It's a dangerous thing to offer a thread of hospitality to a travelling kiwi... I do keep warning people that if they are going to offer to have me to stay that I will take them up on that and that's what I did.

An old friend of mine from high school, Luther, is currently working over here for a couple of months on a secondment thingy from his company in NZ. He's based up near Manchester but has been travelling the UK fixing minor screw-ups around the place.

Travelled up on the train on Friday afternoon arriving at about 5ish, Luther picked me up from the station and we headed to Manchester to check out the sights. Not always the best plan when it's dark, but at least now I can say I've been there. We ended up wandering the streets, generally lost, before stumbling on a huge chinese restaurant. The rest of the evening was spent drinking wine, eating and generally catching up on old times.

Luther had done his research and we were lucky that it was the opening weekend of Alton Towers themepark. So that's where we headed when we got up on Saturday morning. It was a bit cold and a bit windy, but stayed dry all day (making it the best day they've had up there for about 2 weeks). Even though it was opening day, there were still hardly any people there and the longest queue we waited in was about 15mins.

They have some pretty cool rides there, some that I remember from last time I was in England (back in 7th form) and some new ones. Memorable rides were the Nemesis (roller-coaster where the track is above you), Air (similar to Nemesis but you travel like you're flying), and Oblivion (plunging into a black hole).

Sunday, after a bit of a sleep-in, we headed to Donington Park (close to Nottingham) to see the first race of the season for the motorbikes. It was all pretty quiet there, but we did also manage to find a toy fair, which took up most of the morning. Not big on motorbikes, but it was good to say that I've been to Donington Park - Luther will be able to tell you what sort of bikes were there, so harrass him to comment, if you're interested.

That was the weekend, and then it was back on the train for the long journey home. Thanks for having me Luther!

A rushing sound encircled the two New Zealanders. "What was that?" Carmen said involuntarily as she turned to try and get a glance of a formless shape disappearing over the horizon. Without looking, Aaron replied "That would be time, two months worth, flying by".

Well, it's been a while... and I'm sure you've all missed us! A joint effort on this post, as our audience is not only demanding 'Awesome' but 'Exxxtreeeemeee coolness' as well, will the demands ever stop? Carmen wrote the outline, and I am jazzing it up with photos, abuse and general one-liners targeting anyone who is close.

Well, from the reports I've had and the numerous questions about 'when will Slowlane.net be updated?'. Well the answer is now.

Well a few big things have happened over the last month or so. The first being a move from London to Redhill in Surrey. This is about 1/2 an hour south of London on the train and quite close to Gatwick Airport for those familiar with the English countryside. We are living in a 1 bedroom shoebox - nah it's not too bad and does us perfectly. It's nice not to have to worry about flatmates and just do your own thing. We are in a block of 9 flats, but basically never see the people from the other flats. Bedroom - Bathroom - Kitchen - Living room

And we have (well I (Carmen) really) wheels, YAY! I've been missing driving so much, and now that we live so much closer to my work, it is more economical for me to drive to work. Also means we have the freedom to jump in the car at the weekend and go exploring. We'll probably do a lot more of that when summer comes around. (Aaron - You wouldn't believe this one, I will reinact it below:

Scene: Carmen is sitting at the computer; Aaron enters through the front door from a long hard day at work.
Aaron: Howdy babe, good day?
Carmen: I might be in a spot of trouble.
Carmen beginning to look very guilty.
Aaron: What have you done!
Carmen: I bought a car on eBay (internet auction site)
Aaron: You what! have you seen it?! how much!?!
Carmen: Bought a car, no, ummm just under £800
Aaron passes out in disbelief at the stupidity
It turned out fine, the car is seems mechanically sound, as far as our combined motor-knowledge would tell us. So Carmen now drives to work, taking her about 30 mins, and I am catching the train, then a bus, then a short walk. About an hour door to door. Get the impression someone got the raw end of the deal? The car is a 1998 Renault Megane, 1.4 Ltr (for insurance) and about 60,000 miles on the clock.

Speaking of summer, it seems a long way off still. We've had snow almost every day for the last 2 weeks, just a little bit each day, but enough to settle usually.

Both Aaron and I are trucking along quite nicely at work, with our respective companies helping us along wherever they can - got to be a good sign. Aaron - I have just signed up to do a three year accountancy course which will result in me being qualified (work paying).

Next planned trip is to Rome for Easter, and then you can see our other planned trips here.

News from home:
Massive congratulations to Tom and Kat on the engagement. I can't find the worlds to express how happy I am for the two of you.

On a sadder note, a good friend Kate O'Boyle passed away. She died doing what she did best, living life to the fullest.