Normal service will resume shortly

Or perhaps even better than normal service which, lets face it, has tended to be fairly sporadic. This month's excuse is that I have my viva (big scary final exam thing for those not in the PhD business) next Tuesday and am therefore spending all my spare time at the moment cramming little facts into my cluttered brain. I'll let you know how it goes next week - keep anything you can spare crossed for me people!!

Carving out a life

So now the thesis is finished I've been able to actually start living properly again. I'm not saying I worked solidly for the last 9 months and had no fun at all (because, lets face it, if that was the case it wouldn't have taken me 9 months!) but whenever I have been enjoying myself I've always felt that guilt in the back of my mind - 'you should be working!'. Now that's gone I'm starting to carve a proper life for myself here. I've started playing badminton with Ben and some friends one evening a week and I've also started taking Welsh lessons. I'm hoping that it'll be useful for work, interesting and also a way to make some new friends as well. I've only had 3 lessons so far but its going quite well I think and I'm enjoying it. I'm also planning to get a knitting group started soon as well (if anyone from the area reads this and would be interested then get in touch). I'm really starting to enjoy life again and loving being here in Wales with my man :)

Man make fire, fire good

Here's a selection of photos from the first barbecue of the year round at Sian's house. Despite the fact that all the meat had already been cooked, Ben and Hank decided that they needed to show off their manliness and make fire:



I'm loving Ben's pose on this one!

Another successful day of being a man:

Sian's garden remained more or less in tact after this display of 'machoness'. Sarah's garden at a barbecue later in the year was not so lucky after an episode involving her chimnea, a bottle of citronella oil and very nearly the loss of my eyebrows ;)

Summer highlights

To mark the end of summer I've dug out my camera and found a few choice shots from this summer. Here's next door's cat having a sleep on the manhole cover in our back garden:

Here's a great view of Menai Bridge:

This is a gorgeous one of the Snowdon mountain range. I think it was sometime in April and there was snow on the mountains but lovely sunny days and it just looked perfect.

This one is from somewhere within the mountains when we went for a drive one day.

Bye bye summer

It would seem that summer has gone. After a week or so of really nice weather for September we finally got back to some traditional Welsh weather yesterday. Yes it's raining again :( Boo! It seemed like one day it was lovely and sunny, we woke up to sun streaming through the curtains and had nice long sunny evenings then today all of a sudden it was dark when I got out of bed, I needed the light on in the bathroom and I've had to dig out a hat and scarf. No gradual change. Boom - it's autumn! On the upside though it's a good excuse to get more knitting done :)

Back in action!

I did it! After the aforementioned 6 weeks of hard graft I finally finished the thesis :) So no excuse to not keep up with my blogging now. If I had kept up with it over the last 6 weeks it would have been very boring and read something like this:

Thursday: Went to work, got home, went to office and worked on thesis, slept.
Friday: As Thursday
Saturday: Went to work, watched X-factor, slept
Sunday: As Thursday
etc...

so it's probably for the good of everyone that I didn't bother. I've already been chastised by my friend Helen for not writing often enough so I'll have to put that right now.

Speaking of Helen, her and her hubby Richard came to stay with us for a few nights this weekend just gone. We had a lovely meal at the Bull at Beaumaris on Saturday night (although the wait between starters and main course was way too long!) and on Sunday night Ben cooked us all a lovely meal - roast dinner with chocolate pudding for dessert. Yum!!! Helen and Richard checked out Conwy during the day on Sunday and gave very good reports so I might have to try that one myself.

The students of Bangor University arrived back this week and the town immediately feels more buzzy. It's certainly helping sales on the shoe department! Is it wrong of me to convince them to spend their loan cheques on shoes before it all goes on boring stuff like rent and books? ;)

All around the world

I'm currently back home in Teesside for a week and was helping my sister set up her own blog today (www.projectchintzy.blogspot.com if you're interested). In doing so I found myself checking my site meter stats and realising that I could see the location of people who have visited my humble site. I was delighted to see that there were people in places as far flung as China and Canada :) Now thinking about it, my old housemate Sian is quite the world traveller and has confessed to reading the blog before now so its probably her on both counts but I did wonder whether there might be some random readers out there anyway. If you are reading I'd love to know about it - why not leave a comment? Go on, you know you want to.

