19 Sleeps To Go…Under The Stars With The Gipsy Kings

Posted on July 12, 2009 by Kym Hamer

I picked up a bit of last minute temping this week so my perfectly planned week of gym-going, blogging and washing all the bedding went out the window (it’s going to be one helluva shock to go back to working full-time again). But one thing that did not go ‘out the window’ (at 21 sleeps to go but I was too tired to wax lyrical yesterday) was seeing the Gipsy Kings live at Kew Gardens!

I’ve not ever been majorly into these guys, having only really heard their big hit, Bamboleo, back when they were A LOT younger. But I love Spanish/Latin music and J’s quite a Gipsy Kings fan so I got us some tix about 4 months ago…and after work on Friday we met in Richmond, me laden down with some divine picnic nibbles from Waitrose and J with our two folding deck chairs and strolled over to Kew Gardens…and had such a great night!

The support act, Motimba, started at 7.30 and warmed up the crowds for about an hour with a cruise-y Cuban mix of tunes, great background for us to enjoy our nibbles and a lovely bottle of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc. Then after a short ‘wee break’ (for us, not them!), the Gipsy Kings strummed their way into everyone’s hearts (and a fair few hips that were wiggling about!) with their passionate Latin melodies. Their passion for the music is just so inspiring and it took me right back to travelling in Spain in 2002 – where I bought a CD from a local Granada-ian band who entertained us at dinner one night and thought that the flamenco in Seville was one of the breath-takingly sexiest things I had ever seen.

There was nothing for it but for us to open a lovely bottle of South African Shiraz to accompany all this passion and fire…and speaking of fire, at 10.15 this was all topped off by some spectacular fireworks…

So I spent my ’21 sleeps to go’ under the stars with great music, and fireworks, with my lovely man – now THAT’s what I call a date night!

26 Sleeps To Go…BBQs & Spectator Sports

Posted on July 6, 2009 by Kym Hamer

It turned into a sunshine-y weekend in London and on Saturday afternoon, I joined about 17 others (including J) at a belated house-warming/engagement/watching-the-rugby/salute-to-summer bbq on the roof terrace at A&A’s. Fab weather, fab food & fab friends – a fab all-rounder…

(We so wanted to hold on to the bbq-ness of Saturday that we actually had our own bbq-for-2 at about 10pm last night. Yes, sad but true.)

And how about that tennis eh? You know, well-done to Roger Federer and all that but I must admit to a bit of emotional ‘tear-welling’ for Andy Roddick – so brave and humble in accepting his runner-up trophy (although how a big silver tray – difficult to display/a significant dust-collector – can be of any use to a bloke, I will never know…who ever thought of that as a fitting reward for 14 days of hard core tennis? I guess he could put his cheque on it….) I did really want him to win (my ‘fighting for the under-dog’ tendancies emerging) but at 14 games all in the 5th set I have to admit that I just wanted it to be over – spectator sports are simply exhausting!

And there’s news from the patch: This weekend I picked a small handful of dwarf french beans. Half a dozen tiny green tomatoes have also appeared and we are expecting courgettes (zucchinis for those in the know) any week now – let me tell you I cannot wait to bbq them as kebabs with peppers and halloumi (a wicked Were recipe garnered from Saturday’s food-fest).

26 sleeps to go…and it’s all happening…

29 Sleeps To Go…A Cool Grey Day

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Kym Hamer

Today is a cool grey day…

…and it rained last night. It’s not cold at all but the temperature is nowhere near the scorching levels of the last few days – a lovely respite from feeling constantly like a sweaty puddle of lethargy in un-airconditioned, not-built-for-any-heat UK.

There have already been a couple of little updates on the countdown to the big 4-0 too:

– My first present has arrived – courtesy of Mum and the ever-efficient Amazon Wishlist dispatched to my family last weekend as a bit of a fab-gift-for-Kym thought starter. However, J says I am not allowed to have it yet…boo hoo!

– J has organised my present (a landmark event in itself!) I…yes me…am going to Disneyland Paris for my birthday. YAY! WOOHOO!

