The spinning docta

Queens' :)

2006-10-08T00:51:00.000+01:00

yay! gowns!

Cambridge Educated Rocking Old Cronies

2006-09-19T13:30:00.000+01:00

Ceroc last night was pretty cool.

Ian double troubled Helen and I :D

And I did my first intermediate as a man, although I have to confess it was a pretty easy one! And I had the lovely Jennie to practice on.

And we did Jennie-dancing to one track rather than Ceroc. Like in the old videos. Oh yes.

Ok, back to the Chemisty.... :)

Phil's last night

2006-09-10T21:46:00.000+01:00

In order of alertness from left to right - Matt, Phil, Torrs

We sent Phil off with style! The gorgeous Torrs was up visiting me for the weekend (and did an excellent job of stopping me moping).

In the Duke all the old faces were there! Godly Tom, Barn, George, Matt, Billson, Tim and all my lovely lovely friends - Jess, Ella, Jennie, and not forgetting Phil! After a slightly unexpected and vaguely humiliating start to the evening I let the alcohol do it's business and we somehow managed to persuade Barn into giving us 3 bags of free crisps :D

Tickle fights and wrestling, twisting out the way of eager hands and drinks flying through the air, dancing down the highstreet, shivering on the mound and crashing out at mine, it was like being 16 again, but without the wishing-I-was-older feeling :)

Managed to get Phil to wake up after Will's Mum suggested pouring cold water on him during our 4:45am phone conversation. Might have accidentally also splashed it on Matt and Torrs... Oops :D

Delia Jess

2006-09-08T10:10:00.000+01:00

Jess performing a strange spiritual ritual on a lump of butter

2006-09-08T10:08:00.000+01:00

beware my eeeevil sauce

2006-09-08T10:07:00.000+01:00

nom nom nom

India

2006-08-30T18:26:00.000+01:00

Me on our balcony in Old Manali, Himalayan foothills

2006-08-30T18:25:00.002+01:00

Dawn on our pass over the himalayas

2006-08-30T18:25:00.001+01:00

Phil infront of some building or other...

2006-08-30T18:25:00.000+01:00

The Blue City! Bloooooooo!

2006-08-30T18:24:00.001+01:00

Bishnoi woman filtering opium

2006-08-30T18:24:00.000+01:00

Phil looking at colourful rugs in a village outside Johdpur

2006-08-30T18:23:00.001+01:00

Funky temple about 20 yards from where we stayed in Hampi

2006-08-30T18:23:00.000+01:00

Mmm, North & South Indian thalis in Mysore

These guys rule

2006-06-27T01:04:00.001+01:00

Roo and Phil

Said my farewells to these cheery chappies a while back. I've missed them before and I'll miss them again, but we'll always slot back together. And I plaited Phil's hair... how cool is that?!

2006-06-27T01:04:00.000+01:00

Phil and a beautiful woman (how does he do it?)

Oops.....CRASH

2006-06-14T23:03:00.000+01:00

I have been really clumsy the last 3 weeks and I can't work out why.

I chipped a plate whilst washing up.

I smashed a bowl (and badly bruised my leg) due to slipping on water in my kitchen.

I broke a little dish in the fridge.

I scalded my toes in the shower and reacted by jumping and thus cutting my big toe so it bled for an hour.

I dropped a pack of ice-cubes on the floor so they went everywhere.

I dropped two files at work and one stack of paper (all in those slippy slidey plastic wallets).

Any advice anyone?

Sonny Rollins et al

2006-05-25T09:11:00.000+01:00

Earl cooking mighty fine sausages

I met Earl at Walthamstowe Central and we picked up another of his friends who I think was called Bill. Then we bought so sausages and headed back to Earl's place, where George (a seriously cool guy) and George's son had already lit the charcoal..

We ate whilst watching the footy (so close!) and then headed out to the concert. There were six of us in total and all of us had a better idea of how to get to / into the Barbican than our taxi driver (grr) but we got there eventually.

The show was amaaaaaaazing - I tell you that guy can play! At some stages his fingers were a complete blur and he used musical quotations left right and centre, not to mention his tone!

We went back to Earl's after the show and drank the remaining wine and I fell asleep on his sofa and dreamt about Hawaii.

2006-05-09T22:59:00.000+01:00

ffs

Almost there!

2006-05-07T18:02:00.000+01:00

Maths and procrastination

Woo hoo! I finished the course today, meaning there's no more new stuff to learn, just revision! I'm a month behind where I was hoping to be, but it could be considerably worse. Now, if I could only remember how to integrate...

