Tulip Cheeks

Sandringham and hugs

Its been a quiet weekend this one. Ive slept and ive slept. Then Mr TC started with the 'Man' flu - so I just had to get out - and huess what - Mr TC came with me!

We fancied going for a little walk or something - its crazy to live by the sea side and never go visit it - so off we went. As if by magic Sandringham had itself a fete on - our first Australian one at that.

Not much differnt to a UK one - people still tripping poeple up, the smells of beautiful food - the music belting out. One thing that was a little different was a stand like this - you wouldnt get this in Yorkshire!

So we are still getting on remarkably well. We have had some freshers arrive from the UK - the sister of our dear friend Hels and her boyfriend have come to live over here and being a nice sister Hels put them in touch with us. Its been nice sharing our findings with new poeple. It puts it into perspective how much we have achieved.  It was hard to keep our findings to facts -as you know - I have a few opinions now. It is so differnt here, and us Brits ARE a different breed! But I aslo think a few mis-conceptions have snuck through -like Australia and Australians are a very laid back - nothing could be further from the truth - I have never been told off, tutted at or had my personal property tapped more in my life. I have never had to work so hard, or cope with so much upset in a work environment. But hey ho - it can only get better. I have so much good stuff to give - I just hope I can sustain it. I certainly dont wanna join'em.

What I missed about Australia

I knew there was a reason why I hadnt done a flip of the coin yet. Ive done what I miss about Yorkshire and it wasnt till I was back there that I could really identify the differences between it, and my lovely Melbourne.

I missed the friendly-ness of Australian people. They are welcoming in a different way. More open about their lives, and much more friendly in shops. I really missed the "hey, hows it going?" question asked by EVERY shop assistant across the whole of Australia.

I missed my new friends, the ones we are at the very begining of our journeys with. The ones with definite potential to be friends for life.

I missed the amazing food. Bloodly lovely proclaimed there must be something wrong with my taste buds as I even found a roast pork sandwich from the infamous 'BOOTHS' bland!

I missed the way Mr TC looks after me in Australia. He just left me for dead in Yorkshire as HE was going to enjoy himself.

I missed coffee of the amazing variety, oh, and the going for breakfast rituals.

I missed feeling comfortable in my clothes (predominantly because I took nothing expecting Id get everything there - to find nothing) but also I think because Australians are much less bothered about the outer shell. I felt a bit more 'judged' in England and eyed up and down more.

Bloody Lovelys coming in 3 days!

and Mi Papa!

So little to do...so much time - STRIKE THAT and reverse it as Willy Wonka once famously said.

I want the house shining like a new pin. The car, me, Mr TC, Melbourne. Im opting for my favourite and signature orange nail varnish - I may even don a sailor suit to go to the airport. I cant bloody wait! After nearly 9 months of no hugs, no kisses, no linking arms down the street - weve gotta lot of catching up to do. 

When Bloody lovely has her sisters over to stay she practically re-decorates the whole house. I'l be happy if Mr TC re-decorates the red wine he chucked up the cream wall when he tripped walking up the stairs-2 weeks ago. Can you tell Im a little mad with Mr TC's lack of effort recently - getting a few of the old digs in wherever possible! 

Im so bloody (and I want to put the f word in but I wont) excited about my parents coming I could scream!

 

Can anyone tell me....

Why the tyres of lorries seem to explode all too often here? Do they not have MOT's where they check the tread is over (i think) 1.4mm? Is it the heat? Is is because they drive like w*nkers?

There are strips of rubber tyres all over Melbourne's motorways and I dont know why. The other week a lorry in front of me had one of its tyres explode. It was blooming frightening, I thought it had crashed into the car in front. I had to go on the inner hard shoulder and swerve from the flying rubber.

One of the saddest things Ive heard since i came here happened in my first week in my new job. An old man had stopped on the side of the road (I drive every working day) to help someone change their tyre. On the walk back to his car after he had helped someone immesley - at that split second a passing lorry had a tyre explode and the flying piece of rubber flew off and killed the old man. I don't care what they say about when its your time to go, its your time to go - this does not make sense. At all. One bit.

My first WARM Christmas Party! (s)

And I should mention - my work Christmas party started at 1.30pm. Its funny how you imagine the last thing you know, thats similar to what youre going to. I was imagining my last work christmas party - actually, I tell a lie, it was the year before one - last years was rubbish! I imagined the room, the same people, the same sumo suits....I couldnt have been imagining further from the truth.

It was at Geelong race course. These were our seat...in the stands. We drove over there in convoy ( I always get really giddy when driving in a group - I have to really control myself so as i dont make a tw*t out of myself). I put the roof down - that was a pretty tw*ty thing to do - but, I was living the dream!!! haha.

It was a bit rough and ready at Geelong race course - one of our convoy cars got stuck in the mud, the toilets were like cattle sheds, but it was alot of fun!

Ive been meaning to tell you all about how its going at work and stuff. Its going really well. I think Im kinda doing ok. I hate hate hate being the new girl. I cant wait to answer a question with the courage of my conviction. The people are great, although i do feel like Im backing back to sit on an already full sofa...wiggling my bottom as to try squeeze in - know what I mean?

I had such a nice time at the party, it was very strange tho. There were bottles of suntan lotion on the side, the food was  barbie (standard) people were dressed quite casually, I got a bit of sunburn on my shoulder and I did miss a dance with my pals at TP.

 

Then, we were given a bag each - each bag contained a roll wrap, ribbon,, a facinator, some stickers and some cello tape. We then had to fashion an outfit. My suggestion of a cat suit got everyone buzzing round our lovely model - only in reflection, a cat suit doesn't really work over clothes. Our efforts were warmly received though and we made it to final 4. the winner was well deserved - a full mans suit carved out of roll wrap (3rd in from left) it was truly amazing - even the pattern was going in the right direction.

After chewing on some free sweets, and eating a filling I decided to make a move....I had another party to go to!

 

GO GO TWIST-MAS PARTY!  I think I died and was in heaven. Sorry about the bad picture quality.

I met my lovely blog find - Suzie and of we skipped into the room where GO Go is usually held. We sat and drank a bottle of bubbly and caught up on very important matters. Anna (the Go go teacher ) got everyone in the mood by setting us off dancing and then you just couldnt stop us! I cant tell you how much I loved the whole thing. The people there were loving the music - which was soul/funk/60s/70s - Mr TCs idea of hell. And everyone, like me was loving it. Ive always felt a bit different when it comes to music - i like most kinds, but I really love this kind. It was amazing to see a room full of young people dancing their little ankle socks off - and with very authentic dancing i might add! I looked round at one point and just thought - this is brilliant, im so happy!

We danced practically non stop and before I knew it, it was 1am. I just couldnt get a taxi - what with all the christmas parties going on - my only saving grace was that - It wasnt cold. I had to wait an hour and a half - in a que longer than a sports hall. I was on my own, and very tired. I was nearly at the front when the official taxi rank organiser said that the guy at the front was going to the same place as me - did I like the look of him? Weird, i thought, but hey, he looks safe enough. The guy then finds an Irish guy - from the BACK of the que who is also going our way. the three of us jump in the cab - me in the front. Just as we are about to drive off the door swings open and a mad man jumps in. The Taxi driver thinks hes with us and starts driving. the mad man starts going on and on - hes swearing, telling the driver to take him back home (which is not in our direction) I whisper to the driver "hes not with us" and the driver looks like hes gonna cry. Meanwhile the two legitimate guys are trying to humor the mad man by keeping him talking. He make a few references to me, I try to passify him and ask if i can get dropped off first as 'Ive got kids" - thats what i said!! I must have been petrified! (i dont have kids -for my new friends). The Taxi driver pulls in to the side of the road and we coax him out. He chucks in a pack of fags and then stumbles off into the night. I hate stuff like that. And to make matters worse the two guys are insisting their drop off is first - when its clearly mine. I whisper to the taxi driver to drive me home first and foremost - which he does - the poor taxi man - no wonder they have a protective shell around them in the cars here. What a crap ending to a perfect Christmas party day. never mind, I woke up happy this morning, happy that my feet are sore from dancing and I need a new filling - I must have had a great day!

Shane Warne is IN the building!

We got an email yesterday inviting us to go meet Shane Warne and get his Autograph. I emailed Mr TC STRAIGHT away who went out to buy a brand spanking new cricket shirt for the main man to sign and be with us (in a frame) for ever.

We got an email about an hour later to say - hes still coming, but the meet and greet has been canceled.

Ive come in this morning - with the shirt. Ive been passed from pillar to post trying to find out who I can give the shirt to to try get it infront of him. Finally someone lowered their head and went (very quietly - almost not moving their lips) "hes sat outside in a car right now, go see Lisa in Menswear - shes looking after him" But you know what TC lovers? I didnt go see Lisa - Ive just snuck down and run up to his car!!  (a rather nice black Merc) met his PA - Helen (who I think thought I was Lisa- coming out to meet them! she out stretched her hand to mine and then when I told her my husband was a big fan of Shanes her smile slipped somewhat.  When I asked if he could sign the shirt she said "do you mind if we get in first?" Oh dear. not a great first impression. luckily he was on his phone (which I couldnt tell as I approached his wound-down window to see him flagging me to stop like someone gesturing to another driver to 'slow down'. Nice.

I ran back inside and left the shirt with Lisa (who was rather unimpressed, about to do the original meet and greet) She didnt know what I'd done, I just think nerves were getting the better of her.

