Gillybob's VirtualTourist Home Page

To bring in the necessary pennies to enable my travelling, I work for a large NHS Trust in Manchester - although there are some who would say I rarely work given the amount of travelling I do. I manage this because of two reasons :

1 I have worked for the NHS for over 10 years now so I get 33 days of annual leave each year (April to March) plus the 8 statutory holidays.
2 I don't waste a single day and will often choose an evening flight from Manchester (its great to have the largest regional airport in the UK almost on your doorstep) and still work that day, thereby saving the day's leave for the holiday rather than just the travelling there part.

My friend, Tricia Campbell, had the travel bug first - she passed it on to me and now my motivation for working is my next holiday (and the other after that, and the one after that, and .... well, you get the picture)! One of the big reasons for moving back to the UK after living in South Africa for over ten years, is the fact that its an awful lot easier to travel to places all over the world from the UK than it is from South Africa (wrong hemisphere for travellers).

I'm a big lady but that's MY business - I'm not a burden on the National Health Service (given that I WORK for it - I'm quite the opposite)!! I don't appreciate people who judge me on the basis of my size - I'm the one who lives with it - and if that's all you judge people on, well, there isn't much depth to your judgements.

Get to know ME, the individual, what I stand for and what sort of friend I can be. I don't have many - I don't want loads - but what I have are great, long lasting friendships and when we're out for a night on the town, you better bet you'll be OK because I'm one of those people who takes care of the whole group and makes sure people get home safely - I have a horrible habit of not getting drunk very easily!! :-)

And yes, as you can probably tell, I'm a very forthright person. I don't do shimmy shamy wishy washy opinions. Its straight down the middle, honest truth so be prepared for that if you ask for an opinion. I speak my mind and don't hide behind others and their opinions - I prefer that straight forward approach from people as well. So, as we say in Yorkshire "A spade's a spade"!!!

I've been a late blossomer at this (but now I'm really making up for lost time). My first long haul (other than South Africa) was to Hollywood in 2001. I was really lucky with this trip as it was a prize from an internet competition so I took my mate Tricia and off we went for 5 nights and had a great time.

Since then I've been back to South Africa a few times - even managing to get some travelling done there - as well as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, USA (four times), Dubai, Maldives (twice) and Australia (three times). I've also been to Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Gibraltar, Kuala Lumpur, Brussels, Santorini and Brugge for short visits.

Forthcoming trips include :

Dublin, Ireland - 3 - 6 September 2009 (Girlie weekend away)
Baltimore, Maryland, America - 30 September - 5 October 2009 (visiting VT mates)
America - 5 - 8 October 2009 (somewhere between Baltimore and Orlando)
Orlando, Florida, America - 8 - 13 October 2009 (Attending Orlando VT Meet)
Miami, Florida, America - 13 - 15 October 2009
Florida Keys, America 15 - 20 October 2009
Miami, Florida, America - 21 October 2009
Las Vegas, Nevada, America - 21 - 26 October 2009 (to hit those tables - AND WIN!)
Halifax, Yorkshire, England - 3 - 5 September 2010 (for another of Ricky52's VT Meets)
India - October 2010 (volunteering at my 3rd Commonwealth Games and then seeing the country)
Seattle, USA - August 2012 (VT Meet)

New Zealand - Officially parked for future planning (visiting a friend and seeing NZ for the first time)

My trips tend to be very busy with little, if any, rest time because I can do that at home at the weekends; when on my travels, I want to see all that I can of the place I am visiting.

Who knows what that will hold?

I'd really like it to have a big, fat lottery win so that I can give up working, take care of family and friends in the ways that I have already said I will and, most importantly of all, travel like there's no tomorrow (or at least no WORK tomorrow)!!!!

In reality, I'll probably be here 10 years from now, maybe not doing the same as I am presently, but probably still in the same department but almost definitely at the same Trust. The people I work with are a great bunch (as you tend to find with NHS staff) and we have a great time when we're out partying.

I also hope to volunteer at my third Commonwealth Games in October 2010. These take place in Delhi so keep your eyes open for me if you make it there.

Like so many others, I stumbled across Virtual Tourist by accident and, like so many others who have gone before me, it's become my virtual second home.

I love this on-line 'community' and the people who 'live' here. I believe the management has found the right balance between allowing the website to develop itself and 'controlling' the content and discussions that take place. Its a source of inspiration and, at times, perspiration when I'm trying my best to build a tip or page and those photos just WON'T load - ggrrrr!! But, more importantly, its a fun place. I've made SO many friends on here and have had the privilege to meet a good few of them too! VT also gave me the opportunity to take one of the most memorable trips of my life to the Northern Territory of Australia. Zig, my thanks to you for this very special insight to Australia, the Northern Territory and aboriginal culture - special times!

My fellow VTers have offered me a shoulder to cry on, an ear to bend, a hand to hold whilst I stepped off into the unknown and even a bed to rest my weary head - to those who have been there through the thick, the thin, the long, the tall and the short of it - I say a hearty and well felt THANK YOU!! When you read about the internet these days, you read about the spammers, the scammers, the paedophiles and the hackers and, oh boy, it puts you off. Then, along comes Virtual Tourist and shines a light out from under the bush, lighting the darkness. Its had its tough and rough times - and may well do again in the future - but this community is a survivor - long may it continue to do so!!!

So, if this is one of the first homepages you've stumbled along - I say "Welcome".
To those who have been around the block a bit - I say "Where've you been? I've been waiting SO long for you to come along!"
And to those who I happily call friends - I say "Pass the bottle opener!"