Excuses

Every day of the week there is an excuse
It starts on Sunday when people come off the booze
And is often called those Sunday evening blues
People are sad to start work the next day
Even though they still want their salary

Then Monday is suddenly here
People are regretting their weekend was full of beer
And everyone has that “Monday morning feeling”
Where no one can work and they are still reeling
From all the events that happened on the weekend

People tend to nod with understanding
As if to agree their colleagues are not being too demanding
They are paid to come in and work
But Monday seems a complete write off

Tuesdays has to be the most productive day of all
They had Monday to recuperate
And can work without getting irate
It is not mid week so they are still full of beans
And everything is just how it seems

But Wednesday is just round the corner
and now there are more reasons not to work
Call in sick or leave early with a smirk
“I am too tired it is mid week”
I cannot believe people have such cheek

Then when it comes to Thursday
There is a sigh of relief
“Only one more day” they say in disbelief

Finally Friday has arrived
Who would have thought some had survived
To the end of the week without calling in sick
Those are the ones that don’t take the mick

Tantalising Tuesdays

So what happens on a Tuesday?

The office is quiet
Everyone is at their desks
Not much is going on
and this girl wants to get up and go
and get on with the show

She wants to start doing some work
She needs to put this degree into practice
to pay off that big loan fee
from the good old University

An enthusiastic type a gal
she wants to do lots and lots
But maybe this week will go by slowly
as she sits and waits for her holiday
she goes away somewhere nice and hot
and will visit all the different cities
in the foreign country

She can speak the lingo
so dont you worry
She can talk with people from all over the world
what a clever girl
but she never seems to use the languages at work
and sometimes wonders why she learned it all

But now she has started a blog page
so watch this space as she begins to fill it well
with lots of fun things she has been and done
in the life of juliana novell

The darkness

Last week is when it began

It is that time again

When the clocks go back

And we miss an hour of the light

We hardly had a summer of those long warm nights

And now winter is very near

It has come around so soon this year



The darkness has fallen thick and fast

We leave home with it wrapped around us

And come back from work after dusk

Night time for more than 12 hours a day

It makes us want to go on holiday

But we can’t and have to wait

Till we get our Christmas break



This time of year makes many depressed

There is a certain condition that people can get

When they lack that vitamin D

Which gives their bones and skin so much energy

The dark comes first, then the cold

And finally the first snowfall

This is when I know winter has really arrived



Some love this time of year

For me it only brings a tinge of fear

Always cold, never warm

Wrapped up in my coat it seems all year long

Never wanting to part from my jacket

Despite the persistent cries

From everyone sitting next to me inside




The highlight of this season

Has to be without hestitation

One of the most celebrated festivals of them all

Friends and family you hold so dear

Come together and spread the cheer

On this day of celebration

Everyone is full of love and admiration

Trick or Treat?

It is that time of year again, autumn has come, the shops are full of Halloween decorations and sweets and chocolates. England has seen a growth in the popularity of Halloween over the past decade, but it has been a well celebrated event in the United States from as early as the 1930s. It has a very long history and originates from the Celts. Halloween derives its name from All-Hallows Eve which was they day before All Saints Day (All-Hallows) a Christian festival.

Halloween comes from the pagan festival Samhain, which the Celts celebrated on what was their New Year Eve, October 31st. Samhain marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter which brought the evil spirits. The Celts believed that on this night, the barrier between our world and the spirit world was at its weakest and the spirits would return to the earth. They built bonfires and in England carved out faces in the turnips to warn off the evil spirits. The festival was celebrated by lighting bonfires and sacrificing crops and animals. The bonfire was also believed to protect them during the winter months.

Samhaim was officially recognised as All Hallows Eve by Pope John 14th in 1006. November 1st was known as All Saints Day or All-Hollows and the following day, November 2nd was celebrated as All Souls Day to honour the dead. The three festivals together were called Hallowmans.

The Celts believed the spirits of the dead would possess people’s bodies. They dressed up in scary costumes to ward off evil spirits from taking their body. When the Irish moved to America in the 1840s they brought this custom with them. And now children dress up in all sorts of costumes, from cute little fairies to blood thirsty vampires and knock on neighbours doors going “trick or treating”.

Now, the history of trick or treating, actually comes from a mixture of different origins. One was the Celts, who believed the devil would play tricks on the living so they gave them food when they visited their homes. The ninth-century Europeans had a custom called souling. On All Saints Day, Christians would walk from village to village begging for “soul cakes” – pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes a beggar received, the more prayers they promised to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. People strongly believed at that time that the dead remained in limb and that prayers could send the soul’s passage to heaven. Lastly, the Irish peasant practice was to go door to door to get money, cheese, eggs, butter apples in preparation the festival St Columb Kill.

