Walter's Home!

I got a PM from my swap partner at Craftster.org yesterday to say that Walter had arrived back home! Yay!

She said she was really happy with the stuff I'd sent home with Walter, which included postcards (alot of postcards...), scarfs, badges and little bits like that.

I'm so happy Walter's home - me being a bit paranoid I thought he might've got lost in the post, so to hear that he was safely at home was great news!

You can check out Eddie's blog here to see Walter at home with his goodies!

A big Thank You to my swap partner Transatlanticism - she's been excellent! I can't wait to do this swap again next year!

Eddie's Back!

My Mum woke me up this morning and told me there was a parcel for me - we both knew it was Eddie!

It was so great to see him again! He looks a bit different from when I last saw him - he has new yellow arms and legs which really suit him! In the box with Eddie were loads of great gifts from my swap partner, Hilary! Here's what I got...

Eddie!! He was so excited to show me all the great gifts! To the left is Eddie's cute travel companion! I named her Poppy! Also there's the amazing scrapbook, packed with pictures and accounts of his adventures!


These are the fab drawings the students at the Art Camp Eddie went to drew of him! I love these so much - so many different styles! I put this on my wall!


Here we have Minnesota soap (smells yummy!), incense sticks, a Growing Moose (it grows to 600% it's original size!!) and some Minnesota black rice - I've never seen black rice before - my Mum and I had a good look at this!


A cute little handmade keychain/keyring or pendant inspired by the famous Cherry Spoon sculpture! I love little hand made things like these! And there's also a squashed coin/token from Minnesota Zoo! I have a thing for squashed coins!


Lots of pom-poms from the art camp! They've been described to me as an Eddie Repair Kit, because of his arm and leg transplant! I can always use pom-poms, so these are perfect!


I beautiful friendship bracelet, Minnesota Bear Eggs & Bubble Gum and mints with my name on them! Lots of lovely sweeties to enjoy!!


And last but by no means least, a cute little Minnesota sticker book and Minnesota colouring/sticker book! I do like a bit of colouring in lol! How old am I?! :b

I'm so happy with all my gifts! I've truly been spoilt! Plus it's so great to have Eddie back - he's been telling me all about his time in America - I haven't been able to shut him up! He's developed a bit of a twang to his accent - I think it's cute! He's mega tired after his long journey, so I think it's an early night for him tonight and a long lay in in the morning!
I'd love to do this swap again, it's been so much fun! I only hope Walter arrives back safely, and that Hilary loves her stuff as much as I love mine!

I'll keep you posted on Walter's progress :D

On His Way Home!

It was very emotional, but I said goodbye to Walter on Tuesday. He's now off on his way home to the US, and I miss him already!

I took a picture of him in his box before he was packed up, but I'm not posting it here yet in case Hilary sees it before he arrives back!

I hope he has a safe journey; it's been a pleasure having you, Walter!

I'll let you know when he's arrived home safely :D

Oh, and I wrote a post on my craft blog the other day about Walter leaving and the fun we'd had. You can check it out here. It got a big response from people wishing him well!

Southend

On Wednesday Walter went with my Mum and I to Southend-On-Sea for the day. Southend is your typical seaside town, with amusements, souvenir shops, a big high street, beach, but this town has the longest Pier in the world too! It is over 1 mile long, and stretches out into the Thames Estuary. It's so long that there's a train that takes you to the end so you haven't got to walk! There's not much at the end of it anymore, as is was partly destroyed by a fire a few years ago. But it's being re-built now.

We went by train to Southend, like we did when we went to London. Walter's been on them C2C trains alot! A really nice bit about the journey down to Southend is that the track runs right along the sea for part of the journey, and when the tides in it's really pretty with all the little boats!

When you arrive at Southend by train the station is right on the High Street, so that's where we went first. Just your usual shops really, all the good stuff is by the seafront!

