Walking funny

Hello there,

Well this Monday was Australia day. Traditionally a day when Aussies get one day off work so that they can sit at home watching the cricket/tennis. Speaking of tennis, how sad that the one hope for the English tennis is now out of the tournament. never Mind Murray there is always next year. Some of you may have seen the tennis halt for the fireworks at 9:15 to celebrate Australia day, they were quite spectacular. I would say even better than the new year fireworks.

So on Australia day what did we do. Well we didn't have a Barbie. But we did go for a bike ride. Both of us now have mountain bikes and we took them for a gentle ride through St Kilda and down the coast. All the way to Brighton actually. Not quite as impressive as going from London to Brighton but it is a start to our new healthy lifestyles. We rode for a couple of hours and I have to say that bike seats are in no way comfortable. I have been walking funny all morning and my office chair seems a little less comfy than last week.

I am also sad to report that our fishing trip was postponed due to inclement weather. My dreams of catching a record breaking fish have to be delayed. The wind made the sea choppy and as such we were texted a message saying the trip was off and had top be rescheduled. On the plus side we did have an extra day at the weekend to sort out the house.

Our belongings arrived on Tuesday so I have been building computer desks and tables to put our things on. Ikea is getting some money out of us!! It's great having the TV over with us and I now have enough shirts to last a whole week at work. I even have my wetsuit so I can play in the (cold) sea. So we are fully kitted out now, TV, Sofa, Mattress (no bed yet) and all our clothing and kitchen supplies.

Whats next I hear you ask. Well on Sunday the Pride march runs through St Kilda and after that there is the St Kilda Festival. A small music festival that shuts down the whole of St Kilda on the 8th February. We have heard tales of very drunken behaviour over this weekend so we will probably avoid the party, well maybe! The good news is that one of the street bars is going to be outside our front door, unfortunately so are the toilets!!

So a good long weekend in Australia celebrating all that is Oz, BBQ's, Beer, Kangeroos and healthy living. Well it would have been if we had been able to resist the temptation of the Acland Street cake shops. Diet starts next week!!

Which local?

Children are messy creatures. Give them an ice-cream and they try to eat the whole thing in one go. This results in the face covered with ice-cream messiness all adults prefer to see on other children's faces. Now here I am experiencing a similar problem. The post Christmas excess diet has started and if I wish to have a sly Ice-cream (Licorice flavour my current fave) then I eat it round the corner from the flat. Unfortunately the sun is so hot that the ice-cream starts melting as soon as I step out of the shop. I don't want ice-cream running down my hand so I attempt to eat the whole thing at once. Clearly as an adult I will clean myself up when finished but during the ice-cream eating phase of the operation I manage to get the stuff all over my face, just like our little messy children. This poses two major questions;

How do I possibly keep the ice-creams a secret?

And how the hell do I get Ice-cream behind my ear when I eat?

Any way onto more serious questions. Which is our local pub?

There are two choices. The Republica and the Espy. Each has it's own charms.

First the Republica.

This bar is certainly the nearest of the two. It is situated on the beach just meters from the sand. They sell beer and food. The pizza's look the best of any Pizza we have seen being served in Australia. The staff are friendly and they even have hanging wicker chairs to lounge around in, although these are usually filled with ice cream covered sprogs at the weekend. Sometimes they have live music on a Sunday afternoon. Chilled laid-back and on the edge of the ocean. A perfect Bar.

Then the Espy. Again this also serves beer, slightly cheaper than Republica and they do jugs of VB for a reasonable $14. The decor can only be described as Student Bar style. The plaster on the roofs has seen better days and the walls are adorned with posters advertising the bands that play the Espy. And play they do, the Espy is a music venue extraordinaire! Bands on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. there are several stages and most of them are free so we can drop into watch one band and if they are rubbish just change rooms for something different. The music is rock, which is great, and the clientele range from surf bunnies to bikers. All the bikers call in on their shiny Harley's. This is great if you like Harley's but not so great as they drive past our flat whilst we are watching a DVD. The noise is somewhat louder than an average bike. That's time to abandon Texas Chain Saw massacre and go to the pub.

So which is our local? They each have a special charm and suit a different kind of mood. one is great for relaxing and eating, one is good for rocking out and having a party nite. As I asked the question I am going to have to answer it I guess. I suppose on reflection the ESPY gets the nod. After all the staff have started greeting me with the ever friendly

"Mate, do you know you have ice-cream on your forehead?"

Weird fact: In Australia you can buy celery BY THE STICK!!! Yes indeed, one stick of celery at a time. Mad!

