Monday 27th April 2009
Another day off, this one is because Anzac Day fell on a Saturday, so everyone has a public holiday, we did go into work for a while though.
We went into work early to get things ready for tomorrow morning before going to Bunbury, we needed to get some trainers for the kids and as Busselton is either useless for these things or closed depending on which day of the week it is, we decided to check out Bunbury shops instead.
Bunbury shops weren’t a great deal better than Busselton shops really, apart from the fact that they were open of course, but we did manage to find trainers for Fraser and Kristian.
We had lunch in Subway, Carolyn and the kids had their usual Subs, Ian tried a Wrap for a change. We didn’t realise that they did Wraps, Ian thought the one that he had was great.
Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts
Monday, May 4, 2009
Monday, April 7, 2008
The Eagles are grounded
Saturday 5th April 2008
We had a lie in today and let the kids watch a DVD, they don’t get the chance very often. Mid morning when Ian was in the shower there was a knock at the door and the kids answered it, it was the Jehovah’s Witness crew and they wanted to come in, worse still the kids wanted permission to let them in. Carolyn leapt out of bed as only someone who doesn’t want a copy of the watchtower can and reached the door just before the kids could finish unlocking it, she fobbed them off by letting them think that she worked nights and had been woken from her nights sleep and they left, apologising as they went. They did manage to leave a copy of the watchtower in the letterbox though, so we didn’t get away totally unscathed.
Late morning we went to the Café to do emails, and then we did a bit of shopping for tomorrow’s dinner before heading home to get comfortable for the big game. Today is Derby Day in WA with the West Coast Eagles playing the Fremantle Dockers in the Australian Football League (Aussie Rules that is), we have really got into Aussie Rules football and Carolyn has decided that our allegiance should be with the Eagles, so we are now officially all Eagles fans.
The game started well for us with the Eagles scoring twice in the first two and a half minutes, 12 – nil up and this is going to be a walkover, wrong, unfortunately Dockers had other ideas and went on to win by 14 points. It was a very close game and very enjoyable to watch but unfortunately that means the Eagles have lost their first two games of the season.
Early evening we went down to the foreshore again to see the time trials at the rally, it has been raining so the surface was wet and we were looking forward to a few crashes but they didn’t happen, although there one or two cars that had obviously pushed it a bit too hard in the forest because there were a few knocks that weren’t there last night. At about 7.30pm Ian went to the pub to watch Arsenal v Liverpool on TV, the game ended 1 – 1 and was not much of a spectacle, both teams were saving themselves for their second Champions League clash next Tuesday.
Carolyn stayed with the kids and watched the racing for a bit, but once the kids had been fed they soon started to get bored so they went home. When Ian got home after the football we sat in front of the TV with a couple of tinnies and watched a load of adverts with bits of Lethal Weapon 4 in between.
We had a lie in today and let the kids watch a DVD, they don’t get the chance very often. Mid morning when Ian was in the shower there was a knock at the door and the kids answered it, it was the Jehovah’s Witness crew and they wanted to come in, worse still the kids wanted permission to let them in. Carolyn leapt out of bed as only someone who doesn’t want a copy of the watchtower can and reached the door just before the kids could finish unlocking it, she fobbed them off by letting them think that she worked nights and had been woken from her nights sleep and they left, apologising as they went. They did manage to leave a copy of the watchtower in the letterbox though, so we didn’t get away totally unscathed.
Late morning we went to the Café to do emails, and then we did a bit of shopping for tomorrow’s dinner before heading home to get comfortable for the big game. Today is Derby Day in WA with the West Coast Eagles playing the Fremantle Dockers in the Australian Football League (Aussie Rules that is), we have really got into Aussie Rules football and Carolyn has decided that our allegiance should be with the Eagles, so we are now officially all Eagles fans.
The game started well for us with the Eagles scoring twice in the first two and a half minutes, 12 – nil up and this is going to be a walkover, wrong, unfortunately Dockers had other ideas and went on to win by 14 points. It was a very close game and very enjoyable to watch but unfortunately that means the Eagles have lost their first two games of the season.
Early evening we went down to the foreshore again to see the time trials at the rally, it has been raining so the surface was wet and we were looking forward to a few crashes but they didn’t happen, although there one or two cars that had obviously pushed it a bit too hard in the forest because there were a few knocks that weren’t there last night. At about 7.30pm Ian went to the pub to watch Arsenal v Liverpool on TV, the game ended 1 – 1 and was not much of a spectacle, both teams were saving themselves for their second Champions League clash next Tuesday.
Carolyn stayed with the kids and watched the racing for a bit, but once the kids had been fed they soon started to get bored so they went home. When Ian got home after the football we sat in front of the TV with a couple of tinnies and watched a load of adverts with bits of Lethal Weapon 4 in between.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Stingray, no sign of Troy Tempest
Sunday 30th March 2008
After all the wine last night we decided to have a lie in this morning, fortunately daylight saving finished today so we gained an extra hour in bed, the kids didn’t, they just got up an hour earlier and watched a film that Marisa has bought.
We are now into autumn and it’s time to get out the woollies, the weather today was only about 31 degrees centigrade today and we still had to wear sunscreen, according to the weather forecasters the temperatures are due to take a big dip this week with the possibility of it going down to as low as 23 degrees and the chance of some rain and thunder.
The locals are already starting to go about in trousers instead of shorts and are wearing fleeces, they are however still wearing their Thongs (flip flops) so we are assuming that when they start wearing shoes winter will be upon us and we can turn off the air conditioning.
We dropped the kids off at the park while we did a bit of shopping and checked out the opposition just in case we ever decide to do Sunday Breakfasts. After about an hour we picked up the kids and went home for lunch, watched a bit of Aussie Football and chilled out until it was time to go to the beach again.
This time we went to Bunker Bay, it is about 30 minutes from us and it was absolutely gorgeous, it is very sheltered with a soft sandy beach and lovely warm water. Unfortunately our swim was curtailed by the arrival on the scene of a rather large Stingray, Carolyn had seen something dark moving in the water about 4-5 feet away but thought that it was a large clump of seaweed being carried along in the current. The people about 30 feet further along the beach from us who obviously know what to look out for in the water had seen it swimming past us but didn’t say anything because the didn’t want to startle us and possibly make things worse.
They did however get out of the water themselves because it was swimming their way and they told some other people further along who were in its line as it swam in the shallows feeding, when we noticed that there was nobody in the water apart from us and everyone was looking at the water and pointing we thought it might be prudent to get out and find out what was happening.
We asked the people closest to us what was happening and they told us that they had seen the Stingray swimming along the shallows and pointed it out to us, we followed it up the beach and it was coming in really close to the waters edge, it was a big one with a wing span of about 5 feet. Apparently you don’t normally see them that large so close to the shore.
We walked back down the beach to our bags and decided not to go back in the water today although the kids weren’t worried and carried on playing in the water, we decided that we would just keep an eye out for the Stingray just in case it or another one decided to come along, after about 10 minutes of watching the Stingray came back again going back along the shore in the opposite direction. Apparently they will avoid contact and if you splash around a bit they will swim off, but this one was a bit to big to be testing out theories on.
We had Lamb Chops for tea and put the kids to bed early ready for school again tomorrow. We did a bit of swotting in the evening because we have got a meeting with the letting agent of the Café tomorrow and we want to make sure we know what we are talking about and make a good impression.
Almost forgot, while we were out this morning we popped into the local Video store and that is what it was. This store is big for a video rental outlet and you wouldn’t believe how many videos they have in there to rent, while the rest of the world embraced DVD’s and are getting ready to do the same with Blue Ray, Busseltons video rental store is jam packed with video. They do have DVD’s, just not as many of them and the latest releases are the same films that we watched on DVD when we were still in the UK 5 months ago. We’ve been here for just over 2 months now so in theory, for us any films released here in 3 months time will be new releases and we won’t be able to criticise anymore, although we will have to go out and buy a Video Player, although at least we only have to buy a VHS one because they’ve stopped using Betamax now.
