Christmas is coming and I am getting fat,

Tis the season to be jolly fa la la la laaa!

Helloooooo one and all.
As we hurtle headlong towards Christmas I have to say that it is difficult to feel Christmasy. It is very strange indeed. Despite people putting in lots of effort and tastefully and splendidly decorating their homes with thousands of Christmas lights you only get to see them late at night. Our lovely neighbour Graham for instance has bedecked his house creating a wonderland complete with near full size dancing singing Santa and much more but in order for our kids to stand there slack jawed in awe (which they have done) we have to keep them up until gone nine pm. No problem I hear you cry, tis Christmas after all but then we have to endure tired stroppy kids the next day as they still insist on getting up the same time.

Graham and Joylene's house, our lovely neighbours opposite.

Rob and Alison (aka Grandad and Gran) have arrived with us to spend Christmas and New Year. I hope they bought Factor 1000 suncream and the forecast for Christmas eve is 37C. and it is on line to be the hottest Christmas day in Adelaide since the 1980's. Tom took the morning off school to come and meet them from the airport.

Welcome Gran and Grandad!

Lucy's birthday unsurprisingly was a pink affair. She decided she wanted a princess fairy castle birthday cake so we had a go. It was much harder than anything else we've tried but she loved it. Although I am sure if we had just piled up a large quantity of pink icing and written her name on it she would have been equally happy!

Cake glorious cake!

It was also Rob's birthday and he wanted a princess fairy cake but he had to make do with a piece of Lucy's.



Tom had his Christmas concert at school which was a cute little tale about a wombat trying to get a part in the Nativity Play. Tom and his friend Jack were the narrators and Tom just lapped it up, loving the limelight. He had learned his lines really well and even had to prompt the prompt when she got lost!!

Tom and Jack

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Tom also had his last day at school and it was a non uniform day. Tom needed a haircut badly so I cut his hair badly for his last day. He wanted a mohican and that is roughly what he got. He was as pleased as punch but I removed it after the weekend

Before!

After!

On the theme of haircuts, Alison and Rachel had been urging, nay begging Rob to get his cut and they then managed to get Rob to agree to me doing his with the clippers. I made it very clear to him from the outset that I only do the same length all over and the longest I had was about an inch. In a fit of madness or rebellion he agreed, so without further time for deliberation I did it. Alison actually cried with laughter when she saw the finished result. She hasn't seen him with any other hair style for thirty years and it seemed to have a peculiar effect on her!! Personally I think it suits him rather well!

Tom and Lucy have been getting on so well with their swimming. Tom is always first in the pool at home but also the first out as he has zero fat or chub to keep him warm. Lucy on the other had take a little longer to get in but would stay in for hours if you let her. They can now both swim the width of our pool without armbands.

Lucy contemplating a career in synchronised swimming!

We went to Victor Harbor (no U) last weekend and just as when Paddy and Val were over and we went there it also rained nearly all the time. It didn't dampen our spirits just our clothing!
We did the usual tram ride and the lovely driver let Tom and Lucy hold the reins all the way over and feed carrots to the Horse that was also named Thomas.

Tom has had his operation this week. He had his Tonsils out, his Adenoids done and both his Grommets in his ears redone. He has managed really well although he has been quite tired since.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Anyway, it has taken me about a week to get this blog out, snatching a few minutes here and there to get it done so it has rolled on and is now Christmas Eve here and five to one in the morning of Christmas eve in the UK. So Merry Christmas to you all and have a wonderful fun filled Christmas time and a peaceful New Year. We'll see many of you very soon.

Lots of Love Matt, Rachel, Tom and Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Table top Science!

The kids were quite tired last weekend so we decided to have some fun indoors and embarked on some table top science. So with a big lump of modelling clay, some Bicarb of Soda, some Vinegar, some red food colouring and some grass for decorating we were able to recreate a volcanic eruption of a scary size and ferocity, well almost! The kids loved it anyway and it helped fill the morning.

Rob and Alison aka Grandad and Gran have arrived back in Oz as they are joining us for Christmas and New Year. They are currently 'up country' somewhere and are flying into Adelaide early December in time for Lucy's Birthday. The kids are of course very excited and have been asking how many sleeps to go!

