This will be a happier update than last time, you have my word on it /:o)

So, let me see, what have I got to tell you about this time? Well, I bet you didn’t know that we have left England over a year ago now? We flew from Heathrow on 17th November, so it’s been over twelve months now since I last set foot in a M&S (although I found a £25 voucher last week – do you think this would be enough to justify Paul letting me return for a week or so? Nah! Me neither!). Sam got very excited last month when he found a fiver in a pair of trousers. He wanted to take it to the bank to exchange it, but didn’t understand that it wouldn’t be viable. We could start our own little bureau de change I think with all the various coinage we have collected from different countries over the years – most of it ends up in the kid’s money boxes and they think they’re rich. It’s been a busy year and not one without its challenges, but onwards we shall strive.

People are starting to put their Xmas decorations up already. Imagine a huge illuminated Santa hanging off a palm tree and you will get a picture of the weirdness of Christmas in the summer! . There’s a house round to corner from us that’s got a huge Santa in an inflatable snow-dome. It’s got it’s own pump to inflate it and is lit up inside. It’s huge – must be about 4 foot tall. Very swish though – might invest in one for the balcony……. Dream on love!

We had the best day ever yesterday, when we all took a trip into Perth to watch the Red Bull Air Race http://redbullairrace.com

. We headed off quite early (well, for us, anyway!) and drove part way into Perth, where we parked the car and got the bus right into the centre of the action! It was the BEST day! The atmosphere was fantastic! They had video walls and big PA systems all over the place, so as they raced, you got commentary and atmospheric music; it was excellent! Before each pilot was allowed to compete, the following message came over the tannoy ‘you are clear to enter the box. Smoke on’ At which point the pilot turned on the smoke canister on the plane and he commenced the course. We had an excellent view, sat on the bank of the Swan River. The sun was shining, the music was fab and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

Those magnificent men in their flying machines.

We did chuckle when they mentioned what a complete wash out the UK leg had been in Longleat as we sat with our ice cream, applying more sun cream than you could shake a stick at (on a side note; what a completely stupid expression that is! If anyone knows how it originates, please let me know. Thank you!).

The kids lap up the sunshine.

After the competition, Paul and Sam wanted to dash off, but it was such a lovely day and still early, so I made them wait to see what would be coming up next. Well, we were very glad we waited as there was a great display from a ‘smokey chopper’; a very small, agile helicopper (as Adam calls them) that flew really fast – backwards! It was amazing to watch. They even had a Qantas jet fly up the Swan with it’s flaps up and the landing gear down. It did a circuit one way, then turned and headed back to the airport, not before pulling an incredibly quick, steep ascent. Don’t get to see that every day! Then, the absolute best bit was a display by the Australian Air Force with their F18’s. Four did a display and pulled off some great formations, then one F18 came back and flew very fast, very low and the noise was fantastic! At the end of this flight (after we were all deaf), the pilot just flew it completely vertical for TWO MILES into the sky, letting off anti-aircraft flares as it went – just incredible (although the kids probably enjoyed the ride on the bus more!).

Not a sight you see every day!

I can't believe how cloudy it looks in the pictures - it was a scorcher!

The house has taken a turn for the better and the second slab was poured today. We now have stairs! They effectively build a large tea tray over the first floor and fill it with concrete; the stairs are also concrete and poured at the same time. I’ll post a few pictures, so hopefully you’ll get the picture. We also have scaffolding now too, so the house looks bigger. We will have to get a lift thingy soon to transport all the bricks up to the second level. Hopefully as the weather’s taking a turn for the better, it won’t be too long before the concrete has dried out enough to let the brickies start on the next layer. I bet the builders will want their next instalment before Xmas, so they’d better get a wiggle on!

The shopping centre is also due to open the first week in December. They’ve got all the dry goods in Woolies at the moment and the other franchises are all moving in ready for opening day.

Ummmm..... shopping.....

I must admit, it will make a nice change not to have to drive to the equivalent of Stevenage to do the grocery shop.