I'l let you know if he was feeling generous with his signing of shirts. I think if he wasnt on the phone I would have a signed shirt in my possession now - although there is a slight chance I could have also been arrested.

OH NO!!!!!

Lisa gave it to him on its side - this is surely ruined! Why is everything so hard?

I could have handled upside down - linking to Australia etc - but SIDEWAYS?!? WTF!! Im a bit disapointed if Im honest. Its like Ive been given a delicious icecream thats been licked all over by a dog.

A beach...for dogs

I looked after Bosco a couple of saturdays ago (pig dog - the french bull dog - remember him?) Mr TC and Bosco's Daddy had gone to play cricket on one of the hottest days of the spring so far. So Bosco and pottered round together. he didnt leave my feet - like a little snorting shadow. He sat on my knee at one point like a cat. he was very cute. he'd look at me with that bat-like face and my heart would melt. Later in the day Bosco and I drove down to the beach and walked along to his very own beach - the Dog beach. Its a section of the coastline that is dedicated to dogs of all shapes and sizes. Its cordoned off and safe to let dogs have a good stretch and a play- in and out of the sea. Bosco had already done a big woopsie - so big i actually told him 'for a small dog thats a big sh*t" - the people behind me thought it amusing anyway. 

So we get through the gate of the dog beach. Bosco is literally pulling my arm out the socket trying to join his palls who are already having lots of fun. A guy comes straight over to me and makes a huge fuss of little Bosco - asking me all about him as he says he and his girlfriend want to get the same. I explain hes not actually mine and then ask - do you think he will be ok if I let him off the lead? "is he responsive?" he asks me "no idea i say" but as theres no way out except swimming to Tasmania and i dont think his little legs would manage that, I let him off. Woooosh - off he runs. he takes off that fast I kinda lean backwards first before i sprint after him. he then stops - but only to HUMP other small dogs. He won't stop, hes running from one to the next - dismissing big dogs like they didnt stand a chance. I was so embarrassed - all i could do was apologise to the other dog owners and laugh it off by saying "what can i say - hes French". So this little amorous dog went firmly back on the lead and had to make do with me cramping his style by following him around everywhere.  luckily everyone was so nice, and i could laugh the whole ordeal off. 

it was a great set up though. Everyone there had their dogs in common and were so friendly. It made me think that if I were every lonely a unique dog would make friends really quick. People were coming up and chatting away, little Bosco proved a really good icebreaker - the randy little monkey! 

All I can do is shake my head in disbelief.

As if driving in the city at rush hour isnt bad enough. This particular morning there we the signs that usually digitally tell you serious things like if theres a road closed or "slow down - accident spot" This particular morning they said "SUBARU DRIVERS- PULL IN WHERE APPROPRIATE' so Im thinking - what the hell is going on? Why only Subaru drivers, are they having a national re-call? have they fitted them with with something thats going to self distruct in 10 seconds like on Inspector gadget? "I'l get you next time Gadget - NEXT TIME!"  Im worried, and looking at the Subaru driver infront thinking - poor you - what a ball-ache. Im glad I drive a Ford. I see the Subaru driver's turned off down a side street - ooooo - naughty little Subaru driver I think. When I turn the corner there is a 'pit-stop' like scenario with people in caps with clipboards - looking all happy and promo cheesey with goodie bags to give away. Its a publicity stunt. not a cause for national concern at all. 

On the same drive I capture this danger shot whilst driving (don't try this at home) The car in the very front MIDDLE lane is actually a police car! IF THEY ARE DRIVING BADLY WHAT HOPE IS THERE FOR THE REST OF THEM?'  Im mad, Im real mad. Ken Rudd - listen up - there's a problem, a real problem. 

Supermarket observations - Ive missed doing these!

Where the hell have we moved to? just check out the critter irradication products! There is a huge section in the supermarkets here - as big as the cleaning products. It brings a tear to my eye.

We had a spider in our bedroom last week, Mr TC went down stairs to get the spider hoover (we got it from lakeland - it looks a bit like a light sabre but its supposed to suck up spiders. The spider wasnt very big and it still struggled to tempt it in. if it couldnt pick up a tiny one - hows it gonna pick up a big b*stard?! 

We were round at our good friends on friday night and the topic (as it so often does with Mr TC and I - both hideously petrified of anything insect related - sometimes I trick Mr TC into getting the insect by saying "don't be so pathetic, just get it' when really I would'nt get it in a million years! - bummer , he'l read this and now know my trick) well, the topic moved onto creepy crawlies of Australia. And by chance our friend said - 'there's actually a white-tail spider on the wall over there" intrigued to go see - this infamous spider is very nasty as it has a white tail (how did you guess!) which if it sticks that in you it eats away at the skin and can be fatal. - and THIS WAS IN THEIR KITCHEN!!! They dont tell you when you land in Australia what to do if you get bitten, stung or eaten by anything - what the hell do you do? Do you call triple zero? (their 999) Do you just ride it out and then think - ive lost my leg now - should probably have gone to hospital.

I was having a little tinkle on my piano the other day - havent done it for ages, but just felt in the right mood - I was then PUNISHED for it by getting bitten by a herd of ants passing through from under the window sill to the kitchen - I ask you - is that fair? 

From a horrible topic to a gentle, less offensive one. What pretty colours!

What a rip-off!

Its funny how most things compare very well between Australia and the UK (I dont think we have ever said 'UK' so much in our lives since we moved here - never England or Great Britain - its always U.K! - weird!) but window cleaning is the big exception.

Correct me if Im wrong but isnt an average 3 bedroom house about £7-10 to have their windows cleaned in the UK? (there I go again!) 

Here you're looking at between £80-£100! WTF? I know they might have to contend with poisonous spiders and snakes, but surely the extra cash cant just constitute as danger money? Do they go through sponges faster with the heat? 

GOR - the Great Ocean Road...

And goorrrrr...what a great road.

Leaving the hustle and bustle of the city and past the city commonly known as G-town (Geelong) theres a beautiful road which is frequented by many a Melbournite and a tourist or two.

Mr TC and I set off on a b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l friday evening...top down (the car, not me) to go meet the Senior Tulips at a lovely little place called Lorne. It took about an hour and a half from G.town (I had already driven an hour and a half from home to do a days work there)  Sea on one side, greenery on the other. We even saw this amazing house - Kevin Mc Cloud would be sad he missed the building of this...

 

Its called The Pole House and you can actually rent it for a tremendous overnight stay - how amazing would that be. It says on the above website that its the most photographed house on the GOR - and I can well believe it as it is just such an amazing sight.

 

This is where we were staying.... thats our room above the driver

 seats - not quite the same view as the pole house...but able to move 

from place to place - you cant say that about the pole house now can you!?

(sorry about the spaces between the lines - occasionally my blog type goes weird.)

 

Just along from the campsite was the beach...

 

But we didnt get as far as the beach, I just liked this short walk and taking picturres. I was also a little concerned about the mozzies and their love of my body.

The next day we set off along the coast some more - stopping off at Apollo Bay (beautiful) then to the Apostles (there was 12 but ow there might be 7 or 8 - see top picture) they were very striking - standing up in the sea like they were protecting the coast, but eventually the sea wins the battle and knocks them down. Scary to think the coastlines all over the world are eroding. I'l move on quick smart, not a nice topic.

 

BELLS BEACH MAN!

on the way home we had a quick stop off at the iconic surfers spot. Its even mentioned on the famous film with Patrick Swazey (God rest his soul) 'Point Break' in the film Patric goes to 'bells beach' for a supposed once every 50 year amazing 'Swell' (get me!!) but as it turns out - its not Bells beach - even though they say it is. You can tell because on the film there are pine trees in the background, and there aint no pine trees on the GOR. Nice to get a mention though.

Also on the way home I saw a pretty appropriate redgo for me (I must tell you - Im slowly becoming Australian - 'redgo' pops out my luscious lips all too easily!) Its an odd feeling moving to a country that is not your own. I grew up in a small town, I knew most people, Bloody Lovely was born there, Bloody Lovely's Bloody Lovely moved there in the 1930's, I felt like 10 men walking down the highstreet after a night in Hooters (our local pub - ideal location to meet friends and dance on the tables). I felt kinda invinsible, infact one night I was getting a bit of jip from a so-called local who, on finding out I was Mrs Paul's grand-daughter from the sweetshop backed off instantly- he then couldnt do enough for me. Now, dont get me wrong, its not the power I miss or crave -  its the feeling that I belonged. I was there first, I know stuff.  Here, Im a newie, I dont know anything or anyone, I stick out like a sore thumb and will always stick out like a sore thumb. I wont know where my future kids are going, I wont know where their hideouts will be - I wont know which 'Hooters' equivalent there will be. 

I think I need to get over myself and embrace the fact that Im different. As Bloody lovely always said - 'Its nice to be different'.

Movember has finally arrived

Its finally here! and could it BE any hotter here in springtime Melbourne? These poor guys are trying to grow facial hair here!

How lucky for all my chums at Tigerprint who can grow their mouzers in the chill of autumn. I must say how proud I am of them all - I keep seeing updates on good old Facebook and they are all doing REALLY well. I saw these cool mugs on a fantastic website based over here, its caled third draw down and my GOD has it got some AMAZING stuff on there! They work with over 80 established and up and coming artists to showcase their fantastic designs. It really is an amazing website FULL of cool stuff. I cant wait to visit their store - i think I'l wait till I get paid first (first one coming this week!! WUHOO!!) Check it out Tigerprinters past and present - you'll dig it the most!

