Of course these past few weeks have seen all sorts of disasters, bush fires out of control and hundreds of thousands of hectares of bushland burnt out, habitat lost for so many native animals and fires heading dangerously close to our coastal towns on the south coast where they will eventually run out of fuel but at what cost who can tell. The smoke may be causing strife for some people in Sydney but just imagine what it’s like for those poor people left to defend their properties with a mere garden hose and a 40 foot wall of fire ahead of them…. 

In the middle of the chaos of the bush fires my cousin’s son Ed and his girlfriend Lily arrived from the UK after travelling down from Cairns in a motor home experiencing firsthand all that Australia in the summer can offer. They had a few changes of plans due to the fires but they loved their adventure nonetheless. They arrived down in The Meadow together with the Westerly winds and the flies but never complained and they enjoyed having a few days hanging out with Bailey and checking out some of the local sights. They were a lovely young couple and great company and we waved them off to New Zealand and the last stage of their trip with an invitation to return anytime!

The next arrival back on home soil was the prodigal son returning home after 16 months living in London. It hasn’t been the blue skies and sunshine he’d been dreaming of but it was home and he’s had a lovely time reuniting with his mates and catching up on all the news. As this is the only time he is back before Sam’s wedding it was a perfect time to arrange Sam’s Bucks and 30 guys enjoyed a special afternoon on Sydney Harbour and partied into the early hours of the morning. This was taken before things got too silly…

So this week brings my little family back together with the addition this Christmas of our two littlest members which will put a new and delightful spin on it all. They are a bit too small this year to enjoy it all and I’m sure the wrapping paper will be as good if not better than the contents of their gifts but it brings a bit of magic back to the Xmas festivities and I for one cannot wait to read them all the Christmas stories and go to Christmas Carols in the park and generally immerse myself in it all!! So from our house to yours we wish you all a safe and happy Christmas with your special people and if it happens to rain you fill find us all screaming and shouting and dancing with joy as it would be the best gift for most of Australia this Christmas! Fingers crossed xx

Mother Nature has packed her bag and gone on holiday leaving her wicked stepsister in charge of Australia. There are no two days in a row that are the same. Hot and windy one day and cold and windy the next. We haven’t had a blue sky in weeks either because of clouds, smoke haze or dust storms. The lawn is dying and the trees in our lane are dropping their leaves a mere few weeks after getting them! The cows spend all day eating the parched grass but their exposed ribs tell another story. We are watering our flowers (too many dollars invested in them not to) but water restrictions are here so we can only use a hand held hose which is fun with 2 acres! All this and we live on the coast, usually rich grazing land for dairy cows and as green as the Welsh hills. Go another hour inland and the picture is tenfold worse. Just dust. My friend Michael travels with a TV station all around Australia and he took these photos of properties seen a few years apart. Heartbreaking….

The fires are still raging in some parts of Australia and there are SO MANY people in need. There are loads of worthy charities doing great work and all in dire need of our dollars. The bush fire appeal, hospitals for fire affected animals, farmers needing feed and water for their cattle and for themselves and then there are the women and children in domestic violence shelters, the homeless, underprivileged and sick kids. So many people in need it’s quite overwhelming.

There is a family I know that is doing it especially tough. Their 11 year old daughter London was putting their chooks away when she was bitten by a tiger snake last week. As they live on a remote property in the Byron hinterland it took over an hour to a) get a phone signal to call an ambulance and b) for the ambulance to get there and administer the antivenom. A helicopter ride to the hospital which is 2.5 hours away by car and she is now in ICU heavily sedated while her little body fights the toxin. She can’t breathe, talk, swallow or eat, she is on dialysis and may need a kidney transplant and her heart is pumping so fast she’s in danger of having a heart attack. London is one of 5 small children and her Mum is currently staying at Ronald McDonald house next to the hospital to help the 24 hour nursing team and to be there when her daughter wakes up. It is just 3 weeks until Xmas. You can just imagine what she is going through. London will be in ICU for at least 2 months but all hope is that she will be well enough to start high school next year if things go well. There are so many financial pressures as well as emotional ones so if anyone would like to help there is a go fund me page set up for the family…

https://www.gofundme.com/f/tiger-snake-bite-victim-nsw-11-year-old-girl?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

In other news Le Rod has left the building!! He was rather unceremoniously bundled into this cage by the MOTH while he was busy eating and has been whisked away to Ulladulla about an hour south of here where he will father some more baby chicks and hopefully behave more gently towards his new owner. I must say the hen house is a much more tranquil place since he’s gone and our rapidly growing chicks have finally been able to roam free in peace. Not to say that the older hens have exactly welcomed them with open arms (they still let the little ones know who’s the boss) but they are loving their new found freedom and have developed quite a little gang. Trunchbull has resumed her dominant hen status and is the first to run at them or keep them away from the food and we have had to separate her from them a couple of times so they can eat and drink in peace. The littlies haven’t quite plucked up enough courage to roost with the big ones yet and remain in a huddle on the straw floor of the coop at night but surely they will get brave soon? We had them sexed on Friday and are very relieved that there are only 5 roosters out of the 15 chicks, one of which we are keeping (Atticus) and another is being taken by our lovely neighbour Katherine so only three to “rehouse” at this stage thank goodness!

We had a lovely gathering of the clan a couple of weekends ago when my Swiss sister-in-law and her sons and partners all came to stay. Sam, Liv and Coops were also there so the Swiss family got to meet our happy, smiley little boy in the flesh! He took all the extra faces on board with no problems and still went to sleep on time despite the noise level in the dining room being something akin to a U2 concert ! The next day they made a delicious cheese fondue with cheese brought all the way from Switzerland and enjoyed by us all, thanks to my brother-in-law Michel for the thought. You would have thought we hadn’t eaten for a month if you saw us scraping the last little drop of deliciousness from that pot!!!

Cooper had his first swim in the pool which he LOVED! It’s going to be a godsend at Christmas if it’s warm. Much easier for the babies than the ocean and no travelling to and fro either. We stoked up the pizza oven that night and Cooper was very curious to check out the oven with Pa, it felt good to be using all our summer toys again. Young Coops has started moving around the house in a mixture of commando crawling and flipping and twisting rather like a human slinky and he can get from A to B really quite fast so we are going to have to keep an eye on our little boy from now on as he has already discovered the plugs and TV wires and just wait until the Christmas tree goes up….eeeek!

