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| Amyjoanna.co.uk |
| A fun and informative look at life through the eyes of a twenty-something travelling architectural history student who is fascinated by fashion, politics, science, art, food, books and music. |
| Language: English |
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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Visitors Out: 303 |
| Total Visitors Out: 303 |
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| Aussie winters? Actually they’re pretty cold… |
| 2008-06-23 20:10:28 |
I spend a fair bit of time travelling in cold climate countries. The coldest I’ve ever been was in Oslo (Norway) in mid-January, when one night the temperature dipped to -18 C. I learned that at that temperature it doesn’t matter how many layers you have on, how fast you walk to warm up or [...]...
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| Updates and promises I’m not dead, etc. |
| 2008-06-01 18:19:24 |
Hi. Further to my previous post, I am still working working working on Desirable.co.uk. I’m also completely swamped with writing work which is A. Good. Thing., especially considering Rob and I were up in Edinburgh Wednesday and Thursday just gone looking at places to rent and we now have a better idea of our budget.
Here [...]...
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| Dear blog, |
| 2008-05-22 02:53:24 |
I know, I’ve been neglecting you. I’ve been letting other things get between us. If I were you, I’d break up with me.
I know this will sound like an excuse, but I have been meaning to write. The other day I had big plans to discuss kitchen politics with you. Yesterday I was going to [...]...
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| I’m back and feeling better! |
| 2008-05-15 09:23:38 |
Top: Menu mistakes - who serves an apricot tart with green beans and potatoes?
Bottom Left: The Victoria & Albert Museum
Bottom Right: Crockery on sale in the V&A Museum Shop
I’m finally improved from my strange virus which, as it turns out, school children all over North Wales have been suffering from as well. On Tuesday [...]...
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| Eurgh… |
| 2008-05-08 06:32:30 |
Apologies for the lack of updates lately. I have some sort of mystery virus that includes feeling queasy all the time, having an absolutely splitting headache, and feeling like my brain is too big for my skull. I’m almost convinced it’s glandular fever, but who knows. Anyway, updates will be less frequent than usual until [...]...
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| The tapeworm tablet diet… is it real? |
| 2008-05-05 18:26:05 |
Although all my clothes still fit me I know I’ve managed to gain a tiny bit of weight while on holidays in Italy (and who wouldn’t, with all that gorgeous pastry and pasta?), so I’ve been pondering whether I should go on a diet. Jokingly, I emailed one of my best friends Kate (who [...]...
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| Bank Holiday weekends are evil. |
| 2008-05-05 07:13:03 |
I have a keen dislike for Bank Holiday weekends. For starters, I have to say that I think the Australian term for having an official nation-wide ‘day off’ from work is far more accurate than the British term. We Aussies refer to these blessed days as ‘Public Holidays’, because that’s exactly what they [...]...
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| Did you ever know that you’re my hero? |
| 2008-05-01 10:45:24 |
I’m reading the biography of Beatrix Potter at the moment, and her life story has really inspired me. I was familiar with her background already - I knew she’d remained unmarried until quite late in her life, and I knew she’d pushed to have her books published even when it may have been considered [...]...
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| Tuesday Tie-Up #3 |
| 2008-04-29 12:41:09 |
I’ve been away in Italy, so I expect this Tuesday Tie-Up will be short and sweet. If only life was always this simple.
I’m working my butt off over at Desirable.co.uk, but completely behind the scenes so to speak. This means I feel like I’m getting no where, although I probably am getting somewhere. Only time [...]...
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| The wonders of Italian food |
| 2008-04-28 08:49:40 |
Now that I’ve had time to sleep and recover from the RyanAir flight from hell, I’m feeling much more inclined to talk about all the delicious Italian food I’ve sampled over the last two weeks.
The Antipasto:
One of the best things about Italy is the antipasto, which is effectively the dish you eat first with your [...]...
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| As much as I love Italian food… |
| 2008-04-27 17:15:47 |
…it sure is good to be back in the land of roast dinners and cups of tea. Nevertheless, my passionate love affair with Italy continues, and I’m even more convinced that I could happily live there at some point in the future (as long as I didn’t have to drive anywhere or queue for any [...]...
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| Ciao! |
| 2008-04-14 13:35:25 |
Tomorrow morning at an ungodly hour Rob and I are off to Italy for two weeks. We’re flying into Rome (via Ryan Air so who knows how that will go… last time we flew to Rome on Ryan Air we had to beat old ladies with fur hats and kids with bags of duty free [...]...
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| The UK versus AUS continues: terminology differences |
| 2008-04-13 07:34:08 |
One of the things that never fails to cause an argument in my house is what words are used to describe certain objects. Terminology is a funny thing - even if you understand the word the other person uses to refer to an object or item, you still will only use the word you’re [...]...
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| Fun Fact Friday: Meet the killer platypus |
| 2008-04-11 10:04:31 |
They might look cute and cuddly, and people may flock to Australian wildlife parks and zoos to see them, but did you know that the platypus can actually give you a poisonous sting?
The platypus is immortalized on the Australian twenty cent piece, has been a mascot for Australian cultural and sporting events (such as the [...]...
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| Fish and Chips… which would you prefer? |
| 2008-04-11 07:59:36 |
One thing I just don’t understand about the UK is the fascination most Brits seem to have with preparing fish and chips in a way that makes the dish basically inedible. Above you can see two versions of the classic take-away food - on the left is the UK variety, on the right, the Australian. [...]...