Tom is going 'under the knife' so to speak on December the 12th to have his tonsils out and a redo of grommets and adenoids. I'd like to say he is going to be our brave little boy but actually he is a bit of a wimp when it comes to anything that mildly hurts. He refused to have a shower yesterday as he had a tiny mosquito bite and he said it would hurt too much! That doesn't bode well!

Tom and Jack, his friend from along the street have been chosen to narrate the class Christmas play this year. There is a big school Christmas production where each class performs a play for everyone. After school on the day everybody stays behind and they have picnics and BBQ on the school field and at about 6pm the show starts. Tom will be wearing a top hat, bow tie and braces (they call them suspenders over here which just seems wrong) so should look quite cute. Photos to follow!

Graham and Joylene from across the road have started putting up their Christmas lights. They are renowned in the area for their lovely display and they have been really generous and lent us a tree and lots of decorations so we can be truly festive. Again Pics to follow!

I had the donkey from the Real Estate Agents around today for our sixth month inspection. Being such a dynamic individual he whizzed through the whole place and clearly to his surprise declared that we 'kept the place real nice'. Well, with such high praise from such an elevated and well respected sector of the community it was all I could do, not to blush. Actually it was all I could do not to grab him by the scruff of the neck, drag him into the garden and show him the deep end of the swimming pool. Breath 1..2..3..4..5... and relax.
Still, we passed and it seems that by his good grace alone we shall be given the honour of remaining in the 'average house' where we pay above average rent. I guess the extra is well worth it simply to ensure that Mark is sufficiently remunerated to be able to take long expensive overseas holidays to to unwind from what must be an incredibly stressful occupation. My @r$<!

Still on a brighter note we have found people to take over the rental of this place when we leave so we will not have to pay rent for February and March. They are also buying both our cars and all the other things that we have bought since we have been here excluding food!! So we will not be out of pocket as we thought, we might even make a small profit you never know  ;-)

Speak soon xxx

Bonitas non est pessimis esse meliorem

Mr Gherkin

Hello, Hola, Bonjour, Sa'lam, Kon-nichiwa,  dia dhuit.

I hope all is well with you.

Things are getting warmer here, it been early thirties for the last week which was a bit uncomfortable at first as it was quite humid but it has been dry the last few days which makes it more bearable. We have been in the pool the last few days which is lovely and the kids love it. Tom tends to get cold quickly but Lucy spends ages in there. Even Rachel went in!

Tom has really settled well into school and he is just loving it all. He has just started Basketball after school on Thursdays which he enjoys and he has made some great friends. He loves his teacher Deb,and the headmaster is fabulous, knows all the kids by name and takes a real interest in all of them. The other day in the car I ask Tom what he did at school today. I get the usual, 'oh nothing' but then he tells me something about 'Mr Gherkin the Ringmaster' that I don't really understand. Upon further questioning I realise that he is actually talking about 'Mr Kirkman the Headmaster', I did laugh. They had Sports day last week and it was really sweet to see him running around. He was so excited the night before he couldn't get to sleep, it was really cute. They had the usual egg and spoon race and some relays but sadly no sack race.
He told me that Mr Curtain had given out prizes to the teams, 'No Tom' I said 'Mr Kirkman'!



 










Lucy has received her first certificate of her life (excluding her Birth Certificate for which she did absolutely nothing to receive). She has been made up a class at swimming from Tadpole beginner to Tadpole advanced. She is a determined little fish and works really hard at her swimming. Tom is now swimming without his armbands for short distances which is great to see.

We have had Halloween and we carved a 'punkin' as Tom and Lucy call it but being that it doesn't get dark until 8pm it's not quite the same. We did get a few Trick or Treat visits but it really isn't a big thing here which quite frankly is great as I hate the Americanisation of it.
I also did find it a bit odd that there is no Guy Fawkes Night but it is obviously a UK only thing being that we are celebrating the Kings escape from assassination and this sunny country would, for the most part be happy to see the back of the monarchy.



I've been enjoying work although it does feel somewhat like I've walked into an episode of Neighbours circa 1989. I work with Kylie, Jason, Madge and Harold but I have yet to find Mrs Mangle or come to think of it Bouncer hasn't shown his face yet either. My colleagues are really lovely and the department is very friendly if not about ten years out of date in some things but also quite ahead in others. It seems funny to hear people saying that 'it is totally impossible to see and treat patients and get them out in four hours' which was exactly what everyone in the UK was saying in 2000 but we managed it! Yeahh Go NHS Go!!

