Wet Wet Wet: Flood is All Around

If you've been following the news lately, you'll know that England is currently dealing with its worst flooding crisis in living memory! Since last Friday (20 July), when torrential downpours began causing havoc on the roads and pushing rivers to their limits and beyond across central England, hundreds of thousands of people have been affected. And one of those people happens to be Bec, whose work is based in Gloucester which is one of the worst affected areas. (Check out these Gloucester flood pics on the BBC website).

On Friday afternoon, all Star employees were told they could leave at 3:30 to try and make it home before the roads became impassable. Bec, privately thinking it was only a bit of heavy rain and that these British people were over-reacting slightly, didn't need to be told twice to go home early! 3 hours later when she was still sitting in her car about 5 miles down the road from work, she had to concede that this was a little out of the ordinary...

After many frustrated attempts to find a road out that wasn't already flooded, and with her phone almost dead and the dreaded petrol light mocking her from the dash, she finally gave up, parked the car and walked into Gloucester with Rachel, a similarly stranded Star colleague. Thinking they could be stuck there for the night, and not really liking that idea, they put their boyfriends on the case from home to send updates on the road situation. Finally at about 9pm it seemed the roads were clear (aside from a few huge puddles!) and Bec finally staggered through the door at 11pm, exhausted after her ordeal.

But the drama didn't stop there. Bec received a phone call on Sunday to tell her the Star office had no mains water supply, as the nearby water treatment plant had been completely flooded and the water contaminated. All 'non-essential' personnel were to stay away until further notice for health & safety reasons. So Bec has been "working" from home ever since! Still no word on when the water will be back on, thousands of homes are also without water and the damage bill is estimated to be in the tens of millions. And all this in the middle of Summer...

Ace!

Our household has been incredibly lucky this year, securing not only rare-as-hens' teeth Glastonbury tickets but also getting drawn in the Wimbledon ballot! So the first Wednesday of the tournament saw Stu, Anthony, Amanda and ourselves comfortably situated alongside Court 9, waiting for the first match, a Ladies Singles where an Australian was guaranteed to win! Because they were both Aussies!

We were literally courtside - sitting on wooden benches, no more than 2 metres from the side lines of the court - and loving it. The whole tournament is just a huge collection of traditions, and nowhere is this more obvious than the outside courts, where the score is still kept by sliding metal numbers into position! We were enjoying soaking it all in (including some very pleasant sunshine) when who should wander onto the court for a warm-up but World No. 8, tennis-playing cyborg Serena Williams!


She hit up for about an hour while we admired her powerful technique and marvelled at the size of her ... backhand ;-)

Next up were the Aussie girls, Nicole Pratt and Casey Dellacqua, who managed to get a set-and-a-bit completed before we got to experience another three Wimbledon traditions in quick succession: Rain, the swift and orderly application of covers, and the rain delay.


The rain came and went all day, but we got to see about 6 hours of really great tennis, including seeing eventual Men's Singles Champion Roger Federer disposing of Juan Martin Del Potro, and the aforementioned cyborg terminate gutsy Aussie Alicia Molik on Court 1:


And of course we couldn't leave without indulging in that other famous Wimbledon tradition, enjoying some strawberries and cream!

Glasto in all its Muddy Glory

About 3% of the tent-fest:



It was quite muddy:



With Bec's boss Pete, whose hat was a beacon for many a lost festival-goer:



Celebrating the purchase of Pear Cider:



6 pints of Pear Cider: £18
1 "Hippie" waistcoat: £2
1 "Scottish" kilt: £10
Getting plastered at Glastonbury: Priceless.



Stu graduates from pink hat to pink ear-muffs:


And now, some movies:

Anthony probes us expertly:



Mika and band play his signature tune, while channelling Queen!

Glast-oh-my-god!

A week after Bec was luxuriously smothered in mud, we had another not-quite-so-glamorous muddy experience. Some of you may remember a post we made way back in February about the Glastonbury Festival, and how we'd applied to get tickets. Well - we got 'em! - and last weekend we spent without doubt the muddiest 3 days of our lives rockin' out!