So at a time when we would generally be feeling summery and excited for the season ahead we are all quite on edge. Only a few days into the start of summer and things are very dodgy for lots of people so let’s really look around and appreciate all that we have, for you can bet your bottom dollar there are so many people far worse off. Never forget how quickly your life can change for whatever reason.

What a week it’s been in this huge brown land of ours. Amongst much conversation and blaming of politicians as to whose “fault” it is, Australia has had a few weeks from hell with a very early start to the bush fire season. Having been in drought for up to 7 years in some places it is a tinderbox out there with loads of fuel everywhere you look. Combine high temperatures with strong swirling winds and we had a recipe for disaster on our hands. Disaster is what it was for a lot of people who lost their houses, farms, animals and livelihoods. Some even lost their lives. Disaster for the hundreds of thousands of wild animals who either died or lost their habitat, they have been seen in droves wandering aimlessly, burnt, hungry and thirsty, bewildered and lost. Disaster for those people who lived in the middle of nowhere for various reasons and couldn’t afford the insurance and have lost what little they had. Disaster for those volunteer firies out battling blazes while their own homes burned to the ground. To put things into perspective when the Brazilian Amazon rainforest went up in flames recently it burnt 125,000 hectares but Australia has so far lost 970,000 hectares and counting. Unimaginable.

This is only the beginning of what could be a very long hot summer. Water restrictions are back on December 1st as there is very little rain forecast over the next few months and we need to be aware of our water consumption more than ever. Sensibly all new buildings are now required to have either above or underground water tanks which can be used to water gardens and many people recycle their grey water onto veggies and lawns. It is good to see that lots and lots of Aussies have put their money where their mouth is and donated to one of the many charities helping people who have lost everything or animals who have been injured and also to our farmers and people of the outback who have been doing it tough for a very long time now. It’s all rather sad and grim and Christmas with all its shiny decorations and million dollar gift industry seems a little trite right now. I love Christmas as much if not more than most but I feel almost guilty buying what seems like trinkets when so many need so much.

I wake up early nowadays. The mornings are always such a productive time, before things get warm or windy or both. There are the new chicks to be let out for a stretch after a night snuggled together in their ‘dormitory’ separated from Le Rod and his harem by a flimsy wire mesh. This is for their protection and for the big chickens to get used to the littlies. Le Rod has been advertised locally but so far no one has fallen for his manly attributes and he remains at The Meadow to annoy the MOTH. We don’t feel it’s safe to let the little chicks into the yard with him at this stage so we are at a hiatus. There is also the daily watering to be done and the endless weeding of course together with new garden beds to be planted, fed and tended.

The cubby house has been revamped by our man in the field Smutzer who completed the new ramp while we were in Vietnam. It looks wonderful and I know it will probably outlive our new little family members, lasting for many years to come. The babies are still too small to get much out of the cubby (I have MANY ideas for the future involving a kitchen, library and lounge complete with a rug all within a space 2 metre square!!!!) but I’m pretty sure they will enjoy the sandpit and the swing in the next few months.

We made a new friend recently, Jason Hodges. He’s best known as the resident gardener on the TV program Better Homes and Gardens and has moved to Berry where he has a fabulous little business ‘The Buxus Balls of Berry’ He has a great little patch of land on the outskirts of the village where he grows all sorts of wondrous things and the locals have embraced him as he is a very friendly chap and loves to have his morning coffee at Il Locale in the main street of Berry where he has got to know so many people. We mentioned we were interested in buying some buxus for some new pots I bought from yet another local for in front of our garage. He loaded up his beloved vintage Landrover and drove over with some different shapes and sizes for us to consider but in view of the sun and the wind that we get here we remained faithful to the original ball and now have two very healthy looking plants to enjoy seeing when we pull up into the garage. If anyone is after some perfect “balls” Jason is your man!!!

Since we’ve returned from Vietnam the bambinos have reached new milestones, got more teeth, tried new foods and generally time has NOT stood still. Myla went along to an introductory day at gymbaroo and was fascinated by all the people and the noise but mostly by the other babies faces!! So much for the musical instruments that the others were all clamouring for, Miss Myla was all about being a bit hands on and making friends!! The two sets of parents have enjoyed some grown up time at various weddings and the youngest man child has started a new job in London Town a mere month before arriving in Oz for his long planned for trip home to see his friends and meet his new little nephew and niece. Happy Days all round.

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We are looking forward to a couple of months of visitors over the festive period, starting this week with the arrival of my sister in law from Switzerland who will finally get to meet her great nephew so there will be no shortage of kisses and cuddles for little Cooper this weekend! I can’t believe my whole family will all be back together in just 5 weeks time, it will be short and sweet and VERY noisy but it is the very best Xmas gift I could ask for.

One minute we were in The Meadow showing Cooper the new baby chicks and the next we were back in one of the busiest bustling cities of Asia – Ho Chi Minh. My two lives couldn’t be more different!! My whole week prior to flying had been consumed with the safe arrival of our chicks. I took it all very personally and it very nearly brought me undone. I knew in advance that some eggs wouldn’t hatch and that we may lose a couple but knowing it and seeing it are two different things. One chick was born with no lower feathers and its stomach on the outside so it was a target from the start. It would never have made it in the outside world and luckily passed away within hours. My 2nd little chick was a different kettle of fish….

We had moved all the little chicks to their brooding pen and presumed the rest of the eggs in the incubator weren’t viable until we heard cheeping. We thought a little chick must have hopped away in the move and was in the garage somewhere but the noise was coming from the incubator. From an egg. It had a smallish hole in it or as they say in chick talk the egg was ‘pipped’ but all we could see was a foot. The cheeping however was strong and persistent and we left the heat on so it could do it’s thing. Two hours later still loudly cheeping the situation hadn’t changed much, just a rounder hole so I called the chicken guru. He said that usually the chick hatches quickly and beak first meaning the egg membrane doesn’t dry out too quickly but if it does dry up it sticks to the chick making it hard for them to break out. He suggested dampening the egg with a warm damp cloth to help it soften and as the call was so loud he thought it appropriate to help break some of the shell off with some tweezers and give the little chick a chance. It had such a strong life force with its cheeping and I really really wanted to give it every chance so I was very happy when it eventually broke free even though there was quite a bit of shell attached to its feathers. It lay there recovering and I left it for an hour to dry out and fluff up. On my return however it was still lying there and going around in circles rather than standing up but still cheeping like crazy. We popped it into a little paper towel lined “nest” in a reel of tape to try and give it some sense of standing and we fed it some sugar water as it had been going for nearly 24 hours by now. We named him Thor for his spirit and I checked on him every 30 minutes but he just couldn’t stand up and he too wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes with the other chickens. I was devastated and felt so personally responsible for this little life. He passed away in the warmth of the incubator, still cheeping, albeit more feebly, right until the end. I was a mess. Ridiculous maybe but that’s me I’m afraid. I couldn’t eat chicken for over 2 weeks. Not sure I’m cut out for this country stuff sometimes.

