And now going up t' North

We have had a busy few days with Stuart's brother Philip and seeing 3 of our grandchildren (and their parents).
When we come to see Philip we always stay at the Premier Inn at Junction 9 of the M1. Having stayed there over a dozen times we are always recognised and get greeted as friends.
This sounds a bit like we are being sponsored (extra nights free would be appreciated).
We are discussing our next task for my sabbatical - redecorating our bedroom. Stuart is suggesting a bright pea green ceiling, but he might not be being serious actually!

Driving Down M6

We are on our way to visit Stuart's brother and over the weekend we shall visit Tim, Kim and family.
Right now I am driving so to save my thumbs Stuart is doing this.
Compared to Australian roads this seems frantic, everybody trying to get there before every one else I guess (wherever there may be).
Fuel had gone up 2p per litre and there were queues because of the refinery going into receivership.
It is 5 degrees, windy and very wet at times.

Sunday in the Rain

We have now been back in the UK for 5 days now and I still have 4 months of my sabbatical to enjoy.
Our car is in the garage being repaired after the heater had stopped working. After a day of working on it the garage decided it was going to be a big job, so they have to keep it for 3 days. Fortunately they have provided us with a loan car and the work will be done under the warranty.
Despite having the loan car we travelled by bus into Macclesfield using our bus passes on Saturday. Sadly the this was not as pleasant as travelling on public transport in Perth had been.
We came home to a huge pile of post and a number of messages and that has taken a while to get through.
Stuart is happily reunited with his computer and is huddled over his keyboard keeping warm.

Back home

We arrived back home at 9.00am today on the 17th in the cold weather!
We left David and Angela's house at midday on Monday the 16th in the hot weather.
The flight was very good. We had 90 minutes at Singapore which is a fantastic airport.
Both flights were full. We went into darkness 3 hours into the journey and saw the start of the sunrise coming into into Manchester.
It is cold here and there has been a frost on the lawn all day, but at least it is clear and bright.
We feel at sixes and sevens today, have opened all the post and done some unpacking.
We had a wonderful holiday and have made some great new good friends and have met new members of my family and have got lots of happy memories.

Our last full day in Australia

We have had a busy day today. We were out by 9.30 this morning and we met Alex and Katherine and Katherine's Parents at the wedding venue. The wedding is taking place on 10/11/12.
It was very nice for us to see the venue. It is in the Swan Valley and it will be perfect for the occasion.
After a good look around and a discussion with a lady there we all went on to have a light lunch at a quirky cafe come gallery near by.
Stuart and I then had to say our goodbyes to Alex and Katherine and Katherine's Parents.
We then went to see a hotel nearby where some of the wedding guests are going to be staying.
Later we went round to have a cup of coffee with Pat and Philip and Kate, it was good to catch up with them again before our departure tomorrow.
We have now done most of our packing and David will take us to the airport about midday tomorrow.
We arrive back in Manchester at 7.30 am on the 17th, what a long journey!

We have had a wonderful time and it has been so nice to spend some time with family and friends and enjoy their company, thank you to you all.

Saturday

Another hot day about 35 degrees.
We went round to Shari's with David. David and Rhys cycled to the beach and Stu and I walked.
David and Rhys had a swim, but the waves were too large for a young child and there was quite an undertow so they were not in the water for long.
But we managed to have a good paddle in the Indian Ocean.
The beach is beautiful and is 5 minutes walk from James and Shari's house.
When we got back to Shari's we all had a lovely snack and a play with the children.
We then had to say our goodbyes to Shari and the children.

In the evening we went to Kathy and Vic's for a lovely dinner party.
We met their son Matthew, his wife Tammy and their baby James.
It was a fun evening and a delicious meal, thank you Kathy and Vic.
We saw the sun set from the balcony looking across the Mindarie Keys. It was still very hot at 10.30 at night, 26 degrees with a clear sky full of stars, could see the southern cross.

Thursday and Friday

Thursday was spent recovering from the long drive on Wednesday.
Went for a walk to the beach early evening as the temperature was getting cooler.
Angela cooked us another very nice meal in the evening.

Friday, Angela worked and David played golf with his friends.
We went to Perth by bus and train and had a very nice day in the city, spent time looking around the shopping area.
It is all very busy, with business people as well as many tourists.
There are many opportunities, in Western Australia particularly as there is a real skills shortage. But if people are prepared to work away from home there are masses of jobs available in the mining and related industries.
We caught the train back and at the moment we are enjoying a nice evening.
We will have to start getting ourselves organised for our departure very soon as we leave here Monday lunch time and there are still a few social events organised for the weekend.

Our days out in Denmark area

Day one.
We set off to see Greens Pool and Elephant Rock. Greens Pool is a very large sandy pool with large flat rocks all around to shield it from the surf of the Southern Ocean. It is a natural formation and is a popular spot.
We then went on to Elephant Rocks which is another natural rock formation with huge rocks which look just like elephants. The beaches here are wonderful, very sandy, almost deserted and with a huge surf, the sea is so blue as the waves break.
After that we visited a winery come cheese shop and had cheese and wine for lunch.
We also visited the Old Butter Factory in Denmark and saw the alpaca goods that they stock.
In the evening we went for a meal at The Tavern.