Phillip Island (Penguin Island) (Puffin Island as Mrs TC senior keeps calling it!)

We had a lovely day out just the 3 of us - Mr TC, his sister (Cock) and I. We drove down to Phillip Island - about a 1 hour 45 min drive. We stopped off on the way to have a BBQ - Id popped some snags in the cool box just incase.

Theres some lovely little shops down on the main high street there in Cowes. Some are lovely because of the comedy factor - and all the random goods they are selling. We drove all over the island (at least twice) as we couldnt resist getting fish and chips for the well renound restaurant at the bridge leading over to the island. Mr TC had a great game of crazy golf - by his-self and with an audience - just the way he like it - only he can win! 

Just as it was getting dusk we paid our £10 each for the entrance fee to go watch the penguins coming home to bed, after a hard days fishing out at sea. We sat there patiently for quite a while. No photos were allowed after a certain point (didnt stop some people) - hense theres no pictures of the dear little creatures that came waddling out of the sea. They were so cute - they come out in little clusters and at first they look like a shole of fish as their little tummys catch the light from the beach. At this point I thought it a little disappointing that we weren't very close at all to the little penguins - they are the smallest in the world. but then as we were heading back up the path we were actually walking along side them - mere feet away. They were off home to bed like us...I dont know how they found their correct beds every night but they must do.

Australian Animal Sanctuary

We had a lovely day out at this sanctuary - dedicated to Australian native animals. All 5 of us Tulips picked up a Wendy on the way and off we went. Its quite a long drive - it felt it anyway as Cock and I sat in the very back of an 8 seater truck - my knees were wrapped round my ears.

It was lovely to see the Australian animals, in very good condition and very happy in their natural habitats. I now have a new favourite animal - the Koala. 

He was just so chilled!  And super-cute - just like our best mate Pete.

There were all sorts of animals there - even a bird show - which I thought I'd hate as Im petrified of flapping animals. I only hid in Wendy's shoulder twice and i didnt even pull a neck muscle like I normally do around flapping in face animals. Word of advice - dont ever walk down a pigeon- filled high street with me - total embarrassment.  

This roo looked just like Mr TC had told her his Wide Mouth Frog joke (said with a cats bottom mouth) "you dont see many of those round here do you"  to which she lets out a massive sheeps-baaaa style laugh.

Notice the shadow in this picture...This belongs to a Japanese tourist. Im quite happy to treat everyone as equals until they prove me wrong, but it seems that all too often this nationality of people have NO idea of how to behave in a tourist situation.* They (* and I say 'they' but dont want to tar the whole nation, most, Im sure are perfectly behaved) have no courticy skills. They push their way to the front, they talk when theyre not supposed to, they take pictures when they are not supposed to, they HOG photo opportunities so no one else can get a look in and they have had the potential to spoil certain things that I too have paid good money to see.

There, rant over. We had a lovely time though, after we pushed OUR way to the front and then moved aside for others to enjoy :-)

Winery's down at Mornington

What a beautiful view to have while youre enjoying lunch with a nice glass of wine. Unfortunatly we went just after Mr TC's 30th Birthday party and i was, lets just say, off the wine. 

The wine here isnt any cheaper than in the UK, which is funny as you think it would be. They do do something called 'clean skins' which is where a winery over produces and needs to get rid of some stock. Their prices then dramatically drop to about £2-3. When youre in a Vintage Cellars or anyother booze shop they have an area deadicated to these clean skins - but you run the risk of getting a not so great one - but hey, just save them for the end of the night and evey ones a winner.
We drove down the coast a little more - to Arthur's Seat - a beautiful lookout with Arthur's seat being something there for a reason but I cant find out why. All I know is that it was a lovely view.

Fairfield Park - Boathouse and Tea gardens

A very cute place Wendy has brought me. I popped over to see Our Wendy for the day and we had a lovely run out. We had a glass of lemonade each - sat on the balcony of a very Victorian looking boat house - full of charm and lots of funny little signs everywhere.

Wendy and I sat and watched the world go by - just what a needed as Ive had alot on my plate recently. 

We resisted hiring a boat and thank God we did, as nearly everybody was coming back in soaked and i didnt fancy that.

Above was a vintage ride for the kiddlywinks - supposed to be the very famous Australian racehorse - Pharlap - CUTE!

Lane Discipline - or lack of.

Can I just say how ridiculous *some (*most) drivers are here in Melbourne, Australia. I mean how wrong is it that there is absolutely NO lane discipline on the motorways? people just seem to 'pick' a lane and thats it. It seems like as long as they are heading in the right direction they dont care. The other day for-instance I was in the left hand lane - approaching a car SAT in the middle lane - with nothing to overtake in its immediate or long-term future. So, to make a very British point I a)looked in my mirror b) indicated c) moved out in into the middle lane and then the outer lane and made a huge point of overtaking and then moving infront of it, casually about to position myself back in the slower lane - when NEEEEEAMPH.... a sodding car is flying up the inside lane! I nearly soiled myself! This kinda situation happens most days (never followed through with the soiling, but the feelings never change) and IM SICK OF IT!

Did they not teach drivers here the art of lane discipline? Theres one sign on the way to work clearly stating "keep left unless overtaking' so why the hell dont they? and why dont they get the sodding hint? I cant keep over-exaggerating my overtaking - its exhausting, and down right dangerous.

Ive got a 3 hour round trip to my new place of work, yes thats right TC lovers, 3 hours - so everyday Im need to have eyes on bendy straws. My neck feels about 2 inches longer from the constant 'swivel' required. I need to write to someone and sort this mess out.

Wildlife

I just wanted to share with you this little picture of a wild parrot up in the Dandenongs. I don't think I will ever get used to seeing parrots and coca-teals flying around in their natural habitat and me living alongside them.

We went for a cuppa at a the Cuckoo restaurant up there and watched all these beautiful birds flying around - it was amazing. I can really see where fashion designers can get their colour influences, and why my tutors at art college and uni always told us to start our research by looking at nature. Someone really knew what they were doing when they made animals, plants and, well, everything! The coca-teals with their white bodies and an amazing shade of lemon for their head dress, and their grey feet - thats a dress from French Connection any day! 

The Carlton Hotel Vintage fair

....is out of this world! Please check out their really nice website here.

Cock and I (Mr TC's sister - keep up!) went to a vintage fair there called 'Hello Sailor" check out this link as its on a really cool website called threethousand - a Melbourne based, no nonsense guide to the city (3000 being our state's post-code). We met lovely Suzie, had some sushi and off we went.

Inside the entrance of the Carlton Hotel every surface possible was covered in red flock - the pillars, the walls, the plinths with vases on - all covered in red flock. We turned into the bar area where a few rails of vintage clothes were on display - behind this taxidermy ostridge in a stunning set of pearls. It was so dark we decided to give the 1st floor a try first. Lots of tiny rooms filled with vintage finds. But I must say - not a patch on the vintage fair in sunny Leeds twice a year. I did make a purchase tho (standard!) a lovely bobbly cream draw-string bag and a red blouse.

In the same room as the ostridge was a real giraffe's head coming out of the wall - with false glittery eyelashes on. Also a stuffed peacock over the bar with its tail falling under the rays of a spotlight.

We left there and joy of all joys - my sailor suit was all paid up and ready to be collected! So its now in my possession! lay-bys is brilliant. paying it off bit by bit every week has really helped. Without that I wouldn't have my dream outfit. 

Captain Cooks Cottage - all the way from North Yorkshire

 

I finally got to go inside. Remeber when I told you about me doing the tour of Fitzroy gardens - where I first met my Lovely Wendy? And Mr TC had borrowed some money out of my purse for his train and not told me, and I couldn't afford the £2.50 entrance fee?

Us Tulips met Wendy at our usual spot - on the steps at Flinder's Street station, at the usual time. this was the first meeting of Wendy for the Tulips - I just knew they would love her too.

We wandered along the city streets, calling in at the Sofitel Hotel and going in the lift up to floor 35 to use the loo - great views of Melbourne while you wee - fan-toilet-tastic!

After a spot of lunch we took the same free tour of the Fitzroy garden which Wendy and I had done, as strangers 5 friendship-filled months ago. I gave Wendy a huge hug when we got there, and the lady guide remembered us and thought our meeting and subsequent friendship to be very special. 

The tour of the gardens is lovely, and well worth doing. Sue (the guide) makes things really interesting and the hour flies by.

So, i finally got to go inside the house from North Yorkshire. it was tiny and very compact as you can see in the above picture. It had 2 bedrooms. check out Mays post to see what the outside looks like. This was the typically English garden - 

 

Very cute.

After here we caught the circle tram and did a full lap of the city, taking in the Dock-lands, Parliament and much more. Then we caught the tram down to stop number 19 - the Shrine of Remembrance which ive told you about before - ray of light, passing over stone, great views back to Melbourne...

Another great day had with Wendy, this time with family too.

My first BIG spider....

It looks dead doesn't it! But believe me, it wasn't. 

The full bunch of Tulips were barbecuing in the woods of the Dandenongs (they have the most fantastic set up for BBQs in public here - just press a button and you're away!) So after a few snags and bacon butties Momma Tulip decides she needs to go see Uncle George (Mi Pa-pa always referred to a toilet stop as going to see Uncle George - no idea why). She told us the story of how she did the classic 'check under the toilet seat, check all around the door - no spiders, great she thought. She adopted a squat at the same split second her eyes glanced oner her shoulder and above to the right, to spot this.....a giant Huntsman spider. Luckily Momma Tulip hadn't started anything she couldn't finish in time to run out and call us all over.

