Didi Dinner in Melborne

This is an example of Special Australian kindness.

When we stayed with Didi who was a friend from the UK 40 years ago she did us a surprise special Christmas dinner  in February, as we had spent Christmas away from home.

We had Turkey Cranberry stuffing roast potatoes artichokes sweet potatoes carrots and broccoli.

No sprouts. The vicar of Dibly would not have been happy about that.

We also had a cracker with hat and joke.  Didi magic. 

Thanks a bundle Didi we will remember our visit with you with great fondness.

Love David and Maria.

Annette's Cooking tips from Perth

When we stayed at Annette and David we were very impressed with Annette’s cooking skills and would like to pass on Annette’s special cooking tips as follows.

1. The plastic lettuce cutting knife-  this ensured there was no bruising of the lettuce when cut.

2. When cooking a flan you put on the base of your flan tin 3 strips of greaseproof about 1.5” wide 10” long. Once flan is cooked you can pull the strips back and forth and this release flan from the tin. Once this is done you use the strips to lift out onto a cake cooler.

3. The thin plastic chopping board was a special tool Annette used as once the chopping was done you lifted your board that would bend it into a chute that enabled the chopped food or peelings  direct into the bowl, bin or saucepan.

4. The frozen Banana. This is very useful tip – Any bananas surplus, pop them in the freezer in their skin.

When making a banana cake,  smoothie etc., remove banana from freezer defrost cut of the end and squeeze out banana.  Annette Magic.

On our last day at Annette and David they invited 4 couples over for a BBQ. They were all people that had come over from the UK about 40 years ago. It was great to talk about times gone by and how their lives have changed having left the homeland. The thing that all the ladies said they missed most was Christmas UK Style in the cold wind and rain, with carols.

Meeting new Australian Friends in Commonwealth Park Canberra

We travelled to Canberra city centre by bus but we were concerned as there was to be a big election vote to take place on Capitol Hill on Monday and thought it would be very busy. We decided to walk from the city centre to the Commonwealth Park where we were going to visit the portrait gallery. It was a hot 80 plus degrees and we have found out that very few people walk to places they all go by air conditioned car. However if we had gone by car we would not of experienced the magic meeting we had with two new oz friends. As we crossed the park we came to a shelter and there they were studying. I had always seen Australian people as large in statue I suppose this was because of their rugby players

.These people  were so broad Oz we could not understand a word they said but this did not stop us having a memorable moment that we all shared together and will stay with us forever. Photos follow.

Maria with new oz mates

I had to tweak their hats to get this look

Dave with his two new Australian friends

Water Shortages

The 3 minute Shower utilises Oz pioneer spirit of make do and mend.

Experience in Melbourne.

When you are away from home it is natural to make comparisons with your homeland and at home water has at times been short which has meant the garden did not get a water.

But here water is precious and it is not until you realise what drought conditions mean,  does it  make you realise the seriousness of the problem.

This problem was tackled head on by the Australian government with the introduction of the 3 minute shower.

Now shower timing is something that I have never tried before but did feel the 3 minute rule could be a bit discriminatory as the male body is usually a larger body mass to cover.

Before entering the shower I wondered if the time to get the temperature correct was taken out of my allotted time. While I was doing that I WAS planning where I would start as I did not want to be in a position of all soaped up and not have time to rinse off.

As I entered the shower it was then I saw the Government devise supplied to control the 3 minute time rule. Through the steam I saw attached to the glass a small egg timer!!!

I turned it up and the sand began to flow from one tube to the other. As I started to soap up I kept an eye on the tube and I could see the time was going quickly.

And then as the steam built up in the shower the sand in the tube slowed and although it was a great egg timer, in the shower the timer was not so effective.

I found that with all my concentration on the timing, when I got out of the shower I was not sure what I had been washed and what had not.

 I also thought Maria is going to struggle with this BIG TIME

The end.

Maria and Didi  friends from 40 years ago

 This is Maria and Didi who left old London some 40 years ago, Didi looked after us  with her dog Millie.