Our wonderful house sitter Smutzer arrived for the handover and despite us loading him up with an extra 15 chicks to look after he happily waved us off and we were on our way to see our daughter and our other little grandbaby in Vietnam. We have been many times now but it is always a bit of a shock on that 1st cab ride from the airport. Vietnam is an assault to your senses similar to most Asian countries. Life is lived outdoors and late into the night you can see people of all ages eating and drinking at pavement cafes on those little red and blue plastic chairs so evocative of Vietnam. Over the next few days we enjoyed our reunion with the family and delighted in our cuddles with little Myla. She loves going swimming and Pa loved taking her. I was on reading and playing duty and the latest adventure of feeding her solids. So far she seems to like EVERYTHING! Things get pretty messy though…

Lauren had booked us all into a boutique hotel on the beach at Ho Tram for the weekend and it was lovely to drive out of the madness that is HCMC and pass through rice paddies being worked by the most ancient machinery (and most of the time by ancient people as well!) and smaller towns with lush gardens on our 2 hour drive south. We stopped off at a roadside cafe to feed Myla and have a cafe sua da, the delicious and addictive Vietnamese iced coffee. Like many other cafes it had a selection of hammocks in which to rest if the fancy took you. It does look so relaxing just swaying in the breeze under the shade of a tree and watching the world go by….

The resort was perfect for us with 2 different swimming pools, a beachside bar that served tables and freestanding cabanas on the sand, a perfect location to enjoy the amazing sunset. The traditional decor was so serene and a welcome change from the ubiquitous modern hotel room. After just a few hours we felt recharged as if we’d been there for days!

Our son in law topped off the day by streaming the Rugby World Cup on his laptop at the beach bar for the MOTH while Loz and I read on the beach with a pina colada and Miss Myla ripped out the zzzzzs back in the air conditioned comfort of the villa (thanks to the babysitting app which made this possible!)

Back to the big smoke and some lovely meals and cold beer with board games around the Cook family table, walks via the very local area to grab pho or to one of the many local restaurants catering to the expats of the area. We love them both in equal measure as there is SO MUCH to see and people watching is one of our very favourite things to do!

Looking around, you absorb all the snippets of information that are the reality around you and this is what becomes your overall impression of Vietnam…..Hot and humid, chaotic traffic but with no road rage and very few accidents, beautiful lush gardens next to empty blocks of rubble, mud and rats; people so friendly and relaxed that nothing is a drama; food markets set up on the smallest strip of pavement; cafe’s set up in people’s houses; businesses pop up and shut down every week as everyone has a stab at a new idea. Flooded streets, karaoke belting out alongside the sweet songs of caged birds that hang outside in the shade of a tree. Dogs, chickens and cats wander the streets; roosters in cages resting up for a big night ahead – sadly they still fight them here. Pot plants galore in every restaurant and shop, bikes laden with entire families or building supplies…even 2 metre long pipes or planks balancing precariously. Old women selling lottery tickets, shuffling along in their socks and sandals, their deeply wrinkled faces etched with their life experiences. Young girls in tight jeans and stilettos on motor bikes, their bahn mi or iced tea dangling from the handlebars in a plastic bag. Men swinging lazily in hammocks slung between the trees in the shade or somehow miraculously sleeping on top of their bikes. All this can be witnessed in one short walk from Lauren’s apartment. Life is poor yet rich in Vietnam.

All of a sudden it was time for Pa to leave and Myla just loved helping him pack. He put his belt in neatly coiled and she would pull it out! Each item held the utmost fascination to her and it took him rather longer than normal to get organised! Lozzy and I had an extra couple of days together which was super, enjoying a lovely last lunch in the garden of an Italian restaurant – 3 courses and 2 glasses of bubbles each for the princely sum of $50. Amazing value! I was leaving at 10.30pm on Halloween and hadn’t given any thought to it until Berry came home saying he had tickets to a private compound where the wealthy residents decorated their houses for all the kids to enjoy. He was working at a ‘house of horrors’ which had taken weeks to set up. His job was to scare people as they walked through the darkened corridors and he was exhausted by the time he got home with nearly 1000 people coming through! It seemed so strange to see all the little Vietnamese kids dressed up and embracing such a western event! You could hear them all chatting away animatedly in their language with a few “trick or treats”thrown into the conversation! Together with sandwich and weekend and okay these words are universal apparently! So after a lovely week with my girls I was back on a plane to The Meadow but this time it was made easier knowing that they will all be home with us for Christmas in just 6 weeks time!

Bye for now Myla Moo xxx

So back home to my little chicks who are now gangly teenagers and practising their flying and eating us out of house and home. They have been moved into the big chicken coop but in a wired off contained area where Le Rod cannot eat them for morning tea and they can all get a bit used to each other before we let them mingle. So far so good! The garden is bursting with life and flowers and birds and we are back to mowing every week. It is still a bit chilly for the pool but not for long….Summer is definitely on it’s way folks!

The garden is in full flourish and thanks to a couple of nice drops of rain we can actually get some of the weeds out now without too much trouble and as the temperature is still quite mild everything is getting some good new growth before the Aussie summer sun blasts them with its intensity. There is a horrible weed called common mallow that has overtaken the lawn and anywhere else it can lay down its runners. It runs underground for metres before poking its head out and flowering and then sending out more of the little buggers. It’s nearly impossible to kill and a full time job to pull them out manually so we are going to have to just do our best and not let it get under our skin so to speak or we will be crazed lunatics by the end of the growing season!

We are off to Vietnam to visit our favourite expats in a couple of weeks but there is a lot to do before handing over to our trusty friend and house sitter Smutzer. I promised him a nice easy stay where he can just potter about in the shed and read some books but now we have added 20 baby chicks to the mix and therefore another list of things for him to do. Luckily we won’t be introducing them to the rest of our flock until we come back so hopefully there won’t be any skirmishes at least! Who said that life would be boring in the country? Never been busier or happier and can’t wait until our grandbabies are big enough to appreciate it all too – I can just imagine them enjoying baby chicks in a few years time can’t you?

