Emmanuel Jal

Recently, at Hillsong London, T and some friends heard the testimony of a former child soldier from Sudan - Emmanuel Jal.

Jal had been a child soldier for five years, from the age of seven or eight. During his time as a child soldier he was forced to commit unspeakable acts, as he fought for the rebel army in Sudan's civil war.

In order to recover from his time as a 'Child Warrior', he poured himself into music, and as a result, delivers some of the most powerful music you will ever hear. Jal was seen performing at Mandela's 90th birthday, and is heard in a few episodes of E.R. and the movie, 'Blood Diamond'.

His story was extremely sad and, simultaneously, very powerful. Visit his website to learn more about him and his personal plight to build a school in the Sudanese town he grew up in.

http://www.emmanueljal.org/

Treading the boards

With two trips to OZ, Christmas, and six weeks of teaching in less than two months, it would seem difficult to believe that T and hubs had managed to squeeze anything else in. However, T managed to see a ballet, two Shakespearean performances, and she ice-skated at the Tower of London. T and hubs also spent their fifth wedding anniversary in York and they saw the biggest snowfall London has experienced in over 20 years! Life in London Town is never dull.

This brings T to her current favourite topic of conversation - theatre in London!

The first performance T was lucky enough to see was the ballet production of, 'Edward Scissorhands'. The production was housed at Sadler Wells, and was simply one of the most engaging and colourful perfomances T has ever seen. The visit was a gift from her brother and sis-in-law, and it was a real treat.

The second performance T and hubs saw was at Wyndham's Theatre. This is the second production T has seen at Wyndham's Theatre - the first was Chekhov's 'Ivanov' starring Kenneth Branagh. This time around they were seeing, as a gift from their flat-mates, 'Twelfth Night', starring Derek Jacobi. The peformance was outstanding - both uproariously funny and completely mesmorising. The next two performances of Wyndham's theatre season are 'Madame de Sade' starring Dame Judi Dench and Rosamund Pike, and 'Hamlet' starring Jude Law. Needless to say, T will definitely be along for those two!

The other performances T has seen have been school theatre trips she has organised for her fifth and sixth formers. It is an interesting task taking 12 and 13 year old boys to the theatre, but they have been respectful audience members and so it has been a pleasant experience, so far. She has taken them to see, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' put on by the RSC and 'Lord of the Flies' at the Unicorn Theatre. 'Lord of the Flies' was outstanding - a little bloody, but so powerful. It made for much discussion in the classroom the following day.

If there is one thing that T will miss when the time comes to eventually leave London, it will be the theatre. Besides New York, it seems there is no other place in the world which houses such amazing productions night after night. There are so many experienced actors and the productions are so profitable that they manage to have one actor for each part, unlike many other places which see one actor playing two or three small parts. T (and hubs) love it!

T's signed copy of Ivanov's program

Moist towelette, anyone?

The last few months have seen Traveller and her hubbie become well-versed in the art of international travel. With no less than 96 hours spent on various flights, it sounds as if T and hubs have been living a life befitting the rich and famous. However, the flight miles were merely between London Town and T's home town - the sunny Gold Coast.

T and hubbie ended up making two trips to Oz which were less than two months apart. Both trips were essential. The first was for the wedding of a dear friend which happened to coincide with Christmas. The second was for a last-minute trip to update visas, which unbelievably managed to coincide with four birthdays, a christening and a birth (all in less than 14 days)!

The visa trip happened much to T's, and her school's, annoyance and vexation. UK immigration decided to change visa laws at the end of November, which meant that T and hubbie needed to travel home rather than have their visas updated in the UK. The Australian immigration website stated that visas were taking a minimum of 25 working days - so T was looking at a very quiet Term Two which would involve sending lesson plans over the Internet. However, due to the efficiency of the British High Commission in OZ, the visa was issued in less than a week!

T and hubs had their biometric data taken on a Monday, they received a phone call notifying them that their applications had been recieved on Tuesday, and then, miraculously, on Wednesday they received an e-mail stating their visas were approved and would be dispatched within five days! Hubs was so shocked that he thought the e-mail was some kind of hoax.

So T now writes this blog from the comfort of her London couch. Looking back on our time in Australia, it must be noted that it was wonderful to spend time with friends and family, catch some rays and eat countless Tim Tams. That being said, T and hubs are definitely ready for their next European adventure.

Next stop - if all goes to plan - is Spain!