I am pretty shot of Gatwick airport and BAA's incompetence at dealing with large numbers of passengers delayed because of silly security measures that make no sense and slow everyone down. And I am also (already) tired of all those well-meaning holiday-makers taking the plane for the first (or is it second?) time , who do not seem to understand clear instructions and panic as soon as something new comes up. There should be a separate security zone for frequent travellers who have everything down to a T, thank you very much. Ah well, isn't it easy to be an airport snob?!
Seriously though, I am going to look into other flights because the whole experience is so tiring I was ready to go back to bed when arrived in the office. BA/North Terminal is sadly not affordable so it's going to have to be something quite different...anyone have a spare private jet???
Monday, July 30, 2007
Anniversary weekend
Well, unbelievably, this Monday (23rd) was our 2nd wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast time has flown.
This also means that we have had the flat in London for 2 years and yet it has only just started to feel like home!
Friday night in Den Haag, a friendly guest came to stay for the weekend, while Allison and Malcolm were back in Blighty...Gracie-Wuff, take a bow :-)
So I had fun playing with the dog on Friday evening, although I was also trying to quickly read lots of old Harry Potters to refresh it all before getting the new one. To no avail...I managed to read the 1st one then about half of the second one, at which stage the new one had been sitting on my table for 3 hours and I just couldn't resist anymore...accio book!!
On Saturday Matthew came over (and picked up HP at the airport before they ran out); I had signed up to a visit of something called a Monotower, which is basically an offshore platform which is being finished off before being taken out to the North Sea. This open day was an opportunity to visit it while it was still being finished off on land in Rotterdam-this particular platform is a pretty advanced new design which is completely unmanned-once the well is producing, people only need to go out every 2 years for maintenance (or in case of an emergency). Here are a few pictures I took around the yard, where there were also some abseilers showing how rope-work can help with maintaining structures and buildings. Although quite developed in the UK, this is a pretty new concept in NL so the chap who set up the company is doing very well out of it.
When I got back we went for a nice long walk in the Haagse Bos with the dog...we were very lucky with the weather as it was actually sunny that day, so walking in the woods was really enjoyable :-)
Sunday we had a relaxing lunch with Simon and Nova in town before dropping Gracie off back home and heading out to Maastricht, to celebrate in style with a lovely dinner and stay at the Chateau St Gerlach The Michelin-star restaurant served fantastic food and wine, which we really took our time to enjoy. The Chateau is set in lovely grounds and we were lucky to have the sun when we arrived...but not the next morning, when the weather became decidedly miserable.
We made the most of the pool and sauna facilities before heading off to explore Maastricht.
Maastricht is quite a pleasant town but nothing to write home about...quite small and the usual set of shops. We were rather tired which didn't help, and neither did the rain, so after visiting the St Servaas Basilica and a quick boat trip up and down the Maas, we retreated and journeyed all the way back to Den Haag (not the smoothest trip, problems with trains etc :-( Got home in time to enjoy the evening though so that was nice.
Well I just had to :-)
This also means that we have had the flat in London for 2 years and yet it has only just started to feel like home!
Friday night in Den Haag, a friendly guest came to stay for the weekend, while Allison and Malcolm were back in Blighty...Gracie-Wuff, take a bow :-)
So I had fun playing with the dog on Friday evening, although I was also trying to quickly read lots of old Harry Potters to refresh it all before getting the new one. To no avail...I managed to read the 1st one then about half of the second one, at which stage the new one had been sitting on my table for 3 hours and I just couldn't resist anymore...accio book!!
On Saturday Matthew came over (and picked up HP at the airport before they ran out); I had signed up to a visit of something called a Monotower, which is basically an offshore platform which is being finished off before being taken out to the North Sea. This open day was an opportunity to visit it while it was still being finished off on land in Rotterdam-this particular platform is a pretty advanced new design which is completely unmanned-once the well is producing, people only need to go out every 2 years for maintenance (or in case of an emergency). Here are a few pictures I took around the yard, where there were also some abseilers showing how rope-work can help with maintaining structures and buildings. Although quite developed in the UK, this is a pretty new concept in NL so the chap who set up the company is doing very well out of it.
When I got back we went for a nice long walk in the Haagse Bos with the dog...we were very lucky with the weather as it was actually sunny that day, so walking in the woods was really enjoyable :-)
Sunday we had a relaxing lunch with Simon and Nova in town before dropping Gracie off back home and heading out to Maastricht, to celebrate in style with a lovely dinner and stay at the Chateau St Gerlach The Michelin-star restaurant served fantastic food and wine, which we really took our time to enjoy. The Chateau is set in lovely grounds and we were lucky to have the sun when we arrived...but not the next morning, when the weather became decidedly miserable.
We made the most of the pool and sauna facilities before heading off to explore Maastricht.
Maastricht is quite a pleasant town but nothing to write home about...quite small and the usual set of shops. We were rather tired which didn't help, and neither did the rain, so after visiting the St Servaas Basilica and a quick boat trip up and down the Maas, we retreated and journeyed all the way back to Den Haag (not the smoothest trip, problems with trains etc :-( Got home in time to enjoy the evening though so that was nice.
Well I just had to :-)
Friday, July 20, 2007
Back at work
Day 3 back at work and I finally have a project ...at least I managed to get through a fair amount of paperwork over the last 2 days!
I have been given a job on the Tunisia team. We have just signed a "Prospecting Licence" agreement, which means we want to understand the geology better before agreeing to sign up to drill a well.
The new boss and his second-in-command are both on holiday for respectively 5 weeks and 2 weeks, so I am effectively in charge of the team, which currently consists of Ulli (new guy) and me :-) Great, this really does appeal to the slave-driver in me :-) What's more, I have my new boss' office for 2 weeks, which is rather nice really. Still in the same awful building, but this bit actually has aircon AND a good coffee machine...what more could a girl want :-/
So that's the plan for the next half-year or so, then we will review the situation depending on how this project goes and what else comes up. I am basically part of the Africa organisation now so it could be anywhere on that continent (though I will just NOT go to Nigeria).
So for 2 weeks I am going to be reading papers and trying to work out what on Earth is going with the geology in this part of the world.
That's it for now...
I have been given a job on the Tunisia team. We have just signed a "Prospecting Licence" agreement, which means we want to understand the geology better before agreeing to sign up to drill a well.
