have just landed in Singapore and free access to the net - what a wonderfully civilised country it is! What thieving sods the English turned out to be - the prices I saw were 1 pound per 10 mins at the airport and environs that means it would cost on average $10 - $15 per email. Anyhoo see how quick it is to catching the whining heh heh. Had a great last couple of days. Set out with a vengence the second day armed with map and underground map. First stop was British Museum - my mission was to see the Egyptian bit and it was brilliant - lots of mummies and information. Also checked out the Elgin marbles and other bits that belonged to what we had seen in Mycenae, Rome and Athens. Also checked out some of the Assyrian remains which were awesome. Dinosaurs were next so after two changes on the underground and a pass through Tesco's for lunch to go, Angela and her daughter and I had lunch on the grass next to the Natural (cant think of the next bit) museum. The building is absolutely a work of art, a goldy coloured brick with a bluey brick and gothic as. We walked into the museum and hello, there was a dinosaur (bones) right there. How amazing it was to see the remains of many a dinosaur which felt like looking at old friends (read into that what you may LOL). The Big disappointment was that some of the remains were fake, - copies of the real thing!. In saying that the bit I did like was the fake tyranasaurus rex who growled a lot and moved with not quite snapping jaws. Took video with sound effects of that. I wonder have my senses become a trifle dulled after watching Lord of the Rings etc and Jurassic Park when the fake looks better than you imagine the real thing. Did a quick burst through the mammel section where an extremely tired bunch of stuffed animals lurked. There were signs apologising for the tired looking beasts saying they had been collected back in the day and in the spirit of conservation, no new animals were being killed for the exhibition. I thought someone could be a bit proactive and have likely to die zoo animals on a data base but guess there is a whole other slew of regs re getting dead, stuffed animals across the world. The newest member of the clan seemed to be chi chi who died in the late 90's from memory. It was about 3.30pm after my whistle stop tour of the bits I wanted to see and then another couple of changes of line on the underground back across the city and off I went to St Paul's in time for a sung Evensong at 5.00pm. Was impressed to see they have the candle burning thing going in the cathedral and even more impressed that the Anglicans only want 30p per candle ....... St Paul's was amazing, what I could see of it. I got to sit up the front on the right hand side with a good view of the choir stalls and main alter. On the dot of 5pm a woman in church robes walked out in front of a troop of small boys in choir robes, followed by a male choir suitably dressed. The acoustics were fantastic and the sound wonderful as the choir sang most of the evensong. We had a hymn at the end to join in with and we got music to read with the words so was able to join in as it was an unfamiliar hymn. The format of the magnificat and the nunc dimittis was not the one I had sung back in the day but it was still great to be at an Evensong, in ST PAULS in London! Whilst I was dashing hither and yon on the underground I noticed the the National Art Gallery was open until 9pm that night so making an executive decision I headed back across town again to go there. All the museums were free and I had an all day pass on the train so really got my monies worth that day. I walked into the first room of the museum and OMG - in the front of me was Pablo Picasso's child with the dove, next to it was Van Gogh's chair with his pipe on it and next to that was the sunflowers. I have to say a small squeak did emit from moi as it took me completely by surprise but it just got better and better. Half the museum was closed but belted around what was open. In the first room there was Toulouse Lautrec, Monet, Degas, Gaugin ... I seemed to have stumbled on a huge impressionist collection - a couple of which I am sure came out to NZ in one exhibition or another. Also got to see the Haywain by Constable and more. I saw the 1963 and 1962 Christmas stamp nativity scenes and there were many paintings there that were similar or by the same painters that were in the Louvre. As I had done the last two things on my own and it was heading towards 9pm I decided to go straight back to the hotel. Checked in with the few that were up - no one had missed me so all was good.
Thursday we were off by bus to Windsor Castle and Oxford. I had at one stage thought that I might give that a miss and carry on see some other things but didnt and for that I am really glad. Windsor Castle and the St George Chapel were absolutely amazing, and beyond anything I expected. We arrived as they were changing the guard which is done with full brass band and the sound of that ringing across the courtyard and seeing the guards changing with bellowing commands put hairs up the back of my neck. I have trillions of this bit on video as I thought Noel would like to hear the band. St George Chapel was smaller than I thought with all the Knights of the Garter's seats and coats of arms around the walls. Sir Edmund Hillary's is there. I think the Albert chapel that is the family private chapel is even more breath taking but will have to find pictures to explain all this. From there were went up the the castle and got to see the Dolls House made to scale with real paintings and real silverware etc that wasnt a dolls house that was played with but a tribute to Queen ? as a gift (am typing to fast and without my notes for complete detail). We then moved into the family apartments that are open to the public. How wierd it was to walk through places again that had some familiarity. We saw the hall that had been burnt in the fire back in the 90's and the wonderful restoration that has taken place. What stopped me in my tracks here and made the whole trip to the castle such a bonus were the real paintings of Queen Mary, Elizabeth I, and Edward in the Queens apartments. It was incredibly moving to stand there and look at them, and to see the real of what I had only ever seen as pictures in a book - mind you the whole trip has been like that. The village around the castle is amazing and of course there is the tourist element and good on them but as I walked round the road around the castle, I was aware the last time I had seen the castle was for the Queen Mother's funeral. A quick stop for a drink and the loo and off we went to Oxford which was a good hour from memory. There had been an accident on the other side of the road about 10 mins into our trip - noticed first by one of the Dad's as there was no traffic on the other side of the road, and then an ambulance zooming along our road on the outside lane for that sort of purpose. I have never seen a traffic jam like it on the other side. There was no gory bits thank goodness by the time we reached the site which took about 10 - 15 mins but meanwhile two unmarked police cars had hooped past on the opposite side of the road and two