Happy Camping

Camping is great! Fresh air, back to nature, living life freely… What more could you ask for? (Okay, so some of you probably said ‘a hotel’……. I agree that hotels and cozy holidays are nice some of the time, but camping is fab – especially when you find the right spot.

I’m hoping that our camping trip to France this summer goes without any problems. I want a chilled time. Total relaxation and time to complete many of the things on My List for 2011. Reading the Harry Potter series in on my list as well as dancing in the rain and writing a poem. I’ll have time to tick off those things…. Wish me luck.

If you’ve ever been camping then I am sure you can relate to the next bit.

Here are some great camping one-liners:

“I thought you packed the toilet paper”.

“Shhhhhh….. Did you hear that noise?”

“Just one more hill to climb, it’s all flat from here”.

“Of course I packed the tent poles”.

 ”I love camping. You haven’t lived until you’ve cut your way out of a sleeping bag with a Swiss army knife”.

Searching the internet for things about camping has been fun. Here are some good blogs about camping:

Love in a Tent

Kyla40′s Travel Blog

The good, the bad and the incredibly boring (when it comes to movies).

Calling all movie buffs (film buffs). Does that even translate into US English? I love the cinema and I’m going about twice a week at the moment. I’m using my ‘unlimited’ pass as much as possible before going away on holiday. I just don’t want to miss anything good. I’ve seen some great films recently…. But for every couple of great films there are some dull ones. Maybe you’ve noticed the ‘My 2011 Films’ tab on my homepage. I’m giving a snapshot into all the films I watch this year. My current total (up to 27 July 2011) is 25 films.  

Superb film.

Here’s my list of greats from the last 15* films I’ve seen:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (in 3D). (I’m going to see this again very soon).
• Bridesmaids (I went to see it twice).
• The Hangover Part 2.
• Unknown.
• Thor (in 3D).
• Source Code.
• I Am Number Four.

Here are the ones that were okay – we’re talking nothing special:

• Bad Teacher.
• Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (in 3D).
• The Next Three Days.
• Limitless.
• The Mechanic.

Here are the ‘wooden spoon award winners’. The ones I wish I’d stayed at home for……:

• X-Men: First Class.
• Fast and the Furious 5.

*If you counted you’ll see 14, but I saw Bridesmaids twice….. And it’s my blog. I make the rules.

You can read more about the other films that I have reviewed here.

Is there a film that I should have seen? Any recommendations? Please let me know below. Comments gratefully received.

A very clever car park.

I was in for a surprise when I drove to Ikea the other evening. A few modifications had been made to the underground car park at Ikea Delft. Lights and sensors in a car park! Clever parking. I loved it.

It may not sound like much (okay, I know it’s not the most exciting post), but it really was useful. Most times that you visit car parks you drive up and down the rows, especially when it is busy. Finding a car parking spot can take time.

In Ikea there were rows and rows of lights mounted to the ceiling. The lights had a sensor pointing left and right and were placed facing all parking spots. If both the parking spaces were occupied then the light would turn from green to red. Clever!

Parking sensor lights, Ikea Delft.

The moment I drove into the aisle I would see where a space was (right from the other end). I didn’t know that such technology existed. I am hoping to see this system in many more car parks soon.

Everyone needs a nerdy post. This was mine.

If you liked this post, please share it.

You can another post of mine about Ikea here.

When it comes to driving remember the 10 Driving Commandments.

I have the answer to everything. Well, sort of…

I’m so glad that I asked for some questions on my blog last week. I’ve had some great responses. I widened my question-search a little wider with the use of Facebook and Twitter. Thanks to all those who helped. Your questions and responses are below. Don’t expect anything profound. It’s light hearted reading. Here goes…

This was me. Deep in thought.

Kiwidutch was first to respond with the ice-breaker question:

If you had total freedom of opportunity to really follow one of your passions and leave a lasting legacy behind you that benefited the city/country/world, what would you do and what would your legacy be?

Okay – I need to draw a deep breath before answering this one. Talk about starting with a toughie! If I had total freedom of opportunity to follow a passion it would involve children. I’ve always wanted to work with children, so that part is already coming true. I’d like to be involved in developing schools (I used to think that I could only do this in the UK, but since working overseas I realise it can be done anywhere). With enough money and support I’d like to develop education and opportunities for children all over the world. The Jamie Foundation: providing hope for the future….. I’d hope that the children would be the lasting legacy.

Image from Wikipedia

Ashley with her cheeky 2-in-1 questions:

If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be? Why? Oops…… Looks like there’s 2 questions here. Don’t mind the why then. It could be anything, of yourself or the world history.

