The Locals

Last night Gus took me to out with some of his friends so that I could meet some locals and get out of uni. Him and his friend Tom swung by and picked me up and we drove to Double Bay to go and have dinner. We chose a mexican restaurant called El Topo which is a rooftop restaurant above a bar called The Eastern. 

The staff there were really cool and very Spanish and sat us in a little wooden booth at the side. The menu there is basically made for sharing, and so we orders quesadillas, spicy soft shell crab and pork tacos to share between the three of us. Gus and Tom hadn't seen each other for 9 months and were enjoying catching up and dishing out all the gossip about their friends who I would meet later. Another girl was meant to come and join us but she got caught up so it ended up just being us three 'amigos', as the waiter referred to us. 

The decor in there was really colourful and fun. I didn't get a chance to take any photos but here's a couple from the website...

After we finished we headed on to a place called The Sheaf which is basically like a big bar and pub at the same time. Gus and his friends go there all the time and it's recently been renovated so it's really nice. There's loads of different levels and a big outdoor area, and even a cocktail bar which made me very happy!

Tom and I grabbed a cocktail, and Gus went for a 'tequila soda lime' (yuck) and we found a nice spot outside to wait for the others. The barman made me something elderflowery which was very tasty, and Tom ordered an expresso martini as he was shocked I had never tried one before! It was... well, just like cold alcoholic coffee basically! Finally the others arrived and we partied late into the night out on the terrace where the DJ was. All the boys were very generous and I had endless drinks bought for me which was so nice! They insisted that I was their 'guest' and didn't let me anywhere near the bar to repay them, and in the end I just gave up - not sure how long this 'guest' thing will last so I decided to take advantage whilst I could!

It was such a fun night and so nice to get out and spend some time with some locals. They've all promised me that they'll take me to all the fun places around Sydney, and even have some other English girls they know who they want me to meet. It's also super useful as they all have cars so I just get driven everywhere!

Feeling a little worse for wear this morning but still made all my lectures and am steadily curing my hangover with my new found addiction....

SO. DELICIOUS.

Got to go and battle my way through some spanish work now... hopefully all that mexican food will give me a little helping hand in some way. Sadly though, I think the tequila may counteract that... 

B

Arts Week

So, the idea of having an 'Arts Week' at such a science-y university is almost ridiculous, but somehow they've managed to battle on and a few arty bits and bobs have been popping up all over campus this week.

The weather is blissful at the moment, as usual, and everyone seems to be in a particularly good mood. Goose, Jack and I sat together in between lectures in the main quad and lolled about in the sun.

After my lectures, I took some time out and sat on the Library Lawn to enjoy the weather and listened to a live band performing who were called "General Pants and The Privates". Right.... despite their questionable name they were actually quite good. Everyone was lying on the lawn and enjoying the harsh Australia Winter. NAAAT.

Heading back down on to lower campus, there are more fun arty things. The Brasser Steps had graffiti all up the walls...

The sundial in the Main Quad had a giant dreamcatcher hanging from it, and there was another live band - and even an arts and crafts tent...

On lower campus I found some frilly trees....

....and an eggplant?

Walking down the main walkway I also discovered some little market stalls, which I hovered around for ages and eventually bought a funky little sweatshirt.

There's also loads of other stuff going on, like film nights and art classes, and even some exhibition thing where you're meant to write an anonymous secret on a postcard and post it into one of the various letter poxes left around campus, and then they're all put up in an exhibition space for everyone to read. This is an idea copied form an artist who set up PostSecret as a community arts project, quite an interesting idea really. Some of the secrets on that site are pretty odd though.... turns out there are a lot of closet lesbian Grandmas in this world!

Anyway, lots of arty fun in the sun today. I'm feeling a bit tired though, I might go have a little snooze in the Eggplant...

B

John Simpson Donkey Cake

Drunk and Disorderly Diana called us today and told us she wanted to bring us a present to thank us for rescuing her! We met her at Coco Cubano and this magnificant piece of artwork was her gift to us...