Mr TC very camp-ly lobbed a screwed up bit of tissue at the spider to see if it would move.....it did, and so did we. All 5 of us ran out of the ladies toilet block screaming. 

Apparently the Huntsman spider is the most gentlest of all the massive spiders here as they don't bite....their mouths are too small - phew I hear you say, coz we were really worried about their gnashers!

PUFFING BILLY!

 

At long last I finally got to go on Puffing Billy - right through the heart of the Dandenong ranges. I took the above picture on my i-phone so I could send it to Mi Pa-pa and make him proud! 

I absolutely loved the ride. We got our own carriage on the way there and kids of all ages were sitting with their legs dangling out the window - I say kids of all ages - TC in-laws included!

It was lovely scenery, and at one point it just looked like my beloved North Yorkshire....

 

Can almost imagine the intro for Emmerdale. 

Der ner ner neeeeer, ner ner ner ner neeer, ner ner neeeeer. - Man I love that show. Weve just had Jack Sugdens funeral here - v.sad. It was a BIG dream of mine to be a set designer for Emmerdale and I actually went to Yorkshire TV for work experience there for a short time (before I was offered a full time job a Tigerprint and realised I had a mortgage to pay). I was in my element. I helped order Chris Tates head stone, his coffin, made notices for the church notice board - I just loved it. I really love looking at characters and imagining what their surroundings look like. Even now I look at the backgrounds of programs more than the action as I just adore admiring the decisions people have made.

This looks very french. Which reminds me of the time I was walking out of the Emmerdale studios and heard a little voice saying "doest she look love-alie" for me to turn round to see Loraine Chase admiring my outfit. "you look love-alie you do" she went on to say. "Vew-wey fwench".  I had black and white stripes on and then forgot where i'd parked, in my tiz of thanking her.

 

We got off at lakeside -about an hours ride from Belgrave. We walked down to the cafe to 

discover it was shutting, so we just hopped back onto the next 

available Puffing Billy and came back. 

Check out how they cant turn him around and must 

just wack his pistons into reverse!

 

Our local Indian restaurant - great name hey!

Either a very good sense of humour or Boti means 'delicious Indian cuisine'. Mr TC and I gave it a whirl the other night - not having had a *decent curry since Yorkshire (*its what you grow up with = a good bench mark- there are so many variations on everyones perfect curry). It went off to a great start - the restaurant seemed authentic, and pretty busy for a monday night. We ordered Popadums for £1 each x4 and had to order the pickles separately - FOR £3 each!? We opted for the onion one and the mango chutney. The latter came in a concentrate form - literally like jam. i could have bought a jar for £3.

We had ordered pretty safe main courses - ones we felt confident that we knew we could tell if they were any good - Butter Chicken and Lamb Pasanda. Well, if there is such a thing as Indian Stew then thats what we got. Its been a regular occurrence unfortunately. They just seem like they are missing something. - not the same in any way shape or form. Akbar and Aggraa - if youre reading this....COME OVER HERE AND MAKE YOUR MILLIONS - THERE IS NOTHING LIKE YOU AND YOU WILL CLEAN UP! Just dont call yourself Roti Boti a) its already taken and b) its just not a good idea to spoil your guests experience by telling them what they will have the next morning.

Eureka Tower

Our Brisbane mates came to see us for the weekend. As usual, when we are with them, we laugh and laugh and laugh - and this weekend was no different. Mr TC and I thought we would base the weekend in and around the city as Melbourne's charm (in my opinion) is where its at.

So, after a spot of ice-berging (yes TC friends - I actually did it - I didnt love it or hate it, but Ive done it) we trotted into the city and had a lovely mooch around. Melbourne's weather was putting on a bit of a show for our Brisbane hotties (its nearly always hot in Brisbane) and it got up to about 23 degrees. Mr TC had forgotten to put any underpants on (?how can you forget?) so he ducked into a shop and bought some - avoiding any chaffing issues.

After a spot of table tennis action at Mr TC's office (thank God he got the underpants first) we headed to the Eureka Tower - the highest building for thousands of miles. Up we go to the 88th floor and have 360 degrees of our lovely Melbourne to view.

Here you can see the MCG (the massive sports arena), the river Yarra and the Dandenongs in the background....

My picture above was taken from the open-air balcony which cost a mere $16.50 to get to - that was well worth it. What was to follow was not.

For an extra $12 we could wear these blue shoe covers and go out on 'The Edge'

"Skydeck 88 is the only observation deck in the world that can thrill you with 'The Edge' - a glass cube which projects 3 metres out from the building - with you in it - suspended almost 300 metres above the ground!"

The view from the glass box was just the same as from the viewing balcony and didnt feel remotely suspended. We weren't allowed to take cameras and had to share the box with about 6 others - AWKWARD! 

The box slowly moves out and the glass is frosted. Then, when you a re all the way out it pings see-through and then sound effects of cracking noises are turned up. The floor is glass, but there are metal struts at regular intervals. Im guessing we had to wear the blue socky things so we keep the glass floor clean, and maybe even have a positive effect of giving it a little polish while we are supposed to be crapping ourselves at being so high up, in a very safe and sturdy viewing platform, with no danger WHAT SO EVER, seeing less than what we could before we paid our $12!

I think you can get the idea that I wasnt that impressed. 

You can see here what happens - that protruding glass room moves out of the main building.

And here what it looked like from inside the box - minus 6 other strangers blocking the view.

So, if you come here  -go up the 88 floors - with my blessing, it really is a good view, but save yourselves £6 and 20 minutes and give 'the Edge' a miss.

What doesnt kill you only makes you stronger - oh how true!

No photos of this one as it would make you wince. I had a little accident lastnight. I bumped our car.

I was driving from my first afternoon freelancing at a very lovely fashion company - Metalicus Id had a super best time there, the people are lovely and I was looking forward to going back the next day. off I set to meet my little and extraordinarily lovely and very good at giving advice friend Suzie (my Blog find). So Im using the very special present our friend had treated us to - a Sat Nav. Its been my hero since we've had it and performed exceptionally well on every single journey so far. But, this was my first time navigating through the city at rush hour. One minute I was driving down a road - with it showing me I was driving down a road - then it started going nuts and spinning (do you think it knew?) So, without too much thought, (i thought) - pull into that space there and have a think about things. The space was down the central section of a busy road and I was in the middle lane. So, I swung my content with life, happy little ass over to the right and BANG, SCRAPE, SQUEEL. OH MY GOD I SHOUTED as I glance over to see the driver look as shocked as me. For a split second I thought, aw, thats not bad - just felt like a dodgem bump - keep going! but that only lasted a second and I pulled over to the left. I jumped out my car - dreading what i was going to find - Screaming man? Gripper of a woman full of rage? Neither -  there was a girl - just like me! I ran across the road shouting 'IM SORRY, SO SORRY" and we flung our arms around each other whilst confirming each of us were ok. She was so calm - I hope Im that calm if ever a dickhead hits me - I could'nt have hit a nicer person (you know what I mean). We swapped particulars and moved on. I parked up there - too shaken to drive much farther. My little friend Suzie rode to my rescue and we walked to our destination - this time to no announcement from Mr Sat Nav 'you have reached your destination!'. 

The restaurant was lovely - its called Cookies (check out the website -its FAB) Its like a huge beer hall -no like about it - it is!  And is inside the most fantastic building called Curtain House. the food was delicious and the atmosphere in there was similar to being in a dream (or maybe that was the shock?) naaah - it was very special in its own right. After a sumptuous feed we took the lift up to the top floor where there was a roof top bar! and a huge cinema screen with deck chairs to watch the movies. The whole building was magic - in-fact I bet when I try to find it again I wont.

So I reluctantly said my goodbyes to Suzie and ventured back to check out the damage - ahhh, not too bad me thinks. So I get in to drive home and CLUNK - the steering wheel goes all floppy and the tires start squealing. I make it through the centre of town - on reflection - highly embarrassing as the noise was just hideous. But at the time I just wanted to get out of the city. I wobbled down to a safe little hide away - in a bus lane south of the river. Mr TC is in Sydney for the night so Im panicking all by myself. I call the insurance company - who are utterly unhelpful, they put me through to a tow truck company charging £120 for up to 8k. Then, after a phone call to Mr TC (what I thought he was gonna do from Sydney is beyond me) out of the smoke of the city appears Paul's friends from work - Joel and Brent! After a big man hug I toughen the f*ck up and drive the car all the way home (canceling the tow truck like a good girl). It was awful, it was very definitely dangerous, but thats what i did...and i made it. Im never gonna get annoyed with slow drivers ever again - you dont know what their situation is. Although I did say that to myself some years back when id got my Grandad in the car and he was scared to go over 20 - in a 60....so I really need to have a good word with myself this time.

I drove the car first thing - just around the corner to the garage - looks like it may take 2 weeks to get fixed costing us £250 excess - but hey - like Joel said - 'TC,  some people just have one crash and they die' - so that made me feel better - in a way.

Joel was a real star and lent me his car for my second day at Metalicus (which went even better than the first) and as a thankyou Im going to introduce him to Mr TC's siser - Cock, when she arrives this weekend (yipeee) along with Mother and father figure - Mr and Mrs TC Senior.

