Well, we arrived back in the UK on Tuesday 28th November, just 3 months after we left here in the first place, and you know what? It's great to be back.

Our flight from Brisbane stopped off at Incheon Airport near Seoul, South Korea after nearly 10 hours in the air. We were put up in the Hyatt Regency hotel just outside the airport. Very posh! We were also given a free 3 course evening meal and a full buffet breakfast the next morning. The onward flight to Heathrow took just over 11 hours.

My parents, my brother, one of my best mates and her boyfriend turned up at Heathrow to pick us up. It was so good to see them again. Mum and my mate Karen burst into tears. Daft pair!

After a good nights sleep, the rest of my family came over to see us. Fortunately we hadn't been away long enough for all 6 of my nieces and nephews (all aged 6 and under) to forget us so it was good to get lots of hugs and kisses from them.

I met up with my boss later that day and he offered me my job back at the pub. We went out that evening to meet up with loads of friends - some knew we were back, some were taken completely by surprise.

I didn't see much of my kids over the next few days. Kristy was so happy to be reunited with her boyfriend, and Mark and Courtney equally as chuffed to be back with their mates too.

As I write this now on the Sunday after our return, I have just finished the second of my shifts back at the pub, two of my kids are still out!!!, and we have bought 2 secondhand cars.

We are staying with my parents. It's a bit of a squeeze as there are effectively 7 adults in a 3 bed house, but we coping ok at the moment even though we spend all our time tripping over suitcases! Daemon has applied for several jobs and so has Mark. He wants to work until next September, then he will start college. I'm applying for a full time job tomorrow back in the travel industry where hopefully I can get Kristy a job too.

So, so far, things are going just fine.

All I know for certain is that it is sooooo good to be back HOME again. Where we belong.

6th January 2007

Happy New Year!

Thought I'd update you on how things are going here.

Daemon is still looking for work. Obviously Christmas slowed things down a lot so we're hoping that now the new year has kicked in, he will start hearing back from more companies. He does have a second interview for a driving job next week so fingers crossed on that one.He's been out of work now for 6 months. (You may remember he was made redundant back at the end of June, then he couldn't find work in Australia). He's getting really fed up at home now, understandably.

Kristy is at a second interview as I'm writing this. She is hoping to work for a travel agency. It's only part time initially but we're hoping that if she gets the job she can then go on to do full time. Providing she gets a job in travel, she won't be going to college in September. She has qualifications already and passed her A Level last summer.

Mark can't get into college until next September. He wants to do Graphic Design. He had always planned on being a pilot but an unfortunate experience in Oz made him realise that an aviation career wasn't for him. I'll explain.........

While at school in Oz he was offered a week's work experience at a local flying school. He was chuffed to pieces and was really looking forward to it. He was promised that he would be taken up in the air for a short while each day. One day 1 he spent the day filing! On day 2 he didn't even have filing to do. He spent the day playing on his mobile phone as there was nothing else for him to do. Day 3 promised to be more interesting. He was taken up for a 3 hour flight inland over Toowoomba and Warwick, landing and then returning home again. I watched him take off in the back of a Cessna accompanied by an instructor and a pilot who was due to qualify just a couple of days later.

I went and picked Mark up later that afternoon. He was as white as a sheet. It turned out that during the flight, the engines failed and the pilots were making Mayday calls. Mark was absolutely petrified and thought he was gonna die. The plane drifted towards the ground and was only 200' from crashing when the pilots started the engines again. As it turned out they were practising a plane stall but had forgotten to let Mark know what they were doing. They howled with laughter as Mark's face, but he wasn't amused. Needless to say he didn't go back to flying school.

So he now wants to go into Graphic Design, but in the meantime he has picked up work in the kitchens of a local pub and is working full time there until he can start college. He enjoys the work and is earning really good money.

Courtney is back at her old school. Hurray!!!!!!!! We threatened to appeal against the schools decision not to let her back in, and they relented. She is so happy to be back amongst her friends again. She has caught up on most of the work she missed already.

I haven't seen much of the kids really. They have spent so much time with their mates that they are rarely at home, but I'm pleased for them.

As for me, well I'm working loads of hours at the pubs which is good and it means that I have a bit of a social life back again. I also have an interview for a job escorting kids to school for a local cab company on Monday so I'm optomistic at getting that. I can fit that round the pub job too so that will be good.

We move back into our house at the beginning of March. Living back with my parents has been fine but as I mentioned earlier in this blog, it is a little crowded here. I'm getting used to getting my dinners cooked for me though!!!

23rd January.

Quick update. Daemon started in a new job last Monday working for a plumbing company driving big lorries in and around the M25 - and enjoying it!

Kristy and I have applied for several jobs now but still haven't heard back from them yet.

Mark has applied to college to start in September and Courtney loves school! She has been asked to go on holiday with her best mate in August and can't wait.

And my brother and his family have been granted their visa's! Yippee!!! I'll miss them loads but know that they have wanted this for soooo long now. I know it's gonna work out for you guys Graham. X

29th June.

Well, such a lot has happened in the last few months.

We moved back into our house at the beginning of March. It was good to have our space back again but I will be eternally grateful to my parents for letting us stay there for 3 months when we first moved back from Oz.

I managed to secure a full time job working for a local tour operator. They specialise in Iceland and I was fortunate to be sent there for a week in March. It was freezing though. At the coldest it was -15C with about 3' of snow. I must admit I did wonder what the hell I was doing back here at that point. I could have been sunning myself in blistering heat on the Gold Coast instead!

Daemon has been offered work as Ground Crew at Gatwick but is waiting on a start date. He is also waiting to be admitted to hospital to have a huge kidney stone removed. He found out he had one when we had our medicals for our visa but it is now so big and painful that he will have it taken out surgically.

Kristy has been a busy girl. She secured her dream job working for a major tour operator. She has been there for 4 weeks now and is loving it. She is hoping to be sent to the Maldives in September to check out the hotels there. A bit like I did when I went to Iceland. She also dumped her boyfriend but has a new one and is madly in luurve!!!!! And to top it all she passed her driving test at the first attempt. We bought her a little car for her 18th in May, so now I never see her!!! But it saves me from being her personal taxi.

Mark is working for a sports store in town. He works full time but will start college in September. He has now decided to study Accounting and Business Studies. He changes his mind like the weather that boy! He has a really nice girlfriend and is still doing well with his running. He is taking driving lessons too.

Courtney is predicted to get straight A*'s in her GCSE's next summer which is great news especially as she missed the first 4 months of the school year. She is going to the Caribbean with her best mate and her family in August, lucky thing! And they don't want me to pay for her! Result!!!!!!! Oh, she's going out with a lad now - her first boyfriend.

I think though that the biggest thing to have happened is that Daemon and I are divorcing. It's really sad, but I think the marriage had run its course. It was my idea to split but he agreed that it was for the best. We are going to split the care of the children although at 18, 17 and 15 they don't need a huge amount of looking after! At the moment we are all still living in the same house but it goes onto the market on Monday. Neither of us can afford to buy the other out. We will split the equity and buy a 2 bed flat each - all we can afford in the area. It's so expensive around here but we need to be near Courtney's school and all their friends. And ours of course.

So many people have asked me why we went to Australia if our marriage wasn't solid. To be honest, it was going to be my last chance at saving my marriage. I was hoping that by living so far away from everything and everyone familiar that we could rekindle what we had lost. Arter all we had a new country to discover, beaches to walk along, a house, car,  furniture etc to buy. We had schools and jobs to find. I was hoping that the lines of communication would open up again. But it wasn't to be unfortunately.

So it's onwards and upwards as they say. It's going to be a tough few months but we'll get there. The kids have taken the news really well considering. And I'm glad to be back among familiarity again as I think this will help us all.