Cheeky Ashley indeed sneaking in two questions. Time travel: A dangerous tool to have, but one I would love. On a personal level it’s tricky to choose. All the things that have happened in my life, both positive and negative have helped to make me the person I am today. I would possibly choose that my grandparents had not died when I was a baby. I never knew them and I would have loved to know them.  In world history: I would choose that Adolf Hitler had never been born.

Picture from Google.

Terri (pushing it with three questions, but because it’s Terri I’ll allow it….)

My questions for you:
1. When are you coming to Vegas? Would love to meet you!
2. Do you have any pets?
3. If you have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

Ah Terri, three questions (naughty).  So, Q1 includes an invite to Las Vegas? Wow, you never asked me….. Haha. I would love to come over to USA and see more of the sights. Would love to meet my first blog friend too.
Q2 Pets: I do indeed. I, well I should say we….have two cats. Fudge and Cooper. They are adorable. I miss Eddie terribly, he was Fudge’s brother but was knocked down by a car outside our house when he was 18 months old.
Q3 Dinner: I would throw all sensible invites out of the window and invite……Alex Pettyfer. Of course it would be for the high-brow conversation…..

"Hello Mister Dinner Date!"

Sarsm (my happy WordPress friend):

My question is: If you could visit 5 countries in the remainder of your lifetime – which countries would you choose and why? (can be somewhere you’ve been or somewhere new)

The travel question (yay!).I’ll choose 5 countries that I have never visited.
Japan: I have always wanted to go there. I’d love to discover more about the country as I really don’t know that much about it. I had friends who lived there, but never managed to go.
China: The future super power of the world. China has so many wonderful things to see. How could it not be on my list?
Brazil: I want to visit Rio de Janeiro. Oh to stand at the foot of the Jesus Christ statue and look out at the coastline. Immense!
South Africa: I’d choose any African country to visit (having not been there). I want to travel through Africa by train, do the safari and experience something entirely new.
…..and the last one……. This isn’t easy…..
Australia: I want to see the Great Barrier Reef. That means diving, which I’ve also never done. But I would find it so exciting and invigorating.

Who doesn't want to go here?

Helen C (Work colleague and Twitter friend).

If you were to make your favourite three course meal, what would the courses be?

Food question – Yum!
Starter: An set of amuses to begin with. 3 shot size glasses each with different tiny soups. I always love that for starters.
Main Course: Duck. It’s my favourite meal. Not the crispy duck, although I adore that. It would be roast duck with a fruit sauce. Carrots (mashed with orange and brown sugar) and potato gratin.
Dessert: Warm chocolate and fudge cake, drizzled with extra hot chocolate sauce.

Okay, now my mouth is watering.

Lekker!

Chris S (Fellow Actor, world traveller and blogger).

How do I make my blog as good as yours?

8 months of practise and watching ‘what’ people are reading. The blog I set out to create has continued to evolve since Day 1. People don’t always read the blog posts that have taken the most time and effort. It’s all about keeping with the readers I suppose. ‘Know your audience’.

WordPress - the place to be.

Liz J(Work colleague, friend and IT whizz).

How do you see the handheld device in five years?

Seamless technology that has replaced PCs, mobiles and other technology. Used in schools, homes and in the wider community. Will it work by finger? Will the mind be controlling it by then? Will they indeed be ‘handheld’ at all?

Using handheld devices.

Louise G: (Work friend and glamous puss).

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why? X

Living: see above answer. Dead: Diana (just because).

Diana, Princess of Wales.

Liz J: Back for more…..

If you could invent something really handy what would it be for?

I would invent a fool-proof system for ensuring the fairest possible outcome in the Eurovision Song Contest.  That would be really handy eh?

Ah, yes ESC. Who could forget it?

I hope you enjoyed reading the questions. Did I get all the answers you wanted? Feel free to share or to ask me more questions in the comments section below.

I’ll Answer Your Questions….. I think.

So far my blog has been about my experiences, my observations and other general bits and pieces. I was scanning through WordPress this evening, reading other people’s blogs when the idea came to me….. Why not ask the readers to participate?

Here I am. Asking you to take part. Simples!!!

All you have to do is comment below and ask me a question. Any thing you like. My next post will answer ALL of the questions (to the absolute best of my ability). I just hope I get some responses. It’ll be a rather dull ‘next post’ otherwise.

I leave the questioning to you. An open bag! How exciting. Who’s knows what you will ask, want to ask or will dare to ask.

Time starts now!

From geek to hunk: The real magic of ‘Harry Potter’.

When the films started back in 2001 the cast were practically all children. Neville Longbottom, remember him? The geeky one who befriended Harry……

Longbottom, played by Matthew Lewis, featured throughout the entire series of films.

Here’s a picture of Lewis as Neville Longbottom (back in the early films).

