Blackpool Tower Dungeons...and this finally brings me up do date! (for now! ha)

I have now begun rehearsals at Blackpool Dungeons! I have moved to a town nearby Blackpool for now to stay with a lovely family there. So far it has been a very different experience from working at the hotel. But I haven't had much chance to settle in yet as I've been quite poorly! :( To be honest it's been quite a tough few days but I am coming out the other end with God's help! As along with the illness came some lonely feelings and negative thoughts about the job and my isolation away from home. But I have recognised it's a battle worth fighting and now I have been given a chance to regain my health properly before I get stuck back in to work. So I will update you a bit further when I have settled in a bit more!

Just to mention a few of the things we've done so far though... Trying out the gruesome make-up, getting to know the set and various gadgets and effects, learning to work the drop ride, and even going out onto the streets of Blackpool in costume, scaring the general public.

It's been a bit of an odd start to the project for me but hopefully in a week or so I will have a clearer picture of what the job will be like!

-Blackpool dungeons is part of Blackpool Tower. It is part of the Merlin group and has been going for about 6 months.

Festivities, auditions, and exercising the lungs!

After Thailand it was back to my home town. Good to be back after being away most of the year. Catching up with people, seeing family and friends, celebrating Christmas and New Year. It can be strange at times to adjust back to the familiar after being away for a while but I think that's something I will always have to get used to and to be fair there are always new people to meet, new things to do and possibilities to explore, and pre-existing relationships to build on. And so once Christmas was over my possibility exploring began in earnest!; Auditions. My auditions took me to lots of different places! York, Blackpool, Leamington Spa (and I even had one in little old Huddersfield) but I also travelled to a few more places in England for other reasons...Leicester, Birmingham, Blackpool, Leeds...to see a variety of friends and family - I have certainly seen a fair bit of the British railways in this year so far!

I have also done a bit of singing over these past few months, including getting involved again with the worship band at my church, which I love. I was involved with a 'Flash choir' before Christmas - popping up unannounced in different locations around the town centre, blasting 'Oh Come all ye faithful' (with a twist) at unsuspecting shoppers -ha.

I also did a little 'gig' for residents at Bradley Court and on Valentines Day I will be performing with two of my friends Ee-reh and Robin a little set at a Valentines meal event which is to raise money for Rainbow Africa. The latter gave - and will give- me an opportunity to sing a fair few soft jazzy numbers - which is really my favourite type of thing to sing, and something I got to do every week at Nidd Hall, so great to get a little fix of that!

But the day after Valentines Day it will be all change again...

Thailand! - Bangkok and Kanchanaburi

With Joanne and some of the other girls she lived with, I also visited Bangkok a couple of times, and ventured to Kanchanaburi too.

About to head to Bangkok for shopping, eating and dancing:

In Bangkok at lovely indoor/outdoor restaurant with gorgeous atmospheric lighting and good curry:

Day in Bangkok just me and Joanne:

Weekend in Kanchanaburi - visiting the Erawan waterfalls which cannot help but make you in awe of creation, and riding on and 'bathing' (though really he bathed us!) an elephant - so much fun:

The whole experience was just amazing. It was a world away from my work and although I loved work I think it was just the right timing and very good for me in that way. It was also my first experience of negotiating travelling abroad completely alone (well...if u don't count getting a ride to and from the airports :P).  All together a time I will not forget.

Thailand! Nov 2011

One of my university friends spent most of her time in 2011 living in Pakkred, Thailand. There she was working with children with disabilities in orphanages. This was with the charity  C.C.D.
In November 2011 I had the opportunity to go and stay with her, see some of the work she does and also volunteer with her too. It was an amazing experience I won't forget. It was challenging, eye opening, exciting, touching and fantastic all at once.


Here's a few snaps of the gorgeous kids. I do miss them:

One day we acted out a fairytale with the children, encouraging them to engage with the story.  It was inspiring to see the children light up as they let their imaginations run wild:

 Of course it was around the time of the flooding in Thailand, although we were unaffected really I did see examples of the flooding. My heart goes out to those who were affected. 


Here you can see the flooding - on the left - goes up to the mud wall in the middle (built to protect them) and the building with the blue sign on the right is one of the orphanages, so you can see how close it came:

(the mud wall was a lot steeper than it looks)


And this is my gorgeous friend Joanne I went to visit and stay with. She is amazing and worked so hard. Met lots of inspiring people there giving up their time for these children so much in need. It was an honour to be with them even if just for a few weeks!

Children with disabilities in Thailand face alot of challenges, and if you feel you'd like to consider donate to C.C.D. - or even volunteering yourself - then checkout their website:
http://www.ccdthailand.org/

There are more Thailand moments I'd like to share but that's quite a bit to be going on with! :-P

Time to take a breath... (October 2011)

After working solidly for about 9 months, it was time for a little 'holiday'. I spent most of my time at home (as I hadn't seen very much of friends or family) but also stayed in Harrogate for about a week before leaving, and also went to Leicester for one weekend to visit family and friends and visit my nephews 1st birthday. ...also shockingly had time to think! ;)

North Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

Leicestershire

I also spent times getting jabs, buying clothes for a hot climate, getting travel insurance and packing (amongst other things!) because my next adventure would take me to a far off land...

The Nidd Days...last look

Here's the last dose of Nidd photos! (You'll be glad to know :-P). Looking at these it reminds me what an amazing time it was. It was great to have such a varied job and experience lots of different things and develop different skills. It was also a very challenging time on lots of different levels. I met some very inspiring people, not just on the team but also from other areas of the hotel and outside of the hotel. I have very mixed feelings when I look back on it but I feel very blessed to have had this opportunity, and it definately makes me excited for what the future holds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our contract was extended a bit from the original plan - which I was happy about - and I finished working at Nidd early October 2011.