Tell me something about you?

Hello to all my awesome readers! You know, earlier today I took a gander at an interesting bit of info about my blog which showed me where all my readers are from. It kinda made me even more curious than usual about all you guys and I wanted to write a small something today to say "Hey, hows it going?" So...

Hey, hows it going? :) What brings you to my humble little nook of the Internet? And who the heck are you? Kidding. I know the majority of you prefer to be anonymous, but still, I'd love it if you dropped me a hello and told me something about yourself? Maybe something really important...like your favourite colour, or maybe which ice-cream flavour you like most? Yeah that. What ice-cream is your favourite?? Or you could tell me what your dream travel destination is?

Since you probably know all about my travels, I'll tell you about my fav ice-cream ;) When I was home in 2013/2014 I loved having a Golden Gaytime (yes its what they're really called), or even a raspberry split. In the UK, the best ice cream I had was when I went to visit a friend in Devon, sour cherry ice cream. I still dream about it. But I wont say no to good ol' chocolate and vanilla ice cream either - who would?

Anyway, have a great week guys, and honestly, THANK YOU so much for stopping by and having a read. If you're a regular, or just stop by every once in a while, it means a lot and it totally makes my day :) You all rock!

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The Unexpected Benefits of Blogging #linkup

I started this blog way back in 2005. Wow! Huh! I didn't realise its been almost 10 years till I wrote that! Okee...scary! Haha. Um yeah, so I started this blog when dinosaurs still roamed the earth...It was pre-facebook and I was embarking on an adventure in the Middle East, working as a flight attendant and travelling the world. I wanted a way to share my photos and adventures with my family and friends and this blog was born.

I have kept it through 2 years of cabin crew life in the sandpit, then returning home to Sydney, where it almost died due to lack of travel, and then accompanied me on my move to London where it really has really grown.

I really do love blogging, and it has given me so much more than I expected when I started out all those years ago.

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So here is my list of the unexpected benefits of blogging, in no particular order:

1. An online home

Through lots of changes in physical addresses, this blog has been consistent and there is something calming about having your own virtual space that has 'always been there'.

2. A way to meet new people

I have met some wonderful people through blogging, virtually and in person. It has helped a lot with my moving to the UK and creating a new network of friends. Its nice to have others who are as interested in exploring London and don't mind when you ask them to hold off eating their food in a restaurant for a minute so you can take a photo.

3. A nudge to get out there!

I find that having a blog gives me that little nudge, a little friendly poke to get out there and do something, do anything. Try a new cafe, book some theatre tickets, go on a day trip.

4. Improving my writing

I know at least one person who will laugh at this point. I'm notoriously bad with my grammar - mostly because when I write, I'm more interested in getting my thoughts and ideas on paper than worrying about sentence structure and punctuation. However, as I've grown with this blog, I've tried a few small changes here and there to, hopefully, make my writing easier to read and more enjoyable.

5. Learning about social media

Its weird and perhaps the most unexpected benefit of blogging - you end up learning a lot about social media and technology. As part of maintaining this blog, I've read about self-hosting, migrating to my own domain name, some coding (though I tend to ask the lovely Stephanie to do all the grunt work), blog designs, different blogging platforms, Twitter, Facebook, blog readers, SEO (I still don't get it) and so much more.


I'm sure there are more benefits that i haven't listed here, but these are the few that come to mind at the moment. If you are interested in seeing what other bloggers have to say about this, pop over to Emma, Kelly, Rebecca or Sara's blogs and see check out post by the other bloggers linkup - or add your own if your keen!

What have been your unexpected benefits of blogging??

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Christmas Afternoon Tea at the Conrad Hotel St James - #LDNBloggersTea

There is photographic evidence floating about the interwebs of a savage, brutal decapitation of a poor harmless snowman. The perpetrator? Yours truly. I didn't want to do it, they made me. "They" who had already chopped their snowmen to bits and devoured them, red gummy scarf and all. The snowmen didn't stand a chance. The scene of the crime was littered with bits of meringue and tiny chocolate chip eyes. Or mouths. Or buttons. But oh were they delicious!

