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Oh Bristol Bristol how I enjoyed you and your chilly, Banksy streets lined with op shops galore, and with the best company in the world. Joined by my dear Jessie Kinivan and Olivia Welch, we stayed 4 wondrous and relaxing nights with my Kiwi Cousin Jess and her new husband Dave, who were so lovely to have us all to stay. It was also sweet to stay with them as all 3 of us were Servas enthusiasts, and Jess was the one who we have to thank for even knowing such a thing existed! She and Dave started it all for us J

It was great timing, we got there the night of their housewarming party with their roommate Emma from Ireland, a kiwi-irish theme naturally… It was a tough costume to come up with, but after a few op shop sprees and some alterations to childrens' woolly sweaters the three of us were transformed into 3 sheep, sophie white Jessie grey and Liv black. Oh the cuteness of us.

I was pretty impressed with the efforts of everyone at the pary I must say, everyone came in costume, some creative some funny some pretty some silly. Dave made a magnificent Murray from Flight of the Conchords complete with ginger facial hair, and thanks to Olivia's superior tattoo-ing-with-liquid-eyeliner skillz, and the genius that is body paint, Jess became a very believable Maori woman for the night. There was a Jemaine who played "The Most Beautful Girl in the Room" so funnily; Emma the Pirate, a couple of irish flags, lots of kiwi fruits (not costumes, these were real, and frequently munched on throughout the party like apples), and even a couple who dressed up as Jess and Dave quite well (although Jess would never wear a Mickey Mouse Top).

It was pretty cold in Bristol I must say. I needed to wear my gloves. We enjoyed the brunch at Elizabeth Bennet's (Yes! That is her real name, and a lovely friend of J & D's she is indeed) for her birthday, so cosy and nice. What followed was an epic flight of the conchords marathon which was much appreciated. But don't fret, we did actually see a bit of Bristol during our time there, it is a lovely city that I think has a lot going for it from what we saw and what Dave and Jess have told us. There is something really cool about the vibe there, I think they have chosen an excellent place to live for a couple of years. It is the home of Bansky the very cool anonymous street artist dude, 'Skins' and 'Wallace and Gromit!' What's not to like?

So, it is long overdue but a big thankyou to Jess and Dave for showing us such a good time! Bristol was Blissful. x