It wasn't the best of weather that day, so when we arrived by the the sea we were expecting rain any time. But it was ok for now. We walked along the front and saw Adventure Island; a big theme park type place. Both Walter and I wanted a go on the rides, but it was so packed we would've been waiting round for ages. Plus it as gonna rain.

Walter also saw the pier - he couldn't believe how long it was! It almost reaches Kent on the other side of the Estuary lol! A also showed Walter Chinnery's, which is the famous live music venue on the seafront. Alot of famous bands as well as local acts have payed here, and my brother's band plays there regularly. Along abit were the amusements; including one's called New York and Monte Carlo, which reminded Walter of home!!

We crossed the street and visited the amusements. It was great fun in there - loads of photo opportunities! Walter had a go of loads of them - including a driving game, the 2p slot machine and the one where you have to grab the toys with a big claw. I forget what they're called lol! We went to a souvenir shop next, and got some tacky stuff for Hilary. You've got to have tacky souvenirs from Southend lol!

We walked back up to the High Street and yes, once again, visited McDonalds! Walter had onion rings this time, the same as me. And an Oasis drink, we were mega thirsty after our trek along the seafront. Whilst we were in McDonalds it started raining BIG TIME, so we'd only just missed it! By the time we were ready to go it had stopped. Lucky!

On the way back to the train I stopped off at HMV for a CD. The train back was almost empty, which made a nice change from the packed carriages on the train to London.

This is likely to be our last adventure, as Walter will be going home in the next few days. I've grown really attached to him, and it'll be difficult to let him go! I'm in the middle of making his scrapbook at the moment, but my printed is playing up so the pictures are a bit blah. I will persist though!

Basildon Town Centre

Today Walter, my Mum and I went shopping at Basildon Town Centre.

Tuesdays are food shopping day, so we did the usual shopping in Asda. Asda's one of them massive supermarkets that seems to sell everything lol! Walter thought it was wierd whilst looking round as there was nothing like what he had at home brand-wise! He especially liked the chocolate bars and the HobGoblin beer/lager. I told him he wasn't aloud to drink, so we gave that one a miss!

Being severely Obsessive Compulsive; I do alot of cleaning. Walter has become used to my weird cleaning rituals over the past few months, and kindly helped me pick out some anti-bacterial spray. I don't know what I'd do without that stuff! He chose Dettol. Nice choice - my fav!

We had a look round the other shops in the town, including one of my fav clothes shops - Punky Fish. It's one of them trendy clothes shops that sells punk type clothing. I was very tempted by a shirt/tunic thing in there, I really was. Walter said it looked nice, but I decided it made my bum look big so I didn't get it lmao!

We also visited Basildon Market, where I got some supplies from my fav haberdashery stall. I bought buttons and sequins today. Walter also sampled the delights of Lloyds bank. I hate that place so much lol! The Works was also visited - where we found some nice art supplies for Hilary!

I'm quite a religious person, and once a month visit our local church, St. Martins which is in the middle of the town. Walter got to see the church the other week, but this time he saw the inside of the church too. I didn't take any pics in there though - I didn't think it was appropriate!

When we got home we unpacked, and I started to sort out all the bits we had got Hilary over the past months. I found a nice box to send Walter and everything back in, and Walter said he wasn't looking forward to a long journey in a box lol! But I'm sending a friend back with him, so he has someone to talk to!

Tomorrow... Southend!

St. Martins Church and Bell Tower

On the way back from the craft fair last Saturday we had to walk through the town centre. We went past St. Martins church and it's famous bell tower. It's the one and only glass and steel bell tower in the world, and has been a local landmark for many years now.

Although Walter is a buddist; he appreciated the pretty church building and it's surrounding gardens. Most of my family have been married and christened at this church, so it's an important place to me and I'm happy Walter got to see it!

We also walked past a hand carved statue in the town square; I don't think anyone's quite sure what it's of, but it's been there for ages now so we took a pic of that too lol!