With commercialism, Halloween has thrived in the United States with thousands of children trick or treating, parading about in a variety of costumes. It is now the second most popular holiday after Christmas for decorating and sales of sweets.

Three weeks today is Halloween, on a Friday for the first time in years, what will you do?

Here are a list of some things happening in London and in your area.

London Halloween Parties

England Events

More exciting ways to celebrate Halloween throughout the UK

The expensive habit

July is the time it began
I can’t believe it has been well over a year
And yet there are so many people outside
Even though their habit costs them so dear
In the wet, windy and cold weather
Their kind stands alone
Huddled together to try and keep warm
But the only warmth is from a little light
That shines so bright
When they take that dying puff
To get their nicotine fix
And trying not to cough

The thing that surprises me most
Is the cost of this little packet
You hardly have much left
From a ten pound note
Out on the lash
They have to carry a lot of cash
To buy their rounds of drink
As well as their packets of fags
Which makes them really stink

Their white and brown friend
Really makes its mark
On their teeth, lungs and heart
But most obvious of all
It is their bank account that takes the toll
Twenty pound a week is over a grand a year
Which could be used to pay
For clothes, houses or more important gear

Epsom or Hull

Once was voted the worst place to live
And the other was voted the best
Someone has done quite well
To move from a council estate in East Hull
To a four bedroom detached on the downs
That has cost a few thousand pounds

What a difference these towns are
One is up north on the river humber
That never seems to wake up from its slumber
The other is down south near the river thames
A short train ride away
From the capital of the UK
It is not a fair comparison
As both places are very old
But one was a docking port
And the other famous for its salt

Epsom was always seen as quite posh
Had nice shops and restaurants with good nosh
Hull was a poor mans town
But it has certainly turned itself around
There is a lot to see and do there
Like the big aquarium on the river front
Or the princess quay shopping centre

You may be surprised find out
That Hull’s football team has a lot to shout about
Hull city is now in the premiership
And have been winning a lot this season
So now you don’t need a reason
To go up the M1 and take a trip
To the place where it is never dull
In Kingston Upon Hull

A very rainy Venice

I went to Venice last November with my sister. Looking back I should have gone with a boyfriend, but I didn’t have one at the time. Venice is a very romantic city and there were so many couples around. It is certainly not for those looking for a bar hopping and clubbing weekend.

My sister and I flew into Venice on Thursday evening for a long weekend. When we arrived at the airport, we had to wait which seemed like ages for a bus to take us to the outskirts of Venice where we caught a boat to St Mark’s square. It was such a rainy and gloomy evening, but you can’t expect great weather in November. We stayed at a 3 star hotel called hotel Paganelli, five minute walk from the Palazzo Dulce and St Mark’s Square. It was a nice little place, only about 6 rooms. Breakfast was included in the price of the double room we had and was about £140 for 3 nights.

Friday we decided to walk around St Mark’s square and the little streets just behind it. However, as there had been so much rain in the weeks leading up to our trip, we found a lot of Venice was flooded. You can see in the photo, what normally is a busy St Mark’s square is submerged under half a foot of water. Parts of Venice were flooded just in the morning when the tide was high. But we still needed to buy ourselves a pair of rain boots or “wellies”!! A bargain for just 10 euros, considering how often I was going to use them. The rain didn’t stop us and we walked for what seemed like ages around Venice.

We went to the Rialto bridge where there are lots of market stands. Here, we purchased many Venice souvenirs and Christmas presents. We also went into the Palazzo Dulce, you should go in the morning to avoid the queue. There are lots of “free” things to do in Venice. St Mark’s Basilica is free to enter, but expect to queue here as well. The Santa Maria della Salute – the main part is free. I Carmini – the Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo which has paining by Lorenzo Lotto and Cima da Conegliano is free.

The last day we were there, it was nice and sunny. We took the opportunity of this good weather and walked all the way along the waterfront to the park Parco delle Rimembranze. If it is sunny, you should take a gondola, it is about 80 euros for a 40 minute ride and some gondolas take up to 6 people. There are gondolas all lined up just outside St Mark’s square, it looks just like it does in the "movies".

I would recommend going to Venice in the early autumn or early spring to avoid the huge crowds that descend on the city. November probably isn't the best time to go, although if you are sticking to a student budget, it is the cheapest. Even the shops give you discount as it is very quiet, we managed to grab quite a few bargains when we were there.