New Years 2009 - 2010

I hadn't really made any plans for this New Years as I didn't have a lot of money and was feeling a bit down after the fantastic New Years I had in France the previous year.

But, I put on my happy face and my party dress and headed round to Tracey's house for some drinks with her cousins and their friends.

As I didn't really know anyone these are the only two photos I took.

I did however have a good New Years and was ... a little bit tammer this year!

My Box - Simpsons wouldn't recommend

I had decided to ship some things home to the Gold Coast and only organised two days before I left - which I don't recommend.

I decided to go with Simpsons because they were the cheapest. I lugged all my stuff down to London Bridge as because I wasn't going to be home that is where they were going to have to collect it.

I had packed, no more than 30kgs worth of things into my box, securely sealed the top, sides and bottom and then went on to fill in the paperwork.

- Did you pack it yourself - Yes

- Is there any alchol in there - Nope, I remembed to take that small bottle of sangria out

- Is there anything there that was used to package fruti - No ... as a image flashes through my mind of me putting all my magnets into a plastic container that I had washed, that did once house strawberries ... she'll be right I said for the next three months, secretly hoping they wouldn't notice the container and that I had lied on my declaration form. I watch Airline, I know thats bad!

I got an email in December from the Australian company telling me that my box was due to arrive in Australia, yah, and also letting me know that if I wanted it to be delivered to the Gold Coast that will be another $80.00 plus GST.

Hold up! I got a quote that was for door to door service my invoice was issued to my address in Southport and there is no mention of Brisbane whatsoever. I promptly wrote back to them to say that I paid for door to door service and this is my invoice for door to door service.

This is what I got back

Dear Ms O'Neill,

Further to your email, I have reviewed your file, and at the time of obtaining a quotation, you selected the first option of Brisbane, QLD Fremantle/Perth, Sydney Adelaide Melbourne or within 30 mile radius of port., and this is the quotation which you accepted.

Southport is 75 kms / 47 miles from Brisbane, and therefore outside of the zone you selected and paid for. If delivery is required to this address, then additional charges are payable to cover this. Whilst our records show an address in Southport, this is correspondence / postal address based on the details provided.

We can instruct our agents to forward and deliver your consignment to Southport, however we would require payment of GBP 15.00, this being the difference payable in zones. Please let me have your instructions / payment at the earliest opportunity, to resolve.

So I wrote back and said

Dear Tracy

As per my email above I did not prepare the quotation - so I did not select the first option.

I provided the information to your office at the quotations email address and then to Steve at your office. Steve prepared the quotes on my behalf with the information I provided - as per the attachment I forwarded in my previous email .

As a person who is not familiar with the zones, etc you use in your office, how was I supposed to know that

Destination:Australia,

Australia(Zone AU-A)

was not in fact what I wanted? That it was in Brisbane and not in Southport where I clearly wanted my box to go?

As professional people in this industry I expected that what information I gave would be put into my quotation and when I accepted that quotation that my box would be delivered to the address that I specified.

I have been very unhappy with the service I have received from Simpsons my emails go for days/weeks unanswered or delayed, I had to chase up my invoice to try and make a payment and then when I got my invoice it didn't reflect the deposit I have already paid, I couldn't get the website to work and now I am having this issue. At the end of the day all I want is for my box to be delivered and I think its very unfair to ask me to pay for the additional costs when it was your office that did not provide me with the correct quotations and the correct area on where my box was to be delivered to.

I am asking you to consider changing your position and telling Ocean Sky that they are to deliver my box free of charge to my chosen address in Southport. I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

And this is the reply I got

Further to your email, I have referred your email onto my manager, and on this occasion he has authorised me to have your cartons delivered at no additional cost to yourself. I will contact Ocean Sky Int'l and inform them of this accordingly. Please accept my sincere apologies on behalf of our company for the inconvenience which has been caused with this matter.

Yes I won this time Simpsons

I now have my box, it got delivered looking like the dogs attacked it but at least its in one piece and I have all my pretty souveniers.