The weather here has been strange to say the least. We have had the odd day in the mid to high 20’s when thoughts turned to putting away the winter woollies and baring the legs once again but then the temperature plummeted and we got three very welcome inches of rain with snow falling on the high ground! Rather odd to see snow laden cherry blossoms! We have been able to make the most of the damp soil to pluck out a gazillion weeds and transplant flowers while the soil is receptive. Our lovely friends Wayne and Kathy came to stay bringing with them a gigantic bucket of clivea from their garden. She had read my comment in the last blog post and now just like magic I am the proud owner of flowers around my pear trees after all! We had a huge old clump of the creamy pale yellow clivea tucked out of sight next to our woodshed so I dug them out and planted them in between the others and hopefully they will thicken up in the next few months and provide some low maintenance colour in the garden. The few flowers that broke off are now adorning our table!

Luckily it was just before the weather took a turn for the worse that Berry hosted it’s inaugural Food and Wine Festival at the Showground and we as eager foodies had bought tickets to the long lunch held on the first day. We are always keen to support local endeavours and we have always enjoyed the paddock to plate philosophy that comes with these type of lunches, usually some strong local involvement with the food either as producers or suppliers. This one was slightly different with a local Huskisson restaurant successfully providing dishes from it’s usual menu to about 200 of us which is never an easy task! Although tasty it didn’t resonate the same way as our previous lunches had and we all agreed there is some tweaking to be done ahead of holding another festival as the queues were ginormous for everything. Once into the showground you could relax on a picnic blanket and watch the cooking demonstrations or spend up big time and enjoy all the food and wine on offer. I hope they learn from this first year and it comes back bigger and better in coming years. 4000 people came on the first day alone which just shows the high level of interest in food and wine for such a small country town.

The same weekend saw the occurrence of The Sydney Running Festival. This catered to serious runners with both a full and half marathon as well as a 10km run across the iconic Harbour Bridge and the addition of a very user friendly 3.5km family fun run/walk. All the entry money and donations go to various charities to do with health both physical and mental, and this year over $2 million dollars was raised. Sam, Liv and little Cooper took part in this to commemorate Liv’s young friend Anna who sadly died from Sarcoma two years ago and they chose to raise funds for the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse which does such an amazing job looking after sick people. Little Cooper just loved all the action, enjoying the ferry ride and being pushed by his Daddy over that big bridge his home town is famous for. It’s always lovely for a group of people to come together in such a positive way to show love and support for people suffering from loss.

Our little babies are growing fast! They are both now sporting two bottom teeth and sitting up (still at a rather jaunty angle it must be said!) I absolutely LOVE receiving photos and little video clips of them and it really helps reduce the disappointment of not living around the corner from them. Although nothing beats the real thing it is definitely heaps better than when I had my babies and I had to take a photo, get it developed and then post it to my Mum in the UK!!! Technology really has made the world smaller hasn’t it? Here are my two favourite tiny people …..

We may have some other very small additions to the family soon. We are currently incubating 27 chicken eggs in the hope that Le Rod has walked the walk and isn’t all show and no go. It is a pretty simple set up involving a polystyrene box with a heating element and a water tray which keeps everything at a toasty 101 degrees and about 60% humidity. We roll the eggs twice a day and tomorrow is the day that our Chook Man John comes to help us ‘candle’ them to see if we have any embryos. If the egg is fertile, then we should see a dark spot around the middle of the egg, with some spider-like veins beginning to form around it. If its not, we should just be able to see the shape of the yellow yolk inside the egg, without any signs of an embryo or veins. If we do have babies on the way we will then clear out our custom made baby chicken compartment complete with heating lamps that was already here when we bought the house and prepare for some fluffy little baby chicks! Of course knowing my luck they will probably hatch while the MOTH is away and I will be solely responsible for keeping them alive, yikes!

There is a phrase that has been popping into my head all week that I would like to share with you all. My friend and Pilates Instructor extraordinaire Leanne said this to us all when we were whinging about our aches and pains after a weekend of gardening. She said “don’t let the old man or lady in.” We all laughed but it really is so true. We can choose to claim middle age and let it stop us doing certain things or we can just get on with it and be grateful for still being able to have a go! That old adage ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’ applies equally to ourselves and being a bit silly (whizzing down the supermarket aisle on your trolley/splashing in puddles/jumping into a pile of leaves etc) helps keep that old lady out as much as moving your body and using your mind. Having grandbabies will keep us on our toes and help us still see the magic in the world and seeing things through their eyes will keep us full of childish wonder, we are definitely NOT letting the old lady in here thank you very much! (Apparently Clint Eastwood who turned 88 on the 1st day of filming his latest movie The Mule was asked how he keeps up his energy and enthusiasm and he said ‘I just get up every morning and go out. And I don’t let the old man in,’ and he inspired the song of the same name written by Toby Keith whose own Grandma never had a birth certificate and therefore never knew or acted her age!) Don’t let the numbers dictate who we are folks!!

So as we creep slowly towards summer we are looking forward to the change to lighter fresher food, walks in the great outdoors without battling 60km winds, getting out of our trackies and into our shorts and enjoying the longer days. Bring on daylight saving next week as I currently wake up as soon as the first light steals through my window usually accompanied by the throaty song of the magpies and in the background the unmistakable sound of Le Rod welcoming the new day in his own inimitable way. All this at 5.30am. Darker mornings and lighter evenings YES PLEASE!

We have a problem Houston. It is our rooster Le Rod. After weeks and weeks of thinking he was a weakling and unsure of his sexuality (and therefore his usefulness) he has become the most magnificent hormonally driven animal you could wish to encounter. He is huge. Emerald tail feathers glinting in the sun. He fluffs himself up to double his size and flaps his wings before he crows (yup that’s happening folks) and lets the whole world know he means business. He is mounting ALL the chickens, even the old black ones who had stopped laying before he arrived. Guess what? They are ALL laying now. He has created a harem extraordinaire and they are all under his spell. Crazy.

So what is the problem I hear you ask? Nothing as far as I am concerned. I was a doubter and a sceptic but am no longer, despite the fact that he is still a bit slow on the uptake of scraps he is fabulous on all other levels except one. He hates the MOTH. He that wanted a rooster so much is now the one saying “he may have to go”. Its a blokey thing. Rod knows he’s male and therefore he flares up and runs at him, attacking him at every opportunity and generally letting him know he is not welcome in Rod’s patch! A piece of rubber piping is always at hand when the MOTH opens and shuts the pen as he cannot trust Rod as far as he can throw him. I on the other hand have not a problem in the world with him. How the tables have turned!!

