up... up... and away.....

This week has been brilliant! Tinged with a couple of sad moments...

Thursday was my (m@) last day at Alive Network and I have to say, it really was a sad moment. Although I'd only been there since October, the fact that the company is so young and friendly made it really easy to settle in quickly. Its not often that you can work somewhere and genuinely say that you think highly of everyone!! I'll take away some great memories. Everyone made my last day really special, and although I've said it before, if it wasn't for the fact of the opportunity to travel, it would honestly be the place I could see me retiring from (many years from now of course!). So, from me to Alive Network, I just want to say thanks for being the most funky, friendly and creative company I have ever had the pleasure to work at, and this is all down to its people!

On the flip-side... I got some fantastic leaving gifts (again, proving what a top lot of folk they is!)... They got me a digital hand-held camcorder (with 1Gb memory) that literally fits into a shirt pocket! Awesome! (Check out the balloon pics below)...and, they got me the AA guide to New Zealand, which is the guide we have used for all our other travels, but were just too tight to buy this time...
They really thought about what to get and I couldn't have asked for anything better :)

Again, Saturday was a good news, bad news scenario... Firstly England plummeted out of the World Cup to Portugal... on Penalties again! Devastating... 'nuff said!
However, the balloon flight went ahead!!! We took off from Cholmondely Castle and flew for over 1 hour before coming down with a BANG! Even the pilot agreed it was a particularly bad landing... Still, it was worth it! So, thanks Ma and Al for the pressie, it was amazing!

click here to see them all...