(Almost) A Year in Australia

Well, its so near a year its not worth arguing about. I haven't updated this for 6 months and I thought I should really make the effort. So in summary here how things have gone:

• Gail and Keith move to Australia, it rains, they live on Kent Street
• Gail starts work with RGA, Keith as a labourer
• Gail and Keith move to Mosman
• Gail goes to LA and St.Louis (unimpressed, other than the shopping)
• Keith starts work as a gardener
• Gail and Keith begin to explore Sydney, they like it
• Keith starts Krav Maga (self defence), Gail pottery (if you threw it hard enough could be self defence) and Yoga
• Gail buys a car (Toyota Yaris, silver, if your interested)
• Gail and Keith take up camping
• Christmas - silly, hot, songs about snow and sleighs - what are they on about?
• Summer - hot, beaches, ice cream, sand castles
• Gail's Mum, Dad and Nana come to visit. Mum and Dad have a good time, Nana, being made to walk, eat non fried foods and not allowed to watch "Take the High Road" has a face like a wet weekend.
• Everyone but Keith goes to Adelaide, Keith goes to Tasmania
• Keith starts work as a Pool Boy
• Gail and Keith join the gym and mostly go
• Gail takes up knitting
• Gail and Keith decide to get married
• Our friends Joe and Claire get married and then bugger off back to Blighty, how rude
• Keith starts a writing course and begins to make his own beer
• Back to winter, freezing, single glazing, no heating - no one told me about this!

So there we have it, a year in a nut shell. Probably some other stuff has happened in between. We've eaten in some very nice places, certainly is a huge mix of cultures to chose cuisine from. We have been to museums, art galleries, bars, pubs, National Parks, festivals, exhibitions and installations. We have discovered that mostly the beer is bad (with a few notable exceptions, stand and take a bow "The Lord Nelson") and that the pubs are really bars (again with a few notable exceptions). That it isn't always sunny here, it doesn't rain - it pours and that it does get very chilly as well as very hot.

I'm looking at my best and worst things about Sydney from 6 months ago and have the following to add

• David Jones Food Hall - yes lovely but so expenses we buy nothing but single biscuits!
• The beaches - yes, these are still pretty great
• No Feral Children - this holds, they are just so much more polite here!
• The people - yes in general a much nicer and more polite breed than at home
• The weather - this is tricky as we now have to sit at night with a blanket and hot water bottle, but generally, yes, its better.

and the things I was complaining about?

• Mossies - well they have all died a death ahahahahahahahha
• Ozzy Mayo - we just make our own now or do without
• People who are still wearing tights, well it was 25C and that's wrong, however its now 13C and I have joined them.
• No Hotel Chocolate - well. no, still conspicuously absent - but I survive
• No New Look, no, but I have found Barkins - no where near as good but it will do
• Lots of homeless - yes there is and its a really pity there isn't more help for them.

So what do I miss about home? Well obviously friends and family. The sense of history and oldness. The greeness and the hills. The ability to jump on a plane and be in another country in 3 hours, instead of just another state - most certainly wasted a lot of opportunity to travel. And I still have seasonal jetlag. This is when the light and temperature are telling me we are coming up for Halloween and then I stop and think, oh, no, its June, wait then it should be summer, oh no, its winter. Very confusing.

We're coming home for a holiday next year and fully intend to see as much of the UK that we can whilst we are there. Its going to be great seeing everyone. But I bet it rains.....!