Savoury Pancake Recipe

It's not really a pancake. It's halfway between naan bread and an omelette. Crack and egg into a small bowl. Add about 2 tablespoons of flour. Add a dollop of milk. Add whatever seasoning you like. I just used salt. Whisk it up. Add more of certain ingredients depending on your consistency preferences. It should be a little thicker than pancake mix, but it doesn't really matter.

Sort of halfway between these two. Next time I make one I'll take a photo to show you.

Next, add the real flavour. It's lovely with cheese and lentils. You could also add tuna or salmon or peas or corn. Whatever takes your fancy, really. Then just cook it like a pancake.

This'll make you one decent-sized pancake. It's a meal in itself, but if you want to cook more than one because your friend is with you or to have something to snack on later, just double the quantities.

You can't really go wrong with this. It's a bung it all together and see what happens-type deal. Fairly healthy, too.

Fantastic Pancake Recipe

I made these the other day. They work out really well. I used vegetable oil instead of butter because it's easy to mix in. I might try it without baking powder next time because I could slightly taste it in the pancakes. Or maybe that's just the result of eating so many! I had them with Greek yoghurt and strawberry jam. It was the best.

(I can't find the website where I found the recipe, so I'll just tell you the basics)

How to make pancakes

*Insert generic picture of pancakes*

1 cup flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tbsp. vegetable oil for frying

Note: if I didn't want the taste of baking powder, maybe I'd use self-raising. Although, I don't mind crepe-style pancakes, so I might not bother with the raising agent at all.

Steps

1. Put on the oven to keep the pancakes warm (optional)
2. In medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Put aside.
3. Heat pan over medium heat. Moisten a paper towel with oil and rub over pan (or you could just buy that spray oil stuff).
4. You know the drill after that. Wait for the bubbles to appear, then flip. The hardest thing for me was finding the right heat setting and timing the flip. Usually it's just waiting till their golden brown, but I think the stove here likes to change heat settings without permission. I've never had such trouble before.
5. Put on your favourite topping! Lemon and sugar is nice, and if you have it with jam and yoghurt, the yoghurt sort of tastes like cream, only it's healthier. Yay!

Find Your Inner Pig: A Night of Poetry

Well, she did it. Anna Freeman managed to live up to the hype I'd created in my head after seeing a video of a poem she'd performed. She and Chris Redmond made a great pairing in their poetry/storytelling performance called 'Hunting Pigs' in Bristol on 31st of January. They both went full hog into the awkward and confusing moments of adolescence where we desperately try to be cool, and it was amusing to see how that desire didn't seem to change much into their adulthood.

Anna and Chris performed 'Hunting Pigs'

The show had a pig motif throughout it (as you might guess from the title). Finding your inner pig is like unleashing the shameless spontaneity and toughness that is within all of us. Actually, that motif sort of disappeared towards the end of the piece, but there were plenty of other things to entertain us. There was a band--drummer, keyboardist, and guitarist. I almost want to say that they were in the background, but really they were very much a part of the show. At one stage, the drummer had to put on a long-haired wig and a visa and pretend to be teenage Chris.

Chris's hairstyle in the 80s.

What I really enjoyed was that atmosphere that we were all friends sharing in those cringe-worthy moments and laughing about it together. Something special happens when you offer your under-the-rug self to others. It breaks down the usual barriers you put up when you want to be seen as cool and confident, and instead you just end up being friends. Isn't that so much better?

I have the most fun when I can be my true crazy self with a true crazy friend

There was a sort of karaoke scene at the end of the show where we could shout out bands or songs that we like but are secretly ashamed of admitting that we like. Please post your own in the comment section below. This one's mine:

Writing Young Adult Fiction

These notes are summarised from a workshop with Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier. It was called Writing Young Adult (YA) Fiction and was run by the 2013 Brisbane Writers Festival.

Justine and Scott (She was wearing those boots at the workshop!) 

 Note: Different circumstances mean different decisions. Therefore, take each tip with a grain of salt

Forget readership when you're writing

YA is read by 8 year olds through to adult. In fact, adults take up the largest percentage of YA readership.

Not for teens—about teens

 

Pitching your novel

·         Give the flavour
·         It’s an ad for your book
·         Doesn’t have to be 100% correct (just to get the gist of the storyline)

Method of keeping track of the novel as you write it:

• Character profile
• Mood/inspiration board (collage of photos or found objects, etc, that remind you of that character 
• Playlist to get you in your character’s mood

On inspiration boards you can stick on or draw things that remind you of the character

Structure by using different jobs

Being a novelist is like building a bridge.