The new boss and his second-in-command are both on holiday for respectively 5 weeks and 2 weeks, so I am effectively in charge of the team, which currently consists of Ulli (new guy) and me :-) Great, this really does appeal to the slave-driver in me :-) What's more, I have my new boss' office for 2 weeks, which is rather nice really. Still in the same awful building, but this bit actually has aircon AND a good coffee machine...what more could a girl want :-/
So that's the plan for the next half-year or so, then we will review the situation depending on how this project goes and what else comes up. I am basically part of the Africa organisation now so it could be anywhere on that continent (though I will just NOT go to Nigeria).
So for 2 weeks I am going to be reading papers and trying to work out what on Earth is going with the geology in this part of the world.
That's it for now...
Friday, June 22, 2007
London life
On Monday I was planning on cleaning up the flat and preparing it for when I come back to work in July. Which I started doing, until an email popped up in my inbox telling me that someone I was hoping to meet was unexpectedly in town. So I decided to meet him at 3 and go straight from work to the airport...rather a lot of rushing around ensued but I think I left everything in order...
The meeting was very useful in getting a better idea about the project I am hoping to join so I was really pleased that worked out. Feeling pretty positive, I hopped on to the train and then the plane back to London, and didn't even feel too put out by the small wait in the airport without the comfort of a business lounge ;-)
Arrived in London safely and had an early night, after which Matthew arrived back from his week in DC rather early, tired yet annoyingly not too jetlagged.
Tuesday I spent the best part of the day writing my CV, which I hadn't updated since I started work (bad idea). I will be needing this for my next project, so no, nothing dramatic!
Wednesday I enjoyed a nice trip to Tesco's (anyone who has had to put up with Dutch supermarkets will understand just how exciting this is) and yesterday I finally made it to Homebase. In between I have just been cleaning the flat and doing domestic things-who wants to be a housewife?! I need a cleaner. I also went along to the Heslington Group meeting in the evening to hear Dominic Grieve MP speak, which was nice as I hadn't made one in ages...and the Marquis is just a 4-min walk from home.
Today I finally put up a couple of pictures (now this may seem like an easy task, but the walls are so solid that all the nails from the picture hooks have bent so I had to fish out the trusty Black&Decker and drill it; hence the need to go to Homebase for plugs and screws). I would have put up more but got a little bit frustrated trying to screw in a phillips screw with an ordinary, a-little-too-large screwdriver...
I also had a couple of estate agents round to value the flat this afternoon, just to get an idea. Let's just say the champagne is in the fridge and we are now off to crack it open...
The meeting was very useful in getting a better idea about the project I am hoping to join so I was really pleased that worked out. Feeling pretty positive, I hopped on to the train and then the plane back to London, and didn't even feel too put out by the small wait in the airport without the comfort of a business lounge ;-)
Arrived in London safely and had an early night, after which Matthew arrived back from his week in DC rather early, tired yet annoyingly not too jetlagged.
Tuesday I spent the best part of the day writing my CV, which I hadn't updated since I started work (bad idea). I will be needing this for my next project, so no, nothing dramatic!
Wednesday I enjoyed a nice trip to Tesco's (anyone who has had to put up with Dutch supermarkets will understand just how exciting this is) and yesterday I finally made it to Homebase. In between I have just been cleaning the flat and doing domestic things-who wants to be a housewife?! I need a cleaner. I also went along to the Heslington Group meeting in the evening to hear Dominic Grieve MP speak, which was nice as I hadn't made one in ages...and the Marquis is just a 4-min walk from home.
Today I finally put up a couple of pictures (now this may seem like an easy task, but the walls are so solid that all the nails from the picture hooks have bent so I had to fish out the trusty Black&Decker and drill it; hence the need to go to Homebase for plugs and screws). I would have put up more but got a little bit frustrated trying to screw in a phillips screw with an ordinary, a-little-too-large screwdriver...
I also had a couple of estate agents round to value the flat this afternoon, just to get an idea. Let's just say the champagne is in the fridge and we are now off to crack it open...
Sunday, June 17, 2007
All around the Netherlands
Utrecht
on Saturday, I met up with the geologists at Den Haag CS as we thought we would go on a day-trip somewhere together. Thinking of somewhere close enough that I had not yet been to, I decided to take everyone to Utrecht, which is only about 1 hour on the train (or less).
large shopping centre, where we spent about an hour having a good look around a buyingThe Utrecht Central Staion is huge! Much larger than in the Hague, and gives out onto a very various bits and bobs. Just outside, there is also a square with a really nice market! where Tania found the handbag she had been searching for all this time, and I felt a little envious at the displays of fruit, meat, veg, cheese and fish...I seem to have picked the wrong town to live in!!
We bought some bits for lunch and hopped onto to a boat for a 1-hour tour of the town, which gave us a really nice overview of what Utrecht has to offer. Like Amsterdam, it has picturesque houses along its canals, but with a difference: the houses were originally built a lot further back from the edge, and then when the water/canals were re-organised and water levels better controlled, cellars were built out to the edge of the water, going right in under some of the houses.
This was really lovely to look at, and after the boat trip we headed to a pancake house on the edge of the water (based in one of these cellars). Lots of entertainement :-)
After which, we followed the walking tour in my trusty Michelin guide, although we didn't make it up the tower (465 steps) as all the tickets were sold out for that :-(
left: The Cloister at the main church
We headed back to Den Haag around 6pm, this time catching the fast train, which was lot better. We decided to spend the evening together in the Grand Winston, so I went home to drop off my stuff and grab my laptop so we could share photos, and cycled into not-so-sunny Rijswijk.
Fun evening watching Shrek 3 in Russian and drinking wine in Alexey's room-very strange being back in the Grand Winston! and even stranger to see twin beds rather than a double (with that bathroom?! what were they thinking). Also run into Konstantin (well engineer who works with Bert) who had just got back from Antwerpen with Yuri (his B2B) so we went on to his room to chat a bit more. After which it felt rather too late, so Kostya left me his room and went and stayed with Sergey, which was pretty decent. Another fun day!
Drenthe
Yesterday I got up fairly early, planning on cycling home to work on my CV etc. However, while I was enjoying the nice Grand Winston breakfast, Yuri joined me and said that Kostya and him were going to see Bert at home, and why didn't I join them as a surprise for Bert?