After all the wine last night we decided to have a lie in this morning, fortunately daylight saving finished today so we gained an extra hour in bed, the kids didn’t, they just got up an hour earlier and watched a film that Marisa has bought.
We are now into autumn and it’s time to get out the woollies, the weather today was only about 31 degrees centigrade today and we still had to wear sunscreen, according to the weather forecasters the temperatures are due to take a big dip this week with the possibility of it going down to as low as 23 degrees and the chance of some rain and thunder.
The locals are already starting to go about in trousers instead of shorts and are wearing fleeces, they are however still wearing their Thongs (flip flops) so we are assuming that when they start wearing shoes winter will be upon us and we can turn off the air conditioning.
We dropped the kids off at the park while we did a bit of shopping and checked out the opposition just in case we ever decide to do Sunday Breakfasts. After about an hour we picked up the kids and went home for lunch, watched a bit of Aussie Football and chilled out until it was time to go to the beach again.
This time we went to Bunker Bay, it is about 30 minutes from us and it was absolutely gorgeous, it is very sheltered with a soft sandy beach and lovely warm water. Unfortunately our swim was curtailed by the arrival on the scene of a rather large Stingray, Carolyn had seen something dark moving in the water about 4-5 feet away but thought that it was a large clump of seaweed being carried along in the current. The people about 30 feet further along the beach from us who obviously know what to look out for in the water had seen it swimming past us but didn’t say anything because the didn’t want to startle us and possibly make things worse.
They did however get out of the water themselves because it was swimming their way and they told some other people further along who were in its line as it swam in the shallows feeding, when we noticed that there was nobody in the water apart from us and everyone was looking at the water and pointing we thought it might be prudent to get out and find out what was happening.
We asked the people closest to us what was happening and they told us that they had seen the Stingray swimming along the shallows and pointed it out to us, we followed it up the beach and it was coming in really close to the waters edge, it was a big one with a wing span of about 5 feet. Apparently you don’t normally see them that large so close to the shore.
We walked back down the beach to our bags and decided not to go back in the water today although the kids weren’t worried and carried on playing in the water, we decided that we would just keep an eye out for the Stingray just in case it or another one decided to come along, after about 10 minutes of watching the Stingray came back again going back along the shore in the opposite direction. Apparently they will avoid contact and if you splash around a bit they will swim off, but this one was a bit to big to be testing out theories on.
We had Lamb Chops for tea and put the kids to bed early ready for school again tomorrow. We did a bit of swotting in the evening because we have got a meeting with the letting agent of the Café tomorrow and we want to make sure we know what we are talking about and make a good impression.
Almost forgot, while we were out this morning we popped into the local Video store and that is what it was. This store is big for a video rental outlet and you wouldn’t believe how many videos they have in there to rent, while the rest of the world embraced DVD’s and are getting ready to do the same with Blue Ray, Busseltons video rental store is jam packed with video. They do have DVD’s, just not as many of them and the latest releases are the same films that we watched on DVD when we were still in the UK 5 months ago. We’ve been here for just over 2 months now so in theory, for us any films released here in 3 months time will be new releases and we won’t be able to criticise anymore, although we will have to go out and buy a Video Player, although at least we only have to buy a VHS one because they’ve stopped using Betamax now.
Cheap Books and Chinese
Saturday 29th March 2008
We went into town this morning to pay the rent, check the emails and pay a library fine incurred by Marisa for having a nose bleed over one of their books. The book was not that badly damaged but because it was blood we thought we should let them know, however it was not all bad because we now know how to get books on the cheap as they are normally very expensive to buy over here. From now on every time we find a book that we wouldn’t mind keeping we are going to have a blood letting ceremony, it will involve one of the boys giving Marisa a whack on the nose while she is reading for which they will be suitably reprimanded and while we are mopping up the blood some of it might get onto the book that we wish to keep.
After that we took the kids out for lunch and gave them their first taste of Jaffle Pie which they enjoyed, although the flavours that they chose were the same as the food they would normally eat for lunch but without a pie case, Fraser had Egg and Bacon, Marisa had Carbonara while Kristian had Shepherds Pie in his Pie.
After lunch we had a look at some Indonesian furniture before going home to chill out for the afternoon and then went to Meelup beach early evening. When we got to the beach there were a load of chairs laid out at for a wedding ceremony and people milling about in suits and designer dresses, the weather was perfect for it and the location is amazing. When the ceremony started all the people that were on the beach stopped what they were doing and watched which was quite nice, Ian however decided to stay in the water and the lucky couple will be delighted to find out that straight after the ceremony when the photographer stepped in and started doing his bit, the first photographs he took of them standing next to the registrars table with their backs to the Ocean will have Ian in the background bobbing around on a bright red wave rider.
When we got home we fed the kids and put them to bed before demolishing our First Australian Chinese meal which wasn’t bad, it wasn’t quite what we are used to but it was tasty and if this is what Australian Chinese tastes like then we won’t be complaining, especially when it is washed down with a couple of litres of Jacobs Creek Rose. We spent the evening watching a load of adverts interspersed with a couple of movies whilst eating and drinking.
We went into town this morning to pay the rent, check the emails and pay a library fine incurred by Marisa for having a nose bleed over one of their books. The book was not that badly damaged but because it was blood we thought we should let them know, however it was not all bad because we now know how to get books on the cheap as they are normally very expensive to buy over here. From now on every time we find a book that we wouldn’t mind keeping we are going to have a blood letting ceremony, it will involve one of the boys giving Marisa a whack on the nose while she is reading for which they will be suitably reprimanded and while we are mopping up the blood some of it might get onto the book that we wish to keep.
After that we took the kids out for lunch and gave them their first taste of Jaffle Pie which they enjoyed, although the flavours that they chose were the same as the food they would normally eat for lunch but without a pie case, Fraser had Egg and Bacon, Marisa had Carbonara while Kristian had Shepherds Pie in his Pie.
After lunch we had a look at some Indonesian furniture before going home to chill out for the afternoon and then went to Meelup beach early evening. When we got to the beach there were a load of chairs laid out at for a wedding ceremony and people milling about in suits and designer dresses, the weather was perfect for it and the location is amazing. When the ceremony started all the people that were on the beach stopped what they were doing and watched which was quite nice, Ian however decided to stay in the water and the lucky couple will be delighted to find out that straight after the ceremony when the photographer stepped in and started doing his bit, the first photographs he took of them standing next to the registrars table with their backs to the Ocean will have Ian in the background bobbing around on a bright red wave rider.
When we got home we fed the kids and put them to bed before demolishing our First Australian Chinese meal which wasn’t bad, it wasn’t quite what we are used to but it was tasty and if this is what Australian Chinese tastes like then we won’t be complaining, especially when it is washed down with a couple of litres of Jacobs Creek Rose. We spent the evening watching a load of adverts interspersed with a couple of movies whilst eating and drinking.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Check out the flies in Bunbury coz everything else is closed
Monday 24th March 2008
We went out early’ish today and on the way to the petrol station noticed that despite it being a Bank Holiday most of the small independent shops were open which seems a bit strange bearing in mind all the tourists are going home today and on Friday when there was an abundance of tourists with money to spend and no shops open to take their money, it’s going to be a long time before this place turns into the Aussie equivalent of Southend on Sea.