ROMA: The Mountains

2006-04-27T21:16:00.000+01:00

The huge lake in the mountains

2006-04-27T21:15:00.000+01:00

The decent

ROMA: The Beach

2006-04-27T21:14:00.000+01:00

Volly Ball on the beach

2006-04-27T21:02:00.000+01:00

Don's ask

ROMA: St George's

2006-04-27T20:52:00.000+01:00

Keith, Beer, Alex, Punch, Beer, Jonny, Keg

2006-04-27T20:51:00.000+01:00

Nat, Romaeo, Laura, Jen, Alex, and Kim

2006-04-27T20:49:00.000+01:00

The compound (bing bong..)

ROMA: Rome

2006-04-27T20:48:00.000+01:00

The inevitable 'infront of a fountain in Rome' photo

2006-04-27T20:47:00.000+01:00

Icecream time

Getting old..

2006-04-13T12:28:00.000+01:00

Torrs

2006-04-13T12:27:00.000+01:00

et moi

As I mentioned in my last email to Jess, I think I'm getting a bit old for clubbing. Sounds hilarious I know, but the idea of dancing away until the early hours, drinking lots, getting knocked about and getting a cute ringing in my ears just doesn't float my boat the way it used to. That said I actually quite liked the club we were at Tues night - my mood depended a lot on the music being played though.. some of it was so much fun!

I met Jamila and Philomena properly and they're so easy to get on with. We had a vaguely traumatic experience whilst we were in the pub where some creepy old man came right up to the window where we were sitting, put his finger to his lips to hint we ought to keep the secret, and then started to undo his trousers... so we ran for it! (*shudder*shudder*shudder* - blurgh). When the police turned up and removed him they asked if we wanted to press charges and Philomena replied "Nah, it was kinda funny actually".

Monday night we Ceroced and it was a really fun night. Partly because of being with Torrs again having nt seen eachother since September, but also because Ian double troubled me and Jane and it was really fun :D And I had 3 of the loveliest dances ever with Rob. I've got my enthusiasm back for Ceroc a bit recently - I think this is almost entirely down to Ian and Jane coming back though!!

Now, all I need is a dance with that cute fiance of mine.

Let them eat Pizza

2006-04-06T15:29:00.001+01:00

I took this photo with my elbow

2006-04-06T15:29:00.000+01:00

Chef Tegwen, where's the silly white hat?

2006-04-06T15:28:00.001+01:00

Chef Philip

2006-04-06T15:28:00.000+01:00

le diner

Sex Legacy

2006-03-31T13:32:00.000+01:00

When a lover is a beggar
Abject is his knee -
When a lover is an owner
Different is he -

-Emily Dickinson, quoted by Lynn Margulis in The Symbioitic Planet

Why I quit Ceroc

2006-03-30T00:10:00.000+01:00

Ah so apt.

I had a good demo tonight - that is, I didn't fall on my head, and Paul has again revolutionised the way I dance. I love it when he does that. And then when we dance afterwards he tests me to see how hard I'm trying to do what I've learnt - I can't explain quite why I get such a kick out of it, but I really really do.

On the down side I'd forgotten how lechy it is there, or perhaps it's getting worse. Last time I chatted to Ian he said "all the men there are either over 50 or act like it" and as I looked round tonight I couldn't really see an exception to that.

I had several dances where I couldn't wait to be freed - continually fighting the battle to keep hands on my hip not my arse, and so many men press you right to them. I'm sure our inner thighs need not touch quite so often.

The above sketch was part of one of the Ceroc-strips I used to draw before they caused offense. I kind of miss drawing them. Taking the piss out of myself is in many ways therapeutic.

Below is a photo of me being sad, and below that 2 more photos to show I'm not always ugly.

2006-03-30T00:09:00.001+01:00

How I feel after dance (and look for that matter)

2006-03-30T00:09:00.000+01:00

Very happy

2006-03-30T00:08:00.000+01:00

Blue with sling

Scarlet's Birthday

2006-03-26T17:00:00.000+01:00

Lots of people eating too much :)

Mmm, Chinese all you can eat - and we did. Seriously. I couldn't eat any more I was almost spherical. Phil had to roll me home.

Oooh and pass the parcel was also much much fun. Met some new people too which is always good including the pottery lady and an interesting woman called Abbie who told us all about her research into electrons in 1 dimension.

Lovely to see Zareh and Ian again, many other lovely Cerocers, and of course Scarlet herself, complete with her new man.... ;)

2006-03-26T16:59:00.000+01:00

My favourite people with no hair. Check out Zareh's funky glasses.

2006-03-26T16:58:00.000+01:00

Ian!!! Yay!

2006-03-26T16:56:00.000+01:00

Check out that hair cut :D And the sloping WALL in the background...

Kevin's Party

2006-03-19T20:10:00.000Z

This was easily one of the weirdest parties I've ever been to. Everyone there (and there were over 20 of us) had 3 things in common and 1 main objective...

