And then she said...: October 2007

The Brat Pack

More Vienna Views...

Amber had the genius idea of downloading a walking tour of Vienna onto her ipod so we'd know what was what - she just hadn't quite thought through how we'd both listen to it...

"And then Sue made me walk for hours and hours and it was really hot and we weren't allowed to stop for water or anything..."

The sign in the background says "kissing the back of your hand makes the sound like a wounded bird" - it's not just that Amber is keen herself...

Amber wonders how long it would take her to climb to the top...

Pretty buildings....

Some lost tourists...

This man really does have the weight of the world on his shoulders...he needs a good osteo...

A lady with long pigtails...

Tills and Amber outside a big pretty building....

The bus tour of Vienna - a great way to see bits and bobs and saving your feet some wear and tear...

My fascination with eye masks...

I'm not sure where my fascination with eye masks started - I think it was probably around late teens when Mum & Dad came back from one of their overseas trips and gave me their unwanted eye masks from the flight. I guess that was also the beginning of my desire to travel and if involved eye masks - then hey, it must be cool ! I've made it a bit of a tradition now to buy a new one for each trip I go on so that means I have a rather large collection. I also get given a lot but I will share more about them another time perhaps....

Here's the one I bought on the way to Vienna....very comfy and this one features a nice groove for your nose which ensures maximum light blockage...there is even a little slot in the side pocket for your ear plugs but I don't really like ear plugs. I wonder if my mouth guard would fit in there? Hmmmmm...

I have slept with an eye mask every single night of my life since that day back in the early nineties. If I'm ever without one I fashion one out of a tshirt or a tea towel or anything that will not only block out the light, but also put just that tiny bit of pressure on your eyes. For me, that is a sign to my body that it's time for sleep. There's nothing better than waking up before your alarm - letting one eye peep out to read the time on the clock, hitting snooze and rolling over, adjusting the eye mask and going back to sleep...

For Dad - as spotted in Vienna...

This is absolutely brilliant...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FExqG6LdWHU

100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers
It is an inspired collage, lasting nine minutes and 28 seconds, composed of tiny movie-clips, with fragments of dialogue, simply quoting every number in countdown from 100 to 1: a mind-blowing effort of archive research, somehow trivial and monumental at the same time.

The power of the rosary & a few (tiny) white lies….

Here’s a little email exchange between my mother and I that I thought I’d share with you all. It all started when I sent Mum and Dad a copy of "The Proms" DVD because I know how much they like classical music….and it just sort of took off from there…

Dear Susan

Many thanks for the Proms CD - it's really great and we're enjoying listening to it.

Do you remember giving me a rosary bead decade you bought in the shop at the monastery on the west coast in Ireland - can't remember the name of the place but we went there with Libby, Ian, Duncan and Tash. Anyhow I always carry it in my bag and last Friday we were at Wivenhoe Dam on a Probus outing. Several of the women went to the toilet and one of them was locked in when the engaged lock wouldn't turn. Those of us outside couldn't hold the lock firm with our fingers but then I remembered the rosary beads in my bag and the end of the crucifix did the trick and I freed the locked woman - much to her relief. Goes to show the power of the rosary!!

Love Mum

Dear Mum & Dad,

I don't think I've laughed out loud at an email in a long time - I'm very happy to hear you were able to come to that lady’s rescue, as I’m sure she is….

Oh and I'm glad you liked the Proms CD, but it's actually a DVD (!!!) so you might enjoy it even more if you put it in your DVD player - that way you will be able to see it as well !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lots of love
Susan
xxx

Dear Susan,

Sorry - I put it in the CD player and it didn't work so I thought it must have been broken but I didn't want you to know that so I lied. Dad looked at it last night and saw that it was a DVD so we did play and watch it last night.

Love Mum

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any funnier – this came a few weeks later….

Dear Susan

Further to the rosary beads story the following appeared in the Probus magazine after a description of the day out to a nursery at Gatton:

"On our way home, we visited Wivenhoe Dam. Just a little drama unfolded there, when a lady (who shall remain nameless) was locked in the toilet. What does one do in these situations? Send an SOS for Trish McGregor, whose handbag contained the right implements to solve the dilemma. Well done Trish - hope Blair has stopped boasting!"

Love Mum

I’m so very proud…

Vienna Buildings...

Inbetween filming baby animals in France and filming more baby animals in Florida - I changed planes at Heathrow and popped over to Vienna with my mate Amber to visit my old mate Kristin. Here are some pretty buildings...

Most Memorable Moments

Being scratched by a gibbon…
Tickling a Tapirs tummy…
Seeing a dead zebra & learning that they actually have black skin, and the white stripes are just hair on top…
Touching an elephants trunk…
Driving my Convertible high car in Tallahassee late at night and realising it was the first time I’d ever been all alone in America…

The Fireworks going off as I flew into New York for the first time….
Enjoying a quiet breakfast, reading the paper in the New York Soho…
Getting lost on the New York streets…

Driving across the bridge back from long island and seeing the sun set on the Manhattan skyline…

Meeting Rufus and the stares I got as I carried him around in a blue and white striped beach bag…

Feeding the manatees and then taking part in releasing one back into the wild…

Florida - The Sunshine State

This is my lovely cameraman Andy who did a brilliant job. After we finished filming he went off to LA and won an Emmy for his work on Planet Earth !!

He was willing to assume any position to get the best possible shots.... (not sure how our health & safety person would have felt, especially considering that he was hanging over a pit of white tigers, but we made it through without any loss of limbs...)

Getting up close and personal with some baby warthogs...

A baby Leopard cub...cute, but dangerous...

Most of the manatees that live at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo are there for rehabilitation and are then released back into the wild. Here is one of them on his way to freedom...

The hotel which became home for 6 nights...

The view from my hotel over the Florida Keys...

Rufus shows keen interest in a possible career behind the camera...

Rufus attempts to escape from the Zoo...

Part of Rufus's rehabilitation was to be re-introduced to the other kangaroos - I'm not quite sure what they made of his pretty beach bag/pouch !!

This is a little present I picked up for the team in the Bristol office....Tampa the Flamingo...

Some weird and wonderful animals in Florida...

This is Rufus, the joey that I became rather fond of during my time at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo....Sadly Rufus was rejected by his mother and got rather badly injured so had to have 3/4 of his tail removed !!

I took it upon myself to be his Australian cultural advisor so spent my time with him informing him about his fellow Aussie mammals, the current political climate down under and of course, teaching him the words to the Australian National Anthem...

The keepers had to hand rear him and that involved taking him home every night to bottle feed him every few hours. Here's Rufus in the front seat of the car....