trucks towing a crumpled van and other scene info had gone back also. If you can imagine traffic stopped from Drury to about Otahuhu/Mt Wellington if not a bit further - that is how long it was. Guys in trucks had pulled their curtains and were having a kip and there were people out of their cars having conversations with one another. We had a guide to take us through Windsor Castle and she came to Oxford with us and was very good. We got dropped off outside of the Randolf Hotel and walked into and around the colleges. What a fascinating place and again the history is very interesting. We got to walk around Christ College on the outside but the biggest disappointment of the day was that we were not allowed inside to see the campus (of Morse fame and Harry Potter for the dining room) The very Porter type person who Morse always checks in with stopped some other tourists before us from entering the gates!!!! A bitter blow indeed but I did get some photos from the back through a fence. Had a cornish pasty whilst walking around and nachos in a little cafe down a side street as we did not head back to Heathrow until 7.340pm.
Managed to get hold of Phil and Kath that night by phone after a huge rigmarole with a person at the front desk which meant going up and down to my room in the lift 3 times. They were to arrive the next morning at 7.30am!!!!
By 8am they had not showed so went and had breakfast and they walked in about 15 mins later .. they had been driving around Heathrow trying to find access to the hotel. They had already checked in so after a quick catch up and waiting until 9.30am for the cheap train ticket for the day off we set. They had booked tickets on the London Eye and a river cruise. I had been dubious about the Eye after Paris thinking I'm not sure whether I am ready for this but it couldnt have been more different. After getting the physical tickets in Kath's hands (best loos here yet, a hand dryer that is exceptionally space age!) we formed a very small queue and we were on. You hope into something that looks like a pod, the only nerve wracking bit is that it never quite stops either getting on or off. There is a seat which I firmly settled on to start of with, however you move so gradually around I gained courage and got to the handrails on the side for better views. Kath had got a 360 degree view of London with all the monuments depicted and there to the West was the power station used on the Pink Floyd cover. I would not hesitate to recommend this attraction to anyone who has not tried it - it was wonderful. There was a pause after that before the river cruise so wandered along the water front and looked at the Dali sculptures (as you do) - another famous one with the bent watch that was on an Underdogs LP cover in the late 60's I feel but also on another one that I could not remember who the group was. The building where we got tickets also has a cinema and there was a very realistic looking 007 in the foyer, (Pierce Brosnon) and there were life size figures of storm troopers from Star Wars outside the theatre. Phil saw Darth Vader wandering amongst the crowd but I missed that. What I did see was a host of people as statues along the waterfront or busking playing instruments. The whole water front had a very festive feel. Going on the Thames in the river boat was brilliant. Although it was a motorised boat and going at a reasonable clip I could imagine what it must have been like going up to the Tower of London (where we turned around). I imagine it would have been considerably worse as it would have drawn out the time before the portcullis on the moat closed behind you. We walked towards the Tower after the cruise and had lunch at a cafe along the way - beer battered fish, chips and mushy peas - very yum. We didnt get to the pub that was in the Tom Cruise Mission impossible movie as we were too hungry to go any further as it was about 2pm. We walked on to St Pauls and caught a train to the Tower which meant crossing three lines which took miles of walking and there we were walking towards Traitors gate which you have to enter by. Straight away to your right is the archway that the boats used to come right into back in the day. The English appear to have been a smaller race back then as the rooms are tiny (as was the suits of armour in Windsor and at the Tower). It was very claustrophobic walking up some of the turrets and into the rooms that previous captives had been held in. Sir Walter Raleigh's room still had furniture in which was interesting to see. We saw the rack and a couple of other instruments of torture - not a fun place at all. The place where the scaffold stood is now a green lawn and hard to imagine that such grusome things occurred there with the sun shining and flowers about. What blew me away here was seeing the crown jewels - this is a serious OMG experience and unimaginable wealth in the stones that I saw in the crowns, gold plate etc. Not a lot of conservation or recycling of crowns here - a new set of do dads seems to get made for each coronation. It was glorious to see and had more impact than I expected. It was heading towards 5pm so we started to walk back along the riverside to town and decided to stop in at the Tait Modern on the way back. Luckily a bus came by which dropped us at the back of the building. As it would suggest by the name it is a place to go and view Modern Art ........ There was a Monet water lillies that was huge on one wall, a Picasson that was recognisable, and a very few other painters I have heard of but the general comment from those of us who saw it was ...... what a load of rubbish. The hogwash that was written about the deep and meaningfulness of a pile of stones or a few lines on a canvas or just paint thrown on a canvas was difficult to fathom. After seeing two floors we felt we had done enough and so carried on walking to Blackfriars Bridge, over the bridge and up the river to Covent Gardens. People were everywhere drinking outside on the footpaths and generally having a good time. We went to look for somewhere to have dinner but could not find the place Kath and Phil were thinking of so walked to Leicester station and caught the train back to the hotel. Had the best beef ribs out for dinner. They said two on the menu and as I wasnt initially feeling hungry thought that was fine. They turned out to be the size of a small dinosaur and were absolutely delicious.
Got up next morning and watched the All Blacks v the Springbox in the bar with Phil - we were the only ones there until towards the end when some English bloke popped his head in. Kath came down and we had a leisurely breakfast at 10.30am and I finished packing. Kath and Phil headed off to a friend's birthday about 1pm and I decided to stay and relax rather than zoom out and do any more touristing. My bags were packed with nothing to spare and did not feel like lugging all that round with me. Caught the plane to Singapore last night and slept 90% of the way which was good. Am now going in search of a foot massage and something to eat before boarding for home. Am looking forward to catching up with everyone and cannot wait to use the phone again LOL. Until then Lots of Love to all, Lynn