We all:- have a keen interest in Science
- live in / around Cambridge
- know Kevin

And we all: - wanted to eat Haggis

The quickest conversation openener was the original "so, how do you know Kevin?", and then "ah, so which area of Science is your PhD in exactly?".... and .... "where do you think you'll go next with it?"

The food was good (if slightly odd) as were the people. But then, what do you expect from a party filled with Cambridge PhD students, and foreign 6-month exchangers? :)

Favourite quote of the evening:
"In Denmark we have this saying: If you're not a winner, you're a loser"

Norwich

2006-03-15T13:11:00.000Z

Harry, Claire & Sophie, looking over some art

Feeling too lazy to write an entry..

Me and Soph went to visit Claire and her newbie boyfriend Harry in Norwich and had a lot of fun there :D

2006-03-15T13:10:00.000Z

Soap in her cocoon :)

2006-03-15T13:09:00.000Z

Me sitting on Claire's bed, wearing Harry's sunglasses

More R & J problems

2006-03-07T12:51:00.000Z

Bah, I had another Romeo and Juliet nightmare, like this one. Damn reoccurringness. This time I was mid play, with Alf and Phil, all acting at my Mum's boyfriend's house for no obvious reason.

In other news I did 6 hours of integration yesterday and gave myself back ache.

Farewell, and good luck!

2006-03-04T22:53:00.000Z

Can't believe I won't see him for ages.. feels so unreal.

Me: So I guess I'll see you in six months then
Phil: Yup, when you get back
Me: When're you back?
Phil: 10 of July
Me: Yeah, I'll be well gone by then, see you in September

A lot can happen in a week and, ever since he said his personal good bye to me on Monday, I am a lot more comfortable with watching him go.

Good luck to Merv too. Very very strange to see him minus the dreads though :)

2006-03-04T22:52:00.000Z

Tomato I liked the look of when I was making a salad Wednesday evening. It's an egg at the very back.

2006-03-04T22:51:00.001Z

Taken in Florence last year

So many things are going to happen in the next 6 months I'm not sure I know how it'll all fit in. But whenever I start to panic I think of how exciting it all is, and I get this lovely rising feeling. Like the feeling you get when you look up at something high above you - like the ceiling in this photo, or the sky.

My fiance, Nathan, knows what I mean when I say I feel like I'm falling upwards, into the sky.

2006-03-04T22:51:00.000Z

View from the kitchen window whilst I stood eating my breakfast the other morning

Time to scatter

2006-02-24T12:58:00.000Z

Distant Liz, grinning Dr Lawrence, and as for that Dr Wrigley... *pats poor Jonathan*

2006-02-24T12:57:00.001Z

Happy Earl!

Jonathan looks so smug in this photo and I have no idea why.

It was good to be back with everyone and a bit sad too. Irina was on absolutely top form and the jokes she and Dirk hit off eachother were fantastic. Agnes and I tried to persuade Dirk that he ought to try Ceroc next time he's in the country. I doubt he'll ever come back though.

We went to the Kingston Arms in Cambridge. The atmosphere was great and the food was quite special too. I'd heard it was one of the best pubs in Cambridge but hadn't got round to trying it. Earl and I shared a starter - delicious cheese! Where do they find feta like that?

Oh, I suffered further humiliation. The eye-candy jokes are more occasional now (thank God!) but... On the train Dirk was talking to me slightly aside from the rest of the group, asking about my plans. No one was really paying us any attention until Dirk said "I'd like to see you in a Nurse's uniform!" slightly too enthusiastically, at which point all conversation stopped and then everyone laughed. To be fair to him it was vaguely on topic - but all the same!

2006-02-24T12:57:00.000Z

Bah, I don't want him to go to California.

2006-02-24T12:55:00.000Z

Approaching Saffron Walden

I love walking. I wish I had people near by who I could call up and ask to come with me on my wanders like I used to. I miss Sophie and Claire. In fact, I'm going to go and make a cup of tea in their honour. Mm, tea.

Marilyn!

2006-02-22T23:34:00.000Z

Marilyn relaxing at our dining table

Lovely to see her again, as I haven't since November. We had a large Chinese takeaway (curtesy of Jade Garden) and I am now close to being spherical.

If only I slept in a basement I could roll into bed!

On another note William II, on being advised not to board a leaky ship in Southampton in 1099 said "Kings never drown". Don't suppose anyone happens to know how he did die in the end? I have a feeling he was also known as William Rufus, and died in a wood when he fell off his horse (which tripped) and broke his neck. But I'm not really sure and can't be bothered to look it up.

Also, can a play, being that it is a drama, have anything but a dramatic ending? Hotly debated this evening.