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| Books, books, books |
| 2008-04-09 13:27:58 |
After spending all day yesterday in front of the computer hammering through some copywriting work I felt like I needed to get out of the house today. One of my favourite places to hang out when I’m over here in the UK is at the huge Borders we have nearby. It has the best selection [...]...
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| Tuesday Tie-Up #2 |
| 2008-04-08 11:47:41 |
Another week, another summary post. As I’ve been away over the weekend in Edinburgh, have been trying to get my new blog up (more about that in a sec), and have been trying to catch up on work, I haven’t really had a whole lot to say over the past week. Here’s a short summary [...]...
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| Back from the land of the Scots |
| 2008-04-07 06:14:18 |
As predicted, it did snow while we were in Edinburgh - but while we were asleep. By the time we woke up on Sunday morning it had melted away, but in the countryside between Edinburgh and Carlisle it was still thick on the ground.
As for Edinburgh itself, Rob and I have decided we much [...]...
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| Fun Fact Friday: Queen Victoria of Britain disliked Queen Elizabeth I |
| 2008-04-04 10:24:47 |
Queen Victoria, the ruler of the United Kingdom for a large part of the nineteenth century (she reigned from 1837 to 1901), was one of Britain’s most loved queens. Although she had a tough time following the death of her husband, Prince Albert, and was criticized by the press for remaining in mourning for her [...]...
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| How to publicize a new blog |
| 2008-04-02 10:55:51 |
As you may already know if you read yesterday’s Tuesday Tie-Up, I’m in the middle of setting up a new blog for all my jewellery, fashion, homewares and gadget finds. The easy part of the process is done - I have the website up and running, and I’m starting to put some content onto [...]...
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| Tuesday Tie-Up #1 |
| 2008-04-01 15:41:19 |
I’m taking a leaf out of Ben’s book and starting a weekly tie-up post for all the loose ends and admin stuff I have (not that there’s a huge amount, but I like to think I’m important).
- I’m working on developing a new blog in a similar vein as Kaboodle Blog and Rare Bird Finds, [...]...
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| Bridging the cultural divide - being Australian in the UK |
| 2008-03-31 07:00:37 |
I do dearly love the UK. The weather, the gardens, the football, the culture that seems somehow a part of me even though I wasn’t born here; all are reasons I keep coming back. Each time I return, however, I’m reminded of how different I am to the norm, simply because I’m Australian. [...]...
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| The Top 10 UK Online Stores |
| 2008-03-29 11:27:21 |
Picture this: it’s a grey, miserable day which you’re forced to spend inside with the future-in-laws and your PlayStation-playing boyfriend. Even though it’s Saturday (prime shopping day), you’ve got no chance of convincing anyone to accompany you into town for a browse through the stores. Faced with an afternoon of boredom (’We [...]...
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| Kid speak, part one |
| 2008-03-28 13:30:56 |
Me: Andrew, why are you driving the wrong way round the Mario Kart track?
Victoria (aged 8): It’s because Andrew is full of ignorance.
Me: He’s full of ignorance?
Victoria: Yes, but I don’t know what ignorance means.
Andrew (aged 5): Ignorance!!! Yeaahahaha!
Victoria: What does ignorance mean?
Me: Er, it’s kind of like being really silly.
Victoria: Yes, well then Andrew [...]...
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| What’s in a name? Quite a bit of trouble, actually… |
| 2008-03-27 13:48:33 |
I’m one of those annoying people who loves naming inanimate objects. And not just the car either (’Jeremy’), but the super-duper coffee machine (’Santo’), each computer I’ve ever owned (my ASUS, ‘Beatrice’; and my new Inspiron 1525 - in Espresso Brown no less - ‘Gino’), and every other phone (’Baby Beatrice’) or camera (’Penelope’) that’s [...]...
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| Spring cleaning eBay style |
| 2008-03-26 14:08:36 |
Rob and I will be looking for a new place to rent soon, either in Edinburgh or London - depending on whether I decide on Edinburgh University or University College London (U.C.L.), both of which I’ve been accepted to. Either way, we’ll have to pack up most of Rob’s stuff (which is currently residing [...]...
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| The UK: the good, the bad, and the downright ugly |
| 2008-03-25 06:48:26 |
Tower Bridge, London
I love the UK, and I have ever since I set foot in the country all those years ago and walked through Customs in Heathrow without seeing a single person getting their luggage checked. That being said, there are some things I simply don’t understand about the UK and probably never [...]...
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| The criminal cost of wine in the UK |
| 2008-03-22 11:27:10 |
Rob and I popped down to Tescos today to pick up some bits and pieces, and after we’d battled our way through the obstacle course of overflowing shopping trolleys pushed by frazzled mothers we made it to the relative calm of the wine aisle. The Tescos wine aisle and I have a bit of [...]...
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| Sleet and daffodils… welcome to North Wales! |
| 2008-03-21 12:21:22 |
Rob and I arrived midday yesterday and, having slept for 16 hours straight last night, we decided we’d go for a walk. Yes, it was sleeting, and yes, it was forecast to snow, and yes, we had come from 26 C weather in Brisbane. We’re tough (and stupid).
More tomorrow when I’m not jetlagged!...
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