Final Entry

Apologies for the late updates for the last couple of days but I had problems with the downloads from the hotel for some reason.
We arrived in London Heathrow at just before 5.30am, Saturday 13th January (please ignore some of the dates that are coming up at the head of each log as they are wrong. The correct dates are ones in the actaul log entry). By the time we got through customs, we had time for a coffee before Dave arrived a;long with Lucy who had asked if she could go with him. We got a big hug from Lucy in the carpark before returning home. We had been so loooking forward to the new bathroom but this quickly turned into a disppointment when I first saw it as I was led to believe it was finished but there were lots of finishing touches still to do.
I spoke to my Dad who sounded awful. He didn't appear to 'with it' at all but he said that he had taken a steroid tablet and would be better as the afternoon wore on. We went to the football match and after calling the blog, missingswindonmatch.com, maybe I should have re-named it as I was home in time for the game against Swindon and din't miss it after all thanks to Dave bringing me home from London in time for kick-off. It was a good game, a 2-2 draw. I took Dave and his sons home and Peter and I went to see Dad as I was concerned about him after the earlier phonecall. He looked dreadful, almost grey and could hardly speak due to being so breathless. He kept insisting that the steroid would kick in eventually despite it being 4am when he took it. I suggested that he should go to hospital but he wasn't too keen on the idea. We eventually persuaded him that he would be better off in hospital and he agreed to go. He was unable to even walk to the car and we had to call an ambulance. He is currently in the Halifax Infirmary being looked after.
I later checked the central heating boiler and noticed that the water pressure was well down almost to bar zero. I topped it up a little but it still didn't seem to be registering. On Sunday morning there was water leaking through the kitchen ceiling. I called Steve, the bathroom fitter who had to remove some of the kitchen ceiling to try and locate the leak. Whilst he was convinced that it would be from the shower waste pipe to the main waste, I was convinced that the central heating was the cause due to the lack of pressure in the system. With a large hole now evident in the ceiling, he located the leak....from a new connecting pipe leading to the new bathroom radiator !. Once fixed, we cleaned all the debris and threw it into the skip that is sat outside my garage door. Steve said he wasn't aware that we had a third car in the garage which I can't get out. Fortunately I can use Kath's for work tomorrow and we can call the skip hire company to remove the offending skip.
A plasterer will be coming tomorrow to re-board the ceiling and skim it, and there we were, thinking it would be complete by the time we got home. It may be later this week !
Thanks for reading the blog, we hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have enjoyed the holiday. Back to work tomorrow and this will soon be a dim and distant memory.

A & K

Friday 12^th February 2010

Whilst seated at our breakfast table, another couple came to sit at the adjacent table. It was apparent from their accents that they were from Yorkshire and when Kath got into conversation with them, as inevitably happens, it transpired that they were from Meltham in Huddersfield. Kath told them that her brother lives in Meltham, “”What is his name”, enquired the man, “Mick Brammah”, replied Kath. “You’re not Jim Brammah’s daughter are you”, asked the man. “Yes”, said Kath. At this point the introduced himself as Peter Mellor, known as Charlie, along with his wife, Margaret. He worked with Kath’s father in the fire service for many years and goes out with her brother every Wednesday night to Meltham Liberal Club. It turned out that Kath’s father, Jim, looked after him when he first joined the fire service and Jim even saved his life one day at a mill fire when he shouted to everyone to get out quick just before a fireball ripped it‘s way through the room they had been standing in. Peter attended at Jim’s funeral after he died three years ago and Kath asked if he recalled someone doing a reading of a poem about firemen at the service. He did at which pointed to me and said, “ that was Andrew, my husband”. We sat and discussed things in general before wishing them a happy holiday in Australia and saying our goodbyes.

We didn’t have to check out of the room until 4pm and it was a hot sweltering day with plenty of sunshine so we decided that we would sit by the hotel room for some of the day. As I went to find out exactly where the pool was and see if there any sun-loungers available, I bumped into Pater and Margaret again. They had decided to sit by the pool until 1pm when they were going on a 4 hour trip to the east coast and Changi Prison. We spent the rest of the morning with them, drinking Coca-Cola at $S10 a can (over £4.50).

We remained by the pool until it was time to vacate the room after which we again bumped into Peter and Margaret as they returned from their trip. We went out for a drink and some food to Harry’s Bar, just around the corner from the hotel before returning to the reception area to get changed before getting a taxi to the airport. This time we did say goodbye to them as they headed off for Raffles and a Singapore Sling or two. Hope they took plenty of money.