I was a last minute addition to the September #LDNBloggersTea last year (talk about an overdue blog post!) thanks to Emma mentioning it over a coffee. On entering the Conrad Hotel, I was greeted by a smiling hostess and shown to the room reserved for all the bloggers. Id never met a single one of them before, though I've read their posts, commented and tweeted them. It was one of those times when I tried my best to put myself out there and not shy away. It was worth it. I met so many lovely bloggers and had a lovely time. I'll admit, having a luxurious room to while away the afternoon in while scoffing sampling the afternoon tea and being serenaded by a harpist helped too.

The Conrad Hotel was showing off their Christmas afternoon tea for the upcoming season (hence all the snowmen). It was a creative Christmassy twist on the usual favourites and a few surprises. Can I just say that I'm a huge scone lover (clotted cream first, then jam) and they had an amazing blackberry curd which I wanted to lick right from the bowl. Their entire afternoon tea was brilliant, great flavours and attention to detail. Some of the savouries on offer I wasn't sure about, like the brussel sprout shot but, believe it or not, it was actually quite delicious and a lot of other bloggers thought so too!

The pièce de résistance, however, was the white Christmas scene at the end. I'd never seen anything like it. EVERYTHING was edible. And gluten free - not one for nut allergy sufferers. The Christmas tree, the macrons, popping candy, battenburg. And of course, the snowmen. Totally adorable and too cute to eat. But I did. Under protest.

Unfortunately the Christmas afternoon tea is no longer available but I'm sure their regular afternoon tea will be just as well thought out. Or maybe they'll do something special for Valentines day or Easter? Worth keeping an eye on them I think.

All in all, not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon in London wouldn't you say?

Have you had a themed afternoon tea?

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Seasons Greetings

Only two more days till Christmas and just over a week till the New Year. As you have no doubt noticed, I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon. What happened was just life really. Pesky thing keeps getting in the way of my blogging!

Moving into my new home went well although the lack of furniture left me living out of boxes for a couple of weeks. Then came the food poisoning – can I just say, if you even want to be put off a food type, get food poisoning from it, after knocking me out for about a week, I went off fish – shame it wasn’t chocolate or glazed Krispy Kremes which keep popping up in my office. Around the same time, I had work deadlines which mean late nights at work and not a lot of time for much else. And then a head cold reared its ugly…head, just to round things off nicely.

 

But it hasn’t been all bad though! I mean come on, how can it be? I had a wonderful trip to Lisbon and tried the best Pasteis de Natas, caught up with my lovely Aussie mate A- (who lived in London before I did!), went to my first ever Panto and other theatre trips, as well as helping plan my work Christmas Pub Crawl/Scavenger hunt which was loads of fun – there gaudy plastic green sun glasses, 'bah-humbug' Santa hats, and sparkly reindeer headbands, really what more could you ask for? The pub crawl may have involved a punchy Shaun the sheep getting a taken down. There were witnesses. And photos. And how can I forget the recent treasure hunt around Covent Garden where I saw a snowman lick a bin, get advice on how to be a proper snowman (in case you're wondering, the advice given was that he should not have arms and fly) and have a scuffle with a penguin? You know you want to hear that story ;)

 

So, over the nice chunk of public holidays and weekends coming up, I'll be pulling myself up by my boot straps and preparing a whole host of blog posts for your reading pleasure in the New Year. What are you up to over Christmas and New Year?

Till then, whether you are away or at home, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year,

Sam

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How do you blog?

I'm curious, how do you blog?

Everyone has a style that works for them and we all occasionally hit a lull, rut or a bout of writers block. I want to know, what do you do to keep yourself motivated? Do you write when inspiration hits or do you have a set routine? Where do you write? At home, in bed, kitchen table, or a sneaky moment at work? Do you spend hours on your photos? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours ;) 

Actually, I figure, I have me some lovely bloggers through this blog and each comes across differently through their blogs, as well as each telling me at one point or other of life getting in the way (been there!). I'm going to share what I do and I'd love it if you commented (or wrote your own post and shared the link) to tell me what you do.

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So, how do I blog?

I usually *try* to post Mondays and Thursdays though, that doesn't always happen. Sometimes I have a list of topics sitting in my drafts to prompt me and other times I have something interesting I've done recently I cant wait to share with you. Having a schedule has made me feel guilty if I've missed a post, but also, not having a schedule used to make me lazy and not get anything done at all!

If  the post is about something I've done, I usually start with the photos. This takes most of my time, selecting, editing and watermarking my images. I don't always use all of them, it usually depends on what I write. My Holland Park had about 50 photos that were eventually whittled down to 12. How do I write? I tend to get writers block quite a lot. Sometimes I need to leave a post if its not working and go back to it later, find a different angle that interests me and that usually does the trick.

