September, October, November and December 2016! >:O

(Note: Shane’s typing most of this, and I haven't proof read it so BEWARE OF TYPOS X3)

WELL HOT DANG.
We haven’t updated the blog in about 4 months! It’s probably because we have been spending too much time doing too many awesome things! :D

The main thing that happened in September is that we both went camping for the first time 837 years. It was only for one night but that was probably enough considering the time of year (A BIT NIPPY IT AS AT NIGHT, IT WAS). We went to a little place called Westermill Farms (which we would recommend to the moon and back, so neat!) which was about a two hour drive away in our new SUPER FLASH CAR. The campsites were almost fully empty because most people are obviously not as hardcore as us and go camping during Autumn. We spent most of the first day driving around Exmoor to explore a neat place called Watersmeet and towns/villages including a little seaside town called Lynton which has some of the yummiest chips in the world if you suddenly get a massive craving for chips while driving aimlessly around Exmoor.

We accidentally spent a lot of time doing this and arrived back at the campsite just in time to catch the last of the daylight while trying and failing to get our portable charcoal BBQ to catch alight. After an hour and about 10 sheets of toilet paper later we finally made it catch alight and got to eat our luxurious meal of bread and vegetarian sausages! We honestly wouldn’t have it any other way!  >w<

It got cold and dark quiet quickly so we spent the remainder of the night playing a card game called Rummy while our tent started to get drenched from the night dew. During the night, touching the tent roof would cause a shower of cold droplets to fall directly onto our faces or directly down into our very souls.

The next morning we had our little boxes of cereal and super chilled milk and packed up to head to a village called Dunster, which has the SKINNIEST ROADS IN HISTORY, PROBABLY. Nearly all of the roads there we wide enough for about half a car and had to have a red light system to allow traffic through from both ways. It’s lucky that Tasha was driving as I probably would have gotten our super flash car lodged into a tree or something.

While there, we had a look around the incredibly smalls streets and even smaller shops before heading to Dunster Castle which has had quite a colourful history to say the least. Well, let’s just say that a few people there have been left to starve to death down in the lovely moist and dark dungeons there over the years. The castle itself has had several owners the years and it now owned by the National Trust (who we are members with, so we can go FREEEEE, KINDA! YAAAAY!) It’s a pretty beautiful place, and you can see that with your eyes as you look at the photos here probably! :D

Soon after escaping the dungeon, we ran back to our super flash car and headed back home >w<

(TASHA TYPING NOW)
Since Ireland, Shane and I promised to go visit grandma in Hastings, plus Shane wanted to see where I was born (which was destroyed soon after my birth to hide all evidence that I exist) and spent the first years of my life (which isn't under a rock, like most people are led to believe!). We only spent the weekend there, but it just so happened to coincide with the 950th Anniversary of the Battle of Hastings! Unfortunately we weren't able to see the reenactment, which was held in Battle, because all the tickets were sold out :/ not that I mind, considering I was there during the battle last time. WE VISITED HASTINGS CASTLE INSTEAD! Where we left grandma hanging from the wall in the dungeons, that is her home now.

After Shane convinced me to unchain grandma from the walls (apparently it's illegal??) we decided to explore more of Hastings. I drove us all around, because grandma is old, and still aching from the dungeon. She directed us around the place and pointed out areas of interest for Shane (like the single Hello Kitty store they have in the town centre...We all know how much Shane loves Hello Kitty!). We also had Baxter (grandma dog-sits), the soppiest dog in the world, he gave us company during our walks, and barked at us when we accidentally locked ourselves out of grandma's flat.

We spent the evening in Hastings Old Town, watching the parade which celebrates bonfire night, it was amazing seeing it again, and I have been wanting to show Shane this parade for so long now. It was a cold, wet night, but it dried up and the moon shone brightly for when the parade started! We then got deafened and blinded by firework displays. Grandma and I decided to head home when Shane didn't stop screaming, we THINK he got over-excited, given the constant vibrations and wide smile...on the other hand he could have been just violently shaking with a grimace *shrugs* :D

All in all it was an awesome weekend! Shane got to see the sites, we spent more time with Grandma, and we all put on an extra 20 stone from all the delicious food! *HIFIVES WALL*

(SHANE TYPING NOW)
A few weeks later, I did that thing when my number got another number higher and people gave me things because of that! Hooray! I somehow turned 26 which although isn’t really that old, is old to me. People who are 26 should have done things like travel halfway around the world and find their soulmate and stuff oh wait.

