IT'S GONE!! (1)

So, here goes...


It had got pretty long...

Looking enthusiastic here.

Off comes the ponytail. NOOOO!

No going back now.

Not a good look!

Shall we leave it as a No. 2?

IT'S GONE!! (2)

No, we'll go the whole way!


My beautiful hair!

Sue saw what she had done, and it was good!

I DID IT!!! (the ponytail's in the bag!)

It's FREEZING!!

SPONSOR ME!!

The Friendliest Country in the World

Apologies that I haven’t blogged in a little while. Inspired by Danny Wallace to be that much more spontaneous, I went to the Faroe Islands. As you do.

I had some time before university started and I wanted to spend some quality time with my hair before we have to part company (in two days!), so I went. I have a good friend in the Faroes, so it was cool to meet up and see some of her country and no, the Faroe Islands aren’t anywhere near Egypt.

I have always wanted to go to the Faroes – so you can imagine how I felt when I saw the weather forecast…

BUT I shouldn’t have worried – as it turned out, it didn’t rain on Sunday at all! Or Monday! And it didn’t matter, because I think I have found the friendliest country in the entire world. Seriously. I met so many great people while I was there – all desperate to show me round, make me feel at home and involve me in Faroese everyday life. Just meeting people was the highlight of the trip.

That’s one of the (many) things I love about The Salvation Army – it doesn’t matter where you go to, there will (in all likelihood) be a Salvation Army church you can go to to meet instant friends and immediately feel at home. And that’s great.To top it off, it’s also a stunningly beautiful country!

Like I said, it didn’t rain at all on Monday. That was the day I set aside to explore Tórshavn. However, it was also the only day that I left my camera in my friend’s car. So on Tuesday I had to do the exact same tour of Tórshavn, but this time in torrential rain. That was nice :-D

Could I live in the Faroe Islands? I wasn’t so sure before going there – surely you wouldn’t be able to get all the things you want? Well, once I’d seen a banana-shaped battery-operated eraser with dust cleaner (?!) I realised that yes, you can pretty much get anything you want (or don’t want) in the Faroe Islands. I loved it and I can’t wait to go back, whenever that may be.

And I just have to write and say how brilliant Atlantic Airways is. That’s the Faroese national airline (it’s the equivalent of Maldon having a national airline, but slightly less stupid). These people treat you like human beings with food and everything. And it’s the only time I’ve ever heard a pilot swear when describing the weather at the destination.

We flew via the Shetland Islands, that international transport hub. And I have to say that it was a little strange when the plane stopped and all the Faroese people got together and started talking to each other. It was very strange to be sitting on my own as the only person who didn’t know everyone else! It was also the first time I’d been outnumbered by Faroese people…

And yes, the haircut is in two days. That’s scary stuff. The pictures will be on here on Saturday. I have no idea what it’s going to look like. In my mind, it looks like I’ll be able to go to Glyn’s Lord of the Rings fancy dress party as Gollum.

See you on the other side.

It's booked!

THE DAY OF THE HAIRCUT

30th SEPTEMBER, 2006

(at 8.45am?!)

It's done. It's booked. It's really happening. IN 26 DAYS!!! It's getting close...

(I don't always announce my haircuts in this way, it's just that I'm shaving my head to raise money for The Salvation Army this time. My next haircut will probably pass without any website announcement...)

It's interesting that this week I was - for the first time - a victim of ponytailism, perhaps the most oft-overlooked discrimination. This week I had my graduation from university. During the obligatory photo, the photographer said (and I quote) - 'Hang on, in that photo we could see your ponytail. Let's take another one so that in the years to come you won't need to remember it.'

Shocking. I was this close (you can't see my hands) to phoning the Daily Mail.