Our Beautiful Land

Beautiful Stony Stratford 

There really is no better place than Britain when the sun is shining. This year I appreciate it more than ever as we have had such a wet start to the year. The sun makes me happy, and I don’t need to sit in it to feel it either.

Tuesday, as ever, I was back at the Orchard after my long trip. In the time I was away, the trees have become heavy with fruit – most of which is yet to ripen. The birds are aware of this too and are making the most of this window of opportunity. We picked some low-hanging cherries and then went on to the logan bush, the redcurrants and the gooseberries. Here the early rains have brought dividends. The fruit is really plump and juicy!

Ironically, we are now almost into drought. The ground is so hard it is difficult to break so my plans for the allotments will just have to wait. I’d need a pneumatic drill to make my mark. Even my garden is dry as a bone. My lavender has died and even my olive tree looks parched. What a crazy world we live in with the climate crisis.

Saturday, I went off for a long bike ride along the cycle paths of MK. For me, these are the most wonderful part of the new city. Each settlement in MK has its own park and playground area – few of which were inhabited by people on Saturday morning  - this surprised me. Remembering my time in Singapore, Bukit Timah Hill, and the Green Corridor were more like Piccadilly Circus at the weekends. It seemed like everyone had taken to walking in nature at the time I was living there.

Mine and surrounding villages are fighting to keep developers from converting the countryside to warehousing. I personally can’t see the sense in doing this as there are already enormously large warehouses on the roundabout south of MK, others by the M1 and also on the A5 this side of Dunstable. How many do we need? Nonetheless, we are fighting to save our bit of countryside. Saturday night was a fundraiser for the cause. What better way to save a few fields than dance and drink the night away! 

Having fun - all for a good cause

Ezra-Mae has spent a lot of time with me this week. She had a sleepover and then, earlier in the week I had Ezra-Mae and Shadow for the morning. We went round the village for a walk. Ezra-Mae said: “Good Morning” to everyone and even quacked at the ducks. She is so happy communing with nature – long may it last. I have told her she is no longer My Little Treasure. She is My Slightly Bigger Treasure now!

Welcome Home

I’m back! And, being back it seems like I was never away really. I came home to a jungle in my back garden and immediately started hacking the plants back from the path. The tree that Sammi pollarded is sprouting and the white fly have got a grip on some of the plants. Just one month and my eye is off the ball.

Ezra-Mae walking the plank

The flights from Darwin to Singapore are laborious. Yet, when you finally do get home there is a residual energy that carries through the day enough to get the washing done, sort out mail, do the shopping, book appointments…. Endless trivia that is part of the humdrum.

I had, in the bunch of letters, a note from the Post Office to say they tried to deliver a parcel on June 3^rd and then a tick on it to say they would deliver it on Tuesday. Not sure which Tuesday as there isn’t a parcel. I checked the website. I don’t have a reference on the note to find where my parcel is, so I phoned. I don’t have a reference to get anywhere with phoning either. I spoke to a rude, disinterested employee after a long wait and a  “yes/no” chatbot conversation.

I went to the Post Office in Central MK. I needed to talk to someone. I was given an address to go to the sorting office. I drove there in a hurry as I was told it closes at 2pm. It closed at 10am. Errr. A helpful chap told me that my letters don’t get sorted in South MK so I needed to go to another sorting office. That too was closed. I am now out of time to pick up any parcel as it is returned to sender in 21 days. Welcome Home!!!

It seems nothing works smoothly over here. Danielle’s washing machine broke down before I left for Australia and after three attempts to deliver a new one from Hoover, she now has a functioning machine with a big dent in it. Hoover couldn’t even get the delivery time right, so I had to be at her place to be in receipt of the dented model.

Dent!

I had Ezra-Mae to look after the day I got back as well. She was really pleased to be over with me and didn’t stop. She sprayed my sticky white fly with washing up liquid really thoroughly. We went to the park to climb and swing, then back home I washed her, read her a book and got her to sleep. Danielle picked her up and got her home. I was exhausted. Totally!