After being here nearly 5 years (can you believe it????) we needed to address the quality of our soil. As complete newbies we were pleasantly surprised at our early successes with our veggies. Literally everything grew well. We were told how lucky we were with our soil and although grateful we just kept on planting and harvesting year after year without really replenishing at all. I am trying to grow things as organically as possible which makes me very suspicious about all the fertilisers etc available and apart from adding some of the chook poo and the odd drenching of seasol we haven’t added anything. We have tried to increase the level of the soil most years by digging the top third out and adding organic sugar cane mulch to bulk out the soil with pockets of air for the veggie roots to expand into but that’s about it! I had intended planting a green manure crop over winter but we went away before I could plant it and we lost that window of opportunity. Therefore I had a recent trip to Bunnings and my entire car boot was filled with organic compost of many varieties to boost the happiness of our soil. We will keep you posted as to the outcome. I have tomatoes, zucchini. eggplant, beans, spinach, broccoli, beetroot, onions, broad beans, lettuce, blueberries, capsicum, asparagus and herbs planted and we are trying to plan our meals around what is available rather than by what we fancy!

I was looking forward to a garden full of Spring bulbs after meticulously planting over 200 of them back in the Autumn. I planted 40 around each pear tree in the driveway, another 20 or so in the side beds and about 10 under JC’s tree. I was pleased to see green shoots pushing skywards in several areas but became totally bemused when they ALL disappeared with the exception of my lovely Welsh brother-in-laws memorial where all the daffodils survived and flowered. A sign for sure! I am really disappointed that the other bulbs are a no show and apparently it is quite common that they can be eaten underground by rodents and of course we have an extremely healthy population of rabbits and hares all around us that could account for the demise of the few bulbs that did emerge. What a thankless task and waste of money. I’ve tried twice now to no avail so that’s that for this little black duck. Not doing it again. Maybe I’ll try some clivea next? It would be so nice to get some winter colour in the garden.

Fathers Day weekend was made extra special by the arrival of Sam who chose to spend his first Fathers Day as a Dad with his own Dad! I still find it incredible that we have three generations in our immediate family and that Cooper and Myla are lucky enough to have 3 Great Grandparents still alive! I doubt we’ll be lucky enough to see our great grandkids (unless these littlies are child brides!!) and it really makes you aware of your mortality. I am so happy that my Mum (and GG to Coops and Myla) will be in Australia next February and will get to have time with both babies. Cooper did squeeze in a quick trip to see his Great Pop the other day but it’s not the same as being able to play with them, feed them and bath them at home. GG will be able to read them stories and have lots of fun with them as they will be one by then. Yeehaa!

We thought it would be a bit of a treat to go out for a Fathers Day lunch and we ventured back to Mountain Ridge Winery as it was a beautiful day and they had live music playing too. Cooper was so well behaved and fell asleep to the saxophone allowing us to enjoy an hour being grown ups! We are lucky to have so many lovely places that are user friendly nearby to enjoy.

Poor Cooper has been roped in very early to being a Roosters supporter. His Dad was bequeathed a jersey on his 1st birthday and the tradition has continued. Here is a rather shell shocked looking Coops sporting his Roosters booties courtesy of Smutzer! He hasn’t got a chance poor little chap…

On his very last morning we took our little boy to see the chickens which he loves. He doesn’t know which one to look at first and his little head swivels from side to side following them with his eyes. He loves getting down at their level so he can see them properly but today one of the chooks thought that Cooper looked like lunch and gave him a strong peck through the fence! It all happened so fast and he was SO UPSET. It was the shock more than anything else poor little darling but there were real tears and he wasn’t so sure anymore about his little feathered friends. Life sucks sometime.

This is a picture of a happy chappy who has finally after 66 years on earth managed to bake a cake! He mentioned that if he died tomorrow he had never made a cake and I said that was easily rectified (most people have far bigger bucket list achievements on their list lets face it!!) and started him off on a very easy banana, date and walnut bread which is basically a melt and mix type recipe. Needless to say his assistant (yup you guessed who) had everything measured and chopped so there was minimal complications for our first timer (didn’t want him discouraged) and he was very pleased with the result! Let’s hope he gets back into the kitchen occasionally to whip up something delicious now that he’s broken the seal!

We had one last night with Tommy in London before flying home. Unfortunately he had injured his shoulder the previous night playing touch footy and was in a sling. Luckily it was his right shoulder and he is a lefty so it didn’t interfere with his eating and drinking skills! He took us to a well known local eatery in Chelsea called Daphne’s and we had a super meal with a level of service reminiscent of the old days. No wonder it is an institution in these parts. We stayed at The Pelham, a boutique hotel perfectly located in South Ken and a couple of streets away from all the wonderful London museums.

As we didn’t fly until 9pm we made the most of it and had a fab few hours wandering around the Natural History Museum. To me the building itself was wondrous with amazing detail everywhere you looked. Decades of workmanship and fabulous architecture for all to enjoy and appreciate and all totally free, which is so refreshing in this day and age. It was lovely to see so many families there enjoying all it had to offer.

Then we were off and excited for our return to The Meadow where not one but both of our gorgeous little grandchildren were awaiting us! The MOTH hadn’t yet met Myla so despite our tiredness and 5 changes of trains due to track work we arrived back to such a special sight with both of them lying side by side on their play mat. We didn’t know who to hug or hold first! The big kids were brilliant, completely taking over the kitchen and cooking a great welcome home meal for us, we didn’t have to lift a finger except to cuddle our littlest loves. Perfect! It was so lovely to have the whole gang back together (+2 and minus 2) for the first time since Christmas. Very special indeed.

After a chaotic but wonderful 24 hours we were down to just one bub and a week of beautiful weather followed for our Vietnam residents. The South coast shone and they made the most of it going out every day and exploring the area. I joined them one day for a long walk from Huskisson to Vincentia and Jervis Marine Park. It is so wonderful to have such long flat coastal paths that are perfect for bikes, prams and wheelchairs. It is the most pristine wonderful part of the world with clear turquoise water and pure white sand. We topped it off with lunch at the Husky pub and I think it was one of our best days together!

We didn’t have a moment to get the post holiday blues as we were thrust into baby heaven with Lauren and Myla staying with us for another three weeks. Every morning we were woken to a little tiny person coming into our bed so Mum could snatch another hours sleep and we had the best time cuddling and chatting with her until it was time for her to go back to sleep. A great way to start the day! She is also an early fan of books much to the delight of her journalist Mother and teacher Great Grandma!