A donkey cake! Now, there is more behind the reason of why this cake is a donkey shape, other than it being the only cake tin she had (!), and Goose has explained it all in perfect prose on her blog:

"This is a John Simpson Donkey cake. Now, Diana gave us a little history lesson and told us all about John Simpson. John Simpson was an Anzac (Australian & New Zealand Army Corp) who served in WW1 at Gallipoli. He is some sort of Australian hero because apparently he somehow got hold of a donkey and risked his life by ferrying injured soldiers form the front line to the beach where they could be taken to hospital. According to the great Wikipedia, he is part of the 'Anzac Legend'. Diana thought it fitting to bring Becky and I this cake because, although we were sans donkey as it were, we did pick up an injured/drunk soldier and ferry her back home."

How cute is that!? It was great to have a little catch up with her and hear all her news. We sat together and reminisced about the John Simpson day, and ate ALL of the cake...

So, now Goose and I are full of lots of cake and a little bit of Australian history, and feeling pleased that our little Australian soldier is back on her feet again! 

B

Back On The Radar

So, today, I finally managed to go and get my phone sorted and have got myself an Australian number! It only took Orange about A MONTH AND A BLOODY HALF to unlock it for me, and because of them being so unbearably slow my phone bill is now over £100 due to having to use my phone for emergencies out here. But, everything is fine and dandy now because I can actually use my phone!

This is going to make my life a hell of a lot easier. I was just using my iphone to hook up to any wifi that I could get hold of and contacting people over Facebook, which was all great on campus, but left me totally stranded if I went into the city! Nightmare. All sorted now though.

For anyone that's had to unlock an iPhone recently too, you'll know what a palaver it is. Basically, the main issue is, is that your network at home (in my case Orange) have no interest in unlocking your phone, as it usually just means you're going to start using another network, and so it's not a priority for them and they enjoy taking their sweet ass time about it. Also, EE have now decided that they will only charge £20 to do it, but it'll take them a month, and they'll make sure that all other phone people, i.e: those funny little Indian men in phone shops who're whizzes with technology, have to charge £90. My suggestion for anyone going abroad who still wants to use their iPhone is to get it unlocked well in advance, or just buy a crappy little phone over here to tide you over. Otherwise you end up with a huge phone bill like me!

The only problem now is, is that I have to go and tell the bank, my job, the doctors etc. that my number has now changed, and actually learn my new number! 

For all those Brits reading this, you'll be pleased to know I'm still using the same Snapchat as before so you're not getting rid of me! Whatsapp is different though.... go onto my Facebook and my new number is there.

B

Monday Roast

It was Megan's birthday on Saturday, and sadly she had too much work to party so we celebrated instead with a Monday Roast when everyone was free. We did mark her birthday on Saturday by buying her a fish though!? Mr Fish is a lovely addition to the mayhem in flat 408, though I do worry for his health...

Everyone was told to bring their own plate and cutlery to the Old Tote, which is a big 'common building' with a huge TV room and a kitchen upstairs with several ovens etc. which you can book to cook group suppers, for 7.45pm to meet together for Megan's birthday meal. Most people (namely the girls) chipped in to help cook and together we whipped up a roast chicken, roast beef, carrots, broccoli, roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, roast butternut squash and several vats of gravy. Here's a picture of everyone tucking in:

It was DELICIOUS and so nice to have a little taste of home. The Americans/Australian's weren't so sure about the yorkshire puds though...

It was great to get everyone together again as because I'm working at the weekends, I don't get a huge amount of time just to do nothing, so it was a good catch-up opportunity. Adam had had a haircut and I nearly didn't recognise him, Meagan's boyfriend was visiting from Scotland, Josie had come third in a duathlon (run, bike, run) race and has now got a job at the Italian restaurant next to my bar called Eastbank, and Jack and Stan had somehow acquired a shopping trolley!?

Josie 3rd position on the right after her race - despite being poorly!

The birthday girl in a shopping trolley....