Now I don't tell you this story to bore you to death I tell you this story to warn you about the problems I have had with my box. I will also let you know that another friend who shipped her box back to New Zealand got an email from the NZ port authority telling her that her box had been lost! They then called her back and told her that in fact her box was not lost but it was left in the UK. She then had to wait another 3 months for her box.

When you look at shipping your things home to whereever you may live, maybe Simpsons isn't the best company to use ...

Courtney's 21st

From 18 (couldn't find any younger ones on the system)

to 21

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUTTS

In celebration of her 21st she had an Aztec themed party in our back yard.

Toni

Toffee, Tof Tof, Toffe Pops, Toffee Tops, Tofinator, Puppy

Toffee - Toffee is my sister's 21st and christmas present from her boyfriend.

She is a little puppy dog - chihuahua silky terrier or Silkyawa for short.

Courtney wasn't really allowed to have the dog becuase we rent and aren't allowed dogs, we don't have any grass in the fenced off section and she isn't responsbile enough for a puppy (phew, it wasn't a baby!)

But ... Toffee has become a much loved pet in the O'Neill household and you really miss her when she isn't about.

As we have never really had a dog cause we are cat people, having a puppy is a real challenge, and something the whole family has had to adopt and adapt to.

Toffee is a smart puppy, she can sit, drop, beg and roll over but when it comes to toilet training she is just not interested! Any suggestions on the best way to get her understand that when we put you outside for a couple of hours its so she can got toilet and not come inside and immediately pee on the floor - lucky we have wooden floors.

I love having Toffee around and she is just so funny when she runs around the house like her tails on fire but not so much when she runs out the front door, down the street, across the road and into the neighbours lawn and you have to chase her in your pj's yelling Toffeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

You might be mad for a little bit then she looks at you with her puppy dog eyes and you can't resist ......

Nights out in the Goldie

Tracey, the blonde girl above whom I met in London and now lives on the Goldie, was going out for a few drinks with some friends from Brisbane (she used to live in Brisbane) I tagged along and had a good night out in Surfers but ... man oh man ... some of the worst blisters ever!

What a mish!

Wow, what a mission.

It may not look like a lot to you, and its a bit of a mess with the formatting and fonts which is really annoying because I spent ages trying to fix them, but that post took ages, especially since it had lots of pictures.

It may be boring to you but I like to write the history as well so I remember what I have learn. This blog is as much a diary for me as well as something fun for you to read thats why I spend a while trying to get it right!

Now onwards and upwards to my tales back in the Southern Hemisphere!

Stay tuned they should be much easier and faster to blog.

Hope you all still enjoy reading my blog. I am loving the new bloggers, Tim and Louisa and Debra's commitment to their blogs. Keep it up!!

Love Toni

Michael's Visit

Michael, my flatmate in London was over in Austrlaia for a wedding at the same time I just arrived back home so he came down the Goldie for a visit.

Michael getting IDed - not something he is used too!

It was really nice having him here for a couple of days and made the transition a little easier.

Miss you Mike!

Back in Oz

SURFERS PARADISE BEACH

Well I am back ... from outer space. I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face ...

Ok, so I didn't go to outer space but it was a 24 hour plane ride away and that's pretty far. I had a pretty good plan trip and managed to watch lots of movies, I wouldn't however, recommend wearing jeans for the whole trip - WHAT was I thinking!~

I have arrived back on the Gold Coast safe and sound and ... HOT. It must be 35 degrees today, lucky Courtney's fancy, pancy brand new car has good aircon. It was nice of my sister's to make the effort to come to the airport to pick me up in Brisbane, where my mother was? ... can tell she missed me!

After 24 hours of flying and 30+ hours of being awake I tired my hardest not to go to bed straight away. It was nice to be back home with my all my STUFF that I NEED - well so I told myself 1.5 years ago when I packed it away.

