What's Doing

We may have no house and car (although that’s coming soon) but I have started to add up the reasons why it’s good to be back in Sydney.

I returned, not really triumphant, to Wakehurst Tennis Club this morning. As the world changes the tennis club stays the same. I was just a little bit rusty but was still made to feel welcome and no one laughed too loudly at my serve.

Secondly, and almost as importantly, I’ve been buying a couple of bottles of wine – purely for medicinal purposes you understand. It is pleasing to see that Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon, which I was buying in the UK for £8 a bottle is retailing in Sydney for $12 (or roughly £4.75). It’s going to save me a fortune.

By Alexander G. Todd aged 1 1/4

Monday. Had a lovely day with various Grannies and Grandads. I didn’t see Daddy much, but when I did he was saying lots of naughty words. Later on when it was after my bed time we went to a strange place and climbed on board a paraffin budgie. Daddy complained that he couldn’t get any lager.

Tuesday. I got confused because by the time we got off the second plane Mummy and Daddy said that Tuesday was over and that I had to go to bed. Which wasn’t fair because I hadn’t been able to play all day. We arrived at the new place and it was raining: quite a lot actually. Daddy said some more rude words.

Wednesday. We went for breakfast and I got lots of things to eat. Yummy. Mummy and Daddy took me for a swim but we had to stop early because I was a bit tired and it had started raining again. Daddy said some rude words and talked about stringing up their travel agent from the nearest lampost. I’m not sure what that means but Mummy tells me that he wasn’t very happy.

Thursday. It was a bit rainy today so we didn’t do much. Daddy said some more words that I didn’t know. Mummy said that they were rude. I didn’t care as I got to eat most of Daddy’s chips at lunch time.

Friday. Mummy and Daddy got me up really early to go on an adventure [1]. We went on a bus and then a little boat and then a bigger boat. On the big boat I got to eat lots of fruit and drink lots of water. We then got on a really small inflatable boat and went for a paddle. It was a bit tricky because of all the rain. Mummy and Daddy had to wear big ponchos which made them look even sillier than the Tweenies!

Saturday. Daddy said some new words that I didn’t know today. Mummy told me that these ones were rude as well. She said he said them because it was still raining. It wasn’t all bad though, as I got to eat more of Daddy’s chips.

Sunday. Mummy and Daddy took me on another adventure [2]. This was a bit different as there was a large orange ball in the sky. It made Mummy and Daddy put on hats and funny spectacles. Daddy didn’t say that many rude words today. Especially after Mummy let him buy some lager in the mini-mart.

Monday. Our last day on holiday before carrying on our travels to a land down under. It was Daddy’s birthday but Mummy said that we didn’t need to buy him any presents or a card. We did sing "Happy Birthday to you" though. Mummy said that Daddy is now really, really, old.

[1] http://www.seacanoe.net/

[2] http://www.andamanleisurephuket.com/

If I weren’t leaving the country tomorrow I would be off to see my travel agent to fire him. He convinced us that our trip to Thailand this week would be fine, and that the weather would be great – "But why is the hotel so cheap?" we asked. It should have prompted a little research.

Still, better late than never. So this morning I took a look at the upcoming weather forecast. Bugger. For the next ten days Phuket will be hot, humid, and graced with thunderstorms every single day. So much for a relaxed beach side holiday.

The only up side is that SWMBO will be able to try and bankrupt me at the spa.

At least, that’s what my name means. I’ve known it for years.

Courtesy of Simon.

After eight days with only dial up internet access we are now esconsed at the in-laws where I find that the PVC Santa has had broadband installed. So I am now delighting in downloading and erasing all of the spam emails I have received. Not to mention removing all of the distinctly off colour comments that have appeared on my blogs.

If I get a moment tomorrow I will fill you in on the delights of having other people doing your packing and the value of advance planning when trying to avoid excess baggage charges.

Oh, and a hilarious tale about our car. Well, alright, it is not actually funny but it may slightly amuse.

Many thanks to all who turned up last night. Many mojitos were supped and unsurprisingly I feel as rough as a badger this morning. Sadly the removal men are turning up any minute now so there is no rest for the hungover.

As an inevitable part of this my fat pipe is being turned off and blogging may suffer as a result. I’ll try and keep some notes of our move to another continent and post them when I get access to the internet. Failing that I’ll be back in about a month.

Enjoy yourselves whilst I’m gone.

There are less than two weeks before we leave the country and this is our last week in London. SWMBO has graciously allowed me a last night out on the town. The removal company arrive tomorrow and then we are off around the country until we leave. The details are;

The date: Tuesday the 21st of September, 2004
The time: From 6pm until you get bored of my company and go home
The venue: Cubana, 48 Lower Marsh (near Waterloo Station)
Directions: http://www.cubana.co.uk/about/waterloo.phtml

They serve bar snacks for those who can’t last an evening without food, and the mojitos are rather fine for those who favour fruit based refreshment. This is my last drink up in London so it would be nice to see you there. Whoever you are, dear reader.

Today we are mainly trying to decide what to pack (and ship) and what to throw (or give) away. On the list today was our steam steriliser. Yours at Boots the Chemists for a mere 36 of your English pounds.

According to Yahoo! Finance that translates into 92 and a bit Australian dollars. Yet when I check online, its a stonking 135 dollars. That is what I call a foreign exchange mark-up.

Needless to say the steriliser is being packed and consigned to a container. Along with rather a lot of other assorted junk. I mean, how can a chap survive without his ice cream maker?