From BB UK

Eire

I'm in Ireland today, Dublin to be precise and am here until Friday afternoon. I'm meeting up with Mick and Steph for a brief part of their Euro tour which I am very much looking forward to. Mostly to see some friendly faces and to chew that fat over a few real pints of Guiness :)

I've just popped into a net cafe to check-in my flight back to London so as to get a decent seat and to kill a liitle bit of time.

The flight over was quick and mostly boring, flying no frills airlines is um, interesting to say the least, but i did get a seat right up the front of the plane. So plenty of leg room. I was also amazed at how quiet it is when you fly right up the front :)

I'll post a photo when I can.

I'll also be home by the end of next week, apologies to those that I haven't been able to see yet, but I look forward to seeing everyone when I get home :)

(Top 10 still to come)

Queeny

Originally uploaded by Los Cardinalos - GT.

This is my cousins most gorgeous kitten Queeny

Growing Pains

Originally uploaded by Los Cardinalos - GT.

On Tuesday just gone, my auntie Magge, my cousin Freddy and her young family went for a walk around where we were all brought up in Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill.

I didn't know this, but we lived at no 57, Maggie at 81, Uncle's Richard and Nick lived next door to Maggie and my Dad and his family also lived in the same street/local area. We have a lot of family history in this area and today I learnt a hell of a lot more that I wanted to know :)

In the above photo is the flat that I was born in (and Nick to for that matter.) We occupied a small flat that was just above the front door and to the right. Apparantly, i was born in the room at the top right of the photo.

We then walked up to Portobello Road market and stopped for some lunch. We then walked up Ladbroke Grove and saw the flat the my Mum and my eldest brother Ben lived in, then walked down Bassett Road to the flat that I spent 10 years in.
In this flat, it was huge. It was the whole basement of these huge Edwardian house and we had the garden.
Whilst we were standing out the front reminiscing, a neighbour came out and asked if were "ok", we all replied that we used to live there 20 years ago and were just having a look and mentioned a few names of the people that lived there and they had all moved out since, but she was a relative of the spanish family that moved in after Mrs Emery died just before we left. She shared the same birthday as the Queen Mother. Also Miss Dyas the ballet teacher who lived up the top had also moved out.

We then went up to St Marks Park up the road for some more memories of runnign around there as a youngster.

It was a great day out and I am very thankful to be given a guided tour, it was a lot of fun :)

I have now done everything and met up with everyone that I have wanted to. I have almost caught up with all friends that are here and will get the chance to do so in the next 10-12 days that I am here.

I am off to Ireland next week for about 2.5 days to meet up with Mick and Steph. I have also found out that my Granny has a very big Irish heritage, especially from Dublin where we are going to be. So whilst I am waiting for them to come in, I will visit them in the early afternoon. I also have a cousin in Belfast that I will call and see if he may be local when I am there :)

My happiness levels are back up around normal which is 'king marvellous. I am now also ready to come home and get a job and get back in to the swing of things. I also think that I may have hung up my clubbing shoes as I really can't be arsed with it all now. But we'll see how we go :)

Coming up next, Top 10 things.

Up n Go

Up
Originally uploaded by Los Cardinalos - GT.

Last week I went off to visit my Granny and my auntie Viv, had an absolute ball out there. Viv and I went for a bike ride from Deal to St Margarets, which is up and over a cliff on the way to Dover, was the most scenic ride and i managed to snap off quite a few really good shots on the way.

St Margarets is sort of famous as one of the places that Ian Fleming wrote some of his James Bond stories. He lived in a house just up from the beach. It's also famous as the closest actual point between England and France and is used as the start off point for cross Channel swims.

That evening we wandered around town so I could get some nice evening shots of Deal. It is a very photogenic town and one of the many reasons that I love coming back to Deal. There was a fair on that night, it was mostly empty, which provided me some fantastic shots of the flashing lights and rides moving without anyone on them. (It was a school night just before school holidays, so I think that was why it was so quiet.)

On the Friday, Viv took me over to visit the graves of my Grandpa, cousin and uncle over in Eyethorne. As sad as it was, I am so very happy that I have now finally had my chance to say goodbye in person and pass my love and thoughts on to each of them at their final resting place. In my mind, I had written out a letter to them, thanking them for everything that they had ever done for me (I had learnt a lot from all three over my time spent with them.) and that I always loved them and missed them dearly.

This is a big thing for me as I obviously hadn't done this before and is also one of the main reasons for this trip to England.