Hi from merrie olde England. I have adjusted to two different languages with email and it is wonderful and fast to be using the old qwertyup system. Great to get all your comments and I have just looked at the news on line to read about the storm in Auckland and northern environs. It is down to a mere 20 degrees today and everyone was in jackets, cardigans or jumpers, oh how quickly we forget. Got back from emailing yesterday evening only to turn round to go out to go and see the Eiffel tower up close and personally. It took three changes of station and then a smallish walk to the said icon. We queued of course just as very dark thunderous looking clouds swept in with an amount of precipitation falling. Out came the umbrellas but the queue carried on (of course). I only went up two levels as the third was closed due to affluence (french for too many people wanting to go up there), however, if you did want to wait until you collected your pension, you could buy another ticket at level two and carry on. I didn't have any yearning passion to go right to the top and was more than satisfied with a partial walk around the edge of level two whilst clutching at the railing thinking two high places in one day was enough out of the comfort zone. Paris was spectacular from that height I have to say and I am pleased to have said I have done it. Angela and her daughter wanted to go right to the top but I decided to go on back to the hotel. By now it was about 7.30pm - 8.00ish which seems to be rush hour on le metro. I got stuck in a corner after a woman got on with a pushchair with small child and another two small ones with her! You have a very small amount of time to get on and off so I did the only thing I could and pushed my way near to the door just after the stop before I had to get off. As this was 3 changes and new territory and the time of day, I was a tad nervous but walked through the underground as though I owned it, glaring and not making eye contact LOL. I was not harrassed once by the beggars that lurk about nor the hustlers selling their wares along the way so felt quite Parisian by the time I got back to the hotel at 9pm for dinner. (the others did not get back until 11.30pm).One of the things I forgot to tell you about yesterday that had me smiling (for a brief moment) was when a bloke got on the train, standing just inside the door with his accordian and he started playing it - shades of ello, ello! Again a very Paris thing as there was a guy playing pan pipes along to recorded music at one station and someone else singing at another. You almost expect Maurice Chevallier to pop out from behind a corner LOL.
After dinner I did a repack of the bag in readiness for today. I have been using up things like shampoos etc that I took with me and threw out containers and packaging to lighten the load. I have managed to zip the extension part of the bag back up and put more heavier stuff in my back pack.
Catching the train over to England was interesting. We had a bus to take us to the station and then we had to lug our bags hither an yon to the right area, be checked by the French on our departure and then the English (at the same station) for entrance! to England. We then lugged our baggage through the station to the train and off we went. I promptly fell asleep and missed the whole chunnel thing. I was amazed at how much of France we went through before the chunnel and then how much England we came through to get to Heathrow. Thought I would put the MP3 player on that Mathew gave me and lo and behold another sign, you will not believe it but the song that was first up was 'London Calling'. I burst out laughing (as you do) and the others enjoyed my 'sign 'as well. I don't even remember Julian downloading that one for me so it was a very nanoo, nanoo moment.
Mercifully we were met by yet another bus that took us on a jaunt round the high spots of London for a couple of hours. My first impressions of Heathrow were not flattering at all. Busting to spend a penny and first hurdle, a queue out into the station! half way down there was a sign (not one of mine I might add LOL) 20d to go to the loo and I had no flaming pounds only euro!!!!!! Uncivilised country!!! Crossed everthing and off we set. Its hard to describe what it was like seeing so many places that on one level you know - another mona lisa moment in a way. It was so like being on a live Monopoly board. First stop was St Paul's for a pit stop and a very quick look around. The guide we had was very good with his patter and kept pointing out all sorts. Didnt take many photos as everything is too big from the bus and on a level, I already know what this stuff looks like. We ended up at the Tower of London just before lunch and the Tower bridge was just up the way crossing the river - this I did enjoy and did take a photo of a couple of ravens on the wing. We were stopped for lunch there and wandered around not seeing anything that took my fancy when around the corner I walked and there was (small drum roll and a text to Laura to read this next bit) Wagamama!!! Hein and Uri were just behind me and as I was squeaking away with surprise they decided they wanted to go there for lunch and Laura, just for you, I went too. I can not remember the name of what I ate but it was a vegetable salad with cashew nuts and the house dressing, a huge bowl full which was absolutely delicious. (N0 61 on the menu if you have a photographic memory Laura). I had to have a desert as well and chose the mango and lychee sorbet which I ended up by having to take with me as the bus was ready to go.
Next stop was St James Palace where the palace guards lurk and the horse guards. We started to notice all these very posh people walking past in tophats and tails (men) and woman dressed like Melbourne cup day (in a posh way, EVERYONE with a hat. We walked on a bit further through St James's park to Buckingham Palace and what was a small stream, turned out to be a tidal river of posh people travelling by London taxi, on foot or in cars that would be the equal of the National Debt...... we had just walked into Garden Party afternoon at Buck House!!!!! Forget the cars, the clothes that were being worn to said occassion were worth more collectively than some third world countries would have in their exchequers. There were people from the forces amongst the crowd and I saw one church person in a red outfit ? cardinal????? Did take photos of that and video footage. Also of the lamp posts. Why you might ask??? I have noticed that each different country seems to have a different motiffe for their lamp posts. In England it is three dolphins, I will have too look back out my photos to remember the others.
We finally got to the hotel about 5pm and have landed on our feet for the last few days. It is a trillion miles from London (45 mins by underground) and we are directly under Heathrow's flightpath but first impressions are all good. I have ended up with a double room- double bed and a single bed, a bath and room enough in the bathroom to change more than your mind LOL.
I plucked up the courage to order a coffee downstairs as I have had bad experiences in Italy and Paris - both times I ordered a coffee out came something the size of an eyebath. I decided to ask what size the cup was before I got the guy to make one. Hallelujah, a recognisable, Edmonds cookbook, good amount, size cup!!!! I went giddy and ordered a cappucino and it was perfect - yay. I have been remarkably coffee free while I have been away, have drunk enough water to empty a small reservoir though. And then there is the loos- I have been neglectful in telling you all my loo stories - the one downstairs here is not only clean, with a seat and free - it has soothing music playing at the same time!!!! This one wins the prize - and not a queue in sight - almost a pavement kissing moment LOL. Forgot to tell you about the one in Paris the day we saw the pet market - the one that cost .40 to spend a penny, but it gets better, the woman sitting outside the loo taking the money was tucking into a plate of spaghetti for her lunch!!!! I have come to realise that travel is not so much about seeing new and wonderful things, it is about how much punishment a body can take and survive to see the sights LOL.
The thing that strikes me about London immediately is how expensive everything is when you muliply things by three. Water that I could get in Italy for .46e at the grocery store a bottle is $1.60 here (read pounds for $ sign as there is no pounds sign on this computer). Internet here is $5 per hour or $10 for 24 hours - in Rome it was .20e per hour and in Paris it was e3.50 for two hours. I am writing this because one of the group has a lap top and has got 24 hours worth and is sharing her lap top around. Post cards here are .60 each instead of .30 in Paris and so it goes.
One of the most bizarre things is that we have travelled from Greece to Italy to France with no customs or boarder checks and the briefest check and stamp of the passport to get into England today. I should think that for criminals it must be the easiest thing in the world to move freely about as it is no more than going from Waiuku to Pukekohe to cross boarders - very bizare after Singapore and NZ. Have yet to get out of Heathrow airport though and that is reputed to be a toughie and of course then it will be getting back into Singapore and NZ.
We are setting out tomorrow for the British Museum at 9.30am when the price for the underground drops. I am heading for the Egypt section and I want to see a dinasaur. Of course not knowing what there is to see, I am not sure what else I will want to view. My thoughts are at this stage of going to the Tower later in the day and then there is a sung evensong at St Pauls at 5pm. Am trying to do as much as possible within reason. Jill Ohlson is looking at us going to see the Merchant of Venice at the Globe the following night but there are lots of ifs and buts yet. I really would like to see Hampton Palace, home at one time of Henry VIII but it is a bit of a cut lunch and a map to get to. Thursday is Oxford and Windsor Castle and Friday am working around Phil and Kath (Mcfaddyen) who are coming to stay in the same hotel to catch up with me which will be a buzz. Phil has talked about going up on the London Eye so will wait and see. There are more museums here than you can poke a stick at: Pollocks toy museum, London Canal museum, Museum of London, Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, Foundling Museum, Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum, National Army Museum, and Museum of Garden History to name a few. On a level all of London could be regarded as a Museum. We passed Wellington's statue today in the bus and there further around the war memorial is the New Zealand memorial which I think is stunning. From one angle all you see is black pole like things and then as you drive around the memorial the poles come into relief as crosses when you look down on them. There are korous and other NZ symbols within the 'poles' am not explaining it well but do remember reading a bit about it in the paper a while back. Saw in no particular order Trafalgar Square, Cleopatra's needle, Admiralty Arch, Eros, Wellington Arch, Baker Street, Oxford Street, Leicester Square, Royal Courts of Justice, Fleet Street, Downing Street, Covent Garden, Cunard building, Baden Powell building, St Martin in the Fields church, Westminster Cathedral, New Scotland Yard, Statue of Florence Nightingale ....... at that is off the top of my head at 1am. (Also saw the buildings that John Cleese hung ???? out of in the Fish called Wanda movie.... Dirty Dancing, Fiddler on the Roof and Phantom of the Opera are some of the shows that are on and Harry Potter opens tomorrow night at the movies. Yay for LONDON! Will sign off for now and will see if I can catch up again before the week is out. I think we are all going to chip in for the internet costs and get 24 hours each day. Will wait and see. Good night chaps and chapessess from jolly olde ENGLAND.

