Ironing and dangerous creatures

Something seldom experienced in Scotland is housework in hot weather. My two tasks today have been ironing (lesson learned: I am going to dump all the clothes that require ironing) and defrosting Johann's freezer (lesson learned; the food defrosts faster wrapped in thick towels than the ice in the freezer even with containers of boiling water to help it on it's way). Both tasks generated bucket loads of sweat, the second task frostbitten fingers as I realised how quick the food was defrosting. Must have a beer to compensate for the water loss and the pain.

Yesterday James and I got lost going for a walk to the coffee shop only a few hundred yards from the new house It seemed like several kms later we eventually got the breakfast we were looking for. Birchgrove, our new part of the Balmain peninsula is very leafy with beautiful parks, pretty houses and views of Sydney harbour from every corner you turn.

The photo showing James with Sydney Harbour Bridge was taken a few yards from our new squat.

This morning I got up and found a cockroach trapped in my empty glass from last night. The glass of course contained my usual tipple of red wine. Unfortunately for the cockroach I had drained my glass before going to bed so after James tried to drown the thing unsuccessfully it suffered squashing without anaesthetic.

Last night we had a Parisian evening at the art gallery. The singer was fine but the accordionist went on a bit too long. Walked back to the car through the Domain, a large public park in the centre of Sydney surrounded by skyscrapers. It was a wonderful walk, balmy and breezy.

The photo is me taking in a bit of modern art at the Art Gallery prior to the performance.

Today we purchased our home for the next few months. For those interested it is called an Oztent and is erected in 30 seconds flat even by us (well James did it actually but it was my intention to help I just didn't get downstairs fast enough). We also purchased beds which in use are well off the ground in case of dangerous animals although I suspect any self respecting dangerous animal can climb. James bought a stove. He did ask my advice about which one we should buy but as everyone knows I have little expertise in the stove field so left the final decision to him.

The tent is now pitched in Johann's garden. However I think the overnight trial run should wait until this weekend when Steven, Ana and Lex can help us set up camp. Steven thinks we are mad buying an expensive tent. He would have gone for the cheap as chips one which would have blown away in the first breeze. However Johann and Stretch have offered to buy this one from us when we return home so there is method in our madness.

Our library is growing. Today on top of the national parks, bird and flowers of Australia books we have we got one on Australia's venomous animals and what to do if bitten. The only thing biting us so far are the mosquitoes. They are bad enough and are not even mentioned in this book.

By the way yet another idiot has been bitten by a shark. It will take a lot of effort to get me in the sea beyond my ankles

The Big Beast

A very short blog today.

Well here it is - The Big Beast!

I've still got to put the Rhino roof system on top as we will have a lot to carry - but feel that today was a significant step forward. It also has a fridge / freezer so cold beers shouldn't be too much of a problem

Bring on the open road!

Eating, Drinking and Long Lost Relatives

Another weekend of socialising - I'm almost wishing we were on the road!!

Went to an Indian Restaurant in Balmain on Friday night. Johann wasn't there as she had a School Governors meeting although she turned up later for a drink. The meal was very good, well up to Itihass standards (for those in Dalkeith) but have you noticed - where ever you are in the world the basic Indian menu and the food is pretty much the same all over - except that is in India!! Strange. After the meal it was back to a friends house for drinks and to watch a short film their son had produced, directed, starred in and had probably made the coffee! Photo shows the troops.

On Saturday, after a hard days vehicle shopping, we all went round to Steven's (our son's) house for a meal.

Sunday continued the mad social whirl with a lunch time barbecue at which the food was superb - huge prawns, oysters and of course sausages on the barbie - with sweets to follow. It's going to be a hard job to keep up this standard when I'm trying to produce meals in the bush on a campfire!

The photo on the right is of our host and to me he just epitomises the Australian BBQ host!

The lower picture is at the same BBQ and shows Sandra in typical pose with her sister Johann (in black) behind her and Stretch, her partner, towering over everyone on the right

On Monday morning we had a visit from a long lost Douglas relative whom I had never met before. It turns out I have lots of "cousins" in New South Wales and Queensland who are all very keen to meet Sandra and I and to provide hospitality. Sandra let slip that I have my kilt with me so I suspect it might get one or two airings!

Monday pm was spent in the city centre making sure that everything was in place for getting the car tomorrow especially insurance. I was also going to join the NRMA, which is the Australian equivalent of the AA/RAC, only to find that my UK AA membership gives me reciprocal rights so I was able to join free of charge - nice one. As a new member they also gave me a free set of maps covering the whole of Australia.

All for now - I expect the next posting will have photographs of our new big white tank - the Nissan Patrol Turbo Diesel - can't wait!

Drought Busters, Mudslides and the Edinburgh Tattoo

Well that's the vehicle bought!

I was much taken with a Toyota Landcruiser GXL which was an automatic with cruise control and electric everything - exceptionally comfortable and a very good drive but unfortunately with a petrol engine and with 290,000k on the clock. Wiser council prevailed (I was told it wouldn't last the journey, there were too many electrics to go wrong, running costs would be high and there would be a low resale value at the end of the trip) and we went for a Nissan Patrol - diesel, manual, 2005 model with a low mileage which we should be able to re-sell without too much depreciation.

The salesman - a real patter merchant - was also able to sell me a bespoke storage unit for the back with drawers and a sliding platform for a fridge, a Rhino roof rack to substantially increase luggage capacity and a fridge/freezer - all of course at a ridiculously low price (according to the patter merchant!) I think he was actually right but for me the main thing was to take away the hassle of sourcing all of these things separately and having them fitted.

Now we have the vehicle we can look more seriously at tents etc.

Drought Busters

Much of Australia has been very dry and, before leaving, Sandra often joked that when we arrived the heavens would open - AND SHE WAS RIGHT!!

