February 2nd, 2017

Hey! Welcome to Kris' Korner the place where I share all my latest news, hints, tips and tricks.With these English folk being scared of the cold there haven't been too many activities to run but there was still plenty of jobs to do around the site. We've spent the last week or two in our scrubs cleaning the tented villages and repainting the manor house. We even managed to fit a bit of training in as well, trying our hand at Crate Stack and Giants Ladder. Much to my disappointment our grand total of 9 crates was easily smashed by our victorious colleagues. What's your best total? I best get some practice in before you all arrive!

My tolerance of ready meals had finally come to the end! I have been trying my luck at cooking various meals like chicken fried rice (yum yum), which turned out much better the second time around :) (Mum I hope you're proud). I've been tasked to make ravioli from scratch as this was my go to canned food on arrival. So bare with me, maybe by the time July comes you may see these very culinary skills in action. Jamie Oliver watch out!

Over and out, Kris. (keep scrolling, you might see Gill and me making a fool of ourselves a bit further down).

SHOUT OUTs of the week!

Also a special shout out to my little brother and my dad for their birthdays, I hope it was a good one! - Kris

Happy Birthday, Dad!! -Gill xx #worldsbestdaughter.

Also Congratulations to Beyonce and Jay-Z on their growing family! #Isthisdestinyschild?

You may need to turn the volume up for this video!

Thanks for watching!

January 16th, 2017

Our first day at Blackwell we were greeted by Kait at Barnt Green train station. On our way to Blackwell Adventure we stopped at the local chip shop to pick up our first traditional British lunch. Kris was fascinated by the smell of the fish and chips! Driving to the the site we got to see the surrounding countryside, much different from what we'd seen in London and a bit different to home too, it's so rural and green here. Upon arriving at Blackwell we had lunch with the team before a quick, soggy tour of the grounds and accommodation. It is much bigger then it looks on a map! The most surprising feature of the tour was the glittery toilet seat in the Coach House! :)

We had our first weekend off so we took the train to Birmingham and met up with some fellow gappies. Taking the opportunity to explore Birmingham's night life, nothing like karaoke to break the ice, and try out another country's McDonald's (just in case it should taste any different). In the morning we stocked up on some essentials for around the house and headed back to Blackwell.

Our first week has flown by, being introduced to many of the activities offered on site. We are both really big fans of archery but it may take Gill some persuading to get back on the 3G Swing.

Over and out, Gillian & Kris

Lesson number 1 learnt this year:

Don't spend all your money at once. Budgeting is your friend.