What better way to celebrate 40 (or forty – which way looks better/more fun/less threatening? I am not sure – perhaps we could do a poll?) than to rush about behaving like a huge child with Mickey & co. You all should be VERY envious…

And I might just go on about it for…mmm…I dunno…maybe the next 29 days or so…

I love it when it’s all about me…

The Countdown Begins…

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Kym Hamer

For those of you who live under a rock or have been avoiding me for sometime, today is the today that I remind you that in exactly ONE MONTH, I will be turning 40.

That’s 31 shopping days…

(although if you live across the other side of the world – aka Australia – this probably means only 21 shopping days as it takes about 10 days for post to get here)

That’s also 31 sleeps…

The countdown begins…

A Little Heartbreaker…

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Kym Hamer

There’s been a little absence in my life over the past few days.

What with lots of to-ing and fro-ing between my place and J’s over the weekend, we decided to let Alfie Bear have a play date/sleepover at J’s with a few of his little friends.

This was on Sunday and I have not seen him since.

Today I received this photo, showing Alfie having a lovely time with all his new friends…

(That’s Alfie in the red hat and scarf)

J tells me that Alfie promises to come home tonight but how can I can compete with never-ending storytime? I’m heartbroken to be usurped so easily.

Motherhood is a thankless task….

Muscles & A Minor Heatwave…

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Kym Hamer

A miracle has happened…London is having a summer! Not only that but this week will represent a veritable heatwave for Ol’ Blighty with temps forecast at 33C for the quarter finals at Wimbledon on Wednesday. And let me tell you, it’s sticky, sticky, sticky…a good burst of rain would certainly freshen things up no end although moaning about the weather would make me sound dangerously British so please take note – I am merely ‘suggesting’ a rain dance…and purely for the benefit of my veggie patch…

J is at Wimbledon today being entertained by not only the action on Centre Court but also in the air-conditioned confines of The Gatsby Club (so he told me when he rang earlier today from the Champagne Reception…green-with-envy is not my best colour…), leaving me to limp around in the heat after a gruelling gym session yesterday morning.

You see, I decided that I needed to add a bit more variety into my weekday Esporta exploits and, having availed myself of a freebie personal training voucher, decided to put myself into someone else’s hands for an hour on a Sunday morning. I thought I managed quite well during the session and, apart from feeling unbelievably tired at about 6pm yesterday and a few minor groans this morning when I woke up, was pleased that the aftermath was at least bearable…that is until I got up, and walked around, stretching and squatting to get to things on various shelves in the kitchen. Ouch!

There are those muscles up the sides of your thighs and the ones at the front just above your knees, not to mention my upper arms (all over) and my ‘glutes’ – if I don’t move things are fine but just a tiny shift is enough for any or all of these to send me a little reminder that they are there…and not best pleased at being woken after such a long period of inactivity!

I promised my friend A that we would walk in Richmond Park for an hour this arvo – but shhh. Please don’t chuckle too loudly (at the very least cover your gleeful grin with your hand) or my legs may just go on out strike or demonstrate vigorously in protest – and who knows how much that will hurt!

The Hunt For The Perfect Job…

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Kym Hamer

Gidday chaps…sorry to be a bit quiet over the last few days…

This week has seen me take a brief sojourn back to my student days, getting up REALLY early to go to a course EVERY day (that’s 5 days in a row and I am out of practice!) and well, whilst my body got really tired, my head got REALLY full. Too full, in fact, to get anything out that was remotely sensible and/or spelt correctly (enough for you to recognise the gist anyway). You see, I have just finished an intensive, week-long course to get my Prince2 Practitioner accreditation.

A what? I hear you ask…

Prince2 is a formal accreditation for Project Management practitioners and as I’ve done so much change and project management during my career, I thought it might be a good idea to get the badge to go with the experience and then add Project Management opportunities into my ‘Hunt-For-The-Perfect-Job’.

I have not done exams since I left uni (we did two this week, sitting the final one this morning) and I’d forgotten that quiet, unspeakable stress, that tight knot in your stomach and that nervous intake of breath that occurs just before you read that very first question – hoping and praying that the answer will be blindly obvious and that all the swotting you did will pay off.

The good news is that, when I turned the paper over and started to read, it made sense. And at the end of the exam – excluding a few random thoughts like ‘What if I filled in the answer sheets upside down/the wrong way?’ and ‘What if I am not the clever clogs I think I am and don’t know as much as I thought?’ – I felt confident enough that I passed.

