Alex's Blog photos.

I know it seems like ages ago since we left but we have only just worked out how to load Alex's photos onto the computer. This is his first proper photo, with his new memory card in his digital camera.

Ian came to see us off at the airport with Nikki, Paul & Dominic.

Alex obviously didn't take this shot ; the captain of the plane very kindly showed Jess & Alex the cockpit and took this photo...cool eh?

All of these boats gathered during the day before the fireworks! Good composition for an early photo......bugger...it might even be better than my shots of the Opera house , the bridge,etc!

Alex's favourite cuddlies, arranged very carefully....I've definitely got photographic competition!

Alex took his camera to school one day for his 'show and tell'. He took various photos at school.

This is the pond outside his classroom.

A few more to show you.......coming soon......to a blog near you!

Pateman Adventure Holidays.

One of these two is an accomplished sailor. The other is a clueless halfwit who has absolutely no idea what is happening. Looking at the picture below it is not hard to tell which is which. The Patemans mentioned above are in fact John and Lisa who continue to redefine the meaning of an excellent community sponsor not just showing us around but giving us the opportunity to do things we have never done before. Today John was even prepared to put his nautical pride and joy in the hands of a complete novice. My most imbecilic action? Preparing to throw the centreboard into the water (If you are not sure how stupid that is ask any sailors out there).
I was however proud that I took part in a race and we did not come last. Although this was more due to John's tactical skills rather than my tacking skills. Not capsizing was also a bonus.


Day Two of Pateman adventure holidays. Off road driving. Quiet, peaceful, Gorgeous Scenery up in the Hunter Valley and no signs of civilization........


apart from 23 other Toyota Landcruisers. It looks like a busy day at Longleat doesn't it but to be honest the convoy was all part of the fun. It was also amusing to hear that CB radio is still alive and kicking. I even heard Lisa ask if somebody had "got their ears on" we sat back to listen for more but she failed to oblige. Not even "10 4 for a copy and watch out you have a smoky on your tail"


Thankfully we don't do this every week. We had a marvellous time but I would just get so fat 10am morning tea break 12 am lunch 2pm afternoon tea. Then at each stop the cakes come out.
The picture below was lunch at Yellow rock hill. Tina has a slightly pained expression. This is because she forgot the first rule of off roading in the Widerness. No Toilets

How the bloody hell are you?

Had to show you this cartoon in the local paper after the recent fuss in the UK over the Aussie Ad campaign, with the slogan, 'where the Bloody hell are you?' In case you can't read it the variation is "Why the bloody hell would you?". I can think of one reason. More decent commonwealth games coverage. Don't get me wrong you obviously expect a neavily Australian bias but where they are ....

a) Hosting the damn thing and

b) Winning so much

it leaves very little time to show anything but show Australian Gold medals and play the Australian National Anthem 70 times over. You certainly don't see any other nations athletes being interviewed. They did speak to a Jamaican sprinter but I think they got confused because he was wearing similar colours.

Talking of colour. Tina is doing wonders in the Warners Bay playground. Now before you ask this is not her having to do community service for all her speeding tickets. Moreover it is an elaborate excusing to avoid ironing and lawnmowing back home. Joking aside this and the commencement of group Guitar lessons is helping to make her a valued member of the Warners Bay School community.

How the bloody hell is Alex? Absolutely great apart from being a whizz in the Kitchen he has now taken part in his first football match, learnt to ride his bike, is doing some "sick" bits of Art work (apparently that means very good according to the kids at school) and is a keen little photographer.

Our weekly pastimes.

Thanks to Sharon (2nd on the right, holding a tennis ball!), I manage to get to Tennis every monday morning. We all pay 2 dollars and then save the money left from paying for the courts to have an evening out! (The money pays for the drinks .from the bottle shop....in any restaurants you can bring your own!) So, we are off for a nice meal at a local Pizza/Pasta place in a couple of weeks time.


I'm running in that one...poor Jen had to put up with some awful serving from me.....it's all in the throw up!!( I'm lacking practise!)


Tuesdays is soccer.....Alex is number 5 ! He's very keen at the moment and thinks he is really good...especially his slide tackles.....bless!



Alex loves his new kit...he's in a team called the 'Blue Tongues'; they tried to get the team sponsored but didn't think it was a good idea to have 'Blue Tongue beer' or alcoholic ginger beer.


Jessica has the busiest social calender; she does Brownies Guides on a Monday, All stars on a Tuesday (singing, dancing & drama) and has a piano lesson on a Wednesday!



