I've got the thyme if you've got the money...

Yeah, cos it's work in a deli. Continuing to balance work, rest and play - just like a Mars bar. For massive revelations and exciting travel news, the reader may just have to hold their horses until we move onto the next little leg of the trip, and pastures more exotic. At the moment it feels as if we've briefly stopped being travellers and are beginning to become part of the community. Flippin' paying tax and everything. Our days in Lyttelton are pretty cruisey - hiking into the hills behind the house or going down to the coffee shop for a wee read of the papers and so on. Hmm, hung parliament and whatnot... We're at the stage where there are already a lot of familiar friendly faces, and because Lyttelton is so small there's a lot of bumping into people in the street, then in work, then in the pub so we've been able to get to know people pretty quickly. Probably feel more a part of this community than we did in the west end of Glasgow, but it ain't home. Found a shop that sells Irn Bru though - that was a good day.

Deli duties have been upgraded to the Making of Pies. Have been able to subtly influence the decision making process; this week the deli will have to deal with trying to sell over a dozen macaroni pies - a Scottish institute. Next week we'll be aiming for a Nutella and peanut butter crunchy filling. Spent my last shift at work doing mushrooms, although it wasn't quite the spiritually significant moment I'd hoped for - just ended up with pureed mushrooms all over my T-shirt. No hallucinogenic effects whatsoever. Bummer. Woody is still a popular figure at the El Santo bar. She's holding her own as the only girl behind the bar - her perennial beaming smile can be quickly transformed into a steely ball-breaking glare whenever any of the aforementioned Ruski sailors overstep the mark. I've also started another job in the Video Ezy DVD rental shop, which basically involves watching Karate Kid and Back to the Future twice a day and then taking home as many free rentals as I can get my grubby little paws on...

It's horsing down with rain at present, which dampens spirits a little, but given the amount of free DVDs at hand, there's plenty to occupy an afternoon under the heat conditioner...