On a lighter note, my brother and his family will be leaving these shores at the end of August. A year to the day that we left here. Their house is going through at the moment and they are so excited. My kids are hoping to fly out there next summer for a few weeks holiday. I wish I could go too but finances won't allow it I'm afraid. I'm going to miss Graham, Catherine and the little ones so much but they have waited for this for so long now. I know it'll work out for them all. And the most important bit is that their marriage is a good strong one.

So I'll update you all again in the next couple of months or so and let you all know how we are doing.

28th May 2008

Well, it's been soooo long since my last update so I thought I'd let you all know what's going on.

I'm now managing a lovely little country pub in the village where I live. I've been here since October 07 and thoroughly enjoying it. The job comes with the 3 bed flat above which is where I'm living. I moved out of our family home (which is at the other end of the village), as it was getting awkward living there since my marriage broke up. The kids are still living in the house but I see them all the time as they help me out here at the pub and often stay the night here too. I work 120 hours a week and am totally knackered but it's good fun.

My decree nisi came through in December with the absolute due in June sometime.

Our house has been on the market now since July 07 and we still haven't sold it despite dropping the price by £40K. The market is awful here at the moment especially in our price bracket.

The kids are all doing well. Kristy is 19 now. She is still working for the tour operator and is loving it. She went to the Maldives in December and Thailand in April to check out hotels and resorts. She has booked a holiday in Kuala Lumpar and Bali in July and has won a trip back to the Maldives in October. She bought herself a brand new car and is very settled with her boyfriend of 4 years.

Mark is 18 and passed his driving test this morning. (God help us!!!) He has changed his mind about what he wants to do with his life (again!!!). He has just taken his AS Level in Business Studies and now wants to be a Personal Trainer. He's about to do an intense Personal Trainer course then get a job in a gym in order for him to get the experience before branching out on his own. He is still running and has a new coach (one who ran in the Sydney Olympics). This guy is confident Mark could qualify for London 2012 if he keeps his training up. He ran an inpressive 10.5 secs for the 100m the other day. Although it wasn't officially timed, if it had been he would be the 3rd fastest in the UK for an under 20 year old.

Courtney is now 16 and in the middle of her GCSE's. She is predicted to get A's and A*'s which is fantastic. She's my little bookworm!

My brother and his family have settled nicely in Brisbane. They have been there for 9 months now. They are renting at the moment but have bought acreage just south of Brisbane. They have had plans drawn up for their new house and hope to start building in the next couple of months. Their kids seem to be happy in school and have started to speak with an Aussie twang! They do get their homesick days but they seem to be getting less and less now. My parents were out there recently and my sister will spend Christmas with them.

I must admit I do miss Oz. sometimes. I even have a lovely picture of Southbank in Brisbane as my screensaver! Kristy and Mark miss it too and have mentioned about moving back there sometime. Courtney would love to go back for a holiday but doesn't want to live there again. As for me, well, I don't know really. We still have 3.5 years left on our PR visas so who knows what the future holds. Only time will tell........................

 2nd June 2009

This seems to be a yearly update now!

Ok, here goes. Have been divorced for almost a year now and have a new partner with whom I'm very happy. I might even persuade him to move back to Oz with me!

My boss at the pub decided he wanted to move into the flat above where I was working which meant that I was homeless. So on Friday I duly did as he asked and moved out - back into my marital home which is STILL up for sale. Things are ok at the moment as my ex husband is on holiday but he's due back next week and although he knows I'm living back here he's not happy about it. But tough - I pay the mortgage still so he can't say anything. At least the kids are pleased to have me back.

Anyway, 2 days ago my boss fired me! WTF! I have absolutely no idea why. He just asked me to leave. So am waiting for a letter from explaining his reasons. That should be interesting. Then I'll sue the arse off him!

The kids are all well. Kristy is 20 now. Still working in travel but has applied to the police. She is just waiting on a letter telling her whether she has passed the final assessment. Fingers crossed! She is off to Cuba next week with her housemate. (She has moved out of home and into a 2 bed place with her best mate and loving it!). She also has a new boyfriend.

Mark is 19. He is a fully qualified Personal Trainer and Gym Instructor. He works in 2 private gyms and is really loving it. He is setting up an online training website at the moment and wants to be rich before he's 21! When I asked him if he would buy me a large house to live in, he said yes. My very own nursing home!!! Cheeky sod! But he offered to build it in Oz so I can't complain! He's off to South Africa next week - his first holiday since arriving back in the UK 3 years ago.

Courtney is 17 and sitting her AS Levels. She is taking English, History, Photography and French. She passed her GCSE's gaining 3 A*s, 7 A's and a B. We've been checking out Uni's for Sept 2010. She wants to study Journalism and Contemporary History. Good on her. I wouldn't have a clue where to start! Where did my kids get their brains from??? Must have been their dad. I still have mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My brother is still in Oz but has moved from Brisbane to Melbourne. They didn't totally settle in BNE and are hoping that MEL is the place for them. Early days yet - they only moved at Easter. I went over to see them in March while they were still in Brisbane. I surprised the life out of them 'cos I didn't tell them I was coming! I had a great time although the weather wasn't brilliant. But it felt good to be back and made me realise how much I miss living there.

There's still time left on my visa...........................

5th November 2009

First of all, Happy Birthday Courtney. 18 today. I now have 3 adult children. How old do I feel???

Well, to update you all, I managed to successfully sue the arse off my former boss and got a nice amount of compensation too. He has 6 weeks to pay up so fingers crossed he does. Then I can pay for Christmas!

Talking of Christmas, this year should be a very good one. My brother and his family are coming home for the holidays. We are so excited and are counting the sleeps!!! They have settled really well in MEL and much prefer it to BNE. They are renting at the moment but as soon as they sell their land in BNE they will buy in MEL. Graham has landed a really great job which has helped also.

Kristy got the job with the police and is into her second week of training and loving it. She has moved back home too after having an argument with her housemate. It's great to have her back again. And she loves having her washing and cooking done for her!

Mark is still with the gym. He had a great time in South Africa on holiday but really wants to go back to Oz to live. His girlfriend came over from Brisbane in September and he's missing her big time.

Courtney is in her final year at school. She gained 3 A's in her AS Levels and has applied to several Uni's for next September.

I'm stll living in the family home as it's still not been sold. We have dropped the price by 80K now. We've had several viewings and a few very low offers which we've had to turn down as they were SO low. I'm job hunting still since leaving the pub but I'm sure something will turn up soon.

Will be back with a further update.

22nd March 2010

Well, we FINALLY sold our house after more than 2.5 years! We're hoping to exchange contracts this week and move out mid April sometime. The kids and I are moving in with my parents for a while until I can find a new home to buy. Then Kristy and Mark will move in with their dad as he is staying in this area and it'll be closer for the kids work and friends. Courtney will move in with me but it won't be for long as she is due to start Uni in September. She'll be studying Journalism. I'm thinking of moving out further afield. Not far - about 15 mins away - but far enough to be in a new area making a fresh start. But close enough to family.

I have still not been paid out by my former boss :( He was supposed to pay up Christmas but didn't. I took the case further and he now had a CCJ against him, but trying to get the compensation I'm owed is like getting blood from a stone!

I've managed to get a new job. I'm working for Sainsburys in their Online Dept. I work 30 hours a week doing other people's shopping! I really enjoy it but could do with more hours so I will continue looking for other work.

On the Oz front, I have a real bee in my bonnet at the moment about going back there. It's all I seem to think about. But I'm scared of leaving my kids here (although Mark wants to go back there himself next year), and of course I now have my new partner and he doesn't have a visa. We are hoping to go for a holiday early 2011 though so I may have to make do with visits in future. But it's something that bothers me. I will soon have the money from the sale of my house in my account. Do I buy a house here or move to Oz and buy there? The uncertainty scares the s**t out of me to be honest. I really don't know what to do. I love my partner immensely. He is everything I have ever wanted and he loves me to pieces. I hate spending time away from him but the thought of losing my visa (which runs out in Aug 2011) is a scary one too as I would not be eligible for a visa in my own right. And the kids... I don't feel I would be a fit mother if I took off to the other side of the world leaving my kids here. Even though they are adults now. If it was them taking off and leaving me then that feels more right to me than the other way round. I know they have their own lives to lead now and they will do want they want without a thought for me which is how it should be, but to do it the other way round......................