There are lots of different jobs involved. You need:

• the architects to design the bridge
• the brickies to build the foundations
• the builders to scaffold/ build the main parts
• the bolters to put in the nuts and bolts
• the painters to put on the finishing touches

When writing a novel, you need to do all these different jobs, usually starting from designing the outline of the book, then doing the foundations (character building, filling in the plot points), then writing up a draft (building stage), fixing up plot holes/ dialogue, etc (riveters), and then proof reading (painting/polishing).

It’s important to know which job to do when. Sometimes we get caught up in the rivet stage, when really it’s a design fault and you need to step back a bit.

Overall Structure

After 20,000 words (approx.), these authors start a spread sheet in Excel (she waits until this stage because she often doesn’t know what she’s writing about until then).

Word count	Chapter title	POV	Mood
		For multiple POV stories	Have symbols for different moods. Eg. X for tension --for action 0 for not much/ talking/ character building scenes …depending on the type of book. This helps you see at a glance the balance of moods. If the whole book is non-stop action, you can see that and balance it out (you need to give your readers a rest every so often, even in action novels)

 Write your novel with: Scrivener

Word isn’t designed for long documents. It becomes hard to navigate through and find things. Scrivener also lets you store pictures and online sticky notes, etc.

 

Think of characters as ensemble

Think of how your characters will work together. Try to have a variety of different characters. The contrast and similarity between characters is what creates conflict.

Make sure your characters sound different

Write a list of different language between characters. eg. From Scott’s book, Alek is old fashioned royal and Deryn is practical and working class.

Difference in vocabulary:

Alek	Deryn
Mind	Brain
Perhaps	maybe
Narrator said “Alek swore”	Barking spiders!
God’s wounds	Blisters!

Alek isn't Alek without Deryn (vice versa)

But equally important is to have some similarities so that they can relate to each other.

 

We don’t just create characters; we create suites of characters.

People take on different roles depending on who they’re with. Eg. Someone in a group might be seen as the “smart” one. Then, when someone comes along who is even smarter, the former person needs a different role, so they might move into be funny.

Different readers will identify with different characters.



The quiet, nice guy                          Badass/ Rebel                   Funny guy               Couldn’t care less

As the circumstances and group dynamics change, so do the characters.

Some more archetypes:

•  Leader

• The muscle

• Brains

• Jester

• Jerk

Make it hard

Not sure how the characters will get to the skating competition seeing as they can’t drive? Don’t conveniently make the comp two blocks away. Work with the difficulties. It’ll make your plot more interesting. 

Read all types of books

Find people you trust to show you great books. Trust passionate readers. Look on their blogs

 

Tip for Blogs

Be a collection of information. Link other people. A hub of knowledge.

People aren’t really interested in purely ‘you’. Ask: What information would be valuable to them?

Have a writer’s spot

This looks quite fancy, but in fact, plenty of writers have humble writing places

Scott has a chair. He said, “As soon as my butt hits that particular fabric, my brain knows it’s time to write”. He only ever writes in that chair.

Consider having a writing time. What time is best for you? Morning? Evening? Try to write when your brain works best creatively.

Follow on Scott and Justine on Twitter:

@JustineLavaworm

@ScottWesterfeld

Writing for Children: Advice from Sally Nicholls

Sally Nicholls is a British children’s author who has written award-winning novels such as Ways to Live Forever, Season of Secrets and All Fall Down. At Bath Spa University, we were lucky to hear her share her experiences in writing.

She was very approachable, so I will refer to her as Sally in this article

Her Writing Process

Sally stressed that her process is by no means the only or “right” one, and that many writers work in different ways.

Inspiration

She starts with an idea and often no plot.

She said that most stories have a plot that is very simple:

1. Somebody wants something
2. They try to get it
3. What happens…?

There are the additions of an antagonist and subplots, but basically, this is it.

 Filling in the blanks

Usually Sally has a few scenes in mind, so she writes them out. She is also aware of the overall structure. For example, in Close Your Pretty Eyes, she knew that the main character, Olivia, would want to defeat the ghost (step 1), that she'd try to defeat it using various strategies (step 2), and that she would defeat the ghost in the end (step 3). What Sally didn't know was how Olivia would defeat the ghost and how damaged she'd be after the battle.

What to do when you get stuck

1.      Go out somewhere with a pen and paper and just write, perhaps about what is around you. Just write anything. Pen to paper. Go.