Speaking of the house, we also put a deposit down on a pool this weekend. We’ve gone for a fibre glass one in the end. Concrete is more expensive, is designed for awkward spaces and is rougher on the feet. As we have quite a large block, we can fit a ‘run of the mill’ size and shape on in quite easily. We’ve gone for a ‘Flamingo’. What do you reckon?
www.sapphirepools.com.au/content/fibreglasspools/index.php

First floor slab is now added.

We have concrete stairs!

The kids are doing well with their swimming lessons during school time, although the novelty of traipsing off to the local pool on a coach every day is wearing a bit think now and they are both knackered (although they are able to watch videos on the coach during the journey, so that cheers them up no end). Their swimming has come on in leaps and bounds though. Darcie no longer has to lie to the pool attendant on duty on the water slide and whizzes down it like a looney! (when we first went, she had to lie and pretend to be 6!). She does handstands and rolls in the water now and is a regular little mermaid. Sam is doing well and is hoping to pass level 4 (THE hardest level to get through apparently!). There are a few Xmas activities being organised and Darcie has a school trip on the 6th December to the …….. wait for it…….. fish and chip restaurant in Fremantle!! Ha ha ha! They do have tanks with marine fish in the restaurant and the kids will have a talk from a marine biologist before tucking in to a nice piece of fried Nemo. Only in Oz, eh? I think they are having a special assembly when they’ll be performing all their strange Christmas songs, but I don’t know when this will be. Darcie hasn’t fully forgiven me yet for forgetting that last Friday was ‘free dress day’ to raise money for the children’s chosen cause. They could take a dollar in and wear their pyjamas, have ‘crazy hair’ or just come in their own clothes; only I forgot all about it and Sam and Darcie were in their uniform like geeks! Oh dear! Good job Darcie forgot to brush her hair that morning; she looked like she was participating, but had a very frugal mother!

Darcie’s got a date to visit Year One next week. They can take some money and buy their own snack for recess, so that’s exciting for them all (Darcie likes the giant cookies – they’re as big as her head and last two days (o: ). Because it’s such a large school, they don’t allocate class teachers until two days before the kids go back; there are lists then taped to the library door. All the kids are mixed up every year, so they have to make new friends. Hard in one way if they are shy or have a really good mate as there is no guarantee that they will be together the following year. This is fine for Sam as he just gets a new group of people to irritate next year (o: I think Year 4 will have four classes and Year 1 will probably have three or four too. It’ll be a shame if Darcie is not with Amy and Sam is moved away from Chad, but they’ll see each other at break times and at least by the time they’re in year 7, they’ll know everyone!

Oh, and WA are getting daylight saving. Seeing as we are the only State who don’t alter the clocks, it does makes sense. We are getting a bit cheesed off with people over East calling us at 6am in the morning as their clocks have changed and they are now three hours in front of us. The 3rd December is D day, I think.

I’ve done some more Xmas shopping and put more stuff on layby; which is great, as long as you remember which shopping centre you were in, which shop, what you have actually bought (so you don’t end up buying the same bloody thing again!), and when and how much you have to pay for it. At least they store it until Xmas Eve, although I have already been warned that the queues are a bit mad if you leave it to the last minute to collect it all. I wonder if I paid them another $10 they’d wrap it for me too? Worth a try. Still doesn’t feel very ‘christmassy’. I don’t know if you ever get used to a hot Xmas. Time will tell I suppose…… well, four and a bit weeks!!!

Summer's here!!! Thumbs up!

:o(


We went to see the Consultant today and he said that they removed a large benign tumour from behind Paul’s nose (which is good news - sort of). Good news in that it was benign (that’s the good one!), but bad news in that it was (a) there in the first place, (b) quite big and (c) Paul will need further surgery to remove part of his sinuses that have been affected by the polyps.

The Consultant went on to use words that would have scored well over 150 in a game of scrabble, and left Paul and I looking at each other in bewilderment, but the upshot is that Paul will need another operation – sooner rather than later – at a specialist teaching hospital in Fremantle.