We then went for a quick trip to Ramsgate and a photo tour of there too.

On the Saturday morning at breakfast, Granny and I were having a right old laugh at many silly things that we had got up to as kids, including herself, it was so nice to see a side of her that I have rarely seen and I we both really appreciated the laugh. I also said to her that I learnt a lot about our family since being at her house, like my Grandpa's middle name. I also found out that during the second world war, Grandpa was based out a Caerphilly Castle in Wales, which just so happens to be sort of down the road from where my brother Ben lives, had I known this earlier, I would've actually gone there to visit. I've mentioned this to a couple of aunties, who were also surprised as they never knew either, including Mum.

It was very special for me to visit Deal this time around and I am so glad that I made the effort to go and say hello. I may try and get there for another night before I come home.

50 things guys wish girls knew......

1. If you want to cuddle after sex go buy a teddy bear.
2. Swallow. Don't start the race if you ain't gonna finish it.
3. While giving a hand job please remove all rings from your fingers, they hurt really badly.
4. Shave your shit. Seriously, shave it bald.
5. Remember that a little blood never hurt anybody.
6. There is no such thing as a fat, ugly, blowjob.
7. If you ask us to any sort of dance that requires that we wear a tie, we expect a sexual favor in return.
8. If you used a vibrator and let us watch it might be the greatest moment of our life.
9. If you wonder why we will not eat you out it is most likely because; it stinks, its hairy, or it stinks and its hairy.
10. You masturbate and we know it. When you do it just let us watch.
11. Birth control is the best invention ever. Start poppin those bitches.
12. Just cause we call you when we are drunk does not mean that we like you. It means that we need some ass.
13. Guys night out means guys night out. It doesn't mean that you and your friends meet us at the bar later.
14. If you wonder why your ass looks fat in those tight pants its because you have a fat ass.
15. If you are with us and you start to cry for any reason just get up and leave.
16. Don't think that we don't know that after we take you out and you order a salad to make us think you eat healthy that you go home and order pizza with your fat friends.
17. Once again, seriously shave your shit.
18. Just cause you get our dick one night, does not give you any right to get it the next.
19. If we drink too much, we do not need someone to hold our hair back and act like our babysitter. We have puked before and know how to handle it.
20. After we are through with you, do not expect to make us jealous by fucking our friends. We really don't care what you do.
21. If we cheat on you and you never find out about it, then its not cheating.
22. If we cheat on you and you do find out, at least it wasn't with one of your friends.
23. Swallow(just in case you forgot #2 already).
24. We don't have a problem with watching chick flicks as long as we get in your pants after.
25. Never under any circumstance take a shit while you are around us or fart. Just thinking about it makes us sick.
26. While giving us head don't be afraid to fondle our testicles, they don't bite.
27. If you are gonna jerk us off aim properly, a nut can irritate your eye.
28. Always remember that men are the superior sex and back in the day you had to ask us if you could speak.
29. If we're about to have sex and we decline because we don't have a rubber its not because we're scared we're gonna get you pregnant, its that we're scared we're gonna catch something from your dirty skank ass.
30. If you swallow like you should, do not expect us to kiss you after. Sorry that's just the way it is.
31. I don't care if you do have a flavored condom, you just don't give a blow job with a condom on. Would you like us to eat you out with a dental damn?? I didn't think so.
32. If we're doing it doggy style there is no reason to turn around and look at us, we're focused on your ass cheeks and that slapping sound.
33. Blood stains on our bed sheets come off with cold water, so make sure you scrub them thoroughly before leaving.
34. When we go down on you to munch on your rug and we instantly start sucking on the inner thighs rather than the clit, its because your clit smells like a dead trout.
35. If you let us donkey punch you we will owe you for life.
36. Just cause we have sex with you when we are drunk does not mean that you are pretty or that we like you. It means that you were our only choice.
37. If we dance with you for more than 15 minutes at a bar we expect you to come home with us.
38. If you think that you are ugly, we probably do too.
39. Don't count on us saying we love you, its just not going to happen.
40. If for some reason we do say we love you its only because we want to have sex immediately after we say it.
41. Just cause you have our phone number doesn't mean we want you to call us. If we want to talk then we will call you.
42. If you invite us over to watch a movie it would be awesome if we watched a porn instead of a movie.
43. If you can't dance then you most likely suck in bed. So stop trying to dance and start having more sex.
44. Hmmmmm......girls in thongs.......yummmmmmmmmm
45. If you are fat the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to give great blow jobs. Sorry that's just the way it is.
46. A sure way to keep a guy around for awhile is to have anal sex with him. We can't put into words how it feels.
47. You don't have to ask our permission to make out with another chick. Just do it but make sure we are there to watch.
48. In case you didn't read #4 and #17 let me repeat...Shave your shit!
49. Guys don't have sex or make love, we fuck.
50. You can impress us if you can swallow our entire load without dripping or wiping your mouth afterwards.

