Jenwynne

BRIGHT WATER COMMONS MARKET

2007-04-26T00:32:00.000-07:00

OK so what is there to really do on a Sunday, not much except for sleep in, eat good lunches, watch some TV...but one person can only do that so many times and when its a great sunny day, its always cool to get out and do stuff....MARKETS:)

The general one that everyone goes to is the Rosebank Rooftop Market, which is pretty cool and lets be honest, it has just about every item a person could ever hope to buy, but there are tons of markets in Jhb, so its cool to try out a different one every now and again.

The market at Brightwater Commons isn't very big, and I was kinda dissappointed cos it has been de-marketified. When I used to go there while in high school it was a proper market (well at least in the Jhb sense of the word)-the floors were dirty, it smelt kinda dodgy, it was chaotic, but it was really cool. Now they have upmarketed my market! Its all trendy and shit. The floors are clean, each stall is properly allocated and locked up at the end of each night, I was disappointed to say the least.

But there were a couple of really cool things. First of all there was an art exhibition there as well, and there was an auction planned for later in the day (very cool thing to do with your Sunday if you shit money). They had one of those ridiculous fayre games where endless numbers of dads, husbands and boyfriends (not wanting to lose face in front of their loves) threw their money away so that they could attempt to get a ball inside a hoop attatched to an inflated structure (definition of stupidity-yes?). Also they had puppies on sale, which is just the bomb, cos everyone-except for parents I suppose-loves taking a look at puppies:)

Productive? Not really, Nic walked away with a packet of razor blades????? and me I bought some bangles for 12 bucks. But if you just wanna walk around in the sunshine, checking out art, jewellery, X-box games and puppies, its a pretty cool morning out.

TANZA NIGHT

2007-04-26T00:04:00.000-07:00

So last Friday a friend of mine decided to book a table at Tanza Night for her bday supper. I had only been once before and then it was just for drinks (which were horrifyingly {sp?} overpriced) and i thought Friday was going to be a pretty pricey night, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. pretty reasonably priced and a great variety of food.

I would advise people to stay away from the steak, as reviews on this dish ranged from "POWER!" to "edible but not incredible". However those who went for fish, pasta or curry were happy, so maybe thats a better route to go. I would also advise that you save space for pudding (it was generally agreed to be the best part of the meal).

But there was a really cool vibe, very chilled, there was a fire out on the balcony, lots of people, but not packed. Not really the place for a romantic dinner for two, but if you feel like going out with a whole bunch, its pretty damn festive.

Thy also like to have little pieces of entertainment. Like the first time I went, there were belly dancers, follwed by girls in neon lycra outfits dancing on the bar. On Friday they had girls dressed up as racing car drivers who were sitting on four wheelers and then went around selling beer. Im sure any guys reading thias are salivating now and maybe the girls aren't too impressed, cos there doesnt seem to be too much dedicated to the ladies (and I agree they should get their asses into gear on that one), but these little touches do just make the place a little bit more fun to go to, something different, so its not always the same stuff in the same place with the same people.

Cool place tho, Id say go, but not too often, I feel that its novelty would wear out kinda quickly:)

WINTER STUFF

2007-04-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

So although winter can be kinda sucky cos no swimming, no lying in the sun with a cold cocktail in your hand, no summer nights with long braais...ok you get the picture. In spite of all the loses that winter brings there are some really awesome things to do, things that people just don't feel like doing in summer.

Like last night I went to get Indian take-aways and that is something that you just dont usually do in summer. But wow - was so fantastic. Cosiness, at home, cricket (plus we won!) and awesome take-aways. I went to the Raj, an Indian restaurant on Rivonia road, but in all honesty you can get anything you like. A bottle of red wine goes just as well with pizza as it does with curry ;)

So on those occasions when you feel like chilling, winter is a perfect season. DVD's, take-aways and wine!

Will definately put some thought into more going out winter plans though, cos you dont want to be in till September :)

NGONYAMA GAME RESERVE

2007-04-18T00:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, so far all the reviews I have done have been pretty positive, however this one is not! All I can say is those are 6 hours of my life that I will never get back.

My cousins were visiting SA from Wales, so obviously they wanted to do the whole "safari" thing, (as you can imagine) I was not as enamoured with the idea.

First of all its in Krugersdorp, which means it takes forever to get there, especially if you get lost (like we did). So you finally arrive (entrance very reasonably priced), and its a sweet sunny summer day, perfect for being outside (maybe even catch a bit of a tan) but no, you are inside the car, and unless you have your own roofless land rover you are stuck in the shade on a perfectly good day.

Next comes the sights (of which there are few), however I must also say that this is from the point of view of someone who has seen a fair amount of African wildlife and not from a tourist perspective, as a tourist may have really enjoyed the experience. Anyway they have a variety of animals, but all are fairly far away and its not too exciting watching them eat grass. Then the more exciting animals they do have, the lions, are kept in a large enclosure and fed by the reserve, so no hunting excitement.

Then when the cousins had absorbed as much antelope as they could we headed off to have some lunch. Also not that impressive - toasted sandwhiches all round.

So I really didn't love this day, but Im not knocking the game reserve idea entirely, Im just suggesting that if wildlife is what you are looking for, rather take a few days and head off to somewhere a little further away, rather than settling for the JHB semi-safari.

Longmeadow Piano Bar - Whiskey Tasting

2007-04-11T05:40:00.000-07:00

This Post was contributed by: Nic Haralambous

This is my first guest appearance on JenWynne! I am incredible grateful that she has let me share my night last night and will definitely be back on here to tell more tails of trips I’ll be taking!

Last night I was invited to attend a Whiskey Tasting at Longmeadow Piano Bar opposite Monte Casino in Fourways area, Johannesburg.

I arrived on time, 18:30 for 19:00. First mistake. No one arrives on time at these things, or so I overheard the organisers saying. Woops. Luckily my timeous arrival allowed me to snoop around and take some photos of the incredible venue that was hosting the tasting. I bought a Brandy and Coke (my usual) and it cost me R18, not too expensive for a venue of this sort so I was impressed with that. The bathrooms were immaculate, well kept, well lit and welcoming. Great!

Longmeadow Piano Bar is an incredibly picturesque venue considering it is in the middle of Fourways with main roads all around it. The cars are barely audible, the street is barely visible and grounds are well kept. What a great combination to make for a great evening. The trees are old, and well lit for the night time, when the lights came on the evening was made evening better by a great sunset and the Londmeadow lit trees.

The tables were laid out on the patio outside of the bar area. The bar area is large and well spaced, very well lit in earthy colours that are comfortable and attractive. Unfortunately there was no music. Second Mistake. But that was counterbalanced by friendly people and good conversation.

One of the problems with attending a tasting of any sort, wine or whiskey, is that you cater for a certain amount of people, last night the people were rude and pitched about an hour late and therefore forced the gentlemen taking the tasting to present twice. Rude. Mistake three.