And how lucky are we? Our friends we met through cute Mrs Dell are lending us their car while the TC clan are here - so, out of a terrible situation we have coped. Why Oh why its happened is beyond me - my only excuse is - lots on my mind and the Sat Nav - bloody Sat Nav!

Ice-Berging

At Middle Brighton Baths theres a restaurant, cafe and a gym. At the gym theres an option of paying £5 for a swim and a steam room session. This means going in the freezing cold sea (but in the above enclosure) and then quickly into the steam room. I dont know exactly HOW its good for you, but I suppose it runs on the same principal of Turkish baths? There are newspaper articles and photos on the walls inside showing older people who have done this - some, EVERY day for over 45 years! They are nicknamed Ice-Bergers.  The people in the photos look good, but it doesnt look like they have found the key to eternal youth - if you know what I mean :-/

I dont think I will be trying this again. I cant swim, I hate getting wet and Im petrified of fish. So not great, but Mr TC still thought I should give it a go.

Its been too long.....

The length of time it has taken me not to write to you guys has been ridiculous. It wasn't intentional - time just got away. it wont happen again.

So how are ya? what have you been up to? Ive been up to heaps. Ive seen lots of my little Wendy, been Go Go dancing a few times, learnt some new moves -  the Freddy and the cat paw lick with a reach-round behind the ear, Ive even been iceberging which I will tell you more about later.

The above picture was taken at Wendy's holiday home in the Yarra valley. She has THE most magical garden and she needed some help clearing some dead wood. I jumped at the chance - fresh air, manual work, vanilla slice - how could I not? So we headed from her house up to Warburton. We narrowly missed being hit by a falling tree onto the road. We arrived seconds after it had fallen - right across the road. We stopped, got out and started to clear as much of the tree as we could - although the main trunk was far too heavy for just the two of us. Cars started to stretch as far back as the eye could see - with only women getting out of their cars to come help us! The men just sat in their vehicles. There was enough room at the tip of the tree for one car at a time to go around - so, for the first time in my life i got to achieve one of my lifes ambitions....-I directed traffic! I stood, in the middle and did the whole 'hand up, hand ushering, other hand up, other hand ushering'-brilliant! It lasted only a few minutes as the next thing I know some truck had backed up, hooked a chain around the tree and started to drag it off - no one told me this was happening and I felt the tree hit my legs and try take me with it! - I had to jump over it, or be crushed - wheres the health and safety?

Anyway, that was exciting. Off we went and got stuck into pulling all the dead leaves from the fern trees. I asked Wendy "whats the likelihood of seeing a snake?" and she kinda comforted me with "its a bit too cold still for snakes"  which made me jump every time I saw a movement. But all in all I thought myself very lucky when I escaped with only swallowing one bug and then a twig poked me up the nose.

Her next door neighbors came round for a chat - with them their 3 Labradors - to which the nice chap said to me "they're Labradors, they're very good natured dogs - have you got Labradors in England?' -bless!

 

So, Ive seen Wendy quite a bit. We even went to the State parliament building the other day for a look round. It was very impressive. It had the red seats and the green, like in England and it even had real gold decorating the inside (thats the beauty of having gold mines nearby). We had a nice day in the city and then the other day I went over to hers and we dyed silk scarves.

 

Wendy makes these to sell and all the proceeds go to helping Stroke suffers. The process was relatively easy if your'e not a perfectionist! I found it very hard on this occasion to be un-regimented and attempted to do stripes (mines on the right) whereas I think the random ones look much more effective. I still like mine though.

I just flew in from the windy city

Thats what ive been singing this week as its oh so windy in Melbourne. Its hotting up here at long last and if it weren't so windy i might get myself a bit of colour.

Im pottering on with a few jobs, keeping myself out of trouble. Sending lots of birthday cards - lots of Christmas conceptions me thinks, cosy fires, booze and lifted spirits :-)

Open studios

Once a year The Nicholas Building in the city opens its doors to the public to come in and have a good nosey round.

I met up with my friend Suzie on friday night to get this lovely insight into what goes on in this fantastic building (this is the one Ive mentioned before with the lift lady).

There are jewelers, milliners, fine artists, painters and so much more. Im blown away by the amount of creative talent Melbourne has. Just so many wonderfully clever arty people. 

The above picture was taken in a shoe maker's workshop  - I just thought the colourful bobbins were beautiful. I only had my i-phone but I might ask if i can go back with my big camera and take some more shots of the beautiful things I saw. Now I know what it must feel like for a kid in a sweet shop - growing up in one I didnt really get the same effect. 

I missed a very important lunch date with my lovely Tigerprinters. It was to celebrate the wonderful happenings in my great friend and great boss -Cagoolie's life. I was supposed to join them via skype but couldnt get home in time. Cagoolie gets married on friday and I want to wish her all the love and luck in the world. If her invites are anything to go by the day is going to be out of this world. I will be with you in spirit xx

The Dandenongs

Mmmmmmmmmmm.........

Gonnnnnnne...........

Weve got our first Yorkshire visitor! Hes an old friend of Mr TC's and was the year above us at school. He arrived late Monday night and Ive already covered off a great number of Melbourne's attractions.

His first day I took him up to the Dandenongs (remember Ive mentioned these before? - Wendy and I cooked snags ((sausages)) in the woods?) After getting lovely and lost we eventually found Sassafras - a cute little street lined with equally little shops. I took our visitor, after he'd travelled thousands of miles from Yorkshire to an English Tea shop - selling Yorkshire tea. Don't ask me why I did it - I don't know. 

Anyway, after that minor hick-up on my part, we drove round and up to the look-out point over the city and surrounding land. Then a stop off to have a look at Puffing Billy - the steam train that connects the little towns in the ranges, then home. He seems to be coping with the jet-lag extremely well - either that or hes too polite. 

Today we've been into the city. Ive walked him miles! and have left him in the art gallery while ive come back to go GO GO dancing.  Cant think of anything funny to tell you. Ive been concentrating too hard on passing on all my information - useless or otherwise. 

Phar Lap - a National Treasure

A race horse - not just any old race horse - this guy is special.

He was born in new Zealand 1926 - bought for 160 guineas back in the day. He was brought over to Australia and trained hard to become a wonderful winning race horse.

Last year when Mr TC and I visited out friends in Perth, we had a little giggle about this 'Phar lap' being a National Treasure, then, when Mr TC was poorly we spent an afternoon curled up on the sofa watching the film and we can now appreciate how wonderful this animal has been to touch the hearts of the Nation.

He stood 17 hands high and came from very humble beginnings, but he had a good blood line (his ancestors were race winners on both sides). And, very unusually his heart was twice the size it should be - what a special guy.

He won heaps of races - including the Melbourne cup. He came along at a very hard time in the 30's - the Depression.  He lifted the spirits of Australians - he gave them hope, and he was THEIR Phar Lap. 

His name means lightening in Thai, and sadly the lightening struck for one last time when he was sent over to America as a result of the greed of his owner and trainer. He was entered into a high priced race - which he won - not without being lame from a rotten hoof and unfit as a result. Not long after this race, he died - rumors soon spread back to Australia that he had been poisoned. Nothing has ever been proven since.

His heart is now on display at the National Museum. But his body is here in Melbourne....which we visited last year and got a sense of the LOVE for this very famous animal and now we know why. 

I Love going to the races. The first time I ever went I was 17 (too young to bet, but I still did) and I won the first 3 races in a row - on the nose. I was so excited at the finish of the 4th race I didnt realise but my wallet had fallen out of my pocket - with all my winnings. I was walking back to the show ring when I realised and then started to walk towards to car - not much point staying there with no cash...when I heared my name being called over the tannoy. I rushed to the reception and there was my wallet - with all my winnings safely tucked inside. The finder had left his address so I sent him a fiver and told him my theory upon winning the first 3 races. My theories worked a bit since too - its no secret....depending on the ground - its all in the bottoms.

Another time I went with Bloody Lovely and my best mate Rushing Waters. Id placed a bet on a certain horse which was in 1st place coming down the home straight....I started jumping UP and down, UP and down screeming COME ON!!!! COME ON!!!! hands flying in the air.... not noticing I was the only one doing this until the horses crossed the finish line, I looked round - then it dawned on me - they had to go round the track once more - DOH! That was embarrassing.

Just teasing you....

Theres a Ramsay Street in Brighton too! I blame Neighbours for why Ive always wanted to live in Australia. We used to watch it religiously before the 6 oclock news - after Blue Peter or Grange Hill on a monday-friday. If I was sneaky I could swap channels to Home and Away before Neighbours, but Bloody lovely and Mi Papa didn't think an hour of foreign tv was good for a growing child.

When I was down at the beach today - I met and shook hands with my first Aboriginal. Ever! There were a few people down at the beach - digging. Just digging. I was minding my own business crochet-ing when they walked passed and one guy joked "you dropped a stitch' I replied with "aint that the truth" and off we went on a little conversation. He told me that they were all aboriginals, digging for historical artifacts that might have been washed up on the beach. I announced that I was really pleased to meet him as he was the first Aboriginal id met since living here - he looked a bit shocked then held out his hand and said  "welcome to my country' - in his native language. The way he said  'my country' really made me think about the fact that he maybe classes all non - aboriginals as visitors, as it was THEIR land before the europeans and everyone else started moving in. Then I got all a bit deep and started to think about 'well, we are ALL visitors' on this earth and we should be capable of sharing this world with dignity. I remember visiting Melbourne museum last year (on holiday) and remember feeling so sorry for the Aboriginals - being moved on by gold diggers- literally. I dont know what the answer was, or is. I only know that life is rubbish sometimes, but you gotta pick yourself up, dust yourself off...and start all over again.