At least Freo is closer to us than Perth and ….. well, the tumour was benign (they are the positives!). The operation sounds a lot more invasive than the one he’s already had – it involves cutting round the profile of his nose, right down to his lip and effectively (as the Consultant described it) peeling his face back to reveal the affected area to allow them to treat the problem. It’s not supposed to leave too much of a scar – especially with the skill in reconstructive surgery and stitches that fade to a barely visible line, but is by far more intensive surgery than he suffered last week.

It took the wind out of our sails a little this morning. We were expecting a ‘…looks fine, take these tablets, call me in the morning’ type consultation – not ‘ah, yes, yours was quite an unusual case….. you’ll need another procedure sooner rather than later’. The Consultant was quite alarmed that it had taken so long to get Paul to surgery (ahem…. YOU cancelled the operation once, Sir!), but fully expected the next op to be scheduled a lot sooner than 9 months. Mum? Can you stay a bit longer? Maybe? Please?

Off for a lie down in a darkened room now. We’re off out later for a walk round Secret Harbour to see if we can find the dog that Paul’s kicked - to apologise.

The Hallow'een Hooter!

Well, first things first and I apologise for posting a year-on update rather than about Paul’s health – so here goes…..The operation took place last Tuesday (Halloween) and I don’t think I can remember seeing Paul that nervous! He was really worried about it. We all went to the hospital with him (and made him more stressed than he was about the op! At least the kid’s behaviour took his mind off the worry and he was just glad to see the back of us, I think! Although I don’t know why he was getting upset at Adam trying to strangle the anaesthetist with a stethoscope (only joking! – I’d already nobbled him with a ‘drugged’ jelly baby!). We left the hospital about 8am and Paul was due down to surgery at 9 – he was the first on the list. I took the kids to Hungry Jacks for brekkie and said they could have the day off school as long as they were quiet whilst I looked after the phones and tried not to ruin us (business-wise) whilst Paul was incapacitated. They spent the day lounging around, winding each other up and colouring things in for Halloween. They were pretty good on the whole! I promised them pizza for dinner, so we whizzed to Dominos and then waited for the trick or treaters…..

Good grief! It certainly wasn’t like WGC. The kids came in bright sunlight and were dressed in the strangest of costumes – mostly nothing to do with witches, devils or suchlike. My personal favourite was two girls wearing hula skirts and bikini tops??? No – I’ve no idea either! The kids were happy though and dished out the lollies before admitting defeat at 7.30. They’d been awake since 5.15am, so they did well.

Scary, aren't they?

Isn't it sad that we can only afford one sandal between the three of them!

Anyhow – back to Paul…… Can’t stay on topic, can I? I phoned the hospital at 12 noon and he was back on the ward. Drowsy, but OK. Then the man himself phoned me at 4pm and sounded like he was speaking to me from the inside of a wheelie bin. His oxygen levels kept dropping, so he had to spend the night in an oxygen mask, hence sounding like he was speaking to me through a bucket. We spoke again in the evening and he sounded OK. Then on Wednesday morning, he phoned to say they were releasing him at 9.30am! I dropped the kids off at school and whizzed up the freeway, only to have him phone me to say they’d delayed it to 12.30 – oh, what a shame – I’ll have to go shopping!

He did the ‘man’ thing – telling everyone who would listen that he was fine and OK to go home; ‘no, the pain’s fine!’ – and then was in agony for the next 24 hours! I picked up his prescription the following day and even the pharmacist warned me that they were ‘very strong’ pain killers. Well, that was it; he was comatose for the next day and a half. I don’t think it was a bad thing though and it made his rest and sleep to repair the damage. He’s got a check up with the Consultant tomorrow, so we’ll find out them what exactly he extracted from Paul’s nose. The amazing thing is, there has been absolutely NO bruising whatsoever. I’d braced myself for the worst – too much reality TV where they have nose jobs and look as though they’ve been punched in the face by Mike Tyson! The Consultant did do a ward round after his op, but of course, Paul was in no state to question him over how the procedure went, so it will be interesting to hear tomorrow what he did and what was achieved! He’s been in quite a lot of pain, but can actually breathe out of his left nostril now whereas he couldn’t get any air through the left one at all before. I shall update you when I hear the news…. (unless of course I forget, but have something more important like a new pair of shoes I bought (o: )

Apart from that stress, the kids are now practising their Christmas songs etc for the end of term. I had to let you have the words for Sam’s song; it’s so sweet!