On the whole, a fantastic venue, a wonderful atmosphere (less the music) and great people. The Johnnie Walker tasting was brilliant, I learnt a lot but still do not like whiskey! Thanks Johnnie, Keep on walking and on the way stop by Longmeadow Piano Bar.

MY GRILL MY BAR

2007-04-04T01:12:00.000-07:00

Three friends, a few glasses of wine, great food, smartish but chilled atmosphere, brilliant night out!

Not the cheapest place a person can go, but if you choose to stick with a main course only its not too bad, and if you did want to go all out for a celebration, this would the perfect place to do it-not difficult to spend a lot of money.

Apparently its a blast on Fridays as after everyone has finished eating it turns into a bit of a party, but on the down side apparently the party is full of seriously pretentious people. So let me know what you think if you have been.

But ja-for a chilled supper out, where the music isnt too loud to chat, give it a shot. I enjoyed it.

TANZ CAFE

2007-04-04T00:11:00.000-07:00

Ok its been a week and Im very sorry, Nic is probably ready to kill me for not posting, he is hiding it well tho. "Its all about consistency" he keeps telling me:)

So anyways after laaaaaaast Friday at Manhatten I decided to take a totally different route and we headed off to Tanz Cafe. For those of you who havent been or heard of it, its a live music venue / restaurant with bar area.

So lets start with the most important stuff...food. Very good, you can order off a set menu (R100 for 3 courses) or you can order of the full menu. I went with the set menu-nothing crazy fancy, but just ver good, salad, calamari and italian kisses with coffee, a bargain I think for R100. And drinks not too expensive either, so affordable on the whole. It is however R50 to get in, but its definately worth it because damn the music was great!

Started off with 'Jonas and I', awesome awesome, as soon as I got a chance to speak to the singer I demanded to know when their CD was coming out, helluva good band, and just starting out so Im sure that got lots to give. Nothing too crazy, new or different but still fantastic.

Following was Louise Carver. Most people have heard of her and heard her on radio, I have and I always thought she was good but on Friday night I was super impressed. She sang 'fields of gold' and I think even Sting would have been speechless. This was the only song she sang that was not hers, and I was surprised by the number of her songs that I recognised. Great entertainment!

So what I think is so cool about Tanz Cafe, is that most of the time when I go and see live music (especially when its not very 'dancy' music) I feel I should be dancing but I dont really want to but there is this huge space in front of the stage where people are expected to dance but they dont, and its just awkward. At Tanz Cafe you really have to WANT to dance cos there is hardly any space. The floor is filled with tables and most people are eating and sitting down so there is no pressure on the crowd and the band can realx more as well cos they dont have this big scary space betwwen them and their audience.

I would definately recommend it, especially when you feel like having a fun night out that isnt too smart, but to listen to some great music and just chill.

MANHATTEN

2007-03-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

So I know what a lot of people think about Manhatten, its overpriced, people dress up all fancy, all the people there are wound up and too cool for school and you would basically only go there if it was the last place on earth serving drinks.

Well I went on Friday night, and while I cant see myself going there EVERY Friday it was such fun. I didnt get dressed up (and many people dont), it is a little pricey but if you dont go often then its not so bad, oh and when I went in I got a membership card allowing myself and a female friend free entrance in between 8 and 10:30 every Friday-a pretty sweet deal I think.

Its also a good idea to go with a group of freinds cos I dont think I would have enjoyed it much if Id only been there with one friend. Although there were lots of people on the look out for love (or lust as the case may be), so if you are single and looking its not a bad place to start.

You are also likely to bump in to a couple of people that you havent seen in ages as such a huge
variety of people go there.

I think what I enjoyed the most is the music, lots of old stuff, lots of whats on radio at the moment. Feel good stuff that everyone can dance to.

So Id say a really great night out, but I will supply a check list of things that have to be included in your equation...

1: you cannot be feeling like a chilled night
2: do not go there to enjoy deep and fulfilling conversation
3: do not have any big plans for the next day
4: wear dancing shoes
5: dont take a jacket (it gets hot in there)
6: go with a bunch of friends, the more the merrier:)

But seriously you dont have to be a schwepps jock to enjoy it, its good fun, i promise.

oh and.............no ques in the ladies loo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I carried a watermelon"???????

2007-03-28T00:33:00.000-07:00

OK before I post about the fabulousness of my Friday night I just have to tell you this.

For anyone who has seen dirty dancing (yes the original-not the havana nights dodgy one off Hallmark) you will appreciate my title, and hopefully know exactly what I am talking about.

You know those occasions when you say something totally pathetic and ridiculous, and immediately you know that you sound like the biggest tit ever, but you also know you cant take it back and you are doomed to be regarded as a world class breast forever. Later it only gets worse when you repeat to yourself what you said and your sheer stupidity sinks in. Well I did that yesterday, I wont go into what I said, but it does feel better to share my foolishness.

And now onto better things like Manhatten:)

Religious Emails

2007-03-23T01:17:00.000-07:00

Ok i know that this really has nothing to do with whats going on in JHB at the moment, but its something that has been irritating me and I've been getting a lot of mails recently regarding this.
I just have to sit and wonder what the hell these people are thinking when they type up these emails.

The mail I received most recently is headed 'Financial Prayer'. And explains that if you take just 30 seconds, say a prayer and forward the mail onto 8 people you may just be rewarded financially and have all your debt swept away. Now there are a few things that I really dont understand. The first is that if through your own spending you have racked up a huge amount of debt, why would 'The Lord' reward you by giving you a whole stack of money so that you can go back and do the same thing again? And secondly if 'the Lord' did take so much pity on you, would he really insist, that in order to be blessed with financial security, you have to forward a chain mail onto 8 other poor souls? Something just does not add up here.

Another mail I received is ' A Chinese Proverb' supposedly sent to me by Anthony de Croud, a missionary in South Africa. Also it supposedly originated in the Netherlands (why would a Chinese proverb start in the Netherlands?) and it has been around the world 8 times:) It has one of those threats in it (like many chain letters have), this one tells us of Carlos who didn't forward the message to 20 people the day that he received it, and lost his job. Just a suggestion, but I think its more likely that he lost his job cos he buggered around with chain mails when he should have been working.

I have no patience for for rubbish like this. If someone has something that will make me laugh or give me interesting info then by all means, send it on. But no threats of bad sex, no sex, no money or bad luck, Im over those.

THE BLUES ROOM

2007-03-21T23:50:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine arrived from the UK yesterday afternoon and only had one night in Jhb before heading off to Zim, so the four of us decided to go to the Blues Room. Much like Plaka its not too far off (only Village Walk in fact) so not too daring, but its something a smidge different.