Tasha was a massive dork and organised a Halloween party for me over at her mums place (my first Halloween party, I’ve never had one before) and I have decided that is the only way to have birthdays from now on. If you aren’t dressed as a zombie, businessman or something else spooky on my birthday then you aren't invited U__U

We carved pumpkins (I had never done that either) and watched Hotel Transylvania while scoffing our faces full of pizza and sweets and other super mega naughty things and it was BRILLIANT! Photos are below >w<

Also... Tasha did something else which was super mega dorky... and I mean SUPER MEGA DORKY. She freakin’ proposed to me!! AND I SAID YES!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!

We’re gonna go do that marriage thing like old people do, and I am kinda old now, so hooray! Tasha made a very accurate comic about the proposal right HERE which sums it all up very well. BUT SHE IS STILL SUCH A DORK BECAUSE YES FKHWDJKOHDFSNKDJFNDHGUIDGHDIHHIGAUIGHDWHEUIDGHIDUG

And she knows it too!  D:<

November. WHERE TO START?!
Well firstly, I finally got my UK drivers license! YAAAAAAY! All I had to do was trade in my NZ license and bingo, I could drive. No test or anything! Hooray for feeling like you are cheating but not actually cheating!

Firstly, we were finally able to go to our first comic convention in Leeds called Thought Bubble. It was a fairly early wake up for us both (5:30am) as the drive there was about 5 hours. Upon arriving we did the first thing anyone would do - go get sushi for breakfast! We met up with our friend Robert who does the soon-to-be-finishing webcomic Lindermannade, checked into our hotel and then began exploring around the place, accidentally acquiring and devouring food as we went.

We decided to check out the Royal Armouries Museum there to burn some time and we accidentally started stalking one of my first initial webcomic inspirations Ryan North who I just happened to notice out of the corner of my eye because I saw his green jacket from a tweet the day before. I was far too chicken to approach him directly so I took some super not creepy blurry photos of him instead (one of then is above). GO US! That night we decided it was a good idea to stay indoors and try and throw connect 4 pieces into the connect 4 grid while watching slightly terrible television which is a brilliant way to spend time! WE RECOMMEND YOU TRY IT!

The next day was the first day of Thought Bubble and we were all lined up and ready for the opening, like complete nerds. We met a handful of super neat comic creators and brought a few too many comics, t shirts and other neat knick knacks during the time we were there. The highlights for my were meeting Sarah Graley who does the webcomic Our Super Adventure and several other works including some Rick and Morty comics (and of course Ryan North again who I apologised to for being such a creeper  >__>). We also met up with a few other friends there including Hanna who does the comic Immortal Nerd who was super mega nice, and who we might have a table next to next year if we manage to get a table there next year!

The next day was very much the same, buying too many things and having semi-awkward conversations, and of course accidentally seeing Ryan North again because we aren’t accidental stalkers or anything. The night before we went to a restaurant which served cheese stuffed jalapenos, which were AMAZING at the time, but not so fun when you are trying to enjoy yourself at a comic con the next day. I may have felt like collapsing on the floor a few times on day two, but it eventually passed and we got to enjoy the day almost pain free!

The next day we sent Robert home from the train station because he is a very naughty boy but just before we did we accidentally saw Ryan North AGAIN. Tasha and I kinda regretted not getting a photo with him so we purchased some dinosaur shaped cookie cutters and gave those to him and then asked for a photo with him, of course! Even though he probably thinks we are the strangest people on the planet, I can finally say I got a photo with someone I have been dreaming of meeting over all those hours of sitting at a computer desk in some tiny little office all the way in New Zealand. I’ve crossed it off the bucket list! >:D