We have had some strange goings on here culminating in a crop circle in the garden........hmmmmm!

Where are Mulder and Scully when you need them?

I took Tom and Lucy to a car show as I had seen that the original Batman Car was going to be there and Tom really wanted to see it. I have to say I have never been to a 'petrol head' event other than the Goodwood Festival of Speed which is the tweed, barbour jacket, scone and jam version where as this was more the ripped jeans, string vest and babes draped over highly polished bonnets type affair. The Aussies really do like their 'bling' motors and suped up cars which is totally ridculous in a country where most of their main freeways have a speed limit of about 50mph equivalent and even the proper motorways are not that much faster. You also can't exceed the limit here as the Cops are really really sneaky and over zealous. I have seen several unmarked police vehicles as speed traps and they have been a beaten up pick up truck, an expedition equipped 4X4 complete with surfboard on the roof, a lime green sports car to name but a few which they secrete behind bushes and advertising hoardings in true 'Dukes of Hazzard' style, oh and ....hmm....the 'camper van' that got me in Queensland earlier in the year. None of this 'must tell people where the speed cameras are', they have set a speed limit and if you break it anywhere then you are fair game. They even have billboards and radio adverts warning about 'creepers' which I thought were paedophiles at first but in fact they are people who 'creep' over the speed limit by a couple of kmph. Mad! I am a self confessed and caught 'Creeper'!


Lucy has been considering her future and I think she wants to take after Mummy!

We just had the Adelaide Christmas Pageant which was billed as a 'must see event' for the kids and I have to say that it was wonderful. It starts at 9.30 and people start lining the street from about six am positioning blankets along the 'Blue Honour Line' which marks the route. All the kids get to sit on the line so they don't miss anything and adults all sit behind them on chairs if youy bring them and then the remainder stand behind them so everyone can see. Any late arriving children are quickly filtered through to the front by everyone, it is a really family/children focused event.


 Before the start all the kids are encouraged to Chalk on the road whatever they like and to make it as colourful as possible. It is lovely at the kids can run around on the route and they are safely enclosed between two rows of adults. We had fun drawing around eachother and then other kids and adults also joined our human chain and it ended up looking like a mass New York style homicide scene so we decided to chalk clothes on the outlines to brighten them up.

 The floats were spectacular with 65 in all and there were so many clowns and acts in between that kept the children enthralled for the duration. It was so well behaved and well managed. The city was closed over about ten blocks with all trams stopping and buses diverted but within a few moments of the finish there was a swarm of cleaners not to pick up litter as no one drops any but to empty the bins and other people to get things going and within 20 minutes the whole city was up and running again. Fantastically efficient.
Here are some of the kids favourite floats.

There is clearly a lot of work that goes insto these floats. Most of them were animated in some way and some blew smoke and such like. The kids were in awe, not just ours but every kid watching.

Ahhhhh Old London Town!

And of course Father Christmas in 32 degrees Celcius. It's true, it really was him, we all saw him!

I have found the culprits responsible for the crop circles, I think the one on the left organised it!

Take me to your leader!

Our Friends Katie and Omar and their three lovely kids are returning to Scotland after their year in Adelaide. The ladies (and man) wot lunches circle is diminishing further.  We wish you well in the land of Tartan, Haggis and Bag Pipes and we hope you don't miss the Adelaide sunshine too much. Travel safely and keep in contact!

Well enough from me. Let's have some comments from you guys, just so I know you're still following us!

Love to all.

xx

Videre est credere

Five years ago.....

Hello, good evening and welcome.

Good Aussie Carpentry!

STOP PRESS : We had an earthquake here last night! 3.4 on the Richter Scale at 2.20am for about 8 seconds. I had just got up to Lucy and as I was getting back in to bed when Rachel asked how Lucy was and there was a really low rumble like a train type noise and the place started to shake. "I hate it when you've had Chili for dinner" says Rachel but I was not taking the blame for that one. Now I know I've said a few things about Australian building standards but I wasn't overly worried about collapse. I knew it was an earthquake. I have previously experienced a quake whilst living in Tirane in Albania in 1999 which was 4.2 and it was exactly the same sensation. And who says lightening doesn't strike twice! But don't worry, the Richter scale is Logarithmic so 3.4 is barely a tickle when you consider New Zealand was 6.3.
Anyway, I digress.
(that is not really our house in the picture)



The weather is warming up nicely. It was 31 degrees today for Tom's first proper day at school which was a little warm.
We all went as a family and Tom was a firework with the blue touch paper already lit. We took him into his classroom and Lucy immediately ensconced herself. We did consider sneaking out and seeing how long it took the teacher to notice her but thought better of it.
We think he had a wonderful day but he kept saying he couldn't remember anything but we did manage to finally get something out of him. He is not normally a boy of few words!