I have only ever been there once before and it was quite a few years ago, but I was really impressed. ok you do have to pay 50 bucks entrance, but I assure you its worth it. also a good plan to book a table rather than just rocking up, cos you never know just how popular the bands and comedians on that night will be.

as for the menu... drinks not crazy cheap but they arent too bad, and the food I was really impressed with. good variety of stuff, pastas, burgers, steaks, fish and salads. If you sit in the eating area but choose not to eat you are charged R30, but you can avoid this by just chilling at the tables in the bar area. The whole place is smoking however I didnt find it too stuffy and it certainly wasnt unpleaseant.

The entertainment...well its started of with a guy called Tim Hendricks, very chiilled one guy, one guitar-that kinda thing, quite like John Mayer. Awesome intro while we had supper. then perfectly timed, just after we finished, on came David Kibuuka a comedian from Uganda. Helluva good laugh and it was a pretty tough crowd so I was super impressed. If you would like to take a closer look at this guy check out www.bunnychowmovie.com. It is the site for his new movie, Bunny Chow, looks really good. Anways the night was ended off with Coldfusion, a band of about 6 I think, doing beaty covers and trying to get people up and dancing.

So all in all a bit of everything and an awesome night. Not the cheapest night, it cost me just under R200 for food, drinks and entrance, but if you are lookng for something different Id say that its definately the way to go. Plus you will be supporting some great South African talent!

PLAKA

2007-03-21T03:04:00.000-07:00

Wow this is such a great restaurant. Ok granted it is almost exactly half way between Sandton and Rosebank, so not terribly far out, but I thought I would take things slow, ease into the whole thing. Anyways this is a great Greek restaurant in Illovo (just above Thrupps), and I think priced really well too. Also if you dont feel like spending much just go for a meze platter and you get tons of food at a really decent price. What is so cool about this place is that its on the street, so not stuffy. The atmosphere is great, Greek music and all in blue and white. Staff awesome, and not fancy at all. So on the whole very chilled, great atmosphere, aaaannnnd...you dont have to mortage your house just to eat there:)

Great things to do in JHB

2007-03-21T02:48:00.000-07:00

Ok so this morning I was chatting to Eurie. She has been seeing a new guy for about three weeks and the only place she has been to with him is Sandton, oh and sorry once they went to Cresta (daring, not so?). I think a lot of people do this, people are just too lazy or maybe dont know any better and so they just keep on going to Sandton and Rosebank. But there is so much more to Jhb and I've decided that I am going to go on a mission to go to some great places that aren't in the middle of huge shopping complexes, and I will spread the word about how much there is to do and see around these parts:) Please do forgive me if the majority of them include food, I've never been afraid of great food:)

Also I think Im a pretty good person to do this (if I do say so myself) cos Im not very wealthy, I try to save a lot so I don't have cash to throw around and Im pretty sure I am looking for the same thing that a lot of people my age are. So Il give it a whirl and see how I go.

PUBLIC HOLIDAY...then again maybe not

2007-03-21T00:13:00.000-07:00

So here I am working on the public holiday, for all those tax paying South Africans out there you will be pleased to know that the pressure is on and Gautrain workers are on the job. But as no one else in the country is working there really isn't much I can do, so I thought I'd sieze the moment and post!

Something I have been meaning to write about is EURICHT. She is the woman that sits next to me at reception and one of the reasons I find her interesting is that a lot of things about her are very "new South African". Firstly she is black, but she grew up in Mitchells Plain in the Cape and speaks no 'black SA language', ie Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, but is fluent in Afrikaans. Because of this it is really interesting to see the way other black South Africans respond to her. People coming into the building automatically assume that I will speak Afrikaans and she will be fluent in at least one 'black SA language'. Wow are they wrong, and the response (to her far more commonly than me) is "why?". To which Euricht usually gets pretty agro and asks why she should speak a black African language when the white chick sitting next to her doesn't. A very good question in my opinion.

Another interesting thing is that Eurie has never dated a black guy, only white guys. She just doesn't.

I know these things seem pretty small and insignificant but in the bigger scheme of things its the little things that count and I think that in time people may be defined by the language they speak or maybe it will focus on the area they live in, but if you compare Eurie and myself, its really only her complexion that makes her black or more 'African' than me. And grates me that people belive that because of her skin colour it is she that should be speaking an African language, but in their eyes Im not really African anyway so they aren't phased.

Its all about perceptions and according another persons perceptions we are boxed. I think we will start to see more and more people that are breaking out of this box, not intentionally but just because they haven't been brought up to fit inside a box.

WOW its been a while

2007-03-12T04:45:00.000-07:00

ok, i admit it, i have been totally useless and pathetic since December but I have decided that i am gonna do a turn around and be far better with the whole blogging thing. and in all honesty there is just as much to say about SA (if not more) than there there is about the UK. Why do you suppose that most people do that? What I mean is that the majority of us barely communicate about our daily lives until we go to some faraway destination that is supposedly far more exciting than our home country could POSSIBLY be, due only to the mere fact that it is far away?????

well i was thinking about this i have decided to disagree, and show just how interesting it is to live in South Africa at the moment. So what I am going to try and do is to take just as many photos as I did while I was overseas, and show what it is like to live in Jhb in 2007. Cos I think when you look for them there are more than a gazillion fantastical things to be doing right here!

im back

2006-12-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

hi everyone
i am back in SA and unfortunately while i was away i made the very silly mistake of losing my old sim card and so have lost a lot of numbers. if you read this please email me on wynne.jen@gmail.com if not you can call or sms on my old SA number or on my old landline if you have that.

i hope you are all having a fantastic holiday, eating tons and drinking more!

hope to hear from you soon:)

greetings dear friends and ...photos of Amsterdam

2006-11-20T04:41:00.000-08:00

a shop called 'morning glory' - how cool????
and se, sal and robs in front. we had really good fun in amsterdam, did some serious museum stuff and some yihaaa party stuff, so was grand on the whole, and...not too much rain:)

and Edinburgh...

2006-11-20T04:36:00.000-08:00

even though it was super cold and rained...a lot, it really is one of the most beautiful places. this a taken from the edinburgh castle. i love this city!

more edinburgh...