Christmas where the gum trees grow.

Chorus
Christmas where the gum trees grow
There is no frost and there is no snow
Christmas in Australia’s hot
Cold and frosty’s what it’s not
When the bloom of the Jacaranda tree is here
Christmas time is near

Verse 1
From England came our Christmas fare
They even said what Santa should wear
But here down under for summer’s cool
Santa should dip in a swimming pool

Verse 2
Santa rides in a sleigh on snow
But down here where the gum trees grow
Santa should wear some water skis
And glide around Australia with ease

Verse 3
To ride around the bush where it’s dry
To cart all the presents piled so high
A red nosed reindeer would never do –
Santa should jump on a kangaroo!

Next week they start school swimming. I think they are more excited about the thought of going on the coach there and back – rush to sit on the back seat….! They’ll be even more grouchy and knackered than usual – oh, can’t wait for that one! We’ve also got the Red Bull Air Race coming up soon the weekend after next. I think it’s the last race in the series and best of all….. it’s free! None of this going into a draw for tickets and then having to pay a fortune to park, we can just turn up with a picnic, sit on the banks of the Swan River and watch the excitement! Paul says he’s got me a job as a co-pilot with the German pilot. I said as long as I get an ‘appearance fee/vomit fee’ and it goes towards our turn over, I’d give it a go!

Three weeks tomorrow and Mum’s due to take to the air. It’s all very exciting and I’ve still managed to keep it a surprise from the kids! Don’t know quite how I’ve managed – we’ve had a few hiccups, but I don’t think they suspect. The kid’s then break up for Christmas on 7th December and we’ve got a few things organised for the hols.

Mum – by the way, I’ve booked the Kylie tickets, so either you’re on babysitting duty for Mr Cheese, or you can keep your earplugs from the plane and come with us!

I’ll post an update on the house. They haven’t done a great deal more. The T bars have held them up unfortunately! We now have bricks over the balcony and the alf(resco), so it’s starting to look quite, well, housey! It’s looking quite large now and our neighbours are commenting even more on our fantastic views and how they’re going to lose theirs – ;o)

The crane placing our balcony girder in position

Bob does some welding on site - shame Dad couldn't have inspected his work!

Will try and add a quick update on Paul’s hooter when I can. Oh and you will be disgusted to know that we had to bring the air conditioning units out of retirement today. How can you go from being freezing one month, to sweating your bits off the next? Amazing! Hope you all enjoyed the fireworks and if anyone went to Burnham Green – bah humbug, I’m not jealous!

View from the front door - the pillar will hold the balcony up. That's the golf course to the front.

Coming together, isn't it?

Well, do you know that this time last year, we were holding our leaving party at the Clock? As usual, we’ve packed a hell of a lot into twelve months and we’re exhausted for it! It only seems like yesterday in some ways that we were in WGC, walking round John Lewis and enjoying the delights of the town centre – yet in other ways, it seems an age since we last saw family and friends. So, on the whole, what are our reflections?

Firstly, the month before we left England was hell on earth! It was a complete nightmare of trying to sort out six month’s worth of packing, selling, winding down the business and goodbyes into the space of less than four weeks! Hand on heart though, I don’t honestly know if it would have been any easier if we had more time to do it – it may just have prolonged the agony and made the goodbyes even longer and harder…. It’s just a shame that some relationships suffered even before we had made the move. There just weren’t enough hours in the day to fit everything in!