It was nice to come back to clothes, even though they are over 2 years old, they are new to me now and even though I can't find most of them, damm Heathrow injection, I am working on it.

Being back home has been different and has been a little hard to adjust to a regular job, not having many friends, no holidays and just not the fun loving atmosphere London has. I miss London and my friends like crazy I am trying to make the most of being back home. I have had some fun adventures which I will share with you in separate blogs.

Miss all my friends both in NZ and London and look forward to seeing you all soon.

Toni
xoxxo

Ireland

IRELAND


5 October 2009 - Monday

This morning I dragged my post church body out of bed, because this morning I was catching a flight to Dublin with Debra to spend a week of sight seeing around Ireland before heading back to Australia.

Once we landed in Dublin, we picked up our hire car and headed to Belfast for the night. I wanted to start in Belfast because that is originally where the "O’Neill" clan came from and I also wanted to go to all four UK countries before I went home. - Belfast is situated in the North East corner of Ireland and is the second biggest city on the island. Belfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom Prior to its recent political troubles Belfast built the Titanic, invented the Tractor and gave the world George Best, Van Morrison and CS Lewis.

The O'Neill clan had a presence in the area. In the 14th century, Clan Aedh Buidh, descendants of Hugh O'Neill built Grey Castle at Castlereagh, now in the east of the city.Conn O'Neill also owned land in the area, one remaining link being the Conn's Water river flowing through east Belfast.

6 October 2009 - Tuesday

BELFAST

After a somewhat disrupted nights sleep in the hostel we got up and headed out on a Black Taxi tour of Belfast city. Debra recommended this tour as she had done one before. You are taken around in a Black Cab and the driver explains the history of the city and takes you around to all the important landmarks. Most of the tour was about the politics/religious problems that the city had and still has.

Belfast has been the scene of various episodes of sectarian conflict between its Roman Catholic and Protestant populations. The most recent example of this is known as the Troubles - a civil conflict that raged from around 1969 to the late 1990s. Belfast saw some of the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, particularly in the 1970s, with rival paramilitary groups forming on both sides. Bombing, assassination and street violence formed a backdrop to life throughout the Troubles. The Provisional IRA detonated twenty-two bombs, all in a confined area in the city centre in 1972, on what is known as "Bloody Friday", killing nine people. The IRA also killed hundreds of other civilians and members of the security forces.

There is still a lot of conflict between the populations in Belfast and the areas in which each "side" lives is clearly marked out with colours portraying their faith painted on the road side, on the houses and flying various flags. You need to be a bit careful where you choose to live around here.

On the tour we got taken to Shankhill Road where the photos of the murals, below left, were taken. I can't remember where I took the other ones. There are lots of different murals painted all around Belfast city.

Here is a little extract I found which explains a bit about the politics and trouble in Northern Ireland and what it looks like from a tourists point of view

The Sandy Row area is a Protestant zone. I saw my first Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) mural. The UVF, UFF (Ulster Freedom Fighters) and the like are Northern Ireland (NI)'s Protestant paramilitary groups, set up primarily to counter the influence of the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and the INLA (Irish National Liberation Front), which aims to unite NI with the Republic of Ireland.

As in all other conflicts elsewhere, such paramilitary groups - both the Protestant and the Catholic ones - were initially established to protect the local community or to achieve specific political aims, but frequently degenerate into glorified versions of local criminal gangs and terrorist apparatus. At the Sandy Row, other themes glorified by the murals include the Union, the Queen and the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary). The RUC is the local police force of NI and an object of hatred among the Catholic community, who sees the RUC, rightfully or wrongfully, as pro-Protestant and anti-Catholic.

The Union Jack and the NI flag - St George's Cross with the Red Hand of Ulster in the middle - were hung from many buildings. I have never seen so many Union Jacks in my life - even more than the UK "Mainland", where people flying the flag are more likely to be seen as those in the extreme right wing.