Bon jour, another intrepid day in Paris and it is only 4.30pm. Decided on an early start this morning - it turned out to be 8pm by the time everyone got organised, and then 12 of us set off for a walking tour of Montmartre. Caught the metro there and the first thing we saw as we came out of the station was the MOULIN ROUGE - this time there was a small squeal ... as I had not expected it - visions of Toulouse Lautrec (and Nicole Kidman for those younger readers), etc etc. Took a couple of photos and thought of you Laura. We carried on up a hill and lo and behold in the near distance there was a bakery, and it was open. Even though we had had breakfast (hotel stuff) we could not resist having a pastry or two to carry on with. The pastries were a feast for the eyes and the nose. I was remarkably restrained and bought two mine pain a chocolates for €.40 each. Further up the hill was one of the last two windmills left in Montmartre. Around another corner and a bit more hill was the house where Van Gogh lived aaarrrhhh and pinch me (he was a good mate of Toulouse L also). Half way round some of the girls we had taken with us wanted to head of in a different direction and the rest of us carried on. We came to a little group of shops that sold art works and souvineers - I bought a small limoge dish to go with the cup and saucer Nana Gert gave me as a child. Around another corner was the Sacre Cour Cqthedral. Once again, like Notre Dame you could walk around the edge of the main congregation area and there were elaborate side chapels all the way around dedicated to a particular Saint or biblical personage. This church is doing some serious fundraising and so they had BIG glass jars with candles in for €10 and tea lights for €2. Another lo and behold moment because as I was wondering where to light my candle - there was a side chapel dedicated to St Vincent! I took it as a sign and lit one there - this time only singeing my finger as it got in the way of the flame from the candle I was lighting mine from. (twas but a flesh wound heh heh). I was half way round to see the other side of the church when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and out come a flock of nuns in white habits and black veils, silently. I decided to slide into a pew to see whqt happêned next. There was a moment or two of silence and then shades of Sister Act, one of the nuns got up and started conducting as they burst into song. The sound was magnificent - it was in French so couldnt pick out what it was as it didnt sound familiar. It was great to get the chance to hear it in such awesome surroundings. The church has a dome decorated in mosaic as do many features in the side chapels. I do not have any photos as you are not allowed to photograph inside the church. As I got up to leave the last stained glass window I saw was dedicated to St Gertrude - another sign. Met up with the others outside and we caught the funnicular down the hill to catch the metro again. We headed for La Fayette Stn which comes out into an enormous department store - truely overwhelming. After a pit stop we had some lunch - another interesting experience: you pick food from any of a number of food hall type places then go through to a central till place and then you find somezhere to sit. Not sure how you get paid if it is your food venue. During lunch it decided to bucket down with lightening and thunder yay. The rest of our group all wanted to do differnet things after lunch so we went our separate ways. I was determined to get to the cemetary to see Jim Morrison's grave and so off I set. Now this is where you get REALLY impressed. I cqught the metro on TWO different lines to get there, found the right place to get off and there was the cemetary right next to the station. There was still thunder and one bit of lightening and I had to chuckle at how appropriate going to see Morrison,s grave was in a storm - was this yet another sign? I took a photo of the map which was a big help and wandered my way towards the grqve. It was a bit like seeing the Mona Lisa - not a surprise, but good to feel I had been there. What was more interesting was the reactions of others who were also there. One young lad leapt over the small fence in front of the grave to leave a long stemmed rose on the side of the grave, another guy perhaps in his late twenties just stood and stared with teqrs in his eyes, then there was a tour group that moved in - certainly not much resting in peace going on there. It is not a highe or flash grave (I have photos) but there are pots of flowers on top and bunches of flowers on his grave. I saw a single cigarette on the top of the grave too. The cemetary itself is awesome, the little I saw of it - amazing tombs and not unlike Waikaraka cemetary in Onehunga except with a more European look somehow. For my next trick I got myself back to the hotel, hence me typing this. I am about to head back to see who is about and to check in. May get back later or the next one will be from ENGLAND as we leqve tomorrow via the chunnel. At least they will have a normal keyboard there! Bon soir, Lynn