So now I need a holiday. This one I need in order to recover from the previous one. Also, the days are getting shorter from hereon. I feel crushed like a well-heeled packet of Tim Tams! Just a few more things to do before I start planning! Hey Ho.

From the land of discarded trolleys to Darwin

We set off on a Greyhound bus to Alice Springs via Coober Pedy. Driving through the interior makes one realise how incredibly vast Australia is. The journey was an overnighter so we saw the sun come up over the desert along the way. We were warned from all sides how Alice Springs is a dodgy place - it has the highest crime rate in Australia apparently. 

The town is small, poor and slow-paced. The population is made up of indigenous people who sit along the street in the town centre and watch the world go by. All over the town are discarded supermarket trolleys. There was even one outside the hotel! Despite exploring and trekking across a dry Todd River and legging it up the hill in the Botanic Gardens, I really didn't do much. 

The hotel in Alice had a lovely pool where I could really swim. It was refreshingly cold and probably because I did really swim I  now have the mother of all colds. I am not sure whether swimming in a cold pool gave me the cold but I am now in Darwin and suffering. Sympathetic friends would help with my suffering in my hour of need! (only joking) and the shiraz has kept my throat oiled - Thank you, Moe! 

As there were limited things to do in Alice the evening we hung around the hotel. This hotel could have been in any city in any country - quite soul-less. The food from the restaurant we ate at was positively mediocre. No stars for that meal. However, with all holidays, you take the rough with the smooth and the ups with the downs too.  

My time in Alice was slow moving. I reflected how life is over here. The language is creative. Most words end with a vowel sound - Barbie, chucka rightie... and Mcdonalds has a schwa over here. Their swearing has depth and variety... Moe has been teaching me some more useful terms while I have been putting this together.  So I am telling him here and now; I'm not here to F**K spiders I need to get this written.

The newsreaders on TV wear their hair as if it is a helmet. Their doesn't move even when they nod. Most odd. Then going through Downtown Darwin I spied Helmet Hairdressers. It really is a recognised style over here.

At the waterfront - relaxed bods and relaxed hairstyles

Sunset bubbles

Moe gets things ready!

In the hands of Moe and Eva the food quality has gone through the roof as has the shiraz consumption! We spent an evening watching the sun go down, drinking bubbly and having cheese. This was followed by homemade pizza back at base. Today after a swim down at the waterfront, we went off for some Asian food from one of the markets. I eyed the Singapore Noodles and knew that I couldn't possibly do it justice. Too much choice and too little time. 

And... so ends my adventure. England calls...

Sydney - Viv:d memories

We departed company with the campervan and set off for pastures new in Central Sydney this week. It was a big change of pace and a relief not to have to look for places that had sufficient headroom to park the van. Our hotel was right in the middle of the Vivid festival - a light show that immediately wowed us on leaving the hotel. Right by us  was the Fire Kitchen. This was the culinary centre piece  - a real hot spot of the event         -  that had loads of street stalls selling food from all over the world. Periodically flame throwers along the street would send a woosh of fire high into the air. To start with I found this a bit unnerving. We could even hear the loud woomph from our hotel room  - no escape from the joys of Vivid.

The Vivid show lit up the streets all the way to Darling Harbour as well as other bits of town. We certainly came to Sydney at an opportune time. Lucky for me, I met up with Anne Macinante for a few drinks and a lot of reminiscing - or was it a lot of drinks and a bit of reminiscing? I also had a wonderful night out with Ashley and Ian  - Sammi and Chris - our respective sons used to do ANZA football together about a hundred years ago. Back then Sammi was more interested in the daisies than the football! It was so lovely to reconnect with old friends and, oh how we laughed!

Sid at the Forester's

Ashley, Ian, Anne and I after a wonderful meal in Darling Harbour

Whoops... Cheers

Donna, Sophie and I having a drink! 