Walking northwards through a run-down deserted area - the "no man's land" with barbed wire, fortified shelters, shuttered shopfronts and lots of rubble - and then I saw my first Irish flag. I have entered the Falls Road area - the Catholic Ghetto of Belfast. Here the theme is the opposite – an united Ireland, peace, the Potato Famine (during which more than a million people starved to death - the "Genocide" of Ireland, as some slogans here claim), Hurrah-To-IRA, Down-With-RUC, etc. Some road kerbs were even painted green-white-orange, the Irish national colours. Plus murals on Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and Catalonia.

Just north of Falls Road is the Shankill Road - Protestant area. A "Berlin Wall" separated the two parts.

Gates (the “peace line”) separating the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. These are actually some of the shorter gates I saw. There are much taller ones that look like they came from a maximum security prison.

Protestant neighborhood. I’ve never seen so many British flags in my entire life – even the curbs were painted red, white, and blue. This place has really gone on a jingoistic binge – it seems as if they are desperately trying to prove themselves loyal to an increasingly ambivalent British government.

After the Black Taxi Cab tour we headed up to Belfast Castle for a quick look around - The familiar landmark of Belfast Castle, overlooks the city from a prominent site 400 feet above sea level on the slopes of Cave Hill. This magnificent sandstone building, recently restored by Belfast City Council's Parks Department, has close associations with the city's history.

ANTRIM

After the castle we headed to Antrim - It is located within the province of Ulster and is part of Northern Ireland - where the O'Neill's were quite prominent and apparently there is a castle up there somewhere that is the "O'Neill castle", although thats not its actual name. All we found was this ruined castle, but I am claiming it as my own O'Neill castle. Apparently the O'Neills were quite prominent up there so surely its an O'Neill castle!

Shane's Castle this is the one I was hoping to find, but we couldn't - Shane's Castle,--or, as it was once called, "Eden-duff-carrick,"--has been, since the year 1345, the home of the O'Neills. The Royal house of O'Neill traces its history back to the very beginning of Ireland's story. They were kings of Ulster for one thousand years. Like the branches of a great oak tree that has its roots twined about the very heart of the earth itself, it would be impossible to record a tithe of the events connected with such a people as the O'Neills.

O'Neill History

Imagine this: Off the coast of a faraway, misty land, two chiefs on separate boats were competing to reach the shore. The stakes are high: the winner will get all the land beyond. Both tried their best, rowing as fast as they could but it soon become apparent that one of them was way ahead of the other. Just as the winner was about to reach the shore, the losing chief cut off his hand, threw the blood-dripping hand onto the shore and won the race.

You will see from the murals above that there is a hand on the rock, that is a mural of this story.

Bizarre ? Spare me that hair-raising tale, you may say, but a whole people have adopted the Red Hand as their national symbol. The Red Hand was originally the symbol of the O'Neills, a major Irish Catholic clan in Ulster.

The Red Hand of O'Neill, also known as Red Hand of Ulster and occasionally even as Red Hand of Ireland, is perhaps the most prominent symbol in the province of Ulster. The Red Hand of O'Neill is derived from the coat of arms from the Uá Niáll clan. The Uá Niáll, meaning Grandson of the Champion and later anglicised to O'Neill, have reigned over large parts of Ulster for at least two millennia.Nowadays the symbolism of the Red Hand of O'Neill is completely ripped off its historical context.

- Interesting site - Mythical or Biblical decedents?

LONDONDERRY

After Antrim we headed to Londonderry - is the second largest city in Northern Ireland and home to the Bloody Sunday masacures.

On Sunday January 30, 1972, 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead by British paratroopers during a civil rights march in the Bogside area. Another 13 were wounded and one further man later died of his wounds. This event came to be known as Bloody Sunday.