Bonne nuit, il est neuf heurs et dix.... heh, heh. This is a two cup of coffee or teas and possibly a lie down epistle. Where to start. You will all be relieved (or not) to hear that I have not lost myself since Florence!!!! I have just read all your comments to date as every time i tried to in Italy it flicked into Italian and then cut out. I wasnt sure whether anyone else was out there. Well, Paris -as I am more of an antiquities girl, I flet a bit ho hum when we arrived yesterday - Paris felt a bit too new LOL after looking at things that have been around BC. Our guide met us at the hotel at 8pm after I had finished my last post and we set off into Paris via the metro. What a dirty, stinking piece of work that is. You dare not lean against any wall as you can see places where there may have been a contest to see how high one could spray...... - not for the faint hearted. Once again there were a trillion stairs (small homage for the clean with escalators of Greece metro) as we descended into the bowels of the earth. All 44 of us jumped into one carriage which was mercifully mostly empty and off we went into PARIS. An observation - not all French people are chic! or look as though they have stepped out of Louis Vuiton. We came up in front of the LOUVRE! I started to get a smidgen interested at the Oh my God I recognise this place and its AMAZING! There were the glass pyramids and the statues and the fountains and then OMG again, there is the Arc de Triumph and OMG there is the obelisk down the end of the Champs Elysee!!!!!! I am sure you are getting the picture. We walked through the jardain de Tuilliries, through the Arc de T. and of course there is the Eiffel Tower. At 10pm the lights were on and for 10 minutes there were lights all flickering on the ET. We walked the WHOLE of the Champs Elysee to the Arch at the end where the tomb of the unknown soldier lies. There were bouquets of flowers on the tomb and there is a flame that never goes out. By now it was 11.20pm and we were wilting (remember we started in the bus at 6am - i hope you are all impressed). Our guide got us back safe and sound at midnight.
Today we went by metro back to town again to see Notre Dame cathedral. There was a full sevice going on in the centre while visitors walked around the entire inside with the service going on in the centre. There were side chapels all around the body of the church all with their little stations where you could light a candle. No holds barred here, €2 to light a tea light and €5 to light a candle in a fancy glass. Yes, I did light one here too but chose the more modest variety. Most bizarre of all was the shop set up inside the exit door for souvineers. The story of Jesus driving the tax gatherers out of the temple came to mind!!!! a strange combination of worship and mammpn working at the same time. I would love to have sat for a while in the service and soaked it all up. There are parts of this trip Which feel very like the KFC approach to travel - you walk in one end and keep walking and co,e out the other end not sure of what you have just seen entirely - drive by tourism except it is walk by and at times with a certain amount of speed. We walked to a little market not far away looking for morning tea - it was a market for pets! There were goldfish, canaries,cockatoos, pigeons, rabbits, chipmonks, a ferret to name a few that I saw plus all the food and accoutrements to look after said beasts. There was a cafe alongside so had a hot chololate that was delicious. I have given up asking for coffee in Europe although i am learnig so,e tricks. In Greece and Italy in the hotels the coffee could have been used with stone chips instead of tar for roading. Milk is put on the table hot and frothy and after one ghastly taste experience I tried putting 3/4 cup of milk into a cup ane then topping it up with coffee and that worked. I forgot and ordered one today and a coffee here means something the size of an eyebath, strong enough to kick start your heart from a flatline position on the heart monitor and it comes with a sugar cube that you could feed to a small pony. I digress. After am tea we ventured forth to the Louvre and despite the forebodings of queues fro, here to Africa, the queue was no longer than one at the supermarket and it was quick moving. There were official type people moving you through smartly. Once inside you can go to a machine, dial up your language, tell it how many tickets you want, put your money in and it will spit out tickets and change. I armed myself with an English translation of where to find what (they have as many languages as the tower of Babel) and off I went. Learning by experience, we decided to meet at 3pm at the info desk to decide what to do next and so off I went on my own. I wanted to go at my own pace and just soak it all in without feeling I had to pace myself to someone elses speed an enjoyment or lack of. This was another OMG experience. I started off with the Greek statues and there was Apollo, Hercules, Diana, the huntress, Athena, Julius Ceasar, the three Graces and on and on. Bliss. As I wended my round these - they were on the bottom floor, I also saw some of the Egyptian exhibition - statues, mummies, funeral masks etc. The second floor up started with more statues - Venus de Milo being a feature. Then the paintings - Botticelli, DaVinci, Canelleto, Ruebans, Rembrandt,Utrillo, Carravagio, Delacroix, and so on and so on. On this floor was the Mona Lisa and I did see her though not right in front close but close enough, I think she looks better in real life than pictures do her justice but there were others that stopped me much more in my tracks. Opposite the Mona Lisa is a wall sized painting of the Zedding qt Caanan which is simply breath taking. I want to buy books on everything i have seen but they weigh so much and it doesnt make sense to pay exta to bring them back. I will have to go on line when I get home to see whqt I can find. At 3pm I checked in with some others from the group and decided I needed to see more instead of moving on to the D'orsay museum. Many had given up and gone off shopping and to ride of the ferris wheel, however, i was a woman on a mission! i grabbed a baguette for sustenqnce on the run and kept going. I went back to some of the paintings and turned a corner through the etruscan exhibition as you do and there were the crwn jewells!!! Josephines pearl crown, her set of emeralds and sapphire necklaces, ear rings, brooches etc. Louis' crown almost looked fake the jewells were so big. Totally awesome that these are still able to be seen and not broken down or lost. I went through Napoleans apartments OMG and kept going to the Dutch painters; By noW I was under pressure so whizzed through some rooms trying to see as much as I could before meeting up with everyone again to come back to the hotel. Another trip on the metro and I had been on my feet without a break since 11.30am arriving back here at 6pm. To cap off a day of bliss, I had dinner in the restaurant with some of the others. We have been eating vile tour type food most nights so here was a chance to eat somthing a little more French. I had smoked salmon drizzled with lemon olive oil, followed by a salad thqt included goats cheese, tomatoes, bacon and lettuce again drizzled with olive oil and the piéce de resistance - cream caramel! It came out as a huge wedge (like a flan piece) with the toffee sauce lapping all around it. ( €13) I hqve taken a photo of it plus Hein's profiterals which resembmed a small everest! News on the ankles - yesterday after the bus trip and walking for four hours they again felt like an alien was about to split the skin and escape - they were of epic proportions. I decided i needed to be proactive so went to bed very attractively wearing my anti clot stockings and with my feet up on the spare pillow. While i did not quite have gazelle ankles this morning they had creases again and I could see my ankle bones, Yay. The plus was I have been on my feet all day with no problems.
Whilst I was ensconced in the Louvre today it rained - quell horreur. It was drizzling tonight on the way back so decided not to go back into town to do the Eiffel Tower in the rain, hence the very long blog. Tomorrow several of us are setting out early - 7;30 ish to Monmartre (the cemetary where many famous are buried and to Sacre Cour which is part of a two hour walking tour - I hope you are all very impressed by the miles I am doing. The plan is to come back into town and maybe do the Eiffel Tower then and whatever else springs to mind. The weather is predicted to rain but at this stage we are going anyway. Did I tell you that temps went up to 47° after we left and there were deaths from the heat.
Had better go and get ready for the great expedition tomorrow. Glad things are going well over there except for the weather - I keep thinking of you all at various times and yes, I have tqken masses of photos and video - there will be something of interest for everyone as I have taken some very random ones. This place is about to close so bon nuit, Love from moi.