Because the shops are open today we decided to go to Bunbury because there is a wider selection of furniture type stores within a fairly small designated commercial area. Unfortunately either Bunbury knew that we were coming or they think that we have enough time to shop throughout the rest of the year and see no reason to open on public holidays, because everywhere is closed, the place was dead and this is a big town that we are talking about. The only shop open was Australia’s answer to B&Q, you guessed it Bunnings and it was heaving, there were so many people there that they were using the surrounding shops car parks.
Having not done the tourist bit to Bunbury we decided to go to the waterfront to have a look at some of the places that have been rammed down our throats in the form of TV adverts since we have been down here and we weren’t disappointed the places concerned looked almost as uninteresting as the adverts and having to fight off flies for an hour or so while we were looking around didn’t improve the ambience at all, although if you are into fly fishing this is the place to come because there are millions of them and you would be sure to catch something, you just have to hope it isn’t contagious.
After that we took the scenic route back towards Busselton, visiting all the beaches on the way back but not getting out of the car to have a close look at them because every pathway down to a beach has a sign at the entrance warning of the danger of snakes apart from other things and we don’t do snakes.
We got home and had lunch before and had a lazy afternoon giving the kids a chance to catch up on their reading and giving us the chance of an afternoon nap.
We remembered to put the bins out tonight, it is recycling and ordinary bins this week and we had to make sure that they are the right distance from the road and facing the right direction because the rubbish truck is fitted with arms that pick your bin up and turn it upside down, hopefully in the truck, but will not touch it if it is facing the wrong direction and the driver does not get out of his cab to move it if you have got it wrong.
We went out early’ish today and on the way to the petrol station noticed that despite it being a Bank Holiday most of the small independent shops were open which seems a bit strange bearing in mind all the tourists are going home today and on Friday when there was an abundance of tourists with money to spend and no shops open to take their money, it’s going to be a long time before this place turns into the Aussie equivalent of Southend on Sea.
Because the shops are open today we decided to go to Bunbury because there is a wider selection of furniture type stores within a fairly small designated commercial area. Unfortunately either Bunbury knew that we were coming or they think that we have enough time to shop throughout the rest of the year and see no reason to open on public holidays, because everywhere is closed, the place was dead and this is a big town that we are talking about. The only shop open was Australia’s answer to B&Q, you guessed it Bunnings and it was heaving, there were so many people there that they were using the surrounding shops car parks.
Having not done the tourist bit to Bunbury we decided to go to the waterfront to have a look at some of the places that have been rammed down our throats in the form of TV adverts since we have been down here and we weren’t disappointed the places concerned looked almost as uninteresting as the adverts and having to fight off flies for an hour or so while we were looking around didn’t improve the ambience at all, although if you are into fly fishing this is the place to come because there are millions of them and you would be sure to catch something, you just have to hope it isn’t contagious.
After that we took the scenic route back towards Busselton, visiting all the beaches on the way back but not getting out of the car to have a close look at them because every pathway down to a beach has a sign at the entrance warning of the danger of snakes apart from other things and we don’t do snakes.
We got home and had lunch before and had a lazy afternoon giving the kids a chance to catch up on their reading and giving us the chance of an afternoon nap.
We remembered to put the bins out tonight, it is recycling and ordinary bins this week and we had to make sure that they are the right distance from the road and facing the right direction because the rubbish truck is fitted with arms that pick your bin up and turn it upside down, hopefully in the truck, but will not touch it if it is facing the wrong direction and the driver does not get out of his cab to move it if you have got it wrong.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
School, shopping, swimming, this is tough
Thursday 20th March 2008
This is probably our first day back in the real world (almost), we were up early to get the kids ready for school before driving them in and after that we headed to the Café to catch up on our emails before doing the weeks shopping early to avoid all the tourists.
After taking the shopping home we went out doing bits and pieces for the business, dropping off forms etc, we contacted the Gas, Electrical and Water people to make sure we know what we have to do to set up our accounts before we moving in.
We then went to see a carpet dealer to try and arrange for carpets to be fitted before our possessions arrive on 9th April. We are meeting the carpet man on Tuesday morning which will be nice for the kids because for some reason they have got the day off and they want another chance to explore the house and fight over who gets which bedroom. Back in the UK if the kids had an extra day off either side of a school break the school used to tell us it was for staff training, over here none of the teachers have a clue why they have got the extra day but the forecast is good so they’re not going to knock it.
We then went to check out some White goods just to get an idea of sizes and prices. We went to one of the biggest chains of Furniture and Electrical goods suppliers in WA, every time we went from one department to another we were pounced on by a salesman who would ask us if we needed any help and when we said no, would say “if you see anything you like don’t take any notice of the price tag because we can sort out a better price on that” so after walking around for about an hour we haven’t got a clue how much anything costs although Ian did find a BBQ that he liked, it is actually more like an outdoor kitchen than a BBQ really, fitted with a sink and fridge as well as all the cooking bits which may or may not cost around $1995.
We picked up the kids from school at 3.05pm and they were as happy today as they were yesterday and after dropping all their school stuff off at home we went for a swim down at the seafront for a couple of hours before picking up a couple of pizzas for our evening meal.
This is probably our first day back in the real world (almost), we were up early to get the kids ready for school before driving them in and after that we headed to the Café to catch up on our emails before doing the weeks shopping early to avoid all the tourists.
After taking the shopping home we went out doing bits and pieces for the business, dropping off forms etc, we contacted the Gas, Electrical and Water people to make sure we know what we have to do to set up our accounts before we moving in.
We then went to see a carpet dealer to try and arrange for carpets to be fitted before our possessions arrive on 9th April. We are meeting the carpet man on Tuesday morning which will be nice for the kids because for some reason they have got the day off and they want another chance to explore the house and fight over who gets which bedroom. Back in the UK if the kids had an extra day off either side of a school break the school used to tell us it was for staff training, over here none of the teachers have a clue why they have got the extra day but the forecast is good so they’re not going to knock it.
We then went to check out some White goods just to get an idea of sizes and prices. We went to one of the biggest chains of Furniture and Electrical goods suppliers in WA, every time we went from one department to another we were pounced on by a salesman who would ask us if we needed any help and when we said no, would say “if you see anything you like don’t take any notice of the price tag because we can sort out a better price on that” so after walking around for about an hour we haven’t got a clue how much anything costs although Ian did find a BBQ that he liked, it is actually more like an outdoor kitchen than a BBQ really, fitted with a sink and fridge as well as all the cooking bits which may or may not cost around $1995.
We picked up the kids from school at 3.05pm and they were as happy today as they were yesterday and after dropping all their school stuff off at home we went for a swim down at the seafront for a couple of hours before picking up a couple of pizzas for our evening meal.
Back to School
Wednesday 19th March 2008
We were all up early this morning in preparation for the kids first day at school, Marisa and Kristian woke up first at about 6am and by 6.30am were chomping at the bit and making a hell of a row. Fraser had to be woken up at 7am because he spent most of the night awake, playing in his room and was not at his best.
All three were ready to go, dressed and breakfasted well before we needed to leave at 8.10am so we were able to get there well before the uniform shop opened at 8.30am. Because we were early we were able to get all of the paperwork done first which was good because it meant that as soon as the uniforms were sorted they were able to go into there classes at the same time as all the other kids. The first lesson of the day for the whole school is a walk along the beach, we don’t imagine that it stretches the kids too much but it does give the Principle a chance to go through the kids bags and confiscate the drugs, booze and ciggies that have been brought into school without fear of being disturbed (only joking).
The kids look really great in their uniforms but we didn’t get time to take a photo to prove it so hopefully we will remember tomorrow. After watching the kids head off on their route march to the beach we headed for the Café for a cup of coffee and a chance to catch up on the emails after which we headed to the bank. That’s right, the same one as yesterday.