:(

2006-02-17T13:39:00.000Z

I tend to keep this blog for pretty photos of friends, as a way to share memories. Occasionally I might go off on a rant but I tend to keep those entries few and far between because 1) they're boring and 2) I'm only likely to offend people.

However I have no recent memories I can share, same for pictures, at the moment.

So here goes:

Maths is driving me insane. I'm in the middle of a chapter on differentiation and I get stuck so quickly. I've just got onto the bit where you use natural logs to do everything. There seem to be so many things to remember. I can't progress beyond this page (37 if you care) and feel in need of a cuddle.

Also weird lack of friends these days. I suddenly realised I needed to talk Weds night and the obvious person who knows all the details happens to be in China. But fortunately Ella was online, who knows most of the details, and she was lovely and helped me sort it a bit *hugs to her*.

Giving up Ceroc has changed the feel of my week too, which is a little strange.

What a pointless entry.

She's running awaaaayyyy

2006-02-11T15:34:00.000Z

Phil & Jess & that funny book

Last night we all Temmed it to say good bye to Jess and wish her luck for the next 6 months. She's off to China, to teach English...

As one of my closest and most loved friends I shall miss her hugely, but I'm glad she's going to have this amazing experience. It doesn't feel real yet - even saying our final good bye today after lunch. Walking away I still felt, still feel, like I'll see her on Monday, or Wednesday, or we'll go see a film *grin* together next week sometime, or I'll pass her in Waitrose.

How many of my friends like all the stupid things I do and silly things I come out with? Or can look at a **** in a glass cabinet in the arts and crafts fair and know exactly why I want it? Actually, there are a few others, but not many! But I guess that's exactly what makes special friends special.

2006-02-11T15:33:00.001Z

Phil & me. Does my head usually look that small?

There were lots of funny moments last night. One was reminiscent of BWC when Jess tried to draw a cat, and it ended up looking like a cat headed sperm. So I drew a cat headed egg for the sperm to fertilise. And then There was a little man in the picture, which I failed to turn into a fetus so had to adapt into a chef with a frying pan, egg, and spatula. SPATULAAARR!!! (that was for you, Sarah!).

2006-02-11T15:33:00.000Z

Me, Katie (?!) & Jess all pitching in (hur hur hur..)

It was really good to see Katie again too, as I hadn't for quite a long while, not since I had that bed party! She's also off in a week's time, to South America. Merv showed up and he, Phil and Stucky all stood about waving credit cards at eachother..

I could now go into a rant about smoking in public places and why having areas without divisions doesn't work.................but I won't.

Even though I'm sad we're all branching off on our separate adventures, I'm glad that these are the sort of people my friends are. They're interesting, brave and openminded. Wherever I go and however hard I look, I will be pushed to find another group like them.

And then Jess and I have Septemeber - with lots of fun plans! (Including revising 2 years of Chem in a month....). Assuming I get home alive.

Good bye TP & Phil's 23rd

2006-02-05T21:12:00.000Z

These last few weeks have been some of the most hectic of my life. I have been working hard every day, & dealing with stressed people - not least one Chemist who decided to be evil :( I forwarded the correspondance to my boss, who threatened the guy with losing his redundancy package - he suddenly got a lot nicer :) He even helped me bubble wrap things & complete the paperwork!

My send off was, well, flattering and unexpected. Lovely presents & a card from both my lab families. Lots of people turned up to say good bye. I shall miss them all, a lot.

- - -

Phil turned 23 on Saturday! We had a really lovely day - lunch out, a bit of shopping, a lot of relaxing, & a really nice dinner out. I gave him a small mountain of presents too :-)

Ooh but this morning something odd happened. Basically, the house he's in atm has an animal theme to it.. There are plenty of live animals (2 cats, some rodenty things, a snake etc) and lots of models of animals, batiks of animals, paintings, coasters, table mats, toys, decorations all of animals.

Phil said "I've fed the cats, but I need to check on the tortoises", so I was quite excited - expecting a nice small tortoise or 2. But as we neared their tanks (in the garage) there was a huge amount of noise, and a VERY LARGE TORTOISE was making a heap of sawdust for itself. There were three others which were smaller, but the big one really took me by surprise. After ascertaining they were all the right way up (they can get stuck on their backs sometimes apparently...) we left them to it...

..very odd though!

Bodie's Aussie Day / Burn's Night Party

2006-01-30T00:04:00.000Z

Nathan looking ridiculous :p

Woo hoo for a fucking flaming awesome party! The Aussie style barbeque out the back was almost genuine if it weren't for everyone huddling around it trying to keep warm! A solitary haggis sat under a poem, and lots of random Australian and New Zealand food was littered about the place.

