Upon returning from Wales on Sunday afternoon, and after a wee snooze, I left Aaron at home studying and headed up to stay with Caroline in Clapham. A relatively quiet Sunday night (it was a Bank Holiday on Monday), and we were all ready to go on Monday morning off to see the sights and sounds of the Notting Hill Carnival.

We picked up Nat and Shan on the way, and headed off to watch the parade. Some of the floats and costumes were awe-inspiring, some were average, but I've included a few photos of the better ones in the gallery. We had some Jerk chicken and Rum punch and wandered the street finding more parades, music, food, and dancing - a very cool atmosphere.

Rounded out the day with a BBQ at Nat and Shan's before heading home to mentally prepare for work the next day. I'm now even more inspired to go the Rio Carnival, but it's in Feb, so can't go next year - maybe 2007...

We've been inundated with Kiwi travellers lately, which is all good, means that I keep my kiwi accent and don't sound too posh. First there was Corde, who stayed with us for a couple of weeks, and is now living and working in London. We catch up with Corde on the phone almost weekly (generally when he needs help with his computer, yes I pass him over to Aaron), and try and catch up in person every couple of weeks.

Janna was the next to grace our floors, spending a week with us following her contiki tour through Spain and Italy. She moved out and up to London and spent a couple of weeks there before heading off to visit relations in the Netherlands then off to Belgium for a couple of weeks printing. Looking forward to catching up with her when she gets back at the end of September.

Just before Janna left, I met up with her in London for a catch up, and she showed up with a few other familiar faces. Tori, who is currently working near Dover and considering staying in the UK for a bit longer, and Sally who has just arrived to further her studies.