2006-11-20T04:20:00.000-08:00

so you may ask-why why why had jen taken a photo of a school kids back pack????
in order to undertsand the second photo you need to look at the first. in Edinburgh, every day at one o' clock there is something called the one o' clock gun. So basically everyday at 1 a loud bang tells everyone that its is one o'clock. now dont ask me why-perhaps the wrist watch has not reached the friendly nation of scotland-im not sure, but this is what happens. so se and i decide it is a grand plan to head off to the castle to see this one o' clock gun going off ;) unfortunately, jen the nob, who is so ready and poised to take a photo of the gun going off, got a major fright when the explosion arrived and the ground shook, that she jumped a metre-but still (luckily) managed to remember to press the button on the camera-good job!

yay exams are over

2006-11-17T04:57:00.000-08:00

so this week has been a little busy. last week wednesday i finshed exams, and since then its been pretty busy:) thursday i went with se and jo taylor-smith to oxford street to watch them turn on the christmas lights. now as most people know im not the biggest fan of christmas so this wasnt a must see for me, but it was good. inaddition to the wonderful dispaly of ridiculously overboard christmas lights (IN NOVEMBER!) i was also blessed with the fantastic vocals of peter andre (ja i bet u havent heard that name ina while) and his stupid chav wife-jordan (they are all the rage here). then all saints came on stage to turn the lights on abut refused to sing as the stage was too small????

anyways then friday i flew to amsterdam with robs scheckter, sally rosenbaum and se. it was really grand and we had much fun:) got back monday and flew to edinburgh with se on tuesday. it was blimmin cold and rained a lot but wow what a gorgeous city, i really loved it. the only draw back (and perhaps someone can explain this to me) is that a large portion of the city smells a lot like dog food????? i definately cant explain that one and couldnt quite bring myself to ask any of the locals what the smell was. so yes it remains a mystery:)

now im back in london and chilling here till sunday when i will go to visit my aunt caro in dorset for a week of chilling and many bottles of wine:)

photos are taking way too long to upload so unfortunately im not posting any but will try again in dorset.

home in less than 3 weeks. cant wait to see you guys and the sun!!!!

Birthday #4

2006-11-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

So as you can see from the previous pictures, people were pretty merry, included my young sister Sarah who was joined by Nicohlas in a big way! So you can imagine the joy of waking up early to got thru to Kent for Birthday #4. Not only were Sarah and Nic hanging like a pair of bulldogs balls, but they were also about to come face to face with my mothers entire family!

Im happy to say no blood was shed. It was a good chilled Saturday night, with more cakes and more singing:)

Oh plus we had ruth fantastic circus tricks to gett he party started:) How cool is that?????

Birthday #3

2006-11-03T06:41:00.000-08:00

Ok then on the Friday Se decided that we should get evryone to go out to the grand in clapham, was such fun and such a great crowd turned out, so thanks so much to everyone who did:) super appreciated! And twas really good cos some of Nic's London mates also missioned thru, so he got to meet up with some long lost pals.

To start we went to a little pub, snazzy bar type place (and my fabulous sister even booked a section out for us) so was very sweet indeed! had many drinks and then moved on the grand which had old school music (union style), lots of dancing folk and tons of merry drinkers. grand night on the whole!

Birthday #2

2006-11-03T06:36:00.000-08:00

Ok then we went to an awesome retaurant called La Nonna for supper with Nic, Se, Robs, Will, Magoo, Carol and Jenna. Twas a super night, drinking, great food, dancing and lots of laughs:)

hey and check it out, the chef even came out for a photo:)

My Birthday...#1

2006-11-03T06:14:00.000-08:00

ok i know it was a whole month ago, but it was so grand that i thought better late than never. and the coolest thing was, i had 4 of them! so will give u a little taste of each:)

Number One
At caro's (my aunt), alcohol, cake presents and singing...wat more could a person ask for?

All Hairdressers are the DEVIL!

2006-11-03T06:10:00.000-08:00

sorry just had to get that off my chest, feel so much better now.

but on a serious note...BEWARE! you think you know them...you dont. while this may seem harsh and generalised it is the sad truth and there are no exceptions.

Goo Goo Dolls

2006-10-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

So I know this is shamefully late (as i think the concert was 2 weeks ago:() but better late than never hey?

so super fantastic totally amazing incredible fabulous rockingly grand! it was good to say the least:)

the best thing about the goo goo dolls, i believe, is that they have been around for a good number of years and i have always loved them. there was hardly a song that they played at the concert that didnt remind me of a time, person or place. every song tells a story for me and that is priceless. Slide (who in the world, ok maybe not the world, just from my school friends, cos the worlds pretty big, who out of the st mary's girls can hear this song and not think of manda strawson?) black balloon-robbie goldsworthy definately and finally broadway has always made me think of old sandra-sandy bay naked beach-field. so lots of grand memories without a doubt!

was also with such a great group of people, robs scheckter, ty, magoo, sarah and jamie were just a few. and the photos defiantely cam out better than the ones from dave matthews:)

Thank You

2006-10-28T02:49:00.002-07:00

Did you know that, according to research, between a quarter and a third of women have been beaten by an intimate partner. And considering the fact that most domestic abuse is never reported or even spoken about, the statistics are probably a lot worse than that. So where are all these men? Who are these people that feel that the only way to assert their masculinity is to be dominant over women, and do this by disrespecting and damaging the women they are supposed to love the most?

Thinking about these horrific facts I couldnt help but feel totally lucky, because as far back as I can remember I have only ever been surrounded by respectful, protective and supportive men.

Im sure a lot of people remember the rape awareness advert with Charlize Theron, where she says that there aren't a lot of real men in South Africa. When you look at the statistics you cant help but agree. But I also find it sad that the males that get the most attention, the ones that are the most talked about, are the ones who beat, abuse and rape, the ones who are not men at all.

So I would like to thank all the men in my life. The men who respect me, care for me and love me. In order to stamp out the rotten males we have to stand up for and be supportive of the ones that are fantastic. So thanks, ur the bomb!

Holidays:)

2006-10-18T11:30:00.002-07:00

So...on the 28th of September Nic arrived. I had just finished work at the museum so i was super keen for a holiday, and it was great to have him for two whole weeks!!!!

so we spent some time in London doing all the sites and a few museums. Then I took Nic to meet all the family. I do feel sorry for the poor dude, like being hit by a ton of bricks fresh off the plane. but he handled it admirably and came out the other side relatively unscathed.

Then we went to Paris for two fantastic days. was such fun but wow we walked a lot. Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysse (sp), Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Sacre Couer (sp), Montmatre, The Dali Museum. Two very nice suppers (one of which rather drunken as i ordered 2 BOTTLES rather than 2 glasses of wine-sorry for my french:( could have used ur help kat) and what turned out to be a pretty nice hotel after we were turned away from the hotel i originally booked-oops my bad.

But in total a grand two days. Thanks kid-I had such a blast!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!

2006-10-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

Jeezums, just checked the last date that i posted-it was along time ago.
sorry about that:(

so there are a couple of things to be spoken of so il start with...nics visit

Ruth's Party

2006-09-01T10:41:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we had a party at my aunt and her neighbours house as it was her neighbour and best friend, Ruth's birthday. You can see Ruth in the photo on the left above wearing my present to her, yes the VERY grand hat was from me:) Almost the whole family came, plus tons of Ruth's mates, so was a pretty big one. On the left is me with my cousin Dave. Grand party on the whole!

Thanks so much for the comments to thos of you who did comment.

Cands-so great to hear from you! hows Gary? Gtown? my email address is wynne.jen@gmail.com. would be grand to hear from you and il see you very soon!