Afterwards, we decided that Thought Bubble was too boring without Robert so we began our 5 hour drive back to Dorset, accidentally acquiring and devouring food again as we did >w< Soon after arriving home, I felt super inspired but having met some of my comic hero's that it made me start to think about my own comics, and how I want to improve them. After all the hamsters running in their wheels in my head slowed down, I decided that Beefpaper was getting a little too crazy (my character became a vampire, and is still currently a vampire actually) and I wanted to do make some comics about real life events with Tasha and myself. Over the next few days, I decided to go ahead with making a new series and Tizzy Stitchbird was born (thanks Tasha for helping me come up with the name!). I could talk about it more, but it’s all up there to read if you wanna see yourself! >w<

A few weeks later, we headed to Southampton to give notice of our marriage at the registry office there! We didn’t know that they were going to interview us separately which caught us off guard but we basically nailed all their questions. Because I am not on a visa that usually allows marriage, our case would be referred to the home office for possible investigation, but the unenthusiastic guy who was interviewing us said that we shouldn't have an issue with them. We got sushi to celebrate (as you do) and then headed home, getting caught in the terrible miserably slow traffic as we went. I even made a comic about us at the home office! >:D

(well, up to the 14th of December)

We have settled down a bit during December as we have had many comic things to work on! Tasha has been kicking butt with getting more pages of Tethered ready (the first new comic will be released on the 4th of January 2017!) and I have been getting everything for Tizzy Stitchbird into action. We have have a few pretty darn cold days but most of them have been fairly mellow for what I was expecting winter to be like so far, but Tasha has told me that January is by far the coldest month so I won’t say too much about it just yet!

We have our tiny Christmas tree up and we have exchanged parcels with my family back in New Zealand. THE BOX ON THE TABLE HAS BOXES OF BBQ SHAPES IN THEM AND I CAN’T EAT THE YET BECAUSE IT’S NOT XMAS QJHDIWHDOWJHIWDJ
We have been going for a few chilly walks (not quiet as chilly as the above photos, that was a MEGA cold morning) and spending time with Tasha's mum and family, including watching a street light up with Christmas light last weekend. MEMORIES! :D

We have also been watching our favourite english comedy series and a few Christmas movies while working away on our comics, which includes:

• Fawlty Towers
• Red Dwarf (well, we are up to season 9, just past the classic old series end)
• Black Books
• A Muppets Christmas carol (I had never seen it which is basically punishable by death in this country it seems)
• The Grinch
• A few other random shows like Star Wars Rebels
  

Other than that, we have just been preparing for mass like nearly everyone else!

ONLY 11 DAYS LEFT TILL XMAS YOU GUYS, GET BUSY!

WEEK 390312 OR SOMETHING

 SORRY WE HAVE BEEN QUIET! We’ve been a wee bit busy over the last two months!

Though we have been getting a bunch of typical life stuff sorted, we've still managed to do some exploring around as usual. We have also been working super hard on our comics and getting ready to go the Thought Bubble comic convention in Leeds this November, so we haven’t been being too lazy, maybe… *COUGH*

We recently went out to Old Harry’s Rocks on one of the hottest days I have ever had over here, but it was fantastic! Some of the photos from that day are below. WE SAW SOME SLEEPY PIGS ON THE WALK BACK. HOW CAN THERE BE ANY BETTER WAY TO FINISH SUCH A DAY

We have also been thoroughly sucked into the Pokemon Go craze and although the initial hype has calmed down a lot for us, we still play it whenever we go out somewhere for a long time, coz it's still pretty fun! It was very VERY neat to have been part of something like that as it really was like reliving my childhood all over again! Just finding a new Pokemon and going through the frustration of trying to catch and and fighting all the EXTREMELY frustrating technical issues is something I am going to forever remember. For almost two week we basically did no drawing! WHUPS! What also made it awesome was that Tasha and I were able to relive it together :) so in some ways we can still experience our childhood together, AGE IS JUST A NUMBER AFTERALL!

