Tag: home

10 Reasons I Love Croydon

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*Updated in February 2020. Thanks to some great Instagrammers for the photos. It’s now been over a year and a half since we moved to Croydon. It’s safe to say that as we get closer to the 2 year landmark, I’ve fallen a little bit in love with Croydon.  As my knowledge of the local area has grown, my list has five new additions as to why I love Croydon and why it’s an amazing place to live. 1. Surrey Street Market The Surrey Street market has been in Croydon for about 800 years. It predominantly sells fresh fruit and …

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The Joys of Not Travelling

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Yes, the title is correct. You’re reading a travel blog about the joys of not travelling. I’ve written before about how much I love being home after travelling. I admire those who do travel long-term, as a career, but that’s not the life for me. At least, not at the moment. Mitch and I moved home for various reasons, one of which was to settle down for a while, save some money, be nearer family and enjoy UK events. We’re attending a fair few weddings and events this summer, as well as planning our own wedding for next year. via …

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How Travelling Makes Me Feel British

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What should they know of England who only England know? Originally written by Rudyard Kipling but Mitch has quoted this to me on numerous occasions. Only now do I appreciate the sentiment. When you travel a lot, you learn about other countries. However, the more you travel, the more you also learn about your home country. While in Merida, Mexico, we frequently visited the same cafe to do work. On the third occasion, I ordered my regular black tea with milk. The barrister asked me, “where are you from?” “England” I replied. “I knew it. All the people who order …

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Being Back Home in Bristol

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On Friday 25th November, Mitch and I touched down in the UK after being away for fifteen months. We lived in China for ten months and travelled for another five. We had the luxury of visiting Vietnam, Laos, South Korea, Canada (albeit briefly) and the USA.  However, now I’m back in my hometown of Bristol. To be honest, I was looking forward to coming home. That’s not to say I haven’t adored where we’ve been and what we’ve done. I’m so happy and am so grateful to been able to have our lifestyle. But fifteen months is a long time to …

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How My Love of Busted Got Me Thinking About Life Choices

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About Busted…. For those of you who aren’t British, Busted are an English pop band, consisting of Matt Willis, James Bourne and Charlie Simpson. Their music graced our ears between 2001 and 2005. They broke up because one member of the band (Charlie) wanted to go focus on his other, rockier band. I was 15 and heartbroken. Everyone has a favourite band, but Busted weren’t just my favourite band, they were my hobby. By this I mean, my evenings were spent on the Busted message board (Username: ***I love James***). I’d buy weekly magazines so I could read interviews and get …

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Waving Goodbye To Warsaw And Europe

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Warsaw. We spent a lot of time here in small chunks but I still feel like I didn’t really see it. It was the city we got picked up in for our numerous Angloville programmes. The day before the programme we had a complementary walking tour of the city, participating in three programmes meant three tours. “Why go on three?” I hear you cry, well, it’s nice to refresh your memory, but also, they gave us free lunch afterwards and as budget travellers, we would never say no to free lunch. It was a great opportunity to meet fellow volunteers before the programme …

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