We visited a museum in Londonderry dedicated to the Bloody Sunday Masacures which had lots of information about Bloody Sunday and lots of ... momentos from the day. This was a massive event in Londonderry and there are murals everywhere depicting it.You will find that this event touched many lives and that some artists even wrote songs about it - maybe the post popular one you have heard is by U2

Shots were fired by a mindless military,
The people ran they were unarmed
Across the world we will read of Derry
And those who died by oppressive hands.
—Cruachan, "Bloody Sunday"


Well it was Sunday bloody Sunday

When they shot the people there

The cries of thirteen martyrs

Filled the Free Derry airIs there any one amongst you

Dare to blame it on the kids?

Not a soldier boy was bleeding

When they nailed the coffin lids!
—John Lennon and Yoko Ono "Sunday Bloody Sunday"


And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won?

The trenches dug within our hearts

And mothers, children, brothers, sisters

Torn apart.

Sunday, bloody Sunday.

Sunday, bloody Sunday.
—U2 "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

After visiting Londonderry we headed to Sligo where we found a cute B & B to stay in for the night.

7 October 2009 - Wednesday

Today we got up early and headed to Galway. We didn't stay in Galway long as we just needed to pop in there to find out the best way to get to the Aran Islands - The Aran Islands a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. Irish is the main spoken language on all three islands, and is the language used naming the islands and their villages and townlands.

ARAN ISLANDS

We found out the way and headed to Galway Bay and brought a ferry ticket to get across. Ferry is the only way to get across to the Island and there is only a passenger ferry so most of the locals who live on the island have to have cars on the mainland as well. These islands were really nice to see as they were off the beaten track a bit. Not many people live on the Island and the official language on the Islands is Irish, which everyone spoke.

We visited the biggest island - Inishmore (Irish: Inis Mór) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay in Ireland and has an area of 31 square kilometres (12 sq mi).

When we got off the ferry we thought we might bike around the island but were told we didn't really have enough time so hoped in one of the local's vans for a tour around the island.

First stop:

Dun Aonghasa - this is the most famous of several prehistoric forts on the Aran Islands. It is located on Inishmore at the edge of an approximately 100 metre high cliff.

View back over the Island from the fort

After looking at the fort we stopped in this little cafe for a delicious meal. I had a Guinness and beef stew and it was so yum, and nice for a cold day. After lunch we headed to the seven churches and graveyard for a wander around the monastic ruins.

These cute little houses were all over the island and we were told they were for the fairies!

8 October 2009 - Thursday

Today we got up and headed out and about on our road trip again. Today we stopped at:

Dungarie Castle - Dunguaire Castle is a 16th-century tower house on the southeastern shore of Galway Bay The castle's 75-foot tower and its defensive wall have been restored to excellent condition, and the grounds are open to tourists during the summer. It is thought to be the most photographed castle in Ireland.

Beautiful panoramic view from Dunguarie Castle

Corcomroe Abbey is an early 13th-century Cistercian monastery located in the north of the Burren region of County Clare. The abbey is noted for its detailed carvings and other rich ornamentation, which are not commonly found in structures from this period. It features a typical cruciform church facing east, with a small chapel in each transept.

Poulnabrone Dolmen is a portal tomb in the Burren, County Clare, dating back to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200 BC to 2900 BC. A crack was discovered in the eastern portal stone in 1985. Following the resulting collapse, the dolmen was dismantled, and the cracked stone was replaced. Excavations during this time found that between 16 and 22 adults and 6 children were buried under the monument. Personal items buried with the dead included a polished stone axe, a bone pendant, quartz crystals, weapons and pottery. In the Bronze Age, around 1700BC, a newborn baby was buried in the portico, just outside the entrance. With its dominating presence on the limestone landscape of the Burren, the tomb must have remained a centre for ceremony and ritual until well into the Celtic period.

We then drove to a wildlife centre in County Clare. I can't remember the exact name but it included The Burren Birds of Prey Centre and Ailwee Cave.

At the Burren Birds of Prey Centre we looked around all the birds on display. My favourite bird was the Great Grey Owl. It was cute and everywhere you walked you felt like it was watching you, which I guess could be scary but was fun to try and trick out! After looking at the birds we sat down and watched the bird show. I even got to hold one of the birds.