10th May 2010

So finally, after almost 3 years since we put the house on the market, we moved! Ex hubby is stayng with his parents and the kids and I have moved temporarily into my parents. Again! Remember we moved in with them when we returned from Oz? They can't seem to get rid of us!!!

The ex has bought a place in the same village and then Kristy and Mark will move in with him as it's closer for work and I have found a little 2 bed house in the village of Betchworth, near Dorking, Surrey. Just big enough for Courtney and myself. Hopefully both places will be ready to move into mid June. Now that I have found this little place I seem to have got rid of that bee in my bonnet that I wrote about in my last update. Don't get me wrong, I would still love to go live in Australia again, but as circumstances stand, I know that isn't going to be possible.

I started a new job today too. I couldn't carry on living on the wages I was earning with Sainsburys, not now I will be having my own mortgage. This job is much better paid and I'm hoping I'll enjoy it. The people there seem like a friendly bunch.

I'll update you again when / if we move. fingers crossed.

Oh, and HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY to my gorgeous daughter Kristy for Wednesday. I'm so proud of all you have achieved sweetheart. Love you loads, and enjoy your party. XXX

 28th August 2010

Well, this should be my last entry now I suppose. As a final update, I have now moved into my little house in Betchworth and have settled really well here. Chris, my partner, stays a couple of times a week, otherwise it's just me and Courtney. She passed her A2's gaining 2 A's and a B and starts Uni in September. Boy, am I going to miss her :(

Kristy and Mark have settled into their new house with their dad, but I see them regularly when they come down here to visit me.

I am back working at Sainsburys again with more hours this time. Now I deliver the shopping to the customers and love driving around in the vans all day. Beats sitting in an office for 8 hours at a time!

No other real news so that's about it. I have just under a year left on my visa, but I can't see me going back to live. At least not unless circumstances change dramatically over the next few months. Will have to content myself with as many visits as possible.

Take care all, and hope your dreams all come true.

Julie. XXX

We left the UK at lunchtime on the 31st August. Our friends Bill and Alan took the 5 of us, 10 suitcases and 5 pieces of hand luggage to Heathrow. I had checked in online so we expected to get rushed through check-in and have loads of time to sit and chat to Alan and my mate Eileen (who works at Heathrow) before our flight. WRONG!

We were allowed 200kg of luggage but had 237kg. Whoops! Singapore Airlines tried charging us £900 to take the excess. That was an awful lot of money, so we ended up sending it via The Excess Baggage Company instead. They charged us £245. Much better! Only problem was that it would take up to 10 working days to get to Brisbane. Unfortunately for my youngest daughter Courtney the excess luggage contained all her clothes and a few of my bits and pieces. Still, she came round when I offered to take her shopping for some new clothes.

Then our hand luggage was too big to fit in the little holders at check-in so we had to dump some stuff before being allowed through. In the end we had about half an hour spare before boarding.

The flight was good. The food was plentiful and tasty enough and the staff were friendly. My only gripe was that the movies on our flight weren't on demand, so each time you wanted to watch a film it was already half way through.

About an hour outside Singapore, my eldest daughter Kristy started complaining of pains in her leg. She had hurt it the day before but we thought nothing of it. I don't know whether it was the cabin pressure or what but her foot started swelling. She was in floods of tears. The airline staff offered to radio ahead to Singapore Airport and have a wheelchair waiting for her. We were the last ones off the flight and watched with amusement as Kristy was helped into the aforementioned wheelchair along with a load of other invalids. Funny thing is, is that they were all about 100 years old. She's 17!!!

Singapore Airport is a great place to stop over. We only had an hour there which wasn't anywhere near long enough but we really only needed to stretch our legs and have a quick ciggie or three! And having Kristy in the wheelchair turned out to be an advantage. We dumped our hand luggage on her lap, and then were the first ones back on the plane for the next flight to Brisbane. What we should've done was hang onto the wheelchair at Brisbane Airport. It took ages to get through whereas all the invalids sailed past us, but the swelling in Kristy's foot had gone down by this time.

My cousins Nick and Ross and Ross' wife Lexy were at Brisbane airport to meet us. It was absolutely pouring with rain. Not what we had expected. It was better at Heathrow when we left! Anyway, we got back to my uncle's house where he had steak sandwiches waiting for us.

It was so strange going into the house as my aunt Anna should've been there. How cruel is this cancer lark eh?

The next few days passed in a bit of a blur really. My uncle Mitch had offered to let us stay for as long as we needed to. I think he enjoyed having company in the house again. He lent us his car so that we were able to get around and sort all the boring but important stuff out. We went to Medicare for our cards. Easy! We went to the Tax Office to sort out our TFN's. That was easy too and we even did them for the kids as we knew they would be earning soon. We weren't supposed to do the kids ones ourselves but the woman behind the desk turned a blind eye and let us carry on.

Courtney's luggage turned up just 4 days after we got there, so we took a trip up to the holding place near the airport and picked everything up. Only 1 item was broken which was better than expected.

We went to ANZ bank to open accounts providing our passports, visas and driving licences as proof of identity.

We also managed to find a really nice rental. Our main priority was a pool. My kids get on really great together and are very close. We decided that having a pool for them to muck around in together would make up for not having any mates around to start with. Anyway, we found this 5 bedroom house with pool and got it for $420 a week. More than we wanted to pay, but it had what we needed and there aren't that many rentals around. Especially ones with pools. We started paying rent immediately although we didn't move in until the following week.

During that first week we went shopping!!! We spent quite a bit in Super Amart buying beds, mattresses, dining, lounge and outdoor furniture. Then we spent more in The Good Guys buying all the electrical goods ie TV, Video/DVD player, Fridge/Freezer etc., I hadn't had so much fun in ages. I'm easily pleased, me!

Getting the kids into school was next on our list. We got them enrolled into Beenleigh State High and they started the following Monday. Their uniforms were so casual - shorts and polo tops. They got chatting to a few kids but never really "got in" with any of them. They'd only been there a week before they had 2 weeks holidays.

During those school holidays, I looked after my cousin Nick's 8 year old twins Callum and Mirren. Well actually my kids looked after them. The twins dote on them and they spent an awfully long time in the pool which was great.

Everyone kept commenting on how much we had managed to do in the first 3 weeks. To be honest we were exhausted, but it was fun.

We bought a car. A 4 year old Toyota Corolla Seca. It's a great little car. We originally wanted a people carrier, but decided on a small manual so that the kids could learn to drive in it. We also bought a second car - my cousin's Holden Commodore. It's a bit old but goes really well.

During those first 3 weeks, Daemon spent every day on the computer searching for work. He applied for any job that was going. Even if he didn't have the right experience, he thought he'd chance it anyway. He never heard anything at first which he thought was normal so he didn't stress out too much.

We managed a couple of days out too. We went to Dreamworld (it poured with rain!), we went down to Surfers (it rained!) and guess what happened when we went to Wet 'n' Wild. It rained!!!

We haven't had the best weather to be honest. I can't remember during our time here when there's been 2 sunny, hot days on the trot. On the day we went down to Surfers, we went up Q1. Unfortunately as it was rainy the view wasn't brilliant but you could imagine what it looked like on a good, clear day.

We did spend a really good day up on the Sunshine Coast and the weather was really warm. We had breakfast in Caloundra, had a nosey round Coolum Beach and then spent the rest of the day up at Noosa.

We had a good night out in Pacific Pines meeting up with a load of Expats from this site. It was so nice to put faces to names after all this time.

The girls and I have got into jewellery making. My cousins wife Sam makes her own and showed us how to do it. Now we are hooked. We've spent many Sundays down at Carrara markets on the GC, nosing around in the bead shed. God knows how much we've spent in there, but we've made so many nice pieces. I've made necklaces, bracelets and earrings for my family back home for Christmas presents.