You can write anywhere--on the bus, on a park bench, on a river stream at your local rainforest... 

2.     Leave it on the backburner. I was particularly fond of this advice. Richard Carlson references this principle in his book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (click here for my article on this book). It means that if you’re stuck on a problem, go away and do something else for a while—a day, a week, a month—and hold the problem in your mind without trying to solve it consciously. Then a different, often more intelligent, part of your mind will work on it for you. Otherwise known as the ‘sleep on it’ method.

3.      Add in a subplot. However, this might not be ideal for beginners because it might get confusing. 
4.      Find the character’s voice by creating a few chapters where the character talks about themselves (eg. their likes, dislikes, and interests). Or they might take the reader on a tour around their home. There are other methods of exploring character as well, like thinking about their appearance and how this character would enter a room (their mannerisms, etc).  

More on character

Sally thinks of the idea for her story before she thinks about the characters (though, as she said, other authors have the opposite approach). For example, in Ways to Live Forever, a book about a boy with Leukaemia who tries to do all the things on his bucket list before he dies, Sally knew that the boy would have to be fairly scientifically minded so that the book wouldn’t be too depressing. She knew she wanted to make her readers laugh, so the boy would have to have a sense of humour. He should approach the list as if it were quest, so he would have to have a sense of adventure. Other aspects of his character happened more organically.

Researching her stories

For her books about children with specific illnesses, Sally looked at blogs from parents of children with the particular illness to get a sense of the behaviours the child might have.

 How she got into Children’s writing

She’d always known that she liked to write stories, but towards the end of her final year of studying Literature and Psychology, she started to fret about the specific career path she might take. She was flipping through a booklet about MA options (an MA is like Masters degree), diligently writing down a lot of boring courses she could do. Then she flipped the page and found an MA in Children’s Writing. This caught her attention for a few reasons:

1. She had always read and loved children’s novels.
2. You could have so much fun with writing for children. You can add in fairies and all sorts of fantastical elements.
3. She likes that 8-12 year old age group because children of that age are so in flux and are still deciding who they are, whereas adults are more or less set in their ideas about their own identity and life plan, etc.
4. When you write for young people, you are writing in a voice that is different from your own, and that can feel quite liberating.

Final look at story ideas

Sally had an idea for a story. It would be set in Edwardian times. She pitched it to the editor but he rejected it, saying that the publishers were after a modern, emotion-driven story.
She felt stumped. Then she asked herself, ‘What are the books I like and have always secretly wanted to write?’ She thought about it on and off for about a week. She came up with a few different books (including Casson Family: Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay and Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute). Thinking about what she liked about each of them (eg. plot aspects, use of humour, characters), she crafted a novel with those same elements.

Read Your Work Aloud

Her final tip was to read aloud. She stressed this a lot. It’s a good way of picking up on awkward phrasing or unnecessary words (I know we hear that advice all the time in class, but it’s a good reminder to actually do it).

Drafting

She would write without restraint, then in her redrafts, often reduce the word count to about a third of its original length. Occasionally the words that were cut would make it back into the novel, but most of the time it would stay out. Some of her author friends have recommended a program called Scrivener, which is used to write and store large writings such as a novel. This was recommended to me in another workshop, see here footnotes from that workshop on Young Adult Writing.

Sally writes a few novels at a time. Justine, the author from the other workshop, did this as well. I like this method because then if you don’t feel like working on a particular story one day or if you’re stuck, you can be editing or working on another story. Great for multi-taskers.

Follow Sally on Twitter @Sally_Nicholls

Proof that age is just a state of mind

HELP ME FIND THIS BOOK

I am desperately on the lookout for a novel with the following features:

A protagonist who is:

• female
• aged 18-24
• a university student (preferably)
• witty
• fairly intelligent
• strong willed

A story that is:

• realistic (so not fantasy)
• basically about character conflict/ fitting in
• hopefully Australian setting or at least not American (no offense to Americans, I'm just sick of reading stories set in USA)

I'm beginning to doubt that such a book exists. Right now I'd settle for a story about someone in the 18-24 age range. If anyone knows of any authors or books that fit any of these descriptions, please let me know in the comments below.

My time here in Bath is inspiring me to create this story for myself. But reading others like it first would be good.

Tips for Performing Poetry

Some fantastic tips from Robert Garnham, self-proclaimed professor of Whimsy.

 

Also check out some of my fellow students' poetry on their blog, Outspoken Words.

Soon I'll follow this up with general public speaking tips that I learnt from a recent workshop through Bath Spa University.