A bit of quick thinking and I decided to go for it-after all, I can do my CV tomorrow and there is something rather nice about being flexible and just going for it in this kind of situation. Unfortunately, this meant that I missed my lunch date with Nova, which I was looking forward to, as well as those choc chip and cherry muffins advertised on facebook. Ah well, there will have to be a superlunch next time I am back :)
It took about 2 hours for the boys to get organised, after which we finally set off for the Hague taking my bike on the train. I said goodbye to Alexey&Tatiana who were off to Amsterdam, and to Sergey too...I'm sure we'll see each other again on some course or trip...
We had 23 minutes before the next train, during which time I bombed it home on the bike, had 4 minutes to change and head back out to the station on foot. I made it with several minutes to spare, I will have you know! Clearly, it was a mistake for this geologist to trust those drillers with the organisation ;-)
Da boyz
We took a couple of trains all the way up to Hoogeween, which is near Bert's home and close to the German border. To keep ourselves busy, we played battleships which was really good fun after all these years-and I won, which was even better :-)
We finally arrived at 2.15 and found Bert waiting for us on the platform-he didn't seem too unpleasantly surprised when I bounced up!
A short drive later we arrived at his home, a typical Dutch farmhouse which they have renovated. The first thing we did after meeting his wife Thea was inspect the work he had done in one of the rooms which he has completely converted, and which we heard about quite a lot on the last few shifts!
After a beer (brewed very locally), snacks, and a nice chat we headed outside to have a good look at the Harleys :-)
as well as the garden, which was lovely. Thea rides a horse which lives in the back, and they also have some sheep (hiding somewhere) and some Friesian hens who looked very pretty with their large black eyes. There were beautiful hydrangeas in bloom just outside the house, too, which I enjoyed looking at along with all the other plants.
After a fair bit more chatting, Bert took us to explore the area a little while Thea kindly prepared dinner for us all. It was really nice being able to get an idea of what this region looks like, especially as it is really necessary to have a car round there so having a chauffuer/guide was ideal! Bert's home is close to the town of Emmen, which we drove around, noting on the way some of the wells from the Schoonebeek field and the H2S processing plant for the Schoonebeek sour gas, as well as the brewery where the above-mentioned beers originated from. This apparently is going to be moved over to Germany soon, as the gas gets exported over there anyway at the moment.
In Emmen, we stopped to have a look at some Hunebedden (stone graves) and then drove past Bert's daughter's house (in construction) which for me was very interesting to look at. After Emmen we headed for Schoonebeek village and passed through the old village-another set of lovely typical old Dutch farmhouses, which used to have wells in their courtyards (Bert's father apparently drilled some of the first Sch wells back in the 40s) but which have now been fully returned to their owners. There were a few nodding donkeys, but only as mementoes as they are no longer connected to wells.
However, on the way out of Schoonebeek we drove over the border to Germany where the nodding donkeys were doing their thing, pumping away as we watched. Always a nice sight!We headed back through some picturesque villages and arrived back in time for a lovely dinner. After which we rushed off to catch the 8pm train with 1 min to spare!
Another lovely day discovering a part of the Netherlands I had never been to and catching up with Bert/getting to know Thea a little. Nice :-)
Incidentally, I see I am still on Salym time on this blog so will have to delve into the settings fairly soon to try and sort this out...
on Saturday, I met up with the geologists at Den Haag CS as we thought we would go on a day-trip somewhere together. Thinking of somewhere close enough that I had not yet been to, I decided to take everyone to Utrecht, which is only about 1 hour on the train (or less).
large shopping centre, where we spent about an hour having a good look around a buyingThe Utrecht Central Staion is huge! Much larger than in the Hague, and gives out onto a very various bits and bobs. Just outside, there is also a square with a really nice market! where Tania found the handbag she had been searching for all this time, and I felt a little envious at the displays of fruit, meat, veg, cheese and fish...I seem to have picked the wrong town to live in!!
We bought some bits for lunch and hopped onto to a boat for a 1-hour tour of the town, which gave us a really nice overview of what Utrecht has to offer. Like Amsterdam, it has picturesque houses along its canals, but with a difference: the houses were originally built a lot further back from the edge, and then when the water/canals were re-organised and water levels better controlled, cellars were built out to the edge of the water, going right in under some of the houses.
This was really lovely to look at, and after the boat trip we headed to a pancake house on the edge of the water (based in one of these cellars). Lots of entertainement :-)
After which, we followed the walking tour in my trusty Michelin guide, although we didn't make it up the tower (465 steps) as all the tickets were sold out for that :-(
left: The Cloister at the main church
We headed back to Den Haag around 6pm, this time catching the fast train, which was lot better. We decided to spend the evening together in the Grand Winston, so I went home to drop off my stuff and grab my laptop so we could share photos, and cycled into not-so-sunny Rijswijk.
Fun evening watching Shrek 3 in Russian and drinking wine in Alexey's room-very strange being back in the Grand Winston! and even stranger to see twin beds rather than a double (with that bathroom?! what were they thinking). Also run into Konstantin (well engineer who works with Bert) who had just got back from Antwerpen with Yuri (his B2B) so we went on to his room to chat a bit more. After which it felt rather too late, so Kostya left me his room and went and stayed with Sergey, which was pretty decent. Another fun day!
Drenthe
Yesterday I got up fairly early, planning on cycling home to work on my CV etc. However, while I was enjoying the nice Grand Winston breakfast, Yuri joined me and said that Kostya and him were going to see Bert at home, and why didn't I join them as a surprise for Bert?
A bit of quick thinking and I decided to go for it-after all, I can do my CV tomorrow and there is something rather nice about being flexible and just going for it in this kind of situation. Unfortunately, this meant that I missed my lunch date with Nova, which I was looking forward to, as well as those choc chip and cherry muffins advertised on facebook. Ah well, there will have to be a superlunch next time I am back :)
It took about 2 hours for the boys to get organised, after which we finally set off for the Hague taking my bike on the train. I said goodbye to Alexey&Tatiana who were off to Amsterdam, and to Sergey too...I'm sure we'll see each other again on some course or trip...
We had 23 minutes before the next train, during which time I bombed it home on the bike, had 4 minutes to change and head back out to the station on foot. I made it with several minutes to spare, I will have you know! Clearly, it was a mistake for this geologist to trust those drillers with the organisation ;-)
Da boyz
We took a couple of trains all the way up to Hoogeween, which is near Bert's home and close to the German border. To keep ourselves busy, we played battleships which was really good fun after all these years-and I won, which was even better :-)
We finally arrived at 2.15 and found Bert waiting for us on the platform-he didn't seem too unpleasantly surprised when I bounced up!