Walter's time in Basildon is coming to an end sadly; I've really grown attached to him! In his last week here I plan to take him shopping with me to the town centre and to Southend. Possibly on the train again, maybe by car lol!

Craftacular!

Today Walter, my Mum and I went to the Bust Craftacular in Bethnal Green, London. The venue, York Hall, is famous in London for hosting boxing matches.

Walter was excited about going on the trains and going to London again! We left home at about 11am and got to Bethnal Green station about 1 hour later. Not bad going!

When we got there we were surprised to see a massive queue going right round the corner of the street to get into the craft fair! We joined the end and waited. The first 100 people there got a goodie bag, but we were no way in the first 100 lol!

Inside there were 50 vendors selling all sorts of fab handmade items, music from live DJ's and a coffee shop. I love craft fairs, and Walter was very happy to be amongst crafty people! We had a good look round at the lovely vendors stuff and I bought too much, as usual! Walter helped me pick out some cute handmade toys, including 2 sock monsters and a bear! He made friends instantly and wanted me to buy more so he could get to make even more friends, but I ran out of money lol! We saw this really funny badge at one of the stalls and Walter said Hilary would like it, so we got it! We also picked up loads of business cards, which I'm gonna send onto Hilary too :D We also entered a raffle - I think they email the winner so fingers crossed!

On the way back to the train we were all very hungry, so we stopped off at McDonalds. Walter had a veggie burger, fries and a coke. We got back on the train and were back in Basildon in about 1 hour. My Mum needed to pop into town to look for a book for my Dad, so Walter got to see a bit of Basildon Town Centre! I plan on taking him shopping with us before he goes back to America, so we'll get some pics then :D

A nice day was had by all! And on the train my Mum and I discussed the possibility of going to Southend one evening with Walter so he can see the worlds longest pier! Here's hoping!!

Cyprus Pt 6: Saying Bye To Friends

The day finally came for us to go home. We'd had a lovely time in Cyprus; Walter said he wanted to stay there! But I said his Mum wouldn't be very happy with me if I left him lol!

Whilst on holiday Walter had the chance to meet lots of new friends. These included the animals at Famagusta zoo, lizards at the villa, one of the noisy locus things, the fishs on the boat trip and at the chinese resturant, a massive toy monkey by the marina (I'm including a pic of him in the scrapbook!) and of course Ben Wong - my brother's toy cow! But his good friend the crocheted monkey keyring got to travel back with him in my bag, so he had some company!

We got to the airport about 2 hours before check in lol! So we did alot of sitting about. The journey was better than the one going; as we weren't sleepy and we didn't have a bumpy landing! Back in England it was, of course, rainy. After it being so hot in Cyprus it was strange coming back to rain!

So yeah, walter had a great time. He now looks forward to another trip to London, coming with me to the town shopping, visiting the glass and steel bell tower at St. Martin's church, a drive through Bas Vegas and possible going to see Russell Brand in London! He's doing some warm up shows apparently and I'm determined to get tickets lol! Keep your fingers crossed; I know I am!

Cyprus Pt 5: Protaras and Famagusta

One day we took a 3 hour car journey to Protaras, which is on the other side of the island. I used to go there when I was younger, so it was interesting to see if it had changed!

Walter got a bit bored on the journey there, so when we arrived he was ready to go! We stopped off at our old favourite resturant for lunch, which over looked the beach, then set about looking round the place. It had changed since I was last there (then again it has been 10 years!). We had an ice cream whilst walking round - Walter had strawberry.

Our next stop was the Famagusta view point. Famagusta is an abandoned city near Protaras. When the Turkish invaded Cyprus, the residents of Famagusta were give about an hour to abandon their homes. No one has stepped foot inside the city since, for fears of landmines. Therefore everything is like it was years and years ago; including old cars, washing still out on washing lines and playthings in the streets.