I caught up with Dr. Sid too. We skirted conversations about Skittles, Borat, DFE and Sammi over a wonderful night out. I have known Sid since he was knee high so there was a lot to talk about there. I am so proud  he is Sammi's best friend. 

We also managed to meet my cousin, Donna. Again, a time for happy memories - and lots of chat about THE PARTY! Sydney has been good for the night life especially; and despite this, we did manage to trek up and over the Harbour Bridge early one morning too. Our trip to Bondi was cut short by stormy skies and a biblical deluge. When it began to look much like a typical summer's day in an English seaside town we got the bus back to Central Sydney. At least the rain stopped us feeling homesick for Old Blighty.

Bondi Beach before the storm! Could be England

And so onto Adelaide to escape the rain. Adelaide is a foodie place but as Diana said; we came there to see her. She took us to visit Hahndorf (a German Village est. 1839) and eat incredibly large sausages! This left just a small window of opportunity to visit a vineyard or two. So the adventure continues and the memories flow like wine. This trip is blowing away any possible Monday morning blues! 

What this campervan needs is....

Lady and the van

 Just like Mrs Armitage on Wheels I have lots of recommendations for the campervan I have been sharing with Sophie for the past two weeks. This is not to say that it has not been fun, but Sunday night is the last night of having to shift the cushions under me to keep them in line as a bed. This alone kept waking me up. It is also the last night that I will be using the loo in the van too. We are about full of the joys of camping and ready for a change.

No more will I take my wee for a walk to the "dump". Nor will I open my hard shell suitcase and ferret through everything and then find the one thing I needed was in my rucksack after all. Getting dressed stooped will also be a memory too. Oh the joys that I will personally miss!

The nights draw in about 5pm so we have plenty of time to wriggle around and find a comfy way to sleep but still we dream of the beds in the hotel in Sydney. On a positive note, we have been impressed by the ease at which we can purchase the odd bottle of vino on the road and the speed with which we polish it off before bedtime.

Only once did we need to ration the drinking as we spent two nights in Crowdy Bay National Park right on the beach and nowhere near the "bottle-O". Crowdy Beach -a truly beuatiful spot - had no electricity or hot water but really limited our joys there due to torrential rain of tropical proportions. Even our phone use had to be rationed. It made up for the downsides though by having friendly roos and an amazing beach that we could see through our steamed up windows. Sophie felt she was whale watching at this time.

Suffolk Beach

Us at Suffolk Beach

The Three Sisters near our campervan

Coffs Harbour

Sunrise at Crowdy Bay

Fellow campers

What our van needed was a "tarp" so we could sit outside and shelter from the deluge. Even the roos found shelter under cover of the other tents and vans. So far, improvements to the campervan would be a shelter and a more stable bed. There are other things our van lacked - mostly because the company we hired it from didn't check the gear properly. The water hose didn't have the bit you need to fix it to a tap! This we scrounged off fellow campers! The ouside BBQ bit was broken so we cooked inside and set the fire alarm off each time!

Sophie recognised my amazing backhand in the way I flapped the towel around the alarm to stop it. She pronounced me the outright winner against the alarm. Yay! One night she wrapped a towel around it and held it there so I offered to feed her while her hands were gripping the alarm. This was a step too far so she took the battery out. Our cooking sounds rather fraught but our meals have been culinary delights - Jamie Oliver watch this space.

Not only have we shared our camping with roos, we were warned about snakes in Yandina but didn't see any personally. Sophie named the place Snake Creek. We have travelled south towards Sydney and crossed so many creeks with wonderful names  - noames much more vivid than Snake Creek.  I'm still on the look out for Creeky Creek. It has to be on our way somewhere.

So now our time with the van is running out and we have a beach and a pool to check out before our final departure.... let me at it. Time for a final dip!