Next week we are going to take a chartered Fishing trip out into the bay. Should be great fun, we can eat what we catch on a BBQ on the boat. So we will stock the Esky with VB and head to the open waters. Should be a blast, I hope to have a picture of me having captured a big fat fish. And then another of me fat afetr eating said fish.

Here is a picture of Moira on her new toy. She has a shiny new bike (Pink and Black) and helmet.

Birthday celebrations

Well another year older. Had a great birthday. Sadly was at work during the day but went out for tapas in the evening which was great. The best was the scallops with pesto and goats cheese. Then came back to the flat, watched another beautiful sunset and had some bubbly.

We caught a boat to Williamstown. We did a round trip from central Melbourne to Williamstown and then back to st kilda. Williamstown is a quaint village with lots of nice cafe's and restaurants. Unfortunately Ike the performing dog didn't make a presence which was a pity because that was the main reason for the trip. Still the boat trip was enjoyable.

Speaking of boats we are booked on a fishing trip in a couple of weeks - a great present from my Uncle and Aunt - which i gather is a glorified booze cruise. Oh they know us so well.

We also had our first ozzie barbecue and threw some shrimps on the barbie. Public bbq's take ages to warm up so it was only a partial success and was a little chilly. Still we had an esky of VB to Cheer us up so all good fun.
Visited the penguin colony yet again and this time one came out from the rocks to say hello - so cute!!

Peter has a job, of sorts, he goes away each day and comes back later but not sure what he is doing. Something to do with Gant charts and Project...

We are looking for a cheap car now. We have seen a daewoo that looks suspiciously like a Vaxhall Astra!!! just with a different badge on the front. I may actually drive this car, after all in Australia all the roads are straight.

Here's some more pics! enjoy and happy new year!


A Penguin

Tapas, note the scallops!!



Shrimps on the Barbie


A bridge in melbourne as seen from a boat going under it.

Happy New Year

Two days after the new year starts and I manage to get enough energy to drag myself to the Internet cafe and actually write something.

Christmas was Great, big lunch with all our friends in Oz, presents and lots of wine. Sparkling red wine in fact, unfortunately Moira was wearing a white lace top and this was an accident begging to happen. It did, when I uncorked the bottle it sprayed everywhere and guess who was closest....

Still the rest of the day went very well. Turkey and all the trimmings for everyone, we supplied huge prawns (Australian starter at least) and they went down well, except for the singular person who would not touch something that looked like an animal. Every party has one. Anyway we drank and didn't disgrace ourselves too badly.

NYE, Moira was working so I said I would meet her after work. I had some tasks, cooking a huge pot of chilli for the evening and getting her Birthday presents sorted. I also found out the my Brothers ex-wife's sister (janyll) was in Melbourne and thought it would be a nice thing to say hi and catch up. The last time we met was my stag night when we bumped into them in Blackpool.

Met Moira, the plan is to meet Janyll in her hotel and have cocktails during happy hour (6-7pm). Then see the 9:15 fireworks then home for Chilli and wine on the balcony. Civilised!

We had a drink and made our way to the hotel. There we had a couple of cocktails each and Jan mentioned that she and her boyfriend were meeting Crystal, the daughter of the family I stayed with briefly when I was last here. We agreed to accompany them and meet her, then go to the fireworks and then home.

At the pub we had to pay to enter ($20) but in fairness we were given a free drink and a Rubik's cube keyring. Fair deal. Then things got out of hand. Jegermiester! Beers with shots in round after round. We saw the fireworks at 9:15 but didn't leave to go home afterwards....Oh NO!! More beers and a hell of a lot more shots and we found ourselves dancing in the pub. Even Moira was dancing.... Drunk and Drunker.

We left sometime in the morning, after midnight, tanked up. Along with 500,000 others we tried to get a tram home. Complete chaos. We were together for about three seconds before becoming separated in the throng of people. Good that we had our phones with us. I got a tram and so did Moira, I got it into my head that everyone on the tram should sing happy birthday to Moira over the phone (I know it wasn't her birthday but they didnt') and, to the credit of the Melbournians, alot of people joined in.

The next day we stayed in the flat! Only ventured out to get some nibbles. Our fizzy is still in the fridge, the chilli was cold (didn't stop Moira from eating it when drunk though). Head was ringing all day. So bad that couldn't face a beer till nearly three in the afternoon. I am getting too old for this s**t.

In my pocket is a scrap of paper signed by several people who were on the tram, each of them wishes Moira a very happy birthday!

Still, it is the new year and we do hope that everyone has a special year. Grab hold of every opportunity and you never know where they can take you. If they do take you half way round the world then please, please look us up!

All the best for 2009

Our love
Peter & Moira