What a difference a day makes, today everything is waiting for us all we have to do is fill out the forms, decide which accounts we wanted, which tends to work on the principle of how much are we willing to pay the bank for doing nothing before you start paying fees for the things that they will do. Once that was decided they then arranged for a card machine for us and even helped us negotiate the fees so that we didn’t pay top whack. We did need to sign a form and fax it back to the card machine department but the guy who was dealing with it went for lunch before sending it, so after about 10 minutes of waiting for this form that was obviously not going to turn up till after lunch we decided to go for lunch and went back and signed it afterwards.
We had arranged another viewing of the house, to measure up for carpets and curtains but had ½ hour to kill so we went to the local Telstra (phone) dealer and discussed a few Phone/Mobile Phone/Internet packages with them and it would appear that to set us up with 2 lots of broadband, 2 Phone lines and 2 Mobiles to cover work and home it is going to cost about $300 a month (approx £150), and that’s without starting to use them. The call charges are obviously set by somebody who has worked out that people do not like talking to an ansaphone because they charge a connection fee of 37 cents (18p) which if you put the phone down you still have to pay, and when you try again you will pay again. If you manage to get through to somebody though it is a different story because they then start charging you in blocks of 30 seconds as well as the connection charge and the 30 second blocks cost up to about 50 cents (25p), at least Dick Turpin wore a mask. Fortunately if you disregard all this charge through the nose for everything attitude, Busselton has still got a great feel about it and while we may kick up a stink in our own little way we have no intention of leaving just yet as we think the alternative, coming back in the UK would be worse still
After that we went and measured up the house for carpets and curtains, it appears that the bank sent round the Valuer yesterday so we should hear back from them quite soon. While we had a look round the garden Ian mentioned to the Realty Agent that we would get a gardener in to cut back the trees and bushes a bit if only to keep it safer for the kids, because of spiders (Redbacks) and their habit of living in trees, to which the agent replied that it’s not the Redbacks you worry about down here, it’s the White Tips that do the biting in Busselton. This has made Ian feel really good, having preached to the kids about the dangers of spiders but concentrating on Redbacks because they are the ones that people talk about from day one, he has now got to warn them about white tips and he hasn’t even seen a picture of one yet. Did you know that receiving a bite from a White Tip will do you less harm than receiving a phone bill from Telstra?
At 3pm we went to pick up the kids and fortunately they had loved every minute of it, they didn’t appear to have been worked too hard on their first day but nevertheless they seem to have enjoyed it, made some friends and are looking forward to going back tomorrow.
Early evening Carolyn took the kids to the park while Ian went food shopping again before making dinner and then they all had an early night.
We were all up early this morning in preparation for the kids first day at school, Marisa and Kristian woke up first at about 6am and by 6.30am were chomping at the bit and making a hell of a row. Fraser had to be woken up at 7am because he spent most of the night awake, playing in his room and was not at his best.
All three were ready to go, dressed and breakfasted well before we needed to leave at 8.10am so we were able to get there well before the uniform shop opened at 8.30am. Because we were early we were able to get all of the paperwork done first which was good because it meant that as soon as the uniforms were sorted they were able to go into there classes at the same time as all the other kids. The first lesson of the day for the whole school is a walk along the beach, we don’t imagine that it stretches the kids too much but it does give the Principle a chance to go through the kids bags and confiscate the drugs, booze and ciggies that have been brought into school without fear of being disturbed (only joking).
The kids look really great in their uniforms but we didn’t get time to take a photo to prove it so hopefully we will remember tomorrow. After watching the kids head off on their route march to the beach we headed for the Café for a cup of coffee and a chance to catch up on the emails after which we headed to the bank. That’s right, the same one as yesterday.
What a difference a day makes, today everything is waiting for us all we have to do is fill out the forms, decide which accounts we wanted, which tends to work on the principle of how much are we willing to pay the bank for doing nothing before you start paying fees for the things that they will do. Once that was decided they then arranged for a card machine for us and even helped us negotiate the fees so that we didn’t pay top whack. We did need to sign a form and fax it back to the card machine department but the guy who was dealing with it went for lunch before sending it, so after about 10 minutes of waiting for this form that was obviously not going to turn up till after lunch we decided to go for lunch and went back and signed it afterwards.
We had arranged another viewing of the house, to measure up for carpets and curtains but had ½ hour to kill so we went to the local Telstra (phone) dealer and discussed a few Phone/Mobile Phone/Internet packages with them and it would appear that to set us up with 2 lots of broadband, 2 Phone lines and 2 Mobiles to cover work and home it is going to cost about $300 a month (approx £150), and that’s without starting to use them. The call charges are obviously set by somebody who has worked out that people do not like talking to an ansaphone because they charge a connection fee of 37 cents (18p) which if you put the phone down you still have to pay, and when you try again you will pay again. If you manage to get through to somebody though it is a different story because they then start charging you in blocks of 30 seconds as well as the connection charge and the 30 second blocks cost up to about 50 cents (25p), at least Dick Turpin wore a mask. Fortunately if you disregard all this charge through the nose for everything attitude, Busselton has still got a great feel about it and while we may kick up a stink in our own little way we have no intention of leaving just yet as we think the alternative, coming back in the UK would be worse still
After that we went and measured up the house for carpets and curtains, it appears that the bank sent round the Valuer yesterday so we should hear back from them quite soon. While we had a look round the garden Ian mentioned to the Realty Agent that we would get a gardener in to cut back the trees and bushes a bit if only to keep it safer for the kids, because of spiders (Redbacks) and their habit of living in trees, to which the agent replied that it’s not the Redbacks you worry about down here, it’s the White Tips that do the biting in Busselton. This has made Ian feel really good, having preached to the kids about the dangers of spiders but concentrating on Redbacks because they are the ones that people talk about from day one, he has now got to warn them about white tips and he hasn’t even seen a picture of one yet. Did you know that receiving a bite from a White Tip will do you less harm than receiving a phone bill from Telstra?
At 3pm we went to pick up the kids and fortunately they had loved every minute of it, they didn’t appear to have been worked too hard on their first day but nevertheless they seem to have enjoyed it, made some friends and are looking forward to going back tomorrow.
Early evening Carolyn took the kids to the park while Ian went food shopping again before making dinner and then they all had an early night.
Bankers
Tuesday 18th March 2008
Ian got the kids up early this morning in an effort to break them in to school routine and they were not happy chappies, Fraser as usual just got on with it and stuck his head into a bowl of cereal before brushing his teeth and getting changed. Kristian and Marisa were not quite so accommodating and had to have the bed clothes pulled off them before they would even move, they eventually got up and had breakfast but they are such slow eaters we think they will be going to school hungry until it sinks in that they need to get moving in the morning if they want to eat, meanwhile Carolyn enjoyed her Coffee in bed again this morning.
We went shopping again today to pick up the last few things that the kids need for school tomorrow, dropping off Kristian’s Library books on the way (I think we need to start choosing for him as he gets through them quite quickly) followed by a trip to the bank we intend to use for the business.
Banks over here appear to be the same as back home when it comes to red tape. We can’t arrange a meeting with the Business account manager because he only talks to businesses that want to borrow money, we can’t open a business account prior to taking over the business because somebody else is currently running that business, we can’t have a card machine until after we have started trading and then it could take 7 working days after we apply before we got one, we can’t order cheque books until we have started trading.
We pointed out to the young lady that we needed an account because potential suppliers would want references before opening credit agreements, we explained that there own bank was lending us money towards the business and would need for us to have an account in order that they can get their money back, we told her that the Café has a card machine at the moment that customers are used to using and would expect to carry on using, we told her that we needed cheque books so that we could start purchasing things for the business rather than getting things mixed up with our personal account, we pointed out that when we get in there we need to hit the ground running and that meant that everything had to be in place before we take over, not just the banks.
