Drinks & quizzes at the local

Ooh la la!  Before I pack my bags once again for a quick weekend trip to France (don't assume I'm rich, because I'm just tagging along with my Aunt and Uncle), there's another little slice of British life I want to share.

That is going to the local pub.

Unfortunately, in a village as small as the one I'm living in at the moment, it's not the most exciting thing in the world.  But it does give you a chance to meet your neighbours and to drink a glass or two of alcohol with them.



In this case, our local is called The Chequers.  It's been around for God knows how long, but still well-visited by the villagers (did I make it sound medieval?).  The fact that it's the only one in the village helps considerably.




To spice things up, the pub holds Quiz Nights where punters (customers) can form groups, answer questions together and possible win cash prizes.




In this pub, the team with the lowest score gets lollipops (I would rather get a lollipop than nothing at all!).




As our team won that night, I can safely claim that my brain has got tons of useless information in it.  I'm gloating and self-deprecating at the same time -- ang plastik!

B & B: Birmingham and Ballet Flats

The last time I've been to Birmingham was nearly four years ago.  I think it's the capital city of the Midlands (the middle bit of England).  Unfortunately, I don't know enough about it, except that it has one of the biggest shopping centres I know -- The Bullring.  One goes to Birmingham from my neck of the woods (the West midlands)  to shop and eat --  I, therefore, did both!



One (meaning myself) has to take the train to get there, so my day trip starts off at Rugby train station.




I'll be getting myself on a Virgin (the train, you naughty little thing! hahahaha)


When I arrived at Birmingham, I totally got lost on the way out!  I didn't have a clue where I was, but I saw the Bullring as we pulled into the station and just followed the streets towards that direction.  I went all around the area and called my friend to say I'll be waiting for her at the Starbucks in front of Selfridges.  My friend then tells me I must have a built-in homing device that would take me to any Starbucks wherever I am in the world.  That was hilarious, because it's probably true!!


Was supposed to meet my friend for lunch, so we decided to go for a Pizza Express meal.  Seeing this again is making my mouth water.. 




Just to prove that I was actually there... *snigger*




 
Our day will not be complete without a trip to Starbucks -- the strangely-designed Selfridges department store in the background is a Birmingham landmark.

 My friend's train arrives an hour earlier than mine.  So left to my own devices, I'm very susceptible to impulse shopping.  I hate shopping, but when I'm alone and bored in the shops, I tend to spend all my money!!!

I seem to have a penchant for metallics on that day --



  This is my favourite perfume.  I can't stop smelling myself when I wear this.



I told you I'm addicted to ballet flats! Hahahaha

Crawling out of the rabbit hole

Wow, it's been over 2 months since I've last posted! I've obviously been busy... actually living my life. That's not to say that regular posters don't have a life, just that I had prioritised going out and doing stuff over writing about them here.  I'm ashamed, honest.

But there's no point keeping all the fun to myself, really, being the wonderfully generous person that I am. Hehehe. But playing catch up over everything that has happened to me in the last couple of months would be tedious. So instead, I'll just share what I'm up to in more recent times.

I arrived in England last week and will be staying here for nearly 3 months. Yes, I've become a travel junkie and now I'm nearly bankrupt.

I had to stay up all night before my flight out, because my plane leaves at half 6 in the morning. It was tiring, but seeing the sun rise from my window seat was awesome.

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Can you believe those clouds?!

The photos would've been better if I could get rid of the grotty window marks, but you can't have it all, right?

Getting cheap flight tickets also mean you get cheap seats. But at least I got to save some shopping money.

Unfortunately, my global roaming didn't activate on its own when I landed in Heathrow. Which means I've become incommunido from home for a few days. Sheesh. At least I arrived safely, though.