Unfortunately I was suffering with gout so our stay in Melbourne was limited. It was however most enjoyable as we were able to talk of times gone by and happy memories. 

David Gout showing on big toe

Blog Free Period

Dear friends, family, and other interested readers.


Been through difficult period on our adventure but follows blogs to come soon. Don't give up on us!!! all readers will be given a certificate of loyalty on our return..

Blog Subjects to come.

1 The 3 minute Shower and oz pioneer spirit of make do and mend

2 Partnership magic !!! New Role play.

3 Travelling Adventure turns sour. Fit to sick.

4 The oz experience 6 countries [ called states] in one.

5. Every country has news telling the people how bad things are. [ People like to know how bad things are]  Just listen to gossip!!!

6. Blog writing- Is it like one way letter correspondence??

7. Perth best city for us so far.

Friendship is wonderfull

Forty Years have past since David and Annette decided to leave old England to start a new life in Australia.
David and Annette used to play badminton with us on a Thursday evening in Walthamstow East London.
When they left they sold us various bits of furniture to us as we were getting married in a few months time.
We had kept contact over the years with Christmas cards and they had visited the UK about 13 years ago and paid us a visit one evening. They now live in a lovely home in Perth and we agreed to meet up.
On arrival at Perth airport they greeted us with warmth that made us feel it was like yesterday that we had parted. The smile and laughter brought back memories of our times together.
They told us that for the time we were with them, that we should treat their home as if our own and they said that when we went off to do our trip down the west coast we could use one of their cars.
Friendship is the most wonderful phenomena of being human
No love, no friendship, can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever." 
We will remember forever the way that David and Annette made us feel welcome. Thanks.

Wild life in Australia

Wild life in OZ

The Wild life is as varied as it is different.

 We have woken to local news of shark attacks and deadly snakes in the sugar cane.

The birds are full of colour and their songs are so different. One of the birds has a call that sound as if someone is whistling you.

We were told that there is some 40 million Kangaroos that just eat grass which is a bit of a problem as the cows also eat grass and there is not enough to go around. The biggest predator of the Kangaroo is the dingo so the farmer has to keep adjusting the balance to keep them at a manageable number.

I have taken some pics of some to show you.

Cockatoo is a birds that life span is similar to the human and they mate for life.

This could be one of the reasons they are called Cockatoo’s as they are a pair rather than Cockerones or Cockerthree’s

The picture is a Cockertoo on my shoulder that as in a pub that we went into in Glebe with Noosh and Josh

Fruit bats are in the million and hang upside down in the fig trees. These are big and I mean big bats that can go for your throat. These bats  hang upside down and always have a headache.

Boswell is a black pug that belongs to Noosh and Josh, we bonded with Boswell when we stayed with them. He looks a bit wild but he was a real character and very gentle.

He is very playful and loves to chase his tail, unfortunately Noosh has curled his tail so he never catches it. If we were in the UK  I would report it to the RSPCA.

His features are not that great to the eye but he makes up for that with a wonderful nature, We spent 3 days getting to know each other. Great little dog.

Dingo’s live wild here and have for over 1000 years they look like dogs but have no bark  but can do a real good howl.

Stingers – These are jelly fish that if they sting you,  they can give you respiratory problems. One of the cures is you have to rub vinegar onto the sting. This may work but you do smell like a fish and chip shop.

Parrot at The Genoah caves in the Blue mountains

Aborigine playing Didgeridoo in  Sydney Harbour

Boswell the Pug Listening to my story about his tail

Cockatoo being friendly lived in the pub in Glebe.

Maria's action picture of a Cormorant  catching a fish.

Steve Erwin's Australian Zoo Rained. Maria in rain ware feeding kangaroos 

Hotel on daydream Island Kangaroo on lawn pleased to see me. I think!!

Lovely beach with no swimming because of stinger fish. If they don't get you the sharks will.