A short drive later we arrived at his home, a typical Dutch farmhouse which they have renovated. The first thing we did after meeting his wife Thea was inspect the work he had done in one of the rooms which he has completely converted, and which we heard about quite a lot on the last few shifts!
After a beer (brewed very locally), snacks, and a nice chat we headed outside to have a good look at the Harleys :-)
as well as the garden, which was lovely. Thea rides a horse which lives in the back, and they also have some sheep (hiding somewhere) and some Friesian hens who looked very pretty with their large black eyes. There were beautiful hydrangeas in bloom just outside the house, too, which I enjoyed looking at along with all the other plants.
After a fair bit more chatting, Bert took us to explore the area a little while Thea kindly prepared dinner for us all. It was really nice being able to get an idea of what this region looks like, especially as it is really necessary to have a car round there so having a chauffuer/guide was ideal! Bert's home is close to the town of Emmen, which we drove around, noting on the way some of the wells from the Schoonebeek field and the H2S processing plant for the Schoonebeek sour gas, as well as the brewery where the above-mentioned beers originated from. This apparently is going to be moved over to Germany soon, as the gas gets exported over there anyway at the moment.
In Emmen, we stopped to have a look at some Hunebedden (stone graves) and then drove past Bert's daughter's house (in construction) which for me was very interesting to look at. After Emmen we headed for Schoonebeek village and passed through the old village-another set of lovely typical old Dutch farmhouses, which used to have wells in their courtyards (Bert's father apparently drilled some of the first Sch wells back in the 40s) but which have now been fully returned to their owners. There were a few nodding donkeys, but only as mementoes as they are no longer connected to wells.
However, on the way out of Schoonebeek we drove over the border to Germany where the nodding donkeys were doing their thing, pumping away as we watched. Always a nice sight!We headed back through some picturesque villages and arrived back in time for a lovely dinner. After which we rushed off to catch the 8pm train with 1 min to spare!
Another lovely day discovering a part of the Netherlands I had never been to and catching up with Bert/getting to know Thea a little. Nice :-)
Incidentally, I see I am still on Salym time on this blog so will have to delve into the settings fairly soon to try and sort this out...
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Rusty cycling legs
Well Tuesday was strange as I would have been travelling back to Salym if it hadn't been all over...I could just imagine Florian making his way over, arriving at the MU hotel, and exactly who was sitting with him on the coach to BC. I hear he arrived safely which is good news.
Tuesday afternoon I had a meeting scheduled with my mentor so I spent the (late) morning writing up all my thoughts and opportunity framing my life :-) The meeting went well and was very useful-some questions answers, more found and some plans starting to form.
After the meeting I hung out in the learning centre and came across Damir, who was about to set off exploring for his new hotel. His booking had got messed up so he had been sharing with with Sergey R-just like the Good Old Days on the rig, though with a rather more transparent bathroom!
The new NH hotel he is now booked into seemed to be really close to my flat so we travelled together and found out where it was-All I did was go away for 8 months and came back to a new-look central station, a new hotel in my area and an unrecognisable tram route!
In the evening I nipped over to Allison and Malcolm's and caught up with Allison, Gracie Wuff and Malcolm when he got home later, which was lovely. All-in-all a good day...
Yesterday, I had a meeting scheduled with my discipline chief after lunch, so headed in early for a girly lunch which Allison had told me about-fun to catch up with some of the girls before setting off for more serious career discussions. By the way, I have no idea how anyone can arrange a new job AND keep working on their current project-it is all rather time-consuming!
The meeting went OK, and a chat with a manager I know afterwards meant that I now have a guaranteed job on return, and an interesting on too, although it doesn't fully fit my needs. Good to have a back-up plan though :-) so I am quite happy about that. Progress, enfin!
Next I headed over to the Grand Winston where I was due to meet Tatiana, having originally planned to cycle to the beach. In view of the weather (not good) we decided to go shopping instead :-) After a while though the sun came out, so we went to hire a bike for her from the little man at the station and came back to my flat for a cup of tea. After which we headed out for a pleasant cycle in the Haagse Bos before heading back to the station to meet Alexey and Sergey.
Relaxing on the balcony before our cycling expedition...chai time!
Fun in the Haagse Bos...
...but Alexey was
worried I
might kidnap
Tania...
It was really nice spending time with Tania as she has been learning a bit of English so we could have Russkish conversations and I didn't feel too self-conscious about making all sorts of mistakes...just kept talking away, excellent practice!
We all wound up at Rootz (a must) where we enjoyed sitting outside for a while, before heading inside for dinner and being joined by Damir.
Awww
Double trouble
Damir, what DID you say??
And so you see, when you take the first pretest...
Malchiki...
After a really enjoyable evening I took them back to Centraal Station via the parliament, which is my favourite Den Haag vista, at night with all the lights on...there is a music festival in the Hague at the moment and a stage has been set up on the water in front of the Mauritshuis-must investigate! It looks just too tempting (unless, of course, it starts raining). We randomly ran into 2 American guys who are also on G250 with Alexey and Sergey so ended up for quick last drink on the Plein...at Berger of course.
A Den Haag Classics evening through and through!
Ah yes, and this morning I could really feel my legs :-( admittedly, the cycling was a little difficult to keep up in Siberia...
Tuesday afternoon I had a meeting scheduled with my mentor so I spent the (late) morning writing up all my thoughts and opportunity framing my life :-) The meeting went well and was very useful-some questions answers, more found and some plans starting to form.
After the meeting I hung out in the learning centre and came across Damir, who was about to set off exploring for his new hotel. His booking had got messed up so he had been sharing with with Sergey R-just like the Good Old Days on the rig, though with a rather more transparent bathroom!
The new NH hotel he is now booked into seemed to be really close to my flat so we travelled together and found out where it was-All I did was go away for 8 months and came back to a new-look central station, a new hotel in my area and an unrecognisable tram route!
In the evening I nipped over to Allison and Malcolm's and caught up with Allison, Gracie Wuff and Malcolm when he got home later, which was lovely. All-in-all a good day...
Yesterday, I had a meeting scheduled with my discipline chief after lunch, so headed in early for a girly lunch which Allison had told me about-fun to catch up with some of the girls before setting off for more serious career discussions. By the way, I have no idea how anyone can arrange a new job AND keep working on their current project-it is all rather time-consuming!
The meeting went OK, and a chat with a manager I know afterwards meant that I now have a guaranteed job on return, and an interesting on too, although it doesn't fully fit my needs. Good to have a back-up plan though :-) so I am quite happy about that. Progress, enfin!