As I didn't do much of the cooking because I had lectures until late I helped wash up and then we sang happy birthday to Megan with a brownie cake (which was still very undercooked in the middle, but burnt on top....) and a homemade candle made out of a rolled up piece of cardboard held together with a hair tie (lovely bit ot handiwork by Ailsa there!). Afterwards, everyone headed to go get ready to go out and then meet for drinks at Megan's flat. Goose and I didn't make it out as we were exhausted but I'm pretty sure they all went to Scubar or Monday Night Reggae. I haven't seen Megan yet today but I reckon she'll be feeling a little worse for wear as she began her celebrations by drinking 2 litres of punch at The Whithouse at 4pm and the steadily progressed on to Goon'n'Juice. 

Happy birthday Megs!

B

Post

I received my first piece of post from home today! A lovely letter from the one and only Lizzie Nash, all the way from Salisbury.

We've promised to each other that we'll write back and forth from Australia to UK this year to make keeping in touch a little more exciting. I am yet to write my reply but I promise I'll send it soon!

If anyone else fancies sending me a little piece of England then you can find my address in the Write To Me! section of this blog. I love writing letters and receiving something from home in my letterbox is genuinely the most exciting thing!

Missing everyone,

B

Belle and Moo's Birthdays

So today it is my widdle sister's birthday and for the first time in years I am not with her! She's 17 now and is tall and gorgeous and has legs longer than you could even imagine. Although I still think of her as roughly around the age of 9, she's actually pretty grown up now.... legal to drive, say whaaaa!?

This is her with some ice cream cake on her birthday last year:

All the family are out in Skiathos in Greece which is somewhere we go every year - it feels very strange to think of them all out there without me! I keep getting updates about all the fun they're having in the 30 degree heat. Kinda annoying really.... Hannah's birthday is always whilst we're out there, lucky sod, so we always have a pool or beach party of some sort. Last year we even snuck her out for some cocktails and took her clubbing. Very illegal, but very fun. Here's a snap of my best friend Maisie and her enjoy a frozen mango daiquiri ....

Not only is it Moo's birthday today, but it is also Belle's 21st! Now, Belle is first of all my cousin, and secondly, as a massive coincidence, she's also Goose's best friend from school. What're the chances!? Here's a little photo of the birthday girl herself....

Belle and Moo are actually bizarrely similar... they both have those Burt freckles which are so common in our family, and are just quite gorgeous in general. Damnit!

Goose and I were sad to not be with her celebrating, so we made her a little birthday video instead. Most of it is actually just us pratting around, but we do actually manage to say happy birthday by the end!

Missing you girls and hope you both have a lovely day. Love and hugs from Down Under,

B

One Month Milestone

So, as of about 7am this morning, I have officially been in Sydney for one whole month! 

Time has flown and so much has happened since I first got here. Its so funny to think back to my first shopping trip I made and all the muddles I got myself into trying to navigate myself around the city, and first meeting Goose! Although I am still learning stuff about this place every day, I feel pretty well settled and almost bordering on becoming a proper Sydney-Sider! But don't worry, I haven't picked up any Aussie-twang and my accent is, to quote my friend John, still "so very English".
Here's a little list of stuff I've had to get used to out here....

1. They don't do 1c and 2c, they just round everything up to the nearest 5c, and it's actually really common to see $100 notes!
2. $2 coins are smaller than $1, which is just annoying and backwards.
3. Both Americans and Australians have no idea what you mean when you say "Ah, I just couldn't be arsed/fucked" and "She was taking the piss", they just stare at you blankly like you have a mild case of tourettes.
4. EVERYONE says "How ya going?" instead of "How are you?".
5. There are no such things as pints here, everything is served in 'scunas', which is just a little bit smaller than a pint.
6. The green man noise when you're crossing the road is unnecessarily aggressive and gives me a heart attack every time.
7. Shoe sizes are all different, so a UK size 6 is an AU size 8.
8. I have to pay 20c/MG for my internet in halls. Say whaaaa!?
9. A swimming pool in a club is, like, totally normal.
10. Buses run all through the night.
11. Their Burger King is called Hungry Jack's.
12. I live on High Street, Kensington, and there are loads of other places named after placed in London, including a Hyde Park!
13. Everyone wears sports kit, all the time.
14. If you go down to Bondi, everyone is actually surfing and there are hundred of people in wetsuits  either in the sea, running around on the beach, or skateboarding along the shop fronts - every single one of them carrying a surfboard.
15. Everything is easier/quicker/cheaper/free/more funny/on the house if you tell someone that you're British.
16. All wildlife out here is four times bigger, more poisonous and scarier than anything in the UK.
17. Australian's don't tip, unless you're British...! *wink*
18. The price of make-up make it actually physically painful to buy it.