True or False

Yesterday we went to Sydney Central Library to look for Gilders ancestors that had travelled to Australia in the early years. We went to the family history department and one of the librarians looked up the name in the approximate time of my grand fathers life. Regrettably she could not find any Gilders entering the country. 
She suggested that we look through a section of books, catalogues and micro films that covered emigration in the early years. These books included lists of criminals who had been deported from the UK. Books with lists of pioneers that had been major influences in the shaping of the country. There were no Gilders but we did find a Williams.

And then we found a catalogue that  showed the Name -

  George Gilders who was from the order of St Basil the Great. He was found guilty of theft and deported to Australia in 1787   Ship Log below--

13/05/1787

The 11 ships of the FIRST FLEET left Portsmouth under the command of Capt Arthur Phillip. Different accounts give varying numbers of passengers but the fleet consisted of at least 1,350 souls of whom 780 were convicts and 570 were freemen, women and children and the number included four companies of marines. About 20% of the convicts were women and the oldest convict was 82. About 50% of the convicts had been tried in Middlesex and most of the rest were tried in the county assizes of Essex, Kent and Sussex. Maria said that she thought the picture had a Gilders look about it and felt he looked a bit like my father.  Picture below--

 George Gilders from the order of St Basil the Great

Deported 1787 to New South Wales Australia

Blue Mountain.

Blue Mountain experience.

We arrived in the blue mountains and met our sister in law Robyn’s dad Eric and his wife Marylou.

Eric is a young 87 and is  a bionic miracle with two new hips a new knee and a new shoulder he has also had a triple bypass. This however did not curb his desire to show us the sights and drove us everywhere. Maylu added her knowledge on the Aboriginal story.

We went to echo point where it was blowing a gale and quite cold. I tried the echo but I could not get the sounds to return. The Blue Mountains are a vast area that in our view were more majestic than beautiful.

It is mountains surrounding dramatic gorges. The slate coloured haze that gives the mountains their name comes from a fine mist of oil that comes from the eucalyptus trees.

 We saw the three sisters but to be totally honest in my view they could have been brothers. In fact had we not been told they were sisters I would have said they could have been 3 skate-boarders.

There is however no doubt that the person to cross these mountains for the first time was no mean feat.

Who knows who and when??? big prizes. xx

Blue Mountain on a cold windy day

Maria and Maylu at Echo point

Eric Maylu and Maria Echo Point

Three Sisters I think !!

Whilst in the Blue Mountains we drove to the Jenolan caves.

We entered with our guide the Imperial cave one of 350 caves in the region,  these caves were some 360- 450 million years old.  We were told that the hanging forms were stalactites and the ones going up were stalagmites. If they met and joined up, they were friendly.

We were shown some straw stalactites that were over 1 mtr long and had taken millions of years to form. I thought I could have done one bigger with my chewing gum but Maria would not let me.

The caves were 16 degrees and once we were right in the cave, the guide turned out the lights, was it black?? like black black!!!

 A little voice whispered to me can you ask him to turn the lights on, I told her to close her eyes and I put my arm round her.

Friendly

Cave Ceiling

Curtain Stalactite 

Maria and Dave No mates meet old friends in Sydney

We have now been in Sydney for one week and spent the majority in the city that is very very impressive.

The things we have liked is in Hyde Park the sign at the entrance reads.

Please walk on the grass, please have your picnics on the grass, please smell the roses, feel free to hug a tree or a flying fox..

These were all can do rules, rather than not allowed rules. 

We liked that.

When we arrived in Sydney we came through the airport customs and were to be met by Anoushka and Josh.

We wanted to make the right impressions as we had not met Josh before.

Maria decided that she would wear a pair of her best knickers on her head and have bunches out the leg holes and wear her dame Edna sun glasses. I was to wear my snake skin John Lennon hat [ jaunty]and take lots of photos of Maria as we came into the arrivals lounge. As we went through customs check point the officer looked but did not say anything. To our amazement there were many spectators but no Noosh and Josh. All of a sudden I wondered if we were suitable dressed.