I had a great night. Nathan gave me this really funky shotglass with an upsidedown dragon forming the legs! It meant I drank most of my wine in small volumes (I didn't shot the wine though...). I had a nice dance with Jane again, and DPS turned up to show us how it should be done!

In other news I had a horrid nightmare - that my hands were sawn off. It felt so real. I turned to Phil and said "I've got no hands - I'm going to go through life with no hands - I'll never be able to dance again, or play saxophone" and he hugged me and said "don't say that, of course you'll dance again". Then I rested my cheek on my stump and cried. Then, fortunately, I woke up. It took a while to realise it had all been a dream and my hands were fine. I've been admiring them ever since.

Dirk et al.

2006-01-22T13:12:00.001Z

Me and my new boyfriend.... erm

2006-01-22T13:12:00.000Z

Huw avec wine, Earl, Dirk, Jonathan & Sam

Dirk invited us all out for a curry at Chutney Joe's before he departs on his Californian adventures. I got Jonathan to talk to me about the VR1 receptor and capsaisin whilst eating dishes of various hotness. It was so good to be with them all, I don't know if I will ever work with such an amazing group again - they all doubt they will :(

Oh, and I suffered complete humiliation. A biologist at Terlings Park nicknamed me "Eye-candy" a while back, and this all came to light on Friday during the day when he came and asked me for a hug goodbye, as it was his last day. I made sure not to tell anyone about this and thought I had escaped but Pat thought it'd be hilarious to tell Huw. Huw thought it'd be hilarious to tell the rest of the group, so I spent the whole evening being referred to as Eye-candy....ahhhh.

Breaking the Loop

2006-01-12T19:41:00.000Z

Me & the somewhat infamous James, dancing Ceroc (card made by Jennie for my 19th birthday)

As requested by the gorgeous Jane of Ceroc fame, here is an entry about our lovely dance!

As usual Ceroc was packed (no landing space) and rather than join the long list of girls waiting to be rescued by men, I asked Jane for a dance :) Now, my lead has a long way to go, but Jane makes everything easier and I really enjoyed it - I managed pretty much all the beginner moves and a few intermediates too! I felt rather smug at the end of it.

I had a horrid demo last week though, worst ever. I don't think it helped that Paul (teacher) was really ill for it. Also, I'd had to leave work at 4 in order to get to Cambs with plenty of time, so I'd spent an hour solid in the Cold Room and when I came out my whole left hand swelled right up. It didn't go back to normal until the final freestyle. I sent out a plea for sympathy to the more caring of my labs... my favourite response was from Semantha:

Tegwen,
I'm deeply distressed to hear of this. I hope it doesn't explode like tissue coming out of the minus 80. Please keep us updated on any further developments.
Sam.

2006-01-12T19:38:00.000Z

In Torrs's garden summer before last

I was looking quickly through my photos (to find the scan of Jen's card) and came across this photo. It reminded me of how happy I felt lying on Torrs' lawn - the strength of our friendship. Also of all the day dreams I had that summer, of the Golden Man, before he became the Lord of Darkness. Ignorance is bliss.

But it's also reminded me not to lose my good friends, because I have lots! I'll never lose Torrs because we've done long distance for ages, but there are others where a bit of effort will be worth it. People say that if you're friends with someone it's there forever, which in a sense is true - but I think friendships are strengthened when you go out of your way to make time for eachother etc etc.

I know I've been busy and out of touch a bit recently - but I'll be back :) Just lots of life stuff to sort out (jobs, houses, holidays, travelling, exams, parents......)

New Sixth Month Resolutions

2006-01-02T11:28:00.000Z

Now, you may think with 6 month resolutions I'm being a bit.. lazy? Or failing to challenge myself? Not at all! My logic is that I can pretty much predict how the next 6 months of my life will pan out - so I can make vague plans about my daily way of living. After these next 6 months there is a fair degree of The Unknown, and I think it'd be silly to tie myself to a routine, or a code of living, that may not fit in then.

In brief, my many 6 month resolutions come under one large one:
Being Good.
(Yes, I can hear you laughing).
There are subdivisions about health, study and sex.
The fact I struggle to do 30 situps in a row, when last year I could do 200 worries me.
I eat pretty healthily, but I'm going to cut down properly on the snacky things.
I will study a LOT harder, I've had my rest now, time to get back on!
All sex comes under 'being good', so long as it's with my boy.

Dad and I cooked our first tagine together

I'm also really getting into cooking at the moment. Made my Dad a really cool risotto the other day, and some funky pasta before that. The tagine which we made together was a bit like hard work, and after everything we forgot the coriander! Bah!

Barn & James' Dukeness

2005-12-30T15:45:00.000Z

Jonny, blurred Paul and Barn in The Duke of York

The legendary Barn French and James Elliot put on another fantastic evening's entertainment. James played guitar and sang, whilst Barn sang, shook his tamberine and humiliated himself on a cross between a keyboard and a kazoo.

