Peter Pan

Why does Peter Pan always fly? Because he Neverlands :D

These were the type of jokes I flooded the family with for the next two hours as they took me to see the Peter Pan live performance.  Once a year towards New Years the local theater performs a well known play for a month to help celebrate. So the Weiss family decided to do something different and watch Peter Pan.

Although it was a really cheesy the highlight of the night was that at the beginning of the performance, the lead actor read out a whole heap of happy birthday messages; and without me knowing, Zoe slipped my name into the bunch saying I had traveled all the way from Queensland. This caught me by surprise with the actor announcing.

"Well here's a funny name for you kids....Koby....Saunter? Woah Wow he traveled all the way from Queensland in Australia Bravo."

We engaged in a brief conversation but the shout out really set the scene for the rest of the night. Kudos to the family for keeping it all under wraps it was a fabulous night.

Oxford

Do you think your the smartest being in the world. Well all of that gets blown out of proportion when you go into oxford. Oxford holds the smartest and the most exclusive colleges in the world. So to be able to feel a little more smarter than what you actually are just from the presence of the college is truly astounding. A true privilege to tour around the biggest colleges ib

Gloucester Cathedral and Shopping

Today according to Zoe was meant to be a "relaxed day strolling in the shops", but the excitement built from this day. It started pretty cruisy as we went in to Gloucester High street for a bit of shopping to kick us off. Doing the usual touristy thing I bought a few packages and souvenirs. But we headed into the Cathedral where surprisingly, that's where all the fun happened.

In the Cathedral it started off looking like a regular one with tainted glass and although is very astonishing, I knew what I was bound to expect at the cathedral, but what I actually saw blew me out of the water.

So we were walking around the Cathedral when suddenly the organ begun to play "Here comes the Bride". Next thing I know a team of professional singers begun to sing along to some of the other songs the organ was playing. in the upper level of the cathedral. It was beautiful. So being the tourist I am, I attempted to video the beautiful voices. This was successful for a good half a song until people came around asking us to leave the main hall, because they needed to set up the cathedral for the wedding.

So we continued to walk around the cathedral when I begun to notice some minor details which I had seen somewhere else. Some Small details of the halls I recognized but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then Zoe put me out of my misery. It was the halls in which some of the scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. I got so excited because I was standing where many of my favorite film characters stood.

Once I found out photos were taken everywhere that I recognized from the films. Certainly a day to remember.

Look Familiar?

Boxing Day

The Next Couple of days during and after boxing day, family from both sides coming in to say hello. But of course we reckon just saying hello is quite boring, so we took them over a couple of day onto all the walks around us. Over three days we went on three separate walks across the Forest of Dean. On Boxing Day the family and I headed up to May Hill. The largest hill in Gloucester. With a total height of 999m, it is not classified as a mountain. For May Hill to be a mountain it needs to be a minimum of 1000m. Just missed out. Although it is just a Hill though, the scenery is quite astounding.

On the Second day of Family Gatherings, some of the family from Paul's side came along and we walked along to a place called Saint Anthony's Well. This area was surreal for winter. Whilst the Weiss family were telling me it would be freezing (Because it's Winter duh) there will be next to no leaves. But what we saw was something you could only see in the movies or in the rarest of autumns. 

All the pink leaves had fallen from the trees and made a beautiful environment. A lovely stroll through the countryside was exactly what I needed to get to know the family a little better. 

Third day Zoe's family came back around where we went for a little walk along a small mud track. Unfortunately though i did leave my SD card in my laptop so i couldnt take any photos, but it was a quick tour of all the areas where freeminers could mine in the forest. To celebrate boxing day for three days was cool and a very surreal experience from a tourists perspective.

CHRISTMASSSSS!

Today is the big day. Christmas time is here and joy is spread around the household. Up n early, the boys were going around waking us all up, excitement still in their eyes. We all congregated downstairs to open up all the gifts found in our stockings.  Chocolate, fake snow and more chocolate filled my stocking as the smile grew across my face. In the stocking was also my breakfast. A good ol little bowl of coco pops. So being me, i scoffed down the food like a fat kid on a cupcake. But of course the brits ate their food even faster and were waiting by the tree ready to power through the gifts. We put a cap on when everyone can open their gifts. At the turn of the hour 9am everyone was able to open their first gift. So 5 minutes before I set up the camera ready to record the festivities. Paper begun to fly everyone as the wrapping paper begun to be torn off the presents. Considering I'm only a visitor the Weiss family treated me very well this Christmas, giving me a variety of gifts from classic rugby balls to British coffee cups. To return the favor of the Christmas Spirit I had several gifts prepared for each member of the family.

But of course Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a traditional Roast Lunch though. After the gift opening Zoe and Paul jumped back into the Kitchen. Whilst the fam cooked continued to prepare the lunch, all the boys tried a puzzle in which you have to move a little ball through the maze...except the maze was 3D and very difficult. The maze was called perplexus epic, and at best us boys have only completed approximately half of the maze. This kept us occupied until other family members arrived to the house for the roast lunch.


 

At lunch I met some of Zoe's side of the family: Dylan, Anne, and Keable. The rest of Zoe's family is as outgoing as what she is. The lunch was full of conversations and cheeky banter followed by a beautiful roast turkey and pork.

As a little gift to the whole family, I gave one clip on koala to every member of the family. Although to me I saw it as a cheap knick knack, every member of the family thought it was a stroke of brilliance. It is always good to spread the Christmas Cheer.
Merry Christmas to all xo

Christmas Eve Celebrations

The hype is building up as the big day approaches towards the fat man sliding down the chimney. Food being prepared and delivered left right and center. The excitement from the boys is definitely building as santa prepares to jump in his sleigh. Sam showed me a website which tracked where Santa was travelling and when he is expected to arrive. This just made the boys even more excited. Although today was a bit of a indoor day, the excitement still never left.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

All year I waited for this night to come around. The night where I could finally see the new star wars film. The anticipation all led up this night. 5:15pm on a Wednesday the Weiss' and their family friends went to the nearby Mitcheldean Cinema, payed 1.5 Pounds and sat in the best seat we could find. THE MOVIE WAS SOOOOOO GOOD. Not going to spoil anything though but it is brilliant.