Tasha’s mum and sisters have been getting into it a lot as well (EVEN MORE SO THAN ME, AN OLD SCHOOL POKEMON NERD) and it’s been awesome to make some memories with them with it as well. I doubt our last Pokemon hunts will ever be our last >:D (Any photos in this where you see any of us looking at our phone, we are playing Pokemon… AHEM)

Over the summer, they have fireworks displays down at Poole Quay every Thursday night, we have only missed the first couple I think as we didn’t know about! They have been pretty amazing and actually a bit creative which is something I never used to see back in Whangarei. I have no idea how they managed to make a huge smiley face from just one firework! @0@ Of course, Pokemoning happens during this time with us all. We just can’t help it =w=

WE ALSO PURCHASED A NEW CAR! Her name is Sharon the Third (my last previous cars being Sharon and Sharon the Second). I can’t currently drive her as I am having to wait another month or so before I can exchange my NZ driving license for a UK one, so I’ve just been there twitching away in the passenger's seat like I have been for the past 830483 months. I SHALL WAIT A LITTLE BIT MOAR @W@

OH OH!! Some also extremely important news for everyone I’m sure is that I actually have access to a sushi bar that isn’t 2 hours drive away! A Yo-Sushi recently opened in Bournemouth and I’m in love, again @w@ Tash and I have said that we are going to limit our visits there to once a month as we tend do go a little overboard… AHEM… OKAY WE ARE A BIT GUILTY OF THIS BUT IT’S BECAUSE IT’S SUPER YUMMYYYYY!

There was also an Airshow at Bournemouth last weekend which was amazing to see, considering the only thing close to an airshow I have ever seen ever is the hospital helicopter flying over my house back in NZ. I can finally say I have seen a flying Spitfire, at last! I got to see the legendary Red Arrows in action as well as some other planes I couldn’t fit into here, such as some crazy people standing on top of biplanes and some other jet-like aircraft being tarts up in the sky. Also, the last aircraft down in the photos above (the jet-thing) was so incredibly powerful that you felt it’s rumble in your freakin’ stomach. It’s one of those thing that you just can’t give justice to in words, you have to experience it yourself to appreciate the power. It was the first time I’ve ever seen something break the sound barrier and create sonic booms also… EVIDENCE BELOW-

Now on a bit more of a serious note:

There has been a lot of concern over my well-being in the UK with the recent Brexit and terrorist attacks over in France, but I want everyone to know I am doing FINE.

Though the Brexit has been a big shock, and the British economy is darting all over the place, the fact is that the future of Britain is uncertain, but that doesn’t have a direct affect on me. It’s to do with the relationship between the UK and Europe, not New Zealand or other commonwealth countries. In fact there are rumours that the UK want to improve their relationship with New Zealand now that they don’t have ties to Europe. Yes the pound has dropped, but so has the New Zealand dollar, so in reality it’s not had any influence on my situation at ALL.

In regards to terrorist attacks, it is very unlikely they will have any interest in a fishing town, Poole’s main attraction are red squirrels and a large harbour. Other than that, I can hardly see any terrorists wanting to attack Poole as much as they would want to attack Whangarei.

The attacks are in Europe, but Europe is huge, and at the end of the day what is the point of living life if you don’t take chances to actually live it? We can’t live in fear of the ‘what ifs’ we have to live for the now.

I have no plans of coming back to New Zealand any time soon, I’m not having to move away because of finances, or terrorists. I am extremely happy here with Tasha, we take care of each other, and Tasha’s family give me a huge amount of support too. I don’t care for people’s gossip or scare-mongering, so I would appreciate it if people held themselves back from telling those who care about me these lies and let me live my life.

U___U

ANYWHO!

That’s what we have been up to recently! We’ll try and make more of an effort to update this at least once a month instead of never from now on. I am currently working on something super secret for Beefpaper which I will announce in a month or so, so if you are a reader of Beefpaper and read this blog, lucky you >U>

BYE!

IRELAND ADVENTURES!!

WHUPS! We got a little caught up in life and forgot to update the blog with our Ireland trip adventures… WHUPS! XD About a month ago, we spent 5 days in Ireland with Tasha's grandma, and here are those happenings!

The trip started in the early hours of the morning, right after Tasha's mum picked us up at 4:30am to head to the airport, then from there, you guessed it! We took the plane to Ireland :D picked up our hire car and OFF WE WENT!

