5th July 06 - Rick & June UK Day 1

Mom and Dad arrived first thing in the morning. We expected them to be looking bushed and harassed but they waltzed into arrivals looking so laid back I wondered what they had put in their wake up orange juice that morning.

We took them home to Egham and made them unpack all their clothes and were amazed at the stash that emerged from their suitcases. Dad had enough contraband in his to have paid a few fines if anyone had looked more closely..... besides the warthogs wrapped in tin foil and various bottles, we were treated to some 'ware' billies, wrapped in bubble wrap and sprinkled with Johnsons baby powder and black pepper?! And no...I am not going to explain...

We then toddled off to our nearest big town, dear old Staines, where we treated ourselves to a typical English lunch served on the banks of a river by South African waitrons and washed down with some bitters.

25th June - Braai at Vix

Al, Cath and Garrick were over and we all only had one day to meet up so we had a mini reunion at Vix and Mau's house and fed our faces in between watching the England Ecuador game.

Jenny, Mau and Garrick with Al's back facing.

Cath, Tashe and James trying to eat in peace.
Lexi reading to Graham.

Al, Cath and James..


Cath.

Garrick.


The girls - Tash, Lexi and Vix

24th June Birthday weekend 2

National Lampoons go Thaming.. we took a cruise from Westminster to the Tower.

We had to take a picture to show that the sun was shining and the Eye got in the way of the camera in the background of course. There were these American Snooties behind us that might as well have been touring Vietnam for all they knew about where we were. One of them kept boasting about how well she could swim, I was tempted to give her an opportunity of showing us just how well she would do in the Thames but then I remembered there were no sharks in the river so it wouldn't have been much fun. Graham in front of the square where old Henry mislaid his 2nd wife's head (and a few of her friends)..in the Tower quad.
On the ride back to Westminster Pier we were treated to the sight of Tower Bridge being lifted for a boat (i know this is the nautical equivalent of calling everything that shoots in the army, a gun?). The last time this lifted, the couldn't get it down again and they made some of us late for supper as we had to find a way around the river to the next bridge in peak hour traffic but this time there were no mishaps and it provided a good photo op for us!

The London Eye with the Aquarium in the background.
The beloved office in the background! All going well, well Shell of course.

Graham in the park behind Westminster, no protesters on this side, only a few sunbathers and lost tourists.

24th June - Birthday weekend 1

National Lampoons go clubbing!!! After consulting our trusty club experts Nat and Haren, we landed up at the Ministry of Sound in Elephant and Castle expecting to be the oldest ones there, but to our surprise there were 1 or 2 with longer fangs than us.

The sweet boy turns into the dance demon!



The guy's t-shirt says it all...
Being of more mature minds (and bodies) we decided to walk home before club closing time and stopped for some pics on Vauxhall Bridge.

By the time we got back to the hotel, the sun was coming up - this is a view towards the Eye (and the office of course)

9th to 10th June - Karen's 40th at the Manoir

The stage was set..with a full moon providing a spotlight... but alas the show below remains shrouded in mystery....rumours abound of strange dances on chairs...of nocturnal gymnastics from tent poles and a special appearance of a trio called the 'Boep-en-tails', the French-South African equivalent of the more famous Chippendales, but they paid lots of money to remain nameless...so their privacy shall be maintained....for the time being.

what a party...