In other news I was in Leicester last week going through the last bits of my thesis with my supervisor. I found it very productive but it does mean that I have about 6 weeks of serious graft to do before I hand in mid-September. After that I promise I'll start to be a good blogger and actually post regularly and add photos when I say that I will. Until then I'm afraid it'll be the sporadic nonsense that I'm sure you've grown to tolerate ;)

Family visit

At the end of June we had a visit from my family - Mum, Dad and little sis - which gave me ample opportunity to get some sightseeing done. Here they are:

On Sunday we visited the Welsh Mountain Zoo. Although a bit chilly it was a good day out. Highlights for me were the sealions and penguins. The family got more excited about seeing a wild rabbit in the car park than any of the carefully laid on attractions but never mind ;)

Taking a very long route through the mountains to see the scenery we ended up eventually at Portmeirion on the Tuesday. Very strange place with weird coloured buildings but a nice day out. No big white balls chased after us - almost disappointing!

Other highlights of the week were a trip to Manchester to catch the rescheduled Police concert (very good although they definitely looked old!) and lunch by the pier. The family also checked out Llandudno and Chester on days when I had to work.

All in all it was a lovely week and nice to have the family over to stay in our world for a few days.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

One of the nicest things about living on the island is the close proximity of beaches. A couple of weeks ago (not terribly good at keeping up to date with this blog thing I know but once the thesis is done I'll be better) I got a call from Ben at about 4pm on a lovely sunny Monday to say he, Laurie and Sian were bored and had decided to go to the beach.

Half an hour later we were all strolling along by the sea at Cable Bay, eating ice cream, avoiding jellyfish and giggling inappropriately at a naked man emerging from the sea. Bliss :)

Bank Holiday fun

After the disappointment of the last Bank Holiday (glorious on Saturday and Monday while I was at work and pouring down on the Sunday when I was off!) we had our fingers crossed for better weather this time around as I had 2 days off and we wanted to make the most of them. Despite a strong wind though it was fairly warm and we had 2 lovely days together.

On Sunday we drove to Llandudno for some seaside fun. We walked along the beach and down the pier, wandered through the shops, ate delicious fish and chips on the front then up a little of the Great Orme to check out the view.

On the Monday we took a very roundabout trip (by which I mean we got lost several times) to Trearddur Bay. Ice creams and a long walk around the bay were the order of the day this time. You can judge the level of the wind from my hair 'do' :)

Damned Anglesey weather

Apologies for the lack of postings blog watchers. I've been rather bogged down with work and thesis. I've taken to reading some other blogs though and now know how irritating it is when you want to read new posts and there aren't any. Not that I would presume that anyone is that interested but I like to pretend to myself that maybe people are ;) Anywho I'll do my best to keep up to date from now on.

So now I work in a shop I don't get much time off at weekends (1 Sunday in 3 to be precise). This Sunday gone was my day off and we planned to go out and make the most of it. The weather on Saturday was glorious or so I was told by the people of Bangor who came in to buy shoes. I was full of hope that Sunday would be a beautiful day and we'd have a lovely Welsh adventure (despite the warnings of the BBC). Of course it was not to be. We awoke to grey skies and decided if we were going out we'd best do it pronto. We headed off to Anglesey sea zoo. Entertaining for an hour or so but in our humble opinion not really worth the entry fee. Something to tick off the list though. As we drove away the rain started. At first it was not too heavy and we decided that we would dig out the anorak (Ben) and funky dome umbrella (me) from the boot and go to the beach anyway. The heavens then opened and it rained like I've not seen in a long time. There was nothing to do but head back home :( By about 5 the sun did make it out and we went for a walk but it was not the fabulous day in the sun that I had envisaged. The next day was Bank Holiday Monday and again glorious sunshine was upon us but I was at work. Boo!

A new era for Bangor

The new Debenhams in Bangor (and my place of work) opened with a flurry of excitement on Tuesday. There was a huge queue waiting for the ribbon to be cut at 10am and I was dying to know what was in the free goody bags that were being handed out. A slow start for us on the shoe department with many people 'just browsing' but people were impressed nonetheless. I lost count of the number of people who told me how beautiful the new store was and how nice it was to have a shop this good in Bangor. I must say I agree. Debenhams is the first into what is going to be a small shopping centre and, by the look of the signage thats gone up outside, River Island and Body Shop will soon be joining us. Finally I can really shop!