She said we can’t do it until you are the registered owner of the business, but I will try to get you a card machine although I don’t hold out much hope because they have strict rules on what they can do (and the rest of the bank don’t? what planet is this girl on). She took our number and said she would get back to us, so as a parting gesture we pointed out that we currently bank with the same bank as the Café owner, they had also offered us finance (the rate was not as good) and as they know the business would probably be more than able to set up a card machine for us and left it at that.
About an hour later we got a call from the bank saying that we could set up an account, we could arrange for a card machine to be there on the day we take over and we could have a cheque book, all we have to do was give them our Company and Trust details and they will organise it.
Was it blackmail in threatening to go elsewhere or common sense that prevailed, I don’t suppose we shall ever find out.
We then headed home stopping at the supermarket for some bits for the kids packed lunches tomorrow, followed by the accountants to drop off some paperwork and then to the Library to get Kristian some more books, all of this done and we haven’t got in the car once today, at this rate we’ll be able to fill that hole in the ozone layer before long.
When we got home Ian switched on the laptop and found that he could connect to a network but could not get a good signal, however we did see who had sent emails to us even if the signal was not strong enough to download them and one of them was from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
So desperate to know what it said Carolyn sent Ian to the Library again to use their internet and find out what the email said. Ian got to the library and asked about using the internet service and was told he had to register, so he read the rules and signed the form to register, he was then asked when he wanted to use the internet to which he replied, now please (that caught them on the hop). It turns out that you have to book your time slot which is fair enough so Ian took the first slot available which was Computer 4 at 3.30pm, half an hours time, so he went and bought a paper and stood at the library counter reading and hoping to get on one earlier. After a couple of minutes the person on computer 2 finished, came to the desk and said goodbye to the person behind it, Ian is thinking that’s handy, but no, about 10 minutes later some spotty youth walked in and said can I use the internet, to which the person behind the counter replied you can have one computer now but if your friend wants one as well he will have to wait for 40 minutes, so off the youth goes and gets comfortable at his computer that he has not had to wait for. It’s a good job Ian is such a placid sort of chap really because any normal person would probably started ranting and raving about this by now.
Anyway, a couple of minutes later the person on computer 4 finished, came to the counter and said goodbye, this time the other spotty youth who should have been waiting 40 minutes was given the use of the computer and before Ian could say anything the person behind the counter had done a runner, fortunately a very nice lady took their place and after asking if he had booked time on the computer pointed out that the computer in question was about to come free. Ian has vowed that if he ever becomes Mayor he is going to change the rules to take into account the fact that some people may not use up all of their allotted time on the computer. But as we said Ian is not the sort of person to let things like this faze him.
Anyway after about 20 minutes on the computer number 4, not 2 or 3, Ian had received the message that we had been hoping for and forwarded it to everybody that needed to know. We have FIRB approval to buy the house which is great news and removes a great weight from our shoulders and subject to a bank survey of the property tomorrow, should be plain sailing from hear on in.
When Ian got back and told Carolyn and the kids they were all ecstatic which was good to see, after dinner we took the kids to the park in the hope that they would burn off a bit of steam and get a good nights sleep before going to school tomorrow, we’ll let you know tomorrow if it worked or not.
Ian got the kids up early this morning in an effort to break them in to school routine and they were not happy chappies, Fraser as usual just got on with it and stuck his head into a bowl of cereal before brushing his teeth and getting changed. Kristian and Marisa were not quite so accommodating and had to have the bed clothes pulled off them before they would even move, they eventually got up and had breakfast but they are such slow eaters we think they will be going to school hungry until it sinks in that they need to get moving in the morning if they want to eat, meanwhile Carolyn enjoyed her Coffee in bed again this morning.
We went shopping again today to pick up the last few things that the kids need for school tomorrow, dropping off Kristian’s Library books on the way (I think we need to start choosing for him as he gets through them quite quickly) followed by a trip to the bank we intend to use for the business.
Banks over here appear to be the same as back home when it comes to red tape. We can’t arrange a meeting with the Business account manager because he only talks to businesses that want to borrow money, we can’t open a business account prior to taking over the business because somebody else is currently running that business, we can’t have a card machine until after we have started trading and then it could take 7 working days after we apply before we got one, we can’t order cheque books until we have started trading.
We pointed out to the young lady that we needed an account because potential suppliers would want references before opening credit agreements, we explained that there own bank was lending us money towards the business and would need for us to have an account in order that they can get their money back, we told her that the Café has a card machine at the moment that customers are used to using and would expect to carry on using, we told her that we needed cheque books so that we could start purchasing things for the business rather than getting things mixed up with our personal account, we pointed out that when we get in there we need to hit the ground running and that meant that everything had to be in place before we take over, not just the banks.
She said we can’t do it until you are the registered owner of the business, but I will try to get you a card machine although I don’t hold out much hope because they have strict rules on what they can do (and the rest of the bank don’t? what planet is this girl on). She took our number and said she would get back to us, so as a parting gesture we pointed out that we currently bank with the same bank as the Café owner, they had also offered us finance (the rate was not as good) and as they know the business would probably be more than able to set up a card machine for us and left it at that.
About an hour later we got a call from the bank saying that we could set up an account, we could arrange for a card machine to be there on the day we take over and we could have a cheque book, all we have to do was give them our Company and Trust details and they will organise it.
Was it blackmail in threatening to go elsewhere or common sense that prevailed, I don’t suppose we shall ever find out.
We then headed home stopping at the supermarket for some bits for the kids packed lunches tomorrow, followed by the accountants to drop off some paperwork and then to the Library to get Kristian some more books, all of this done and we haven’t got in the car once today, at this rate we’ll be able to fill that hole in the ozone layer before long.
When we got home Ian switched on the laptop and found that he could connect to a network but could not get a good signal, however we did see who had sent emails to us even if the signal was not strong enough to download them and one of them was from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
So desperate to know what it said Carolyn sent Ian to the Library again to use their internet and find out what the email said. Ian got to the library and asked about using the internet service and was told he had to register, so he read the rules and signed the form to register, he was then asked when he wanted to use the internet to which he replied, now please (that caught them on the hop). It turns out that you have to book your time slot which is fair enough so Ian took the first slot available which was Computer 4 at 3.30pm, half an hours time, so he went and bought a paper and stood at the library counter reading and hoping to get on one earlier. After a couple of minutes the person on computer 2 finished, came to the desk and said goodbye to the person behind it, Ian is thinking that’s handy, but no, about 10 minutes later some spotty youth walked in and said can I use the internet, to which the person behind the counter replied you can have one computer now but if your friend wants one as well he will have to wait for 40 minutes, so off the youth goes and gets comfortable at his computer that he has not had to wait for. It’s a good job Ian is such a placid sort of chap really because any normal person would probably started ranting and raving about this by now.
Anyway, a couple of minutes later the person on computer 4 finished, came to the counter and said goodbye, this time the other spotty youth who should have been waiting 40 minutes was given the use of the computer and before Ian could say anything the person behind the counter had done a runner, fortunately a very nice lady took their place and after asking if he had booked time on the computer pointed out that the computer in question was about to come free. Ian has vowed that if he ever becomes Mayor he is going to change the rules to take into account the fact that some people may not use up all of their allotted time on the computer. But as we said Ian is not the sort of person to let things like this faze him.
Anyway after about 20 minutes on the computer number 4, not 2 or 3, Ian had received the message that we had been hoping for and forwarded it to everybody that needed to know. We have FIRB approval to buy the house which is great news and removes a great weight from our shoulders and subject to a bank survey of the property tomorrow, should be plain sailing from hear on in.
When Ian got back and told Carolyn and the kids they were all ecstatic which was good to see, after dinner we took the kids to the park in the hope that they would burn off a bit of steam and get a good nights sleep before going to school tomorrow, we’ll let you know tomorrow if it worked or not.
