Big Love

I love this song so much it makes my feet hurt.

Ho Ho Holborn

I love London, with all of its eccentricities, its colour and random street scenes like this. A city where you can stumble on things you can't find elsewhere, on things that make you laugh out loud, that infuriate you beyond belief. It really is like nowhere else on earth. Christmas is on its way - the best place to spend it....? Here.

Water, clouds and light

I'm not religious, but I can see how people think God is behind the clouds when it's as mesmerising as this. What beauty. All from some light and some water particles.

Always missing something

When I left for Australia, there was one thing that no-one told me would happen.... That I would fall in love with two cities, and that from that point onwards I would always miss someone. That's the thing about adventure - you're always looking for the next installment, yes. But more than that - you always have the memories of old to remind you of what and who you left behind.

I read, therefore I am.

How arbitrary, the stuff of books. How you settle into them, you pour over these visual forms with the hope of understanding what an author has to say about a place, an idea or a newly created personality. Reading is entirely subjective, with characters and scenes offered up by writers and deciphered by our own memories and dreams.

How wonderful it is to immerse yourself in a good book, to feel as though the story is going to go on without you if you put it down for a second, even to eat. How exhausting it can be when you feel the characters' pain so accutely and you transpose their fears and dreams onto your own life.

I often imagine what others think of the book I'm reading, what thoughts went through their minds when they read the same pages. I fell in love with a book that was given to me by a good friend and she became a frame of reference for every chuckle, every satisfied sigh and every goosebump that the book ignited. And I thought, when I finished, that this was a shared experience, an inclusive event that made me feel closer to her, the author and my own thoughts.

There's something about cities...

Standing at the top of the Menara Tower in KL, looking down on the sun setting over the city, lights everywhere, shadows creating a photograph before my eyes, I remembered why I was moving back to London...

I'm in love with cities - large, vibrant, exciting cities. There's so much potential, there are so many opportunities and you have so much to marvel at when you look over the forms of an urban centre.

Others may see clutter and mess and confusion. I see the future.

Wedding fever...

Wedding anyone? Everyone seems to be doing it. I remember a few years ago genuinely believing that my friends would buck the trend and avoid all that messy wedding stuff when we got to our late 20s, into our 30s. Oh how wrong I was!

Don't get me wrong, I love a good union of two souls. And I get ridiculously excited when my friends announce engagements and actually manage to tie the knot because I know, for them, it's a wonderful, perfect display of their love and commitment.

But despite the happy tears and congratulations, I am still amazed that everyone still follows the rules. OK, so the wedding day might be different (some of the versions in my friendship group have been truely amazing: eloping to New York, getting married on a beach, getting married on a boat sailing around Sydney Harbour) but I'm surprised by the fact that in the end tradition reigns. Even in this day and age?

Isn't there another option other than the traditional one where the bride changes her name and wears a huge diamond on her left hand? I respect that decision but I'm astonished that the alternative of going de facto, no rings and hyphenated names is still so rare.

I thought by the time my friends got the that age, half of us would refuse marriage and settle for commitment without paper. Maybe it's a surprise to me because MY parents chose the alternative (hence the two surnames: Woodrow from mum, Hill from dad) and this has been the norm for me up until now.

Maybe it's the linguistics degree I did with a module on the power of names that stops me wanting to change mine. Perhaps it's the sociology module which discussed the negative impact of marriage on women's success and development in modern society that stops me following other people's traditions. Maybe this whole tradition malarky is just too political for me....

That said, I do love a good wedding!

Living in Australia

Living in Australia is a treat. With its aesthetic appeal, outdoor focus and the balance of opportunity and quality of life it's a fantastic place to settle. Sydney truely is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Having spent 3 years living here, enjoying its delights and building a life for myself, the end is approaching. With 3 weeks remaining, I'm left pondering what this place offers, what its value is and whether I made the most of my time here. This country is vast, welcoming and exciting and I'm leaving, safe in the knowledge that I've used my time well.

Here are the 5 best things I did in Australia:

1. The SHE Boat Parties (or the 5 that I went to anyway...) showcase all that is right and good about Sydney: sunshine, sailing round the harbour with blue skies, blue water and lots of fun people to dance with.
2. Harbourlife 2006: Chuck Love headlining, new partnerships blossoming, Sydney Opera House behind us, lots of hands in the air and a lot of love flying around.
3. Boomerang Beach trip 2007: arguably one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Australia. Good friends, lots of crackers and dip, the BBQ roaring and the beach 30 seconds away. What else could you want or need?
4. Far North Queensland: diving with turtles, sharks and nemos up on the Great Barrier Reef; jungle surfing and canoing at Cape Trib; travelling through the topics watching the moody sky change from blue to grey in 5 minutes.
5. Visiting as many cities as possible: Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Brisbane, Hobart - they're all so different to each other and all have their own character, secret spots and wonderful vistas. I feel so lucky that I got to delve a little into all of them (sorry Adelaide I missed you out - next time!).
   

With my Australian passport and partner, fantastic memories and great friends that remain - I'm sure to return. This may not be my last stint of living in Australia.