A Royal Ramble - From Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey

As its The Big Day tomorrow, after work last night I decided to take full advantage of working in Central London and took a stroll along tomorrow’s procession route from Buckingham Palace down to Westminster Abbey. The sun was out, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and, although I’d forgotten my camera (doh!), I luckily had my trusty Blackberry on hand, so all was not lost.

On leaving work I made a bee-line for Oxford Circus to see the flags on Regent Street that everyone’s been chatting about. Funny how a few flags can result in so many photos being taken. People were literally queuing up and hanging off lamp posts just to get a good shot… including me!

Next stop: Selridges to indulge in a Lola’s Royal Wedding cupcake. I’d been planning to get one of these for weeks so imagine my JOY when the women serving me chirped “it’s buy one get one free today”  b-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t! There were none left with Kate & Wills pictures on, so I settled for the Diana engagement ring… and a Red Velvet.

Then it was on towards the Palace! It’s funny how the run up to the royal wedding has completely changed the vibes of London. People are more polite, laughing more and pub-goers spill out onto the streets on almost every corner of the city… although it’s quite possible it’s been more to do with the double bank holiday weekend bonanza and the glorious weather we’ve been experiencing! Either way though, it really is buzzing with good vibes, particularly in West London, and it’s an energy I’ve not felt since that week back in July 2005 when we had Live 8 and won the 2012 Olympic bid just a few days later. Everyone’s got Royal Wedding Fever, and here’s the evidence…

So after a lovely stroll through the evening sun in Green Park, I arrived at Buckingham Palace (the flag was flying, meaning Liz was at home!) to find a crazy mix of camera men, reporters, tourists, security dudes and policemen all milling about and soaking up the atmosphere.

Opposite the Palace they’ve build a massive studio building for the world’s news channels to broadcast from and behind it is a MASSIVE area of makeshift offices, broadcast equipment and who knows what else! Crazy. For a split second I stopped and considered the damage they were doing to the park, but that quickly subsided and was replaced by “this is BRILLIANT!” I don’t know what it is about massive events such as this, but I love the buzz and energy that surrounds them, and standing in front of the media HQ made me really miss my old job, working in the real media and being involved in the world.

Onwards along The Mall, where its Union Jacks galore!

Then I decided to cheat a bit (the wind was freezing, my feet hurt and my cakes were weighing me down!) by heading across the park and directly onto Horseguards Parade. I love this place. I love the tourists who pull crazy poses with the Guards who aren’t allowed to move. And I love that it’s the venue for the 2012 beach volleyball! :)

A quick walk down Whitechapel (including a quick “’Sup Dave!” whilst passing Downing Street and I arrived at a very VERY busy Westminster.

Now, I hate crowds of tourists. Last summer I got swept up in a group of 14-year old French tourists down near The Globe and just couldn’t get out *shudder*. But what I learned in Westminster was that, when it comes to roads, there’s safety in numbers ie. If 20 people walk out into the road the traffic has to stop. Which was excellent because it meant I was at the Abbey much quicker than expected. The only downside was that so was everyone else.

Squashed up against a load of tourists who didn’t speak English and scuttling around camera crews, I managed to take a couple of final pics (whilst frantically trying to protect my cupcakes) and got out of there as fast as I could!

Baring in mind this was two whole days before the wedding, the crowds were already too much for me to take, so kudos to anyone who braves the crowds in the morning!

Tomorrow I shall be watching from the comfort of my sofa, toasting to Kate & Wills for the glorious extra day off work… then I’m off to a Royal Wedding Reception par-tay, hopefully dressed as a corgi (if all goes to plan!) where I intend to get royally drunk! Yay to being British!

Happy Royal Wedding Eve!

How to Get an Australia Working Holiday Visa (for Brits)

If you’re a Brit and looking into taking a trip Down Under to work and travel, then the best visa for you is probably the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417).

I’m going to keep this short and simple because, from experience, if you’re reading something like this then you’re probably in the midst of a lot of research and could do without any unnecessary information and waffle. Here’s all you need to know…

[FYI – this is just a basic checklist for the ‘average Joe’. If you have any health issues, criminal convictions or anything like that then check out the Australian Government Dept. of Immigration and Citizenship website for the fine print.]

Who’s it for?