Overview: Yes, I'm having fun!

I’m having a good time in Bath. There is always so much on. I recently booked a whole heap of sessions for the Bath Literature Festival. That’ll be an event to remember. There were so many interesting sessions, I couldn’t resist booking heaps. One of them is to see Jennifer Saunders from Ab Fab. She’s hilarious. I’m glad I booked early because her show has almost sold out!

Does anyone remember this? The fabulous Jen is on the left.

It’s getting even colder here. I think I’ll need an extra jumper.

I’m cooking lots. Tonight I made pancakes. Only thing is, they were so delicious that I ate half the batch. That made me decide to go for a walk. I like night time strolls. Even though it was past midnight, there were a few small groups of people walking around. I think there was a party somewhere on campus.

Most people from Pope went out to celebrate a girl’s Birthday. They went out just as I got back from meditation. The class is on in the city centre. I found it last week. It’s free, which is a plus. The people are so nice. Some of the things they say go over my head (stuff about 7 chakras, etc), but the basic principle is to live in the present moment and to be grateful. Those are two states I could definitely improve. I tend to worry about things in the past or future, when most of the time those worries are unnecessary. There is a poetry night next Wednesday but I might not go because I am really benefitting from this yoga. It makes me laugh more and stress less. The practice is called Sahaja Yoga (they only call it yoga because yoga literally means ‘unity’. Really it is meditation).

All of the internet photos of people meditating look dumb so instead here is a photo of candles and incense, which they have in the room where I go. I probably can't do that in my own room, though. Pretty sure that's against fire safety protocol.

 

To my karate friends, I am not currently training. I did email the local GKR instructor but he didn’t get back to me. I could send another email but to be honest, there are so many clubs on campus (musical theatre, exercise yoga, comedy club) that I might take advantage of those while I’m here. Maybe I’ll get into karate later on. See how I go.

I aspire to have this guy's laid back confidence.
(Photo from an Idle Play Things' performance.)

I might make a trip to London or Cambridge soon. I have contacts in these places, and I want to see more of what is here. I will post an article when I do.

Anzacs for Australia Day

This will be my first Australia Day out of the country. But, like a good Aussie, I will celebrate by making Anzac biscuits. Technically Anzac biscuits are for Anzac Day, but they're still traditional Australian food and are super easy to make.

For any of my British chums who may be reading this, or for unpatriotic Aussies, I will explain the significance of Anzac biscuits. They were originally made for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers of World War I. The oaty treats were useful because they were simple, nutritious, and could keep over a long journey at sea. Also, they added variety to the soldiers' diet of gruel. ‘Anzac’ is the term used for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought in 1914-18. Read more here.

Okay, so I had to look up those details, I take back what I said about non-patriotic…ness, yeah. Take that back. I just gave myself a history lesson. I hope you learned something, too. Feel free to add extra facts into the comment section.

 

Weird things about living in Bath, England

• Lots of people smoke here, but you can’t always tell who’s smoking and who’s not because everyone’s breath is foggy from the cold air.
• You need gloves, lip balm, and waterproof shoes and waterproof jacket wherever you go.
• People here don’t usually sleep until midnight or later, and the shops don’t open until ten am.
• 24 hour time is used for things like bus timetables and events. Local people say time backwards; instead of saying ‘half past eleven’ or ‘eleven thirty’, they’ll say ‘half eleven’.
• I see fields of sheep on my way to class.

Yeah, slow down, sheep. The speed limit's 15.

• The grass is an almost unnaturally bright green. The colour is no doubt caused by the excessive amount of rain here.
• Today the sky is like a bright, white sheet.

Here you get my view from the library window: white sky and ultra green grass (no colours were modified)

• They have double-decker buses.



Double-decker from someone standing in the bushes, apparently.
(I got this one from the web)

