I am not alone

I am a regular visitor to this site. The secrets are updated each Sunday and some of them I can really relate to. But secrets being secrets - I'm not prepared to divulge which ones, with the exception of the one above.

Paul and I talk about this all the time. Every time I see a pigeon on the street I really really want to kick at it. I hate them. The only thing that stops me, isn't my love of animals (and I generally do love animals) but the fear of retribution. What if someone sees me doing this, thinks I'm a really bad person and gives me a good hard telling off right in the middle of the street?

Boy, I would hate that.

A World of Adventure

On Saturday, my friends NC and MH and I decided to have a little theme park fun. We spent the day at Chessington's World of Adventure. It was such a fab day and without planning, was timed with precision. We got there early, went on all the rides with long queues early, had lunch early which means that we had time to go on all of the rides that we wanted to and still managed to check out Chessington Zoo before we went home for the day.

Highlights of the day:

• NC braving her fear of heights and conquering the Vampire and Devil's Fury and LOVING them;

• NC and MH thinking I'm some kind of freak for staying on the Rameses Revenge for an extra go and loving every minute of it even though it resembles a tumble dryer on fast spin (see the pic top left, that's me with two empty seat next to me ... where NC and MH used to sit);

• Deciding to go on the Rattlesnake (main pic) thinking it would be a slow and calm ride as MH was feeling a little bit worse for wear after Rameses only to discover that it was fast and furious and throws you round like crazy (MH's expression sums it up nicely). Then purchasing the picture and laughing non-stop for ages afterwards;

• Witnessing a 10 minute duel between two bull seals at the zoo and finally getting to see the underdog trump the bully in the end and push him into the water;

• The serenity and calmness of Bubbleworks (coloured lighting and waterfall pics).
  

All in all it was such a fun day where three grown women acted like giggling children for 7 hours straight. I went straight home for a nana nap afterwards - adrenalin-exhaustion.

"The sun'll come out ...

... today!"

Finally. We hit Regents Park yesterday for a super long walk in the glorious sunshine. I even managed to get slightly pink (ever so slightly). We haven't been to Regent's Park before and I think it is now my favourite London park. There are flowers everywhere (albeit a little bit water-logged and brown from the rain) and a pond with carp the size of dolphins! Paul was in awe of them. There are also cafes and sporting grounds and paddle boats and icecream shops and rose gardens and sculptures and deck chairs and people flying kites and and stuff. It's lovely.

Some things come in their own sweet time

Almost one year ago Mel and I went to the Greek Islands to have the kind of holiday you write about. And I did.

It has only taken me one year to complete, but here it is: Paul and Mel's Greek Islands '06. It is insightful. It intelligent. It is witty. What can I say, it is all me.

What was our favourite island? What was the island with the best Moussaka? What does an octopus have in common with a pair of Speedos?

I hope you pay it a visit and I hope that you enjoy it.

S.A.D

Seasonal Affective Disorder.

A type of winter depression which affects approximately half a million people between the months of September and April (but heightened in Dec, Jan and Feb) due to the shortening of daylight hours ... yada yada yada.

Well, I'm SAD! It's been raining here for - I can't remember how long. It's miserable and it's awful and we are meant to be in the height of summer! We are meant to be picnicking in the park, having barbecues, playing frisbee, going to outdoor concerts and movies, exploring the countryside and lunching outdoors. But no ... we're inside, listening to the rain belt down on the roof feeling absolutely miserable and depressed. The forecast ... as far as I can see it, is for rain. Rain. Rain. Rain.

Call me selfish, as I know we haven't had a lot of it lately so we do desperately need it. But in moderation please!

Anyway. Enough of my rant. On the upside ... all of this time indoors has forced us to focus on booking our summer holiday. This year we are doing an 8 day cycle tour around Corsica and then catching the ferry to Sardinia for 6 nights of recovery and relaxation. Heaven.

We're also booking our Christmas holiday soon too. We're going to be renting a room in a Riad in Marrakesh over Christmas and New Year. It's reasonably inexpensive ... but oh-so-opulent.