Merry Christmas!

"Christmas time, mistletoe and wine...". Are you singing yet? I am. There is a soft layer of snow outside and inside, there is a festive glow coming from the corner of the lounge where my gorgeous little Christmas tree is twinkling merrily. I've already been to a multitude of Christmas parties, lunches and dinners and there are more to come. Several Christmas cards have also arrived and some of you have been very good and have included lovely letters with updates on your year. I am a bit late to do this 'old school stylee' but I thought perhaps a 2010 roundup on the rusty ol' blog might do the trick so here goes.

As you will all be aware, 2010 did not happily for me as with it came the inevitable parting between Grant and myself. Many people thought we were crazy to continue 'as is' right up until the day that Grant left the UK and many more thought I was bonkers to have him spend his last 3 weeks in the country in my new little flat. Be that as it may, it turned out to be the right thing for me and hard though it was, I think the transition was made easier having him with me. But then, of course, he left and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit of a miserable soggy creature for a good few weeks. In fact it is fair to say I still miss him now.

But life must go on and looking back I think I've done a reasonably good job. In fact, contrary to expectation, though it may not go down as the best year of my life ever, 2010 certainly wont be recalled as the worst either, which is a nice suprise. Much of that is due to you, my fantastic family and friends, who were always available when I needed to unload or be distracted! I had been a bit worried about my first birthday without Grant but thanks to the lovely Ann and Kristina, a fantastic birthday was celebrated in Brussels - complete with a LOT of chocolate! And when I was nervous about not going away as usual on Grant's birthday, the spectacular Sarah and Jen came to the rescue with a cleverly timed girlie trip to the Cotswolds!

That's what 200 Euros worth of Belgian chocolate looks like!

Sarah, Jen and I had a ridiculous evening celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Pudding Club.

Many of you will also be aware that as part of my post break-up investment-in-me programme, I embarked upon a bit of a fitness frenzy. I signed up for a half marathon, joined a dance studio, a pilates studio and a powerplate studio and vowed to try and get my body into the best shape it's ever been in. Now I wont say there isn't room for improvement - there always is - but I have to say, I think I've probably achieved my aim - whilst still being able to quaff wine and munch on treats pretty often! I thoroughly enjoyed my Bollywood dance classes (though I haven't managed to go much recently) and I LOVED running my half marathon (thanks to all your support, I even featured on the front page of the Starfish charity newsletter!) but most of all, I would like to thank Powerplate. Oh how I love the Powerplate. For it is the Powerplate which is largely responsible for the fact that just this week I became the proud owner of my first ever pair of skinny jeans. SE-RI-USSSSS! I hope this doesn't come across as boasting but I am rather pleased with myself.

Other highlights of the year include attending the Chap Olympiad, travelling back to SA to spend time with family and see my friend Kelly get married, re-connecting with friends I hadn't seen for ages, making new friends and, of course, in August I got my Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK. That means that this time next year, I hope to be in possession of a little red passport!

Work-wise, things have pretty much pottered along as usual. I have, however, been actively job-hunting for a few months now. I love the company I work for and the people I work with, but I've been feeling the need for a new challenge - and a better salary. At the time of writing this though there is a distinct possibility I may secure a new role within the same company starting in April next year so fingers crossed!

So there you have it, a quick roundup of my year. I'll be spending Christmas with the Miller family in Bristol and am particularly looking forward to dressing baby Tom up as a reineer! Wherever you'll be and whoever you'll be spending it with, I wish you all a happy, safe and re-energising Christmas and a 2011 full of the good stuff.

ipadio: Hear ye, hear ye... - 4th phonecast

Ooh look, I'm phlogging*!

As per the note in the phlog, the link to my half marathon fundraising page is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JenSmit.

*No, I'm not being rude, phlogging = phone blogging and I figure that as someone trying to pass myself off as a communications professional, I'd better try it!

The times they are a-changing

In fact, they've already changed. Quite significantly since my last post. But given the nature of the changes it is entirely possible that with more time on my hands, I might be a little more diligent about blogging in future (though don't hold your breath).

