We Need Your Help

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:18:52 -0800

You may have heard me mention in previous posts that I volunteer for a non-proft organization called Taking the Reins. Well, now we need your help.

Taking the Reins is an incredible organization that helps underserved teenage girls facing the challenges of adolescence in high risk environments. By teaching the girls to ride and care for horses, the organization helps the girls to develop self-esteem, teamwork, responsibility and leadership skills. The girls also have classes in equine science, creative writing and photography.

Taking the Reins is run entirely on the generosity of individual donors, and it isn’t cheap to look after 8 hungry horses. But now they have a chance to win $1,000,000. Yes, ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

JPMorgan Chase’s charitable arm has pledged to dole out $5-million to grass-roots charities chosen by Facebook users. With your help, Taking the Reins has the chance to win some serious cash. All you need to do is vote here:

Let me introduce Perry...

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 15:25:35 -0800

Perry is one of the beautiful horses that live at the non-profit organization that I volunteer for each week. Taking the Reins is an incredible organization that teaches young girls from difficult backgrounds how to ride and look after horses. As with many non-profits, it relies heavily on the help of volunteers. But we don’t really do it for nothing. Those of us that help out often get to ride the horses which is a great perk.

This morning I took my new iphone to the stables with me and decided to try out the camera on it. Perry was the most obliging horse. At first he wanted to eat the phone (which made for a funny, close-up out of proportion shot) and then he posed in the sunlight.

Here are a few of the pictures I took.

Pumpkin Carving Video

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:50:21 -0700

This year I decided to try my hand at carving a pumpkin. I was feeling very hard-done-by having never experienced pumpkin carving as a kid, so I decided to take my fate into my own hands. And because I haven’t taken any photos recently I thought I’d combine pumpkin carving with a photography experiment.

Here’s the result.

Very Slack

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:41:56 -0700

I know, I’ve been ridiculously slack about blogging recently. But I do have an excuse. Not necessarily a good one, but it is an excuse.

SCHOOL IS HARD! I’m only taking 2 classes but they seem to be taking over my life. Anatomy is just one big memorizing marathon. Every second week we have an exam which means I’m constantly revising. And chemistry... well that’s just a constant battle to understand what on earth is going on!

I thought, having studied science until I was 15, that there would be some part of my brain that would be reactivated. Alas, that has not been the case. Apparently 14 years is enough time for your brain to blank out all scientific knowledge.

So there it is. I am now a college geek spending most of my time with my nose in a book. Thankfully the subject matter is fascinating. The downside is that I have very little time for blogging. I’ll try to get better.

Jersey Zoo

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:35:24 -0700

One of Jersey's greatest attractions is the late Gerald Durrell's Wildlife Conservation Trust. Often incorrectly referred to as a zoo, in fact the Wildlife Conservation Trust has an entirely different focus to a regular zoo.

The Trust works towards saving species from extinction both from its headquarters in Jersey and through its links with conservation activities worldwide. It has already saved six species from extinction and is currently working to ensure the survival of more than 30 endangered species around the world.

The Trust is also a beautiful place to spend the day. I go every time I’m in Jersey, and this year was no exception. Here are some photos from my latest visit.

My Birthplace

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:21:39 -0700

This summer, as well as spending time in NC, I went back to my birthplace, the Isle of Jersey. Sadly it was only a short trip, but we did manage to fit in plenty of surfing and lazing around on the beach,

Here are a few photos.

Back to School

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:55:33 -0700

You may have noticed that my last blog post is dated June 27. I’ve been very slack but I do have a good reason. I’ve been living in deepest darkest North Carolina for the summer where there is very limited access to the internet (at least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

But now I’m back and looking forward to getting back into this blogging malarkey. And I’ll have plenty of material from now on because I’m going back to school. I start on Monday. I will officially be one of those irritatingly well prepared mature students who sits in the front row with her hand permanently in the air. Well, I’ll be a mature student anyway. I’m not sure about the rest. I’m going to be studying for an MSc in Nutritional Science. So watch this space for plenty of stories about an old British woman going back to college in LA.

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Water Dog

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:22:27 -0700

When we first got our dog, Lacy, from the pound she was terrified of water. I think it might have had something to do with the fact that they would clean the poo out of her cage with a hose WHILE SHE WAS IN IT!

We are such water lovers that there was no way we could cope with Lacy always wanting to stay on dry land. Plus, as a black dog living in LA, we knew she would be far happier in the summer if she would swim to cool off.

SO, we’ve been trying to teach her to swim in our friend’s pool for weeks now. It has been a long, slow process filled with cookies, raw meat and lots of patience. But yesterday it all payed off. For the first time Lacy actually climbed into the pool and swam.

I was so excited I took some photos. Here they are.

A Few Photos

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 21:49:42 -0700

I wouldn’t normally get excited about photos of the garden, but today I am. It’s partly because I’ve been growing my own herbs and vegetables, which is always exciting, and partly because everything is so colorful at the moment.

Here are a few pics.

Grand Prix Show Jumping

Mon, 25 May 2009 17:26:53 -0700

I went to watch the Memorial Day Grand Prix Show Jumping competition today at the LA Equestrian Center. It never ceases to amaze me how such huge, heavy beasts manage to jump so gracefully over such high fences.

Here are some pictures I took.

Holiday Snaps From Austin, Texas

Mon, 18 May 2009 14:54:41 -0700

I recently had a mini-holiday in Austin, Texas. What a great city! Sadly I was only there for a couple of days so I didn’t see much, but I did buy my very first hat (aside from riding hats) and ate my first deep fried whole avocado!

