Solar Power, Police and a beach BBQ

The debate of Petrol Generator vs Solar Power has finally been resolved. Having weighed up the pros and cons of each system, particularly the ecological and environmental arguments vs practicality issues, we finally decided, in true Scottish fashion, to go for the cheaper! Up until the last minute this was the petrol generator which I could buy for $1050 (£600) as opposed to solar which was coming in at $1300 (£750) however I came across a supplier of solar systems who sold via the Internet but were willing to sell direct to any member of the public who could find their way to their warehouse (thank goodness for SatNav) I managed to pick up a system for $350 (£200) Probably a black market import from the sweatshops of Mumbai but as long as it works ....

Having bought the tent we decided to have a practice erection to make sure that all the bits were there and to ensure that, when the trip finally starts, we would not look like a couple of absolute amateurs getting tied up in knots. As the overall length of our home for the rest of the year is over 8 metres we decided to go to a local park for the trial run as Johann's city-centre garden was not quite big enough. I thought the exercise went tolerably well however Lex (short for Alexander) Steven's girlfriend Ana's son, obviously had some doubts as to my competence in erecting tents - or at least that's what seems to be coming across in the photo!

We also had problems with the local constabulary as camping in the park is somewhat frowned upon. I think that some of the more snooty Sydney-siders, out for their evening constitutional, reported us to the police as undesireable tinks despoiling their public places.

The polis duly arrived in their paddy-wagon, grim faced and ready for action. Whilst I hid in the tent we deployed the ultimate diplomatic weapon - Sandra, whose placatory skills are legendary. Satisfied that we were not setting up a tinkers encampment nor even staying the night the two officers turned back into human beings and were even offering camping tips to the obviously inexperienced poms. When I plucked up enough courage to come out of the tent, two of Sydney's finest were putty in Sandra's hands!

So much of the last few weeks has been taken up with tracking down and buying equipment for the trip that we have consequently neglected our role as tourists. So today (Saturday) we decided to do what most of the locals seem to do on a warm and sunny weekend - go to the beach for a barbie. We spent a very pleasant day with Steven, Ana and Lex at the beach - Steven provided the drinks and gas BBQ and we provided the transport and food.

The photo shows Steven and Sandra engrossed in the Saturday papers - I'm somewhat concerned with Sandra's reading matter as she seems to be taking a particular interest in property prices! This was a pleasant grassy area behind the beach as the beach itself was far too hot for delicate Scottish complexions.

However commonsence did not prevail for too long and after the barbie we headed into the ocean - the sea was warm, the waves were huge and we had a fantastic time. This is Sandra just before she took the plunge. For those Bield readers amongst you (I hope that there are some readers out there!!) Sandra wants you to know that this swimming costume was financed from the money you gave her to leave!!

The photo shows her in her "pink" phase - tomorrow is likely to see her enter into her "lobster-and-sore-as-hell" phase - it happens every time!

We are just about ready to go, however we have a number of committments which are likely to keep us in Sydney for a few weeks yet. In particular this includes Johann's "significant" birthday party - the actual birthday is next week and the party is the following week-end and we have been roped in to help organise. Whilst our catering for 140 at Jon and Lisa's wedding last summer was, I think, very successful - we only achieved this with a pretty slick support team (you know who you are) I hope we can repeat the operation.