The kids have been stars! They have settled better than I ever could have hoped. They have jumped feet first into the Aussie way of life and seem to be really enjoying it! I know that academically, they are way behind the UK (Darcie for instance would be reading by now, whereas she hasn’t as much as been given a ‘reading’ book yet and is still ‘playing’ really in class). Sam too would be completing much more difficult work at Templewood and has struggled a little to go backwards (i.e back to using pencil and not being allowed to do joined up writing until at least Year 4 when he can try for his ‘pen licence’!). However, his confidence in other things has grown enormously. He has performed in an assembly in front of 300+ children, competed in the Sports Carnival and numerous other activities that he wouldn’t have got to attempt in the UK – all of which he has tried without fear and given them all a bloody good go. I’m very proud of both of them and the way they have coped with it all. Obviously, Mr Cheese has just bumbled about in his usual two year old fashion, but he is a happy little chappy who enjoys the weather, going on the boat and looking for ‘dolchins’. I do appreciate that had we still been in WGC, he probably would have been starting pre-nursery in January, and that galls me a little as he is more than ready for ‘something more’, but over here the system is different and they won’t even think about enrolling him in Kindy for at least another 12 months! I think he’ll have taught himself to read in that time if it means he can be more like his older siblings. He can already put on a video and operate the DVD player, so how hard can a bit of phonetics be?

When I look back at the blog, it makes me realise just what we have achieved in twelve months. Set up home in a ‘foreign’ country. Acquired all the ‘essentials’ without readily knowing where to go to obtain all these things (more difficult than you would imagine!). Started a business from scratch that is starting to look quite promising (o: Signed to have our house built and all the associated stress and bureaucracy that accompanies it! Bought a boat and had a year’s enjoyment from it without killing ourselves or drowning! Managed to avoid any creepy crawlies or snakes. Visited some beautiful places, many of them less than an hours drive from our house. Realised a dream to move to another country – lock, stock and barrel and made some good friends along the way!

The other day on the way to the hairdressers, I passed some people on the foreshore feeding pelicans. Just casually – like we would feed the ducks at Stanborough. Its things like this that we are already starting to take for granted! WA is beautiful. It’s a stunning place to live and only today as I was walking Darcie to school, I realised how lucky we are to be living a stones throw from the Indian Ocean on a golf course estate surrounded by such beautiful scenery. I know the kids don’t often appreciate it, but small things (like a stick insect landing on Darcie’s leg this morning as she walked into school – or a flock of colourful parakeets flying over the house, making more noise that a team of motorbike riders – or going to the park in Mandurah and seeing wild dolphins swim casually up to swimmers), do make an impression with them and cause the odd comment.

It’s not actually been as bad as I thought it would. The homesickness and missing friends, I mean. I really thought I would suffer badly and miss Mum terribly, but with the wonder of the 3p phone call and Mum’s Red Cross parcels, we still talk every day and manage to keep up with all the goings on on both sides of the globe. In fact Paul has found it harder than me, which I certainly wouldn’t have expected! I have also managed to withdraw from Eastenders! It is on UKTV here, but it’s so far behind I think Dirty Den’s only just died (for the first time 8-) Although I do find myself watching ‘Engie Bengy’ with Adam just to hear Ant and Dec’s dulcet tones! We get pretty much the same crap telly programs as you – mainly American imports between the hours of 7pm – 11pm, but we are starting to familiarise ourselves with the Aussie personalities and the equivalents to Eamonn and Fiona. We get ‘Deal or No Deal’, but without Noel (not necessarily a bad thing!).