Bon jour, je suis dans Paris; and they have a different key board so touch typing is not so easy. Since I was on line lazst I have been to Mestre, Venice, San Remo, Nimes, Avignon, and to day we left Avignon at 6am to arrive in Paris about 3.30pm; We have a guide co,ing to the hotel at 8pm to take us on a walking tour of Paris tonight for a couple of hours. We are staying on the Rue des Flanders of La Valliet or as close to spelling as I can remember without a map. Venice Was great, got to go up the canal in a water taxi and took heaps of photos. Fascinating tiny streets when we walked behind the plaza; We went to a shop that did a glass blowing demonstration which was fascinating. It was Murano glass and they let us into the shop afterwards which was fairly lethal for some. We had the only rain on the whole trip in San Marco - I have a photo of the cathedral there with the sky quite black in the bqzckground. It was all over by the time we had finished at the glass shop. Loved San Remo too - amazing scenery of the coastline as we wound our way through miles of tunnels downhill. Got to walk to the beach and then did a walk to the cathedral after dinner: What I love about Europe is that it stays open until at least 10pm each night. Must Sign off And head back to the hotel for the tour. Catch you later.

Firenze/Florence

Last night in Rome repacked my entire suitcase and realised I had lost shirt, probably in Sorrento - mental note to self to repack entirely before leaving for new area. We were up early and diced with death trying to get on the bus - all the buses open on the opposite side to NZ ones which means you hop off into traffic who do not give a toss about pedestrians. We drove through Umbria and the TUSCANY to get to Florence or Firenze to the natives. Saw my second herd of cows since I have been away (friesians) and a paddock with horses in. The landscape continued to be spotted with medieval looking buildings perched on hills with towns beneath them. The crops changed from olives to sunflowers through Tuscany. There are still vines and citrus along the way, paddocks with round haybales and possibly lavender or something similar. There is lots of brightly coloured ceramics appearing in the shops. We got to Florence at 1pm and had a very quick drive to a view that overlooked the city with the Ponte Vechio (excuse any poor spelling - it is 1 euro for 15 mins). We arrived at the hotel which is full of marble and I have gone from a tiny space to a bedroom the size of my lounge and a bathroom that has space between each fitting and a shower with a shower head and a hand held sprayer - bliss. There was nothing planned for the day so everyone headed for the markets to shop. I had no idea where to go so tagged on with the Bridger family (Chrystal was 2 years behind me at AK Dio). The markets were full of leather and murano glass plus the pashminas, scarves and other tourist hideosities. Bought a few bits and pieces and then got lost AGAIN. Chrystal was looking at a handbag at a shop right opposite to where I was buying some earings and when I turned around she had gone. Twice in two days was a bit demoralising. I looked around a bit and then stayed put at the junction of where we had been for about 20 mins and was then quietly panicking. I walked back to where I had recognised a church but took a wrong direction. I asked another hapless woman for directions - and she pointed me in the general direction. I then asked two young girls who were going past who happened to speak English who took me to the station where I caught a taxi back. Chrystal had looked for me and sensibly ambled home some time later unconcerned while I was frantic about being lost again!!! (But now I'm found LOL). Forgot to mention when I first arrived at the hotel - I asked if they had a laundry - they gave me a list of prices to have it done by the hotel - 1.50è for a pair of nickers, 9è for trousers ... I could buy new clothes for the prices they charged so reverted to good old boarding school days, cold water, soap and hand washing. The bathroom resembled an Italian laundry ( a change from the un PC chinese laundry - the Italians hang all their laundry out on their balconies for all and sundry to see):
Today we set out early and had a guide to walk us around the city. We walked past the most amazing churches that took my breath away. We walked down one of the richest streets with Dolce and Gabana, Louis Vuiton, Bulgari and a host of other names with the most beautiful window displays. Walking to the Ponte Vecchio we walked down the street with all the gold merchants with the most dazzleing displays. Florence was founded by Julius Ceasar who built the bridge into the city but is most famous for the Medici era which involved the Renaissance period. This afternoon I went with the Ohlsons to the Pitty Palace which was the Medici home and my head is still reeling from the magnificence of the place. Room after room of painted ceilings with the most ornate decorations picked out in gold. Room after room with four walls covered in multiple paintings many of which were recognisable from my 6th form history of art. There are too many to talk about here but there were paintings by Michelangelo, Titian, Van Dyck, Raphael, Utrillo to name a few. It took over two hours to walk through one floor. Before that we had gone to a church name after Saint Felicity who was a martyr - there were again huge paintings of other martyred saints. The had candles that were glass and lit when you poked them into a hole that must have worked like a light bulb. I 'lit' one and put a few words up for myself, family and friends - I hope you are all benefitting from this!!! After coming out of the palace we walked back into town and found a market we hadnt seen before. I had no intention of buying anything today as I had felt completely over shopping after the day before's traumatic incident but a leather coat leapt out at me and before I knew it I had tried it on and it fitted like a glove.. I had noticed one exactly the same the day before but had passed it by. I will keep you all in suspense but it is fabulous. After that Iwent to one of the main cathedrals this afternoon which I cannot remember the name of just now and nearly self immoliated when I lit a further two candles there. These were tea lites and went on a tree like contraption. Once again for family and one for our Waiuku next door neighbours in particular - as I went to take a photo of the tree of lights I backed into the one behind me on a plinth and nearly set fire to myself at the same time thought the whole lot was going to crash onto the floor! After walking non chalently to one side of the cathedral I headed back outside. After reconnecting with other folk from our group I headed back to the hotel stopping at a Pizzaria for dinner which was divine - real Italian food and very yummy. Am going to sign off now and head for bed - we have to be up and packed by 6.30am as we are leaving to see 'David' by 8.15am tomorrow and then on to Venice. Great to get the comments back. Be in touch again soon
Ciao