Mrs Carmichaels Class. Tom is front row middle. Note his feet are in the starting blocks, ready for the off!

Rachel had a week off last week which she needed and we had decided not to go away which was fortunate as it turned out that I had to attend an induction at the hospital for a couple of days at the beginning of the week for my new job. That went just as all other hospital inductions go, dull, mildly painful but necessary.

The Royal Adelaide Surgery Department was in dire straits.

During the week we took the kids to a place called Old Tailem Town which is a reconstructed old pioneer town. They have collected old buildings from all over Australia many from the early 1900s and faithfully reassembled them at this place. There are over 110 buildings in 11 streets including a fully functional 65 year old cinema, which the kids loved, hospital, post office, garages, shops and so on.

A phone with WIRES!!!

Tom found Uncle Rick a new boat. We'll sail it back for you.

 The kids loved having the run of the place and unlike so many places nowadays they were able to touch and feel many of the exhibits. We thought they might be a bit bored but they both had great fun.

A fixer-upper!

Mum, I've got room for another ice cream!

Rachel considers a career change, the kids are not so sure.

It was Tom's birthday last Sunday and we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that sent their wishes either physically, verbally or even telepathically. He had a great day and a fantastic 'Pirate and Princess' party with all his Kindy friends. He has made some lovely friends here. As Tom is LEGO obsessed and currently wants to watch the LEGO 'Clutch Powers'  Movie all the time, 'Team Croughan' decided to make him a Clutch Powers Lego man birthday cake. The first time in five years our little man has been lost for words! 

Mr Clutch Powers

I think his face says it all!

We had hidden Tom's presents all around the house and gave him clues as to where he might find them. This enabled us to string things out for an hour and a half whilst we drank tea in bed and Tom brought each present into us in turn for opening.
Tom decided that Lucy might be sad as she wasn't going to get any presents so he let her open every other one in turn. I doubt very much if the reverse will happen come December 8th!!!!!




First job of the day LEGO!

The Space Shuttle lives on  ....5....4....3....2....1....BLAST OFF!

 

The day after his Birthday we went to Monarto Zoo which is about an hour from Adelaide where it it is actually more of a safari park than a zoo. Lots of Animals in 1000 hectares or about 2500 acres. They have Giraffes, Lions, Rhino, Bison, Cheetahs......not all in the same enclosure! Our lovely neighbours Graham and Joylene who adore the kids and in turn are adored right back, met us there for the afternoon which was great. It was really hot and being away from the coast it was devoid of any cooling breeze but we all had a great time.

Joylene and Graham join us at the Zoo.

We hope you are all well and preparing to batten down the hatches for winter. We have just bought an industrial size vat of Factor million sun block and I am genuinely not looking forward to the month of 40 degrees Celsius that all the natives keep going on about. I fear for my scalp! But hey you gotta try everything once, right?

Look after yourselves, and much love to you all.

Night Night xx

Vita non est vivere sed valere vita est

 

All good things......

It seems that I have been starting my Blogs recently with apologies for the delay in Blogging. Well this Blog will be no exception. I beg your forgiveness for the one calender month of silence. Whilst I am sure that you haven't all been waiting and holding your breath for an update, I have been told that some people are keeping at least one eye open for the next installment, so here we go!


It was Fathers Day here again! I had the UK one and have just had the Oz one which was great. Tom simply bursts with excitement about these sorts of things. I had breakfast in bed and some beautiful cards and things. Tom had made me a......um......er.......a....oh just look at the pics below.

Fathers day

Two weeks later......if only it were possible!