Yesterday and last night saw rain over much of Australia and the Sydney area was particularly dampish - so much so that this morning we woke to find that a retaining wall between Johann's house and next door's garden had partially collapsed. As next door's garden was higher the resultant mudslide deposited mud and soil against the basement of Johann's house with a some overflow into the house itself - what a mess! Whilst not structurally significant to the integrity of the actual house it was still a bit of a pain.

However, as a silver lining to this particular cloud, as we dug out the soil it was not given back to the neighbours but put onto Johann's vegetable patch.

The photo shows the area after most of the soil had been dug out and spread on the garden - it looks like a bit of re-building will be required!

One very sad aspect of the wet weather is I suspect that it will have a dampening effect on the Edinburgh Military Tattoo which is on in Sydney this week. They have built a $1m replica of Edinburgh Castle at the Sydney Football Ground and are doing the full production.

I'm going to give it a miss as, when I went to the Tattoo in Edinburgh a couple of years ago, it rained throughout - I couldn't face that again!

Tomorrow we are meeting some fairly distant Douglas relatives who we have never met before. They are down in Sydney for the Tattoo tonight and I hope the rain holds off for them.

Tents, cars and Hash House Harriettes

Hello Blog Watchers (assuming that there are some of you out there - it's almost impossible to know if anyone is reading the blog - let me know if you are)

It's been a few days since the last post but they have been very busy days indeed. We have done the rounds of the tent and camping shops and are starting to narrow down on what we need. The general advice seems to go for something light and easily transportable which means you can go for a bigger tent for your money - we have decided against the trailer tent. However, when did we listen to advice?! We are leaning towards the more durable (and more expensive) end of the market as, for the next 10 months or so, this is to be our home. Steven, our son's, advice was to buy cheap then throw away and replace. As well as tentage the other big budget items are likely to be a fridge / freezer and a generator for electricity.

Today was particularly hot and sweaty going round car show rooms. We have narrowed down our choice of vehicles to a Toyota Landcruiser or Nissan Patrol and a number seem to be available and within budget - we are off again tomorrow for a few more test drives.

Of course it's not all been work and no play - on Wednesay we went for a walk at Watson's Bay and here is me beside the famous Doyles Restaurant.

It was a bit of deja vu for Sandra and I as this is where we spent our last afternoon on a previous trip to Australia.

We met up with a group of (mostly) female runners who go for a run (or in many cases a walk) every Wednesday. Johann, Sandra's sister, is a member of this group and we "got involved" - this generally meant drinking and Sandra and I were forced against our will to drink beer in a oner - again there is photographic evidence!

These were the local "Hash House Harriers" - female section known as The Harriettes - a harmless group of middle aged, middle class eccentrics who like a drink - we felt quite at home!

After the sporting! activities we adjourned to a local Thai restaurant for a meal. As the place didn't serve alcohol, myself and one of the party, an American called Tom (right front in photo) disappeared to the local pub for a carry out where we got involved in the quiz night and were invited back next week.

All for now, off to bed to prepare for another had day 4WD testing.

Oh, one final thing, particularly for those who know Sandra in her professional role, she identified a bus driver who she considered to have "attitudinal problems" and tried to put him in his place. However Aussie bus drivers don't like being put in their place by a Pommy female so a small row erupted. She claims it was a draw - but we were still put off the bus!

Welcome to Australia

The natives have been very welcoming. I have 33 mosquito bites! James has less but he did not indulge as much in the balmy evening last night. It is warm outside at 10pm! It is warm at midnight! In fact it is warm throughout the night. Johann has no air con so fans are on in the bedroom until James gets irritated with the noise and switches them off. He then starts snoring so I get up and switch them back on. The pattern repeats itself all night until the garbage men come at 5.30am.

The mosquito bites did not all happen outside. One accompanied us in and spent the night feasting on new blood.. The wee b met its demise at about 4am and I washed my blood off the wall this morning. Very good blood it looked too.

Today has been spent on the internet (James) looking at local 4 wheel landcruisers for sale. Tomorrow he goes out with Steven to visit where they are located. I have told him he needs to locate the vehicle and then I will sanction it. My job is to ensure we have the domestic implements to ensure James can cook all the meals enroute and we have a bed to sleep in. Total control without the garage visits.

For Bield followers: Look after my red car if it is still owned by Bield. When I returned it I felt my freedom was going. Still to drive on Aussie roads. Sydney is so big and the inlets of the harbour are so confusing we don't know where we are at any point in time. Steven has given us his sat nav for tomorrow.

Still have my phone. Forgot to take it with me today! Fortunately Lolly my sister's dog knows her way around and led me to her favourite park and home again.

Sandra

We now have access to money and mobile phones

Just a quick one today and pretty boring fare it is too.
After a long lie in on Sunday (up at 12 noon) we spent the afternoon doing a recce of camping gear shops followed by a dinner with David and Lesley, people we have met on several of our previous Australian trips. Dinner was constantly interrupted with cheers and groans both for and against Andy Murray.

Monday was spent organising boring, but important, domestic issues - a long visit to the bank to ensure the money had arrived and arranging the relevant plastic etc - followed by a trip to a mobile phone shop to buy two phones, one for me and one for Sandra. I'm a bit dubious about the latter as when she had a work mobile she either forgot to charge it, forgot where she had left it or just didn't bother to answer it.

Finally, dinner with Steven (our son) and Ana his girlfriend.

Tomorrow we move into the house we are looking after for the next few weeks and starting the search for a suitable 4 wheel drive.

PS for anyone who wants to try, James' new mobile phone number is 0438375587
I'm sorry I can't give you Sandra's number - she can't find the phone - and she's only had it a few hours !!