I have some fantastic friends here, who have now come to be know ironically-but-not-so-ironically-anymore as the "Goon Squad". The group is ever expanding and we are a very cosmopolitan group, as we have Brits, Scots, Asians, Americans and even some real Aussies. I love them all dearly and we have a lot of fun together - mainly the Aussies teaching us completely made up Australian slang and convincing us it is commonly used in everyday life. Their recent favourites have been 'turbo' and 'cash' (which apparently mean 'good') and that 'jimmies' and 'jiblets' are two different things (they're not, and yes, they are referring to their balls). We do get out own back though, as one of them, *cough* Josh *cough*, thought that 'ASOS' stood for 'Australian Shirts and Other Stuff' haha! He will never live that one down....

It's also great to have Tally and Harry out here, as it's nice to see a familiar face from home now and then. At the moment, Tally is off travelling up the East Coast and Harry is working in the Hunter Valley, but I should see both of them in about 3 weeks though when they'll both head back into the city. The Maiden's have also been my saviours, Gus and Amber are honestly like my guardian angels! Anything I need and they will be right there to help me, and have said that I can come and escape and stay at theirs whenever I want. It's so nice to have the little back up out here, like a second family.

The weather out here is ridiculous. Every day is blissfully sunny and above 20 degrees, and the most we have to deal with is a bit of wind. If this is what the deepest darkest depths of Winter is like, I can't wait for summer! 

All of my courses are going well and I am not behind on my work... yet. Spanish is making me work hard but I'm definitely picking up everything more easily now. I've joined the gym (one of the personal trainer guys in there yesterday even said hi to me like I was a regular! Score!) and I have a well paid job which is helping me cash in some pennies so that I can save up to go travelling over the summer break. I also have just been offered an Internship with an independent music and arts magazine in Sydney called BRAG. I'll be starting on September the 10th doing 8hrs every Tuesday writing for their website and for their magazine. Exciting! I don't know too much about it all yet, but will update you once I start.

So, to sum this all up, life is going swimmingly and I am loving it out here. Not to say that I don't miss y'all back home, but, y'know... Australia's kinda fun, ok!?

B

First Shift

I've just got home from my first shift at Searock Bar. Compared to what I'm used to on festival bars, the work is pretty easy, it's just a case of learning the ins and outs of the bar and the system they use there. None of the staff ran off with a till float with £2000 in it, no one passed in the stock lorry after snorting too much Ketamine, none of the customers jumped over the bar and stole four bottles of Jägermeister (this things have all happened on my bars at festivals...) so it was pleasantly calm! The tills are easy to use once you know your way around them and everything else is pretty easy. Certain beers go in certain glasses, different glasses for soft drinks and spirits, y'know, the usual. The most annoying thing is remembering all the different names of all the wines and the switch of the house wines at happy hour, but I'll be fine after I've done a few more shifts. 

The thing I love most of all is the location of my bar! This is my view walking to work, from when I hop off the bus at Circular Quay, to just as I arrive....

This is the outside area, you can see how amazing the view is, it's literally right on the water looking straight out to the harbour bridge!

The people I work with are nice too. Today, there was Emma, who was the girl I did my trial shift with,  Sean, who's been working there for several months, and Marcus, who's a German boy working out here on a holiday visa. The bar did get busy but it was nothing compared to the mayhem I'm used to and apparently that's about as busy as it gets, so that means it'll never be horrendous. We have to clock in and out with a proper little time card which you put into a machine and it stamps the time onto it, which is so bizarre for me! I'm used to just signing a bit of paper. I think it's good for me to work in a smart bar and do things a bit differently, as running a festival bar is more about the man-management, whereas here its about the service.

