Welcome to the UK! This sign was posted on the entrance to the back garden of a local pub
After 
David and I made a major U-Turn in our travel plans and committed to another 6 months in Tanzania, we were able to sneak in an abbreviated visit to the UK where I met family and friends, saw a few o f the sites, shivered in the cold summer rain, and tasted many of the beers the English brew pubs had to offer.
David and I made a major U-Turn in our travel plans and committed to another 6 months in Tanzania, we were able to sneak in an abbreviated visit to the UK where I met family and friends, saw a few o f the sites, shivered in the cold summer rain, and tasted many of the beers the English brew pubs had to offer. We began our travels in Oxford, home of a good deal of famous brainpower, the Thames River, and most importantly,David's Aunt Lesely, Uncle Mark and the kids. David and I strolled around the various nooks and crannies of the University. Because the University has become such a tourist attraction, you actually have to pay if you want to enter the buildings and many of the courtyards. They stuck up their noses, and we stuck to the periphery. Besides, punting on the river seemed like a much more fun endeavor! We may look pretty doing it but trust me, it's a lot harder than it looks! In this picture I glide effortlessly under a bridge after a brilliant Austin Powers-like 20 pt turn maneuver that almost catapulted me right off of the boat. David was a bit more of a professional- but he's done this before.
Keir and Tom attempt to intimidate our team; David's sister Nicola with boyfriend Keir goofing around post competition; Mama David (Jenny); Jenny's partner Peter; Lesley no doubt amused by our antics
General silliness at the dinner table and the girls looking very glam after their makeup fest
Next up, we were off to David's Dad's house near London to spend some time with Helen, her baby bump (who was born this month and is now a healthy baby boy named Finn!), and little Saoirse (a traditional Gailic name pronounced Say-sha)
Next up, we were off to David's Dad's house near London to spend some time with Helen, her baby bump (who was born this month and is now a healthy baby boy named Finn!), and little Saoirse (a traditional Gailic name pronounced Say-sha)
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Practicing for our Abby Road walk; Baby Emmy loving the toy cash register
LONDON
**This picture is for Beth who was obsessed with the Japanese noodle house Wagamama when she lived in London! Although we never actually had a chance to eat there, I made a point of seeing the sign!
Happy to be enjoying some time on our own- or just really buzzed off the chili sauce at this Vietnamese restaurant!
I have to admit I had my doubts about being the only girl with a posse of 11 boys for this testosterone infused weekend, but what girl wouldn't dream of being stuck with this crew? No, no, I'm not referring to the massively muscular and fine, dark skinned Fijiians pictured in the white shirts, I'm talking about our team. Obviously. Errr...
The skies were gray, the fields were wet, the winds were whipping,the bystanders were frozen, but the beers were flowing, the tea was brewing, the burgers were grilling and it was a blast
Helmet ironically sustained a minor head injury but was heroically back on the field soon after; Four Legged Fraiser? He succeeds by blinding the opposition with his day-glo organge shorts
David in action; "Sensai" and David keep warm on the sidelines
R-Ho makes a nice play; scrum or random act of man love? you decide
cuddled up in the tent to stay warm
\
How quickly can 11 guys drink 44 pints of Guiness? Cheers boys; Wong in his merriment
Looks like love. And I'm digging the Fenway Park Tee in England!!
Looks of dismay whilst pitching the tent; with, Tim Co-Founder of Edukaid
The beautiful old farmhouse of the very brave farmer who let us camp in his field!
STAY TUNED...
For more on this post, including stone hedge and our last adventures in Hill Head before I depart the UK
And eventually more posts! With slow connections, I'm uploading these posts at an excruciating snail's pace so please bear with me!