My cousin Ross and his wife Lexy became parents on the 25th October. A beautiful boy they have named Fletcher. His grannny, Anna, would have been so proud of him, but we know she's watching over him at night.

We passed our driving tests. Daemon passed his first time, while it took me 3 attempts! Kristy was old enough to apply for her Learner's Permit and passed her test on the 2nd attempt. As soon as Mark turned 16.5 (exactly!) he applied for his Learners and passed on his first go! So now both Kristy and Mark have been learning to drive. I take them out most days but they now have a qualified instructor, JJ. A really nice german guy who makes them feel totally at ease. He's already taken Kristy on the motorway, and she loves telling me how she's been doing 110kph! This is when I try and ignore her by blocking up my ears! I don't want to know that bit!

Courtney has celebrated her 15th birthday out here. It was weird for her as she normally has a cold birthday with plenty of fireworks. (Her birthday is actually on the 5th November). But this year we had a barbie in 82F heat and spent the day in the pool.

But now, unfortunately, our dream here has turned sour.

After 10 weeks we have decided to return home to the UK. Daemon still hasn't found work after all this time. I know it can take a while but 10 weeks is ridiculous. He is bored and so frustrated at being stuck at home all day. Australia is screaming out for skilled workers, but they aren't in any hurry to acknowledge your application.

The kids are bored too. Both Mark and Courtney have been at school and have got chatting to some of the other kids, but the kids here aren't as sociable as at home. They don't seem to mix as much after school, so consequently my lot have nothing to do after 3pm. I've offered to find them some housework to do, but strangely enough they've turned me down! As I said before, they get on great, but even they need other kids occasionally.

Kristy has been at home constantly for the last 10 weeks stuck indoors with us oldies. She wasn't due to start college until January and has been looking for work but again, like Daemon, has heard nothing. Typically though, just a few days after we decided to return home she heard that she'd been offered a job in a local supermarket. She has turned it down as she would only have been there for 3 weeks.

So, we have flights booked with Korean Air for the 27th November.

So many people have said to us that we haven't given it long enough. Maybe they're right, but it's very difficult being here struggling to find work and knowing that your kids are missing home so much. I feel very guilty at bringing them all out here. This was my idea to start with although the others were very happy to go along with it. This is obviously not the right time for our family now. Who knows though. Maybe in a couple of years or so we might decide to return and try again. Or the kids might like to come out here on their own in a few years time and do a bit of travelling. With a 5 year PR visa under our belt, the choice is ours.

The biggest problem we have at the moment is that we can't get Courtney back into her school in the UK. She is gutted. She loved it there and was the 2nd highest student in her year. Apparently her place has been filled, but we'll go and see the head teacher when we get back and plead with her.

So now we have loads of arrangements to make again.

We've managed to find someone to take over the tenancy of the house we are renting. That is a load off our minds because we would have had to keep paying rent until new tenants were found as we were breaking the lease. We move from here on the 24th November and will stay with my uncle for the weekend before flying out on the Monday.

We've managed to sell most of our furniture and electrical stuff. There's not much left to go now. Anything that is left we are going to box up and store with my cousin for my brother and his family when they come out early next year. We are also leaving the Holden for them so that they are mobile as soon as they arrive. We still need to sell the Toyota though.

I've got a quote from the excess baggage company out here. They will send everything back for us for £465 which is great considering we'll have 170kg!!! We only get the normal baggage allowance going back home which is why we have so much excess.

We are going to cram in a few days out still. We spent the whole day in Brisbane on Sunday. We went to Mt Cooth-ha, spent a couple of hours on the beach at Southbank, went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and wandered round the beautiful Roma Street Parklands. We booked to go up to Lady Elliott Island for the day, staying for 2 nights in Bundaburg, but it was cancelled due to bad weather. Ended up spending just one night in Bundy and then driving home. So we are going to take the kids to Seaworld to swim with the dolphins instead. And the other thing we are going to do is Movie World. We've been there before (2 years ago) but they've added more rides.

We are into our last week now. We are trying to see as many people here as we can. We've spent the last few days trying to sell the remainder of our stuff. Whatever is left to sell when we leave will be looked after by my cousin Nick and he will sell it for us and send the money over.

Daemon has applied for jobs back home and has heard back from some already. He will go and see them as soon as we get back. One of these jobs is as a driving instructor. I'll keep you posted as I want to carry on with this blog once we are home.

Well, what do you know. That threatening email that our agent sent to our C/O worked.

Yesterday we were finally granted our visas.

My brother was overjoyed. He's following us out there in January with his wife and 3 kids.

One of my sister's was chuffed too as she too is hoping to follow us out in a couple of years. My youngest sister was pleased also, but I could hear the sadness in her voice. It was if she wanted to be pleased for us but failing miserably. Bless her. She is 13 years younger than me and I've always looked on her as my own. I used to take her for walks as a baby to give my parents a break and always spent time playing with her. Even now if we go out together I instictively hold her hand when we cross a road. "Julie, I'm 30 years old for God's sake. Let go!!!"

I went round to my parents house this morning to tell them face to face that the visas had come through. My Mum congratulated me and then burst into tears! I gave her the biggest hug I could muster up and told her I loved her and that I was sorry for putting her through all of this. My Dad gave me a big hug and a kiss and told me that we were doing the right thing for our kids. God, I love my parents!

Came home and booked our flights - Singapore Airlines departing Heathrow on the 31st August.

I phoned my uncle and cousins in Brisbane and told them our news. They were delighted and have already planned how many cars will be needed to pick up all 5 of us and our mountain of luggage.

God, it's starting to seem so real now. 16 more sleeps before we leave these shores!

18th August

Had the second of three leaving do's last night.

It was held at one of the two pubs I work at. (My boss owns both pubs so I flit between the two of them). Loads of staff from both pubs turned up as well as many regulars. My son came too as he works with me and my eldest daughter came too. She was celebrating passing an A Level in Travel & Tourism. Congratulations sweetheart. I knew you could do it. I'm so proud of you. X

Anyway, we decorated the pub with green and gold balloons and aussie flags and my boss laid on some food. Ended up taking 50 photos, most of which are printable!!!

Had a fab time although it took me and the two kids a while to stagger home at 2 in the morning!

This morning's post brought our passports back with the all important visa stickers in them. So now we are official!

Tomorrow I'm off to London with my mate for a girly weekend. Will keep you posted.

20th August

Well, I'm back from a couple of fantastic days in London. Went with my mate Michelle. We ate loads, drank loads and shopped loads. One of my favourite pastimes is People Watching. And we did loads of it in Leicester Square sitting outside Wetherspoons. God, don't people dress funny sometimes. We saw all sorts of weird concoctions put together in the name of fashion.

Got a busy week ahead. This is our last full week in the UK. I need to finish off the paperwork, organise leaving do's for both my daughters, organise the "biggy" leaving party for Saturday night, transfer money over to Oz, have a "last supper" at my parents house, and 101 other things. My head is spinning and I don't really know where to start. My boss wants me to do more shifts at the pubs, but I've had to turn him down 'cos I just don't have the time.

21st August

Mum cooked us all a great meal tonight Well actually, loads of meals. She did roast pork for me, steak and kidney pud for Daemon and chicken pie for the kids, mushroom soup or king prawns and avocado for starters and butterscotch tart for pudding. Scrummy! All our favourite food! We had a really nice evening although Mum was a bit teary when we left.

24th August

Mark passed all 10 of his GCSE's today. He got 2 B's, 7 C's and a D.

I'm so pleased for him. He did better than he expected to do. Cost me £100 too!!!