Forum, Coloseum

What a day today has been. We started off this morning with a drive around Rome and then stopped at the Coloseum. On the way there we passed where the chariot races used to occur! The coloseum is amazing. We walked up inside and then around so saw it from all angles, where the gladiators fought, where the animals were - they had a pulley system to get them up from the bottom levels. There is restoration on nearly every major ruin in Rome and there is a part of the arena that has been recreated as it would have been. I am almost out of words to describe what I am seeing. The engineering feats that it took to build these places in the time it took them is phenomenal (there is a lot to be said about slave labour). Today we had a guide who took us about and after the coloseum we went to the forum, where this time, I got lost. I was taking a video of the entrance and looked around and couldnt see anyone from our group. Think teeming ant hill and that is what it looked like at these ruins which were immense. After walking around for about 10 mins I decided to stay put not far away from where the entrance to the main part was. Unfortunately the rest of the group were gathered up a bit from that about a metre out of my line of sight and it was at least half an hour until I finally moved to go back up to the road that I saw them. Very embarressing moment. Big 000ps. Once we got going again we walked around the ruins, saw where the vestal virgins had their temple, where the senate met, where Julius Ceasar was burnt and more. This afternoon we had a walk through several squares and just wandered on foot through central Rome. My time is up so will sign off. Rome is unbelievable, I have been looking at things over 2000 years old that are still standing!
Nighty night. Tomorrow we are off to Florence so not sure when I can get to an ecafe but will work in it.
Ciao.

Italy all day

What a day - I have skipped forwards about the trip to cover the last two days before my time runs out. Yesterday we set out to see the Sistene Chapel. We queued for about an hour after walking at least half a mile up hill to turn round and come back down again to find we were in the wrong queue!!!!!! Not impressed in the slightest. So, we went to the beginning of the next queue which was as long if not longer than the other one in the opposite direction. There was no guarantee we were going to get in in a timely fashion so the decision was made to go to St Peters Basillica instead. What an amazing thing to walk through the columns and there I am, in the Vatican City looking right up to where the Pope comes out onto the balcony for those major occassions that he does. The buildings, statues and grandeur of the place is huge. Our bags were xrayed as we entered the city and then as we entered the Basillica. People that were not appropiately covered - shoulders, or too short skirts or shorts were given sarongs to cover up if they wanted to enter. Again we moved in a queue and then we were in through the doors inside the church itself. Again, the statues, the ceilings, the smell, the colours were almost more than I could take in. I have taken heaps of photos but I doubt if they will ever do justice to the magnificence of the place. To one side there was a chapel that had huge curtains hanging that you entered between. Inside the curtains was a chapel that you could not take photos in. I took a seat and just sat for some time taking it all in. It seemed appropriate to say a prayer and I found myself very moved to be in that space. The smell of incense was very strong and I imagined all the people over the years who had sat in the same space, praying for their needs and the needs of family and friends. Back in the main area I walked around with the hundreds of other people. There are several chapels within the main body of the church. Someone was getting married in one of them to the left. There is a dead Pope lying in state in a glass case in front of one of the chapels in the center front of the church. The next option was to go up to the top of the dome or go to the crypt where many of the Popes are buried - I chose the latter. That too was amazing. Many of the Popes have effigies on top of their tombs, the earliest ones are mere etchings. There is also the last Stuart King and his two sons buried there. The last Pope has a simple tomb with his name on a marble slab. I was not able to take photos down there as there were signs not to - will have to try and pick up a book with pictures in it. We were to meet at 1pm by the fountain only to find the troops who had gone up to the dome were only just getting to the end of the queue to get there! By now I was hungry, thirsty and so some of us went to have lunch. It was then I realised I had left my camera case with digital camera, money, credit cards, flashdrive, licence and two lipsticks on the ground where we had met when I had pulled out some things that I had bought. ARRRGH!!!!!! I went to the Police who gave me directions to the nearest police station that seemed to be miles away. By then I had met up with more of the group and it was suggested I ask information. Yes, someone had handed it in (never mock the power of prayer!!!!!) and I had to go to the Vatican Post office. Yes, they had seen it but I now had to go to the Vatican Police - more directions to the local police station. Jill Ohlson and I then set out and walked a goodly distance with no sign of a police station so we asked a woman in passing. She had no English but understood cabinierre (or something that sounds like that) and took us to where she thought it was only to find a door in the wall with no apparrent access. Quite by chance two guys came out and said there was no one there - as that happened one of our fathers who speaks Italian came out from a shop next door and the next thing another guy comes out, takes us all upstairs where sitting on his desk is my camera, case etc. Bless. We then met up with several others from the group and headed back to the hotel on the metro - more confusing than the Greek one I thought and we got off heaps before we needed to and walked miles it seemed back to the hotel. Ankles are still very large - am thinking of starting an olympic event!
Ciao

Delphi pt one.

Tuesday awake at 5.30am so looked at the literature on how to work my camera and video beyond on and off. Breakfast was a hearty European one - 2 eggs, 4 tiny sausages, 2 croissants, a bowl of Greek yoghurt (to Die For) covered with honey and oj. On to the bus and off to Delphi we went once again with Eva on board. Parts of Athens remind me of Suva and Nausauri, decrepit buildings, cars and trucks in poor repair - gratings on windows. Along the roadside there were little shrines much the same as we have white crosses. if you have had an accident and survived you might put one up - they are more elaborate if someone dies. They might also mark where a chapel has been and has moved. There is an amazing amount of buildings - houses and other that just sit unfinished throughout the countryside. The landscape is hills encircling flat, bare, land that would be hard put to raise a rabbit, with sparse vegetation. There are rocks everywhere. There are olives everywhere growing randomly much the same way gorse grows in nz. Big excitement for the morning was a fighter plane in the sky and then coming towards us and landing to the left of where we were driving. A Top Gun moment!!On the way to Delphi we passed through this amazing town - have to find the name of it - but it was the first time it looked like the Greece I had always imagined. Houses nestled into the hills with narrow streets and very picturesque. The buildings were white with red tiled roofs and lots of plants in pots again. Temperature was in the early 40,s at this time. We got to Delphi and waited while Hein and Jill tried to sort out a stuff up with our tickets. Greece is well onto the tourist run around with the we do not understand and you needed to do this, this and this even though we had papers from the embassy!!! However, all the hassel faded away as we started to climb (spot the clue) up the steps to the first sight of the ruins. (have to go and have dinner, have typed furiously and will do part two as soon as I can. We have heard the All Blacks lost and the Americas cup race - email is a wonderful thing and we also bumped into some kiwis in downtown Rome as you do) Ciao