Practicing for our Abby Road walk; Baby Emmy loving the toy cash register
LONDON
It was a quick 2 days in London, highlighted by dinner at the best curry house in the city with about 20 of David's close friends. Unfortunately, that night was not captured in photos, however here are a few of London's icons we caught along the way to ride the London Eye. Because we didn't have time to actually visit the city's attractions, the next best thing was a beautiful bird's eye view we caught from this enormous ferris wheel, which serves as a slowly rotating 360 degree observation deck
**This picture is for Beth who was obsessed with the Japanese noodle house Wagamama when she lived in London! Although we never actually had a chance to eat there, I made a point of seeing the sign!
Happy to be enjoying some time on our own- or just really buzzed off the chili sauce at this Vietnamese restaurant!
Next Stop: Beer Tournament with a Little Drink of Rugby Thrown in
Edukaid is a charity started in the UK by our friend Tim Dench and his family, with enormous support from their local community of Salisbury. The Charity is operates in Mikindani, the fishing village outside of Mtwara in Tanzania, where David was based for two years.
Edukaid provides volunteer teachers to the local primary schools in Mikandani and focuses on sustainable efforts to improving the schools and motivating teachers. Every year in the UK, Tim puts together a Rugby tournament to promote and raise funds for Edukaid. David and his mates entered a team, and we turned the event into a weekend of camping and of course, haunting the local pubs. The tournament has become quite an event, with teams coming from as far as Iraq! (The Fijiian miliatary team was actually pulled from their post in Iraq to terrorize, err, I mean participate in the event! Our boys, though agile and brave, were possibly even peeing in their pants a little when they saw the size of these boys, and dare I say, they may even have been secretly a bit relieved not to make it to the final and have to oppose those notorious, bone crushing Fijiians!) That said, our team were no shrinking violets on the field, and definitely won the "most fun had whilst playing hungover" award. I think they won the "best looking lads" award too but then again, I may be biased.
Edukaid is a charity started in the UK by our friend Tim Dench and his family, with enormous support from their local community of Salisbury. The Charity is operates in Mikindani, the fishing village outside of Mtwara in Tanzania, where David was based for two years.
Edukaid provides volunteer teachers to the local primary schools in Mikandani and focuses on sustainable efforts to improving the schools and motivating teachers. Every year in the UK, Tim puts together a Rugby tournament to promote and raise funds for Edukaid. David and his mates entered a team, and we turned the event into a weekend of camping and of course, haunting the local pubs. The tournament has become quite an event, with teams coming from as far as Iraq! (The Fijiian miliatary team was actually pulled from their post in Iraq to terrorize, err, I mean participate in the event! Our boys, though agile and brave, were possibly even peeing in their pants a little when they saw the size of these boys, and dare I say, they may even have been secretly a bit relieved not to make it to the final and have to oppose those notorious, bone crushing Fijiians!) That said, our team were no shrinking violets on the field, and definitely won the "most fun had whilst playing hungover" award. I think they won the "best looking lads" award too but then again, I may be biased.
I have to admit I had my doubts about being the only girl with a posse of 11 boys for this testosterone infused weekend, but what girl wouldn't dream of being stuck with this crew? No, no, I'm not referring to the massively muscular and fine, dark skinned Fijiians pictured in the white shirts, I'm talking about our team. Obviously. Errr...
The skies were gray, the fields were wet, the winds were whipping,the bystanders were frozen, but the beers were flowing, the tea was brewing, the burgers were grilling and it was a blast
David in action; "Sensai" and David keep warm on the sidelines
R-Ho makes a nice play; scrum or random act of man love? you decide
cuddled up in the tent to stay warm
\How quickly can 11 guys drink 44 pints of Guiness? Cheers boys; Wong in his merriment
Looks like love. And I'm digging the Fenway Park Tee in England!!
Looks of dismay whilst pitching the tent; with, Tim Co-Founder of Edukaid
The beautiful old farmhouse of the very brave farmer who let us camp in his field!
STAY TUNED...
For more on this post, including stone hedge and our last adventures in Hill Head before I depart the UK
And eventually more posts! With slow connections, I'm uploading these posts at an excruciating snail's pace so please bear with me!