After the bird show we headed up the road a bit to Ailwee Cave.

The cave system consists of over a kilometer of passages leading into the heart of the mountain. Its features include an underground river and a waterfall as well as some large stalactites and stalagmites. The remains of bears can also be seen inside the caves. It was discovered in 1944, when a farmer named Jacko McGann followed his dog who was chasing a rabbit. The farmer did not explore very far into the caves, and did not tell anyone of the find for nearly 40 years. He told cavers of the cave in 1973 and that summer the cave was explored as far a boulder choke.

This is where a bear used to sleep.

After the caves we stopped at another tourist destination - The Cliffs of Moher The cliffs boast one of Ireland's most spectacular views.On a clear day the Aran Islands are visible in Galway Bay . See picture below. O'Brien's Tower is a round stone tower at the approximate midpoint of the cliffs. It was built by Sir Cornelius O'Brien, a descendant of Ireland's High King Brian Boru, in order to impress female visitors. The Cliffs of Moher is amongst the most popular tourist destinations in Ireland, and topped the list of attractions in 2006 by drawing almost one million visitors.[5]. As of June 2009 the Cliffs were in 5th place in the Seascapes section of the "New Seven Wonders" competition. The "New Seven Wonders" winners are expected to be announced in 2010.

After the cliffs we headed towards Dublin. We thought we would stay in a cute little B & B or something on the way before heading to Dublin the next day. We drove around but after being quote 40 euros each to stay above a smelly pub for the night we decided to keep on driving to Dublin to stay for free at Debra's house.

The picture on the left - On the way to Debra's house the GPS decided to take us on an adventure of the back roads to Dublin. There were very narrow roads and lots of twisting and turning! Well done to Debra for staying on the road and for managing to pull over far enough to let cars pass going the other way.

9 October 2009 - Friday

Today as we still had the rental care we headed out to Powerscourt Estate is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardensThe house, originally a 13th century castle, was extensively altered during the 18th century by German architect Richard Cassels, starting in 1731and finishing in 1741. A fire in 1974 left the house lying as a shell until it was renovated in 1996.

The house and the gardens would of been beautiful to look around in but ... not so much when its pouring down with rain and you can't even see in front of you because the rain is so hard. So instead of looking around the gardens we walked though the house and learnt about the history of the place and the fire. There were lots of shops inside too which we browsed through. It looks like a really nice place from the pictures I have seen and if you are over there might be nice to go and have a look at.

Last weekend in London

2 October 2009

After getting back from Athens it was time to quickly head home, get changed and then head back into London Bridge for some leaving drinks. We went to the Wheatsheaf which is a nice bar under the building I used to work at. Thanks to everyone that was able to come it was really nice to see you before I went home.

After everyone left Casey and myself headed to the Slug and Lettuce for some more drinks and some dinner, we ended up going to some bar in ... Angel maybe ... which wasn't that good so as per usual for me, I ended up in the walkabout at Finchley Road.

4 October 2009

Today was my last trip to the Church. Debra and Casey were both in town for the weekend and so we all headed to my favourite Sunday past time for one last Sunday session.

Louisa and I had been working on our costumes for some time, as you can see we dressed up as a bee and a lady bird and Debra joined in dressing up in a fairy outfit, with Tim as a doctor and Casey as a hippie we were ready to go!

Besties

All my lovely friends who I had to leave when I left London - miss you all heaps and heaps!



Lovely wings that we made for our costumes

After the Church we headed to the She Bu walkie differently that we usually do. Amanda's friend Dan gave us a ride in the back of his van.

Movie of van ride!

We found Nicola at the Walkie, pie stop on the way to the walkie, picture of my pretty wings!

Miss you guys all heaps and heaps and here is a re-cap of my other Church experiences

- Time One - joined by Hayley and Niki
- Time Two - joined by Richard and tall Michael
- Time Three - joined by Debra, Karen and Amanda
- Time four - joined by other Michael