This week Jessica was enroled into her new Brownie Guide pack; there are only about 12 of them, aged 5 to 9, so it's a bit different from her old pack.
Her main complaint is that they don't sing as enthusiastically as her old pack in Hythe. She still likes the novelty of wearing her yellow and brown uniform, even though everyone else is in blue.



Meanwhile, Chris is here....at Glendore Public school. This area is great except when it rains it becomes a skating rink and is lethal...I think Chris mentioned this before! Notice the "no hat no play" rule. Chris had to have words with the boy by the pillar after taking this.



His class enjoying a bit of team work...plaiting paper people!


That's the way to store all those annoying over-sized bags that the children bring.....just lob them outside!!! In the Marchwood newsletter this week it was interesting to note that they are trialing a 'leave your bag' at home fortnight...because of the way the bag takes over inside the school. If the window on the right looks shinier, it's because the vandals smashed the previous one last week. Chris wondered who he had upset but the Neandethals were kind enough to smash someone else's the next week to put his mind at ease. Obsevation test: How can you tell this classroom has a blackboard?

First Visitors

Six weeks into the term and we have various first visitors! This is 'Bluey', he's a blue tongued lizard and Dave warned us he likes to wander into and around the garage. (I wonder where he has been for the last few months...maybe pining for his real Australian family!)
Anyway, it was very decent of him to put on a show for our other visitors.



Thanks to Lisa and John doing a good job of showing us round, we were able to take our visitors to some of the local places of interest.
On their arrival we went down to the Foreshore and hired some canoes; sorry I can't show photos of that as I keep forgetting my camera when we canoe!
But here is one of our favourites.......The Bogey Hole in Newcastle!



Alex, Jessica, Tom and Luke loved it too and were soon jumping off the rocks...into the cool water!



Our next stop was our favourite local spot...Caves Beach!
The waves were awesome, man! I caught one and it rocked me like a bucking bronco!



The "children" worked hard on their amazing tunnel...which managed to have a tennis ball rolled through it ...AND....Alex kept inviting strangers to stamp on the top to show how strong it was!!



Alex and Luke got on very well...delighting in playing Tamagochi, Game cube, Gameboy and Nintendo DS.
Jessica idolised Tom(15)and talked to him incessantly; she even managed to get him politely looking at Bratz dolls and plaiting hair! (sorry, Tom! Don't worry, none of your mates will see this web site!)

Flags, Trains and Fried Testicles

Look for the man with the flag...our wonderfully, friendly guide for the weekend....'Following the leader, the leader, the leader, we're following the leader, wherever he may go!' (Peter Pan....sing along!)
Wind-swept light house stop.



Our afternoon choice was to Timbertown...plenty of cheap entertainment; especially from us..laughing at the children! We put them in Gaol and the stocks, then demanded for them to....' get behind that board and pretend to be Victorian !! '


The driver was very proud of the steam engine and informed us during the ride that we were travelling over the only 's' bend left in New South Wales...wow!



At last the animal bit!

This is a Flamin Galah! We had only heard it as an Aussie insult(meaning...stupid,or words to that effect), but here it is...walking on the beach, in all of its flaming glory!


Don't you just love Koalas?I must admit, they are not the liveliest thing to watch...but nor would you be if you ate something so low in nutrients and so hard to digest, that the poor creatures take days to ferment the leaves in their bellies! The babies have to eat the mother's poo(honest!!!.Alex told me...because he was listening to that bit!!)



We were also introduced to snakes, goanas, lizards and a Saltie crocodile!



Everyone's favourite bit was feeding the red kangaroos and wallabies, they were brilliant and so gentle; this one was Alex's best friend, within 5 minutes! He wanted to take it home as a pet!



And here is an albino one! Apparently, in the desert the sun is so hot that their testicles literally fry!!(we saw that bit on a nature programme on TV.)

Port Macquarie..... It's very nice

Another weekend of exchange teacher meeting. This time purely social and no conference to go to. We headed there straight after work on Friday. A four hour drive (just down the road in Oz terms). the front of their brochures all state "Port Macquarie... God lives here". I think this is slightly overselling yourself and if the Almighty had a legal department then some litigation might be in order. However in the strictest sense of the word being the omnipresent deity that he is, then the claim is justifiable. Perhaps it could be a good tourist marketing ploy back home
"Dibden Purlieu...... God lives here." oh well maybe not. Anyway down below is the waterfront, the setting for a fish and Chip Sat lunch and a "maccers" breakfast on Sunday. Let's just say it's very nice.



