Will the last Englishman out of the country turn the lights out please ?

Easter blog update

Had held off updating the blog for a while as we were hoping to suprise you all with a house purchase. Sadly, the mafia run Aussie house purchase system conspired against us, and we did not get the one we were after. We were the highest bidders at auction, but it got passed in. We then received a series of ridiculous demands price wise for the house, which we knocked back, but it seems someone else fell for it. It was overpriced, so no biggy really, but would have been nice to get some permanent roots.

Anyway, other stuff going on at the mo, we've made some good contacts and it's looking highly likely one, or both of us will be branching out job wise in the not too distant future. Cant say too much on the blog, but once we have everything setup, we will let you know. The idea was always to set something up here that we could work at together, rather than doing the 9-5 thing for the corporates, and we are getting closer to that goal. It really is the land of opportunity here, being different as it is to the UK, once you get to know the market, you can see what they dont have that would fly. Its a case of making the best choice as to what path to follow.... Fingers crossed.

Dogs are doing great. They are WELL big now. They love the oval (Effectively a park) we take them to. Leelu starts yelping as soon as we go up the driveway to it, and once the boot of the car is open, they are off, across the field. They have loads of friends up there, it so nice to walk round, looking at the amazing scenery, sun on your back, watching the dogs attack everyone in the park. They are not aggresive, but they love to play, and it seems some people here have dog phobias, and then go to off leash dog parks ! So, when I say attack, they are just looking for a stroke, but we can tell where they are when a nervous woman streaks across the park !

Autumn has arrived. It is normally around 20 degrees during the day, but colder at night. The pool is not heated, so time in there is limited to really hot days, mostly to cool off after football. Ah yes, footy. We won our first game, 1-0. I missed a sitter, but played ok, and upset most of the other team, so a successful day. Training last Tuesday I was on fire, right up until I got floored and now seem to have a side full of bruised ribs which makes breathing, and turning over in bed interesting.

We have a duck on the bbq rotisserie at the moment, our little Easter dinner. The bbq is a real asset, we do everything on it. Dont think I could ever come back to the UK and cook dinners in the kitchen again, just too much hassle. The bbq eating has another upside. I have lost over a stone since we got here. Never felt fitter. We still dont smoke either, so not only are we fit, but we are saving huge wads of cash too.

We have just got back from Palm Beach, where we had a meal in a nice restaurant on the front. K had sea trout with lobster mash, I had mussels with light moroccan spices. There was a jazz band playing too, it was a real nice day out.

So, thats it for now. I will update with more news on the career front as soon as it's all confirmed, and if any of you fancy a holiday, you know where we are. Sandra arrives in 2 weeks, followed by Pat and Sonia. Then we have Jim, then Narf, then my Dad maybe. Its going to be busy.

Right, gotta check my duck. Oh, before I go, a little gem from Sandra. We said we were going to Palm Beach, she asked where it was. I said the other side of Sydney Harbour Bridge. What did she ask ? Oh, which bridge is that then ? Somebody help me out here please

See you in 2 weeks San !