Is August really almost over?!

Hey Everyone!!

Yeah I know it has been a while since I sat down and wrote you all a ne-mail. Sorry to say it has been a complete mad house here going from session to session and I've been trying to take care of me too!!

So I believe I last left off at Oxford. That was the day I decided I needed to just get away from everyone and everything. The days that followed were long work days and long hours into the night talking until the wee hours of the morning. Seems like 'Dr Rachael's' Office hours are extending, people don't even make an appointment anymore, they just darn well drop in! Regardless of the hour!

The 10th found me receiving a late birthday present, standing in reception bursting into tears and found a number of staff walking around singing the Essendon Theme song in the days to follow. T'was quite amusing really. That same day I had the first of two girls from my District rock up at Pax Lodge, Jillian who came on the 10th was somewhat out of the blue. The following day Rosemary arrived and was lucky enough to have me as a tour guide round the house!! Go the Aussie Guides from Hume District!

Thursday found the opening of London Experience IV, the on set of myErin's terrible bout of illness and me sitting and watching The Bill only to discover I barely knew any of the actors!! It was crazy.

Friday the 12th was my refuge day and crazy because of the big BA strike. We had guests not have flights home, it was a nightmare. For a while there I wasn't sure if I'd get out of Pax Lodge in time to get my train, I was working and we had after dinner duties as always. Amazingly everyone pulled together on my behalf (some did my work for me) and they got me out of there by 7:10pm. I could have cried, although that would have been twice in the one day and that's not great. Yep, Friday it just all got the better of me and I stood in the laundry bawling my eyes out because Ruth yelled at me. If Pax Lodge was going to implode on itself, I swear to you that was the day it would happen. The tension in the place was through the roof.

Thus my last set of days off (13th & 14th) I went far from everyone here at Pax Lodge and was pretty much left to my own devices for two days in a quaint little town called Goring-By-Sea. I can assure you now it was delightful! Instead of sirens and cars zooming by, it was almost silence and seagulls. I just loved it. Thank goodness for Janet and her lovely flat! Otherwise I would have been no use to anyone. It was the first time in nearly two months that I spent time with just me and no one from Pax Lodge about. Spending 24 hours a day with people takes it's toll and I came back looking 100% better and feeling it too. It sounds the most simplest thing, but for two mornings running I sat in my PJs and had breakfast. I didn't have to worry about guests, or keeping up appearances for guests. I didn't have to worry about knocks on my door nor lines for the shower. It was just me and it was delightful. Actually Sally was with me on the Saturday, we spent the morning at Janet's flat then went into a seaside town called Worthing and shopped and ate and stood in the rain! It was fantastic!! Sunday I did nothing. And I mean nothing. I had aimed to get the 4:22pm train back to London but come 4pm I was still sitting there in my PJs...so I decided to wait till 5:22!! But it was such a wonderful day and it was just me, the book and some lovely sunshine coming through the windows. Delightful.

I came back to Pax Lodge that night with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. What followed was an hour long conversation with Janet, among other things, working at Pax Lodge came up. Since then my mind has been a spin, but what else is new, right?

Then straight back into work, working five days straight with one day off (yesterday) then working three more and finally three days off. Then the rota gets back to normal.

Somewhere in there we had the closing of LE IV and my sudden new found fame because suddenly everyone thinks I'm amazing. My closing thoughts seem to be hitting the right notes, we've had people fax and request signed copies of them!! It is complete and utter madness!! I so can't believe it!

Last Monday found all the HA's in a meeting which started at 11am and finished around 2;30 that afternoon! It was a long one! We talked about all sorts of things. But it was good because it gave us a chance to get things out in the air and we've all decided we have three main issues we need to work on. Communication, motivation and understanding. You can interpret those any way you wish!

Tuesday was a great day. Worked our buts off during the day for a huge lunch, like having a dinner at lunchtime and the clean up was astronomical. Since we didn't have any guests for dinner that night (full house but none were relying on us for a meal) all the HA's as a joke decided we were having a pizza night and we were eating off napkins and drinking from cans. NO Dishes were allowed! Blow and behold, later that arvo Janet comes around and asked who was organising the pizza. And then what followed was a discussion about ice-cream and cans from the cold store here at Pax. And the best part-we didn't pay for a cent of it!! So we're not entirely sure who did pay, but we were all treated to pizza, ice-cream and drinks! It was great! Our dinner went for an hour and no dishes! Yay!! Later that night Priyanka put a somewhat large henna design on my arm and I still have it. It took her close to half hour to do, and I took a photo so I'll stick it in one of the albums at some point.

Wednesday brought the onset of the current session, the last London Experience (v) for the Summer. They're half Canadian and half American. Overall they're a great group too. I was out with them on Thursday, we did The Globe and St.Paul's (yes I went up the 530 steps again!) and came back to Pax for High Tea! Yay! Friday night everyone left me alone which was good as I'd just done five days and was tired. So I read and then about 10ish we headed down to the George for a drink only to discover it was cocktail night! So that was nice I guess.

Saturday part of the group went to Brighton and the rest went to Paris. Now there was an extra ticket floating around which was offered to me. I declined it. Yes, madness I know!! But the Paris day starts at 4:30am and sees them back about 11pm that night. It was my only day off and there was no way in the world I could do it and then work three more days. So I went to Brighton instead.

I loved Brighton. The pier is just amazing, amusement arcades and all rides down the far end! Even roller coasters! And the weather was simply fantastic! So did a tour around the Royal Pavilion, then did lunch at a cute little cafe, followed by more shopping, exploring the pier and then onto the beach! Okay, so it's all pebbles, but it's 'the beach'! I got sun burnt again! I'm kind of counting my lucky stars I didn't go to Paris. We got back from Brighton around 7:30 so I ducked down the road and got some dinner, came back and told the others I was going to pass on the clubbing idea. I was tired and wasn't really in the mood. Anyhows, Erin, Ruth and I were sitting in the HAs corridor and Doreen comes out at about 10:30 and says the session is stuck at some place I didn't recognise. Turns out the Eurostar had some brake problems and thus at 10:30pm at night they were still in France! The replacement train didn't arrive till 12:30am and so they didn't get back to London until about 3am. Then they couldn't get into Waterloo and ended up getting to Victoria, then Eurostar gave them a luxury coach to get home!! So they didn't get back here till around 4am!! Can you imagine if I went? I'd be passed out by now! Needless to say, breakfast wasn't till 10am for them!! They're in Greenwich this arvo and the day is kinda cut shorter for them, they're gonna be so tired!

As for me I start back at work at 4:30pm, which is an hour and a half away. Two more days to go and I'm off! For three days! I am soooo looking forward to it! Erin and I are thinking of going camping inWales. Why Wales? Well, it sounded good I guess!! We'll see what happens.

After all that, I'm about to sign out and go and do something. Not too sure what....

Hope you are all well and enjoying the lovely Melbourne weather. Today is nice and humid here. Sunny too. I'm telling you, bring on winter!!

Take care and until next time,
Rachael :-)