Some of you will know this but for those who don't, basically, I am once again a single gal. I won't go into detail but after an emotionally trying year last year, we decided that it was time Grant took the leap and returned home to his beloved Cape Town. After being in the UK for almost 11 years, he boarded a plane home on Tuesday this week to find his way again. This has been very hard for both of us and I am naturally devastated but I have to have faith that this was the right decision and that "it'll all work out in the end."

Before you ask, for various reasons it wasn't an option for me to go back to South Africa right now. But I can promise you it got me thinking and I feel I can say with some confidence that my plan now is to make the most of living in Europe for the next 18 months but as soon as I get (fingers crossed) my citizenship next September, I intend to pack up and head home too.

But back to London and a necessary associated change is that three weeks ago I moved into a little flat of my own. It's no palace - the kitchen is smaller than the coat cupboard in our old place! - but it's bright and cosy and starting to feel like home. And it's in a great area! It might sound a bit twee, but it overlooks the Barnes Wetlands centre so I frequently hear geese flying overhead and I even see sheep grazing in the grounds surrounding the centre. Barnes itself is like a little village in the middle of London and I love the great pubs, sweet little shops and proximity to the river.

Everything has been pretty focused on my relationship lately so quite honestly, that's about it for now: no travel news, no event updates, no nada. But that's about to change. As of next week I intend to reinstall myself into life and rediscover London. And I am very blessed to have a lot of very special friends to help me do this!

Happy Easter everyone!

Och aye!

Hello, yes, it's me again, the long lost blogger. I've spent the past three days soaking up the 'kulcha' of the Edinburgh festival and felt inspired to write a few words about the experience so before the feeling wears off...

As much as I love a good arts festival - a couple of years practice courtesy of Grahamstown will do that to you - the main motivation for heading to Edinburgh was actually to see the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. After a failed attempt to get tickets for the 2008 Tattoo, I made a special effort to log onto the website in December last year already to get tickets for the 2009 event before they sold out. We booked our flights and accommodation in May - which was already pushing things as we weren't left with much choice - but as for tickets to anything else; nada. But we were optimistic that we would pick up some good fringe shows when we were there.

And pick them up we did - though more of that later.

We spent our first day braving the pelting rain - which necessitated an emergency wellington boot purchase for me - checking in on various art fairs and street performances. The highlight of the day, though, was the tattoo.Luck was with us and the skies cleared for a beautiful, though windy, evening. And though it is supposedly summer, it sure did get cold and I could well have done with a tartan throw and a pair of gloves! Nevertheless, perched on our seats with the castle as a backdrop, we experienced a magnificent tattoo. the Cape Town Highlanders were there representing and in addition to the massed band, we saw some superb acts from around the world. The lighting design was particularly spectacular and transformed the castle into a fantastic outdoor theatre.

Our hotel was about a 12 minute walk out of town and we started each day with a delish cooked breakfast at a little independent deli down the road. Friday's weather was much more promising - though not without a couple of showers - so we took a stroll down the royal mile to take a peek at Holyrood House. On the way back up the Mile we decided some concerted show-booking was in order so we stopped in at a little pub to look over our stash of programmes and festival guides and call the ticket hotline. Shows booked and sun still out, we took in some street theatre. The Sam Wills put on a great show and I picked up some lovely little trinkets from a market. The whole of the Mile was simply buzzing - there were children playing violins and doing Scottish dancing, we saw a woman spinning yarn for donations and two chaps playing an amazing cover of a Nirvana song on what looked like a giant wok. there were singers and dancers and just plain loopy folks all having a bit of fun - it was excellent!

Our first 'real' show of the day was The Creole Choir of Cuba, a 14-strong troupe of Haitian immigrants living in Cuba. The show was held in a beautiful church which seemed the perfect setting for their moving music.

From there, we raced over to the assembly to see The Pajama Men, a comedy sketch show which has had rave reviews - and for good reason. The duo, dressed in their pyjamas, chop and change characters throughout the show and had us in absolute hysterics! I keep wanting to pull the silly face and say "I'm so small" but unless you've seen the show you wont know what I mean. Trust me, it's a classic line!

