One month till Christmas!

Not much to report this week.Will was sent home from school one day because he hit his head on the locker. He had only just got to school and his locker is on the lower level. When he stood up, he wacked his head on the locker above that had been left open. No blood but he was suffering a bit from concussion. He really was not with it for several hours but I am happy to report that he is now fully recovered and back at school.

Jack has been enjoying his last week off on "study leave". Sleeping in till 10 a.m, then down to the beach or watching the Ashes, which started on Thursday in Brisbane. He is going to have a real shock on Monday when he has to get up early and return to school! He has done well in his 4 exams that he did absolutely no work for, getting some of the highest marks in the class - the teachers couldn't believe it!

Sam texted me yesterday really upset because they had moved all the tutor groups around for the new academic year (starting on Monday) and he was in a group that he knew no-one except one boy who he hated and smelt of B.O! Luckily, I spoke to the Deputy Head and he has now been moved to the same group as his friends Harry and George. As things seem to be just settling down for him, it would've been a real set-back. He went to see the new Harry Potter film with school yesterday and thought it was fantastic. He has never enjoyed Harry Potter but is looking forward to the last one coming out.

I have been in school this week helping to prepare for the second hand book sale. I managed to get most of Sams books for next year but unfortunately, Jack needs two new ones that cost $73(£45) each!!! We will seriously be broke this month with having to pay for their school fees, books and Christmas!

My friend, Natalie, brought her new puppy, Sunny, round after school. William is in love...! We will put some fotos on our Flickr site.

Chris has been in Sydney again this week and he will update you now...

Hello - Chris here...yes, I have had the pleasure of being in Sydney this week. I have been working with a client team who are based in Katoomba which is in the Blue Mountains. This is a beautiful area about 100km north of Sydney and it really reminded me of Yosemite in California. On Tuesday and Wednesday I was running workshops with various people which meant starting work at 6:30am (the field engineers start very early...). It was hard work but they went very well....the trouble was I ended up doing 2 x 16 hour days which meant I was rather tired! I was back in Melbourne on Friday (a bit bleary eyed) and am looking forward to a rest over the weekend. Sadly the weather isn't great - raining hard at the moment but I hope to get out for a run or cycle ride if possible!

Another week flies by....

Can you believe ... we have been here nearly three months now! This week has passed in a flash even though I didn't have much on. Chris has been in Sydney and I am waiting for him to arrive back as we speak (Friday evening.) Since all the Boys are out tonight, I am going to whisk him into Mordi for a romantic dinner for two - well, maybe just for dinner!!!

This week has been filled with VIP Christmas shopping nights to raise funds for Brighton School and "Phoenix Cards" coffee mornings - a hard life! Alas, no more Tupperware nights - shame:) Thursday, I ventured into Melbourne all by myself on the train and returned to Victoria Market (in the pouring rain) to buy some Christmas presents. It's actually very entertaining going to the meat market near to the time they are closing. All the sellers are shouting out their bargains of the day and it's definitely a case of "he who shouts loudest sells the most!" I enjoyed myself immensely wondering around, even if it was only 16 degrees and raining! I think I must be getting used to the Aussie climate, because I was really cold! And you Guys back home are enduring only 6 degrees and frosts!

The Boys are all fine. Jack finished his last exam on Monday (tough having four exams) and did absolutely no revision for any of them! Results will tell... He doesn't return till the 29th November - what a scive! He is hard pushed to get up by midday then spends the afternoon at the beach with his friends ... life's a beach!

Sam is getting into his footie and Will, well, he's just Will - all X-box and Nerf guns:)

Tiger, Tiger....

Caroline and I had a good day today at the Australian Master Golf tournament. We were expecting terrible weather but were really lucky - it didn't rain all day!!

The course is located 3 train stops away so we got there by 10am and spent the morning walking around the course watching various players - mainly Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia. Tiger was playing in a very erratic manner - one minute he would play a brilliant shot and then he would hit it into the trees.....his mind must be on something else.

On the 2nd hole we were standing by the bunker when Tiger landed his balls straight into it. From right in front of us he then chipped out of the bunker and straight into the hole. I filmed it on my phone here:

If you get the chance to see the highlights on the TV then look out for Caroline and I as we were standing directly behind him. I was wearing a Wales rugby top (and by the way someone came up to me and said 'Bore Da'.....I told them it was rude to swear...)

The tournament was won by an Aussie in the end - Stuart Appleby...he posed for me for the pic at the top of this post ;-)

Back home now and looking forward to some dinner and a glass of red wine....

33c.....er..and it's raining....!

I thought you might like to see the temperature gauge in the garage showing 33c. The weather is certainly heating up now and for the first time I didn't wear a jacket to work today!

They say that you can get four seasons in one day in Melbourne.....so this evening we have had torrential rain - so much that the drains started to overflow in the garage and there was water everywhere.

I am hoping the rain holds up for Sunday when Caroline and I are off to watch the Australian Master golf tournament......I wonder if Tiger Woods can swim!!

Been another hectic week at work but we had official confirmation that we have been awarded the project that I worked on not long after I joined PwC here. Also my current project has just got the green light for the next phase.....so to put it mildy I am very busy!!

Hope you all have a good weekend....love to everyone!

Mid-week news

Hi Everyone!

Well, just thought I'd annoy you all by up- dating you on the weather, which has been hot and sunny all week, averaging 26 degrees but up to 32 tomorrow! I know this is in complete contrast to you Guys, who have had torrential rain and dark days, but just to make you feel better, it is heading our way at the weekend!