Lynne-thanks for having a look at my blog:) please send my love to robs, katie and aims. hope you are all happy and healthy, see you in dec!!

Nic-you are too sweet to me! cant wait to see you kid! in 4 weeks time we will be drinking wine together in Dorset, mwah!

Ruth's Party

2006-09-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

Glastonbury

2006-08-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

Also 2 weeks ago I went to Glastonbury for the day. The festival is unfortunately not on this year but its a grand place to visit anyway. Very different thats for sure, no chain shops AT ALL, all the shops have something to do with africa, india, witches or second hand clothes, so basically suits me just fine. Did the tourist thing and walked up to the Tor while I was there. This is where, according to legend, King Arthur is buried, or its one of the suggested sites at least. It's really beautiful and the walk is so worth it when it is followed by tea and cake at one of the gorgeous little cafes in town.

The photo on the right is of me and my aunt Caro (who I have been pretty much living with for the past 6 weeks). As you can see its kinda windy when you get up to the Tor:) The photo on the left is the Tor, quite a tourist attraction as you can see:)

Bournemouth

2006-08-31T15:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone
last week on my day off i went to Southampton for the day and then went to visit Steve for the night in Bournemouth. Southampton was really good. Spent the day going to museums, going to the harbour and doing some shoppping. then caught the train to bournemouth to meet steve after work. we went to see some of his mates at a house party and then walked into town to do a bit of partying. I have to say that bournemouth is a really cool place to live. better than london in a lot of respects as it has the same relaxed vibe as SA, lots of very friendly people and is great fun and lots of grand places to go out as well, and obviously great beaches which are a definaite plus!

I cant really explain why I am devouring a burger in a bright red sombrero, but what the hell, its good for a laugh:)

Bath

2006-08-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

so a few weeks ago on one of my days off my cousin and i decided to go to bath. unfortunately we did choose the hottest day of the UK summer to go on and we went by bus, but it was grand anyways. went to go and see the Roman Baths, very interesting and as you can see in the photo of cousin elle, they gave us handy portable personal guides:)

also...we found a rat and parrot to have lunch at, how cool? a rat in bath! but no where near as good as the gtown one! but made me think of all the great nights we had.

exciting news...

2006-08-15T02:09:00.001-07:00

...nic is coming to visit! he arrives on the 28th Sept and is staying for two weeks! so hopefully we shall have a real blast. I will have just finished work, so we are gonna go round the countryside and visit friends and family, spend a few days in london all that jazz.

so ja cant wait. other than that work continues, not much excitement there. i served guy ritchie the other night, didnt even know it was him until one of the other waitresses told me. then on my days off apparently madonna's kids came in (not a clue what their names are), so maybe once the tour is over we will be seeing madge herself?

hope you are all brilliant and slowly recouperating from huge trivarsity parties.

ciao!

2006-08-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

So these are some of the people i work with now. From the left: Nick (works in the kitchens, his mum is the manager of the inn) then Will (actor currently saving so he can go back to london and continue the job hunt, works behind the bar, he lives in the staff house with me), Clare (believe it or not, a rhodes girl from milner, originally from east london, waits tables with me), then James (his mum ownes the inn and he is back from varsity right now so is helping out a bit, he lives in the house when he is working), Thom (james older brother, just finished at oxford and works in london at advertising agency), Ollie (works behind the bar while on holidays from varsity).

this photo was taken at a festival that took place down the road from the inn, Larmatree Festival. great fun, very bungy, but oh so chilled out. people dancing around in fairy outfits, people smoking weed everywhere, kids from 3/4years old to people in their 60's all dancing like mad. was a good night out:)

FRANCE

2006-08-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

and this is ade and i while watching the soccor world cup final. was a really cool night in spite of france losing:)

photos at last

2006-08-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

ok so since i have been unable to connect my laptop to the internet i havent been able to put any pictures up, but i am hoping that i have now mastered it, so here are some photos in no particular order, just cos i thought my blog needed some brighteneing up, and im sure you would rather see some pics than have to read my terrible writing!

this was taken on my last night in london when some of us got together for supper at this great little restaurant in wimbledon. back row from left: florian (carol's bfriend), carol, se, jamie, will (robs bfriend). front row from left: magoo, me (:)) and robs scheckter.

sooo....not much has changed

2006-08-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

i everyone, well not much has changed since i wrote last but i thought that my blog needed a bit of an update. so as i am soon to return home i thought i may sit down and think about what i have learnt in my short time over here...

1) what is a chav?
well all chavs know they are chavs and as far as i know the majority of them are proud to be chavs. an example of such a person is a 15 year old girl walking down the road, push chair in hand, accmpanied by a pasty looking male youth with no shirt on a chain around his neck. they are commonly found all accross london and even in farther parts of england like dorset. they have a strange and often incomprehensible vocabulary and diction, and have little ability to control the volume of their speech. they are also know to have extremely loud and vulgar arguements in public places (in person or over the phone).

2) dont fall asleep on any tube, train or bus
several people i know i have done this and the outcome is finding yourself in leytonstone or heathrow airport, with no transport to take you except for a ridiculously priced taxi.

3)always ask for help
there are so many newcomers around the london area that you can ask for help without fear of being laughed at or ignored, the wiser ones are generally quite helpful. my dear sister learnt this one when she tried to visit me at work and caught the RIGHT bus, but in the WRONG direction. poor se soon found herself on the opposite side of london:(

4)just because people have money doesn't mean they have class
this has been especially obvious since i began work at the museum. a lot of people with tons of money come to eat here and it is sad to see how their money has made them nothing but rude, revolting and exrtremely cheap.

5)some people will always try to put you down to make themselves feel better
i was lucky enough to work with one such individual at my last job and i am sad to say i gave in to her ways and left. such people i think are difficult to deal with, because no matter how much you tell yourself not to listen to them, they manage to bring me down, so in fact this is a lesson i am still trying to learn.

6)never be in too much of a hurry
i cam to england beacause for some reason i had told myself that i have to everything right now otherwise i would miss out. this i have decided is not the case at all. there is plenty of time for everything and if you rush into life you may forget to enjoy it.

7)be honest with people
if you arent honest with people you only end up losing out as they never really get to know. a real friend is the one who knows everything that sucks about you and loves you anyway.

8) on that previous point, there is nothing more important than the people you
love
i cant believe that i had to come half way around the world to realise that. no where on earth are there people like the ones i love at home. and i know that if i were to die tomorrow i wouldnt regret never seeing the eiffle tower, i would however regret not spending more time with you guys. i cant wait to be home and see everyone. to get to know my parents as people, not as parents and to spend more time with the best friends i could ever hope for. nic and i are also back together now. as most of you know i have never felt about anyone the way i feel about him and im starting to realise that i would lose out hugely by letting this relationship go. it may not last, but you never know-it might, all i now is i would always regret not giving it a shot.

so thats me for the night.

photos of life here in farnham will follow asap.

miss you and love you all!!!!