We arrived at the massive site on Thursday evening with clear skies and green grass - and after an extended hike (to the other side of the festival) we found somewhere to pitch our bargain-basement tent. As the sun went down we settled into our bargain basement (are you getting a theme here?) cask wine with our New Zealand neighbours. And who should show up but Peter B - an old Agilent colleague of ours! We called him over and he set up camp next to us with his wife Natalie.

Friday morning we awoke to the dreaded sound of rain falling on our (not-so-waterproof) tent. It didn't last too long but the effects were felt all through the next 3 days, as the lovely green fields were quickly churned by 175,000 pairs of feet into a sticky, slushy, ankle-deep brown mud bath. We didn't let that spoil our fun though, as we set off happily stomping through the mud in our newly bought-or-borrowed wellies (that's gumboots for the non-English speaking among you).



Very soon the mud was (almost) forgotten as we enjoyed one awesome band after another and just soaked up (quite literally) the amazing festival atmosphere. A few highlights:

Bec:
- Getting to experience live many of the bands and singers I've gotten to know and love on my long drives to work over the past 7 months (special mentions go to Mika, The Killers, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Magic Numbers, Amy Winehouse, The Fratellis, The Kooks, and Aussie band The Cat Empire)
- Pear cider, especially the effects it had on Stu
- Seeing Stu in a kilt and wearing my pink hat!



Johnny:
- Mika (that guy is amazing! Freddy Mercury meets Prince at George Michael's house), The Kaisers, The Magic Numbers, Amy Winehouse and unsigned jazz band Haiki Loki who managed to make a big wet tent feel like a New York jazz club.
- Stu + Pear Cider (7% alcohol) = mayhem!
- Getting out of the car park in less than an hour!

And of course there were a few lowlights as well:
- The toilets. 'Nuff said.
- The guy getting around in a fluorescent-green Borat-style "mankini". All kinds of wrong...
- Trudging miles through mud which was by turns sticky and slippery, lugging our stuff back to the car which was literally as far away from our tent site as you could get.
- Wellies are not the most comfortable choice of footwear for 3 whole days when you're doing lots of walking...

But when all's said and done, the highs outshone the lows by a muddy country mile. Definitely an awesome experience and one we won't forget in a hurry. And if the details do get a bit hazy for some of us, we've got plenty of pics to ensure there is no escape from Glasto.... stay tuned!

Venus and Mars - Facials and Cars

We had a "quiet" weekend lined up - no travel! - but it quickly became a "have fun spending somebody else's money" weekend, which must surely be almost as good!

Since Christmas, Bec had a voucher for a session at the new Thermae Bath Spa, a luxurious facility right next to the old Roman baths in the centre of town. Similarly, Johnny had a voucher for a "white knuckle ride" in a fast car at Castle Combe Circuit. To each their own!

So on the Saturday morning we nipped around to Castle Combe for Johnny's hot laps. Although his voucher - a Christmas present from Bec, Amanda and Anthony - had been for a ride in a Subaru WRX, Johnny was not content with this (being a former owner) and when booking the session had upgraded himself to the Lotus Elise. This classic British ultra-light, famed for its stunning handling and razor-sharp response, would prove to be much more entertaining in the slightly damp conditions!




The problem, as driver David explained, was that such a light car with such wide tyres tends to skim over the top of any moisture on the track, rather than gripping the surface beneath. Johnny did not really regard this as a problem though, as the whole 4 laps were spent slipping, drifting and generally sliding about like a dog on lino. Awesome fun!



The day after John's hot lap, Bec got into some hot mud. Special Canadian gourmet mud, apparently. She and Amanda were treated to an "Aromatic moor mud body coccoon" at the Thermae Bath Spa, but not before enjoying a gourmet lunch at the famous Pump Rooms and a swim on the rooftop pool with views over Bath.


Funny how differently girls and boys like to be pampered!

Five go to France: Part 2: Paris

The next day we walked (via a pâtisserie of course) to the ultimate goal of our trip: Roland Garros, home of the French Open!


