An Update! Day 135

Today was Ava and Maude's last day of school before a three week holiday! On Sunday, it is officially SUMMER here in England and I'm so excited. Magical things happen in the summer time.

Having not had my haircut for about five months or something ridiculous like that, my hair was getting a bit out of hand and had grown very very long. But earlier in the week, I got it all chopped off and now it's just below my shoulders. I was so nervous to get it all cut off (I have a bit of an attachment to my hair and so there was quite a lot of build up the days before I was due to have it cut...Samantha didn't quite understand what the big deal was) but I actually really, really love it short!

Today I went to the Photographers' Gallery


and it was really inspirational to see contemporary photography for a change. There were lots artists who presented their photos accompanied by words or displayed in a book. I was reminded today how photography has the ability to shift my mood and promote feelings inside of me more than any other art form, like the series today by Donovan Wylie. The photos document the demolition of the Maze Prison situated in Northern Ireland and made me feel incredibly sad. They gave off such a lonely, empty feeling.



I left feeling rather inspired:


I'm currently working on a photography project of portraits. Samantha's dining room has sliding glass doors across the whole wall that conveniently let in North light. I've got some people who are going to come and sit for me so I'm pretty excited especially because they're all interesting looking (and I don't mean that in a bad way at all!).

The girls also had a couple friends over to have an Easter egg hunt (do you remember how fun those were?!) and I got to hide all the eggs (this excited me much more than it should have).

I got really sad yesterday to realize that come April, everything is just going to fly by as I'm going to be travelling (camping with the girls, visiting my grandparents, GREECCCEE, PARISS!) not to mention I have a friend who has booked her ticket to come to London for a month! I'm so excited!! I am having the most amazing time in London and as much as I miss everyone, it is going to be hard leaving the life I have become familiar with. How am I going to be able to live without having wonderful conversations with Ava or Maude yelling "ANDRA"? I don't know.

Harrods, Day 130

I went to Harrods today to get my eyebrows threaded (up until today I thought I had a high pain threshold) and after 15 antagonizing minutes of repeating the mantra beauty is pain over and over again in my head, I left with perfectly shaped eyebrows.

As much as Harrods displays itself as a place for the posh and prestigious, it has turned into one of the major tourist destinations in London. Of course there were the ladies with perfectly frosted blond hair, manicured fingernails tapping away on their Blackberries as they waited to get themselves pampered, but the majority of people there were just like me- tourists there for the experience.

Definitely something I'd only like to experience once though- it was too painful!

Countryside Roadtrip, Day 129

Today Samantha and I took another road trip into the country. We saw many sheep (little baby sheep are my favourite things ever! They just leap about!), passed about 6000 village pubs called “The Red Lion”, and went to a small little country shop for lunch. As I've said so many times before, I love the British countryside, probably because there's nothing like it in Canada.

A Home Away from Home, Day 128

It's funny how you can be so far away from home but yet one place can make you easily forget this. Earlier this week Samantha and I went to Ikea, and for half an hour everything felt so familiar. Ikea is just one of those places that stays the same wherever you go (it even smelt the same!!) and there is something so comforting about this. Maybe that's the key to travelling-finding that person to travel with who is a source of comfort or visiting a store along the way that signifies home in some way. I think I would be a bit lost if I could never find a place while I was travelling that somehow connected me to Toronto....thank goodness for Ikea is all I have to say!

I can NOT believe how quickly this trip is going-it's really quite scary. I am really happy with all of the things I've done (and learnt) so far, and can't wait for the warm months ahead-they are going to bring lots more adventures!

Day 124

I’ve never really appreciated wildlife photography. Cute cuddly animals or “awe-inspiring” rock formations have just never been my thing...at all. However I have to say, there were some absolutely amazing photos at the exhibit I saw today at the National History Museum. There were different categories throughout the exhibit and the winner and runner-ups photos were displayed in each one. I really liked the category composed of images of animals in urban settings. The photo below by Igor Shpilenok won first place.


I think it's such a great photo because he was able to capture a unique and unexpected moment.

There were some amazing photos in the category relating to conservation issues. Each photo had to encourage respect or concern for our natural world and it was amazing how all the artists were able to clearly tell a story or send a message through their photographs. I thought that Johnathan Clay's photo Last of the Tuna was such an amazing image because it sends a very clear message.
I also loveddd this photo-the moment Robert Friel was able to capture says so much. He sums it up by saying: "It's a quirky moment, but it's also a reminder that, however brief and well-managed our visits, our presence leaves a mark."


There were also categories for young photographers and a wall dedicated to seventeen year old Fergus Gill (he's adorable, definitely have a little crush on him) who won the Young Wildlife Photographer Award for the photo below.

This is the third (!!) year in a row he's come in first place. I teared up (all this teary eyed business is getting a bit tiring) when I read his biography and how many awards he had won- it was amazing to see someone have so many talented photographs and win first prize so many times at such a young age.

I was definitely enjoyed the exhibit much more than I thought I would. Because wildlife photography is something so foreign to me and in a totally different world of photography that I’m used to, this show did make me appreciate it a lot more; all of the photos made me realize how much skill is actually needed in capturing wildlife. What was so impressive about each and every photo was the photographers ability to capture moments that many people will never have the privilege of witnessing in their lifetime.