Jonny B of the Bluesmakers variety joined them on occasion with his ever expanding trumpeting skills. Their rendition of The Jungle Book's "You-hoo-hoo, take an ape like mee-ee-ee, can learn to be you-hoo-hoo man too-oo-oo" is still going round in my head. Damnit.

Lovely evening. The highlight had to be getting chatted up by Barn's grandad though :D "If you were my girlfriend I wouldn't let you out on your own that's for sure. And if you get any trouble from that boyfriend of yours you just let him know that I'll sort him out." He must be at least 70 something, and smaller than me! Brilliant chap though, a real 'lad'.

2005-12-30T15:42:00.000Z

James and Barn, full flow

Blank White Cards, again..

2005-12-30T12:04:00.000Z

Jennie's 'You get tied up' card; Luke's 'No More Alien' card.

This time played in the Tem, which made for a slightly different dynamic. Cards included missions to the bar (e.g. Crawl to the bar and buy me a pint for +10,000 pts). Players included: Me, Jess, Luke, Jennie, Ella, Roo and guest player Ben (of the Big Gay variety :D ).

The game became very lively, with 'accent' cards being played upon the entire table. We all found ourselves speaking in German accents, except Roo who was forced to speak like a posh woman. Jess played her evil 'haiku' card upon Roo, and someone retaliated by forcing Jess to write her cards in German haiku!!!

This is an incredibly fun game, but it is not for the weak of heart, or few of braincell.

2005-12-30T12:02:00.000Z

Jess's 'Where's Norman?' card

Merry Christmas

2005-12-26T18:39:00.000Z

Nana relaxing at ours on Christmas day

All in all a lovely Christmas, although slightly strange not having Mum around for it for the first time this year. Lots of lovely presents, a nice dinner and generally hearing from (almost) everyone I love or care about.

A long walk with my Dad about Audley End was also really welcome, but this year I didn't jump on any random men in the middle of the fields. It's strange how much can happen in a year.

Ooh *grin* I now have a College scarf, which whilst being fantastically snobby did also get me really excited about Cambridge for the first time since my results.

Life has been very sparkly recently.

2005-12-26T18:38:00.001Z

Phil juggles mobiles whilst Will cradles his drink

Last night I went to see my boys. I should point out that neither of them are mine, and being that they're both well over 18 they probably don't pass as boys anymore either, but it's an affectionate term.

We drank and listened to random music, on unmarked CDs so we didn't know what it actually was, and generally caught up. Will told me more about rowing too. I must know more than most women about it. But at least I get to see him occasionally now :)

2005-12-26T18:38:00.000Z

Dad hanging up nuts for the birds

Deck the Halls

2005-12-22T15:38:00.000Z

Ceroc was a little.. different.

The beginners class was comprised of the moves:
Deck the Halls
Turkey
Stuffing
Pudding

I then spent the whole of the first freestyle in the back room with the rest of the Wednesday crew trying to put together the Christmas intermediate class. Paul had done all the brain work - we just had to put it into action! Fortunately we persuaded him to forget about the tinsel and the shiny tinsel, and thus the routine consisted of:
Deck the Halls
Turkey
Stuffing
Sprouts
Rudolf
Ride the Reindeer

And then we did a nine person demo - all in a loop, where certain moves meant you were spun onto the next man. Confusing but brilliant fun!

Considering how sad I was Monday night and Tuesday with the departure of Phil, last night made a real difference. It was good to see Jess too, and lovely to have (other) Phil calling in at 1am or whenever it was!

Pippa's 40th

2005-12-18T10:10:00.000Z

I went over Claire's for dinner (delicious!) so we could get ready together. It was really good to hear her so happy and bubbly and enjoying life. I'd bumped into Jane and Nathan (I say 'bumped', what actually happened was that I did a running pounce on Nathan) and asked them what sort of a do it was. Therefore Claire and I decided to look pretty in nice skirts / dresses and funky boots / shoes etc etc.

At the party there were loads of Cerocers and loads of little people. The routine was specially put together using moves that wouldn't be a problem if you're dancing with someone half your height. One of the nicest sights of the evening was Nathan dancing with Pip and, just behind him, Colin on his knees armjiving with a tiny lady.

It was great getting to dance with Nathan again, I've missed him.

Sadly I felt too ill to stay to the end and Claire and I beat a hasty exit.

The Captain

2005-12-08T00:13:00.000Z

Rob with one of his catches

This is the lovely Rob, who I go on about because he makes the second half of my week enjoyable. We pass the majority of our day sharing bad jokes and then passing them off as "rubbish". He's easily one of my favourite people at Terlings Park, despite the slightly bizarre carp obsession.