25th August

My kids have all had their leaving do's tonight. Courtney went out with her 3 best mates to the cinema and Nando's for dinner, Mark is out with 30 of his mates at a restaurant, and Kristy has got 30 of her mates round here at the moment for a BBQ party in the garden. So far they are behaving themselves...ish. There's only been one glass smashed and there's one lad upstairs lying down 'cos he's had a bit too much to drink. I keep going out there to tell them to keep the noise down, but we had prewarned the neighbours about tonight so hopefully there won't be any complaints. Hubby has gone out so I'm having to deal with them myself. All the lads are twice my size so I hope there's no trouble!

Tomorrow night is the "big" party. I keep finding more people to invite. I was walking through our village today and spotted a few more that I thought might like to come and see us off, so the numbers are gradually increasing. So far there is about 90 people.

Can anyone tell me how you are supposed to feel when you are leaving everything you have ever known to live on the other side of the world?

So many people are phoning me to say goodbye and they all ask the same question... Are you excited? To be honest, I don't know how I feel. I don't think it has sunk in yet that we actually have the visas stamped in our passports and that we are free to live in Australia. There are so many emotions running through my mind at the moment. I think it's adrenaline that's keeping me going. I don't feel excited at all. Hopefully that'll all change when I get to the airport. I feel scared, nervous, don't want to go, do want to go, but not excited...yet!

27th August

Well, we had the "big" leaving do last night. 104 people turned up. Didn't realise we were that popular!!! We put 4 gazebos up in the garden, decorated it with little Aussie flags and red, white and blue bunting. We had a great night. I purposefully didn't drink so that I didn't get too emotional. I must admit I wobbled a bit when I saw my youngest sister Debbie and my eldest daughter Kristy bawling their eyes out in each others arms, but other than that I did ok.

One of my best friends Karen howled most of the night, but she was pretty tanked up so I presumed that was the reason she got so upset. But this morning, sober, she still cried when she left my house.

So many people said that they will miss us which I thought was a bit strange seeing as though we don't see each other for weeks/months at a time, but they said that it was just knowing we weren't going to be around that they found upsetting.

A really good friend of ours, Glen, made a speech which was touching. Fortunately he did it after my Mum and Dad had left. They would have found it too upsetting to hear.

Anyway, it all wound up at 2.30am, probably much to the relief of our neighbours who have had to put up with 2 nights of loud music coming from our garden. Normally they don't hear a peep out of us and they know we are emigrating so they probably weren't too bothered.

We got loads of cards and a few prezzies which was nice. I'd asked everyone to bring a photo of themselves to that I can take them with us and make a huge collage of all our family and friends when we get there. I also left out a guest book which everyone signed and left a good luck message with their email addresses.

Tonight Daemon and the kids have gone round to his parents house for dinner. They won't see them again before we leave. I flatly refused to go as they have been awful to me throughout this whole emigrating process. I won't go into details, but suffice to say they are off my Christmas card list! They never came round to accepting the fact that we were moving away although we told them 19 months ago when we first started out. Courtney didn't want to go either but I said she should do. She has texted me a few times telling me how much she wishes she was at home with me, but I've texted back saying that she doesn't have to see them again. She hated the way they spoke to me and can't forgive them for it. Bless her, she's only 14.

Now we've only got 4 days in which to pack, empty out the house of "bits". (It's being rented out furnished remember!), transfer our money over, order some dollars to take with us, do a load of tip runs, see the family and a few friends for the last time and let the Tax Office know we are leaving! Forgot to do that before, whoops!

Other than that, we are almost ready.

This is our story about how we came to be where we are today:

We, by the way, are myself (Julie 42), hubby (Daemon 43) and our 3 children (Kristy 16, Mark 15 and Courtney 14).

In April 2002, we decided to extend our house from a 3 bed semi to a 4 bed, make the kitchen bigger and install an ensuite bathroom to the main bedroom. The guy who sorts out our mortgage for us came round to discuss finances and informed us that we had a savings policy due out a couple of months later. We had completely forgotten about this policy, so were chuffed to discover that there was about £4K due to us.

Well, sensible people would have put the money towards cutting out a debt etc., but seeing as we aren't that sensible we decided to put it towards a holiday of a lifetime. Now, should we take the kids to Florida or should we visit my aunt, uncle and cousins in Brisbane. It really was no contest - Brisbane it was to be.

I was so excited as I was the only one from my family that hadn't been to Australia before and everyone else had raved about it. Now I was going to see for myself.

2002 was taken up extending the house and we had other things going on in 2003 so 2004 was when we decided to travel the 12000 miles to Australia.

We didn't tell the kids though until the end of 2003 (not sure how we managed to keep it a secret for that long), and they couldn't believe we were actually going.

Flights were booked at the beginning of 2004 - Japan Airlines to fly out in July. I then spent the next few months researching car hire, places to stay/visit etc.

The holiday.....

...was fabulous. We spent 3 weeks in total with my family in Brisbane, and also spent a couple of weeks in Melbourne and Sydney as well as a few places on the coast. We climbed the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, got caught in a snow blizzard in the Blue Mountains, cuddled koala's and baby croc's and handfed wild dolphins at Tangalooma on Moreton Island. The kids also swam with sharks at Seaworld.

Before the holiday, our eldest daughter and I were a little worried that we'd like Oz "too much", and that we would want to stay forever. Daemon and the other 2 kids were happy to go for a holiday but didn't want to live there. That is until we arrived!!! Within 24 hours of arriving the others all announced that they wanted to live there!

So that was it. We spent a large part of the holiday picking the brains of the rellies about the cost of living, housing, good areas to settle, schools, jobs etc.

Leaving was difficult but helped by the fact that we knew (hopefully) that one day soon we would return as residents.

And so..... 

In January 2005 we plucked up the courage to tell both families that we wanted to emigrate. My family have been wonderful - very supportive although upset at the same time - but they understand why we want to go. We want to try something different, give the kids a more outdoors way of life, the usual reasons.

Daemon's family still haven't accepted the fact that we are leaving, but hopefully they'll come round to our way of thinking.

We contacted a very good agent to help us with our TRA. Daemon works in Telecoms and so we are using his skills. We are on a 139 Skilled Sponsored Designated Area visa.

Just over 9 weeks after submitting the TRA application we received a "Yes"! Yippee! First hurdle crossed.

We filled out our actual visa application ready to send off after we'd been on holiday to Spain.

But on our return we got some awful news. My wonderful aunt in Brisbane, who agreed to be our sponsor, discovered she has terminal cancer. We were, and still are devastated. As I write this she has just turned 57. It's no age at all really.

We delayed sending in our visa application forms to digest this news, but decided that we still wanted to go. We sought advice from our agent as to what happens if we lose her. They  told us that her husband could still be our sponsor as they are married. We spoke to her and told her that we didn't want to put any undue pressure or stress on her - after all she has her treatment to deal with - but she told us not to be so bloody stupid and to get ourselves out there! Typical of her. She has a great sense of humour.

So the application was sent off in October, and has been acknowledged by Dimia. Our credit card has also taken a beating after paying for the visa but who cares!!!

We have booked our medicals for the 16th and 17th February in anticipation of the requests. Our X rays are on the 13th February. I have picked up the police check forms from our local police station so will fill them in shortly.

9th February

I've spent the last few days really wondering if we are doing the right thing. I know that's a natural reaction as the moving date gets closer, but so many people are now starting to tell me that they don't want us to leave. That got me thinking that what if it doesn't work out for us over there. So I persuaded hubby that I would feel a lot happier if we could rent this house out for about a year or so...just in case. He agreed as long as the finances worked out. So last night a friend of ours (who is a financial advisor) came round for dinner and talked to us about how we could rent this place out and still afford the mortgage if we had to come back for any reason. Anyway, we signed on the dotted line for a different type of mortgage, and I must say this morning I feel a lot happier about everything.

13th February

We all went for our (unrequested) X-Rays this morning at the walk-in clinic at Kingston Hospital in Surrey. An hour and a half later we left again, X-Rays all done and £350 lighter!!! Easy!