I worked from 4pm-11.30pm and so at $20 I've made $150! In one shift! We do get taxed 25% though (we can claim it back) but it's still a hefty bit of money for one evening. I've got to fill in a load of paperwork tonight regarding my visa, my tax file number blah blah and hand it in tomorrow so that I'll be paid for this weekend. What I like about Searock is that it's run pretty efficiently because it's an upmarket bar, and so no hours get left out and no one will ever be under paid. 

I closed the bar with Sean and Marcus, and Sean taught me how everything was done and explained to me what the standard our manager Anton was expecting for everything. Apparently his pet hate is splash marks on the edges of the bar, so that's one to remember! Once I get the hang of things I'll be cocktail trained so that I can do everything. It seems that everyone's expected to do a bit of everything, whether thats bar-backing, cocktails, general service etc. so today was a bit nuts as they were having to teach me everything all at once.

Here's a few candid shots I got of the inside of the bar as we were closing down...

It's not particularly glamorous, but it is smart and the bar's main attraction is the location and the view - it's a bit of a tourist hotspot so it draws a lot of people who're just stopping in for a nice drink whilst they're in the harbour. It's not a place we'd all go out to, but I'm happy because it just works for me because it's a fun place to work and has got good pay, and it never really closes later than 11pm so I won't be working stupid hours which is nice. Plus, two of my friends, Grace and Kellie, work in our sister restaurant next door (where we only pay $7 for any food when usually everything is at least triple that! Score!) so I can see them and go to and from work with them on the bus if our shifts coincide.

All in all, it seems like this job is going to work nicely for me to help get some pennies in so that I can travel in the Christmas holiday!

I'm working from 1pm tomorrow and need to be up much earlier in the morning to get stuff done so best be off to sleep now.

B

Ivy

Last night we all went out to a club on George St called 'Ivy' which had a night with free entry on a Thursday - usually the entry fee is at least $20 as it's such a nice club, and so Thursday night ends up being their student night. The building is basically like a big complex with lots of different areas, like restaurants and bars etc. and is huge!

We arrived really late as, as usual, Ailsa, Grace and I decided to be stubborn and get the bus rather than getting a taxi, even though it was already 12.30am. When we got there the queue was massive, but Grace did a sneaky "Oh I'm meeting my friend down there..." and we ended up cutting at least half an hour off our queuing time and pretty much just got straight in! The first part of the club we went to could only be reached by lift, and so everyone just crams in. The weird thing is, is that you don't press a button to get to the floor you want to go to, the only buttons in there take you to the 5th or 6th floors, and so you just have to get in and wait for the lift to take you to the 4th floor... very bizarre but apparently it's to try and make it a little more exclusive in that area as some people wont work it out and will never make it, haha! You can see why they would want to make it more exclusive though, as it has a pool! Everyone just stands around the edges and on the little islands sticking out into the water and dances. The pool is 30 degrees, and you are allowed to get in it, but none of us were feeling up for a dip... these guys did though!

It's cool being by the water actually, as at night the lights reflect off and everything looks so pretty. I'm guessing it's going to be amazing when it's hot too, there are even changing rooms and showers etc. so you can properly swim! It's also open during the day, but again that'll be a ridiculous entry fee.

We then went back down in the awkward lift and then up some stairs to the main area which is basically just a huge outside dance floor with bars around the side and strings of lights hung above you. We found the rest of the group there, who had already been here for ages, and partied late into the night with them.

I left with four of the boys at about 3am as we all had to get back as had stuff on tomorrow and wanted to catch the last bus home. We sat at the bus stop for 45 minutes in the end, and no bus came, so we ended up sharing a big taxi (or 'Maxi' as the boys kept saying!) with loads of other people who were also trying to get back to UNSW. In that one taxi, we had an Australia, a Mexican, a Brit (me), a couple from Argentina, two German girls and some Asian boys - very multicultural! 