Oh the magic of Harry Potter certainly has worked wonders on Lewis. I couldn’t believe it when I saw what he looked like ten years later. Wave that wand and…….

Here is Neville Longbottom 2011.

The magic didn’t stop there…….  Emma Watson, who played Hermione Grainger…..

Back in 2001.

Ten years later (2011). Wow!!

Getting the girl…

I saw this and laughed. I’m no expert on girls… My boyfriend can verify that. I see an element of truth in this pie chart though.

 

Beautiful Bali: Where calm meets chaos.

When you arrive in Bali (at Denpasar airport) there is an immediate feeling that you have stepped back in time. The airport has a 1980s/1990s feel about it. Things just are not as modern here.

Once you have shown passports to security, who are seated by little wooden crates (bizarre I know), you collect your bags and head out. Next you are faced with a row of cubicles (all glassed in) with money exchange workers all frantically waving and smiling to get your attention. It feels as though you’re in a red-light district with ‘ladies-in-the-window’ and is somewhat unnerving. It’s difficult not to stare (or laugh) at the weirdness of it all and so you find yourself quickly dashing along. I managed to avoid being lured in to any of the stares. Phew!

Outside the airport there are streams of taxis everywhere. Luckily we had a pre-arranged minbus transfer arranged to take us from the airport to our villa, but it seemed easy enough for people to flag one down. The carpark is chaos and if that’s anything to judge Bali by…..it gets busier. The road from the airport to Seminyak (normally 20 minutes drive) was packed and the journey took over an hour.

Seminyak is one of Bali’s hotspots. Located on the south of the island, by Denpasar (the island’s capital), Seminyak boasts a huge number of private villas, restaurants and bars. It draws in tourists from all over the world, but in particular Australians (many of whom are enjoying their hen-weekends or stag-dos).

So many of Bali’s visitors stay in private villas. I can see why. Behind the doors, away from the chaos of traffic and tourists passing by is a tranquil and harmonius villa. Inside the villa, my eyes quickly did the dream-holiday-checklist. Pool. Open-space. Lounge. Kitchen (I don’t plan on using it, but still….). Bedroom one (huge). En-suite (love it). Bedroom two (also huge). Another en-suite. Decking around the pool. Water feature. My eyes at this stage are flashing from one place to another. I’m greedily taking it all in. Heaven.

Staying in a villa in Bali can be a dangerous move. It’s not life threatening. It’s culturally dangerous. You might become so relaxed and ‘chilled-out’ behind the closed doors that you end up spending your time there instead of exploring. Don’t be too chilled. You must explore.

The nightlife in Seminyak is mixed. It doesn’t have the feel of a stag-do and hen-do holiday destination. It’s not like Blackpool (UK) or Amsterdam (Holland)….. or anywhere else that you find pre-wedding groups drinking their last moments of freedom away. It all seems slightly more classy here in Bali. There are security guards EVERYWHERE. Do not panic. They stand at the road side by every villa, bar and restaurant. If anything you feel safe with them all around, but I did wonder whether they were security or hotel staff (the strict uniform can be quite deceiving). They all carry lightsabers which I found very amusing. Not quite up to the standard and length of Darth Vader, although they still light up red and look great fun at night.

A day trip is a must. Taking a taxi for the entire day is easy and innexpensive in Bali. The staff wherever you stay are more than likely to assist in the arrangement. Our three butlers were brilliant at helping to organise our days. The service is always at its best. The taxi ride is a mouth-opening, extreme sight-seeing and epic journey. The roads are crazy. Busy. Packed……

There are cars. Bicycles. Motorbikes. Mopeds…… For every car there are about 10 mopeds zooming beside you. Think mayhem. Controlled mayhem, although I wouldn’t dare get on a moped in Seminyak.

Next, you see what they are carrying. We’re talking full loads. Mopeds with 4 passengers (oh, plus the driver)…..and one of the passengers is carrying a adult-sized bike on the back. It’s crazy!

Along the road side there are hundreds, possibly thousands, of shops selling wooden carvings, stone work, mosaic bowls, kites and more….and more…..and more. The shops repeat and repeat and repeat themselves along the longest straightest road. My poor camera.

There are lots of hot spots to visit. We choose to visit Ubud with the rice fields. If you have never visited places like this (like me) then all expectations are blown out of the water. The rice fields were great! I wasn’t expecting the slopes to be quite so steep. The driver let us wander and explore. We sat by the edge of the rice fields and had something local to eat. Yum.

The journey back was just as interesting – more shops and sights to see.

In Bali, aside from the wonderful Ubud and the shops we also ventured along the coast. The sandy beaches are beautiful. Palm trees line the coast and add to the holiday feel.

Bali. Simply brilliant.

Do Not Panic!

Just imagine if this was real……