• People here drive on the left, same as us, but on the stairs at uni it says 'Keep Right' (??) and on the footpath, people go wherever they like. Don't expect a large group to part for you. You might have to go on the road to get by. (Gabbie, they take up all the space on an elevator, too. But if there’s only one or two people they’ll usually move if you ask).
• Locals say ‘Alright?’ or ‘You alright?’ instead of ‘How are you?’. If I said ‘You alright?’ to one of my Aussie friends, they’d look at me strangely and say ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
• There is almost always music playing in my dorm. Usually late at night. Usually techno/ hip hop.
• Food at the supermarket is more expensive and generally worse quality than what I get at home.
• British slang for sex is ‘pulling’.
• They say ‘slag’ instead of ‘slut’ (or for a slightly milder way of saying it). However, the amount of pulling/sex or the specifics of the act (eg. location, who you do it with, the risk factor) is worn like a badge of honour and is often shared among the dorm. In saying that, the term ‘slag’ is only ever applied to females.
• There are poetry or performance events on all the time in Bath and Bristol.
• Bath Spa Uni has many amazing interest societies. Too many of them meet on a Tuesday night.
• People go out clubbing at 10/11pm on a weeknight.
• Girls will wear short skirts and thin stockings or none at all.
• The city streets are cobblestone in many places. Somehow girls manage to walk these areas in stilettos. I have a hard enough time in flats.
• The houses are usually made of stone or concrete and often have Mary Poppins-style chimneys.

Unfortunately, no chimney-sweeps were dancing on the roof (that I saw).

• I was ridiculously excited the other day to be able to say the phrase, ‘find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck!’ with no sense of exaggeration, as they use pennies and pence and pounds here.

I actually found a penny!

• Slang for pound is ‘quid’.

• McDonalds has weird prices, like 1.69 for a burger. What a strange amount. How'd they figure that one out?
• I have been mistaken for American twice, once by someone who has visited Australia three times.
• People generally don’t eat vegemite here (shock horror!)

 

Now I’ll tell you the weirdest thing of all about living in Bath. Forget that many of their buildings are over 2000 years old (such as the Roman Baths, after which the city was named). The weirdest thing about living here is that the buses actually run on time! A minute either way, but that’s it. Incredible.

Mentality of Brisbane buses: "I'll come when I feel like it"

 

Misleading Drinking

In case my previous post was misleading, I'd just like to clarify that my roomies don't pressure me to do anything. They accept that I don't drink, and although I'm usually invited to come along to the clubs and things, they don't mind if I choose not to go.

I've gotten over my brief temptation to drink. All the alcoholic drinks I've encountered have smelt, looked, or tasted bad. For me, it's not worth the money. Plus, I've seen (or maybe heard would be more accurate) kids around here drunk. It's not pretty. Nor is the hangover afterwards. I know you can avoid most of that by just having a little bit, but for me, it's not worth the effort of learning my limits.

There are other girls around here who don't drink. Not that it would bother me if I were the only one. I'd stick to my choice, anyway.

I'll also point out that I have no problem with anyone else drinking. It's their life; people can do what they want, and I'll do what I want. Simple.

Things I've leant recently

• Waterproof shoes are a must if you don't want soppy wet socks.
• Slag is Brittish for slut, but a little bit milder.
• I am capable of sleeping in till 2:30.
• It gets dark at 4.
• You can get Indian food ordered to campus, but it might take up to an hour if you're unlucky.
• I don't like shopping.
• I want to make my own mayonnaise because the store bought ones are crap.

Things that are bad to buy in UK:

• dried fruit (from the posh shop or 'poundland', the cheap shop, makes no difference).
• bread, unless you buy ridiculously expensive bread. I will make my own instead. They sell packs of multi-flours into which you just add water. I'll try later.
• Honey.
• Home-brand tea.
• I had Amazing black tea in an expensive but oh so cute high tea place that I went to with fellow international students recently. I don't think they sell the leaves take away, but if they did it's probably too expensive for me, anyway.

• Poundland is great for buying cheap kitchenware. I found reusable baking sheets (washable), baking tins, etc.
• I can still do 20 push ups easily, but I can't even go into bridge coz my arms are too tired.
• The seemingly waterproof sheet I put down under my drying washing has seeped through the floor and made a damp patch in the carpet, which is currently airing out.
• YouTube side panels, where they list similar videos to the ones you choose, are both useful and devilishly designed to keep you watching for hours.
• The Matrix is a mindfuck (excuse my French), and excellent to talk over with friends.
• People will talk as if they are in a club (ie noisily) in the halls at half ten at night.
• I am very gradually picking up Brittish slang.
• It is seen as sluttish for girls to have lots of sex, whereas for guys having lots is worthy of a pat on the back. Some girls choose not to care what the guys jokingly (but rudely, I think) call girls who have sex. Even the ones who have sex once or twice, or the occasional casual fling, get called a slag or slut. One girl thinks of it as a compliment and laughs it off.
• I am not sleeping well. I blame lack of yoga and excess of YouTube.
• I have a few homework tasks that I haven't been bothered doing and will do tomorrow, my day off. Three day weekends rule!
• My room is semi-respectable but on the messy side. I can't be bothered with it now.
• It's easier to wash a few garments at a time and let them dry on the clothes rack in my room, but have to be careful to wring them out as much as possible otherwise it drips and makes the room smell like mouldy water.