Feeling pretty tired today as didn't get to sleep until at least 4.30am but I don't have anything on until I start my first shift at work at 4pm so I'm just going to doze in bed. Also, Drunk and Disorderly Diana just messaged Goose and I to thank us again and tell us how embarrassed she is of the video, but that she will definitely show it to all her friends as it's too funny to miss. She's feeling a bit better today, thank god!

B

Drunk and Disorderly Diana

So, at about 3.30pm Goose and I decided to nip to Coles (supermarket) and set off on our way up High Street. Halfway up the hill, we discovered a bike and two little feet poking out of the bush. These feet belonged to Diana, and poor Diana was not in a very good state. At first, we thought that she had fallen off her bike and hit her head and was badly concussed, but after getting a little closer we smelt the pungent smell of alcohol (definitely Goon), and realised that she was just, excuse my french, really fucking hammered. She had been quite sick and was obviously not feeling too well, and so we tidied up her hair with a complimentary hair tie and snapped into Mummy Mode.

We learnt her name, and asked if we could borrow her phone and managed to call her housemate, Carly. Carly said she couldn't come and get her because she was getting ready for a job interview, but we said we'd walk her home and she gave us the address. We stood Diana up and whilst I took her bike, Goose held her up by her backpack, and we set off on one of the most hilarious journey's I have ever had!

Diana soon perked up a bit and thanked us for rescuing her, and whilst she took to marching ("I'm going to march, it will sober me up!"), we tried to get her to tell us why she was so drunk. She didn't seem to really know the answer, or what she had been doing, but it was something to do with a sports event at UNSW (she was dressed in sports kit) and it was "all Harry's fault". We're guessing she'd had a match of some sort and then they'll all hit the Goon pretty hard, and then when she attempted to cycle home, the hill was a little too much for her and she fell off her bike and passed out in the hedge. She had no recollection of even getting on her bike, let alone falling off! 

We ambled along slowly, me trying to master walking-pace peddling, and Goose holding Diana back by her backpack like a toddler making sure she didn't step out into the road. Here's a little video we took so that we could add her on Facebook and name and shame her the next day....

Isn't she hilarious!? Definitely my favourite Aussie that I've met so far.

After many embarrassed thankyous, lots of laughter, repeated invites to a BBQ and declaritions that "Brits were awesome", we returned Diana to her house, and Carly, and left her to drink some water and have a much needed shower.

Despite the whole round trip to Coles and back taking nearly 3 hours (it should have been 1, tops!) Goose and I felt very proud of our good samaritan deed of the day and are thoroughly looking forward to hearing from Diana tomorrow!

B

Jakarta Club

So, as promised, I'm also going to be blogging about music too. I feel that I haven't really said much about anything for a while, so I'm taking this opportunity to say a little something about a lovely little band called Jakarta Club.

This is my friend Ed's band, who's a guy from my course at home, and they seem to be ticking along quite nicely at the moment. The Mahogany Blog has just asked them to do a video for their Mahogany Sessions, which they were super chuffed about. If you don't already know about Mahogany, it's a music blog that started off small in 2009 as Mark Murdoch's own personal music blog. Now, they've added several new members to the team and they get loads of famous artists in to do sessions and interviews for the blog. Being featured on Mahogany is a nice little badge of recognition, and Jakarta Club have done themselves proud and are sounding great with this very catchy little number 'Undertones'.

The boys describe themselves as "an indie-pop four piece from the North West. Youthful, bright melodies with a hint of 80's indie are matched with driving rhythms and inventive bass lines to give their live performances a hell of a kick". Though I'm not usually an 'indie-pop' fan, I love their summery sound and just think they're kinda great. 

They've recently played at two festivals, Kendal Calling and Spyatstock, and played live for BB Intorducing for BBC Radio Cumbria, which is pretty impressive too. Heading for the big break boys!

The boys are obviously working really hard and are true musicians pumping out loads of original material. If you like their stuff, the boys have been very generous and you can download their album for FREE from Bandcamp here, and you can also find loads more of their stuff on their Soundcloud.

As a musician, I love promoting my friends' bands so I'll try and do more posts like this. Hope you enjoy Jakarta Club! Good luck boys!

B