From there, we had about an hour to pass, which we did in a ridiculously quaint pub just outside the castle before heading into the assembly hall to see Irish/ French cabaret act, Camille O'Sullivan. As the name of her show suggests, Camille really is a dark angel. No pretty little ditties for her. No, This Camille with the incredible gravelly voice chooses rather to sing the songs of Nick Cave and Jacques Brel. She is slightly bonkers, but man does she do a good show!

Saturday was a slower day but we started it with a dash of stand up comedy with the Big Comedy Breakfast show. We got there via a walk through an antique market in Grassmarket square. The show itself was in a tiny conference room in a hotel and there can't have been more than about 30 people in the audience. All three of the performers, and the MC, were young unknown comedians but I have to say, we were thoroughly impressed. the last chap in particular, I think his name was Robert Altman, did a fantastic set of bizarre comic poetry. I think he could be really big on the comedy circuit if only he gets in front of the right people. But what probably made the show was the unplanned interlude. Just as he was about the introduce the first act, after warming the audience up, the fire alarm went - and it wasn't a drill! We dutifully marched out of the hotel but rather than cancel the show, comedienne Di decided that 'the show must go on'! So, we found a bus stop and all piled in and Di did her set out in the open air! She did an excellent job of saving the show after which we were all ushered back into the proper venue - after the firemen were done with whatever it was that had set the alarm off - and the last two acts finished up.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city and surprisingly I haven't really explored it properly in previous visits. So we took a walk up to Arthur's Seat from where you get a fantastic view of the city and the surrounding hills. The wind was blowing such that we could hear all manor of sounds from the city up on the hill as well - bagpipes, laughter, singers.

We had booked a lunch at The Witchery, a well-known restaurant in Edinburgh, as a bit of a treat to end off the weekend. Located in an historic sixteenth-century building at the gates of Edinburgh Castle, it has been frequented by quite a few famous types - and now us! We had a great bottle of good 'ol SA wine - Buitenverwaagting - and soaked up the atmosphere before heading back to the airport and London.

And now we're home again - unfortunately with a cold (me). In retrospect we should have booked to stay a few days longer - Grant surprised me by how much he enjoyed it - but it was a great experience and I am definitely up for a repeat trip next year!

Snow!!!!

I am not a morning person. Well, not in the sense of getting up, anyway. Once I'm up, I'm fine, but getting up - who-wee that's a battle. But one of the things I have learned since living in the UK is that nothing gets me out of bed as effectively as the presence of snow! I suppose this has to do with growing up in Africa but the novelty of snow will never wear off for me and will transform me into a child desperate to play every time the flakes start to fall!

The first blast of white came on Sunday afternoon as Grant and I were enjoying a latte and a read of the paper at our local coffee spot. The wind leapt up ferociously flinging little flakes of white about but it didn't last long and didn't leave much on the ground. But as the sky grew heavier, I got more excited and then, from about 5.30pm beautiful fat flakes started being deposited all around! I insisted on a walk to the river after dinner to enjoy it all not realising that overnight the weather would work it's magic and we would awake on Monday morning to a proper winter wonderland!

Certainly I have been in thick snow before in Stockholm and in Switzerland but it's rather different when it sugar-coats your own space. And what a difference it makes to people! Just as in summer when the UK experiences a sultry day, the snow has the ability to melt people. Kids were throwing snowballs, adults were taking photos and snowpeople of every description popped up EVERYWHERE. There was even a guy who went skiing down our road! Of course, having a day off school and work helps - there was, and still is, very limited transport about - but I think even those who did go to work did so with a spring in their step. As for me, "Frosty the Snowman" and "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" were on repeat in my head and though I didn't manage to persuade Grant to pull me along on a sleigh, we did have a wee snowball fight down on Hampton Court Green last night.

Alas all good things must come to an end and the inevitable melt is underway. I'm still not sure whether we will have trains running from our station tomorrow as the tracks remain under snow and who knows, the weather experts are predicting more heavy snow again on Thursday so the fun could start all over again! Personally, I'm holding thumbs that it does!

Movember

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