Remember Your Rights

A friend and I are thinking about buying a property together if the price is right, so today I went to see the bank about a mortgage. The female adviser not only gave me advice about the best mortgage deal, but she also got me thinking about women’s rights. She had just gotten burned by an ex-boyfriend (formerly known as “the one” in her life). They had bought a house together. She had the better job and earned a larger salary, so she put down most of the deposit and from there on out they split the bills. Only when they broke up, he told her to take him to court and try to get her money back. She was advised by a lawyer that it would probably be more expensive to sue, so she ended up settling with him for only a fraction of what she had put into the property. The moral of this story is that women (even mortgage advisers) need to keep their finances straight and not see relationships (with boyfriends or other friends) through rose tinted glasses.

What she should have done was ask a lawyer/solicitor to draw up a contract before they purchased the building to agree how the money would be split should they ever break up – kind of like a house pre-nup. And always remember to research whether you want to jointly buy as tenants in common or joint tenants, so your wishes are carried out if you are ever hit by a bus. On that light note, this is what went whizzing past me as I crossed the street to my mortgage appointment. What is it?

And you thought the English were reserved...

Oh my gosh! Nakedness has hit London and I missed it. (yeah, right!) Yesterday, the world naked bike ride rode through London. Some wore wigs and crazy hats. Others sported body paint and a few Superman capes. Click on the link to see photos:

http://nakedwiki.org/wiki/London and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/7441880.stm

Apparently another bike ride is riding through London, so if you're interested, continue checking the BBC website for details.

On a more reserved note, I'm in my final week of a year long cake decorating evening class. From being massively disappointed with the grade on my first cake and having my heart broken (I loved the cake), I just found out that on my two tier wedding cake, I received 100% which is almost unheard of in this country. Hurray! Here's what the last one looked like.

Next week I'll have photos of my first two cakes. The cake class end of term party extravaganza is next Tuesday, so hopefully, I'll get to take a few photos of my classmates' cakes. We might actually see some cake which will be the first time this year since all of our cake decorating has been done on styrofoam!

Cambridge - May Week Party

This weekend was the May Week Party (even though it's June) to thank all of the donors of my boyfriend's alma matter, Cambridge. The day started with champagne in the lawns of Caius College which led to a summer buffet of smoked salmon, roast beef, potato salad, and lots of other yummy dishes. Later, there was an organ recital in the cathedral, library tour, and tea in the Master's garden. Here are a few photos of the halls of residence: Isn't this door sweet?

This room is Prince Charles' favorite. It's the Masters' reading area in the college.