Next I headed over to the Grand Winston where I was due to meet Tatiana, having originally planned to cycle to the beach. In view of the weather (not good) we decided to go shopping instead :-) After a while though the sun came out, so we went to hire a bike for her from the little man at the station and came back to my flat for a cup of tea. After which we headed out for a pleasant cycle in the Haagse Bos before heading back to the station to meet Alexey and Sergey.
Relaxing on the balcony before our cycling expedition...chai time!
Fun in the Haagse Bos...
...but Alexey was
worried I
might kidnap
Tania...
It was really nice spending time with Tania as she has been learning a bit of English so we could have Russkish conversations and I didn't feel too self-conscious about making all sorts of mistakes...just kept talking away, excellent practice!
We all wound up at Rootz (a must) where we enjoyed sitting outside for a while, before heading inside for dinner and being joined by Damir.
Awww
Double trouble
Damir, what DID you say??
And so you see, when you take the first pretest...
Malchiki...
After a really enjoyable evening I took them back to Centraal Station via the parliament, which is my favourite Den Haag vista, at night with all the lights on...there is a music festival in the Hague at the moment and a stage has been set up on the water in front of the Mauritshuis-must investigate! It looks just too tempting (unless, of course, it starts raining). We randomly ran into 2 American guys who are also on G250 with Alexey and Sergey so ended up for quick last drink on the Plein...at Berger of course.
A Den Haag Classics evening through and through!
Ah yes, and this morning I could really feel my legs :-( admittedly, the cycling was a little difficult to keep up in Siberia...
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Nederland oh Nederland
Just to keep confusing everybody: I am now back in Holland for a week :-)
I flew back over yesterday on my favourite airline and arrived an hour late due to a technical problem with the plane; luckily, I didn't have any meetings planned on arrival this time as I am aiming to beat my 27h max stay in the country so far this year.
Got to the flat where everything was in order-rather strange being back here after all this time, especially as all my personal effects are locked away. I will be liberating them in the next few days.
Went over to see Florian for coffee then waded through a mountain of post before heading off to Central Station to meet some of my good friends from Salym :-) It seems half the company is out here at the moment!
Somehow or other managed to organise things so that Simon and Nova, and Florian a bit later, all joined us in a little Eetcafe on the Laan van Nieuw Oost Indie. I thought I would show our guests the delights of Bezuidenhout-government building, government building, small dutch shop (closed of course), cafe, ambassador's car, albert heijn, small dutch shop (closed), government building, cafe :-)
We had a fun and enjoyable evening with Alexey and Tatiana (she is over for the week), Sergey R, Damir (replacing Ravil whose passport sadly wasn't ready on time) who is Vitaly (Lead PT)'s back-to-back so I have only met him to say hello and goodbye before, Florian, who got to chat with the 2 geos a bit before he heads out to Salym...today! (I must say I couldn't have asked for a better replacement-I'm sure he will do well) and Simon and Nova although I didn't get to chat to them enough due to table layout-got the whole week for that though! So, a Salym reunion, a G250 reunion (Damir and Florian), a G180 reunion (Simon, Alexey and myself), an EP00 reunion (Florian and me-though this one seems to be a recurring event;) and a Salym introduction all in one!
I flew back over yesterday on my favourite airline and arrived an hour late due to a technical problem with the plane; luckily, I didn't have any meetings planned on arrival this time as I am aiming to beat my 27h max stay in the country so far this year.
Got to the flat where everything was in order-rather strange being back here after all this time, especially as all my personal effects are locked away. I will be liberating them in the next few days.
Went over to see Florian for coffee then waded through a mountain of post before heading off to Central Station to meet some of my good friends from Salym :-) It seems half the company is out here at the moment!
Somehow or other managed to organise things so that Simon and Nova, and Florian a bit later, all joined us in a little Eetcafe on the Laan van Nieuw Oost Indie. I thought I would show our guests the delights of Bezuidenhout-government building, government building, small dutch shop (closed of course), cafe, ambassador's car, albert heijn, small dutch shop (closed), government building, cafe :-)
We had a fun and enjoyable evening with Alexey and Tatiana (she is over for the week), Sergey R, Damir (replacing Ravil whose passport sadly wasn't ready on time) who is Vitaly (Lead PT)'s back-to-back so I have only met him to say hello and goodbye before, Florian, who got to chat with the 2 geos a bit before he heads out to Salym...today! (I must say I couldn't have asked for a better replacement-I'm sure he will do well) and Simon and Nova although I didn't get to chat to them enough due to table layout-got the whole week for that though! So, a Salym reunion, a G250 reunion (Damir and Florian), a G180 reunion (Simon, Alexey and myself), an EP00 reunion (Florian and me-though this one seems to be a recurring event;) and a Salym introduction all in one!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
I went to a yoga class on Friday...
and it was rubbish.
Worry not, I am not turning into a health nut, but simply trying to make the most of my gym membership. My first class trial was Hatha yoga, as we had really enjoyed the yoga class we took during our holiday in the Dominican Republic and I wanted to do more.
However, in this case the rythmn was completely wrong for me. After having chanted mmm and shanti (lots of good training at not giggling came in handy here) we started doing movements which should be co-ordinated with breathing. However, she seemed to be breathing 1 1/2 times faster than me and the session ended up as some sort of gym practice, with movements having to follow each other really quickly (which left the beginners amongst us swimming) - not exactly the kind of peaceful focus I had in mind. But I really think she lost me when she asked us to do this session for someone else-why on earth would I put myself through that gruelling routine for anyone else?
The yoga class we went to in the DR was entirely silent, with soothing music in the background and the sound of the wind in the bushes (OK, I might manage without that bit in Central London). The instructor came around correcting people's poses and whispering explanations where necessary. Everything was done very calmly and peacefully, and although it was quite demanding physically, felt very relaxing and helped focus on balance and breathing. If anyone knows what kind of yoga this is, please help!
In the meantime, I think I might go for aerobics or something.
Hmm maybe not then...
Worry not, I am not turning into a health nut, but simply trying to make the most of my gym membership. My first class trial was Hatha yoga, as we had really enjoyed the yoga class we took during our holiday in the Dominican Republic and I wanted to do more.
