Gooday Possums!

I am sitting at Sydney airport after 10 days in the big sunny city of Sydney, waiting for a flight to Bangkok, Thailand.  This is the last leg of trip and it will be the first time I land in a non-English speaking country.  


OH MY GAWDDDDDD!!! 
How will I cope?


I have to say that my Thai is extremely non-existant so I am going to have to collar someone on the plane to teach me the basic pleasey and ta very much chuck.  My flight arrives at 11pm and then I will have to collect the red suitcase, take out the bare essentials, leave the red suitcase in left luggage, change my T-shirt, brush my teeth,  etc ..... I then have 6 hours to wait for a flight to Koh Samui so I have decided that i will rough it at the airport as there is no point getting a room anywhere in Bangkok for just a few hours.  
I have done worse things in my life than miss a nights sleep and spend it on an airport floor and I know that once I get to Koh Samui I can just let it all hang out with the mosquitoes... they LOVE me.  


A few friends have joked that this is Lou Gardiner's very own version of 'Eat, Pray, Love' the book, now a girly Flick, probably because I remind them so much of Julia Roberts, except she is much smaller and fatter than me of course.


I bought a huge roll of drawing paper to take to Thailand with the intention of planning and drawing my ideas and designs for the solo show I am staging next year at Quarry Bank Mill, I was quite excited.  
I have very inconveniently left this in the boot of a friends car. How very annoying.  I will have to use paper napkins or palm leaves or something like that.  Maybe its a sign!  I have got a roll of loo paper though.


I have had an interesting few days in Syders, meeting up with three old friends from completely different parts of my life.  It is truly amazing how things stay the same and if you got on before it is highly likely that not much has changed and you will get on famously again despite the changing circumstances of our lives.  And they are very changing, especially for some of the friends I have caught up with, what with pregnancies, separations, residencies and love trauma.  Blimey oh Riley!  It made my life seem stupendously straight forward and uncomplicated although I came away feeling rather heavy and confused on their behalf.  Its amazing how complicated peoples lives can become if they compromise.


I tell you something else which is amazing.... the amount of personal noise the lady next to me is making.  I don't think she realises but she is sighing and grunting and breathing heavily as she rummages frantically through her handbag.  Godddd! I hope I am not sitting next to her on the flight.  Fliipin Eck.  
I forgot to put my earplugs in my hand luggage I think. Must check. 
Its at times like this that you glance round and see the people waiting for the flight that you hope you aren't sitting next to.  The sighing, humming woman,  the very large sweating fat man, the screaming baby, the sleaze ball with the Hawaiian shirt or the blond big busted woman with peroxide hair and platform shoes and very tight jeans who pongs of duty free perfume ... although that could be interesting.  
They are probably looking at me and thinking the same.  
I wonder which category I come under?  I dread to think.


I still have a couple of photos I want to post of Syders ... but I will wait till I am sitting in my beach hut.  
HEE HEE!!!!!! Is that really mean of me....Are you all horrendously jealous?  
I am actually a little bit nervous that I am going to land in pleb land full of English men with small Speedos ad white socks and red faces.  Oh Godddd I hope not.  


Anyway Darlings.......


I am still waiting to find out about COLLECT in London .... what a wait.... it is so frustrating as they told me I would know about two weeks ago..... I really hope hope hope that I am in so that I can make a fab new piece of wild work for a London audience.  It would certainly give me a lift and be a great thing to work on January to May. Other the the solo show at QBM.  


My first UK workshop is January 26th - 28th - three day SUPERSTITCHERS course also at Quarry Bank Mill. Please email me if you are interested.  I will be posting all the details on my website in the next week.


I see we hit the big 50 for a while and I was frantically but unsuccessfully searching for a post box no. 50 ... but then we went back down to 49 so there you go.  I am sorry to be leaving the land of postboxes behind, first the States, then NZ, then Ozzie..... I don't think they have postboxes in Thailand...?  They must have something..... maybe they do...?  I will find out. 


A Bientot Mes amis.


Lou Fly Bye Bye.