No Green Guinness Today Day
Monday 17th March 2008
It’s Paddy’s Day and we don’t care, we don’t have to cook Irish Stew or Boiled Bacon and Cabbage or serve Green Guinness or Strongbow at discount prices and it feels good, so we had another lie in this morning just because we could and also because we were still knackered from watching tv so late last night.
Mid morning we went to the kids new school and picked up the forms so that we can enrol them ASAP, they are desperate to go to school after being out of it since the end of November 2007 and although we have had some great times since then they do need there bit of routine and discipline.
Having got the forms we drove round what will be the kids cycle route to the house, it is along the coast all the way and shouldn’t take more than about 5 minutes even if they have to wait for Carolyn. Then it was off to the shops to buy all the things they are going to need at the new school, most of it is to bought from a Newsagents and most of it to specifications laid down by the school, even the pencil case has to be a certain size, Kristian has to have a wooden ruler and crayons while the other 2 need a see through ruler and pens, but the Uniforms will be bought on the day they start (Wednesday), from the school.
We stopped in the Café on the way back for a quick coffee and to check up on our emails and while we were there the owner showed us details of her suppliers so that we can start contacting them and setting up accounts. From there we went to the Library and managed to get them to give us a Library card so that we can fill the house with books because, did I ever tell you, the TV is rubbish over here.
It’s Paddy’s Day and we don’t care, we don’t have to cook Irish Stew or Boiled Bacon and Cabbage or serve Green Guinness or Strongbow at discount prices and it feels good, so we had another lie in this morning just because we could and also because we were still knackered from watching tv so late last night.
Mid morning we went to the kids new school and picked up the forms so that we can enrol them ASAP, they are desperate to go to school after being out of it since the end of November 2007 and although we have had some great times since then they do need there bit of routine and discipline.
Having got the forms we drove round what will be the kids cycle route to the house, it is along the coast all the way and shouldn’t take more than about 5 minutes even if they have to wait for Carolyn. Then it was off to the shops to buy all the things they are going to need at the new school, most of it is to bought from a Newsagents and most of it to specifications laid down by the school, even the pencil case has to be a certain size, Kristian has to have a wooden ruler and crayons while the other 2 need a see through ruler and pens, but the Uniforms will be bought on the day they start (Wednesday), from the school.
We stopped in the Café on the way back for a quick coffee and to check up on our emails and while we were there the owner showed us details of her suppliers so that we can start contacting them and setting up accounts. From there we went to the Library and managed to get them to give us a Library card so that we can fill the house with books because, did I ever tell you, the TV is rubbish over here.
A bad TV day
Sunday 16th March 2008
Today was a lazy day, a time to recharge the batteries, so we all had a lie in this morning and a late breakfast. We needed some bed linen for one of the kid’s beds, so much to Ian’s disgust he had to go shopping on a Sunday for something other than a paper while Carolyn did the washing and other girlie things.
In the afternoon Carolyn took the kids to the beach for a play and a swim while Ian relaxed at home watching the Australian F1 Grand Prix. After the race finished Ian walked down to the beach to meet the others and just chilled out with Carolyn in the shade of a couple of trees near the waters edge while the kids played.
At about 5pm we headed for home and cooked dinner, we are all still a bit tired so the kids went to bed early and we stayed up to watch a film that was due to finish early, alas in Australia they seem to advertise the time a film should start if there aren’t any adverts, however there are adverts every 5-10 minutes throughout the day so the programme you have been looking forward to seeing is running late. This could however explain why the TV stations do not run 24 hours, they obviously need a few hours of a night to finish showing there scheduled programmes before the next days scheduling starts.
One thing we have worked out though is the reason Australians are so good at sport is that the TV is rubbish, the Government deliberately gets the TV companies to put crap on television and just to make sure it is totally unwatchable they get them to put in adverts every 5-10 minutes. This in turn gets people so angry they go round throwing and kicking things, but the government is not totally stupid, they provide lots of open space for Football, Rugby, athletics etc and spend the governments millions on leaving things like Footballs and Javelins lying around just waiting for people to come along and kick or throw them in anger and while the government would tell you that this is therapeutic it is in fact addictive and from this point the sports governing bodies are able to manipulate the masses and while the rest of the worlds potential athletes are sitting at home watching a good TV programme the Aussies are being driven away from it by government policies.
The best part though is the Swimmers, have you ever wondered how a country with such a small population can produce so many great swimmers? Well the answer is this, in every community you get the stubborn ones, the pig heads, the die hards, but slowly they get worn down, the telly gets worse, the adverts get more frequent and eventually they are broken. These poor souls are the ones that have fought it for so long that they have nothing left, the potential suicides. But the government has thought of this and since childhood the people of this great nation have been taught to swim from an early age, your suicidal maniac however does not take this into account when in his/her fit of depression so when they take that initial leap into the water in an effort to drown they are half way to becoming an Olympic Swimmer because it is really hard to kill yourself by drowning when you know how to swim so they just keep swimming forever and only the most stubborn of all are able to do it.
Anyway, enough of this waffle, we ended up having a late night because we were stubborn enough to watch the film until the end, but I think we may regret it tomorrow.
Today was a lazy day, a time to recharge the batteries, so we all had a lie in this morning and a late breakfast. We needed some bed linen for one of the kid’s beds, so much to Ian’s disgust he had to go shopping on a Sunday for something other than a paper while Carolyn did the washing and other girlie things.
In the afternoon Carolyn took the kids to the beach for a play and a swim while Ian relaxed at home watching the Australian F1 Grand Prix. After the race finished Ian walked down to the beach to meet the others and just chilled out with Carolyn in the shade of a couple of trees near the waters edge while the kids played.
At about 5pm we headed for home and cooked dinner, we are all still a bit tired so the kids went to bed early and we stayed up to watch a film that was due to finish early, alas in Australia they seem to advertise the time a film should start if there aren’t any adverts, however there are adverts every 5-10 minutes throughout the day so the programme you have been looking forward to seeing is running late. This could however explain why the TV stations do not run 24 hours, they obviously need a few hours of a night to finish showing there scheduled programmes before the next days scheduling starts.
One thing we have worked out though is the reason Australians are so good at sport is that the TV is rubbish, the Government deliberately gets the TV companies to put crap on television and just to make sure it is totally unwatchable they get them to put in adverts every 5-10 minutes. This in turn gets people so angry they go round throwing and kicking things, but the government is not totally stupid, they provide lots of open space for Football, Rugby, athletics etc and spend the governments millions on leaving things like Footballs and Javelins lying around just waiting for people to come along and kick or throw them in anger and while the government would tell you that this is therapeutic it is in fact addictive and from this point the sports governing bodies are able to manipulate the masses and while the rest of the worlds potential athletes are sitting at home watching a good TV programme the Aussies are being driven away from it by government policies.
The best part though is the Swimmers, have you ever wondered how a country with such a small population can produce so many great swimmers? Well the answer is this, in every community you get the stubborn ones, the pig heads, the die hards, but slowly they get worn down, the telly gets worse, the adverts get more frequent and eventually they are broken. These poor souls are the ones that have fought it for so long that they have nothing left, the potential suicides. But the government has thought of this and since childhood the people of this great nation have been taught to swim from an early age, your suicidal maniac however does not take this into account when in his/her fit of depression so when they take that initial leap into the water in an effort to drown they are half way to becoming an Olympic Swimmer because it is really hard to kill yourself by drowning when you know how to swim so they just keep swimming forever and only the most stubborn of all are able to do it.
Anyway, enough of this waffle, we ended up having a late night because we were stubborn enough to watch the film until the end, but I think we may regret it tomorrow.