(as posted by Hunter on ITM)

Back in London

Originally uploaded by Los Cardinalos - GT.

Just for tonight, I'm passing through from Wales to Kent and will be back again on Saturday evening for my last 2 weeks.

Amused?

Amused?
Originally uploaded by Los Cardinalos - GT.

I've been very quiet the last couple of weeks, but I have been traveling around quite a bit.

Ben and I spent some of the World Cup Quarter and Semi finals at the local Wetherspoons, which is a pretty nice and cheap pub to go to. It kind of reminds me of what Matthew Flinders would be like without the pokies and a little bit smaller.

The weekend just gone, we all headed up to London to spend Saturday night there and so Claire and Michael could go and see his Grandparents as they hadn't seen each other in a few months. After we dropped Claire and Michael off, Ben and I went to his mates house where Ben spent the night. I then went over to Nick's to spend the evening with him. By the time I got there, I was still pretty stoned from a little spliff I had earlier in the day and was very hot and sticky from a long walk from Camden Town station to Nicks place due to there being no trains from Camden Town to Finchley Central.

We spent the evening in a really nice pub up the road with the 3 most gorgeous girls I have met this whole trip. Of course I fell for the polite English one, Carol, but nothing was going to happen as she was teeing up someone on the phone most of the time and the other 2 stunners from South Africa, well I'm not sure? And before you all go, Joe's trying to score another blonde, stand back folks, she isn't blonde! (There’s a whole other story there that I may go into at another time.)

Sunday morning I headed back down south to Croydon to meet up with Ben and I had a pretty emotional train journey there. I am worried about my brother for many reasons that I won't discuss here, but I seem to let them affect me indirectly. There was a little child of about maybe 5 that said to his Mum, "Mummy, why’s that man crying?" She looked over and asked if I was ok. I thought that was very kind of her to ask. A lot of the people here are just right cunts that wouldn't give you the time of day ordinarily. I discussed with Ben what was going on in my head and we shared a good old cry about it and agreed that families do suck, but at the same time, we all love each other very much and miss each other very dearly. (This is all 3 of us.)

The trip back to Wales was ok, it was fairly quiet and non-descript. I gladly got a couple of hours sleep in there somehow :)
Sunday night, Ben and I watched the World Cup game and had a couple of beers and a good old chin wag about us, which I really appreciated and thanked him for. I had a really good sleep on Sunday night and I now feel a great relief that I have got some of these "demons" out of my head, as well as having someone so far, yet so close to me share in that.

Tuesday morning I headed to Bournemouth in the South of England to visit my Dad and his young family. At first, I was a little apprehensive about going, but after discussion with Mum and Nick about this side of the family, I said to myself that I should go and spend a few days with them. (I’ll add here now, that I am so glad that I did do that J)

The train trip itself was a fantastic very scenic journey of traditional ye olde countryside of England, unfortunately for me, the train was going to fast for me to worry about getting my camera out, so I didn't really worry about it. If it's a nice day when I return on Friday, then I will get my camera out :)
(It is now Friday as I write this and I have been editing photo’s all of the way home and missed the lot.)

When I jumped of the train in Bournemouth, I looked around the platform and couldn't see anyone that I recognised and thought that maybe Paul, Kelsey and Wesley may be either late or waiting out the front. Little did I know, that my 2 baby brothers are now grown right up!!! Kelsey is now 13 and Wesley is now 10 and so much bigger than I realized or expected.
We walked out to the car and Wes pulled out this little teddy bear that I had apparently given him as a baby, he asked me if I remembered, but sadly I didn’t. Poor little guy started to cry and gave me a huge hug. Both Paul and I explained that I too had had a very difficult time with all this family business and that I have forgotten some things that have happened over this time. He told me that he misses me so much and because he was born in Australia that the day he turns 18 he will be on my front door step wanting to move in. No problem little buddy, you are both welcome any time boys :)
Wes has also slept with that teddy every night since he got him. Awesome!