Day Two
We went off the Albany for the day, It was about an hours drive.
Our first visit was to The Gap and then The Bridge. These are natural rock formations and the Southern Ocean rollers make them spectacular. We have many photos of them, it is a special area.
We also went to Cable Bay, a fantastic beach.
After a bit of a look around Albany we went onto Emu Point around Princess Royal Bay. We were most impressed with Albany and the surrounding area is wonderful.

Day Three
We went down to Wilson Inlet near Denmark and had a walk around there enjoying views of Ocean Beach.
After that we went to two wineries and did some tasting, having lunch at one of them. There are so many wineries to visit in this area, and so little time!

Day Four
We Packed up and left the house at 8.45.
We went to visit the famous tall trees and did the wonderful Treetop Walk amongst the canopies of the tingle trees.
The walk reaches 40 metres in height and sways in the breeze above the trees.
We then started our journey back to Perth via Warpole, lunch in Bridgetown and then onto Donnybrook which is where the Pink Lady Apples were developed. This is a big fruit growing area.
We picked up the Highway and reached Mindarie at 7.00 pm. A long day.
A lovely long weekend away.

In a Land Without the Internet

It has been hard on Stuart. He has been getting IWS (Internet Withdrawal Syndrome).

To Denmark

We left Mindarie Keys at 10am to begin our long journey down to Denmark.
We were on the road for a total of 5 hours. It is over 400 kms from Perth
We had a stop for lunch in The Woolshed in Williams. Good homemade food with arts and craft shops in the same building.
Soon after leaving there we realised that we had Alex and Katherine in front of us.
We then all stopped in Mount Barker for a cup of tea, it was good to see them, they were on their way down to Albany for the weekend.
After a cup of tea we headed on to Denmark. We picked up the keys to the house in the town, did a little shopping and then found the house.
It is on stilts on a hill and looks out across a valley to the inlet and the Southern Ocean beyond.
We went out for a meal at a super little restaurant.
We are now having an early night so that we can make the most of tomorrow. There are so many things to see down here including the vineyards, treetop walks amongst the huge tinsel trees and the natural rock formations along the coastal areas.
Goodnight for now!

Friday

We had a fairly quiet day. Caught the bus and train to Joondulup and had a really good look around the large shopping centre.
Apparently the centre is going to be extended greatly in the next two years. Joondulup has been built as a new city over the last 25 years and is getting bigger and bigger.
In the evening we all went to James and Shari's for delicious dinner. It was a lovely evening and Rhys helped entertain us. Ethan was in bed!
Stuart and I will not get another opportunity to see James this visit so we had to say goodbye to him.
We saw the sunset from their balcony.
Thank you James and Shari for a great evening.
We are off down to the Southwest this morning, Saturday. A 5 hour drive, and we come back here I think on Wednesday
Bye for now.

A Perth City Tour

Stuart and I caught the train from Clarkson Station into Perth Esplanade Station. We caught the Tram for a tour of Perth City.
It was very good and it took us to Burswood and to the east and west of the city.
We then took the second tour which took us to Kings Park for a good tour of that. Our next stop was to the Barrack Street base.
We then visited the Bell Tower, which has the bells from St Martins In The Field -- we climbed up to the viewing floor on the 6th floor.
It was a fun day, we are now going out for a meal!!

A Rude Awakening!

Yesterday afternoon we went for a drive up the coast to Yanchep. Masses of new homes are being built and even a new town is planned with a harbour.
It is interesting for us to see the development that is going on. Eventually the railway will go that far north, so much land is available and homes are needed. The land was all sand and bush.
We had a look around the lagoon at Yanchep and Two Rocks which is where the Dolphinarium once stood.
We came back home via one of the public golf courses where we had a cup of iced tea.
During the early hours this morning we were suddenly woken up by thunder and lightening and very heavy rain. It was all very close.
The rain was very heavy and sounded worse as a lot of the houses here have metal roofs, to make them cooler inside.
Today we have had a quiet day so far, just been to the shops and then this afternoon had a walk down to The Waterfront here in Mindarie where we had an iced coffee and sat and watched the boats coming and going.
It is hot, you just cannot be in the full sun for long and we always take our bottles of water with us.
It is all very lovely

Kayaking & Smiling

This morning I watched my brother David set off on his kayak for an hour or so's exercise.
Over the festivities of the past week or so I have managed to damage a tooth. I was able to book myself into the local dentist this morning and have already received excellent treatment though
I will not be eating steak for lunch.

Kangaroo Time

We visited Pinaroo Memorial Park and there we saw this sweet family of kangaroos happily grazing in the shadow of a tree. We had a cautious walk around them.
We went on to revisit a lake in Joondalup where we had visited in 1999 with my mother and had been treated with a procession of passing kangaroos appearing in Jurassic Park style out of nowhere, passing us by and then off into the distance.
We did a bit of shopping and then returned back to the house to relax and enjoy the evening.

Meeting the Family

Tonight we have been enjoying food and games at Alex and and Katherine's home.
We met Katherine's Parents, Karen and Leo and Brother Matthew. It was fun and a good time was had by all.
Thank you Alex and Katherine for a good evening.