The next couple of weeks passed in a flash. As babies are always happier on a regular schedule things were planned around feeds and sleep but we managed to have quite a few trips out and about exploring some areas I hadn’t been to before and even a lovely lunch at a local winery and a cosy dinner at our local woodfired pizzeria!

One good thing about having a baby is that people are happy to come to you as they understand it is hard to pack up all the paraphernalia required for a baby, even for one night away. Thus four of Lauren’s close friends plus a 3 year old came instead to The Meadow to meet Myla. It was lovely to see them all again and we had a super day catching up on all their news, with the girls cuddling Myla and of course chatting (nonstop!) The MOTH built a huge fire in the outside pit and we sat around drinking wine and enjoying the crisp evening as dusk turned to night and a million stars started to twinkle in the velvet black sky. It means a lot to Lauren that after living overseas for 7 years her friends still make a big effort to come and see her and share in her life.

Some of my favourite times were just the normal days where we all hung out enjoying the simple things as a family. When your family live overseas there are often big gesture type holidays which are wonderful but there is something about the small things that I relish, most probably because we don’t get to do it very often! Little Missy/Miss Myla/Myla Moo/Moo Moo/Mooey became our constant companion and right hand girl and was always very keen to hang out with the big kids!!

We were blessed with the weather, crisp blue sky days with sunshine perfect for walks along the coast or around the township of Berry playing our favourite game of sweet or sour (a lifelong game of categorising houses according to how sweet or sour they look!!) with Myla in the pram and Bailey walking alongside – what a perfect picture! Sadly it all changed just in time for our last weekend together when Sam, Liv and Cooper were joining us for Loz and Myla’s last weekend in Oz. The weather was perfect for staying indoors in front of the fire, eating and drinking and playing with the bubs who were SO WELL BEHAVED!! Both were out for the count by 7pm and we had the evenings to ourselves playing board games while those dastardly westerly winds raged outside. Very conducive to a pre birthday lunch for Sam and the biggest steaks we’ve ever seen! He had requested a standing rib roast and we had no idea how huge it would be! Where’s Tom when you need him??

The little cousins were mostly unaware of each other but by the end of the weekend Coops was definitely recognising Myla and we managed to get them to vaguely look in the same direction at the same time after about 120 attempts!

And so all of a sudden it was all over and time to send the girls back to Ho Chi Minh City where a certain someone was waiting impatiently for his little family to return! With talk of a potential return to Australia to live next year I was less sad than usual and with the whole family planning a Christmas together at The Meadow, Uncle Tom included, I am a happy bunny! A last mulled wine in the Berry pub and then home to pack as we had an early start the next day. We were driving 3 hours to visit Lozzy’s 93 year old Pop in his retirement home and to introduce his newest great granddaughter to him. We could hardly believe it when on arrival they told us he was in quarantine awaiting some test results as there was a chance it could have been the severe influenza that has been doing the rounds of Sydney. Talk about bad timing! We were advised to wear face masks but as you can see they were a tad big for little Myla so we risked a quick chat and they had a little moment together at least before heading off to the airport.

As I waved my two girls off at that (horrible) departure gate in the airport I was so proud of how my little international travellers had coped with all the many changes of houses and beds and schedules over the past two months and had my fingers firmly crossed that they would have a good trip home especially with no helper on this return journey. It was only 8.5 hours luckily and a bassinette helped Loz a lot, allowing her to at least eat something or go to the loo! Myla was a dream and slept for more than half of it as it turned out so she’s a perfect travelling companion! I came home to an empty house but to one very happy dog who finally had her people back to herself again! She had been brilliant with the babies, interested and eager to greet them in the morning but never rough or jealous. I bet they will be her besties before we know it!

So we are back to “normal” at The Meadow and have a list a mile long of things to do around the property. With Spring around the corner we only have a window of a few weeks to get the garden in order before it takes off again. I’ve been madly cutting back the roses and hydrangeas as they already have their new season buds and as we haven’t done much to our soil for the past couple of years we have compost and fertiliser ready to dig into our veggie patch as there is finally some rain predicted! We need at least a week of gentle soaking rain before I can even think of planting any new season veggies. Fingers crossed!

The Many Faces of Myla

Whilst the MOTH was setting new course records on the Irish golf courses I made the most of the opportunity to spend a chunk of time with my Mum and Sister exploring Devon and Cornwall and retracing some of Mum’s family history. She had been sent to stay with her extended family after her Mum was killed in a car accident when she was four. It was during the war and her Dad was a much needed firefighter in London and therefore she originally spent some time with her cousin and when that proved hard for the family she eventually lived with her grandparents near Dartmoor in Devon. As an adult she made contact with the lady who bought the house from her grandparents and went back for a visit about 20 years ago when the house had hardly changed. Amazingly when the old lady sold the house Mum knew the new owners having taught their daughter in Primary school. They kept in touch, always alluding to a visit to see the house but not until this trip did she actually manage it. The house “Amycroft” held many memories for her, many of them quite unhappy as she was a bewildered little girl who had just lost her Mum and inadvertently her Dad at the tender age of 4 and the house seemed huge and scary to her with a malicious sounding Grandfather Clock that scares her to this day! It was good for her to visit it in it’s newly renovated state and with a much happier family vibe and to be able to tell the new family how the rooms had been used back in the day. As an owner of an old house myself I know how special it is to have some knowledge of the history of the house and the owners that have come before. A visit to the local church to see where my Great grandparents had married and lunch in a pub dripping with hanging baskets topped off a lovely trip down memory lane!

After addressing Part 1 of Mum’s rediscovery tour we moved on to Cornwall and checked into our little townhouse in the middle of beautiful Mevagissey. It’s a tiny little fishing port on the Cornish coast with little whitewashed houses tumbling down the cliffs towards the harbour. To me it was the quintessential little English seaside town I was hoping for. A few little shops to bimble around with some lovely restaurants and a couple of pubs to cover all your dining needs. It was beautifully located between beaches and glorious countryside and you could sit for hours on the harbour looking at all the comings and goings of the fishing boats, tourists relishing their ice creams in the warm sunshine and the ever screeching seagulls looking for a tasty scrap.

We were excited to only be a few miles away from The Lost Gardens of Heligan with its rather romantic story of a garden overgrown for centuries and rediscovered about 25 years ago when someone happened upon a rusty pair of scissors on a stone wall and with their interest piqued went onto uncover a door, half open, beckoning them within…..

