Good God, Theres more of them!

For the past week, I have been staying with my old mans brother and his family in the very not sunny district of Blackburn. Having never ever seen him in the flesh, and only talked to him very briefly on the phone, i was very excited to see the other side of the Banks family which i have heard so little of.

For the first 2 days, my dads brother Clive was home alone (looking after 3 dogs and 4 cats) as his wife Judy and their lovely daughter Sadie were on holiday in Ireland.

So first thing, Clive thought it would be a good idea to take a trip down memory lane and visit where they grew up in Rishton and visit my dads old grammar school where he apparently went down in history as recieving Dux's of the college which the records are still there now.

The Family Home

The Study house! Apparently Ernest's mum couldn't stand any books lying around the family home so he had to study at a family friends house.

Fathers Grammar School

When Judy and Sadie returned from their holilday, Clive, Sadie and myself headed off to the lakes district.

The lakes district was quote ''RICH IN VEGETATION'' (Sadie) and rather wet. It didn't stop raining all day.

Next we were off to meet aunty Christine as shown below.

From the left we have Jim, Aunty Christine, Sadie and Uncle Clive

Little Moses. The newest addition to the Banks family.

Preparing to show the youngesters how to have a big night out with Sadie's friends.

Clives wife Judy. She was hard to capture on camera but i got this one while she wasn't looking

Clive myself and Sadie

For my final day, the sun decided to pop out so we headed to Blackpool! Blackpool is home to Englands biggest fun park fittingly named the Pleasure Park!



The Blackpool Spire.

The Sling. A exciting ride which involved gettting winched high between two towers then slung over the ocean.

Clive, Judy and Sadie truely made me feel like one of the family during my stay. I had a ball staying at the Banks Household and i wish them all the best for the future. Rumour has it Clive and Sadie will be making a trip down under so look out Australia.

Back To Skool

It was a blast from the past, well not really as i never lived in off campus student accommadation. For the last couple of days, Anya and Becky very kindly offered me a fun packed 5 days of madness in the uni district of Birmingham. I met Anya Beckie while they were on holiday in Lanzarote. On their departure, they said i had to come to Birmingham and live the uni life once more.

In their final year of a geography degree, and having a strenous 2 days at uni per week, they made sure i saw the sites and experienced the exciting nightlife Birmingham has to offer. Upon arrival, Becky had already got costumes ready for the first night at the uni bar. The night was Sports night, where all the sporting associations dress up in a different theme and just get absolutely plastered. We dressed up as the 118'ers, which unfortunately shows a little to much of my pasty white skin

Me, Becky and Anya


After a few.

Recovering after the one of the worst hangovers i have experienced, we were to back it up at VOD BALL. Yes, thats right, a party sponsored by Redbull. Here you could buy a vodka red bull for a mere £1.25. The night is held at this massive night club where thousands crammed into.
Hard to show just how many people were here.

On day 3, we visited the Snowdome. A indoor sking and snowboarding centre at Tamworth. The runs were a little short, but the snow was actually really good. It definetly wet the appetite for the european ski season.

But its indoors....i will be fine in jeans and a jumper. It was a wet ride home!

Becky had left the big one for the final night of mayhem. GODS KITCHEN! The premier night club in Birmingham, and known world wide. Miss Many Penny and Frenchman David Guetta were the main acts. www.godskitchen.com

Ahhhh yay

This dude was definetly freaking a few people out.

I cannot thank Becky and Anya enough for my days in Birmingham. They put a roof over me, feed me, washed me (i wish) and kept me entertained for the whole time. Secretly i think i was the excuse not to do any uni work and to party every day and night. I wish you two all the best and hopefully see you in Australia sometime in the future.

World Record Pub Crawl Event!

What do most or nearly all Londoner's do, well aussies in London do? Drink! To embrace the culture, my good friend Kat entered us into the Guiness World Record Pub Crawl Attempt. The logistics were, 15 teams of at least 150 people, drinking at least one drink in 10 different pubs scatterd around central London. To make it official, everyone was sporting a stylish white t-shirt and armed with a coupon that had to be stamped at every pub visited. The day started early at 8pm and drinking commenced at around 11. By the end of the day, i was still standing and had successfully visited every pub required.
Everyone converging at Trafalgar Square for the morning photo.
What are friends for. The blonde on the left felt a little sorry for the big man.

The offical photo's of the world breaking event can be seen at http://www.bugbitten.com/blogs/Unassigned/TimTheTourman/World_Record_Pub_Crawl_Attempt_October_14_2006.html

Amsterdam

Whoa...wierd but cool town and the red light district is..lets just say different!