The Koala sanctuary I forgot to mention

A little bit of a big bit

 

Hervey Bay

Wally on the beach

Hervey Bay

So here I am in a campervan a long way from my little village. It took three days to get here - Hervey Bay - a small town on the east coast of Australia. With a big thanks to Mark who drove us to Heathrow early on a Monday morning and that wasn't an easy drive thanks to Google taking us round the back roads from MK to Heathrow. So from Heathrow via Changi to Brisbane and then driving a campervan up the coast, it was quite a trek.

Australia is massive and feels even more so when you hit the road. There is a big emptiness. Thanks to Google once more for taking us on a circuitous route to our little campsite, it seemed even further into the wilds. Driving a campervan takes a little getting used to but we conquered that pretty quickly. We are working out the quirks of life in a van too. We squeeze past each other in the small space and have managed cooking and sleeping arrangements - Yay! Sophie and I have been in situ for a few days now and we are getting into the local way of life and practicing the local lingo!

As with all people who live in a different country to their birth, there are things we miss. Mine was always Marmite! Doug, my cousin, likes Piccalilli so I packed some especially. To protect the jars in my suitcase, I made sure I had my trusty orange hard shell case for the trip. It is a bit cumbersome in the van so I huff and puff every time I need to get into it. This old case now has dodgy locks and the strap I put round it to ensure it remains shut, also has a dodgy lock. As I slip the plastic prongs into the lock of the strap, the numbers slip round and then I need to spend an age trying to work out what the new release combination is. Errr. Now the jars are no longer in the bag, a hard shell case is excess to needs. 

So, on first impressions Hervey Bay is lovely and, as the locals say; it is full of the newly wed and the nearly dead! We came all the way here for Doug's 80th birthday. And what a great night it was - or should I say a great three nights of celebrating. I have met up with cousins from all over and I am so honoured to be a little bit of a very big family that knows how to party!

 

The beach here at Hervey Bay is quite spectacular. I have dipped my toes in the waters and also kayaked - it is years since I did that but, like falling off a bike, you never forget how to do it. I have also got Sophie on a bike and dragged her on walks through woods with big bats hanging from the trees. I am giving her the typical Woolhead treatment, except I haven't got her lost as yet. There is time for that. This is just a little bit of our big adventure!

Natural Hazards

Life sometimes bites you on the bottom. The swans along the canal have also tried to do that to me and to others this week. In fact, one particular swan with her cluster of fluffy cygnets is so aggressive, people have turned back rather than walk past.

My first encounter on the tow path was with Shadow. She is a feisty dog, so I held her back when this swan started hissing and opening its beak at us. We gave her as much ground as we could and still she lurched at us. It was scary.

The next day I warned a man walking his dog and then the same swan threatened me on my bike. The third time, the swan had managed to divide a group of walkers and one of them was terrified. She refused to go anywhere near the swan. She turned back and refused to carry on her way. Truly scary stuff!

On the last occasion I got off my bike to take a photo. The birds actually look docile. Don't be fooled. As I walked past one swan bit the pedal on my bike. Fortunately, I was the other side of the bike and protected. If only I could have taken a picture of that happening. 

Other natural hazards include having an afternoon drink in my garden. The weather was warm and the wine and negronis flowed effortlessly. My friends, Peter and Jackie came round to join Mark and myself for a Friday afternoon tipple. Mark Richards has been staying with me for a few days. He has come up from Cornwall to holiday in Cosgrove! This is a bit of a reversal. Most people would prefer to go the other way, I'm sure. At least the weather has been good and we have got out and about.

The purpose of Peter and Jackie's visit was for me to pass on instructions to look after my plants while I am away. At least, I think I passed on the instructions. Mind you, with whatsapp you are never too far away from anyone in the world, so it really isn’t too bad if I didn’t quite give a full account.

So, it is off on holiday for me. This is a much-awaited trip to down under via Singapore. I promise to wave to everyone on my in transit stop-over. I’m so excited.