The first stop was super interesting, there is this old Manor House on the way to Kells where one of my ancestors died in. The house is called Headford Court, we waited outside for a while until we managed to pounce on one of the grounds keepers to ask permission to walk the grounds and take a look around. He was super cool about it, and we ended up accidentally taking his dog for a walk on our way around! Here I also discovered that IRISH PEOPLE ARE SUPER FRIENDLY AND SUPER HELPFUL

Afterwards we went straight to Kells, where the Book of Kells was kept for hundreds of years after completion. If you don't know what that is, take a look at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells

Tasha and I wanted to head to Kells after seeing the animation "Secrets of Kells" which features the tower that is seen there. The history isn't a pleasant one, as it's about many of the Irish fleeing Viking invasions, a lot of people were sadly slaughtered, and you can see remnants of their past dotted around Ireland.

After stopping off at a cute little Cafe for some lunch, we continued on with our journey towards Castlebar! We decided to go there because that's where a lot of Tasha and Jill's ancestors came from, and we are hoping to find a lead to their past! One the way there, we came across a lot of old, abandoned houses that nature had reclaimed. I was shocked at the volume of them! But given the history of Ireland, where the population dropped from 8 million to only 3 million (LESS THAN NEW ZEALAND) It's hardly surprising.

Once in Castlebar, we checked in at the bed and breakfast, before exploring the area for more food! We searched high and low for a good restaurant, or pub, but gave up and just got some food from Tesco XD we were all tired so didn't want to wait around for food. Tasha and I grabbed some make-shift wraps while Jill had a prawn cocktail. We fell asleep soon afterwards after having a long day. Though the night was unsettled because of REASONS. It was a little too loud in the bedroom so Tasha and I decided to make camp on the bathroom floor...WHO KNEW COLD HARD TILES COULD BE SO COMFY? We actually got about 10 hours sleep!

The next day, we packed up, checked out, and made our way to the Irish Country Life Museum We tried to get there the day before, but we arrived just as it closed! Jill wanted to go there in hopes to find a link to their family tree, that perhaps someone might know the surname 'Burke' and where to find them. Turns out that there is a genealogy group that has a meeting there once a month at 11:30, and also turned out that we happened to be there at the exact day they held those meetings! Jill was super chuffed at that She got to have a small meeting with them while Tasha and I learnt more about the history of Ireland, specifically the Castlebar area. Tasha and I then decided to sneak into the meeting to see how Jill was doing, Tasha also asked a bunch of questions in hopes to find more information on my great grandmother, who came from Ireland. We managed to find out quite a few good sites we need to check out, and the Irish lady also recommended a few great tips to help us along the way! So fingers crossed, we might find some more information on my family and their life in Ireland.

Once we had finished, we decided to continue on our journey towards Clifden. Neither of us had family from there, but it looked pretty awesome, so we thought we'd do a stop off. The lady at the B&B we stayed at also recommended for us to check out Kylemore abbey, so that's exactly what we did. Though unfortunately when we arrived, it wasn't too far off closing time, so we decided to head to the next B&B and visit there the next day.

The drive to Clifden was breath-taking, we honestly didn't expect to see much diversity in the landscape, but all it took was a turn in the road to be exposed to a vista of mountains, much like what you'd expect to see in the Scottish highlands! Streams and rivers snaked their way through the landscapes, mottled clouds drifted through the sky and the rain-soaked fields clung to low-hanging mists. We stopped off at a spot where an abandoned home sat, it's worn walls draped with climbers among exposed bricks and grass. A small waterfall ran down the hill it was beside, feeding into a stream and in turn, fed into a river. We decided to take a break and climb our way down alongside the bridge we just crossed, the river flowed underneath, its sound could be heard as it stroked over smooth river-bed rocks, wrapping us in a blissful moment of serenity.

Spending only about 15 minutes there to soak in the atmosphere, we continued on our way.

We got to Clifden and checked into our B&B. Then we headed straight back out again in search for more food. We found a really neat restaurant by the quayside that had AMAZING food, in HUGE portions. The day ended with rain and a quick trip to the supermarket to buy a picnic for the next day, the evening was also filled with Irish music that swept into the streets from open doors and windows of the local pubs which was nice. Afterwards we headed straight to bed where Tasha and I slept like very tired rocks!