However, in this case the rythmn was completely wrong for me. After having chanted mmm and shanti (lots of good training at not giggling came in handy here) we started doing movements which should be co-ordinated with breathing. However, she seemed to be breathing 1 1/2 times faster than me and the session ended up as some sort of gym practice, with movements having to follow each other really quickly (which left the beginners amongst us swimming) - not exactly the kind of peaceful focus I had in mind. But I really think she lost me when she asked us to do this session for someone else-why on earth would I put myself through that gruelling routine for anyone else?
The yoga class we went to in the DR was entirely silent, with soothing music in the background and the sound of the wind in the bushes (OK, I might manage without that bit in Central London). The instructor came around correcting people's poses and whispering explanations where necessary. Everything was done very calmly and peacefully, and although it was quite demanding physically, felt very relaxing and helped focus on balance and breathing. If anyone knows what kind of yoga this is, please help!
In the meantime, I think I might go for aerobics or something.
Hmm maybe not then...
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Old Film Developed
I managed to get the photos from the old camera developed-have posted a few of the Moscow photos in the last Russian post.
And I found this fun reminder of my very first week in Siberia-look who :-)
And I found this fun reminder of my very first week in Siberia-look who :-)
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Long time no post...sorry :$
Well I am back online after a bit of hopping around on planes/trains and would like to apologise profusely for this complete neglect of blog and readers.
So now for what I have been up to. Well after a weekend at home in London I flew over to Holland for a couple of days, to meet someone at the office and catch up with a couple of friends. The meeting was very useful, a step in the right direction in terms of sorting out what to do next. I stayed over with Ingrid, which was really nice as it allowed us to catch up nicely and I finally got to meet her dog Basco...here are a couple of pics with him :-)
After the (rather grey but not rainy) Dutch outing, I headed back home for a few days. The weather was lovely in London until the Bank Holiday weekend, typically, when it started pouring with rain and the wind made things rather cold. Spent some time in the park, had some people round for lunch and dinner and generally relaxed, trying (and still struggling a little) to settle back into normality. Oh, and I joined the gym! Yes, really...much as I hate these places usually I decided it was time to do something about those few bits accumulated over the 3rd year exams, and those accumulated over the last couple of years eating badly...oh and those kindly offered along with the double helpings by the friendly Salym cooks ;-) Let's see what happens to this new fad...at least it's not a New Year's resolution :) (Give me a tennis racket anyday argh)
Then from rainy London to rainy France at the beginning of last week...went by train this time for a change, similar to going down from Holland really. It certainly cut out the hassle of going through yet another airport security palarva, although does involve a change in Paris.
After a couple of days Matthew came out too and we had a really nice relaxing stay-despite/thanks to the lack of broadband in the area. Managed to catch up on sleep, eat lots of nice food and even enjoy the sun which finally showed up. It was rather strange driving-such a luxury in our little car, with a smooth gear lever and such quiet, smooth engine:-) Although I was struggling with speed! 40kph is not recommended on French country roads...
Mowed the growing number of lawns...and met the new inhabitants! Photos below...
Boy and Girl Sheep...they have not been named but I think a plateful of Fluffy and The Little One might be quite tasty...
The hens...only due to start laying eggs end of June...but guess who found the first egg :-))))
Pretty Mrs Duck...with Mr Duck looking on in the background.
So, which one(s) won't we be able to eat? The bets are on.
Back in London now for a few days...went to the IEA yesterday for dinner with the trustees, which as always included a lot of thought-provoking conversations. I am now planning to finish off some things around the flat (pictures etc) and hopefully just ploughing through a bit more of War and Peace...which I seem to have been reading for months on end whilst only getting through about 1/10th of it! I must say I am really surprised at how much I am enjoying it...comments and opinions welcome ;-)
More blogging very soon, I aim to keep this up at least twice a week and please DO keep poking me if I don't!!
So now for what I have been up to. Well after a weekend at home in London I flew over to Holland for a couple of days, to meet someone at the office and catch up with a couple of friends. The meeting was very useful, a step in the right direction in terms of sorting out what to do next. I stayed over with Ingrid, which was really nice as it allowed us to catch up nicely and I finally got to meet her dog Basco...here are a couple of pics with him :-)
After the (rather grey but not rainy) Dutch outing, I headed back home for a few days. The weather was lovely in London until the Bank Holiday weekend, typically, when it started pouring with rain and the wind made things rather cold. Spent some time in the park, had some people round for lunch and dinner and generally relaxed, trying (and still struggling a little) to settle back into normality. Oh, and I joined the gym! Yes, really...much as I hate these places usually I decided it was time to do something about those few bits accumulated over the 3rd year exams, and those accumulated over the last couple of years eating badly...oh and those kindly offered along with the double helpings by the friendly Salym cooks ;-) Let's see what happens to this new fad...at least it's not a New Year's resolution :) (Give me a tennis racket anyday argh)
Then from rainy London to rainy France at the beginning of last week...went by train this time for a change, similar to going down from Holland really. It certainly cut out the hassle of going through yet another airport security palarva, although does involve a change in Paris.
After a couple of days Matthew came out too and we had a really nice relaxing stay-despite/thanks to the lack of broadband in the area. Managed to catch up on sleep, eat lots of nice food and even enjoy the sun which finally showed up. It was rather strange driving-such a luxury in our little car, with a smooth gear lever and such quiet, smooth engine:-) Although I was struggling with speed! 40kph is not recommended on French country roads...
Mowed the growing number of lawns...and met the new inhabitants! Photos below...
Boy and Girl Sheep...they have not been named but I think a plateful of Fluffy and The Little One might be quite tasty...
The hens...only due to start laying eggs end of June...but guess who found the first egg :-))))
Pretty Mrs Duck...with Mr Duck looking on in the background.
So, which one(s) won't we be able to eat? The bets are on.
Back in London now for a few days...went to the IEA yesterday for dinner with the trustees, which as always included a lot of thought-provoking conversations. I am now planning to finish off some things around the flat (pictures etc) and hopefully just ploughing through a bit more of War and Peace...which I seem to have been reading for months on end whilst only getting through about 1/10th of it! I must say I am really surprised at how much I am enjoying it...comments and opinions welcome ;-)
More blogging very soon, I aim to keep this up at least twice a week and please DO keep poking me if I don't!!
Yes I am still alive!
and I will be posting something tomorrow...it is almost finished but I need to rush off now.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Flo, over and out
Wednesday morning held a surprise...10cm of snow! and a cold bitter wind. Well at least it looked a bit more like the Siberia I know. Plus mud. Loads and loads of it...