I have had a busy week this week social networking. The other day when Jack was working, an English girl brought stuff in the shop and said " You've moved to Steedman St, haven't you?" but didn't leave her number. So we wondered who she was. Then, last week, she knocked on the door and introduced herself. Turns out, she lives in the next street along, as do 3 other English families. So I spent an afternoon with her and tomorrow, she is having some of these English people round so I can meet them.

Tuesday evening, I went to a school meeting at Jack and Sam's school. Because it is coming up to the end of the school year, they have a second hand book sale, so I have volunteered to help (time on my hands and good way to meet people.) It's a big fund-raising event for the school and if you help, you get first pick of the books! It's a huge event and takes a week to sort out, so I will be spending a lot of time there at the end of November.

Last night, I went to the cinema with Jackie to see "Made in Dagenham" which was good - lots of well-known faces in it. Today, I have been out to lunch with the lady who runs the letting agency we rent our house from and tonight , it's the Boys footsal game.

Friday night, I am going to a Tupperware party!!! Can you believe they still do those over here? At home, it's all Pampered Chef parties - just shows you how far behind they are here.

Saturday, we are having our neighbours round for tea. I go running with Natalie (she is training for a triathlon and runs faster than me pushing her daughter in the buggy in front of her - how embarrassing is that!) They have an older daughter who is 6 , so they are coming round to meet the rest of the family.

Then Sunday, Chris and I are off to the golf - in the rain!! Will let you know how that goes...

Jack had his training yesterday for his new Christmas part-time job at Ozmosis (bit like "Republic") which he starts next week. Will has had 2 days playing inter-school cricket, unfortunately losing both days. He came home on Tuesday nicely sunburnt in the face because they hadn't worn hats. Hopefully, all of the Boys will have learnt from this. The sun is so much more fierce here because we are nearer to the equator and you don't really go out with anything less than factor 30.

Sam is going to his friends house (Harry) after school tomorrow for a sleepover. Since it is going to be in the 30's they will be making use of his brand new swimming pool - maybe I should go along to look after him!!

Weekend Update

Hi Everyone....just a little update to share what we have been up to over the weekend....

I got home about 10pm Friday night from Sydney...looking forward to a relaxing weekend. As we had a broken week with Tuesday off due to the Melbourne Cup we were all thrown a little off kilter.

However Saturday was a lovely sunny day and I was desperate to get out on my bike as I didn't have the opportunity to exercise all week :-( This time I had to cycle on my own as Sam decided that he didn't want to come but I still had a great ride to St Kilda and back - about 30 miles (50k). It is such a lovely route along the Beach Road all the way to the city and there are so many cyclists about that it feels like taking part in the Tour De Melbourne! I took the picture above at my halfway point - was lovely to sit there for 5 mins and have a drink - temperature was about 22c so not too hot..

Saturday evening we headed into Melbourne centre to the Comedy Club. We had free tickets courtesy of PwC and Sam bought along his friend Harry. We had a good time and the boys learned a number of new phrases (all part of their Aussie education of course) - all very funny though. Jack couldn't come as he had a cricket match that finished a little late (..and that is something that Jack would definitely not sacrifice!!).

Today (Sunday) Jack and I watched the Pompey game in the morning. It was on live at 4am so we recorded it and watched it first thing. Sadly Pompey lost but their great run of games was bound to come to an end soon. Anyway it was good to see them play and to hear the crowd....including Big John's bell.

This afternoon we went to the cinema to see The Social Network - it is the story of Facebook and the guy who had the idea. It was really good and enjoyed by everyone.

Other news is that Caroline and I have bought tickets to the Australian Open golf tournament. It takes place in Melbourne next week and we have grandstand tickets for the 18th hole on the final day (Sunday). The course is actually quite close to where we live (3 train stops or 15 min drive) so look out for us on the tv....that is if you want to watch it at about 6am UK time!

This week I am in Sydney Wednesday I think but in Melbourne the rest of the time. Hopefully the Qantas plane will hold it together but at least my frequent flyer points are racking up nicely!

That's it for now....we are off to watch Strictly on iPlayer (I have found a way to watch it here now so we have been catching up with The Apprentice and of course Strictly).......

The Weekend

Saturday we decided to go to an exhibition in the City called "Amazing Bodies" since it was finishing the next day. It was a good choice, because by the time we arrived, the heavens opened and it lashed for 24 hours! We went by train and all the people going to the Melbourne Cup were getting on in their lovely dresses and hats. Such a shame because it was a complete white wash and they were all on the train going home - soaked!

The exhibition was really interesting. The exhibits were of different animals and showed all different parts of their bodies which had been conserved using a process called "Plastination"where they take out the natural fluids of the body and replace them with a gel-type form. Hence, all the parts on show were actually real, not fake! I was in my element of course! I'm sure you could google it if you wanted to know more but I won't go into any more details!

Sunday it was still raining so we all went to the Factory Outlet place I found the other day. Jack found a shop selling Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister clothes at knock down prices so they bought the shop up! Then in the evening, Will had four friends round for Halloween and they went Trick and Treating. They are not into it so much over here but they still came home with half-filled swag bags so they were happy!

Yesterday (Tuesday) was Melbourne Cup Day so Chris had the day off work. We all went (even Jack!) up to the Dandenong Ranges - part of a large National Park, about an hour east of Melbourne. It was a pretty drive up the mountain with very steep roads and the rhododendrons were coming out. We drove to a lookout point called "Skyhigh" which had a great view of Melbourne and pretty gardens and walks through the gum tree(eucalyptus) forests. We even saw two Kookaburras! On the way back down, we stopped off at one of the several quaint villages called Olinda. These villages are renowned for their Devonshire teas and Pie shops! There was a Christmas shop there, so I bought a glass bauble with a blue angel inside (made in China!) and a heart-shaped hanging ornament. Don't know where I shall hang it but hey! I liked it!