Heligan, seat of the Tremayne family for more than 400 years, is one of the most mysterious and romantic estates in England. A genuine secret garden, it was lost for decades; its history consigned to overgrowth. At the end of the nineteenth century Heligan’s thousand acres were at their zenith, but only a few years later bramble and ivy were already drawing a green veil over this “Sleeping Beauty”. The outbreak of WW1 was the start of the estate’s demise as its workforce went off to fight in the trenches. Twenty-five years ago, Heligan’s historic gardens were unknown and unseen; lost under a tangle of weeds Today, The Lost Gardens have been put back where they belong: in pride of place among the finest gardens in Cornwall.

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Pentewan Beach located just a couple of miles from The Gardens was the summer holiday spot for my Mum as a youngster. Their very basic family caravan was one of only about a dozen that were kept permanently on the beach site back then and she has some very fond memories of good times spent in the sun on this lovely stretch of sand. The village is super tiny with just one pub and a general store/café to it’s name but everyone seemed to have a great time back then despite having none of today’s expected holiday amenities. Incidentally who says English beaches are rubbish? Not a pebble in sight here….

‘Meva’ as we began to call it was a really quaint little village with a surprising amount of eateries which we made full use of. It was so nice not to have to get into the car to go anywhere and we really felt relaxed, enjoying each other’s company and laughing and chatting as only girls can!

Our next and final destination was Mousehole, another teeny tiny little fishing village with a delightful name (pronounced Mouzle) with THE most narrow streets that we had a heart attack every time we had to get in the car. Somehow the local intrepid bus drivers managed to get their (smallish) buses around those tight corners with confidence and ease and it was very common for cars to have to reverse a fair way to allow them through. We took advantage of these buses to go to the local town of Newlyn after the first night when we ended up eating toast for dinner as the three local restaurants in Mousehole were fully booked! We hastily booked ourselves in for the rest of the trip and never went without again! We fell particularly in love with The Rockpool Cafe which is a little stone cottage come tearooms perched above the rockpool with the best ocean outlook you could wish for. White bunting fluttered in the breeze and we enjoyed everything from cream teas to prawn sandwiches and ploughman’s lunches to pre dinner cocktails here, occasionally having to fend off a particularly brave and intrepid seagull. They became a symbol of my Cornish holiday after a while, seeing them wheeling in the blue sky and hearing their cries from the minute you wake up in the morning, even during the night as they never seem to sleep? I’m guessing the locals aren’t quite so fond of them judging by the amount of various shiny moving things used to keep them off the garden/walls/garages/cars that we saw literally everywhere!!

Mousehole is very close to Penzance and Lands End which is literally the end of the British Isles so we headed out in the car to have a look. We finally came face to face with The Moors of which I had heard so much, they are basically extensive grassy plains with loads of heather, gorse and other low lying vegetation kept thus by the wind whistling over it. They would be very bleak in winter but I found them pretty in the summer sunshine! There is always something a bit wistful about being at the beginning or end of a country and it holds a symbolism for a lot of people e.g walking from Lands End to John O’Groats or sailing from Lands End to the Scilly Isles. Beginnings and Ends. Both very important.

On the way back to Mousehole we swung by the Minack Theatre. We had heard a lot about this famous outdoor theatre and it did not disappoint. It is located near some of the most incredible beaches and turquoise water, it was hard to believe we were in England and not the Mediterranean!

The idea for the theatre was born when Rowena Cade, who lived in Minack House at the top of the cliff, decided to create a place for local drama enthusiasts to perform Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Over the winter of 1931 and into 1932 Rowena and her gardener, Billy Rawlings, moved endless granite boulders and earth, creating the stage and the lower terraces of the theatre, in the same place as you see them today. The first performance was in August 1932. Over the past 80 years, the theatre has evolved into today’s professionally-equipped venue which brings the very best amateur and professional theatre to the far west of Cornwall. Rowena Cade’s unique vision is thriving, and today’s audiences continue to  experience the magic of live theatre in this amazing place.

Back to Mousehole and an evening aperitif on our rooftop terrace overlooking all the different coloured roofs cascading down the hill (which cleverly gives everyone a peek of that beautiful blue sea) before toddling down that same hill to dinner! There are a few small galleries and a tiny shop for your viewing pleasure and a fabulous deli/cafe which does a roaring trade down on the harbour. Apart from that life just carries on as it has always done, fishing boats come and go, supplying locals and Londoners alike and the locals roll their eyes as the tourists come in their droves in their big city cars, getting stuck on the narrow streets and making a lot of noise! They must breathe a sigh of relief when the summer ends and we all go home! We were very pleasantly surprised that the crowds were NOT huge, school holidays had not yet begun and we feel that despite people being around it wasn’t to the degree that it would have been a few weeks later!

The other thing on our ‘To Do List’ was to visit St Michael’s Mount, a thirty minute drive from us and a rather spectacular sight accessible at low tide. Originally the site of a Benedictine Chapel, the castle on the rock dates from the 14th Century. Perched on top of a great granite crag, St Michael’s Mount rises majestically out of the sea in Mount’s Bay. It is an island at high tide and a romantic sight. The island has a small harbour on its northern shore, with picturesque houses, shops and restaurants. The island is approached via a causeway at low tide, or by boats, which land in the harbour. It is so similar to Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy which bears the same name and is also a Benedictine Monastery on an Island that can be reached at low tide! As they say – imitation is the sincerest for of flattery!

You can’t be in Poldark country and not go and visit a tin mine! You can see the remnants of mines scattered everywhere, their brick chimneys rising from the rocky cliffs near the ocean as well as across the moors. They have all shut down now but there is talk some may re open to look for lithium! The Poldark mine (so named because they filmed some of the series here, Francis “died” here for those who watched that far back!!) and has a great tour of the old mine that we took. It was cold, damp and dark and it would have been a dreadful job back in the day but they would have been so grateful for the chance of a job and some money for their families. So many young men died because of the coal dust that got into their lungs and many walked 3 miles each way to and from work as well as going underground on ladders for sometimes another hour to get to the working face with all their equipment etc so it wasn’t for the faint hearted!! We were very proud of Mum who at 83 is apparently the oldest person to ever do the tour. It involved quite a lot of steps and very low overhangs and she was amazing as always taking it all in her stride!

