy to see the sunrise though, and I think the many high risers surrounding us would have ruined the view too.   It was useless trying to go back to sleep now, so I packed. I emptied my bag onto my bed and started from the beginning, trying not to wake Em. By the time her alarm went off at 6.30am, I only had my day sack to sort. Also found out we can have 23kg, not 20kg. I'm hoping I'll be well below.   I met the others for breakfast at 7.30am, we were put on the same table as last time, right near the bacon. I had much the same as yesterday, but also tried yoghurt and strawberry coulis and a peppermint tea. I was well set for the day now, and once we'd grabbed our things we were ready and out the door by 8.15am. It was raining, which

I still woke up ridiculously early this morning. Even though I'd closed blinds there was a small slit of light creeping underneath from 5am. I managed to snooze until just after 6. I then had a nice shower, using warm water for a change!   For some silly reason we'd agreed to meet for breakfast at 8. I went down to the lobby at about 7.15, bag packed and ready to head out straight after we'd eaten. Emily was down about 7.40 but we still had to wait for Mike and Phil. Bang on 8am we had all assembled and were finally ready to eat.   It was a buffet, I was so excited. I finished off three different platefuls and a bowl of fruit. That one meal was probably the most I've eaten in one sitting since I've been here! Myself, Emily, Mike, Phil and now Freya discussed our plans for the day and then we left her to it.   First stop for us was Pokémon Centre, which Emily had been wanting to go to since forever. We set off with our travel cards and navigated the tube

I woke up a few times in the night, and I swear an alarm went off at silly o'clock. None of the girls admitted to it so I reckon I must have dreamt it. I woke up properly just after 5am. I had set an alarm for 5.30 as I wanted to see the sun rise, but I didn't make it out in time.   Instead I had another leisurely morning and headed to breakfast on my own just before 7am. Met some of the other scouts from the bus and enjoyed pineapple, pancakes and granola again.. I could get used to this! On the way back to the room, I made a detour to the roof and was amazed to see Mount Fuji well in sight.   I ran to get my camera and phone and met two other ladies back on the way up. The view was clear and we got some great pictures between us. I could have stayed all day staring at the incredible mountain scenery around, but I still had to pack my last few bits. Back at the room, the others had gone for breakfast and I was locked out! Back to the roof it was.   Once they were

I still woke up really early this morning, probably about 5.30am. I refused to get out of bed until 6.30 though and it was a luxury to just lounge around. We weren't leaving until 9am so we all went to breakfast about 7.30am.   Breakfast was a buffet, thank god, and I was delighted to find real pineapple and granola and pancakes! I also had a cup of tea, it wasn't quite English Breakfast, but it was refreshing all the same. On the coach again we drove to the cable car station. Unfortunately, it had closed because of strong winds. No matter, Yoko explained that we could just rearrange our schedule. And so we moved down to Lake Ashi to take a cruise on a pirate ship.   We thought Yoko was joking when she said pirate ship. She really wasn't! We all piled on to a good ole Jolly Roger, I was concerned originally as the sails weren't down.. soon we were off though. It was beginning to cloud over but we still had some fantastic views of the Lake and surrounding moun

There was a bunch of really nice people having a lovely conversation this morning,  roughly 3am. It was such a joy to hear their laughter ringing through the camp. It didn't interrupt my sleep in the slightest. Tebbs' alarm was set for 4.50 so I got up with her anyway, even though I wasn't meeting until 6.30.   I said goodbye to Dylan and headed to breakfast with my bag, it would save walking back and forth. I met Sally on the way and we ate together. I enjoyed a bowl of cereal, salad and a jam roll. It was clear they'd been saving the best lunch until last - we had croissants, Ritz biscuits and lemon cookies!!!   Just as I was walking over to our meeting spot I bumped into Maggie. We had a quick catch up and said our goodbyes. We're all off on our own adventures now! There was just under 100 of us on the Adventure Tour, but with all our massive holdalls spread about it looked like more.    We had a good half hour before we were leaving so I filled up m

I'd fallen asleep in my clothes last night and actually managed a solid night's sleep! I woke up around 6.45ish, I was meant to be meeting Darren for breakfast at 7am. I got to the canteen about 7.11 so I think I missed him. I helped myself to cereal and had a jam sandwich this time too.   Back at the tent I packed a bit before getting my stuff ready for our pack-away day at work. I got to the staff area a bit early and they'd already packed a lot of the bits away, the rooms were so much bigger than I thought!   Our job was to move all of the stock from the back room onto pallets and cages. The first stage was quite easy, light boxes that we passed along a production line from room to outside. It was a proper workout.. but nothing compared to the tents. They were quite heavy, I should know as one was dropped on my leg!   The boss was in a great mood, we had music and were given ice creams halfway through. There wasn't many of us, it was a volunteer shift, a

I woke up quite late and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of cereal and a jam roll. I've started to slowly pack so I don't have to panic as much tomorrow. It's hard to believe that the participants leave today, and we've been on site for 2 weeks. Its our last official day at work today and, despite our rocky start, we've all pulled together really well and I'm going to miss my shop family.   We didn't start until 12.30 so I had a shower and then went to sit in the canteen for a while and catch up on this. I also knew Daryl and the gang were leaving today so I met him to swap bags. First we played speed, his version was slightly different to mine so to be fair we played both ways. I won both times!   Had to practically run to work as I was slightly late, but I now had a lovely new bag and a hat and a necker! There was a real buzz around the shop as we close at 6pm. I spent the majority of the shift chatting with the others, had a stint on a till though

Woke up in plenty of time this morning, had a nice lazy breakfast (jam roll and cereal again) and was early for the morning briefing.   We had a real treat this morning.. we were taught the traditional dance of the area. Almost everyone in elementary school here knows it, and now we do too. It was hilarious, lots of giggling and shouting and pulling on imaginary ropes. We all loved it!!   When I got into the shop I couldn't believe how much stuff had sold. In "my room" there was hardly anything left! I put out a few things and made some catchy posters. The only reason I stayed as long as I did was to charge my phone - I know I'm a bad person.   I hung up my apron and was over at the dome with Eve by 10. I wasn't meeting Emily until 1ish so I walked to the sea. The tide was high and the sky was clear so it all looked very beautiful. I was so tempted to jump in!   I then popped to the supermarket as I fancied a treat. I bought something that looked