About 10 minuets passed and they arrived. That evening they took us for a lovely meal over looking the Sydney harbour bridge. Had the best lamb ever.We have since been over to Noosh and Josh's home and had Anoushka Lawson and Josh cook an exceptional meal with oysters giant prawns and lamb cutlets. Lovely.

Yesterday we met up with our brother in law Chris's, sister Ellie and husband Jim who came here some 20 years ago. We spent a great day together telling old story's of things that had happened to Chris and Jackie and families. We laughed a lot about things Mrs Talbot had said bringing back many happy memories from the homeland. A picture tells a thousand words. See below.

• Australia welcomes Trend setter  G's - Mary and Davido

Airport picture on Arrival Anoushka- Davido- Maria

Anoushka Lawson in super kitchen with electronic window to patio open

Bride to be Anoushka and Maria blooming  pre drinks

Josh the groom to be, blooming on the BBQ  [ with broken foot not in picture]

See that place behind? that is where I used to sing. Ellie Super star.

Group picture for Mrs Talbot

Maria and Ellie under Sydney bridge

Awsome

First week in Australia

In the uk I was just an ordinary bloke, one of the crowd.  

Here- I am AWSOME. 

My self and steam has blossomed.

NZ Gives us a final Kick before we leave for OZ

SHRINK

Christchurch has had a shaky start to the New Year. Photo / Dean Purcell

Last night was scary to say the least, lucky we had British stiff upper lips!!!

Read report..

A swarm of large aftershocks which rocked Christchurch overnight and knocked out power to thousands of homes has not caused any new damage to the rattled city, authorities say.

The shaky start to what Cantabrians hoped would be a calm 2012 included a violent magnitude-5.5 quake at 5.45am felt across the region.

Geonet reported two earthquakes striking at 5.45am, just seconds apart, and of similar magnitude, which would account for the surging nature of the early-morning jolt.

It was centred 20km north-east of the port of Lyttelton at a depth of 15km and follows a similar pattern to the latest bout of aftershocks kick-started by the swarm of December 23 shakes, which included a mag-6.0.

Between 10.31pm last night, when there was a mag-3.4 shake, and 9.01am this morning, Christchurch has been rocked by a reported 14 aftershocks - all above 3.3-mag.

After the 5.45am shake, power was cut to 10,000 homes across several eastern suburbs, including Shirley, Burwood, Dallington, Richmond, and Spencerville.

A spokesman for Orion Energy said power was restored at 7.41am.

The power went down after a transformer automatically shut itself off, as it was designed to do.

A spokeswoman said: "Both Orion and Transpower have completed checks of their networks and power has been restored to the customers affected by this morning's 5.45am aftershock.

"We are now dealing with a few minor faults and should have them resolved in couple of hours."

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) said there had not been any further significant damage.

But Cera warned on Twitter that cell phone networks were experiencing an overload and urged people to minimise their calls and texts.

Police, the Fire Service and St John Ambulance said they had not had any earthquake-related callouts this morning.

Christchurch City Council reported that a power outage in the Brooklands and Burwood areas affected a small number of pump stations but these are now operating.

The council also said water supplies were not affected, but any resident without water should contact them.

Christchurch mayor Bob Parker said the latest quakes have "rattled" residents but they needed to "remain calm, and be assured that everything was being done to ensure key services remained operational".

He said: "We have staff on stand-by ready to react quickly if the situation requires it. It's not a great start to a new year, but everyone is working hard to ensure we have a resilient and safe city in the future.

"I've heard that because several of these quakes have been offshore, some people are concerned about the possibility of a tsunami, but I'd like to reassure them that this is highly unlikely.

"The advice we have received from GNS is that the faults offshore are short in length and not likely to generate a significant tsunami. The sea inundation to land is low risk, probably not more than a storm surge."

Council facilities are being checked early this morning to make sure they can open as normal.

Anyone who is feeling distressed or overwhelmed by the aftershocks and needs extra help to cope with the situation can call the Canterbury Support Line on 0800 777 846 between 8am - 11pm seven days a week