It's been a full on week, so, I've only just managed to get on here and update you all.

Last weekend I went on a weekend away with a church I'd been in contact with (All Souls). We went to Farnham Castle. It was incredible! I couldn't believe I was actually staying the whole weekend in this ancient castle. Winding, sloping stairs, high ceilings, thick walls, a air of mystery...it was fantastic. Unfortunately most of the castle was shut down over winter, so, I only got a small peek at our wing of the castle. The archways and walls were pretty impressive though...it was definately obvious that it was a castle. I met some pretty colourful people...a man from Iran who spoke of all sorts of close calls and raids, a guy who designed animation software and was a huge part of Ice Age, a man was was an engineer in a hospital and painted the scenes he saw and a girl who had grown up as a missionary daughter in Paraguay (think I spelt it wrong?) There were a lot of different people there...very interesting and I made some great friends! The weekend was focused on God in the workplace and was especially an encouragement since I was about to start a new job. There was worship music, seminars and prayer. We also checked out the town of Farnham itself. So cute...cobbled roads, cottages, paddocks fenced with box hedges...true English country feel! Unfortunately, however, I got a little crook over the progress of the weekend. I suspect it was the result of too much frolicking in the snow! Typical!

On sunday I missioned it to my new job in Peterborough. And it was a mission! Three tube lines were down so I had to catch one very packed tube with my 20kg pack and cabin bag. I only just had enough room to squeeze into the tube but do you think anyone would allow me to turn around? Nope. I spent the ride with my back to everyone, nose practically against the glass. I then had to catch a train and a taxi the remainder of the way. I showed up on the doorstep of the veterinary clinic at 9pm. The night nurse kindly let me in and a relieved my aching back. I was shown upstairs to which was to be my room (not so conveniently placed between the staff room and the kitchen). There were several others staying down the hall further around...a male nurse called Robin, a training nurse called Gemma and in the flat...the new NZ vet who would start the next day also! The night nurse showed me around the remainder of the clinic and then let me settle. The clinic was huge...a maze, all the rooms somehow linking onto one another! And there was equipment I'd never used...the Lab was very impressive, Idexx machine, istat, and lots of other mod cons. They also had digital x.ray...yay no more chemical handling! Well, my first day was fairly full on! Straight into surgical nurse for the day. I real challenge not knowing my way around, procedures or protocol. I got my head around the the place fairly quick and the computer system was fairly easy to pick up. The clinic does a lot of charity work...pound, RSPCA and police dogs. It's also a 24 hour clinic. The hours are pretty full on. The new vet, Monique, is actually a friend of Yo's that I'd met once before. She is lovely...a slice of home! We enjoyed a meal out last night and a much deserved cider (or few).

Next week I'm straight into six night shifts. 6pm-10am with two one hour breaks. I need to triage calls, monitor inpatients etc. It'll be a challenge, but, I'm actually looking forward to it. Then on sunday I move again...off to Birmingham to work in their RSPCA for two-three months! It's all go!

Dads cousin, Rupert, came to Peterborough to meet some friends during the week and took me out for dinner. Indian! It was delicious. We when then went to a nearby Irish pub for a drink. It was refreshing to get out of the clinic, nice to meet some new people and see Rup!

I checked out a little bit of Peterborough today...I think it's quite cute...tree lined streets, cute little shops and a fairly decent sized shopping centre, also, a big, old church/cathedral. There's also a nice park just across the road. It snowed several days ago, so, there was still a fair amount of white around...very pretty.