No wonder we got a parking ticket in the 1st 10 minutes of ever parking here...

These are the kind of signs we have to contend with. 

The 2P means you can park for 2 hours max 10am-8pm on a saturday and sunday from November to March and on a Monday you cant park between 9am and 10am because they will be cleaning the street. this poses questions like - is it ok to park there during the week for 2 hours or longer? as long as it isnt on a monday between 9 and 10?

There a thousands of variants on these parking signs all over Melbourne and Im constantly insecure about where I can legally leave my car! 

Mr TC and I hired a car when we first got here for 24 hours. We literally picked it up, brought it back to where we were staying and got a £66 fine after 10 minutes. What we hadn't realised is that some signs are split in half - one side may mean its OK to park to the right and not on the left side. As you can imagine we weren't over-chuffed and we contested it with 2 letters. Mr TC wrote the first explaining what had happened - to no avail, then I had a go. I gave it the works - 'we're new, we're English, we've only been here a few days, never driven here before - feel sorry for us please - at least enough to let us off with a warning - we wont do it again"  Well, of course they don't want to hear  'we wont do it again' - not at £66 a time. So we had to pay it. I just hope the unsympathetic looser who responded to our letters can sleep at night. And I hope, if they are ever lucky enough to stay in the UK for a period of time they get an equally unsympathetic person when they don't know they had to pay their TV license, or council tax, or National insurance. 

There's a blooming lots to learn when you emigrate and we seem to be learning the hard way. Oh well, woe is me and all that.

New friends and Rose St. Market

I did something very out of character the other week. I was surfing the web, like you do, and I stumbled across a load of blogs based from Melbourne and for some magic reason this one above caught my eye. I was reading it and actually taking IN all the information and thinking - this girl sounds like my kind of girl. So I emailed her.

I started with the usual - Im not weird, lots of people think Im actually OK and even kinda nice. Im new here, I love your blog....oh, and can we be friends? And can you believe Suzie actually emailed me back :-) and we met up on saturday and got on great :-) :-)

She has this beautiful blog Button and Squiggle and a new one coming out soon...so watch this space.

So Suzie and I arranged to meet on Bruswick street - remember I'd mentioned I wanted to go there? We met on a street corner and gave each other a big hug like we had been friends for years. Off we skipped to have a spot of lunch and then we hit Rose Street Market.....

I bloody loved it! It was full of fantastic tables full of amazing things - jewelry, clothing, badges, greeting cards and lots more. Suzie introduced me to her friends - one in particular being Hollie. Hollie holds a knitting circle at her house every thursday and Suzie and her invited me along! So Im going tomorrow night - crochet in hand :-)

Sarcasm - some people just don't get it!

I was just stood waiting for my bus to the train station along with this chap ( see below).  We saw it manuvering down the road in between parked cars either side. Well, it was taking the driver AGES to get through a massive gap when I joked " you could get a bus through there!" to which he just turned round and said (very seriously) "I think he's worried about scratching it" ahhhhh do you think? 

If you look closer at his socks you will notice they are of the cartoon variety- that explains everything.

Sorrento

Sorrento is a beautiful little town which was made popular in the 1870's when a guy called George Choppin realised its potential as a great holiday destination for Melburnians.

As if one beach wasnt enough - it has two - a front one which forms part of the circular bay which Melbourne is at the top of, and a back beach which looks out to the ocean. As you can imagine they vary in 'rough-ness' of the sea, but both are equal in charm. 

Sorrento has lots to offer - dolphins, seals, walks, picnics, surf, shops, restaurants and is in no way tacky. Its beautiful.

Catherine and I made it all the way down here with the roof down - it took about an hour and a half of heating on full blast, hats and scarfs, but we made it. 

We had a lovely mooch in the shops  - lots of home and gifting shops, -mostly beachy looking interiors - lots of 'deaf-aid beige" and stripes, shells and glass balls in string hammocks - all lovely stuff but you would need lots of it to carry the theme off.

Some nice clothes, and furniture shops - I like this bench - its on my wish list along with the pool...

It had a FAB news-agents which sold every magazine you could think of - including this beauty! My dear Brother - cop a load of this!!!

He's a forrest ranger - pretty cool huh! He works and lives on the beautiful Swinton Castle Estate in the heart of my beloved North yorkshire and leads a pretty idyllic life with his loved ones.

I like the way 'Aussie Boar Hunters' magazine doesn't discriminate between men and women. Its issue 2 so there must be a market for it.

Also in this newsagents was a freshly flown over copy of my fave UK mag - Elle Decoration. Costing a mere £3.70 in the UK - try $21.00 here - thats £10.50. 

Something very familiar - a Tigerprint card - or 50 - the shelves were full of them. Tigerprinters - youre adored world wide!

Pretty...

Mr TC sent me this picture he took from his office window today. What a beautiful rainbow. Its amazing how its darker on the upper side. 

Its not raining enough here - the reservoirs are only 28% full - thats not good. We are trying to time our showers to only 4 minutes. They dont really have electric showers here - they all seem to be run off the mains - so by the time the water has heated up - DING 4 minutes should be up. Good people collect the cold water in a bucket and use it to water their garden. I need to start adopting this practice - just easier said than done - know what I mean? 

What a mess the world is in. It makes me sad :-( 

Mordialloc (Sounds fresh out of Lord of the Rings!)

Mr TC and I had a run out yesterday. Mr TC has spent 2 hours cleaning the car- other than hanging pictures (and loving me) Mr TC loves nothing more than having a good clean of his car. He even dreams of being able to take the wheels off and give a good scrub behind then... I should show him a mop, bucket and the kitchen floor! We cruised down the beach front to this lovely 'in let' below:

Not bad for an i-phone! 

There were 7 man boats for hire and lots of people fishing from the pier.

And on the way home this is what we saw.  Even I was drooling! Think the pint of larger had gone to my head a bit and I was even considering waving at the middle-aged gentleman driving - luckily our Ford couldn't catch it up. People were stopping in their tracks to cop a view at this absolutely BEAUTIFUL machine and the driver dutifully put his foot down now and again which made MR TC and I just melt. 

It reminded me of the 6 months Mr TC was given the use of a Porsche Boxster by his work. He had done exceptionally well on the old 'deals' front and his company ran a rewards scheme as an incentive (blooming clever as how are you ever gonna go back to a rubbish car - work you buggers work!)

So anyway, as luck would have it I got to drive this lovely car probably more than Mr TC as oh dear - he got the train to work! So there I was, top down, sexy black Porsche Boxster driving through the streets of Bradford - head scarf flapping the breeze. As you can imagine - I got a lot of looks and all the looks consisted of either - 'you must be an absolute power hungry b*tch in the workplace' 

or 'thats some sugar daddy you've got yourself'! All I wanted to do was hold up a sign saying "MY HUSBANDS' JUST REALLY GOOD AT HIS JOB AND HE WON THIS CAR FOR 6 MONTHS. IM A NICE GIRL!" 

So the next time you see a young lass, driving a fancy car give her a wave and a smile - she could just be temporarily lucky like I was!

What a lovely skyline

I just thought this was a great view.

Id been to see a lady which thought she might be able to help me find some work. Its not what you know here - its who. Companies tend to advertise jobs less than in the UK (because they dont HAVE to like in the UK) so normally roles are filled by people they know, or someone who's already in the business. So in my case it means me getting out there and talking to as many people as possible.

Ive had a headache for the last two days and cant seem to shake it. I was blaming the heating system here as it just pumps hot air out - very drying. But, and only just but, I've just realised that it is non other than a change in tooth paste. My minor slip of the tongue when asking Mr TC to get Sensodyne toothpaste - when really he needed the full Sensodyne Pro-Enamel (weve only been using it 2 years - you'd think he would cottoned on!) for him to bring home Sensodyne bog standard toothpaste. Weve only been using it about a week and my teeth just hurt so much! - Causing my headache - ahhhhhhhhh! So well done Sensodyne Pro Enamel, excellent. You've made me have to rely on your services for the REST of my life.

Have they no shame!

You would'nt find a sign like this back home! or very obvious Sex superstores, or sex kitten car washes, or radio adverts about stamina!

Prude that I am got such a shock when i first heard an advert on the radio "my man only lasts 2 minutes, my man only lasts 1".

 

This woman above's sex-life is obviously fine - she cant WAIT to get home!

These signs appear all over Melbourne. I dont know what else to say.....

Round Wendy's house...

Wendy lives in a suburb east of the city - its so close to the bush (but it doesn't look like the bush on Home and Away). Just a 10 minute drive for her house is a beck where Gold was first discovered -in Victoria -  actually thats a lie - it was first to be recorded, Wendy tells me it was actually found first somewhere else, but it took less time for the guys to get into the city to announce it from here.

Wendy took me to meet her youngest daughter (the graphic designer whos just got married) We just called into her work to say a quick 'hi'. Wendy and Alli are just like Bloody Lovely and I - very close - and i bet she's wondering 'who the hell is this hanging out with my Mom!' Never the less, Im sure she is very happy that her Mum and I get on so well, and have so many adventures, as I would be if Bloody Lovely found a new friend - even if she was the same age as me - would I?!? 

