i'm typing this in the same room i typed by first year-8 assignment, creatively entitled my first assignment. at the time, paul keating was aussie p-m, i'd never been kissed and i was using the word processing software, first choice. things have changed a bit since then... a lot since then... but home has always remained home.

i've just spent 3 amazing weeks in my home country. i've worked it in brissie's newest bar-cum-club-cum-place-to-be, cloudlands; have been accussed of stealing an ovary whilst staying in melbourne; danced to mr g in sydney; and tanned-it-up on the gold coast. i've also introduced piero to lots of the people that matter. it's been an amazing trip and somewhat grounding. but the best bit really has been the people.

i have such amazing peeps in oz. seeing, laughing and having fun with then again has been nothing short of fantistic.

thanks to the aussie crew for a brill 3 weels. until our paths cross again: stay safe, keep it real and remember l-u-m-i.

a couple of days in sydney visiting emily & katie

mum on the g-coast

just over one hour from home

enjoying the delights with the melbournians - jayde, boy, piero, simon & ellie

as part of the human rights watch london film festival, I checked out afghan idol - a documentary about the making of afghanistan’s version of the tv show pop idol. i’m not a doco fan, but this one was simply amazing. the most striking moment was the controversy created when a female contestant removed her head piece and danced on stage - two no-no’s in afghanistan which resulted in death threats and her having to go into hiding.

i'm not really one to say to do something, but in this case, if you get a chance, do check it out!

the next day was spent swaning around wandsworth common, lying in the sun and bumping into gordon ramsey.

one of the most glorious weekends in london ever.

piero at dexters - where gordon was also eating (can you see luc playing softball on the common?)

a london skyline, wandsworth common

 le patio party at mon maison

snaps to my italian christmas.snaps to my italian christmas.   

snaps to christmas sardinian-style 

 santa gave us stockings

being shown the town - marta, piero and andrea 

 uncle frank getting the singing started

one of the absolute highlights was seeing cirque du soleil’s zumanity - an exploration of human sexuality. it was hot, saucy and hilarious. from the drag-queen-mc, to the lesbianesque-acrobat-dancers-in-a-glass-tank to some seriously-hot-muscle, it was breathtaking and strangely, not that crude. a big thanks to kris for buying me the ticket for my 30^th.

 cool huh?

other than shoes and nachos, san diego was a heap of fun. kris, mark, jadye and i explored little italy, checked out the gaslamp quarter and ate like pigs. here are the happy snaps.

the man at the reception said i could keep the girl or the bed spread. i chose the bed spread.

old town in san diego

 where we partied - hillcrest

the tour bus dumped us in the tourist strip that is tijuana – it was dire. after 15-minutes of exploring tat shops and spying zebra-painted-donkeys, we found a bar, and did what we do best - nachos, cocktails and people watching. if only we had had some sombrero’s complete the cliché.

crossing the border

 a shopping paradise if you like the same stuff over-and-over-and-over again

is it a zebra??? no, it's a painted donkey. 

cheers to out cultural get-a-way

jayde squealed and squealed. we’d stumbled across a bizarrely-cheap-yet-strangely-cool department store in san diego. jayde’s squeals culminated when she found some 6-inch-killer-animal-print heels. chicks' shoes and animal print generally ain’t my bag, but i agreed with the squeals, these shoes were squeal-icious.

the camp shop attendant began to squeal as jayde cinderella-ed the footwear. perfect fit. i squealed at how luscious my friend looked. jayde squealed even more as she sauntered around the shoe department with her soon-to-be-owned-shoes.

whilst admiring herself in the full-length mirror jayde remembered to ask ‘the brand says j-s shoes, what’s j-s stand for?’.

the attendant purred with delight when he revealed the gem that would surely-clinch-the-sale, ‘these shoes are part of jessica simpson’s range’.

the squealing stopped.

first stop: san-fran. we touched down the day obama go the thumbs up and a californian gay-rights bill got the thumbs down (what’s with the california?). the city wasn’t sure if it was partying or mourning. we however, we’re!

we explored alcatraz, took the tram everywhere and delighted in the castro. we even partook in the us’s main religion - shopping.

jayde and kris on our first tram ride

the castro

next stop: alcatraz

pier 39 sea lions

 the san fran skyline

i’ve been m-a-d-l-y h-a-p-p-y so my angst-inspired prose has lacked inspiration, but that’s not why I haven’t written.

the main reason sadly is dull. squarespace updated it’s publishing software and it’s rubbish - r-u-b-b-i-s-h. but my need to self-promote, beats my fear of technology. i’m back, wanting to return to the heart of you, dear reader.

grab a coffee, dip a tim-tam and get ready for passion, travel and exaggeration. again.