After an absolute shambles of an entry process we finally made it to Centre Court, where we watched Marat Safin outmuscle Spaniard Fernando Vicente in straight sets, before Day 1 of the French Open ground to a halt - rain. And more rain.

And still more rain.


We wandered around pretty aimlessly, until a well-dressed man collared us, asked "Vous venez d'ou?" ("Where are you from?"). When we answered (semi-truthfully) "Australia" his face lit up - "come wiz me!". We exchanged raised eyebrows, but he seemed nice enough (and well-dressed!) so we tagged along after him (no we're not naïve, really!)

It turned out that Well-Dressed Man was from French national broadcaster France 2 - and he interviewed us, live on national TV! Reproduced below is a transcription of the interview (which we had to rehearse about 10 times):

WDM: "...and where are you from?"
Bec: "We are from Australia"
WDM: (feigning amazement) "Australia! Oh so you are here for the whole tournament?"
Bec: "No, we're only here for one day"
WDM: (flabbergasted - almost speechless) "But it's raining! Have you seen any tennis?"
Bec: "Yes, we saw Marat Safin play. He was very good."
WDM: "... and you will watch more tennis today?"
John: "Yes, we hope to see Arnaud Clement play. On aime les joueurs Francais" (We like the French players)

Wow. Seriously in-depth journalism, huh? Some time later, we threw in the (soaking wet) towel and headed back to our usual haunt, the café next to our hotel, for some comfort food - bread, cheeses and red wine. Later on, the rain abated slightly and Bec, Anth and Amanda optimistically returned to Roland Garros and saw a bit of (eventual overall winner) Justine Henin's win over Elena Vesnina. (Kath and Johnny couldn't be bothered)


Later, after some dinner, Eiffel-aholic Bec persuaded Eiffel-skeptic Kath to come and see the mighty tower - and judging by the fact that Kath took even more pictures than Bec, we have a convert!

Five Go To France - Part 1: Bayeux

We met up with Kath again a few weeks later (Stu having already headed off for Barcelona) and set off for Northern France. With 5 in Beatrice it was pretty squeezy in the back as we headed for Portsmouth and the overnight ferry to Le Havre. But I would much rather have slept in the car than the human-endurance experiment/torture session that was the "general seating" of the Norman Spirit. We skilfully managed to seat ourselves next to the loudest snorer on the planet, and with the ergonomically-challenged seat-armrest combination and oven-like ambient temperature, spent one of the most uncomfortable nights of our lives.

The experience was not helped by the fact that much of it was spent not moving. Yep, the ferry leaves Portsmouth at 11pm, but it only needs 4-or-so hours to get across, and Le Havre Harbour doesn't open its doors (or whatever it is harbours do) until 7am. So halfway across The Channel, the boat just stops. For four hours.

Anyway, feeling a bit grotty, we arrived in Le Havre, with Johnny at the wheel having his first experience of driving on the "wrong" side - of the car! Luckily Kath was a very capable navigatress and after a brief mini-tour of Le Havre we hit the open road, with Kath doing her best "bonjour" bit at each péage (toll booth).


After a pâtisserie-break at Caen, we moved on to Bayeux, home of the famous tapestry. Any initial misgivings about "looking at a big rug" were soon forgotten as we walked its immense 70m length, audioguides jammed to our ears as the commentary rattled through the incredibly busy and beautifully detailed story. Pictures really don't do the tapestry justice - the textures are lost - so it didn't really matter that we weren't allowed to take any!

We also looked around the Battle Of Normandy/D-Day Museum at Bayeux, a fascinating insight into what it must have been like to be part of Operation Overlord in June 1944.


The next stop was the D-Day Landing beaches, and the US Cemetery at Omaha Beach (the beach immortalised in the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan). A very poignant place - not necessarily a happy one, but highly recommended nonetheless.



Then it was time to hit the Autoroute down to Paris - and a few buttock-clenching minutes of navigating unfamiliar Parisian streets, in darkness, on the wrong side of the car! But we got there - and what a great spot! We highly recommend the 3-star Hôtel Eiffel Kennedy - it's affordable, well-located (right next to a GREAT café!) and the view from your bedroom isn't bad either...