Off we set off to Montsalvat - This is a place where a guy called Jutus jorgensen built to make a community for Artists in 1938. It remains to this day a home for practicing artists. Its also where Wendy's daughter - Alli got married. its absolutely stunning - i don't think Ive ever taken so many pictures in one place. Sadly i left my big camera it home - so will have to make do with my little ones efforts.

This is where the wedding ceremonies are held....

Me trying to keep up with Wendy! - She's extremely fast!

So... theres a jeweler, guitar maker, dress maker, painters, wine maker, flute maker and sculptors. How nice must it be to work here. Its so cute and ram-shackled. 

We have a bite to eat here (which was delicious) and then head off to Wendy's eldest of the 5 daughter's house, where daughter number 3 is there too, with her two kids (now 4 in total).

When Wendy asked me last week if i wanted to go meet her family, I wanted to bust into tears and hug her. Its been 3 months since I experienced first hand family life and I really miss the feeling of just belonging and not having to try. Even though this wasnt MY family, they really made me feel welcome. The kids were making tea cups out of lots of sweets and biscuits and the two sisters and Wendy were helping.

 

Id taken round a Mud cake which we had with a cup of tea and we just chatted. Wendy's daughters are brilliant gigglers and I had such a lovely time listening to them all chat - not feeling like I had to say anything sometimes - it was brilliant. On quite a few occasions Ive noticed Im a very chatty person most of the time - then sometimes, I just like to sit back and take it all in. That, i think makes people think theres something upsetting me, when really - im more than fine. That didnt happen this day, but i did LOVE the fact I was able TO sit back and just listen for a change. Making new friends means you cant do this 'sit back' maneuver for quite some time...roll on the day I can do it often!

On the way home Wendy dropped by the massive shopping centre thats just been re-vamped. It was beautiful. There are areas in the middle that are decked out with beautiful furniture and lighting. This is the view from one of the windows....

Another great day with Wendy.

Philip Island

First i want to share with you what I found - frost on the windscreen! Granted its winter here - but FROST! Thats just not Australia!

So Catherine has an interview at Philip Island - its a two hour drive from Bayside (thats the area that we live - just like Saved by the Bell), first we navigate through suburbs till we hit open road and eventually can see the sea again.

Philip Island is joined to the mainland by a bridge. As you look at a map of Melbourne it down the right-hand side of the circular sea and keep going. 

Philip Island is famous for the Penguin Parade. its home to a colony of hundred of the worlds smallest penguins who spend all day in the sea, coming back to their nests as it starts to get dark. People travel from miles around to sit on the beach and watch them timidly come out of the sea.

 

 

So the time of day we were there the penguins were out fishing....

And what a nice place to fish!

there was evidence they exist.....

And even ones that drag their feet.....he must have had a good days fishing.

From the penguin parade we drove down to have a look at 'The Nobbies' a beautiful coastline that is home to seals. It reminded me of Cornwall down here - very rugged and chilled out.

Aswell as seals and penguins the Island is home to Koalas and loads more natural inhabitants.

Joined onto this island by another small bridge is Churchill Island - a slightly more agricultural spin on this one - cart horses, highland cattle, working sheep dogs and heritage buildings.

Time for a beer and a spot of lunch - this is the life!

We head off home - I feel like have had an excellent sightseeing day - its so different to the Australia Ive experienced before. Its well worth going for a night, then you would get to see the Penguins and have a lovely walk or two.

Had the most super best day....

eBay IS the way forward. its magical - especially when you have great picks.

Mr TC and I were struggling a bit to fill this mammoth house - we even ventured to IKEA but then saw sense and left with 2 air tight jars and a picture frame. IKEA is great for bits, but if you want longevity you have to be very careful with your choices. I love a Malm for-instance, but its not gonna last for ever.

So, just the other night we scoured eBay for various items. This (above) being one of them. Its a bloody lovely desk which we are so proud of. Its gonna be with us for life, and cost, in comparison to IKEA sod all! 

Mr TC has made friends with a lovely lad at work. We knew he was going to be our friend as soon as we saw him - sometimes you just know don't you. He offered to take us - in his brother's UTE to pick up our purchases - in return for setting him up with Mr TC's sister - only kidding Cock!! but he would be ideal! (*Mr TC and his sister affectionately refer to each-other as 'Cock' - just incase you're wondering - perfectly normal.)

So off we went - after some very garlic-ey sausages (not great when you're sat in the middle of a 2.5 seater cab of a ute - between two windy boys! UCK!

First stop was this beautiful desk, 2nd stop Caroline Springs for some dining furniture and 3rd stop (somewhere I cant remember what its called) for some 'mushroom pink' bar stools! All items were a triumph - we are delighted! We had such a good time, we laughed all the way round. 

Why would I get a job when views like this keep coming up morning, after morning!

only kidding. this is an adapted quote of my favourite film - The Castle. My i-phone hasn't really done it justice, but this is looking towards the city from Sandringham beach. Ive been going for walks a couple of mornings a week with a lovely lady Mt TC put me in touch with via his work connections. He just thought Id like her, and guess what - I do! He rang me up one day and said - "don't be alarmed if a lady calls you for a chat" - ok, I said.....and i waited...patiently as only an out of work ex pat can do. I didn't need to wait long as - Catherine (great name, and even greater way of spelling it) called soon for a lovely chat and we played a game of 'snap' with experiences we have similarly shared so far. Catherine is from the UK too, she's been here 2 years and is settled with her husband and 2 teenage kids.  

So Catherine and i have been walking off our stresses of Australian life - in the words of BT -its good to talk.  

Catherine came out with a great line and one which really sums things up over here - Some Australians call us 'winging poms' but we arent winging - we just have standards. 

Ive found this to be true on a few occasions. Us Brits are sticklers for perfection - sometimes to our detriment (is that the right word?) and if something isnt what it said it would be, we bloody make sure we darn tooting get it. Ive found a few times, tradesmen just 'make do' and don't actually solve problems. 

Classic example - 

Our boiler wasn't heating the water one morning for Mr TC's shower - nightmare - i was running round like a good little wifey, warming up pans of water so he could get a shave. So we call the estate agents who call the plumber - Philip - lovely man, propper Ozzie, pours his heart and soul out to me on a previous visit about his love life and turns out his Uncle lives in the same town as my grandparents in Scotland. So we are on familiar terms (dont get carried away!) Philip realises the batteries need changing to get the spark of the ignition for the gas to light. So he goes to the van, comes back with new batteries, few blasts of the hot tap - alls good, off he goes.

Next morning, Im woken up with yelps from Mr TC - ITS COLD AGAIN! Oh no, another morning of a sponge bath and me warming up the pans again - not good.

So, another call is put in to the agents, Philip dutifully turns up again new batteries in hand.... "Ive got some new batteries" he smiles. 'but you did that last time and it hasn't worked" I reply. "Yes" he says "but they weren't 'new' batteries - these are new ones...out the packet!"

What the ****!? Thats what Im talking about - ???  

Ive come up with a new term...

I reversed out my garage last-night to go pick Mr TC up from the train station - on my return i noticed, right in the middle of the pavement what looked like a dog turd.

Naaaah, i thought, no-one would let, or even leave dog turd in the middle of a footpath, going across the middle of someone's drive - thats just not Australia. So, hoping it was some leaves I plow on through. 

Down come the garage doors and up comes the smell of sh*t. THATS JUST NOT AUSTRALIA!

So not only is there dog turd on the path attached to my drive, but its now on my car tyre, in my garage - which is technically my HOUSE! 

Its taken me a few different methods today to get rid of said dog poo - having no shovel its quite a task.

Anyway - now when something isn't going great, or something rubbish happens im just gonna say - thats just not Australia, and you'll know what I mean.

I cant keep up!

I met Wendy in our usual spot - on the steps at Flinders street station. I spotted her first - she was knitting stood up and i thought 'how cool, a lady's knitting stood up' and a split second later I realised it was Our Wendy - turns out she'd dropped a stitch on the train.

So off we bounce, a real spring in our step off toward the Ian Potter gallery - The Nation Gallery of Victoria - home of Australian Art - BOOM, its shut! Monday, blooming Monday. We get to go inside the main entrance and up the stairs. Wendy shows me the amazing architecture of the building, and we skidaddle.

off we jump onto the Circle line tram - remember Ive mentioned this before? this is a free tram which does a big loop of the city. 

So we jump off at the Docklands. Up until recently it was an undeveloped nothing - used only for what its called. Then they have invested millions to make it the cool end of town. There are apartments, shopping arcades, Snow - yes snow (?) and a slightly smaller version of the london eye.

Sadly it opened last year to then buckle under the extreme heat of the melbourne summer, so its having to be dis-mantled - how annoyed must people feel - taking it down again! What a shame.

So Wendy and i have a wander down the shopping arcades - its a bit like Mc Artur Glen outlet at York (my birth place - really - Mc Artur glen) lots of last-season shops, but still good stuff. Shame there arent more people around, its very quiet - i dont think its caught on with Melbournites yet - they are stubborn buggers!

Then we get the tram to Melbourne Central Station - another centre for shops, this time on top of the train lines.

In it is a huge pocket watch which, on the hour, every hour drops its bottom and sings Waltzing Matilda - you see all sorts here! Also in this area is possibly the craziest new thing Ive learnt all week and actually, i felt a bit stupid questioning it as everyone was just accepting it like they've always known about it....a shot tower - contained underneath the shopping centre's massive glass cone. Built on this exact site in 1889, It ceased to be used in 1961. They have kept the tower and now inside it is a little museum giving a short explanation of what it was for....get ready for it....