275kms closer to the South Pole
Saturday 15th March 2008
We were all up early today in anticipation of shoehorning all our worldly possessions into the car and to make sure that we say goodbye to Sharon and Malcolm before they went to work.
We managed to leave at 10.00am which was the time we had planned and set off towards the Freeway and beyond. We had been driving for about 10 minutes when Carolyn announces that she couldn’t remember bringing in the washing off the line, so after doing a U-turn and heading back we found ourselves locked out of the house because we had to leave the keys behind and too short to be able to see over the fence, Marisa to the rescue, and delighted to help as usual if only to make sure she is not left out of the loop, Ian picked her up, she looked over the fence and confirmed that the washing line was empty and we were able to start our journey all over again, if only life was always this easy!
So on our way again and looking forward to the 3½ hour drive ahead the kids decide it is time to let us know how much they enjoyed their Indian meal last night, the smell is horrendous but the kids think that the sight of their parents retching in the front of the car is great fun. After the fist ½ hour the mist started to abate (I hate to think what their Easter eggs are going to taste like) and the rest of the journey went by quite peacefully and 275 kms and 3 hours closer to the South Pole we were driving into Busselton, the sun was shining, the air was clean and we felt good to be there and starting the next chapter of our adventure in Australia.
We headed straight for the letting agents to pick up the keys for the house that we are going to be stopping in until our house purchase goes through. The agent Kay was very helpful and 20 minutes later we were outside the house, keys in hand. Unfortunately the keys in hand are not the ones that fit in door, so off to see Kay again, she explained in detail how the owners of the property had mixed the keys up when they stayed last and promptly gave us all the keys associated with the property and asked us to bring back the ones we don’t need. This time we’re in and a nice little house it is, a small 3 bed house on the edge of town but tidy and comfortable, we would need a bit more room to be able to live hear permanently but this is just what the doctor ordered until we move into our own place.
We unloaded the car and while Carolyn, Marisa and Kristian were unpacking Ian and Fraser went shopping to get the essential supplies, remember we are getting rural now and if you don’t get your shopping by 4pm on a Saturday afternoon you are in danger of starving by Monday. It’s not that bad really it just feels like it has got its priorities right, and on a Saturday afternoon everything starts closing up early because the people working in these places have got a life and intend to make the most of it. In truth you can go shopping on a Sunday in Busselton but it doesn’t feel like the sort of place where you should.
After Ian and Fraser had dropped off the spare keys with the agent and had returned with the shopping we went for a walk down to the seafront to stretch our legs, on the way we stopped at a park and let the kids run wild for ½ hour or so before continuing to the front and a route march along the Jetty to build up an appetite. Busselton is famous for its Jetty, at 2000 ish metres long and with an underwater observatory at the end is the longest Jetty in the southern hemisphere and by our reckoning which may or may not be that accurate, must be about as long as Southend Pier.
There are however some major differences, this one doesn’t appear to burn down as often although it does look like it has had a few lumps taken out of it over the years, this one only has railings on one side (and it was probably the Health and Safety Executive that made them put those up), this one wobbles a lot more than the one at Southend but only when people are walking on it or the water underneath is washing against it. And alas some similarities, despite this Jetty being a major part of the tourist attraction to the area it does need
$25 million spent on it to restore it to its former glory and the government appears to be doing everything it can to ensure that it isn’t the one that pays. Perhaps politicians don’t like these things to be too long just in case they are ever made to walk the plank for their sometimes misguided attempts at ruling us poor minions and don’t want to have to swim too far to get back on dry land.
After our stroll we went out for dinner, it had been a long day and we couldn’t be bothered too cook, we went to the only Pub/Restaurant in town and had a lovely meal. Fraser finished his meal first and on the table next to him were a couple out for a meal but with a baby that didn’t want to sleep, so Fraser stood there and pushed the baby back and forth whilst singing to it while the couple enjoyed their meal in peace. When we left to go home they gave him $5 so he was quite chuffed as he hadn’t expected anything.
The walk home was a bit slow because by this time the kids were a bit tired but we got there in the end and they all flaked out very quickly.
We were all up early today in anticipation of shoehorning all our worldly possessions into the car and to make sure that we say goodbye to Sharon and Malcolm before they went to work.
We managed to leave at 10.00am which was the time we had planned and set off towards the Freeway and beyond. We had been driving for about 10 minutes when Carolyn announces that she couldn’t remember bringing in the washing off the line, so after doing a U-turn and heading back we found ourselves locked out of the house because we had to leave the keys behind and too short to be able to see over the fence, Marisa to the rescue, and delighted to help as usual if only to make sure she is not left out of the loop, Ian picked her up, she looked over the fence and confirmed that the washing line was empty and we were able to start our journey all over again, if only life was always this easy!
So on our way again and looking forward to the 3½ hour drive ahead the kids decide it is time to let us know how much they enjoyed their Indian meal last night, the smell is horrendous but the kids think that the sight of their parents retching in the front of the car is great fun. After the fist ½ hour the mist started to abate (I hate to think what their Easter eggs are going to taste like) and the rest of the journey went by quite peacefully and 275 kms and 3 hours closer to the South Pole we were driving into Busselton, the sun was shining, the air was clean and we felt good to be there and starting the next chapter of our adventure in Australia.
We headed straight for the letting agents to pick up the keys for the house that we are going to be stopping in until our house purchase goes through. The agent Kay was very helpful and 20 minutes later we were outside the house, keys in hand. Unfortunately the keys in hand are not the ones that fit in door, so off to see Kay again, she explained in detail how the owners of the property had mixed the keys up when they stayed last and promptly gave us all the keys associated with the property and asked us to bring back the ones we don’t need. This time we’re in and a nice little house it is, a small 3 bed house on the edge of town but tidy and comfortable, we would need a bit more room to be able to live hear permanently but this is just what the doctor ordered until we move into our own place.
We unloaded the car and while Carolyn, Marisa and Kristian were unpacking Ian and Fraser went shopping to get the essential supplies, remember we are getting rural now and if you don’t get your shopping by 4pm on a Saturday afternoon you are in danger of starving by Monday. It’s not that bad really it just feels like it has got its priorities right, and on a Saturday afternoon everything starts closing up early because the people working in these places have got a life and intend to make the most of it. In truth you can go shopping on a Sunday in Busselton but it doesn’t feel like the sort of place where you should.
After Ian and Fraser had dropped off the spare keys with the agent and had returned with the shopping we went for a walk down to the seafront to stretch our legs, on the way we stopped at a park and let the kids run wild for ½ hour or so before continuing to the front and a route march along the Jetty to build up an appetite. Busselton is famous for its Jetty, at 2000 ish metres long and with an underwater observatory at the end is the longest Jetty in the southern hemisphere and by our reckoning which may or may not be that accurate, must be about as long as Southend Pier.
There are however some major differences, this one doesn’t appear to burn down as often although it does look like it has had a few lumps taken out of it over the years, this one only has railings on one side (and it was probably the Health and Safety Executive that made them put those up), this one wobbles a lot more than the one at Southend but only when people are walking on it or the water underneath is washing against it. And alas some similarities, despite this Jetty being a major part of the tourist attraction to the area it does need
$25 million spent on it to restore it to its former glory and the government appears to be doing everything it can to ensure that it isn’t the one that pays. Perhaps politicians don’t like these things to be too long just in case they are ever made to walk the plank for their sometimes misguided attempts at ruling us poor minions and don’t want to have to swim too far to get back on dry land.
After our stroll we went out for dinner, it had been a long day and we couldn’t be bothered too cook, we went to the only Pub/Restaurant in town and had a lovely meal. Fraser finished his meal first and on the table next to him were a couple out for a meal but with a baby that didn’t want to sleep, so Fraser stood there and pushed the baby back and forth whilst singing to it while the couple enjoyed their meal in peace. When we left to go home they gave him $5 so he was quite chuffed as he hadn’t expected anything.