So, on that note, goodnight! (Or good morning, as I should say to those of you in Oz!)
I promise to post photos tomorrow as I will be picking up my camera chord tomorrow.

Ten things I learnt today

(Date: 9.1.14)

1. People say 'Hiya' when they're supposed to be friendly but they don't really want to.
2. The dryer doesn't work--none of them do, apparently.
3. Walking to and from the Laundromat three times is good for working off pasta but also very annoying.
4. There is a heater pole thing that runs around the lower wall and it hurts my feet to touch it.
5. I can't unblock a toilet on my own.
6. My laptop doesn't like the printers here.
7. Mustard tastes bad in macaroni cheese.
8. The oven is excellent for cooking cauliflower.
9. Soy milk and orange juice containers look extremely similar.
10. People here like to play movies or music quite loudly late at night.

Pubbing and Clubbing

When we got back from the club, we decided to hang out in Katerina and Billie’s kitchen for a while. I knew it must’ve been early morning by now, but I still wasn’t ready to call it a night. Billie made tea and I offered ‘round some of my biscuits. Oliver thought I said 'squits' which is English slang for violent diarrhoea. That led to a discussion about the different types of English slang and Australian slang. The ones who’d stayed out later started to trickle in, bringing various violent or dramatic stories from the night. Someone had threatened to stab another person, one couple "broke up" over a lost phone...which turned out to be in the possession of another friend. Apparently this couple's troubles started when Oliver moved a kiwi fruit. Billie was convinced that all the ruckus started because she was wearing the colour red. She had to lie down; there was too much drama for her to handle. This is coming from someone who thinks that tea solves everything.

We went to the pub first, but there was only time for a few quick beers and for Nick to ask me half a dozen times why I didn’t drink because surely I drank something?

The club was okay. Walking to the club was freezing; I decided that I would never again go out at night without thicker stockings.

Did I ever mention that I have an embarrassing habit of putting my tongue between my teeth when I smile?

I'm a claustrophobic person. Even being in an elevator with too many people freaks me out, usually. But dancing was more fun when we were all crammed next to each other and couldn't move without bumping into at least one person (it also meant that no one really noticed my two-step dancing). I was with Katerina most of the night. She dances well, and has an adorable pout while she dances. It made me smile, but then she asked why I was smiling and I said 'nothing'. It was too noisy to talk, anyway.

Some guy was dancing next to us at one point. He grinned at me. He was dancing very close. I couldn't help but grin back at his boldness. When he started grinding against Katerina, I got up on the higher dance floor and took Katerina with me. She thanked me for saving her.

Nick was drunk before we'd even left the pub. Most of them get really friendly when they're drunk, hugging or humping or kissing their friends. Yes, I did say humping. One of the guys said 'I've conceived about four thousand children from having [one body part] between my [another body part]'. (Sorry, I can’t repeat).

Oliver was great tonight. A real gentleman and friend. He walked with us three girls from the club to the bus stop, he diffused the awkwardness when that guy started slagging off his girlfriend with her crying only a few metres away. And he looked out for everyone.

We had to take a cab home because the bus we'd spent 40 minutes waiting for in the freezing cold didn't stop for us even though we were waiting at the stop, and standing by the road looking at the stop. I asked if it would have made any difference if we'd actually hailed it. Oliver said maybe but possibly not. He and Billie said that transport in Bath is awful. This surprised Katerina and me because all the buses have been on time for us so far. That made Oliver laugh, but I still reckon that mostly anything is better than Brisbane transport.

The Club

Dancing sober is too clear. It amazed me how quickly my ideals were compromised; I was seriously considering having a drink, if only so the songs would sound better. The main reason I didn't buy one was that the line was too long for drinks, and also I needed my coinage for dry cleaning tomorrow. I spent all my coins on the cab fare, but oh well. I'm glad I didn't have that drink; I needed that money.

The next day I was glad I hadn’t drunk anything because I was groggy enough from sleep as it was. I mean, a little bit of alcohol might have been okay. I hear it loosens your inhibitions. Mind you, Katerina had a beer and a shot during the night (which is a fair bit considering how tiny she is) and she didn’t seem any different. I really do hate the taste of alcohol, though. And I'm not into the lolly-water drinks, so I don't know if that leaves many other options.

Fun fact: most of the clubs in Bath are underground. Read more...