Apparently some guy was pouring molten lead from the top of a battlement in the 16th century, onto the heads of his enimies who were trying to climb the castle walls. The next day he went down to survey the damage and found that by the time the runny lead had reached the bottom it had formed perfect spherical balls....this 'gravity' method was adopted here when a 50 meter tower was commissioned to make pellets. This tower in its hey-day was churning out 6 tons of 'shot' per week - literally, melting lead and then dropping it from the top of the 50 metre tower to make pellets?! - What are the chances!

Pretty impressive - if a little excessive....dont you agree?

So, next stop - the State library - it does what it says on the tin...

It is rather beautiful. Wendy tells me that; where Sydney has buildings which are beautiful on the outside but let themselves down on the inside - Melbourne is the other way round. I think England gets it right on both counts, but if i were to choose - Im fine with where it counts (on the inside).

It still doesnt make me want to study again - no matter how beautiful! -Someones just walked over my grave.

There were also some galleries here so we could get our 'art fix'. I took lots of pics, then saw the sign - 'NO PHOTOGRAPHY' - i love it when that happens!

 

We then walked from the top/centre of melbourne down to the Southbank - I havent been back here since Mr TC and i visited melbourne last year for the first time. its a beautiful part of town - buzzing with life, gorgeous views of the city and every type of food restaurant you could imagine. Wendy and I opt for Moroccan Lamb and a glass of wine (brilliant!) after that, a walk over the bridge, left, back along the southbank and then to the Melbourne Concert Hall - where the entrance hall was decked out beautifully. These structures dangling from the ceiling looked just beautiful, and reminded me of a girls work at new designers last year.

From there we wandered back towards flinder's street station - not without a little rest on a bench looking towards the southbank....

Im exhausted. What started off as a bounce is now a plod. Wendy has tired me out! 

We say our goodbyes at the station and I shuffle off to get my train. A short bus ride home where i chatted to a lovely lady from Marishus (however you god-dam spell it) and im bushed. My cheeks are burning, my toes feel like they've merged into one and Im not even working alongside sight seeing. Wendy is yet again - a true legend!

Another great day out with Wendy!

First stop on our trip up the Dandenongs (very hard to say when you don't know how) which are the mountains nearest Melbourne City centre is 'Puffing Billy'. 

Puffing Billy railway was constructed in the early 1900's to open up remote areas of the mountains. 

It runs through forrest, gullies and farmland of the Dandenong ranges. A landslide happened in 1953 and the line was closed. It re-opened again in the 1960's because of public interest. but is now run by volunteers.

Puffing Billy the steam train operates every day except christmas day, and if there is a high risk of starting a bush fire they swap him for a diesel version. The nice man let me step up and have a look at his engine - which reminds me of the Frank Spencer song he sang to his little toddler when feeding her 

"Here comes the choo choo train the driver's name is Bertie, 

 If you open wide he'll pop inside unless your engines dirty!"

Man i loved that song!

I already feel my dad's excitement for visiting Puffing Billy - telling all the volunteer train drivers all the information he knows (in a retorical question kinda way) and Bloody lovely's face - all snarled at one side - under her nose, head chucking back for a second and rolling her eyes up into her forehead.

I just had to show you a picture of lovely Wendy - just to prove people like this DO exist. What a lovely lady, who i keep thinking CANT get any better - when she tops it off by producing *snaggs for a BBQ in the woods! (*sausages) 

After a lovely walk and hunt for the lyre bird (it mimics other birds noises - cheeky monkey) we head back to cook up lunch, and delicious it was too - the nicest sausage sandwiches Ive ever had - fact.

We then drive up (through fantastic forrest) to William Ricketts Sanctuary. Hes this guy who sculpted Aboriginal figures which are on display in and around the natural environment. He felt a spiritual bond with Aborigines and lived with them for 2 years. He said once "Life is love. All you, to all me, for being part of nature we are all brothers to the birds and trees". 

I had seen this sanctuary on TV when Billy Conoly did his trip to Melbourne. I was much warmer when I saw the sculptures on the television - this time I was flipping freezing.

Like it!

These are the post men setting off on their daily deliveries! What a funny sight - there were loads of them, and they just kept coming, and coming. I cant believe they were all together in a pack. I wonder if they wave goodbye to each other when they peel off to their different culdi-sacs? I like the imagery its giving me.

Another great day with Wendy.  

I think i'l wait.....

Bet Richard Branson's marketing department high-fived when they came up with this one!

My next lovely day out with Wendy...

I met Wendy on the steps of Flinder's St. Station (Melbourne's main station)  - check out the pic a few below to see what I could see from the steps.

We went straight to get a tram and jumped off at stop 19 - for 'the Shrine of Remembrance'. This very grand building with stunning views back towards the city was built to honour the 114,000 men and women of Victoria who served in the 1st World War. 19,000 of those did not return to Victoria.

Inside the shrine is a square stone slap on the floor in the centre with the words "Greater love hath no man' - at 11am on the 11th of November every year (the time at which war ceased) the ceiling has been made in such a way that a ray of sun light shines down and passes across the word 'Love' on the stone - how clever!

Just some of the 4000+ medals on display.

Wendy and i then wandered into the Botanical Gardens which are right next to the Shrine of Remembrance.

The gardens are full of beautiful and unusual plants and sectioned off into many different areas. there's a children's garden, 

'RBG Melbourne is recognised as one of the world’s finest botanic gardens. There are over 10,000 species and 50,000 individual plants in the 38 hectare gardens, including trees and plants of great cultural value. Many of these plants are irreplaceable, endangered or even extinct in the wild. It is important that the survival of these plants is guaranteed by an adequate supply of water."

Of which there is very little. The areas which should have been brimming with the stuff were bone dry. It was so sad.

Wendy and I stopped off for a spot of lunch at the cafe in the centre of the gardens. There was a high pitched noise that was for keeping the birds away while the public lunched. Typical - only I could hear the bloody thing - and the birds weren't bothered! 

Wendy delved into her bag and brought out all these information booklets about what do do in and around Melbourne - the darling lady had been to the tourist information before meeting me, and had carried all these brochures round with us all morning! 

We then meander back through the gardens and head towards the city, passing the art gallery to which we have agreed we will do another day. Wendy shows me even more of the little shopping arcades that I never knew existed - they are amazing! Full of little boutiques, jewelers and coffee shops - I cant wait to take our visitors there! I really do love this city. It has such a lovely feel to it.

We then wander back to Flinder's St. station and Wendy and I say our goodbyes, but not for ever. She is such good company I cant wait to see her again - which possibly may involve some crochet-ing!

My day out with Wendy

What a lovely, lovely day i had yesterday. Wendy was an absolute treasure. I drove to her house which is about 50 minutes away in an area called East Doncaster - Im getting really brave arent I! 

Her house is lovely and is where she brought up all 5 of her daughters. Sadly her husband died 6 years ago so its just her and the cat now at home. She told me to get to hers between 10 and 10.30, i arrive at the latter - as usual, so we just get straight into her car and off we go. Off to the Yarra Valley.

The Yarra valley is where the river Yarra flows through and then down, right through the city. Its about an hour and a half drive out of the city and is surrounded by beautiful forrest, farms and vinyards. It really is beautiful. Gold was found here in 1859. 

We stop off at our first port of call - a tree top walk. The air was so fresh and clean and the trees were huge! 

We then drove up to Mount Donna Buang to see the most fantastic sight. Who would have thought Australia could look like this....

The third hill back and on the very left you can see is browner than the rest. This is where the bush fires reached earlier this year. They were 6km from Wendy's holiday home (4 minutes away) when the wind thankfully changed.

This is what we had to climb to get the amazing panoramic view. We even thought we could make out the skyline of the city.

Then, off we went to Wendy's second home. It was just outside of a lovely village called Warburton and as we pulled up I gasped as it looked like a gingerbread house. Her garden in HUGE and like a secret garden. Great to play in, and get lost in. It needs so much work tho, Wendy needs industrial sized help.

We go inside and i spot these cute tea pots and cosy's. Amazing - Wendy can crochet, knit and everything - ive hit gold in them there hills!

Wendy's brought us lunch - ham sandwiches - my favourite! We sit at the kitchen table and look out on her amazing garden. 

We go for a walk around the garden and im blown away at how tiny I feel. The trees are huge, and the ferns are over our heads. there are toad stools and little bridges over streams - fairies definitely live here.

 

Then we go into Warburton its self. Its a village that was set up to accommodate the old gold miners way back in 1859. It was home to the Woiworung Aborigines, but Im guessing they got told to moved on :-/

Its now home to more than 2000 people and the high street looks adorable. Like the Aborigines the gold has now gone and all thats left is the town. But there's a water wheel, the Yarra river running through, little shops. We go for a little walk along the river and for a minute i think Im down the banks in my home town.

So then off we set on our way home. On the way we stop off to see some kittens for sale in a pet shop. (can Wendy get any better?!) and then her house, a quick look at her daughter's wedding pic's - she's the one who's the same age as me and is a graphic designer. And then off i set.

Ive had such a wonderful day. Wendy was brilliant. Great company, young at heart AND she can crochet and likes cats. Im meeting her on friday to go to the botanical gardens then a spot of lunch - Im getting the hang of this lady of leisure lark!