When we woke the next day, we decided to have breakfast at Kylemore Abbey to save time, though we arrived there a little too early and had to wait around in the rain for a bit before they opened their restaurant doors. There were a couple of other tourists who clearly had the same idea as us, because as soon as the doors opened we all poured inside, the welcoming smell of breakfast washed over us, making us even more eager to sit down and eat. We all settled for scones, which were literally the size of a child's head...The Irish certainly know how to make baked goods. Everything there was homemade and looked delicious, I'd recommend visiting the abbey just for the food.

Now very well fed, we made our way up to the gardens and Abbey, which is situated at the foot of a mountain, neighbouring a lake. The setting was very tranquil, just being there, you can understand why they chose that spot to build a home. Other that the sound of passing tourists, trickling streams and birds singing, there was complete silence. No cars or planes, just peacefulness. It would have been amazing to have seen Kylemore in it's prime time!

We spent about 4 hours wandering the grounds before heading to our next destination, Galway!

Galway was by far my (Shane! :D) highlight of the whole trip. The town itself was just so kooky, beautiful and it had so much character! Have a looksie at the photos to see what I’m on about.

But really, it’s one of those things you have to see to really appreciate. We had a good walk around the city center (getting a little wet from the storm cloud that were looming over us when we first arrived but soon disappeared as the day went on). We also stopped off to have lunch at a truly awesome little cafe called Fat Freddy’s which had wallpaper and posters and stuff up of of the comic Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, mainly featuring the cat of Fat Freddy. I had admittedly never heard of this comic (let alone read it) but I just loved the feel of the place, being the big comic nerd I am. AND the food was super nummy too, so WIN WIN! :D

While there, we also went to the church there which was one of the most amazing churches I have ever seen (and considering I am in England, I have seen a few now). Again, it is one of those things that you need to see to appreciate as the camera simply does not catch the atmosphere of it all…

Soon after, we did the full round circle and went all the way back to Dublin! I do have to admit that I don’t really have amazing memories of Dublin for a few reasons…

The first being within an hour being there, someone tried to steal my hat directly off my head, which I actually made a comic about! As it shows in the comic, Tasha got rid of the guy fairly swiftly and all was well afterwards. The second reason I didn’t particularly like it there as it was quite a dirty place and, like London, it has far too many people packed into one tiny place. I swear that 90% of people in Ireland are within Dublin itself. I’m sure if there weren’t so many people there I would of liked it more but how we saw it I wouldn’t want to go back there in a great hurry. The other reason I didn’t enjoy it there was because I was feeling sick during the whole time we were there but you can hardly blame Dublin for that.

The first thing we did was scoff down some MASSIVE pancakes (trust me, they taste a lot nicer going down than coming back up DX) but still yummy none the less! After building up our energy, when headed directly into the heart of Dublin to find the Trinity College where they were holding The Book Of Kells which was housed in the tower at the town Kells we visited on day one, funnily enough. Sadly, we couldn't get any photos of the book itself for preservation reasons, but we were able to look at the library afterwards.

Soon after that, we had a good walk around in the rain while trying to figure out how to get to Saint Patrick's Cathedral because I'm petty sure it's illegal to go to Dublin and not see it. Again, another AMAZING cathedral and again, you have to really be there to fully appreciate it all fully, atmosphere and all. There were lots of signs warning us of pickpockets in the cathedral, which was odd considering you do have to pay a bit to actually get in there. I can only presume that the pickpockets are the statues who silent rummage around in your pockets while you are mesmerised by looking at the stain glass windows or something.

After finding another cute little cafe to have a rest at (and for me to get rid of some yuck stuff in my tummy) we decided that we were all getting a little tired and decided walk along River Liffey to head back to the car and drive back to the airport. While we were there, the shooting at the Orlando gay bar just happened, and it was awesome to see that they had rainbow flags along the river at half mast to show respect to the victims and their families.

A few hours later of getting stuck in some quiet unpredicted Dublin traffic and dropping the car off, we were back on the plane back to Dorest! there's no place like home... X3