After doing the morning report and my final morning meeting RJ and I went to pack and made sure everything was in order in the work caravan. We both wanted to get back to Base ASAP but Roy wanted to do his driving licence and knowing what that can be like,I had agreed to take him to CPF and have a shower while he did the test. We were due to meet Sasha K there, who was going to pick up his tripsheet (finally!!) and was going to be Roy's translator. So far, so good.
The trek to the car though, was no fun at all. What a struggle-the sandy mud just seemed to have liquified all over the pad after the cementing truck-solifaction would be the word I think. Anyway, somehow made it to the car after almost loosing my boots and bags.
Never been so happy to see the Niva!
We made it to the CPF a little late and stocked up on petrol while Sasha and Roy went to sort out the driving. A waste of time later, they came back really angry with a) no trip sheet for Sasha, who hadn't had a health check the day before (?!) and b) no test for Roy because the instructor decided to use his *power* and change the time of the test...well well, my best friend in action again...
So we started the long and arduous drive back to Base...soon enough the dieti in the back were fast asleep and RJ was kindly chatting to me so I wouldn't fall asleep. Although the state of the road did keep me awake for the last 25 km...complete rallye conditions, with mud spraying everywhere and some controlled skidding...Niva challenge to the end!!
Finally in BC, got some lunch and a nice shower after which I hid in the SSFT 1 caravan with Radik and Max in order to finish off the work I had to do for Bert. Time seemed to fly as I ran around the place trying to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything/anyone. Vlada had organised some goodbye cakes for Simon and me so we tucked into those before it was time time to go...
There was a pretty good turn-out of people despite the awful weather...goodbye Sergey A, Sasha K, Luc, Vlada, CJ, Radik, Vassya, Bert...and hopped onto the bus with Simon, Max, Slava (DSV), Reginald, Gert-Jan, Vitaly and Ravil. The bus took us direct to Surgut, which was a relief when it came to bags as the body bag was back inbusiness, as well as a normal bag (note: I had 3 when I arrived! Much better...but...still). For some reason Reg did not seem to want to even hear of my bags this time ;-)
Eventually arrived in Surgut at 21.45 and after dumping bags in the room and relaxing a bit, went up to the bar to have dinner and drinks with Max and Ravil. It turned into a pretty long evening...I learnt Russian Billiards (taught by Max-it is really difficult) and Alexey turned up on the way back to his next shift, so that was fun. Went to bed at 3am...and up at 5.15 :-(
Enjoyed the caviar on UTAir :-) and crashed out for the rest of the flight. Plan for the day was to go into Moscow with Ravil and meet up with Sasha A for lunch. Which is exactly what we did after having left our luggage and Reg (separately!) at the airport. I had booked myself onto the later flight at 9pm to avoid any repeat of last time's drama :-)
Ravil in front of the Historical Museum
We headed into town on the train and went to Tverskaya metro stop, where we got out and walked towards the Red Square. Tverskaya street is an expensive shopping street, and it was nice looking at the expensive cars lined up in the street (a far cry from the lovely Nivas) while eating ice-cream in the sun.
Came to the Red Square, which for some reason was cordoned off. It was great to make it to such a landmark...wasn't tempted by the Lenin mausoleum though. Tried to absorb the view/feel of the place, the Kremlin and the Cathedral...and took some photos on the antiquated camera. which I shall be developing very soon (promise).
Here they are! The Kremlin (and two random ladies posing in front of the cathedral :-(
A better view of the square with St Basil's Cathedral, the Kremlin and a piece of GUM shopping centre on the left
We then headed to the Alexander gardens and back over to Manejnaya, a relaxed square with the Central Exhibition Hall on the end of it.
Sasha got in touch and we agreed to meet on the way to the Arbat. We first walked through the Novy (New) Arbat and then onto the old Arbat, which is where we stopped to have lunch and a drink. It was very interesting to walk down this street which is well-known for its street artists and its cafes. There were a lot of tourist stalls too, selling the usual stuff as well as some Cheburashkas...I almost bought a fluffy Gena crocodile but resisted the temptation ;-)
Unfortunately Ravil has his eyes closed on the Arbat photo so I won't post it here :-)
After a nice relaxed lunch it was time to head back to catch the 3pm train in time for Ravil to make his 5:30 flight. Tried the BA desk and they eventually gave me a seat on the flight after someone cancelled which was nice as it cut out a rather long wait in the airport. Reg was quite surprised to see me swan in 15 min later!!
Until now, the whole trip back had just felt like I was going off-shift, as always feeling happy about the time/work in the field but very much looking forward to going home. Saying goodbye to Ravil in the airport, though, the finality of it hit me pretty hard and it was quite a struggle keeping it together through customs and during the flight home (not exactly much privacy in BA business on that route). I cannot believe this whole adventure is over...
I am now home, trying to recover from it all (still in the usual 1-week recovery mode but with rather more this time) and generally feeling a bit fragile emotionally. I had no idea when I headed out to this tough and alien environment (and it feels like yesterday) that I would grow to love it so much and meet such amazing people. I guess these things always catch you when you are least expecting them. It has been an inspiration so see how hard people work out there, how important it is to be part of a close team and how well a true mix of cultural values and local experience can work. I have been lucky to learn a lot about Russian culture and its people, and have come to love some of what I have found there. I feel there is still hope for Russia while it has such great people...but then, is there really hope for these people in Russia? Only time will tell, but let's hope that spirit does not get choked by the inert masses and boxed-in world views...
It is going to take a while to get over my amazing adventure but in the meantime I really need to thank everyone out in Salym for looking after me, teaching me so much and accepting into their community this rather random geologist girl being flown in from central offices miles away. In particular I will never forget the support, patience, understanding and friendship given to me so generously by Pasha, Gilles, Ravil, Sasha A, Sasha K, Sergey A and Marc.
And of course, things would just not have been the same without Sergey R, Radik, Anna, Vlada, Alexey, Denis, Vavan and even our drillers in caravan 2 :-) Yes, Buyanov, that includes you!!
Finally, thank you dear readers for your interest in my time in Siberia and all my random thoughts and feelings. It has been great getting people's feedback and comments on the blog...
I have decided to keep this blog open as it is such a nice way to keep in touch with friends and family around the world. And of course I have become rather addicted to writing here so I need an excuse to keep doing it (by the way I will be back-posting a bit for this last shift-will let you know as I do it).
I think I might rename it Florence's Journeys though as that seems to cover rather more than just physical travelling.
And of course...who knows just what the future holds?