PS sorry this was longer than i had planned, hope you are still awake:)

Farnham, Dorset

2006-07-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

So... last Thursday I moved to Farnham, Dorset to start a new job. Due to school holidays I was looking at being unemployed for 6 weeks so I thought that I had better make a plan pretty sharpish. So I am now working at a pub called the Museum Inn in this tiny villiage in Dorset. Luckily its pretty close to where my aunt lives, so I can visit her on my days off. Other than that it isn't too far from Bournemouth which is where Steve Wilsher is living so I will hopefully see him next week or the week after.

I live in this really cute cottage which is next to the pub/restaurant with two other people that work at the pub. Will is a bar tender and is an english guy who is also an aspiring actor, and Clare is from Rhodes (believe it or not) two years above me and she is just travelling around as well. Almost all the people that work with me are pretty young and live in the area and so far they have all been really friendly, so it's good. I ma happy with it at the moment but I probably won't have the patience to stay longer than 3 months, but we'll see how it goes.

The weather here is crazy hot at the moment. Yesterday was the hottest day in recorded English history, 36.5 degrees and I spent 3 hours of my day on a bus as my cousin and I decided to go to Bath for the day. But it was really cool, went to see the Roman baths, and again did the touristy thing taking lots of photos:)

Hope you are all well and having a grand holiday. Miss you all madly!!!!!!!!!!!

PS photos will come once I overcome my technology difficulties:)

France:)

2006-07-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

Hi all

i was hoping to be able to post some photos of France, but due to technology difficulties this will not be possible at present so I thought some written news would be better than nothing.

So my 5 days in Bordeaux was grand. Stayed at Ade's folks house which is about 20 mins outside Bordeaux and absolutly beautiful. We went and spent the night at her boyfrinds house which is in Cap Ferret which is incredible. It's on the coast and the weather was fantastic. While I was there it was Ade's dads 60th party which they had at their house. About 150 people and most stayed until the following night, so there was a huge crowd over the whole weekend. On the sunday we all went to this chateau where they make wine, and we were given a tour and shown how the wine was made and stored etc. Then got to taste some so it was a great experience. On the way home Ad also took me past two other chateaus. These places are incredible so I took tons of photos, must have looked painfully touristy:(

So on the day of the football final there was still a huge crowd at ade's, so a big screen was set up and it was very festive. they weren't even that bleak when France lost, thank goodness.

Other than that ade took to me to this gorgeous place by the sea where we had drinks and supper while the sun was setting, felt like I was in a movie. Totally beautiful an surreal to be with her after over 3 years, but incredible to know that some things never change. I realised that there will always be those people in life that you can step into synch with as if you had seen them the day before.

Oh and also the tour de france was leaving from Bordeaux the day I left so me, ad and maxu (ade's brother) went to find them. it was really cool, but we waited for about 45 mins and they went past so quickly they were gone in a few seconds. but so worth it.

so a really fantastic time. the shockingness of my french was seriously highlighted and was pretty wierd (but cool) being the foreigner that no one could really communicate with. so conversations were pretty strained but all ade's friends tried really hard and we had a good party.

FOO FIGHTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-18T04:18:00.000-07:00

So this is definately my most exciting post so far. Last night I went too Foo Fighters!!!!!!!!

It was in Hyde Park with supporting acts The Licks, Angels and Airwaves, Queens of the Stone Age and Motorhead. I was hoping to hear The Licks cos of Jas' stories of them in Aspin, however we only got in after they had finished but Juliet Lewis did come on with Motorhead and jam a bit.

It was totally incredible, wow the best ever! We weren't very close to the stage but I was there to hear them not see them, so I wasn't hugely phased. With 85 000 people there is only so close you can get, so i was just thrilled to be there. Others in attendance were Magoo, Se, Sally, Bryan Erasmus ans some guys that are friends of Magoos who I dont really know all that well, but a blast and a half. As you can imagine tho, with 85 000 people the toilet q's were crazy so I managed to find a very fancy french restaurant opposite the park where i talked a guy into letting us use his toilet, and then refrained from drinking after that, so Im happy to say that I heard them play totally sober and will never forget it!

I cant say the same for everyone else tho. Another dude remembers hearing queens of the stone age and the next thing he knew he had woken up on a bus in wandsworth (a good 45 minutes from Hyde Park). There were drunkards everywhere and the smell of weed permeated the park and it was grand!

Today it is sunny and I am chilling. Happy fathers day to all the great dads out there especially mine! I hope you are all spoilt and have a great relaxing day:)

Billy's Birthday

2006-06-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Catch Up...again

2006-06-18T03:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

So as usual i have neglected the blog a little, so once again-its catch up time, as before read/dont read:)

Two weeks ago it was my cousins Billy's birthday, so I went to stay with family in Otford, Kent. On the Friday night we went out with a couple of Bill's mates and his family for a really nice supper, yay! Saturday I went to go and watch my cousin play in a football tournament, was a really hot day so just chilled and baked in the sun, yes there is sun on this island, only occasionally though, so it is very much appreciated, and get this....i got burnt! How cool is that??? I was so pleased:) Saturday evening the whole family came over for a braai, so agin lots of food and very chilled.

The following weekend was hectic. Nice weather again, yay! So went to a braai in Reynes Park, a guy called Jobbie (went to Rhodes, lots of fun), and then raced back to Southfields to get ready for a night out with Robs, Will (Rob's boyfriend, previously seen with the instant grill) and Phil (Ange's man).

In celebration of Phil's recent birthday he decided we should all go to a club near London Bridge called SE One. Having never been into the club scene I was keen to give it a shot. We started off at a park for pre-drinks and then went to a pub followed by the club. It was hectic, and being the chilling and pub person that I am I tried my hardest to remain inconspicuous (sp?) and so went mad on the dancefloor like everyone else. I found that I really enjoyed it. Too loud to talk so everyone just gets into their own world and goes with the beat, I tried my best not to look too much like an uncoordinated tosser, Im not sure i succeeded:) But we had quite a blast and rolled out at about half three. No tubes that late, so travelling home was a bit of a mission, but with Will as our walking talking London map we got back ok.

Sunday was a lazy day at the park. Me, Se, Jamie (he came thru for the weekend), Robs and Will. Starting to see that London does have a little bit of a summer which is grand but frustrating when there are no gardens or swimming pools! But Im am super grateful for the good weather anyway.

