16 AUG 09

I've been back for almost a month, although it doesn't seem possible! The jungle feels like it happened in a different lifetime, which it did to some extent I suppose.

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster month at home. Catching up with friends and family, dealing with the loss of Gran and the final stages of her debilitating dementia, work experience at the local newspaper, getting back in the musical loop with Camp Bestival at Lulworth Castle and the general adaptations to English life have pretty much taken it out of me in the last few weeks but, weirdly, I've enjoyed most of it.

This weekend in particular has been fantastic. I promised myself to do some touristy things this summer to reacquaint myself with the wonders of our little island, so I did.
I decided at seven o'clock yesterday morning that I would make the most of the summer deal with South West Trains. By the time Big Ben struck eleven o'clock I was stood underneath it with Lisa and Dom. A quick walk around Westminster and a tube ride to Camden Town led us to meet another school friend, Hannah. Lisa and Dom fit the loosely defined term 'artfag' remarkably well. This means they like to bury their heads in books, listen to music that nobody's ever heard of and take an interest in obscure but intriguing things. With these two at the reigns we ended up standing inside the Roundhouse Theatre looking at an installation by David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame). It goes by the name of 'Playing the Building' and consists of a small electric organ wired up to the metal pipes keeping the roof up. As a result of pressing various keys a series of clunks, whistles and rumbles can be heard from corresponding pipes and 'hey presto', you're 'playing the building'. It is, in all honesty, weird, but quite a good way to waste some time if you're an ex-popstar with some spare cash and a slightly addled brain. It also gave us something to do before lunch! And lunch in Camden Market meant that I could have NOODLES, which I've missed!!!

Today I drove school-friend-3, Karen, from Wareham to Glastonbury where we met up with my parents. We drank lots of tea, tried on capes of many colours, browsed bookshops full of second-hand spell guides and eventually climbed up the Tor to visit St.Michael's Tower and see the view over Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.

I've pretty much adjusted to being back now. The only time it feels a bit weird is when I wake up at night and can't hear any insects, although I still check under my pillow for centipedes. Other things it's hard to get used to include not being able to order a Tiger Beer at a bar, getting strange looks for bidding people 'jumpan' instead of a 'see you later' and mistaking a grey squirrel rustling leaves for a long-tailed macaque. Mistakes anyone could make, I'm sure.

Love to all on the other side of the planet!
Rachel x