As Paul says, the line between the UK and Oz is starting to blur a little now and sometimes memories overlap and you can’t remember how certain things were done in the UK (because we’re used to the Aussie way!). Things like being able to buy wine in the supermarket. A postman that used to walk on his round (rather than a kamikaze idiot on a scooter who REFUSES to get off his bike and drives over things instead!) and having a postbox at the corner of most streets – oh, and a letterbox in your door, rather than one at the end of your drive! Seeing kids on their bikes, riding to the beach with a surfboard attached to the back. Seeing teenage boys in wetsuits on skateboards carrying their boards to the beach! Being able to pay all your bills over the internet with Bpay and not actually receiving a paper bill – just an email when you have a new invoice to pay. Mobile speed cameras everywhere, with articles in the paper the day before telling everyone where they are going to be situated (they even announce them on the TV!). Double ‘de-merit’ points on all speeding fines over a public holiday weekend. Fines for travelling as little as 2kms over the limit! The price of petrol changing depending on the day of the week (always dearer on a Friday as people may want to fill up before going away for the weekend – always dearer before a public holiday weekend too :o( Free BBQ’s everywhere in the parks for all to use. Banks that charge for EVERYTHING! Getting asked ‘cheque, savings or credit’ when you go to pay using a bank card (and not having a clue in the beginning which one to pick!). Pet shops that still sell puppies. Being able to have a hermit crab as a pet (yeuch! – they are like spiders with a mortgage!). Oh and if I ever hear you moan about junk mail, I will post you a weeks worth of ours! We get four weekly free papers, and enough junk mail flyers every week to wallpaper a small downstairs loo!

I’m still getting email reminders from Ocado to place my on-line shopping order; Grant Shapps (local MP) has me on his mailing list from when I signed a petition (once!) and I get emails with special offers from Butlins and Center Parcs! In fact, I’ve had more emails from Grant Shapps than some of you lot!

Silly things we miss – like a Sunday morning stroll into town with the kids on their bikes, a quick coffee in Costas and then home again (yeah, right – how many times did we do that exactly??) I also confess to missing the shops. The fact that I know if I want decent quality stuff I can go to John Lewis or M&S, but if I want cheapy, I’ve always got Poundstretcher or Primark. There just doesn’t seem to be the choice over here. Supermarkets are dire! The aisles are too tall and too close together and they play crap early 80’s music whilst you are shopping, so that I’m distracted from the groceries and the trip turns into a game of ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’ trying to guess all the obscure music. (God, today, I took the kids to a Castaway Kids-type place and they were playing ‘Seven Tears’ – do you remember that song? How naff???)

Strange as it may seem, I would still like to be standing round the bonfire in Burnham Green next Saturday getting smoke in my eyes and dodging the fireworks! They don’t do firework night here – makes sense really given what it’s all about (in fact it’s illegal to purchase fireworks for home use anyhow). Halloween was strange too as we got trick or treaters calling in glorious sunshine wearing hula skirts and bikini tops – I think it’s only scary for the Dads who realise that’s what their daughter will be like in 8 years time (more terrifying than someone dressed as a devil, I think you’ll agree!) I still made Paul get a Pumpkin although it was the equivalent of £10, so he wasn’t chuffed!

So what else is different about life down under? I think we enjoy our weekends more and get out and do stuff together more as a family. Even if it’s only a trip to the beach, or the park, at least the weather’s usually nice and you can plan stuff without everything being called off at the last minute. We’ve socialised more – OK, maybe out of necessity in the beginning to get to know people and stuff. That in itself can be hard – sometimes you don’t feel like making an effort to get to know people and make friends, and it’s hard that no-one knows you or your family, so can’t sympathise or take the piss out of you (you have to get to know someone well before you can take the piss and that’s my sense of humour – OK, I know it’s childish!!) It’s still a huge emotional rollercoaster, but then life is I suppose. We all have ups and downs and the trouble is we don’t actually appreciate the here and now while we are in it and living it – we always seemed happier when we were younger / when we were thinner / before we had kids and had money! Trouble is, when we are in that position, we don’t appreciate the simple things and we always strive for more. I am making a promise to myself to try and be happy for NOW, with what we’ve got and count our blessings, because, god knows with all the stress we’ve been through in the last twelve months, I think we’ve done alright! We’re in a good place. We’re happy (relatively healthy (o-: ) and we’re all still together. Can’t be bad!