In other news I finally found a dentist. Tragically the local NHS dentist has a 2 year waiting list and none of the Denplan dentists are taking new patients so I find myself in the somewhat luxurious and definitely expensive position of 'going private'. I rang round a few and was shocked and appalled by the prices. Initial consultations ranged from £45 (which I initially baulked at) to £80!! Just to look at the teeth and take a few X-rays! My Teesside self died as I rang back Mr £45 to make an appointment. And that appointment was this morning. The dentist was nice enough and got rid of a few stains but didn't actually even clean my teeth! Apparently I need to pay an extra £35 to get the hygienist to do it! When I baulked once again at this suggestion he promised it would be the best clean ever and I would really be able to see the difference. I'll let you know if he's right.....

I got a job!

I finally managed to get a job! Perhaps not a classic move for a former PhD student but I am now a very happy store assistant in the shoe department at the new Debenhams in Bangor. I've been training this week and next week we get to play with the stock before opening the week after. Yay me!

Not quite the tempest we expected

Well the 'storm' was frankly disappointing! It did sound quite windy and rainy last night but no thunder or lightening. Good for the ferry port I'm sure but as a spectator it was quite dull :(

Batten down the hatches! There's a storm brewing!

Well the sun is shining at the moment but according to Radio 1 newsbeat the worst storm in 80 years is due to hit Anglesey tonight. Holyhead port is being closed because they fear it will be so bad. I thought the weather had been too good to be true! I'll update you on whether we've been blown away in the gales tomorrow.

In other news I may be close to getting employment. I had an interview for sales assistant in a shoe shop the other day and I've got another interview this coming Friday so watch this space. Not exactly making the best use of my 8 years of higher education but it'll do for now ;) Today I will be mostly filling in application forms for high street banks in an attempt to get a job that may one day become a career. Fingers crossed!

Other than that its been thesis thesis thesis.

The sun has got his hat on

Apparently it doesn't always rain on Anglesey. We're currently enjoying a couple of weeks of lovely sunshine. Its still blumming cold but at least everything looks nicer. Buoyed by the sunshine we've just enjoyed 2 pretty perfect weekends.

The weekend before Valentine's day marked a year of being engaged to Ben so we celebrated with a yummy meal at seafood restaurant Cafe Neptune in Beaumaris. During the day we decided to investigate the charms of Holyhead and set off up the A55 to the coast. 10 minutes of wandering away from the car taught us that the only charm of Holyhead is the opportunity to make a quick getaway by ferry over to Ireland. Our 'daytrip' cut short we decided on a safe bet and drove to Rhosneigr for a walk along the beach. My search for a pet crab was once again fruitless but we had fun nevertheless.

This weekend we were playing host to Ben's dad so we were forced to go out for another meal (and by forced I mean we suggested it). This time it was Ruby's in Menai Bridge. Mmm sea bass. To work up an appetite we went to Newborough beach. Ever the optimist I wore my flip flops for this and even braved a little paddle in the sea. After about 10 seconds my toes went numb which made it easier to enjoy paddling around in the rock pools in search of a pet crab (no luck again!).

On the Sunday we did the quintessential 'tourist in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll' trip and went to the gift shop at the station. No less than 5 coaches were parked up and after stopping for the compulsory photo under the sign they all piled in to the shop! Surely there is more to look at than an admittedly enormous gift shop! In search of slightly better attractions we headed down to the church that the village is named after to take some pretty pics (and unwittingly make friends with someone else's dog by throwing a stick). A final stop at the lookout point to look over the Menai Straits and we were all touristed out.

All moved in and making friends

The last weekend of January saw me and Ben making the now familiar drive back over to Leicester to collect the final (really!) 2 car loads of my stuff. At this point I was forced to conclude that I have a lot of stuff - not such a revelation to Rhian and Ben who have been telling me this for ages. Anyway the point is that I am now fully moved out of Leicester and into Llanfairpwllgwyngyll!

While in Leicester I took the opportunity to go into work and remind Gordon of my existence and also to attend afternoon coffee and see my friends! Being in the house all day in Wales working on my thesis has not helped in my quest to make new friends. I have joined the gym and tried smiling at people in the hope it might spark conversation but I think people just think I'm a bit odd. The old ladies in aqua class seem to be warming to me though so I may have a new knitting circle soon! Apologies to people in Leicester for probably talking them to death that day - it was so nice to see you all!