Me: thanks for the Drifter, it made my morning.
Rob: Do you think a Viennese whirl would make your afternoon?

Note to self: go carp fishing sometime

Burns night come early

2005-12-04T19:30:00.000Z

Haggis is served..

As we'll all be sacked by the time Burns night really comes around, and because we are fortunate enough to have a large number of Scots in our student population, we decided that we ought to celebrate early. As you can see from the photo above, plenty of people showed up. Just sit back for a second and think about the logistics of serving all those people at the same time..
you've got haggis, vegetarian haggis, those who can't eat either had salmon. Then there was mashed potato, and mash with spring onions, and roast potatoes, and carrots, and a carrot and turnip puree and gravy. Now think how you're going to manage this with only student kitchen facilities! We ended up utilising ovens in different flats and all sorts.

So - a massive thanks to all those who put so much time and effort into cooking and decorating!

The night itself was fantastic. There were tartan bows on the glasses, and everyone had a token sip of whisky (except Kim who downed hers...) and many other drinks. Some of the brave even tried Scottish dancing!

2005-12-04T19:29:00.000Z

Keith - "the kilt is down, an' the beast is asleep"

2005-12-04T19:27:00.000Z

I like this photo, wonder what Keith's looking at..

2005-12-04T19:26:00.001Z

Phil, Keith, James and Nerea and Scottish flags

2005-12-04T19:26:00.000Z

Phil, Jonny and Keith in their all their splendour.

Faithless

2005-12-04T19:14:00.000Z

yay

It was such an awesome gig, I had an amazing time! Every track played I found myself thinking "ahhh I love this track!!" and the atmosphere (we were in Brixton, Carling Academy) was just incredible!

Not much more to say really, other than I was surrounded by a brilliant set of people - thanks to you all for helping to make it so much fun!

Iceskating at Somerset House

2005-12-01T21:13:00.001Z

Scott, Jonathan, me, Sam, Dirk, Irina, Lisa, Jonny, Alex, Anna & Lisa's sister

2005-12-01T21:13:00.000Z

One moment we were posing for a photo & the next moment... whoops!

It was brilliant!!!

I haven't iceskated for absolutely years (in fact the last time I did I think was when I first met Will!) but after a cautious start I picked it up no problem! The members of my lab family were surprisingly good at it. I think the evening really summed up the attitude of my colleagues - great fun and will have a go!

The best moment was when Jonathan and I were pausing against the edge chatting and heard 3 loud thumps as Sam, Dirk and Earl used the edge as a means of stopping. Jonathan heard the thuds and said to me "that'll be the lab then".

Harry Potter 4 etc

2005-11-24T12:51:00.000Z

It was easily the best of the films to date. It also had dragons, which pushed it upwards in my rating too. I think about 14 of us went in the end, a nice crowd. Myself, Phil, Alex, Keith and Nerea went to The Moorhen first for a drink (or two, or several in Keith's case) and a bite to eat. Phil didn't fall asleep during the film, which apparently is unusual. When Matt rang on Monday night he warned me about the film..

Matt: Well, it is worth seeing but I'm afraid there's some strong language in it..
Me: Oh, really?
Matt: Yes, at one point Ron tells Harry to 'piss off'
Me: Woah, that's a bit rude!
Matt: fucking right.

I danced twice this week. I really enjoyed Monday and quite enjoyed last night. Having a bit more space on Monday was definitely worth it - got the chance to practice a few cool new moves!

Laura & Natalie's 21st (well..)

2005-11-16T18:13:00.000Z

Phil & me clubbing in Brick Lane

About 25 of us MSD students went out clubbing on Saturday night. We had such a fun time! Because we were a large group we booked a coach to take us there / back which made everything very simple.

Ruth drank one hell of a lot of Schnapps before we left so we had to have an emergency loo stop. Once in the club the rest of us stacked up the units. And danced. And Ricardo's friend, PojMasta, did a really good set. With a larger group there were lots of people to interact with and dance with.

After clubbing hard for many hours we all headed off down Brick Lane until we came to a really bizarre Indian restaurant.
Phil: this isn't the coach
Nick: No, but it is 'open till late'

So we all ate Indian and got scared by the huge murals of angels kissing, centaurs shagging angels and, most disturbing of all, a huge close up of Princess Di's face... But we survived the experience and I slept like a log that night. In Adam's bed. (He wasn't there!).

And now I seem to be ill. But getting better by the hour..

Zizzi's, Stortford

2005-11-10T17:33:00.000Z

I love this photo

Another pay day meal. Jen and I were so damn organised we actually got there very early and felt the need to drink gin and tonic in a nearby bar, which was actually quite nice. The meal itself was very good - and Jen and I managed to get free glasses of wine! Which was a bonus! Anand dropped us back which made life very simple, and this morning I got to sleep until 8:15!!