Dorset

2006-05-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

this last weekend i went to dorset to spend the weekend with my aunt and cousins. it was my aunt carolyn's birthday on the friday, so we got chinese take aways and drank lots of wine, it was grand. then on saturday caro went o exeter to help se move out of her flat, and brought se and jamie to dorset. saturday night it was my cousins 17th birthday party and as you can see we introduced her to kings:) she had a blast but was hanging the whole of sunday and most of monday.

on monday it was a bank holiday (spring day apparently but im having trouble taking that seriously as im still bloody cold!), so we went to see the cerne giant, a chalk man carved into the side of a hill in dorset. he is supposed to be a symbol of fertility. not sure if you can see in the picture, but he has a rather large erect member, so an interesting day on the whole:)

a great weekend, very chilled, was pretty hard to leave i have to say, but i am home now and the house is clean-lets see how long that lasts. se and i are in my lounge room but only until saturday when we move into our proper room. half term at the moment so no work for me, but im back to work on monday.

hope you are all well. so sorry to worry you guys with my depressing post, but thank you so much for all your messages.

li leigh: thanks so much for the call and the sms, you're the bomb!
olas: stay healthy young man, i dont like thinking of you sick in bed!!!!
carls: thanks for all the photos, they make my day when its shitty and cold!
jas: so sorry that i have been so useless, im turning over a new leaf i promise:)
ange: have missed you several times on msn but we shall chat soon im sure.
aggy: you out there???? i miss you kideo:(

hope you are all happy and healthy
good luck to all rhodents, wits kids and capetonians for the exams, not long to go now and you will all be on holiday:)

Brick Lane

2006-05-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

brick lane is fantastic! it is a whole street full of indian restaurants, so as you can imagine-i am in heaven there. all the owners are out to give you the best deal and get you back, so we got all our drinks for free and an awesome lunch. the only problem is that its a bit of a mission to get to but we made the treck and it was so worth it. bozz and pete stayed at my place on the saturday night and then on sunday the three of us, plus magoo and corbs, went.

definately one of the best places in this town!

Zulus

2006-05-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

this is a really cool club/pub in putney, very south african. you can be sure to find every south african living in london there on just about any night of the week.

i managed to meet up with si bozzoli and pete galanakis (st johns boys for non-jhb folk) and then also magoo, corbs and robs. this was taken on putney bridge just before we got there. was a helluva good night, pretty damn cold tho!

Dave Matthews

2006-05-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

so it was a grand weekend in birmingham. i do apologise for the bad photo of dave, but the lighting kinda buggered up the photos so we started experimenting. the concert was amazing, it was just dave, not the whole band. but he really is a fantastic musician and his lyrics really mean something. like i said to nic, there were some points in his songs when it felt like his heart was braeking right there on stage. he is amazing live, but talks an unbelievable load of shit inbetween. it was awesome!

after we went to a club/bar and that was pretty good too, there was a whole bunch of us so drank lots and danced more. the others in the photo are se and jamies mates, but then almost everyone here is cos, other than miss sheckter, none of our mates have made the treck to this rainy little island.

Sorry!!!!!

2006-05-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

ok sorry guys, have been useless i know so im gonna trt my hardest to catch up, so there may be a couple of posts. read/dont read. they may be tiresome:)

2006-05-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

another summer day is come and gone away
in paris and rome
but i wanna go home
maybe surrounded by a million people
i feel i still feel all alone
just wanna go home
i miss you, you know
i've been keeping all the letters that i wrote to you
each one a line or two
"im fine baby, how are you?"
and i would send them but i know thats its just not enough
my words were cold and flat and you deserve more than that
another aeroplane, another sunny place
im lucky i know but i wanna go home
i got to go home
let me go home
im just too far from where you are
i wanna come home
and i feel just like im living someone else's life
its like i just stepped outside when everything was going right
and i know just why you could not come along with me
that this was not your dream but you always believed in me

i heard this song today when i was on my lunch break and then i heard it again on the radio when i got back from work, and im sitting in my room, took a photo of my view so you guys could see:) and missing you all like crazy.

while im not in paris or rome, and it hasnt even been a sunny day, most of it applies. i have been thinking a lot this week and was thinking how no one ever says how hard this place can be, they always so what a riot it is. and it is fun, but i have decided that im gonna be totally honest so people dont think that its always all grand and peachy. its like those christmas letters that people send out, they always say how everything in their lives is so fabulous and how clever and beautiful their kids are, they never talk about all the shit that has gone on in between. so im gonna to exactly that, talk about the shit as well as the good times.

i really miss you guys, every single person that i have in South Africa is priceless and you give me things that no one in the world could match.

2006-05-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

PS:

2006-05-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

isn't this the most depressing thing, look in the background of the photo below and you will see a row of houses behind mine all exactly the same. Reminds me of the theme song from that tuesday night series, 'grasses' i think, the one about the mom selling weed. anyway reminds me of that song:)

all the houses are so tiny and exact copies of the others, and the crazy thing is that they all have these huge fancy cars parked outside them, which they dont even drive cos the traffic is too bad!

And more photos...

2006-05-10T14:36:00.000-07:00

It was Andre's (Afrikaans guy, grew up on a farm just outside Kimberly) birthday last friday so on Saturday he invited all his mates to our house for a braai, so much Afrikaans being spoken in the middle of England...very wierd to hear.

You asked for photos...

2006-05-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

So this is me with Luke, J and Steve, three of the gyus that live at our house.

Hello Hello

2006-05-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hi so its been a week since I last wrote, but I have good news...I am working tomorrow! Just tomorrow and then we shall see if they like me. Its as a teacher's assistant with kids that are apparently very disabled, so Im pretty keen, its MUCH better than staying in all day looking for work. Its crazy I have started applying for everything and anything. Today I applied for a job at a deli, making sandwhiches and for a garden labourer job, Im going mad!

Other than that not much else is happening. Going to Birmingham this weekend to see Dave Mathews, so that should be grand, quite a couple of Rhodes people going, all Sarahs mates cos Im a lone slodier here (apart from Robs) but anyway should be good. And tonight just going out for a quick drink with Magoo, he was in Spain on Monday night so Im hoping to hear some stories:)

day at the beach

2006-05-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

ok forgot to tell you guys about this. so robs shekter calls me on monday morning (public hol here also) and says they have decided to go to the beach-do i wanna go. now i know its supposed to be coming up to summer, but this place is still crazy cold, but i thought what the hell..... guys it was so windy and pretty damn cold too in spite of the tiny patches of blue sky you see in the photo.

anyway the most interesting part of the day was when robs boyfriend will (as seen in the photo) pulls out an 'instant grill'. maybe its just me, but i have never heard of anything so crazy. apparently its the british way to 'barbeque'. in addition to this, they used it to heat pre-cooked viennas. needless to say i laughed my ass off!

bye guys:)

2006-05-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

hi guys
saw this restaurant and had to take a photo-hope you like it olas!

sorry i have been so sparse over the last week. it has just been a a pretty crazy one and quite hard as well.

its so expensive to live here guys! i have been searching for a place to stay and iv been looking at anywhere between 350 and 450 pounds A MONTH!!! how crazy is that? and you should see some of the shit iv seen, at the one place the guy didnt even know his own digs mates names. most places are really small and quite old. but have found somewhere at last. staying with 5 other people. luke (from rhodes), steve from benoni (i think), J (went to RAU), andre (super afrikaans guy but v nice) and marvin (from Holland). its in a pretty nice house and in june se will move in and marvin and andre will move out, so that will be cool, and then i can decide if i want to stay or not, so we shall see.

now the job hunt begins so il see how that goes, just gonna make appointments at lots of agencies and see what comes up.

hope varsity is going well and not tooooo much work.