• Anyone wanting to travel and work in Australia on a short term basis
• Anyone aged 18-30 years old (must have turned 18, but not 31 on date of entry to Australia)

Main features

• Allows you to enter Australia within 12 months of your visa being granted
• Allows you to stay in Australia for 12 months, starting from your date of entry into the country. (You can leave and re-enter the country as many times as you like, but any time spent outside Australia does not extend the length of the visa.)
• Allows you to do any kind of work, however you can only work with the same employer for up to 6 months
• Allows you to study for up to 4 months. (Any longer and you need a Student Visa.)

Eligibility

• You must be outside Australia when you apply and when your visa is granted
• Must not have previously had any type of Working Holiday Visa for Australia
• Must not have any dependent children
• Must hold a passport from a participating country (The UK is one – huzzah!)
• You must have sufficient funds to support yourself and a bank statement to prove it. (Apparently AU$5000 is termed as ‘sufficient’ but I’m not sure how strictly this is enforced… I’ll let you know!)
• Must have an onward ticket out of Australia or enough money to buy your ticket home. (Again, I’ll let you know!)
  

How to apply

First of all you need to have these details handy: name, DOB, passport number, passport issue/expiry date, country of issue, issuing authority/place.

Secondly, grab your credit card. The WHV costs AU$235 which works out at about £150ish depending on the conversion rate.

Once you’ve got all that then head to the Australian Government Dept. of Immigration and Citizenship website by clicking HERE and fill out your application. Simples!

I applied for mine at about 9pm and was accepted by 11am the following day so, as long as you have a straight-forward application, it shouldn’t take too long too long to be confirmed.

Next step? Get planning your adventure!!!

Baby We Were Born To Run

This time last year, my wussy friend from the metaphorical boulder story and I somehow stupidly decided to run a 5k because “it might be fun”. So we trained, jumped on board the charity sponsorship train and ran until we couldn’t run anymore. Imagine Forrest Gump crossed with Phoebe from Friends.

Surprisingly, we managed to follow through our good intentions of keeping fit (well, sort of…) and completed our 5k without dying. The only downfall was the lengthy break from late summer to Christmas where the only things we ran for were local transport and happy hours... oops!

To add to our lack of dedication, this past Christmas was the first in six years where I wasn’t ill and, with the threat of illness beckoning from my sniffly and coughing parents, I didn’t waste any time as far as enjoying my food was concerned. Thus I more or less inhaled my Christmas dinner followed by two helpings of Christmas pudding, trifle and Christmas cake. And then a bit later on, some Cadbury roses… and half a chocolate orange… and some shortbread. You get the point. Anyway, by the time Christmas was over we could both physically feel the error of our ways and realised we’d arrived at the point where we needed to start running again before our arteries completely blocked. 

So here we are: we’ve been running regularly since the beginning of the year and have both commented on how much easier we’ve found it this time round. When we first started out last year, we ran 50 yards and practically fell on the floor. This time we were a little rusty but managed our usual training route without needing any breathing equipment or the emergency services. Huzzah! Problem was, what with the excitement / delirium of running 6.7k for the first time in four months without dying, the stupid parts of our brains kicked in and we somehow arrived at the conclusion that we should run a 10k. Not only that, but we needed to run a 5k beforehand to practice. Simples! 

I do often wonder how exactly my brain convinces me that these “brilliant plans” I come up with are in fact brilliant. They’re always followed by that same awful feeling you get when wake up hungover and realise you’ve drunkenly ordered everything off your Amazon wish list…

So what was originally an attempt to keep fit and stay active has developed into something much more. A year on, and it’s all about pride, self-worth and apparently achieving “good Australia legs”. One of my friends says I need to be fit enough to keep up with the hot Australian surfer guys and still look moderately attractive. This would be less daunting if we didn’t literally run around a lake towards a burger van every week! (I’m not even kidding about this – we indulge in a cheese burger or bacon roll as soon as we’ve crossed the finish line. Don’t judge.)

Aaaanyway, enough about that. In a nut shell, I’m running a 5k and a 10k this year and I’m doing it in aid of the British Heart Foundation and the RNLI. You can read more about the charities I support by visiting my new Charities page, or read about my involvement and even sponsor me by clicking HERE.

A Life Changing Fit of Rage

It’s been a couple of months now since I decided it was a good idea to move to the other side of the world where I know no one, have no job and nowhere to live. Ever since, I’ve been Google-ing everything, saving money and booking things like there’s no tomorrow, and for the moment I’m at a point where everything is sorted. So now that I’ve got all the necessaries out of the way, I’ve had time to kick back and think about what all this actually entails… leaving me somewhere between excitement and good old blind panic. 

