Thirty days has September, April, June...

The month began in a most sublime way, on the shores of the Mediterranean in Italy. Once I hit London's shores again, I spent a few days getting into the swing of school again, with a smattering of touristic adventures. 

Wednesday night, on a tummy full of delicious Chinese, we went to the Queens theatre for Les Miserables. Wow. Wow. Wow. The singing, the acting, the music, the sets... It was just divine. Mum came out crying because it was just so magical. The rest of the week was quiet, saving up my energy for the weekend. Friday night Mum, Tessa and I had a little birthday celebration in the flat. Mum cooked some lip smacking San Choy Bao which we finished off with a big slab of mud cake.

Saturday morning I spent psyching myself up for a happy happy birthday of nudity, bike rides and parties. At 12 o'clock I set off on my bike to Hyde Park for the World Naked Bike Ride. After watching the Queens Birthday march and fly by, I introduced myself to Molly, Luke and Zoe, and we had a little picnic on the grass. The hour of 3 o'clock drew nearer when we received the call to the Secret Garden. We soon stripped off and got our Picasso on, painting ourselves and each other. Once we were all done, we set off again to the rendezvous point, along with over 1000 other naked bicycle enthusiasts. Then we were off. The route was about 6miles all up, going through Piccadilly, Westminster, Waterloo, St. Paul's... We definitely made a statement. That evening, I made my way back home and got all spruced up for a night on the town. Robbie came and picked me up and we went to a cute Italian restaurant in St. Johns Wood, the cannelloni was scrumptious. Next stop, the Purple Turtle, Camden. Robbie and I met up with Tessa and had a wild night, dancing the night away to 90s hits, and downing too many Jägermeister shots until 3am. Sunday was spent recuperating, surfing the net, lurking, making decisions about my future... I know I did something else, but I can't remember at the moment. My first shots. Jagermeister.

Monday started another working week dotted with rehearsals, concerts and trips before the weekend. Saturday was spent moseying around the Royal Academy. I listened to some amazing brass music, then had a look around the museum. Next stop was the Wellcome Collection. Sunday, Jungle Book. It was the day for setting up and technical rehearsals... So much Jungle Book.

Another week of rehearsals and concerts, which was finished by tea with Helen and mum in a cute cafe near home.

On Saturday I introduced mum to the wonders of Portobello Rd Market. We immersed ourself in possibly my favourite part of London for a few hours, had some Ghanian and Spanish for lunch before going on a bit of a spending spree. I came away the proud owner of many many scarves, a pair of pants and a 1940a vintage Liberty cape - it is DIVINE. After that we headed to Oxford St. to do some shoe shopping before walking to the Adelphi on the Strand. We got some Japanese for dinner before going to see Love Never Dies. It was pretty impressive, the end was a bit of a let down though. The hagen-daas at interval made up for that though : ) Sunday Mum, Susan (a friend from the hostel) and I made the most of the good weather and went for a walk through Primrose Hill and Regents park. The Queen Mary rose garden was really something! All those roses in the summer were stunning. We parted at 12 as I headed off to Chiswick to go to my free Mandarin trial class. My brain basically melted, but at least I know now that it is achievable if the need arises to learn Mandarin : ) I met up with mum again in the afternoon before heading over to Southwark for Compline in the evening. We sang some awesome music (i'll edit this and let you know when I find the composers) Then just a early night in.

The last week of June arrived unexpectedly, where has the month gone? But I made sure it went out with a bang. Monday was spent lounging around Hampstead Heath on the year 8 Bushskills excursion. What ana amazing day. We learnt all about making fire, making spears, making shelters, foraging and orienteering, topped off by an ice-cream in the summer sun. Mum and I went out for a goodbye dinner on Monday night, to Dans Le Noir? Pretty much the most amazing dining experience I have ever had. The restaurant is staffed by blind people, and you eat in pitch black darkness, as in you can't even see your hand when you hold it in front of your face. But that is only half the fun, you don'y actually know what you are eating, so you have to guess! Just wow.

Tuesday morning I was up early to say goodbye to mum before another day at work finished off with a Merbecke rehearsal. Wednesday evening was a Teatime concert. Close Harmony sang Siyahamb' and Zamina and were definitely the stars of the show : ) After that me, Tessa and Maddy were treated to Curry on Brick Lane with the Kays. It was sooo delicious and it was really nice meeting Helen's daughter Hannah, she was great : ) Thursday, the last day of the month was nothing special, except for the fact that all the teaching staff were on strike, so I played rounders (weird English version of softball) all day at the ground with the girls and packed for my Duke of Ed expedition which leaves tomorrow!

All in all, a pretty eventful month, but the big countdown to summer is on now! Woo!

Just some Pina Coladas before dinner...