We didn't get to work until just before 10, and then a few of us (me, Jen, Nick, Alex) decided that sausage sandwiches were the way forward. :) :)

2005-11-10T17:32:00.000Z

Jen looking gorgeous, as per usual :)

2005-11-10T17:31:00.000Z

Me and Rem

2005-11-10T17:30:00.000Z

Nick eating spaghetti (his 3rd course, pinched from Jen)

Chinese, A Dinner Party, Rockets and Italian

2005-11-07T23:46:00.000Z

I headed into Cambridge after lunch on Saturday and Laura and I decided on lunch out. We wandered until we found ourselves at The Ugly Duckling (excellent name for a restaurant) where we may have slightly over-ordered, but nevertheless had a really excellent meal! -->

Assorted Chinese dishes at The Ugly Duckling

We then headed to Laura's friends who she works for. The house was massive - you could fit all the floor space of my Mum's house into their kitchen. Laura and I organised and tidied, and shoved various things in various ovens, and folded napkins, lit candles, shunted furniture and basically ensured their dinner party (9 adults, 8 children) went smoothly, which it did. I liked Anthony and Alison, Anthony more so, but then I spoke to him for longer. Very amusing chap. A critic who tells me he's rubbish at recommending books :)

We then went on to Alex's where I met him, his Mum Hilary and girlfriend Annie. They really are brilliant people. We set off rockets and played with sparklers, and drank and ate. I felt so relaxed with them, like I'd known them for years.

I spent most of Sunday tidying until I spoke to Will who eventually mentioned he was at home and I could call over and see him if I fancied. I did fancy.

I arrived at his door with a vague feeling of deja-vu from when we used to be close friends and I'd turn up there a couple of times a week. It was good to see him again. We ended up all going along to Prezzo, which was lovely, as it was Ruth's birthday. I felt slightly awkward talking about the whole Cambridge thing with Martin and Tom. I still feel like at any moment it will be taken from me and that looking forward to it is just setting myself up for disappointment.

Rock on

2005-11-05T12:30:00.000Z

My fiance. Enough said.

As I got into the car on the way into Cambs I got a text from Jane saying "hey honey, r u coming to the rock tonight? i'm here with your finace! X"*, and sure enough when I got there I got wonderful hugs from both :D Plenty of other Cerocers were there too, and it was just generally nice to see people.

We listened to the live band (who were actually pretty good, although I pined for my sax) and I had a chance to catch up with Nathan as we haven't spoken face to face in ages. Laura came along a little later and we had a really fun dance, and we seem to have perfected the first move jump :)

After The Rock we moved on to The Junction.. this was a new experience for me and I now understand why people say Cambridge clubs are, well, rubbish. But it did at least mean we could do some Ceroc, which would be impossible in a decent club - and what's more I wouldn't want to dance Ceroc in a really good club, but hey, all an experience.

*as a side note, I find big "X"s in texts slightly disturbing. "x" is a friendlylittlekiss, but "X" makes me think of a forcedagainstawalltonguedownyourthroatuberkiss, but as I can't really imagine Jane doing that to me (well, okay I can imagine it if I try) it doesn't bother me with her.

2005-11-05T12:29:00.000Z

Me and Elliot in bed at Laura's in Fowlmere

I had a really nice stay over at Laura's. We sat up eating crispy pizza and drinking tea and generally chatting. Her house is lovely and I had a double bed with oodles of cushions to curl up in. I slept soo well. And Fowlmere looks like a cute little place. I shall force Rob to take me out there on the tandem. Oooh and in the morning I had a visit from El Cat (see above) which was just so lovely! I wish I had a cat!

2005-11-05T12:28:00.000Z

Fungi in a field on the walk back from Audley End station this morning.

Scotland, once more

2005-10-30T22:54:00.000Z

Here we go, a vaguely uplifting entry to try and cleanse myself of the last batch of shameful self pity. I have now worked out the main reason behind my rather ridiculous down and although I can't make it go away, I know what it is and I know that it's just a matter of time before my body sorts itself out again :) Sometimes not understanding something is the worst part. Thanks so much to everyone who has been so lovely over the last month of this, it means the world to me - those who have an idea, and those who don't but care all the same

Dad, Dave and Marilyn... messing about in the rain.

2005-10-30T22:52:00.000Z

Helen and Em watching the bonfire. I love this photo. Oh, can you tell that it was architects who built that fire?

2005-10-30T22:50:00.000Z

Cute little witch. She came out with some hilarious things actually. Get this joke:

Why did the banana go to the doctor?.................
.............. because it wasn't peeling very well!