14th February

This mornings post brought some great news. We have a case officer (Region 4). The timing couldn't have been better as we've got our medicals this week. Daemon and Mark are going for theirs on Thursday 16th and me and the girls go for ours on Friday 17th February. At least now we have a name to send them to. The only extra piece of info that our case officer has requested is my sponsor's marriage certificate. She needs to prove that her maiden name that was provided on her birth certificate has been changed to her married name. Only thing is, is that she has been married twice and so I will ring her shortly and ask her for both of her marriage certificates and her decree absolute from her divorce. Hopefully these won't be a problem in obtaining.

By the way, I spoke to her the other night. (You may remember earlier in this blog that I mentioned she has terminal cancer). Well, she is feeling great at the moment which is wonderful news, and it's the thought of helping us get into Australia that's keeping her going, so she says.

My son Mark, has the chance of being granted a sports scholarship at the TSS on Surfers Paradise. He is a promising athlete (100m sprint), and the school are keen to offer him the chance of going further with his running. So we have to apply by the 24th February. I've asked for the admission forms to be sent to us, so I will keep you posted.

15th February

We got our police checks back today. Thankfully we've all been good girls and boys (boring I know!!!). They only took 23 days to get back to us.

17th February

Medicals! Daemon and Mark had theirs yesterday. Mark's went fine, but Daemon has to lose a serious amount of weight, but we guessed that anyway. They also found blood in his urine and want him tested for diabetes. He has those tests next Tuesday with his GP.

Me and the girls went for our meds today. Fortunately everything went well. Now we just have to wait for Daemon's results before getting them sent off to Oz.

1st March

Went into Lloyds TSB today and sent my aunt $5500 for our bond! Bank balance has taken another battering, but that's it now. Nothing more to shell out for. (Except flights of course!).

She sent us the latest Refidex in the post so I've spent ages trying to get my bearings on places we want to live. Still none the wiser though!

5th March

We got a letter back from the doctors saying that Daemon doesn't have diabetes which is great news. He has to go back to the docs to speak to them tomorrow but that is just a formality apparently. Hopefully our meds will get sent off straightaway to Sydney.

My aunt phoned yesterday and told us that she has received her AoS letter. Unfortunately she can no longer be our AoS as she has been pensioned off from Centrelink (who she worked for) due to her having terminal cancer. Her husband is also unable to be our AoS as he doesn't earn enough. My aunt's best mate kindly offered to do it for us. How sweet of her is that?! She only met us the once when we were over on holiday. Anyway, my cousin Ross does earn enough and is to be our new AoS. Knew I loved ya for a reason Ross!!!

So, that's it now. We have done absolutely everything we can do. It's all in the hands of those very nice people at Dimia.

Come on guys! Be kind to us!

14th March

Getting seriously peed off now! The docs now want Daemon to have tests done on his kidneys! So his GP sent a letter to the specialist on the 24th February to get an appointment. We're still waiting! Apparently as it's a non-urgent case they are not in any hurry to see him. Well, I'm sorry Doc, but it IS urgent 'cos we want our visa and you are holding the whole process up OK!!!

Eldest daughter Kristy has decided she wants a career in hairdressing. Fab! No more shelling out loads to get my roots done! So I contacted the nearest TAFE to where we will be living and they have put her on a waitlist to start in October. She's chuffed to bits, bless her.

We didn't hear anything from the school we were hoping to get Mark into, so bang goes his chance of getting a scholarship. He's not too disappointed though as it was a posh boys school and he quite likes the girls!

I have emailed another school  and it looks like they are willing to take both Mark and Courtney on when we arrive so that's another thing crossed off the list.

We've also spoken to an Estate Agents who are willing to rent out our house for us. They reckon we'll get £1400 a month for it. So that should just about cover our mortgage here and our rent in Oz.

16th March

I know this has absolutely nothing to do with Oz, but I became an aunty again today! I have a beautiful new niece, Anna Caterina, 6lb 7oz. She has been named after my aunt in Oz (the one who's got cancer). When she was told the baby had been named after her she got all emotional. Wish I could give her a hug.

18th March

Daemon has finally got a letter from the hospital to see a specialist for this coming Thursday. Lets keep fingers crossed that there is nothing wrong.

28th March

Well, Daemon had 6 hours of tests in the end to find out there is nothing wrong with him except a possible kidney stone. Great news 'cos we were kinda worried there for a while! The specialist gave him a letter to give to his GP who in turn sent it to the panel doc today. So they will be getting a phone call tomorrow making sure they have sent the meds off, at long last, to Sydney.

I went up to London on Saturday with 11 girly mates for a meal in Chinatown and a trip to the theatre. During the meal one of the girls suddenly blurted out "Ju, please don't go to Australia". (Mind you she was pretty tanked up at the time!!!). She then burst into tears which started one of the other girls off! Oh dear, that's it started I think. Things are going to get pretty emotional in the not too distant future and I bet I'm the one in tears most of the time!

31st March

Meds finally got sent off to Sydney today, at long last.

1st April

Today is my Dad's 70th Birthday, bless him, and he doesn't look a day over 69!!!

We had a lovely day with him - all the family together. Strange that this will be the last birthday for him that we'll all spend together for a while.

Tomorrow we are all getting together at the pub I work in for a celebratory meal.

2nd April

Today turned into a nightmare. I'd spent the morning with my youngest daughter Courtney at the pub getting it ready for Dad's birthday meal - you know, blowing up balloons, putting up banners, setting the table with white cloths, wine glasses etc.

At 1 o'clock we all gathered at the pub. There was about 23 of us. Mum and Dad walked in and Dad promptly had a heart attack! God, I have never been so frightened in all my life. The ambulance was called and Dad was taken away with Mum at his side. Most of us were crying which would have been very embarrasing, but as I work at the pub, everyone knows me and my family so they were fab about it. We all lost our appetite, but decided to carry on with the meal 'cos it was what Dad would have wanted. We toasted him and Mum, but of course it wasn't the same. We even only got through one and a half bottles of wine! Not like us at all!

Anyway, Mum phoned half way through the meal to let us know that Dad was stable and the pains had subsided. Turned out it was a serious angina attack instead of a heart attack, but they wanted to test him to make sure the attack hadn't damaged his heart. Fortunately it hadn't and he will be allowed home tomorrow.

Now he says he'll be round next weekend to start redecorating our house. Yeah right Dad!  Whatever!

3rd April

So today Dad was allowed home and I've seen him and he looks great. Panic over!

I also spoke to my aunt in Oz, Anna. She has told me that she has decided to stop her chemo treatment as it isn't working and it's just making her feel worse. She has decided that she wants quality of life and not quantity. God, this has been the worst two days ever. She is such a strong person and is taking it all in her stride. She is going on a South Seas Island cruise in 3 weeks time and wants to feel well enough for it.

She is also going to be a granny again. Her youngest son Ross (our AoS) and his wife Lexy are to be parents around the 5th November. I so hope that Anna will be around to see her 3rd grandchild.

I spoke to Lexy and she says she feels great apart from throwing up every now and again!

She also told me that Ross had been for his interview with Centrelink which went well.

10th April

Ross lodged the bond today. Yippee!

That's it now. We just sit and wait.......and wait.......and wait for about 6 weeks.

A friend of mine has told me he is interested in renting our house while we are in Oz. Great news. Saves me finding anyone else. He's got mates that are willing to share with him to help out with the rent. Can you imagine it...4 divorced guys living together. God help my poor house!!! Fortunately I know them all really well and couldn't wish for 4 better people to be in here. (And 2 of them are builders so my house will be well cared for I hope!)

12th April

Got bad news today. My cousin Phill died. He was 51 and had leukaemia. We thought he was on the mend too, but contracted pneumonia.

Shit! This has been a really bad 2 weeks.

18th April

It's Mark's 16th birthday today. Can't believe where all the years have gone. I can remember so clearly the day he was born and how 3 days later he was whisked off to Special Care with meningitis. Still luckily it had no lasting effects and today he's a tall, handsome lad (have to say that, but it's true!!!), who is doing really well at athletics and is hopeful of getting at least a couple of "A's" in his GCSE's. He has been away this weekend in Holland with his running club for a race meet. He won all his races and in good times too. He came back full of stories about how drunk he got each night!  Aaagh! Why did he have to tell me that?