The bad news is…I won’t find out for 4-6 weeks.

Hrrruuumph…I hate waiting…

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of…

Posted on June 21, 2009 by Kym Hamer

In honour of J’s daughter turning 16 last month, we decided to treat her to a trip to the ballet – not just any ballet but the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden – as she has danced for years (and years) but has never been to see the ‘real thing’.

So Friday night we got ourselves a little glammed up to see the final performance of the triple bill, Jewels. Notwithstanding the climbing of the 193 steps at Covent Garden tube station (rather than waiting with the hordes for the lift) – a feat I am not at all keen to repeat – A & I had time to start the evening with a ‘drink at the bar’ of a rather lovely restaurant in Floral St, with A enjoying a foamy cafe latte and me, a well-deserved (or so I thought) G&T.

J joined us then for a back stage tour before the performance – A’s cousin/J’s nephew is a First Artist with the Royal Ballet so he (L) walked us past rehearsal studios, break out areas, opera sets and a rack of tutus so unbelievably tiny before leading us onto the stage…

…YES THE STAGE.

Looking out into the empty auditorium was an amazing feeling and despite the fact none of we numpties thought to take a picture, the experience of it will stay with me for a long time to come.

Anyway, on with the show…in three distinct parts: Emeralds, a traditional take on English ballet, Rubies, a contemporary piece showing the impact of the arrival of the New York Ballet style (mine & J’s personal fave) and then Diamonds, a beautiful, elegant ending incorporating the style of the Russian ballet (the one L appeared in and A’s fave). A quick supper afterwards and we were on the second to last tube home – quite a successful night all round.

I just have this to say…

…I stood on the empty stage at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden…

It’s the stuff dreams are made of!

Defiance

Posted on June 19, 2009 by Kym Hamer

We watched a great dvd last night – Defiance. It’s based on the true story of the Bielski brothers who hid and led almost 1200 Jews through the Belarusan forests away from the Nazis during WWII. Whilst it starts slowly, as the forest community takes shape and everyone finds their new place, so does the film and themes like ‘an eye for an eye’ vs ‘turn the other cheek’, and the cost of life itself play over and over again. At the end of the film, the notes say that the two older Bielski brothers went to New York and continued to work together for more than 30 years – and that today, there are tens of thousands of Bielski descendents around the world.

I still find it difficult to believe that the horror of the Holocaust went on unabated for so long and that there are people around the world who actually don’t believe that it happened at all. We were fortunate enough during high school to meet a Holocaust survivor and when I remember his stories and the dignity with which he valued his life and honoured his beliefs, I still feel moved.

But what was so inspiring about the movie is the community that was created – where everyone participated and worked and received the same reward and recognition of their part in return – and the courage of these people to believe and to act when Tuvia Bielski led them away from the familiarity of their ghetto to a life ‘worth fighting for’ – both frightening in different ways but perhaps the unknown more so. Watch this movie and I reckon it will raise questions about humanity – including your own.

You can click on the blog title to view the trailer for yourself.

Aussie Boy Made Good…

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Kym Hamer

There has been much mooning and dreamy talk about Robert Pattison (Twilight) and Chris Pine (Star Trek, The Princess Diaries 2) over recent weeks, and while that’s all well & good, I want to add one of my own – Simon Baker.

Young Simon (Baker-Denny) first came to my attention in Aussie Soap E Street in 1989 and like a fine, fine red wine, has simply improved with age. Even playing bad boy Christian Thompson in The Devil Wears Prada did not divert me and with twinkling eyes and ‘ever-so-naughty’ smiles abounding in his current lead role as Patrick Jane in the Mentalist, is it any wonder that the baddies always crumble…I know I would…sigh!!!!!

ps…he’s quite a good actor too, no really he is…truly!
pps…I learned today that he is only 2 days older than me, making him a fellow Leo/Rooster – surely his wife and three children can’t compete with that?
ppps…J has Keira Knightley to go weak-knee-d about – so by my calculations, we are even…

Gidday from the UK

Thoughts on life from an Aussie sheila in the UK