So after a lovely full 10 days with two of my most favourite people in the world we had to say farewell to Cornwall and head back to reality. It really was so very special to have this time with my family as being on the other side of the world means we have had literally a handful of times alone together in the last 30 years! We are all so similar (often all three of us ordering the same dish for dinner!)and get along so well it is a joy to travel together and do the simple things together. Often when we do meet up it’s for a big thing – a wedding, a special birthday or Christmas and although that is fantastic it’s not what I call real life. This trip was wonderfully simple, thoroughly relaxing and fed my soul beautifully! I had a lovely catch up with my niece and her gorgeous kids (who hopefully one day will make the trek to Australia on their gap year?) and we chatted about just about everything from the old days to new things still to come and it was just what I had hoped for. Thank you so much girls xx

We arrived into London on The Eurostar which is a fabulous way of travelling from Paris to London, bringing you directly to St Pancras Station in the heart of London as opposed to battling the traffic out at Heathrow and having your luggage with you makes for a quick escape. We had rented an apartment in Chelsea and on a particularly warm London afternoon we dragged all our luggage up to the 3rd floor (no lift) to find a beautifully laid out penthouse apartment waiting for us. We were hot and bothered and glad to stumble across the local watering hole which as it turned out also happened to be one of Chelsea’s fanciest pubs, The Hollywood Arms. We were severely under dressed but I didn’t care and thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the amazing outfits people were wearing, guys were even wearing jackets with pocket squares just to pick up a pizza and the luxury cars parked outside made your eyes boggle! We were knackered after our Parisian weekend and chose to stay in and watch some of Wimbledon instead of another evening out and about. Tom kindly ordered us some Uber eats which was another first for us and I must admit it was very convenient and definitely a whole lot cheaper than the local Chelsea restaurants!

We had organised this apartment as it was only a short drive to Tom’s place in Fulham and close to the Kings Road with all its shops, cafes and buses into the city. We decided to play tourist and catch the open top bus tour taking in all the main sites around London and eventually hopping off in Regents Street to do some shopping. We felt quite overwhelmed at the amount of shops and retail therapy on offer. Somehow though it wasn’t the sort of stuff we wanted or needed – how much Chanel, Hermes, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and the likes are actually bought and worn? Not much in The Meadow, that’s for sure!!

I was loving being back in my country of birth and was delighted to be able to catch up with some old work and school friends over the week we were there. We had a lovely dinner with Katy, one of Lauren’s bridesmaids and a gorgeous girl I knew quite well from Hong Kong days as well as her equally lovely identical twin sister Emma, both pregnant and only 2 weeks apart in typical twin fashion!! We dined outdoors in The Ivy Chelsea Garden which was swathed in everything floral and under twinkling fairy lights, so pretty we felt we were in a country garden. The next night we met Tom’s mates, fondly known as The Fulham Bots (someone made a spelling error when setting up their footy page and it stuck!) at their local pub, The Mitre. An equally lovely night but unsurprisingly with far more beverages consumed! A great group of Aussie guys living the London life. I can see why they all enjoy living here as most of them are either going on or planning a trip every other weekend, Tom was heading off to Croatia himself after we left and it is all so close and so affordable compared to Australia, definitely one of the big plusses for Aussies living in London.

The next day we caught a train to Basingstoke in Hampshire and enjoyed a fantastic 24 hours with my old school friend Charlie and her hubby Graham. They live in a cottage on an acre of land in the countryside with their three black labs – Kiwi, Boris and Buster. It was the perfect English summers day and we had a delicious lunch in the garden before going for a walk with the dogs across the fields and through the woods. They were lush and green and dappled with sunshine and it felt so good to be back in the countryside again! I’ve missed the gentleness of the English woods.

That night we drove to The Wellington Arms, a gastropub with a well earned reputation for food and a garden that will inspire you too. Their herbaceous border was outstanding and I resolved to spend a bit more time, money and effort on my garden on my return. I wish I didn’t love English gardens as much as I do because they really are NOT suited to the Australian climate but they are so utterly charming it’s hard not to fall under their spell.

It was great to catch up with Charlie and the 40 years since we left school just disappeared as we chatted about food, the environment, our kids and our hopes and dreams for the future. Just because we’re close to 60 doesn’t mean we’re done! Seeing the three dogs patiently waiting for their dinner made us miss our little Chocky Drop but knowing she was being well loved and looked after at home made it easier. Thanks Steve and Sue xx

Back to London and the Aussie invasion continued. Being summer in Europe means half of Australia are on the move escaping our winter and as 90% of people travel through London Tom has had a steady stream of visitors, whether it’s just for a night on the town or a few weeks on the couch, there is never a dull moment. Luckily we were there for the arrival of Bill, one of Tom’s closest friends from school and a family we stay in contact with. We had a great night out reminiscing on things from back in the day and how life has changed so much in the last 10 years since leaving school. So weird that for two Aussie based families we caught up with Bill in London and his Mum and Sister earlier this year in Vietnam, Crazy!

The following night we tried to get tickets to one of the West End shows but with our last minute planning we could only get 3 tickets sitting together to see Matilda, a book/film we had all loved when the kids were small. Being in Covent Garden with the quaint pubs laden with hanging baskets brimming with flowers and wandering through colourful Neal’s Yard with its amazing cheese shop was something I haven’t done for 30 odd years. The show was a great version of the book with a few standout parts stealing the show but I think Tom felt a bit odd at 29 years of age being at a show with so many little kids!!! It was Pride Weekend in London and there were rainbow flags everywhere, gazillions of people ready to party and a happy vibe throughout the Capital. Our Aussie friends had arrived a few days previously and we arranged to meet them at The Duke of York fine food market in Chelsea for brunch and then a wander around Little Venice, a little known area in London which is home to canal boats and a quieter side of London Life. After a pub lunch we stupidly relied on Cammo and his phone directions to take us somewhere interesting which was a grave mistake as we ended up in the middle of a 6 lane motorway from which only Uber could save us…..

All in all I think London was as vibrant and interesting as ever. It was also ridiculously expensive and everyone except the super rich seem to live in fairly small houses with no gardens or off street parking and I can only imagine how hard that would be with small children. It was super easy to get around and there are so many free things to see and do. We wandered around the natural history museum for hours for nothing and Hyde Park offered some lovely space with loads of people enjoying the sunshine with picnics and outdoor fun. The grand old buildings are still amazing, tree lined avenues, summer hanging baskets and window boxes make it all look loved and the food is so much better than it used to be. The rules are much more lax than in Sydney which was refreshing and you can still hear the cockney twang here and there despite the inundation of Eastern Europeans in the hotel and restaurant industries. London still has the “it” factor although things are hanging in the balance thanks to the indecision around Brexit and all that involves. Hopefully England will indeed become great again and under its own terms too. The week was particularly special as we had some great times with Tom and it was lovely to see him so settled and happy.