Arriving in Amsterdam, i was not sure on what to expect. Rollling into the Flying Pig Hostel mid morning, i was confronted by the front room in the hostel with cushions everywhere and everyone stonned out of their heads. And it was only 10:30am. The usual activities for most was to wake up get high, eat, sleep, wake up, get high....This happens about 3 times a day.

The red light district. As tourists are not allowed to take pictures, i will try to briefly describe it. The red light district is a whole bunch of apartments located alongside a number of canals. Each apartment will have a lit up window facing the street where the ladies sit and try to alure people passing by. In the windows you have the option of everything from blonde, brunette, ginger to big black mumma's, older more mature women to chicks with dicks. Something for everyone i guess.

Madam Tusows was in Town. Love Kylie

Not wanting to feel totally left out, I went to a live sex show with a few guys from the hostel. The set up was basically like a movie cinema where people (nearly all asian) would sit and watch couples and girls perform a variety of shows. The opening act started with a young lass with the unusal talent of being able to smoke a cigar with her errrr, lets just say not her mouth! Next up was a couple going at it followed by a bit of audience participation where a loud drunken australian got dragged up on stage got given the whipping of his life by a women dressed in bondage. Very Funny. The rest of the performances were of similar taste which doesn't need any more explaining.

I firstly apologise to everyone for the photo but thought it is worth showing. So i was told, this is Long John Silver who has the biggest ''eyes'' ever. Note, the woman in the photo is not Pauline Hanson but a bloody good look alike.

So now its off to London where hopefully i will meet up with a few friends i know and very much looking forward to seeing my uncle, aunty and cousin which i have never met before!

Paris

Swapping the board shorts, singlet and lathering of suncream for long pants, shoes, t-shirt and jumper, I arrived in Paris on a frosty morning ready to see the sights and party Paris Style. Arriving at the "Peace and Love Hostel" the joys of backpacking came flooding back to memory. Stuck on the top floor, no lift and being crammed into a room not much bigger than my cupboard with 2 other backpackers, it was the perfect motivation to get out and explore and see what all the fuss is about in Paris.

The first thing that comes to me about Paris is its a fooking big big busy city. People and tourists are everywhere, the traffic is crazy but it all seems to roll on with not much hassle. I don't think i need any explanation of where the following pictures are taken.



The view from the top looking over something important.

Me

Been there, done that

On my last day, i caught up with a couple of French dudes who i became friends with at Windsurf Paradise. They took me out for a nice lunch in suburbs of Paris. Christophe has unfortunately severly broken his arm and my god it was swollen..He could press his fingers into his arm and the skin would take a minute to go back to shape.



1, 2, 3 and 4 jet streams crossing each other and a rooster.

Next stop Amsterdam.

An Open Letter To Duncan...

Admin guy and self appointed mentor thomasr "guest posts" on this blog, regarding the possible return of the Dunc...

Our Dearest Duncan,

Well me lad, you did it. You went away: worked, worked 'em over and it all worked out.

We (That is The Tone and I) were chatting (funilly enough @ Stevo's launch party) and we get the distinct impression that you might be ready to set sail for Australia.

In short: bloody don't. We think you should stay away for longer. We think you need to hit 12 months out of country at least. You have a job waiting for you- whether back at the old gig or not. You're ripe for the picking for any company; you have the uni marks and the working experience. You can now add worldly experience to your CV; don't underestimate how much this will be valued when you return and crank out the CV's and applications.

Perhaps 12 months working in the UK with frequent foray into Europe might be the go... What about settling for a year in Holland or Sweden? Plenty of English spoken there olde bean.

Anyhoo- see the comments, feel the vibe.

Regards

Thomasr (and Tone)

AM I CRAZY?

Well Paradise has finished with a very quick jolt to the system. After a very drunken last night in Lanzarote, I have now arrived in Paris and guess what? Its fooking cold and i haven't slept for 2 days! Having to fly to Gatwick London first, and getting a face full on the fresh night air, i must admit i really had second thoughts about leaving my beach side apartment in Lanzarote. And of course the day i left, it was blowing a gale (I still got a sail in thou) and the Island had the best forecast i have seen while i was there. Typical...

A big thanks and farewell goes to the crew and Windsurf Paradise and all the other friends i made while i was there. They really made me feel at home and its definetely a place i could escape to in the future. Just to make my last day even more emotional, the team very kindly gave me some binnoculars (a bit ironic because i was really suppose to use them while on baywatch...just kidding carsten!), a photographed signed copy of the team posing including the Hoff and a lasting supply of rubbers.

To the Lanzarote crew, if your ever in my next of the woods one day, make sure you give me a email to catch up as i have a lot of favours to repay to everyone.

And also a special thanks to Donny who is a good friend of Carsten and got me in touch with Windsurf Paradise.