Non-Foodie Friday!

My goodness, I am WAAYYYY overdue for an update, this week has been so crazy.  I have LOADS to tell you.  I will work on an update post for tomorrow so I will be up to date!  Promise!!

On Wednesday (Hump Day History) I was gonna post a guest post by a fellow 20-Something Blogger but we both got busy and got delayed.  So I'm posting it now, just a little late!  So Foodie Friday will have to wait til next week.  I hope you enjoy this special post!

So, without further ado, this guest post is brought to you by Misha, who is also an expat.  She's is Polish/Swedish living in Australia.  To check out her adventures (and to read my guest post in the coming days) you can check out her blog HERE!  Enjoy!

Firstly, do not fear, Amanda’s blog has not been kidnapped by an evil overlord. We are simply taking part in the 20 Something Blog Swap, so I’ll be hanging out here for the day! Make sure to check out Amanda’s guest-post over at my blog – Endlessness Ego.

Secondly, the introduction!  Hello  everyone, I’m blogging from down under,  that massive chunk of land known as Australia (where yes, in fact, we do eat our kangaroos), and  I have been here for the past 4.5 years. Originally I’m born and raised in Sweden, with polish roots.  How on earth did I end up on the other side of the globe? Initially I came here to study and finish my undergrad in film, but managed to extend my studies so I’m on the verge of finishing my Masters in film as well.  

The fantastic thing that everyone kept telling me about with Australia, is that it’s pretty much a case of endless summer. That is of course not the complete truth. Yes, it doesn’t exactly snow here or get ass-freezin cold as I’m used to back in Sweden, but we do have our “winter” season – it rains. However, this only lasts around 3-4 months. The rest of the year is… yes,  I’d call it summer. 

There is one thing that amazes me though. It was only upon my very first weeks in Australia that I actually got a tan. Life kind of gets the hold of you and miraculously the summer has passed and you’re still… pale as a sheet. How is it possible to miss out on all these opportunities to hang out on the beach all day long? Oh yes, that’s right. I work night-shifts. Being a full-time student results in part-time work and I have earned my income in the hospitality industry – in nightclubs behind bars.

This summer however, remember everything is upside-down here in Oz,  we’re going through the winter season while your summer is about to end, I will capture every bit of that endless summer. I will surf. I will skateboard. I will ride my bike. Usually I spend too much time with my laptop, or playing Xbox, or catching up on TV-shows. But no, this summer, I’m embracing being wild and free and outdoorsy. It’s insane how I always got more out of my summers when there was less of it when I lived in Europe, than when I am in the country of summer.

I got a quick preview of the summer-life when I very briefly visited Europe in June. It’s wonderful how you can manipulate so that you constantly have summer, as long as you change destination. Imagine that, always living and breathing summer. What a carefree lifestyle! That’s exactly what the corporate zombies that we’re turning into need. Carpe that endless summer, and carpe it with pictures of course… Oh snap!

xoxoxo
Amanda

HUMP DAY HISTORY!

Welcome to the middle of the week, friends!

I am SO pleased that summer has finally showed up here!  The past 5 days have been sunny, warm, and rain free.  I'm loving it. 

As such, we've spent quite a bit of time outdoors over the last few days.  Here's a little review!

On Saturday we helped our friends move to a nearby neighborhood.  Going up and down stairs with heavy boxes really gave my calves a workout!  In the afternoon, we checked out the Worthing Lions Club Festival Market with loads of merchants/food stalls along the seafront.



Found at a discount book stall--It's Waldo with a different alias



Blown glass, pretty sweet



That's a lot of slushies!

On Saturday we also got our bedroom furniture delivered (yay!  finally a place for my underoos and shirts!)  so we spent much of the afternoon assembling them.  Of course these things always come in about 14,205,356 pieces and I can never understand the instructions.  Good thing Kieran was there to make sure I wasn't building things upside down.  By the time we finished, I was so knackered from the day's events, I passed out early.

Sunday was brilliant, a group of us went to nearby Arundel read about the history of this castle! to get a tour of the castle and to see the "Medieval Encampment" and jousting match!

Check out this video I took:

It was so much fun!  Poor hubby (and our other fair skinned friends) got nasty sun burns, but nothing a little aloe can't sort out.  Sunday night we knuckled down and FINALLY selected our wedding pics for our album and prints.  PHEW! No easy task, we were exhausted yet chuffed with ourselves for having accomplished it.  One less thing to worry about!

Monday morning I had a lovely bike ride with my father-in-law.  It was the maiden voyage of my newish bike (walking it home from the shop on the day I bought it doesn't count).  We biked down to Shoreham and walked around the grounds of a 900 year old church (I know it's morbid, but I love old graveyards).  Then he showed me the Shoreham houseboats moored along the River Adur.  It's amazing the creativity (and talents with a soldering tool) in these houseboats, I had never seen anything like it!

source

How cool is that?!

After cycling back, grocery shopping, and lugging full bags home over a mile, I was done with the day's fitness.


Today was the first HOT day in England terms.  About close to 80F.  I had been so spoiled with 65F weather, today felt sweltering.  It was the first time I was actually uncomfortable in the flat.  Not gonna lie, I did my household chores in my underoos.

So that's the last few days, in a nutshell!  Now on to today's history lesson:

BT's Speaking Clock Turns 75!

The other day I was watching the news and saw a story about Britain's "speaking clock" and how it recently celebrated its 75th anniversary (24 July, to be exact).  From 1936 til today, one can dial "1-2-3" from any BT phone and get the precise time.  Not in the UK?  No problem, you can dial +44 871 789 3642 from the U.S.!

The Speaking Clock is a national institution and part of Britain's Heritage.  It was originally introduced in 1936 for people who did not have a watch or clock. 

Around 30 million calls every year are made to the speaking clock, which was nicknamed "Tim" because originally the line could be called by dialing the corresponding numbers (846)

Initially the accuracy of the clock was one-tenth of a second, but today it is accurate to within five thousandths of a second. Even Big Ben uses the service to check its accuracy.

The "voice" of the clock is almost as famous as the service itself, with only four permanent voices ever used. The fourth, and current, voice is Sara Mendes da Costa, who became the clock's voice in April 2007 after winning a nation-wide contest. 

So why do so many people still call this service now that we have computers, cell phones, and digital clocks/watches?  Some just get a kick out of it and its historical significance.  Others use it to define the exact moment of a holiday or special occassion (i.e. New Years).  Reportedly there are several phone calls made just before 5pm, when customer service staff are trying to avoid having to take a lengthy phone call at the end of the day.
Source1
Source2
Source3

Thanks for reading!

Amanda xxx