My new details: 86 Lavenham Road, Southfields, London, SW18 5HF
079 198 04273, gonna send my SA sim card back home so cant sms on that
anymore.

ange and nic-so grand to chat to you guys.
jas-hope the weekend in j-bay with the fam was superm, thanks for the sms
gregor-thanks for making an entrance on my blog
olas-only 3 sleeps to go!!!!

missing everyone like crazy:)

PS: YAY!!!! i managed to put a photo on my blog, hope you guys are proud!

THE COUNTRY

2006-04-22T10:27:00.001-07:00

hi hi hi
so spending a few days in the country with my aunt-carolyn, my cousins-ellie and sam, and their grand neighbour-ruth. got here yesterday afternoon on the train. had the best supper last night, well there was more drinking than eating going on but anyways. started off with champagne (obviously a celebration as i am here) and then went on to empty several bottles of jolly red:) after supper it was board games (yes jen is doing the family thing) grand game called cranium-would go down soooo well in gtown as a drinking game, may have to purchase a set.

then today we went off for ruth's mums birthday to an island in poole harbour. beautiful blue sky so you are thinking mmmm nice warm sunny day. you would be frighteningly incorrect. so icy cold its scary. but anyway walked around the island, was good. now home and cosy having a cup of tea.

tonight its takeaways and more wine:)

will write again soon.

thanks so much to nic, carls, jason, ange and alice for the messages.
missing everyone sooo much

bye guys!

THE COUNTRY

2006-04-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

The Family

2006-04-20T03:58:00.000-07:00

Hi guys
had a really good weekend in Otford with cousins, aunts, uncles etc
went to pub lunch on sunday, second pint for me, and good food, wow my family is huge tho, very not used to taking up almost an entire restaurant with just family, but was good-noisy, busy, hectic, overwhelming, but good. ate more easter eggs than you can possibly imagine. monday-went to go and see huge stately house-vey poular past time here-national trust takes over mansion and gives tours around it. was awesome-proper henry 8th style, will post photos wheni can connect my laptop somewhere. so was good

now am in exeter with se, having fun. going thru to my aunt acrolyn in "the country" tommorrow, so will be able to spend lots of time on internet there!

just wanted to tell you that i love you and miss YOU ALL. thanks so much to jas, olas and ange for the messages. my time is up ahhhhhhhh-gotta go

love me

THE WELLINGTON BOOT

2006-04-15T04:52:00.001-07:00

Yes that is the title of my first blog in this rainy place, as on my first day i realised the importance and necessity of this seemingly unimportant item.

On arrival I was informed that we were off on a walk followed by a pub lunch. sweet i thought nice liitle walk follwed by food, not exactly the way it ended up tho. not more than five minutes into the walk it started to drizzle, this soon turned to a steady downpour and the walk was long, full of mud and falling and by the end of it i was soaked to the core, covered in mud and seriously cold!

i did however learn a vital lesson or two-always expect rain, it may not appear to be on the way but do not be fooled- also do not leave the house without a pair of these things they call wellington boots, it will save you in many unhappy times :)

so to date i have endured one long rainy downpour, had my first pint (they do not seem to understand the term draught) and had my first pub lunch. so far so good.

cant tell you how much im missing you guys tho, and wish you were here as i wouldnt feel so far from home.

pls comment, email or sms!

thanks guys!

THE WELLINGTON BOOT

2006-04-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

CAPE TOWN!

2006-03-27T05:34:00.000-08:00

hello hello hello

i do apologise that i have been so vacant. have been in cape town for ten days which was grand!
did some touristy things, like signal hill (watched the other tourists gawking and bought super ice cream), calk bay (good pizzas and great views) camps bay (had lunch at nandos then walked on the beach and watched dodgy speedo wearing middle aged man doing push-ups, then went and ate ice cream at joyous place called sinfull), la med (had gin and tonics while looking at the mountain on my left and the sea on my right)...also two 21sts which were fantabulistic! so all in all a proper tourist experience, as im sure you can also tell every experience included a fair amount of eating, so you will find jen a little tubbier than when you saw her last ;)

also had the good fortune to bump into dirty dave (yes, that one from smuts) that was super :)
and also chunda who seemed very into a girl on the dance floot...very!

first 21st was laura hammonds-really awesome, she had a party bus tyo tale everyone to the venue, definatley a very cool idea but not particularly useful as in gtown it would probably only have to tavel two or threee streets. theme: casino-red and black.

second 21st was jus', also grand, theme: cant believe you wore that to my 21st. i looked horrible, like a strwberry milkshake had exploded all over me. food also super, had crocodile and kudu!
also decided to go mad and extend the theme to the present, so bought her a pair of antique/second hand false teeth :)

will try and put some photos on but i make no promises.

how goes varsity all rhodents???
will try very hard from now onwards to write more frequently, but only if i have something newsworthy!

im in kenton on wed, yay and then probably coming thru to gtown next wed, but if anyone is able to pop down to kenton friendly faces, decent food and cold beers on the beach await you ;)

see you soon, cant wait

technology DOES suck a lot of the time

2006-02-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

so i know all my freaky technology loving friends are gonna give me hell about this, and i know i am starting to use it more and more but sometimes...a lot of the time...technology does suck. like right now-i cant get into my gmail account. now i dare not say whether it is my cheap and faulty computer that is to blame or the wonderful internet i have which takes about an hour and a half to hook up! but all i know is that it is starting to piss me off a great deal!
so i am deeply sorry if i am not replying to your mails but it is not my fault i promise-although nic will probably tell me that its my minimal understanding of the computer and its intricacies (sp) that is creating the problem and not the computer itself.
either way-i apologise.

New Address...

2006-02-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
stupid rhodes university computer dept has closed down my emails, so my new address is wynne.jen@gmail.com
be sure to write!

I WILL POST WHEN I AM GOOD AND READY!!!

2006-01-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

Well the reason i have posted nothing since the birth of my my good and fantastic blog is because I have little or nothing worthy of posting! When my life becomes worth reading about-I will write about it(full stop)!
thank you and goodbye

Welcome!!!

2006-01-05T01:42:00.000-08:00

yo yo yo
so i am creating this first of all to see if my technologically deficient brain can manage it and secondly to see if anyone i know is bored enough to look at it