The walk home was a bit slow because by this time the kids were a bit tired but we got there in the end and they all flaked out very quickly.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Flopped and Shopped
Monday 10thMarch 2008
Had a lazy day today waiting for business to turn up by courier, it turned up mid afternoon so it was to late to go out anyway. The sun was fierce again today although the temperature only reached 32C but it is due to be very hot tomorrow.
In the late afternoon Ian and the kids went shopping for food and swapped the car while they were out, the garage still haven’t done the final bit of detailing, and we haven’t cleaned the car since we got it so hopefully we will get a nice shiny car back by the end of the week. The Courtesy Car they gave us is a Toyota Camry Estate and is nice to drive.
Ian made the evening meal again, Roast Chicken with an assortment of salads, we can’t believe how much salad we’re eating out here, most of it has more flavour than in the UK but we think that it is only a matter of time before we get fed up with it, although it is too hot to muck around cooking vegetables at the moment.
Hopefully tomorrow we will get the offer accepted on the house and then we will be able to get everything rolling with the Business and the House. While we are waiting for paperwork to be moved around we cannot pack our things, get down there and start doing the groundwork for both House and Business.
Had a lazy day today waiting for business to turn up by courier, it turned up mid afternoon so it was to late to go out anyway. The sun was fierce again today although the temperature only reached 32C but it is due to be very hot tomorrow.
In the late afternoon Ian and the kids went shopping for food and swapped the car while they were out, the garage still haven’t done the final bit of detailing, and we haven’t cleaned the car since we got it so hopefully we will get a nice shiny car back by the end of the week. The Courtesy Car they gave us is a Toyota Camry Estate and is nice to drive.
Ian made the evening meal again, Roast Chicken with an assortment of salads, we can’t believe how much salad we’re eating out here, most of it has more flavour than in the UK but we think that it is only a matter of time before we get fed up with it, although it is too hot to muck around cooking vegetables at the moment.
Hopefully tomorrow we will get the offer accepted on the house and then we will be able to get everything rolling with the Business and the House. While we are waiting for paperwork to be moved around we cannot pack our things, get down there and start doing the groundwork for both House and Business.
Thunderbolts and lightening
Friday 7th March 2008
We got woken up at about 6am today when lightening started flashing and thunder started crashing, it was quite a spectacle really and we have never been in a thunderstorm that loud before it just boomed across the area and was amazing to listen to. The boys were woken up by it but were totally unfazed while Marisa who we were most worried about as she is in a room on her own slept right the way through it.
We got a call from the estate agent this morning and our offer was turned down again so we have increased it again and the agent is confident that it will be accepted this time but won’t know until Tuesday because wherever the Trustees for the house are based there is a Bank Holiday this weekend.
We went into Joondalup to sort out some banking and got upset with them because they wanted to charge us for a Transfer that we had originally wanted to do on line but couldn’t, because the bank hadn’t set up the account properly, so we just took out the cash, walked round the corner and deposited in the bank of the account holder that we had been trying to send the money to.
We had lunch in the Shopping Centre and had a look round the Mobile phone shops to check out deals for when we move to Busselton.
On the way back we did a bit of Food shopping and had a quiet evening in with a couple of tinnies.
We got woken up at about 6am today when lightening started flashing and thunder started crashing, it was quite a spectacle really and we have never been in a thunderstorm that loud before it just boomed across the area and was amazing to listen to. The boys were woken up by it but were totally unfazed while Marisa who we were most worried about as she is in a room on her own slept right the way through it.
We got a call from the estate agent this morning and our offer was turned down again so we have increased it again and the agent is confident that it will be accepted this time but won’t know until Tuesday because wherever the Trustees for the house are based there is a Bank Holiday this weekend.
We went into Joondalup to sort out some banking and got upset with them because they wanted to charge us for a Transfer that we had originally wanted to do on line but couldn’t, because the bank hadn’t set up the account properly, so we just took out the cash, walked round the corner and deposited in the bank of the account holder that we had been trying to send the money to.
We had lunch in the Shopping Centre and had a look round the Mobile phone shops to check out deals for when we move to Busselton.
On the way back we did a bit of Food shopping and had a quiet evening in with a couple of tinnies.
Another.Night.Out.
Saturday 1st March2008
It was a bit overcast this morning so we decided to go to Mullaloo Beach for a swim, while we were there we met a family who Emigrated from Axbridge last November and are loving it over here. The midday sun started to burn off the clouds son after about 2 hours we went home and had lunch.
In the afternoon Ian went Food shopping while Carolyn got the kids doing School work, we think it is time for them to get back into a learning routine now that a new school is on the horizon.
Ian made some more Salads for the evening meal, they seem to be going down well.
In the evening Sharon volunteered to look after the Kids so we went up the Pub, it was very noisy with a live band playing. Just before closing time we met another migrant, this one was from Yatton although he had spent most of his life in Weston Super Mare, he said he loved it out here but he had his Aussie girlfriend hanging on his every word so I suppose he had to really.
It was a bit overcast this morning so we decided to go to Mullaloo Beach for a swim, while we were there we met a family who Emigrated from Axbridge last November and are loving it over here. The midday sun started to burn off the clouds son after about 2 hours we went home and had lunch.
In the afternoon Ian went Food shopping while Carolyn got the kids doing School work, we think it is time for them to get back into a learning routine now that a new school is on the horizon.
Ian made some more Salads for the evening meal, they seem to be going down well.
In the evening Sharon volunteered to look after the Kids so we went up the Pub, it was very noisy with a live band playing. Just before closing time we met another migrant, this one was from Yatton although he had spent most of his life in Weston Super Mare, he said he loved it out here but he had his Aussie girlfriend hanging on his every word so I suppose he had to really.
The dog did 3000km in 2 weeks, not bad
Wednesday 20th February 2008
Another quiet day today, we read and sent some E-mails before going to Whitfords Shopping Centre to do some shopping for kids clothes, had a bite to eat while we were there, the kids go for Subway every time.
In the afternoon we got a call from the car sales rep, Peter, he apologises for it taking so long to get the car ready but it will be with him at about 5pm if we want to pick it up and could we bring a cheque to pay for it.
We have done about 3,000 km in the 2 weeks that we have had the dog of a courtesy but that means it will be a bit longer before we have to service ours. At 5pm we get to the garage, the car is there and Peter the rep is distraught, the guys that had knocked out all the little dinks and touched up the paintwork had been right the way round the car making sure it was spotless except for the rear drivers side door which they have missed completely, Peter said that he will get it done within 2 weeks and while it is in we will be able to have the use of another courtesy car. We agreed to it and whilst it did a job, the dog of a car was nowhere near as nice to drive as the Zafira.
Another quiet day today, we read and sent some E-mails before going to Whitfords Shopping Centre to do some shopping for kids clothes, had a bite to eat while we were there, the kids go for Subway every time.
In the afternoon we got a call from the car sales rep, Peter, he apologises for it taking so long to get the car ready but it will be with him at about 5pm if we want to pick it up and could we bring a cheque to pay for it.
We have done about 3,000 km in the 2 weeks that we have had the dog of a courtesy but that means it will be a bit longer before we have to service ours. At 5pm we get to the garage, the car is there and Peter the rep is distraught, the guys that had knocked out all the little dinks and touched up the paintwork had been right the way round the car making sure it was spotless except for the rear drivers side door which they have missed completely, Peter said that he will get it done within 2 weeks and while it is in we will be able to have the use of another courtesy car. We agreed to it and whilst it did a job, the dog of a car was nowhere near as nice to drive as the Zafira.
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