After doing the morning report and my final morning meeting RJ and I went to pack and made sure everything was in order in the work caravan. We both wanted to get back to Base ASAP but Roy wanted to do his driving licence and knowing what that can be like,I had agreed to take him to CPF and have a shower while he did the test. We were due to meet Sasha K there, who was going to pick up his tripsheet (finally!!) and was going to be Roy's translator. So far, so good.
The trek to the car though, was no fun at all. What a struggle-the sandy mud just seemed to have liquified all over the pad after the cementing truck-solifaction would be the word I think. Anyway, somehow made it to the car after almost loosing my boots and bags.
Never been so happy to see the Niva!
We made it to the CPF a little late and stocked up on petrol while Sasha and Roy went to sort out the driving. A waste of time later, they came back really angry with a) no trip sheet for Sasha, who hadn't had a health check the day before (?!) and b) no test for Roy because the instructor decided to use his *power* and change the time of the test...well well, my best friend in action again...
So we started the long and arduous drive back to Base...soon enough the dieti in the back were fast asleep and RJ was kindly chatting to me so I wouldn't fall asleep. Although the state of the road did keep me awake for the last 25 km...complete rallye conditions, with mud spraying everywhere and some controlled skidding...Niva challenge to the end!!
Finally in BC, got some lunch and a nice shower after which I hid in the SSFT 1 caravan with Radik and Max in order to finish off the work I had to do for Bert. Time seemed to fly as I ran around the place trying to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything/anyone. Vlada had organised some goodbye cakes for Simon and me so we tucked into those before it was time time to go...
There was a pretty good turn-out of people despite the awful weather...goodbye Sergey A, Sasha K, Luc, Vlada, CJ, Radik, Vassya, Bert...and hopped onto the bus with Simon, Max, Slava (DSV), Reginald, Gert-Jan, Vitaly and Ravil. The bus took us direct to Surgut, which was a relief when it came to bags as the body bag was back inbusiness, as well as a normal bag (note: I had 3 when I arrived! Much better...but...still). For some reason Reg did not seem to want to even hear of my bags this time ;-)
Eventually arrived in Surgut at 21.45 and after dumping bags in the room and relaxing a bit, went up to the bar to have dinner and drinks with Max and Ravil. It turned into a pretty long evening...I learnt Russian Billiards (taught by Max-it is really difficult) and Alexey turned up on the way back to his next shift, so that was fun. Went to bed at 3am...and up at 5.15 :-(
Enjoyed the caviar on UTAir :-) and crashed out for the rest of the flight. Plan for the day was to go into Moscow with Ravil and meet up with Sasha A for lunch. Which is exactly what we did after having left our luggage and Reg (separately!) at the airport. I had booked myself onto the later flight at 9pm to avoid any repeat of last time's drama :-)
Ravil in front of the Historical Museum
We headed into town on the train and went to Tverskaya metro stop, where we got out and walked towards the Red Square. Tverskaya street is an expensive shopping street, and it was nice looking at the expensive cars lined up in the street (a far cry from the lovely Nivas) while eating ice-cream in the sun.
Came to the Red Square, which for some reason was cordoned off. It was great to make it to such a landmark...wasn't tempted by the Lenin mausoleum though. Tried to absorb the view/feel of the place, the Kremlin and the Cathedral...and took some photos on the antiquated camera. which I shall be developing very soon (promise).
Here they are! The Kremlin (and two random ladies posing in front of the cathedral :-(
A better view of the square with St Basil's Cathedral, the Kremlin and a piece of GUM shopping centre on the left
We then headed to the Alexander gardens and back over to Manejnaya, a relaxed square with the Central Exhibition Hall on the end of it.
Sasha got in touch and we agreed to meet on the way to the Arbat. We first walked through the Novy (New) Arbat and then onto the old Arbat, which is where we stopped to have lunch and a drink. It was very interesting to walk down this street which is well-known for its street artists and its cafes. There were a lot of tourist stalls too, selling the usual stuff as well as some Cheburashkas...I almost bought a fluffy Gena crocodile but resisted the temptation ;-)
Unfortunately Ravil has his eyes closed on the Arbat photo so I won't post it here :-)
After a nice relaxed lunch it was time to head back to catch the 3pm train in time for Ravil to make his 5:30 flight. Tried the BA desk and they eventually gave me a seat on the flight after someone cancelled which was nice as it cut out a rather long wait in the airport. Reg was quite surprised to see me swan in 15 min later!!
Until now, the whole trip back had just felt like I was going off-shift, as always feeling happy about the time/work in the field but very much looking forward to going home. Saying goodbye to Ravil in the airport, though, the finality of it hit me pretty hard and it was quite a struggle keeping it together through customs and during the flight home (not exactly much privacy in BA business on that route). I cannot believe this whole adventure is over...
I am now home, trying to recover from it all (still in the usual 1-week recovery mode but with rather more this time) and generally feeling a bit fragile emotionally. I had no idea when I headed out to this tough and alien environment (and it feels like yesterday) that I would grow to love it so much and meet such amazing people. I guess these things always catch you when you are least expecting them. It has been an inspiration so see how hard people work out there, how important it is to be part of a close team and how well a true mix of cultural values and local experience can work. I have been lucky to learn a lot about Russian culture and its people, and have come to love some of what I have found there. I feel there is still hope for Russia while it has such great people...but then, is there really hope for these people in Russia? Only time will tell, but let's hope that spirit does not get choked by the inert masses and boxed-in world views...
It is going to take a while to get over my amazing adventure but in the meantime I really need to thank everyone out in Salym for looking after me, teaching me so much and accepting into their community this rather random geologist girl being flown in from central offices miles away. In particular I will never forget the support, patience, understanding and friendship given to me so generously by Pasha, Gilles, Ravil, Sasha A, Sasha K, Sergey A and Marc.
And of course, things would just not have been the same without Sergey R, Radik, Anna, Vlada, Alexey, Denis, Vavan and even our drillers in caravan 2 :-) Yes, Buyanov, that includes you!!
Finally, thank you dear readers for your interest in my time in Siberia and all my random thoughts and feelings. It has been great getting people's feedback and comments on the blog...
I have decided to keep this blog open as it is such a nice way to keep in touch with friends and family around the world. And of course I have become rather addicted to writing here so I need an excuse to keep doing it (by the way I will be back-posting a bit for this last shift-will let you know as I do it).
I think I might rename it Florence's Journeys though as that seems to cover rather more than just physical travelling.
And of course...who knows just what the future holds?
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