At the view point there is, obviously, a view point lol! The city is quite far away so there's a telescope up there. There's also a mini museum, with a board of all the people still missing from when the Turkish invaded. It was really sad to see all them thousands of names up on the wall; it made Walter upset. So to cheer us up, we went and had a look round the little zoo they have there. There were mainly birds, of all different types and colours. Walter liked the chicks best!

After another 3 hours in the car, we arrived back at the villa. It was a tiring day, but well worth it!

One more lot of pics to come!

Cyprus Pt 4: Boat Trip

On the Saturday of our holiday, we went on a boat trip to the Akamas, which is a reigion near Polis, I believe. Our boat was called the Alkion II.

We sailed past such places as St. Georges Church - a very old church that's in the middle of no-where, no roads or anything lead up to it and it only opens it's doors once a decade; and Aphrodite's Bay. We stopped off in a shallow bay for an hour so people could go swimming. Walter and I decided against it, and just sat looking at the lovely views. And we had some crisps from the shop they had on board too lol!

The good thing about this boat was that it was a glass bottomed boat - below deck you could see everything under the water! At times you could see fishes and coral and rocks etc, but in the picture I got of it you can't see anything but water lol!

We had a lovely time on the boat; Walter and I loved the clean sea air and seeing the fishes.

That afternoon we went back to the villa and spent the afternoon by and in the pool. I got a funny picture of Walter and I in the pool, but I'm saving that for his scrapbook lol!

In the evening we went to a fab Chinese resturant called Yangtze, which was on the road between Polis and Latchi. As Walter is a herbivore, he opted for the stir fried vegtables. I had a chow mein. The nice thing about the resturant was there were these massive fish tanks all around the place with lots of fishes in them! And seen as Walter loved the fishes we saw on the boat earlier that day he asked me to take a pic of him with some of them.

Was a lovely way to spend a Saturday!

Yet more pics to follow lol!

Cyprus Pt 3: Tomb Of The Kings

On one of the last days of our holiday we visited the Tomb Of The Kings, in Paphos. It's a Cyprian Heritage site, with lots of unearthed tombs.

I've been here before, but this time it was sooooo hot! It kind of gave me the 'ump, as I hate the hot weather! Walter didn't like it too much either, but we got through it by taking lots of photos!

After we went to the Tombs, we went into Paphos itself and did a bit of shopping. We had some chips for our lunch; they were nice! More shopping followed, and we spent lots of time in this gift shop called 'Little Panda's'. It was brilliant in there! I bought lots of stuff, and Walter picked out some stuff to take back home to Hilary! I was given a free gift too; a lovely thermometer with dolphins on it. Later on we found out the temperature as 44!!

We went back to the villa, and had a swim. It was a nice day all-in-all, apart from the heat!

More pics to follow...

Cyprus Pt2: Hanging Out At The Villa

The villa we were staying at was called 'Villa Christalla'. It was really nice - very spacious and clean. But noisy.

When we arrived on Tuesday evening we were welcomed by the villa's owner, who was nice, and a loud buzzing noise. We were told it was cricket type things in the trees, and because it had been raining in Cyprus this summer they were out in force. We weren't happy, but soon got used to it.

We spent several days of our week long holiday at the villa, swimming in the pool and getting a sun tan. Walter said he wasn't keen on the idea of a sun tan as it might make his colours go funny, and I wasn't keen on the idea either, so me and him used factor 50+ suntan lotion. His favourite place to sit was on a sun lounger in the shade, on the patio. Most days he had a little sleepie lol!

He even made a friend; my brother bought along Ben Wong, the plastic cow. His girlfriend had given it to him so he could take pictures of him on holiday, just like Walter! So Walter and Ben became best of friends! Together they came up with the ultimate way to cool down - sit in the fridge!

Also during the week we went to Protara, to the outlook over the abandoned city of Famagusta (which also had a little zoo!), on a boat trip to the Akamas and to the Tomb Of The Kings in Paphos. All them pics to come!