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I'm a night owl, most of my posts are written at night, usually with the TV going in the background while I sit on the ground in front of my laptop which, in turn, sits on the coffee table. Other times, when I have writers block, I type up the beginning of a post on my mobile phone, usually on my way to meet friends or something that requires me to hop on a train.

When life gets in the way, it can be hard to get back into the swing of things. I find that reading through some of my favourite blogs tends to help. Failing that, I like walking London for inspiration or doing something new and different that I'd love to write about.

Is there anything else you'd like to know? What do you do?

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Best Australian Blogs - Peoples Choice Award

Hiya,

Just a quick post today to ask a teeny favour.

I love writing for all of you out there and I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures and life as an expat in London. If this little blog of mine has given you any enjoyment I would be super happy and warm and fuzzy all over if you voted for it in the Australian Writers Centre Best Blog 'Peoples Choice' Awards!

Just click on the fabulous button below to get started or follow this linky direct to the survey site. Voting closes 5th May! Just a little tip, you will need to click next a couple of times before you find my blog name listed.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank You. Thank you. Thank you! Im totally sending you oodles of good vibes right now :)

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For the next 200 posts (or more!)

Hello there and welcome to my 201st blog post. No i dont intend to keep counting each post, dont worry! So following on from my last post here are a few things im planning on writing about in future. I hope there are things on this list that will strike your fancy but as always, let me know what you think!

• Guest writers - I have not been a flight attendant for a good few years now, but, i still have many friends flying the crazy skies. I have already reached out to a close friend and i hope to bring his unique perspectives and dry humor to this blog soon
• Personal opinion - anything that strikes my fancy to write about, whether that is a current issue, social observation or commonly discussed topic  
   
• More London - Ive been here for over a year and i have done so much yet i have hardly written about any of it. I can hardly beleive i am lucky enough to live in this amazing city so i plan to share more of it with you.
• Theatre review - Not just big productions but anything that strikes my fancy, just another great thing about being in London so stay tuned for that.
• Book reviews - i love a good book, i have been known to stay up late, till the stirrings of dawn, engrossed in a good book all because i simply cant put it down and keep telling myself "just one more chapter"...
• Photo tours - these are great because, along with being a quicker way to share place and experiences with you, i often find that words fail me in trying to share a new or unique place, a picture is worth a thousand words after all
• Internet and other randomness - The internet is full of little tidbits that i enjoy and that make me smile. I'll be peppering my blog every so often with such things or even randomness from my own real-world encounters - truth can be stranger than fiction!
• Technology posts - im a closet geek, funny i should say that on a public blog but why nitpick? I love it when i come across a really interesting new app or an idea that could change the way we live or at least the way we travel so i hope you will find these sparodic posts equally interesting.

I hope that you find something on this list you like and will be looking forward to reading. If i have missed anything, drop me an email or comment and tell me what you'd like added!

Till then,
VP

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My 200th Blog Post! :) :) :)

Yep, my little blog has reached 200 hundred posts. Its not as many as other blogs out there but I'm still quite proud of this. Starting to blog back in 2005, i never thought that over 7 years later, I'd still be blogging away. Celebrate each milestone i say :) and why not?

Looking back on it, it all began when i was on the cusp of leaving my home in Sydney and going to work as a Flight Attendant in the Middle East. It was pre-Facebook and Twitter and it was a way to let my family and friends know what i was up to and share some of my experiences as i travelled.

I kept blogging mainly because i enjoyed writing and posting photos about all the new places i was visiting and the amazing experience of becoming a Flight Attendant. Also, i have a shocking memory and i loved (and still love) having this living document of all the places I've been, the experiences I've had, even the not so great ones. It quite the trip to go back and read about things that i have forgotten, stories from my life as a flight attendant and photos of my travels.

While i haven't been as regular writer as i would like to be, i can say with absolute confidence that i will be writing for the many years to come. I want to be a better writer, blogger, traveller. So, with that in mind, there are some things i am planning - stay tuned to see what exactly.


In the meantime, i want to hear from you! What have you enjoyed about my blog? What do you want less of? What do you think i could do better? Any feedback is welcome!

Looking forward to the next 200 posts! Maybe more!

Sincerely,
Vanishing Point

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