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(Return to "Dear Diary #06")

 

How Tanya welcomed the New Year!!!

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Here we go with another big story to tell you about my big couple of days!

I worked for three days last week finishing up at Blake Turner.
We finished at 3.00pm on New Years Eve.

During the day I had rung Andria, Nat and Mark and Mum to say Happy New Year.

I had changed my mind on Chemical Brothers deciding that being in a club in my first New Years in London wasn't quite what I wanted.
Lucky I didn't go to Hogmanay in Scotland either because they cancelled it at about 11.00pm.

The word at the Nevern Hotel was that we were going to sit around home and have a few drinks and then head into Trafalgar Square for midnight so that is just what I did.
Amanda (a girl I worked with at Blake Turner) came over as well.
I showered and had dinner before any drinking was done.
Everyone was in a really good mood and the television was tuned to music which we had going pretty loud.
At one stage there was probably 30 of us in the room.
Chris couldn't be bothered going downstairs to the fridge whenever he wanted a drink so he lined up his Fosters on the window sill outside and just opened the window and pulled one in whenever he got thirsty!
It was quite amusing.

At about 10.00pm-ish we headed down to the Tube station and went to Leicester Square.
The place was packed and we all had to hold hands so we didn't get lost.

We walked down to Trafalgar Square and found a spot where we could see the Christmas Tree (a traditional gift from Norway every year) and the big screen.
There were people everywhere but we were in a pretty good spot.

We ended up losing a few of the group but we later found out that they were able to stay together.
I was in a group of five including me - James and Jean (Sth African) and Adam and Amanda both Australian.

It was good fun but right on midnight it started to rain.

People headed for the tube because it was free but because it was so packed we found ourselves a "dodgy cab" and went home.
A "dodgy cab" is an unlicensed taxi - people just drive their own cars around.
They aren't particularly safe so we never use them own our own but we figured one guy would have trouble trying to take on
five of us!

We got back to Earls Court at about 1.30am and got kebabs and went home.
I only lasted until about 3.00am and then crashed.

I got woken up by Ben at 10.30am - wanted to know if I was going to the New Years Day Parade.
I had already organised to go with Amira and Cath (Aussie girls) so I told him that.he was going with them too.
I got up and dressed and we headed in to Piccadilly Circus.
The road was fenced off and we found a good spot where we could all be on the fence.
A street vendor walked past selling flags so we three girls all brought Union Jack flags and waved them at everybody that came by in the parade.
It was really good fun.

There were heaps of different floats etc.
I really like the big floaty things.
There were also American Cheerleaders and heaps of old cars and motorbikes and bicycles.

All the English were very quiet.
The four of us were talking to everyone that came past and saying Happy New Year and getting the truck drivers to give us a toot etc.
There was a really flash car that was green with two gold stripes down the middle and a boxing kangaroo on it and an Aussie flag.
It stopped right in front of us on the other side of the road and we started calling out 'Aussie Aussie Aussie' to get their attention.
They looked over so we waved our flags and cheered but then realised we were waving Union Jacks!
Oh well!

The parade lasted for about two and a half hours and we walked back to Westminster Tube and went home.

It was early night because we were pretty stuffed from the night before.
Fortunately I didn't have to work on Friday 2nd January!