Hotel booking rule number 72. If the apartment is cheap and yet is called the Waterview expect a miniscule glimpse of the wet stuff between several buildings and trees. Below is the most significant view from our 100 dollar per night apartment and the reason for our 7am wake up call on Saturday. This weekend and Sydney cost us $444 in accommodation the stupid thing was both weekends we could have stayed with a host family. So why didn't we? Two reasons
1. I blame my Mum (Jean) she's done a good job of bringing me up don't get me wrong but I have an obsession of not wanting to trouble people and this is definitely a trait of my Mummy!
2. What you applied for was called "billeting", which for anyone over 70 or has taught Britain since the Thirties topics countless times brings up images of us being packed off with Gas Marks and being forced upon some unsuspecting couple who live about 30 miles from any place worth seeing and can't abide children, especially English Ones.
As it was we met many friendly people. Including exchange teachers eulogising over their host families and families who had nobody to host asking us why we didn't stay with them. Oh well we'll know next time. One of the social highlights of the weekend was an Australian Bush Dance (that'll be a barn Dance then). About 80 people were there around 40 from Canada 40 from Australia and 4 English people. Despite being Grossly outnumbered we were not left out and fellow "Tin tin's Haircut" quiz team members will be pleased to know that I won a bottle of very dubious wine in a True or False Quiz.



A final view on the way home was from North Brother Mountain. This was a 5km, 10 minute, windy, steep drive. On a clear day you can see 40km either way. I think we managed about 20 but boy was it still worth it. This is one of my favourite photos so far, partly for the astounding panorama and partly for the way it captures father and daughter having a quality moment. I am conveniently ignoring the fact that my inattentive daughter is not looking where I am pointing. God may or may not live here but from this high up he wasn't too far away.

Exchanging Stories!

On the Saturday we all gathered onboard this marvellous vessel for our little cruise.
(I'm talking about the red and beige one underneath!!) In truth we did wonder if this would actually hold our group of about 80ish.....but we were fine. We jealously watched this cruise liner in the morning ,as we were boarding and when we returned in the afternoon. It was certainly as big as the liners that come to Southampton.



There was a chap on board doing a great job with the commentary but most people just wanted to chat.
We made friends with some great people and Alex was delighted to play and share his DS. with his friend, Luke, who had a Gameboy Advance and was getting a 'Tamagotchi.'















The netted beach where we stopped off for a swim and lunch...I haven't a clue what it was called!



This is Mark who had a weekend away from his family. He was good fun and we will be aiming to out-do each other on the best Sydney Opera House and Bridge photos! Oh, yes....and that Kookabura one!( let's throw down the gauntlet and aim to snap all of those well know Australian animals by the end of the year!!)


Chris & Richard, who we feel like we've known longer....were great company too (their youngest son, Luke is Alex's friend) .
They invited us to return to Sydney this weekend for the Mardi-Gras...but unfortunately it clashes with our other trip away. We are hoping to meet up the following weekend instead.


Well is that a coathanger sticking out of your head or are you just pleased to see me? This had to be a quick shot as there were about 10 groups before and after us who wanted the classic bridge/ house shot. Now before you pass comment on Chris' top you need to know it is a sea shirt and very practical for swimming in as it saves you using up half a bottle of SPF 30. He did take a gamble though by wearing it at 11pm later that evening and strolling down Oxford St looking for an Off licence (AKA bottle shop). According to our lonely planet guide it is "the hub of Gay life in Sydney". Despite his attire though he obviously wasn't anyone's type and was left well alone.


This is The Rocks market which runs at weekends and is facinating; lots of craft stalls and the children loved the stall selling didjeridoos where the man demonstrated it and explained all the animals he was immitating.

Sydney walk continued..

Chris didn't want me to put too many photos on but as I was checking photos for the cruise blog, I thought you couldn't miss these ones....in the Botanical Gardens....also from our guided tour walk( we returned to show Chris on the Saturday!)
The blobs you can see in the trees are infact fruit bats( we saw a preserved one of these up close in the Australia Museum); fascinating to watch , as they stretch their wings , but they do a lot of damage to the trees so they are not popular.



This is where we had a spot of lunch, although the ducks got most of it!
A series of ponds and fountains had plenty of wildlife for Jeesica and Alex to 'coo' over; their favourite was a duck, they named, Margaret (don't ask me why???); this was mainly why we had to return on the saturday...to show Chris their pet duck!!


A golden globe , which errupted water every minute or so , caused immense excitement with the younger walkers.



I had to take a photo of this crow because we have nick-named it ,'The Alex bird', because it makes the exact same noise as Alex, when he is not happy about something; a long, drawn out, "Awwwww!"

It is believed that if you drop some money in the box and rub the boar's nose, it will bring you good luck.....Lots have tried, haven't they?


and finally, a sculpture to represent all of those settlers that came over to NSW.