I may have turned a social corner this week. On Monday night ChemSoc (yes Ben is masquerading as a chemist these days) held a cocktail party and Ben took me along to meet his friends. I came back from the loo at one point to hear people saying to him "so she is real" - well it has been over a month since I arrived! They turned out to be a lovely bunch and very friendly and welcoming, telling me I should come join them for lunch and spend time with them when Ben's away at conferences. Perhaps settling here for a few years won't be so bad.

A visit from the outside world

As it turned out moving all of my remaining stuff out of Leicester in 2 cars was wildly optimistic and my long suffering housemate Rhian kindly agreed to let my stuff squat in her flat a little longer (love you Rhi!) Even my sister ended up being drafted in and driving 4 hours out of her way to bring a car load over.

While she was here I took the opportunity to do some exploring of my new surroundings. First we took the very cool 40mph cliff side road over to Beaumaris which I'd visited with Ben the previous summer and discovered the best fish and chips in the world. Unfortunately it seems that businesses in Beaumaris don't like to take money in the month of January as almost everywhere was closed - damn the tourist based town! With rumbling stomachs we drove back over to Menai Bridge and found a cafe that was open (and as it turned out did yummy food). In search of a slightly bigger town to explore we decided to take the scenic route over to Holyhead, the biggest town on the island. At this point good old Welsh weather intervened and by the time we arrived it was raining so badly that it wasn't worth getting out of the car (and also we forgot any money for parking) so turned the car round and headed back home.

Day 2 of Charlotte's visit and she was gagging for some shopping (must be in the genes). Ben suggested nearby Caernarfon which he said people had recommended to him as having some nice boutiquey shops. We enjoyed a good few hours wandering round the castle town which did indeed have some lovely little shops. And a Woolworths! Even Leicester doesn't have that ;) Fish and chips overlooking the Menai Straits rounded off a nice day until Charlotte decided to prompt an attack by an assortment of birds by throwing a chip. We beat a hasty retreat back to the village.

Power cuts and piss pots

On 5th January 2008 I packed up the mog mobile with as much of my stuff as it would carry (which admittedly barely made a dent in my vast collection of quality items which Ben would probably refer to as pointless tat) and drove over to Anglesey to move in with my man.

Only 6 days in and its already proving to be interesting. It doesn't actually rain all the time but when it does it makes up for the fact that it wasn't raining earlier. On Tuesday night the power went off for a couple of hours which led me to strike up the entirely ridiculous pose of knitting while wearing a head torch. Glamorous with a capital G I think. On Wednesday I signed up to the local doctors - far from the quaint rural practice I had expected they were a modern, efficient health centre and wanted a piss sample so they could check out my health. Nice.

This weekend will see the end of my life in Leicester when I clear out the rest of my stuff and move lock stock and a hell of a lot of handbags into our little house and await the onset of island life. Will I end up making jam for village fairs and joining the neighbourhood watch? Worse still will I end up thinking that crocs with socks (spotted in Beaumaris in the summer) is a sound fashion choice? Only time will tell.

Learning to love

Ben moved over to Anglesey proper in March 2007 into a lovely little house in the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Since then I've been to visit various times and must admit that I started to kind of love it over there. The scenery (when its not obscured by rain or clouds) is truly stunning and there are some lovely villages. A particular favourite of mine is Beaumaris where you can get some damn good fish and chips and sit on the beach to eat them. I started to feel more and more confident that moving over here to be with Ben was a good idea. There is the teeny problem of getting some kind of job which admittedly I'm still working on but I'm seeing that as a minor set back. Not something to worry about. Honestly.

Midget Mansion

....as we drove into Bangor it was raining, a feature which I soon realised I would have to get used to. The sky was grey and dingy and even Ben, Mr "It's a beautiful place honest", was starting to have doubts about his impending move. We checked into the hotel we'd booked and were led up to the attic and a room which was obviously originally designed for people of modest height. Even I had to bend down to get through the door. The sloping ceiling made staying in the room a game - who can go longest without bashing their head.



We went for a walk down to the pier (where it was rainy and windy) and through the modest shopping centre which put me strongly in mind of my home town of Stockton (not a good thing!). Then, ever so completely damp, we headed back to the hotel to check out the Cantonese restaurant downstairs.

The next day we drove over to Anglesey. From here and with better weather than the day before we started to appreciate North Wales' charms. Snowdon was visible and the Menai Straits looked pretty damn impressive. We drove around to a few beaches and small towns both hesitantly reassuring each other that perhaps living here would be ok and then it was time to head back to Leicester.