helinuk

Best wishes for a good flight and I look forward to reading your updates too
Hx

tinaj

I Hope it all goes smoothly for you. Good luck with it all and have a safe journey.

bob and ginnie

See ya over on the other side, no doubt, when you pop up online.
If you're ever in South Australia, mate, give me a ring for a stay over.
Bob and Ginnie

JackTheLad

Thank you all for the good wishes! Don't know how I'm going to survive without access to the forum for a few days... I can just see myself plugging in my laptop at the BA lounge when we're in transit in Singapore on Monday...

Believe it or not, I don't think we are as stressed out as we should've been... JTL has been fast asleep for nearly 5 hours now! (Yes, he fell asleep on the couch just after 7:30pm, then the bed an hour later)... Think he ate too much - we had our last Aussie barbi practice in sunny N. Ireland today and he was slaving over the fire all afternoon. It was very nice food though, I must say, very modestly - burgers, pork chops, skewers, and salad...

We've had a lot of "lasts" this week. JTL had his last walk in the Morne Mountains with his brother and Jack (our English springer spaniel) on yesterday (Thursday) morning at 8am. :scared: We then had a going-away dinner with JTL's folks, gran, brother and brother's family. Received, via Gran, a bunch of gifts and a check from the relatives in Scotland. Who says the Scots are tight?! The meal was great, no tears, just lots of photos, especially of the lovely nephews. Not getting broody or anything...

Tomorrow, we're doing our last walk with Jack in the fields nearby and perhaps picking a few pounds of brambles for MIL to make her famous bramble jelly. FIL's making us the usual Saturday steak and chips for lunch. The inlaws are coping quite well with our departure, or so it seems. May be they are just very strong holding the emotions in, or may be they are glad to get rid of us?! I'm not complaining, in fact just very grateful that they're so supportive. But it'll still be difficult to say goodbye on Sunday when MIL and FIL drive us to the airport. I'm not the kind to shed a tear easily but will bring some tissues just in case (for my nose, nothing else...)

Well, it's almost time for the site to go to sleep. I shall push my husband back to his side of the bed and join him in synchronized snoring...

Good night all, thanks again, and look forward to meeting many of you soon in the southern hemisphere!

Cheers,
Mrs JTL

P.S. Already had dreams of rides and show bags at the Ekka, can't wait to be at the real thing eating a few of those strawberry sundaes.

JackTheLad

In BA lounge at Heathrow now, waiting for 21:25 flight... Visited tax refund desk for some recent purchases made in Glasgow and Belfast. Was told at shops that I didn't have to show my goods at the refund, but the guy at refund said "Don't believe what the shops say, its says on the form and envelope that you have to bring your goods to shop." How was I supposed to carry all my recent shopping with me from Belfast without checking them in? The refund guy was nice though and signed the forms so I'm happily waiting for the £££ to be put back on my credit card...

JTL's busy reading a Jeremy Clarkson book and wants to be left alone so here I am... in my geekiest look - glasses (or specs as you Brits would call them), face stuck to the screen...

Should really go now and check if boarding is starting soon. Or may be get a pair of dress shoes for job interviews in case I get any. I accidentally shipped all my good shoes and will be needing something other than a pair flipflops if I want a job at all... LOL

Will write again next stop - Singapore.

Cheers,
Mrs JTL

ProofReader

G'day Mrs JTL,

We haven't 'met', but wanted to wish you all the very best. Your above posts are a delight to read! Look forward to hearing more as time passes.

I trust that the journey and settling in to your new life goes well for you.

Wishing you good luck and much happiness!

Cheers,
PR

JackTheLad

Hi PR,

Hello and nice to "meet" you! We're now in the Qantas Club lounge in Melbourne waiting for our last leg to Brisbane. Just had a much needed shower (explanation later) and are feeling much better.

Flights from London to here via Singapore on BA cattle class was better than expected. Both JTL and I had about 6 hours of sleep from London, and 2-3 hours on the flight from Singapore, so we're not too tired but will surely be hit by jetlag at some point.

The only complain was when we first got on the flight at Heathrow, the airconditioning wasn't on because they were changing tires for the plane. So all 300+ passengers and flight crew were sweating like crazy. Imagine the smell and the humidity of a plane which had been heated up during the day... Most of the passengers toke out the laminated emergency procedure cards and used thems as fans to cool off. Bet no one would have even notice these cards were there if it wasn't for the heat! :scared: The temperature in the cabin was well over than 30 degrees and pretty scary if there was anyone with heart problems. Fortunately for us, I had bought a bottle of moisturizer spray (oil/alcohol-free) at duty-free for inflight use, though never thought I would be using 1/3 bottle of it before take-off... We kept spraying our faces every 5 minutes - it worked, we felt much cooler as the water on our faces evaporated. It was comical to watch but not really a pleasant experience.

It's time to go now. Will be in touch later.

Cheers,
Mrs JTL