At New Year, I remember saying to a friend that I had absolutely no idea what 2011 would bring me. I had no actual plans past the end of my pending hangover and the year ahead all felt a little bit bleak and uninspiring. Little did I know that only a few weeks later I would be making a decision that could potentially change the direction of my life forever. Here’s how it happened…

Back on Valentine’s Day, having had a less than perfect day at work (non-valentines related), I got home, posted my ranting national rail blog and in the midst of my work-related frustration and upset I figured that now - RIGHT NOW - was the opportune moment to set some life-changing cogs into motion. This is what I refer to as “hitting the wall”: the point where you drop to your knees, scream “I can’t take this annnnyyyymmmoooorrreeeee” and cry. Then decide to do something about whatever it is you’re screaming about, and then cry again because you’ve finally realised that you have the power to change your fate. 

A few weeks prior to that, a week or so before my 25^th birthday, a relative in Australia mentioned the job climate in her neck of the woods (she also mentioned the glorious weather she’d experienced during her weekend at the beach – not what you want to hear when you’re wrapped up in a blanket and can only see grey when you look outside) and how she always has travellers (of the non-gypsy variety!) working short-term at her company. Back then the notion of heading down under was instantly written off with a “ha! I WISH!” but nevertheless, she’d planted the thought in my mind and there it was - hanging in the vast spaces of my brain and rattled around my skull with every step I took towards my office.

As my birthday approached and the quarter century crisis kicked in, I realised that I was at a point where it was either sink, swim or hire a jet-ski to get the hell out of there. I remembered the previous year I promised myself that I would celebrate my 25^th having taken a positive step in my career, be renting my own home and have my own car. Or failing that, I’d be sat in the Rod Laver Arena watching Andy Murray loose another Australian Open. But instead here I was, one week away from that target and finding nothing had changed. My goals were still exactly the same. I had not moved. Then, exactly like in the cartoons, a light bulb appeared above my head and it all clicked. I knew exactly what I wanted and I started doing my research.

Flash back to Valentines Day and my fit of rage… I grabbed my passport, flung open my laptop and began filling out an application for an Australian Working Holiday Visa. Ten minutes later and I was done - finger poised over the submit button and ready to click. But then up popped the mini sensible version of myself on my left shoulder… “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not logical to simply up and move to the other side of the world. What if something terrible happens? There are sharks. BIG sharks. And they will… eat you.” But then BANG - on my right shoulder appeared the smiley, spontaneous and awesome version of myself who told Miss Snooze Stations over on the left where to go. So I took this photo…

A memento of the moment that could have possibly changed my life for the worse / better. Aaaaaaaaaand… CLICK. Done.

The next morning I received my confirmation email granting me a one year Visa and since that point everything has changed. I now have hope, something to work towards and the excitement and satisfaction of knowing I’m going to live out a life-long ambition. 

I’ve done ridiculous amounts of research, made lists, thrown lists away and spent hours figuring out how I could spend the year. I now have a vague idea of how I want things to pan out, but to be honest, I know that as soon as I land I’ll ditch my plans and simply go with the flow. Yay for adventure!

So instead of a plan, I’ve put together a bucket list of 25 things I want to do / accomplish while I’m there:

1. Be accepted for Visa

2. Get on the plane (alone) without panicking / crying

3. Find somewhere to live

4. Open a bank account 

5. Get a tax file number

6. Find a job

7. Sort out a mobile phone

8. Make some friends

9. Watch the sunrise over said new city

10. Learn a new sport / activity

11. Get a surf lesson from a local surfer

12. Sydney harbour bridge climb

13. Visit the Hunter Valley

14. Take a hot air balloon ride over the outback

15. Hike in the Blue Mountains

16. Go to the Australian Open

17. Visit Victor Harbour (family friends)

18. Visit the street in Melbourne where my parents used to live

19. Visit Tasmania (to meet a newly found family member)

20. Go whale watching

21. Learn to dive

22. Celebrate Australia Day / my birthday doing something typically Aussie

23. Go to Ayres Rock

24. Visit Canberra

25. Go kayaking with the dolphins

Number 1 can be ticked off and I’m sure there’s plenty more I’ll add over the coming months, but it’s not paramount that I do everything - I know I won’t be able to do all of them. Most importantly though, and if all goes to plan, the week I turn 26 I’m not going to be sitting at home, eating a whole birthday cake to myself and watching Andy Murray lose another Australian Open final. I’m going to be there. And on my birthday, Australia Day, I’ll be in the sunshine, eating a whole birthday cake to myself with a surf board under one arm and an inflatable Kangaroo under the other. Because that it my happy place.

Fits of rage – they’re underrated!