Summer Holidays are here - Aussie style

The kids broke up from school last week, the end of the school year here, but of more significance the last day at Blackwood Primary. They have 7 weeks off now and in late January will start at their new Westminster School. Once we had visited the school, had a show round and talked to some of the teachers, it was an easy decision to move them. The opportunities at this new private school are endless. When I saw the playing fields, indoor pool, stage and theatre, art facilities etc , it was a no brainer. I enjoyed my school days immensely, I'm sure they will love it here too. They had a 2 day trial 2 weeks ago and were looked after by "buddies" whose job it was to show them round and introduce them to friends and school ways.

We can now look forward to at least 5 months of great weather, of swimming in our new pool, of long summer nights. It all sounds so glorious doesn't it? However I personally have been quite unsettled recently. A combination of visits from the UK of Debi's Sister Wendy, my old mate from college, Chris Tipton and stories from home of my Mum going into a care home recently in order to give my Dad some well needed rest. He went over on Eurostar to Lille for a few days to chill out by himself. I would love him to come and visit us, but I fear my Mum will not be able to make the journey. I am planning a trip back to the UK in March/April in order to see them.

As you guys are I guess, we are planning the Xmas / New Year break. We'll be on the beach Xmas day, and have a number of friends coming round for new years eve. The Police here are even stricter than in UK, they put up roadblocks and breathalyze everyone regardless. They do not have to warn motorists where they will be, so a very neat means of controlling things. Guess who'll be driving Xmas day? Can't see it being Debi can you? One for the road indeed.....

What's going on - new house and more

No blog for 2 months, just not sat at the PC and got to it really. A load has happened of course, I'll try and limit this to the meaty bits.

We're in the new home
On 21 October we finally moved in the new home. I took a couple of days off, but already Debi had done a magnificent job in pre-packing, planning and sorting things out for the move. On the day of the move and the day after we had a procession of contractors in - Curtains went up, paving went down, plants were planted, appliances were connected, the pool was filled. Within days Debi had made her mark and it felt like home. Nigh on 2 years since we sold up in Brookmans Park in Nov 07, hard to comprehend really. A major milestone in our new life down under, to be proud house owners again. I will post pics of the new house on our picasa site for anyone remotely interested. Of course we have a few items for the sang list, but really minor things, the builders have done a really good job, and through them we have made a couple of good friends in Hazel (the sales person) and her hubby Hayden (a professor at Flinders Uni, and a great character).

Family visit
13 Nov and Debi's sister Wendy, hubby Jamie and 7 month old Harvey arrived for 10 days with us before moving on to Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts in Queensland. Their arrival coincided with an amazing burst of warm weather. I took the week off work, we had a couple of days chilling out by the pool in great weather and we went on a houseboat on the Murray River for 3 days. Loads of wine, revelry, camaraderie and a bit of mothering - Auntie Debi and baby Harvey. We managed to run aground 3 times on the Murray, much to the amusement of the ladies. Charlie at one time insisted on chomping on a half eaten rabbit on the banks, just as a storm broke, the winds went to hurricane levels and as it was a 47c day the wind became like a furnace. Actually quite dangerous. The boat broke the temporary moorings and started off down the river, with me battling with Charlie to drop the rabbit, Debi doing the same, Wendy holding on to one of the ropes and the kids - and thankfully Jamie (Senior) on board with the kids screaming at us to get on before they disappeared down river. Comical really. Had to down a few bottles to get over it. Saw an amazing electrical Storm that night as the heatwave came to an end.

We all got very emotional when they had to go, with of course each of us trying our best to hold it all back. Brought back home with a bang how much we all miss our families and friends.

We had a fantastic drive back home, from the Riverland via a cross country route through the Adelaide Hills. We stopped in the Barossa Valley at Chateau Tanunda for a spot of winetasting (bought a few too). There was a magnificent Cricket Oval in the grounds where they hold an annual Cricket Charity Match. International Stars take part, I saw a photo of Sir Ian Botham and David Gower to name but a few.

Chris Tipton visit
Many of you will know my old college mate. He arrived here on the 3rd December for a quick 5 days. (He had already been in Hong Kong and was to have several days in Sydney after us) He took the chance, due to changes at his work place, to do a bit of long distance travelling. We had a lovely time, with my old ginger chum (well Ginge has shaved it off up top, but reliably informs me he's still got it downstairs - Mercifully I didn't need to verify).

Played Golf at Blackwood Friday (Debi too). Saturday we enjoyed an all dayer at the Adelaide Oval during the Australia / West Indies test match. After this I took him up to Rundle Street for a few more drinks to experience a bit of Adelaide's night life.

Sunday, we were back at the golf Club for a pre-arranged Mixed Ambrose at the golf Club, followed by a very sociable Xmas dinner. Our Scottish mate Gerald doing a fabulous Santa (Billy Connelly style). Very funny guy. Chris enjoyed meeting some of our new friends and having a brief insight to our new life.

Again sad to see him go after such a short stay, but it was as usual just like I last saw him last week. Good friends will always be... good friends. Great to hang out with. You can't beat history.