The Whispering Wall

  The Whispering Wall is in fact the retaining wall of the Barossa Reservoir. Built between 1899 and 1903, the dam was a revolutionary engineering feat for its day but what draws visitors to the Whispering Wall is its unique acoustic effects: words whispered at one side can be clearly heard at the other, more than 100 metres away. It really is most bizarre. Tom and I walked along the top to the other side (Tom only wanting to walk on the water side as he didn't want to look down the face of the dam) whilst Rachel and Lucy stayed at the start. Tom and Lucy recited their a,b,c,.....song to each other and it was absolutely crystal clear. I don't know if this phenomenon is common for all dams or whether it is unique to this particular one. I guess I'll have to do some google research.


It is the end of term here so it is traditional to have a disco at the Kindergarten as a fundraiser and as I am on the governing council I had to volunteer for a job from a list that was handed out at the council meeting. Sadly Rachel was late coming back from an on-call so I never made the meeting so in my absence I was nominated to do the BBQ. So with a population of 1.2 million in the Adelaide district of which 49.8% are male (according to stats)  all of which consider themselves a master of the Snag (sausage) they choose a Brit to barbecue. I did warn them that barbecued scones and jam with a cup of tea would not go down well but they were insistent. So taking everything in my stride I inspected the BBQ and as is the norm here it is a gas model (they don't ever use charcoal) and it thankfully had gas but it also had about two inches of thick bitumen like grease in the tray underneath so a lot of scraping and scrubbing was in order. To cut a long story short I had an Aussie mentor called Nick and we managed to serve up a couple of hundred hot dogs and a huge pile of burgers to a very hungry crowd.
The whole evening was a great success and we raised $1140 for the kindy kids. Tom sold two books of raffle tickets to two of our lovely neighbours and they won first and second prize in the raffle. He was so excited to give them their prizes.

Princess Lucy at the Kindy Disco

Recently it was the Adelaide Royal Show which is a huge event here in Oz. It is a kind of mix between traditional country show full of animals and vegetables with wood cutting and sheep dog trials and a large funfair full of exciting rides, with lots of stalls and tons of fast food available. Also motor cross display teams and synchronised ute (pick up truck) driving at high speed. It was a really great day and Rachel was able to join us for most of it and the kids had a great time despite the occasional rain shower.

There are lots of stalls where kids can try things out and Tom and Lucy especially loved all the emergency services stalls.

NEEEE NAAAA NEEE NAAA
                Loving it!

We had some friends over for dinner last weekend which was lovely. Marcus and Lara (Brits) and Lisa and her mum Kathy. A bit too much wine but the food went down well and Rachel baked up a lovely Roulade for a finishing flourish...mmm. The evening finished at 2am....ouch but without any form of chemical sedative the kids slept til gone eight which was a nice surprise and a blessed relief.

Just a little bit....

Our little 'big' boy.

Tom is due to start school soon so has had three two hour sessions in the class room to get him used to it. He is so excited he can barely contain himself. He is so proud of his uniform and wants to wear his Legionaries hat everywhere. The phrase 'duck to water' would be appropriate here as he barely nodded goodbye to me before rushing into the class room and sitting down.

His reading is coming on so quickly it is great.                                 As he is off to school he obviously has left Kindy which has caused some mixed emotions, desperate to get to school but sad at leaving Kindy. He absolutely loved going to 'Little Kindy' on Tuesdays and Thursdays and they have been great for him. It has been such a kind nurturing environment for him and they even give them a 'Graduation' which involves singing a goodbye song and as Tom's birthday is in the half term break they also sang Happy birthday to him. He looked fit to burst with pride, as did we.

I have decided to get myself a job and since BIG ISSUE vendors have pretty much got Adelaide covered I decided I had better stick with nursing, so I start at the same hospital as Rachel, The Royal Adelaide this coming Monday in the Emergency Department. Nice. It will be good to get back to using a little of my brain and also to refresh my Nursey skills. It seems that the Hospitals here are going through what the NHS went through about twelve years ago.They regularly have 8 or 10 hour waits in the Emergency Department waiting for things to happen, even when there are beds on the wards waiting. The problems are constantly in the media, it will be interesting to see how it all works or doesn't. They offered me a position of Patient Flow Coordinator but it would involve too many hours than we as a family were prepared to commit to but I sure I'll end up chipping in a suggestion or two if needed. I've never been that good at keeping my mouth shut! - hey - don't be too quick to agree ha! ha!

 Anyway, I hope to not leave it so long next time!

Love to all!

Tam diu minime visu!