The Great Barr Hotel Birmingham

... get the chance to sample
specialities like ackee and saltfish, jerk chicken and curried goat.
Those who don’t feel so adventurous shouldn’t worry though, as
alternatives are always available!

At the weekend, volunteers can bask on the island’s sun-soaked beaches
which are just a short drive away from the volunteer house or head out
to explore everything this amazing island has to offer ...

... etc, but still no booze coz brunei is an alcohol free country. bummer! had use of airport lounge. very stylish - more free food n drinks n use of internet for free as well. yipee! arrived back in heathrow with some sleep, but not much. the sunset too nice and there was the lovely Ant to greet us n drive us home. london pretty miserable, but back in brum was lovely n sunny. beautiful. what a lovely way to finish a holiday. i can't wait for the next one. ciao for now.........

Just two days left before I fly to St Petersburg and I haven't packed a thing! This entry is just to see whether this thing works- I'm not sure how easy it will be to access and update whilst travelling but I'll do my best. After a lot of hassle with Real Russia Ltd (yes, I've just named and shamed them), I got my passport back on Friday morning with my visas and my plane tickets arrived the day before. I've never heard of the airline, so that could be a bad thing...

... Earl of Leicester, transformed Kenilworth from a medieval fortress into one of the greatest Tudor palaces so he could entertain Queen Elizabeth I in style for 19 days in 1575, costing millions of pounds. The Keep was breeched during the Civil War in the 1600s. The Great Hall where they dined was huge. It was so cold ...

... church of St. Lawrence. We then crossed little streams and did a huge uphill walk in deep mud tracks. At the top of the hill we followed the road back to Chipping Campden for the next 2-3/4 miles. The wind howled at times and was freezing. We passed fields of black sheep and then ...

... ticket to London on the National Express Coach for 13 pound 50 for both of us. Got it heaps cheaper because booking 3 days in advance ($31). Went for a hot chocolate at Costa’s in a lovely Tudor building. Changed $200 Aus to 79 pounds, bought a vegetable pastie and then went through Shakespeare’s birthplace 9 pounds ($21). Lovely home from the 1500s ...

... another pretty little Cotswold village with a stream, pub and a trout farm. We had a map with directions and they were very bad directions, because we got lost from box 1 and ended up doing the walk back to front and totally wrong sections. It snowed the whole time and was wet snow so after a couple of ...

Stephen dropped us to Warwick Castle – a 10 min. drive away and we had a wonderful time exploring over it for the next 4 hours. Entry was 26 pounds 95 including a 3 pound guide book ($64). Lunch cost us 9 pounds ($21).









It is set in 60 acres of beautiful grounds and is up high overlooking the town on one ...

Woke up 3 am and dozed until 6am and then got up. Nathan slept until 8 am. Michele made us all porridge for breakfast. This morning we did a 2 hour walk around Stratford with Stephen. We went to Holy Trinity church where Shakespeare was baptised and buried. We had a look inside and read some of the old tombstones. We walked along the river and saw swans and ...

... Mews. They have a lovely one bedroom upstairs apartment. Nathan and I sleep on a blow-up bed behind the map divider in the lounge. The map divider is great – wallpaper of the map of the world. Makes you want to explore the world. Had a dinner of Roast Chicken and veggies – all premade and just heated up. So yummy! In bed asleep by 8 pm UK time – 12 midnight Dubai time.