Btw, we are still waiting patiently for our visa :)

23rd April

We got a horrible phone call today from my cousin's wife in Oz to say that my Aunt Anna probably won't see next weekend :( She has deteriorated far quicker than anyone thought she would). Unfortunately it has been left up to me to tell my mum and the rest of my family. My kids are very upset. My mum was very brave when I told her and her first comment was "Julie, how will you manage in Australia without Anna? It's you I feel sorry for". How can she even think of me when her sister is dying? She is amazing.

I so want my visa to be granted so that I can phone Anna and tell her that we ARE coming over.

26th April

I'm sitting here writing this all dressed in black ready for my cousin Phill's funeral :(

I'll let you know how it goes.

27th April

The funeral went really well (well, as far as funerals can go anyway). We were standing there at the crem waiting for people to arrive when all of a sudden we heard this almighty roar and through the gates came about 50 Harley Davidson bikes. Phill was a passionate biker - he would have loved this!

He didn't want any flowers at his funeral (apart from immediate family), but asked that people make donations instead. £3000 was raised for Cancer Research!

29th April

Oh God! Today we got the news we had all been dreading. Anna passed away this evening. She was surrounded by her family as she would have wanted. My mum, again, has been so strong. My kids have taken it badly.

It's gonna be tough going over there and not having her around.

God Bless you Anna. Sleep tight. X

2nd May

I spoke to Kerry, our agent, today and told her about Anna. Because Anna was still married to Mitch at the time of her death he can take over being our sponsor. But I told her that there is no way I can expect Mitch to deal with us at the moment. He has so much on his mind that this is the last thing he needs right now.

As our visa is due any day now, Kerry told us that we should wait for 2-3 weeks after visa grant before telling Dimia about our change of circumstances. Then they will need a certified copy of the death certificate and a signed stat dec from Mitch that he is willing to take over being our sponsor.

Oh God. Getting our visa is going to be like a bitter sweet pill. Is that the right expression?

I just feel so lost and numb at the moment. I still can't believe that Anna's smiling face is not going to meet us at the airport.

Do I still want to go? I'm not sure anymore...

4th May

It was Anna's funeral today. Obviously we weren't able to be there but we thought about her all day. The family rang us afterwards to let us know that the service was beautiful and the sun shone. Her youngest son and her best mate read out moving eulogies which summed her up perfectly. She will be sorely missed.

I spoke to one of her daughter's in law and she said that she is so excited about us going over there as they feel as though, with Anna gone, that the link to her British family has been severed. We will be that missing link. Oh shit! Why do I feel so guilty about how I feel at the moment.

11th May

RIGHT, FROM NOW ON THIS IS GOING TO BE A CHEERFUL BLOG. I'M FED UP OF BEING A MISERABLE COW!!!

12th May

Today is my eldest daughter's 17th birthday. I bought her a funky suitcase as one of her presents. It's pink and covered in purple and green daisies. She loves it and will be able to spot it a mile away at baggage reclaim! Happy Birthday Kristy. x She's realised that she's old enough to drive, but she'll wait till we get to Oz before being let loose on the streets. Watch out Brisbane! Only kidding love!

21st May

I became an aunty again today. Baby Lucy Caitlin was born to my brother and sister in law. I've not seen her yet but apparently she's beautiful. Well she would be - related to me! Not!

That makes 3 nieces and 3 nephews for me now, and she's my parent's 9th grandchild.

She will be following us out to Oz early next year with her parents and her two brothers.

7th June

Not much more to tell really. I've emailed ASPC and our Case Officer who informs me that she is no longer a CO. Oh great! Just what we wanted to hear! So I emailed ASPC Region 4 this morning asking where the bloody hell our visa is. Hopefully I'll hear from them tomorrow. It's been over 8 weeks now since the bond was lodged. I just can't understand why it's taking so long to process. It's my birthday on Saturday. Wonder if I'll get a visa for a present!

My uncle Mitch has agreed to take over the role of sponsor, bless him. He has told us that we can stay with him as long as we want. He will be in no hurry to chuck us out! He may regret saying that!

Sshhh! I shouldn't really say this, but I'm having serious second thoughts about going. Not sure why. My family have been really supportive and will be over to visit us as often as they can. I think I'm gonna miss friends as much as my family. I've made such good ones in the last 6/7 months since I started working at our local pub. How ironic that my social life has picked up and I'm about to bugger off to the other side of the world. I've spent the last 17 years raising my kids and having no social life apart from toddler groups. Now the kids are old enough to be left on their own for a while, I can get out more and I'm leaving.

8th June

We found out today what has happened to our visa. It turns out that Dimia have lost the confirmation from Centrelink that the bond has been lodged! So I had to email Ross (my AoS) to get him to sort it  out which he did immediately. Hopefully next week will be our week!

10th June

My birthday!

Got loads of birthday wishes from the guys on BE which was great. My family came round at various times of the day with prezzies, and we went down to the pub where I work to watch England in action.. Had every intention of getting a little pi***d, but developed a head cold and was in bed by 8pm!

11th June

It was our village Fun Day today. The High Street was blocked off, the weather was fantastic and everything was set for a really good day. I was determined to enjoy it as it's to be our last one here. It started off great. There are 6 pubs in our village and they staged a Truck Pull where each pub gets together 12 of their strongest guys and pulls a dust cart. The first pub did it in 18 deconds. Pretty good but the other pubs were out to beat their time. The guys from the second pub took their places on the rope and pulled. Then...the rope snapped. All 12 guys toppled over like skittles. It was hilarious until we realised that one guy couldn't get up again. His leg had snapped!!! He happened to be lying right next to where I was standing so I knelt beside him while the medics turned up. Unbeknown to me, my daughter Kristy, who was standing behind me, had heard his bone break and fainted and knocked herself out! So 2 lots of medics were called. One took the ankle guy to hospital and the other treated Kristy.

We still managed to get back in the pub afterwards though! Naturally the Truck Pull was cancelled after that.

13th June

Got some good news today.

No, not the visa. Daemon has been offered voluntary redundancy! Yippee! He hated his job anyway and wanted to leave, but this way he gets a shed load of money!

That'll do very nicely, thank you!

At the moment his leaving date is 11th September but it could be after that - he's not sure of the exact date yet. So me and the kids will go over first at the end of August and he will follow when he can.

17th June

Daemon is on a roll at the moment!

He and my brother Graham, who is also migrating, went to an Information Day at Heathrow held by our migration company. They had info on education, health, finance, that sort of thing. Anyway there was a free prize draw to win a o/w flight to Australia and Daemon won it! How cool is that eh. That'll save us about £450!

(He bought a lottery ticket this evening as luck comes in three's but didn't win a bean).

My brother did find out that he'd passed his TRA though so maybe that was the 3rd piece of good luck. Well Done bro!

28th June

Well, we've just got back from a few days away in Scotland. We went up there for my cousin's wedding. It was so good to see everyone again. I've got loads of family up there (my Mum is Scots). The wedding was fantastic, the weather stayed dry and a good time was had by all.

Bit emotional leaving as it's the last time we'll see them all again for a very long time.

Stopped at Alton Towers on the way back. This was on the kid's "Things to Do before we leave for Oz" list. Braved "Oblivion, Rita and Air" rides. Fantastic!

Oh, and Happy 20th Anniversary Daemon!

30 June

Daemon got made redundant today. Yippee! Much earlier than expected although he is on "Garden Leave" until the end of July which means although he can stay at home he'll need to be on call to answer any questions. He's chuffed to bits - he hated the job anyway. Just waiting to hear what his redundancy package will be. Then I can go shopping!!!

16th July

Well, we STILL haven't got our visa. Dimia were emailed a copy of proof that our bond was lodged on the 10th April nearly 2 weeks ago, so really our visa should have been issued a couple of days later, but we're stll waiting.