I am still alive and well in ITALY

Where to start! There were no ecafes in Greece that we could find and it has taken two days to find this one. Very quickly There was a heat wave when we reached Greece and the temperatures ranged from 40° - 45°. I have never been so hot in my life and felt I was going to expire several times. We reached Greece to have one of the girls leave her passport on the plane so were delayed an hour before we could leave the airport. We then went by bus, driving on the right hand side of the road to the hotel. The traffic was phenomenal - think Auckland peak hour and you would have some idea. Motor bikes with people riding them with open toed shoes, no helmets and short sleeves. There were white and pink oleanders planted all along the side of the roads every where in town. The entire time we were in Greece I never saw blue sky as it appeared as a grey/milky haze everywhere. We arrived at the hotel at about 9.30am, dropped our luggage, threw lighter clothes on as we changed in the downstairs toilets and off we went to the Acropolis on the bus. Our tour guide was called Eva who was Greek but bought up in Turkey before her family came back to Greece. More about her later. One of the things that immediately struck me was the housing, lots and lots of apartment blocks, with lots of plants in pots on verandahs that looked very colourful. Driving up to the Acropolis was amazing, it dominates the landscape from a variety of points around the city. This was the 40° day! Eva told us in the bus that we could not take drink or food on the site so we dutifully left it all on the bus. Just a warning for any other intrepid travellers out there - every ancient monument in Greece (and so far in Italy) is on top of a bloody hill!!!!!! (restrained language at that!!) So, by the time the organisation for tickets has occurred we have been waiting outside in the sun for about 1/2 hour. Eva gathered us up and told us about the first part of the ruins as we stood in the sun up two flights of steps which was a theatre. Another flight of steps and another chat in the sun and then through the archway and there was the Parthenon!! By now we had observed every man, woman and child also visiting the site (95 buses from a cruise ship in that day) had bottles of drink with them! Another chat in the very very hot sun by now and then the temple beside the Parthenon (am having a ruin mental blockage here). By now I was feeling not a little distressed through lack of anything in my system since 7.30am and it was now 1.00pm. I took heaps of photos and tried to soak up the whole atmosphere before going back to the bus where we were all to meet. I managed to find a little drink shop down the road and bought two bottles of water, a fizzy drink and a lemon slushy. One bottle of water did not touch the sides, nor did the slushy. Fortunately the bus was air conditioned and fell back into in like a dead thing. Of course, by now the heat had affected our legs/ankles and other extremeties. Me ankles have continued to resemble something like Byan williams thighs ever since. The bus stopped briefly in town for us to buy lunch - a spinache pie and a coffee slushy and then off to the National Museum. This was absolutely amazing and gots heaps of photos. More water bought as we headed back to the hotel to check in properly and to have dinner. We did a bit of a drive around Athens on the way and saw other places of note - more photos. Being a budget hotel the meal was not exciting - it was spaghetti with tomatoe sauce, very salty dry chicken with greek salad and water melon for desert. Because we were in GREECE and did not want to waste any of our time there, several of us caught the metro after dinner to Paraeus - the end of the line one way, which is a port, and had a coffee, then caught the train back. Have to dash now for dinner so watch this space - like Arnie, I will be back. Love to all.

Are we nearly there yet? from Singapore

Am going to furiously type something while I am in a free internet cafe in Changi airport - also means I am not spending money in the shops below. What a lovely surprise it was to have my Mum come up to the airport to see me off. I have to say I was a little suspicious because I hadnt had any texts from her until the one when she said she was at the airport. Toilets - my first observations.. Auckland airport had a talking one - most discombobulating to say the least. The ones in the plane - say no more - not enough room to skin a louse for its hide never mind swinging a cat LOL. However they were clean and well set up with lotions and potions. The one here automatically flushed as soon as one stood up - modern technology again!!! A bit spooky when an inanimate object has a mind of its own. The flight over was good - we were fed like pate de foie gras ducks, lots of drinks and nibbles in between two meals. This is going to sign off so I will to. More later.

Today's the Day!!!!

It's 2.30am and I am almost done. Have packed twice. Whilst on my roll of using modern technolohy, I googled ''packing tips'''and blow me done there were trillions. Armed with two check lists (just to make sure) I found I had done a pretty good job by myself which was reassuring. I liked the list that reminded one to clean the fridge out, do the dishes, prepay your bills, sort your banking. All are now ticked. Am still in close proximity to the heater and it has been windy and raining outside so am looking fwd to the contrast. I need to remember that if I should get to the time when I am gasping with the heat LOL. I still have some trepidation using this blog. One thing about sending everyone the wrong address to begin with , I have heard from a lot of you back which has been great. Not so great was losing outlook last night - got it back tonight so all is well. I have done my last Trade Me and will be going cold turkey while I am away. One thing about cleaning the fridge out - dinner consisted of scrambled eggs on toast and chocolate almonds (from Christmas) I figure with the walking I am going to be doing I can live wild today!! the bus will be here at 8am so will sign off. Next update should be from ......... EUROPE!!!! Yay

lynz.odyssey the prelude - 5 more sleeps to go.

Hi to those who choose to read this. I have no idea if this will work but along with visiting ancient places, I am grappling with modern technology and have set this up to keep in touch as I ready myself for my trip to EUROPE. (as you can see I am getting just the teensiest excited). I have found myself dropping this into my conversation over the last two days, - no sorry, I will not be able to attend that meeting, I will be in EUROPE (heh heh.) I will try and post my itinerary out by email - again to the very interested and for those playing at home.
I am slowly packing - have spent tonight trying on thin summer clothes with the heater on full blast behind me and trying to sort out cables etc for my digital camera and video camera (hence the comment about modern technology earlier) For the classic buffs out there - I hope you appreciate the name of my blog and new gmail address. Going to Greece has been a dream of mine forever and to get Italy, France and England is a total bonus. Being a school ''Classics" trip most of the key historical places of interest are on our list to visit so will keep you posted with impressions on what I get to see. It is past the witching hour so will sign off and check if this has worked. Ciao