We arrived at the airport at around 9.30pm only to see that our flight was going to be delayed until at least 3.25am. It should have departed at 11.55pm. I didn’t fancy the prospect of a 3.5 hour wait and even that departure time wasn’t guaranteed. We made our way to the BA / Qantas check-in and decided that I would have to put on my best charm to try and get the flight changed as there was a Qantas flight leaving at 11.30pm to Heathrow. I explained to the ‘nice man’ that I had someone coming to London to collect us from the airport but he insisted that there was no availability on the earlier flight. “Everyone wants to change” he told me. I asked him if he liked football (they all do out here) to which he replied “Yes”. I said that if I couldn’t get on the earlier flight I would miss the football match that I was going to when I got home therefore it was very important. He agreed and went off to speak to someone else. His boss had by now joined him at the check-in desk and between them they agreed that we must change the flight to get to the football….success. By this time it was 10pm and we had to be at the gate for boarding at 10.30pm so it was a quick dash through security etc to the gate. I phoned Dave who is picking us up at Heathrow and told him that the flight had changed from BA to Qantas therefore if he saw that there would be a delay to our flight, to ignore it as we wouldn’t be on it.

As I type this, we are about 2 hours from London and all has gone well. I wonder what time the BA flight got away.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

What a coincidence

Friday 12th February 2010

Whilst seated at our breakfast table, another couple came to sit at the adjacent table. It was apparent from their accents that they were from Yorkshire and when Kath got into conversation with them, as inevitably happens, it transpired that they were from Meltham in Huddersfield. Kath told them that her brother lives in Meltham, “”What is his name”, enquired the man, “Mick Brammah”, replied Kath. “You’re not Jim Brammah’s daughter are you”, asked the man. “Yes”, said Kath. At this point the introduced himself as Peter Mellor, known as Charlie, along with his wife, Margaret. He worked with Kath’s father in the fire service for many years and goes out with her brother every Wednesday night to Meltham Liberal Club. It turned out that Kath’s father, Jim, looked after him when he first joined the fire service and Jim even saved his life one day at a mill fire when he shouted to everyone to get out quick just before a fireball ripped it‘s way through the room they had been standing in. Peter attended at Jim’s funeral after he died three years ago and Kath asked if he recalled someone doing a reading of a poem about firemen at the service. He did at which pointed to me and said, “ that was Andrew, my husband”. We sat and discussed things in general before wishing them a happy holiday in Australia and saying our goodbyes.

We didn’t have to check out of the room until 4pm and it was a hot sweltering day with plenty of sunshine so we decided that we would sit by the hotel room for some of the day. As I went to find out exactly where the pool was and see if there any sun-loungers available, I bumped into Pater and Margaret again. They had decided to sit by the pool until 1pm when they were going on a 4 hour trip to the east coast and Changi Prison. We spent the rest of the morning with them, drinking Coca-Cola at $S10 a can (over £4.50).

We remained by the pool until it was time to vacate the room after which we again bumped into Peter and Margaret as they returned from their trip. We went out for a drink and some food to Harry’s Bar, just around the corner from the hotel before returning to the reception area to get changed before getting a taxi to the airport. This time we did say goodbye to them as they headed off for Raffles and a Singapore Sling or two. Hope they took plenty of money.

We arrived at the airport at around 9.30pm only to see that our flight was going to be delayed until at least 3.25am. It should have departed at 11.55pm. I didn’t fancy the prospect of a 3.5 hour wait and even that departure time wasn’t guaranteed. We made our way to the BA / Qantas check-in and decided that I would have to put on my best charm to try and get the flight changed as there was a Qantas flight leaving at 11.30pm to Heathrow. I explained to the ‘nice man’ that I had someone coming to London to collect us from the airport but he insisted that there was no availability on the earlier flight. “Everyone wants to change” he told me. I asked him if he liked football (they all do out here) to which he replied “Yes”. I said that if I couldn’t get on the earlier flight I would miss the football match that I was going to when I got home therefore it was very important. He agreed and went off to speak to someone else. His boss had by now joined him at the check-in desk and between them they agreed that we must change the flight to get to the football….success. By this time it was 10pm and we had to be at the gate for boarding at 10.30pm so it was a quick dash through security etc to the gate. I phoned Dave who is picking us up at Heathrow and told him that the flight had changed from BA to Qantas therefore if he saw that there would be a delay to our flight, to ignore it as we wouldn’t be on it.

As I type this, we are about 2 hours from London and all has gone well. I wonder what time the BA flight got away

Singapore Tour and Night Out at Raffles

Thursday 12 February 2010

Omelette comprising of mushrooms, tomato, onion and peppers together with fresh green salad and Singapore noodles and chilli sauce was the order of the day for breakfast for me and wonderful it was too. There was also cereal, bacon, eggs etc if that's what you wanted but mine was really an early lunch / late breakfast. Kath had a boring cheese omelette.