That evening after dinner, we all went down to the local beach in Boscombe for a wander and a chat. They live in a nice part of the world and even though they hate it there, they are quite lucky that they are not in some shithole flat in London or Glasgow.

It was a good time, even if a little short that I spent with everyone in Bournemouth, but this is one of the reasons why I find myself back in this country and am glad for the experience’s and the family love and everything that comes with it, whether that be good or bad.

I am glad that I have taken the time out of my usual life to come over here and get to know my evergrowing family at a time when they will remember it. I know that I will see you all again when I return in the not to distant future.

Before I left Cardiff earlier in the week, I had to ring the National Insurance No Hotline to find out what my insurance number is, I was told that I would have to sit an interview and couldn’t work until I had received this number. I kept reminding the bloke on the phone, that I am a British Citizen, but I have been out of the country for the last 20 years. (Everyone born here is assigned a number when they either born or turn 16, I can’t remember the specific one.) Anyway, he starts crapping on about how you have to sit an interview so as they don’t think that I have come over here just to score the dole. I replied back with, but as a British Citizen, I am eligible for the dole, in which he replied, “Oh yeah, of course you are mate”. Hmmmmm, I wonder what was really going on there. So he eventually said that they could fit me in to see someone in Cardiff on the 9th of August, such a shame that I will be somewhere between London and Melbourne by that stage. He said, that if I were to return, then I could sit an interview then. I might just call them again to confirm.

I hopefully have a night out on the tap with Ben tonight or tomorrow, then Monday I am heading back to London. Family visits all week, including a 3 day trip to Granny’s in Kent. I am very much looking forward to that as I love where she lives as it’s very scenic and photogenic :D

I must also apologise for not sending out any emails to anyone, but I haven’t really been on the net to much, but I will send something out shortly :)

One of my last days as a family 1987

Originally uploaded by Los Cardinalos - GT.

Ben and I had been going through some old photos that he has and we stumbled across this old one.

I can't remember the exact day, but it was only a couple of days before we moved to Australia in August 1987.

I have to say, that everytime I look at this photo I keep thinking that it was also one of the sadest days that I can remember. Yes I know that moving to Australia should be a fun thing, but not when you are 10. I was very settled in my little existance, friends, family, toys, locale etc. But I found it very disturbing and upsetting, At the time and this definitly showed all through my growing up. I think I started to be ok with it when I was about 18 or 19.

Sadly, 2 of the people in this photo have since passed away, my cousin Jan (prounounced Yan (in the middle)) died suddenly whilst on holiday in Italy in the early 1990's, then my lovely Grandpa on the far right. I did come back in October of 1998 when he was first admitted to hospital and stayed with him for 2 weeks and he sadly passed away December 31st 1998 (AU time.)
Very shortly afterwards, my Uncle Nick also died of pneumonia, he went to hospital complaining of his ailments, they said he had a cold and was sent home, he never woke up :(

From left to right, is my auntie Maggie, cousin Jago, Granny, me, Jan, Garry, Mum & Grandpa.

Happily 2 weekends ago, I got to catch up with my cousin Jago, I hadn't seen him since the day we flew out and I was so happy to see him again. He came over to Nicks place and we went and spent the afternoon at Hampstead Heath slowly catching up over the last 20 fucking years that we have had no communication. Well all that is about to change.
We now exchange random sms's often and I will stay with him for a couple of days when I head back to London in about 10 days. It's funny, he and I seem to have led a rather similar life, we have very similar interests in almost everything.

If my memory serves me correctly, Nick & Jago met at Uncle Nicks funeral and have been in constant contact ever since. Brilliant to hear boys :)

Meeting up with all of my family is my goal whilst I am here and I am so happy that I am getting in contact with everyone again. I have a few more cousins that I want to visit and my Auntie Maggie who lives near London. I will also arrange for a couple of days to visit my Dad and his family down south, but I think that will long enough as I have a lot of people to fit in. I will then like to head out to Grannys and spend a few days with her and visit the Kent countryside :)

I am also going to head over to Dublin for 2 days to visit Mick n Steph who will be there at the start of August. Unfortunately, this may mean that I miss out on Holland, but not sure about that yet.

This evening I will work out my budget and get a final plan together for my last 4-5 weeks here and abroad.

One of the best parts is that I get to spend Nick's birthday with him for the first time in 22 years. Sucks to have a family so spread out across the world, but at least we will have this one bro :)