Daemon has been keeping himself busy while he's on Garden Leave by painting all the bedrooms and bathrooms. The hall, stairs and landing have had an undercoat - they'll be finished in the next couple of days) and then it's just downstairs to do. I've kept myself busy by clearing out wardrobes and taking stuff to charity shops. The garage, loft and shed are now empty.

Found out what Deamon's redundancy package is and it's much better than expected. Great news!

Also, you may remember me telling you about our village Fun Day back in June, when a guy broke his leg. Well, today all the pubs in the village held a charity footie match, raffle and auction for him. (He's a self-employed builder and is off work for about 4 months). There were loads of sports prizes in the raffle and auction and we expected to raise loads of money for him. Anyway, (and you won't believe this),  2, yes 2 guys both had bad collisions while playing footie. One broke his knee and the other broke a leg!!!!!!!!!!

If it wasn't so serious it'd be hilarious.

How many more charity "do's" can we hold I wonder!

20th July

Got a good-ish email today from our agent. Well actually I was CC'd into an email he'd sent to Dimia. Basically he told them that they'd had all our details now and to get off their arses and issue us with our visa. It was a great email. If it wasn't so long I'd have posted it on here to show you all.

Anyway, hopefully that's done the trick and we'll have that elusive visa in the next day or so.

Just realised that it's 2 years ago today that we left these shores to holiday in Oz. Little did we know that that trip was going to change our lives. (For the better? Who knows).

And lastly for tonight just thought I'd share with you that my son Mark, 16, came home today with a tattoo!!! I didn't know he was getting one done although he's threatened it a few times. Actually I quite like it - I'm just a bit miffed as he's only 16 though. Daemon just glared at him and walked off without saying anything. He hates them! Whoops!

Eldest daughter Kristy (17) wants one now and (she admits quietly) so do I, so off we'll toddle to the tattoo shop tomorrow and get ours done. I think! If I'm brave enough to through with it!!! Shall I, shan't I. Shall I, shan't I???

I'll let you know!

21st July

Yes I did! Have a tattoo that is! It didn't hurt as much as I thought to be honest. When you've been through childbirth 3 times and had a tonsillectomy at the age of 41 you can pretty much cope with any pain. Anyway, I had the kids initials in Chinesey style writing and underneath that I had "Forever in my Heart" written in Chinese symbols. Looks pretty cool if I say so myself. Not sure how I'm going to sleep tonight though as I usually sleep on my back but heyho!

Got really excited at one point today. Our agent rang! But it was to say that Dimia still want written confirmation from Centrelink that the bond was lodged. They say that although they know it was lodged because they have the Commonwealth Bank's confirmation, they want it from Centrelink. WTF! My sponsor can't get to Centrelink till Monday, so that's about another week we'll have to wait.

I don't really drink that much but tonight I really fancy one. I have a sore back (ok, my fault :) ), no visa and now I've got a toothache!

26th July

Update on the visa situation!

We still haven't got it! Apparently Centrelink's computer has crashed and they don't know when it's being fixed, so they can't send the confirmation until God knows when.

5 weeks to go and starting to panic. We are renting our house out and the tenants want to move in the day after we leave so I think we may have to stay at my parents house for a while if we don't get the visa in time. No great problem I suppose, but there'll be 5 of us in the two spare bedrooms! Let's hope it doesn't come to that - for my parents sanity as well as ours!

Still got the toothache. Went to the dentist today. He's gone private but agreed to see me at short notice and didn't charge me for the 2 X-Rays he took. Bless him! Anyway, it turns out that a wisdom tooth I have had for years is now pressing on my other teeth and needs to come out. I have no private health cover and as we are supposed to be leaving soon, I can't get an appointment on the NHS in time. I think I'll be overdosing on paracetamol in the meantime.

The kids finished school today. Quite a few tears and loads of prezzies and good wishes from their mates and teachers.

We've got their handover files and have given the school an Oz address to send their A Level, GCSE and SATS results over.

The end of an era!

28th July

Went to a "Ladies Night" at the pub I work in last night. Bloody brilliant! Especially as my ticket was free! We feasted on chicken and chips, a free cocktail and sat and watched an hilarious comedian.

As it was ladies only, the male regulars were told to politely stay away! Well 3 of them decided that they wanted to stay and watch so we dressed them up in dresses, handbags and makeup and agreed they could stay as long as they posed for photos!

Then, my boss and another guy treated us to a "Full Monty". Well almost! They were both wearing Union Jack edible bikinis and sported about 6 pairs of lycra boxers. We managed to get 5 pairs of boxers off of them but they wouldn't let us take the last pair off! We then massaged baby oil/lotion into them. I took loads of photos, then spent today downloading them onto the computer, printing them off and posting them on the walls of the pub for all to see. Apparently I'm sacked now!!!!! Yeah right!

Now the lads in the pub want a "Boys Night". They've decided that us girls must wear bunny outfits! Oh shit! I may be a size 8/10 but I'm 43 years old FFS and unfortunately don't have the good looks of a bunny girl. Hopefully this'll all go ahead after I've left for Oz (IF I GET A VISA!) but they're trying to organise it for the next couple of weeks. Quick, give me an excuse not to do it!!!

1st August

Me and the kids went up to Cambridge on Sunday for the folk festival. Now, I'm not into folk music - in fact personally I think it's all pretty shite - but my brother and loads of friends go there every year (we've been going for 3 years now), so really it's just the people that we go there for. Anyway, we had a fab time just chillin' and sinking a few bevvies in the sun. Then one member of the group presented us with a leaving present and a card that everyone had signed wishing us luck for the future.

I got stuck into clearing loads out of the house today. I've been meaning to do another car boot but time has run away from us as usual and I've not got time to do another one. Besides everything has been stashed in the dining room and it needs repainting so it all had to be cleared. So instead of making any money on our "crap", it's ended up at various charity shops and the recycling bins at the tip. A couple of bits have ended up on Ebay too. I've never sold anything on Ebay before (have bought loads though!) so hopefully it'll be beginner's luck and we'll get some much needed cash.

I've sent an email to Ross, our assuror to see if he's heard anything back from Centrelink about the bond acknowledgement. Surely their computer must be up and running by now. That's over a week ago that they told us it had crashed so they couldn't send any correspondence to Dimia.

SHIT! I've just realised that we are supposed to be leaving AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. That sounds so strange to be saying that. Wonder if we will be...............

5th August

Ross phoned to say that Centrelink's computer is up and running again and that they have been in touch with Dimia to explain the hold up, so hopefully now we'll get the visa.

Spent yesterday doing paperwork. Had been putting it off for yonks but realised it wasn't gonna sort itself out.

Daemon's redundancy pay has gone into our account. Wahay! Bank balance has never been so healthy looking. The exchange rate is good at the moment - $2.49 - so we got in touch with Moneycorp who have emailed me details of setting up an account with them.

I've done the invites for our leaving party on the 26th. Think there'll be around 90 people here at the house. Should be a good do - hopefully not too emotional. I hate crying but I'm sure I'll do it!

12th August

I had the first of 3 leaving do's last night. It was with the girls I used to work with 2 years ago (before we were made redundant!). There was only 9 of us there but it was great to see them all again and have a girly gossip and a few! vodka's.

Wasn't too emotional either which was good. I'm saving those tears for the family/long time friends party on the 26th.

But why I'm having leaving parties is anyone's guess really. You see, I still don't have a visa.

How ridiculous is this eh? We were planning on leaving in 19 days time. (although I've still not booked our flights). I think we've resigned ourselves to the fact that that just aint gonna happen now. Think I'd better warn Mum and Dad that they're going to have 5 lodgers soon.

Our agent copied me into an email he has sent to our C/O threatening that he will go to the top if we don't hear something positive by Monday.

Considering the amount of money we've paid out to Dimia I expected better service than this.

Not a good start to our new life down under. Is this a sign of things to come???