Here are a few pictures from my trip.

The Life And Times Of Mr Peeps

Tue, 5 May 2009 09:32:54 -0700

Mr Peeps was born and raised in London, England. Until recently he lived in West London - that is until his brother was tragically eaten in California by a wild dog (see the details here). As soon as he learned about this tragedy, Mr Peeps decided to move to California to investigate the circumstances of his brother’s death.

You can see a daily photo of Mr Peeps as he settles into his new life in Los Angeles at www.peepsdaily.com. You can also follow him on twitter.

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The Perfect Sunday Brunch

Sun, 3 May 2009 18:21:28 -0700

Yesterday morning my husband and I got up ridiculously early (for a Sunday morning anyway) and drove down to Orange County to surf. We spent 2 hours in the water, catching lots of really run waves. By the time we drove all the way home, we were ravenous. Poached eggs on toast just wasn’t going to cut it. So I did some research and found the most amazing Sunday brunch recipe.

It came from Smitten Kitchen, an amazing blog full of delicious recipes and incredible photos.

So what is it, I hear you cry. It’s baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms. Basically, you create a skillet full of creamy, tasty spinach deliciousness, make four wells in the spinach, break in some eggs and bake the whole thing in the oven. It’s surprisingly simple and tastes incredible.

So how do you make it? You can find the recipe here on Smitten Kitchen’s blog.

Just make sure you don’t grab the handle of the skillet without a panholder as soon as it comes out of the oven. Especially if you’ve just told your husband not to touch it because it’s hot. Otherwise you’ll have a huge burn and you’ll never hear the end of it. Take it from someone who knows!!

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Infuriating Expat Habit

Fri, 1 May 2009 19:06:57 -0700

A friend recently pointed out to me that I have developed an infuriating expat habit. Well, she didn’t exactly tell me it was infuriating. She only pointed out the habit. But I deciphered for myself how infuriating it must be.

Every time I come across a fellow brit in the USA, I feel compelled to assess how well they represent our nation. I’d love to say I do this in a totally fair, unbiased way, but alas that is not the case. In fact, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I’ll give you three examples.

The first time my friend noticed me judging my fellow brits was during a class we were taking. There was an English woman in the class who has to have been one of the most irritating women I have come across in a long time. She was the type of woman who turned up in a bad tracksuit, insisted on asking questions when it wasn’t question time, then argued with the instructor when she didn’t agree with his answer. It was pretty obvious that even the instructor wasn’t keen on her. Every week I’d comment to my friend that the woman was giving us brits a bad name.

More recently, my friend and I were in a queue at a cafe waiting to order coffee. In front of us was an attractive, well spoken British woman ordering a cup of Earl Grey tea (the tea served at Buckingham Palace Garden Parties no less). I was impressed with the way in which she was protraying brits abroad, and I immediately told my friend as much.

Then yesterday, while out for a walk, it happened again. My friend and I were standing in the middle of a trail watching the spot at which a big snake had just slithered into the undergrowth. Suddenly two girls came racing around the corner towards us carrying a tread-on-the-head dog and squealing like demented children. As they reached us they stopped to tell us about the big rattlesnake sitting in the middle of the trail up ahead. I immediately noticed that one of the irritating squealers was a brit, and I wasted no time in informing my friend that the girl was NOT giving us brits a good name, making such a spectacle of herself.

Thankfully, now that this infuriating habit has been pointed out, I will try to do something about it. In the meantime, I’m curious - do any of you other expats have this problem? Or maybe you have developed some other infuriating expat habit? If you have please share in the comments section.

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Vindicated At Last

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 07:06:39 -0700

It has taken four years to happen, but at long last I am vindicated in my opinion of a very particular judge in England.

Way back when I was a Barrister (trial attorney) in London I was representing a woman in a personal injury case. I arrived at court to meet my client. She was an interesting woman. A tarot reader and psychic, she told me she was confident about the outcome of the case. I got the impression that she had “seen” the outcome, but didn’t probe any further.

As our court time got nearer, it became apparent that the lawyer for the other side was not going to turn up. So I confidently told my client not to worry. We would go in, get the case postponed, and ask that the other side pay our costs of the wasted appearance. I assured her that we would get our costs and that going to see the judge was just a formality.

How wrong I was!

We went in to court and I explained the situation to the judge (a female). I then asked for my costs (as is usual practice) and she refused. I asked for her reasons and she refused to give them to me (contrary to the rules). I then asked for permission to appeal her decision, at which point, the judge began bellowing at me “GET OUT MISS MORRIS, GET OUT”. I tried to ask again, but she continued - “GET OUT OF MY COURT ROOM”. Suddenly I felt like a fourth grader being chastised by my headmistress. I grabbed my books and scurried out of the courtroom feeling mortified.

Once outside, I had to try and explain to my client what had happened, why I had been yelled at and why we didn’t get our costs. It was horribly embarassing having to explain why I had run from the court like a terrified child, instead of standing my ground to fearlessly fight the case.

Well, this morning, I had some great news. That very same judge has been sacked for “inappropriate, petulant and rude” behaviour towards lawyers appearing before her in court. She is the first judge to be sacked in England since 1983. And although I don’t usually take pleasure in other people’s misfortune, I couldn’t help but do a little vindication dance when I heard the news this morning.

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