We took a taxi out to Orchard Road where the Tourist Information Centre is situated along with the large shopping malls and other assorted shops that will make you a suit in six hours or a shirt in four or sell you the latest i-phone and when you tell them you don't want that, a camera. I showed the man that I already had a camera. He took it from me and said I needed to buy a screen cover to stop it getting scratched. "No", said I, so he told me my memory card was too small. "I have another", I said, at which he told me that the battery didn't hold enough charge and he could sell me a better one. "I re-charge it every night and I haven't had a problem with it", say I and so he tries to sell me a tri-pod etc etc.

Kath bought a nice watch from a 'non-haggling' shop that actually displayed prices. It was a bit over £100 so it had better last more than a few weeks ! We then found a store selling Lyle & Scott clothing in the sale. The polo shirts were less than £20 and are original whereas I would have to pay in excess of £70 in the UK. I bought two, plus a t-shirt and some shorts. We then went back to the hotel to await a taxi as we had been trying to decide which organised trip would be best for us and went for the City Experience, starting at 5.30pm with a pick-up from our hotel. We booked it at the Tourist Info office at a cost of $S53 each. The Guide was called Ben and we were joined by 7 other people. We started at the Royal Selangor pewter shop where we were taken behind the scenes to see girls making objects from liquid pewter and then polishing the finished product. We were of course invited to part with our money and purchase something from the shop but we somehow resisted. We then went to Clarke Quay, more or less next to our hotel where we were given some history on the old buildings and how they have been renovated into the modern day shops. We stopped at the Lion City Cocktail shop where we sampled the famous Singapore Sling from a bottle before making our way to Boat Quay where we sat and had a meal at the side of the Singapore River. It consisted of prawns, chicken satay, rice, mushroom and vegetable something or other (nice) and sweet and sour prawns. Not brilliant but could have been a lot worse on tours like this. Chinese tea was free but anything else was at a premium cost. After the meal we caught a Bum-boat down the river past Clarke Quay and all the sights in that area. It was just coming dusk but by the time the boat trip finished, it was dark. I think the photos I took were pretty good, see what you think. We got off the boat by the Fullerton Hotel and then caught the bus to Bugis Street market. It was just as you would imagine a Chinese Market to be and it was probably more crazy due to the Chinese New Year this coming weekend as everyone was out buying things for their family get-togethers. Due to Kath not being too good on her legs and the fact that we had left the wheelchair at the hotel, we made our way up some steps onto a concourse where the locals were sampling the delights of the many cafe's and bars in that area. We bought two large bottles of Heineken lager for $S6.40 each that were selling for $S15 at Clarke Quay last night.

From there it was on to the famous Raffles Hotel. We were given only a few minutes to enter and see the Long Bar before coming back down and re-joining the bus back to the hotel. Kath and I decided that we would say goodbye to our fellow tourists at this point and stay at the Raffles for a drink and make our own way back to the hotel by taxi. We both ordered a Singapore Sling at $S26.40 + tax each, which is over £12 each. I then a couple of lagers and Kath had another 'Sling'. We stayed until almost midnight and enjoyed a seven piece band that were very good. Total bill for 6 drinks.....$S148.30 which is over £67 and worth every penny. We really had a great night and thought, sod the expense.

Back at the hotel now and Kath is once again in the land of nod. The holiday is really over tomorrow and a long 14 hour flight back to the UK is in the offing. Dave is coming to fetch us from Heathrow so that we can be back without having to wait 6 hours for flight back to Manchester, what a star. No real plans for tomorrow but we don't leave until almost midnight so we will no doubt be up to something.

Arrived in Singapore

Wednesday 10th February 2010

Great flight even though it was supposed to be Qantas but was run by BA staff (same company now since they merged). We were boarded first as per the last blog and didn't realise they had closed the doors ready for take off as there so many seats empty. I shared a row of 3 with a German girl whilst Kath had the centre 4 seats to herself. I counted the people in our section of the plane and there were 30 people taking up 120 seats. People were laying across the middle 4 seats covered in blankets whilst others had to make do with 3 seats to themselves. I could have moved but I fell asleep before the briefing and woke up after we had taken off. I watched The Damned United, the Brian Clough story of his 44 days as manager of Leeds United...very good. We had to fill out disembarkation cards before entering Singapore and they had the stern warning attached to the front that drug trafficking meant DEATH (see photo)...people can't say thjey haven't been warned, just hope no-one slips something into my suitcase when I'm not looking. We actually set off early and arrived in Changi Airport almost 40 minutes early. Our suitcases were some of the very first to come around the conveyor belt and we were in the taxi and almost at the hotel by the time our plane should have landed. We are staying at the Park Hotel, Clarke Quay on the recommendation of the tour operator. I was going to book the Novotel which is just around the corner but when we went out, it transpired that thje Novotel would have been better as we have to cross a dual carriageway from the Park to get to the Quay.

We toured around the very busy bars and restaurants in Clark Quay but was shocked at the prices they were charging for drinks. $S15 dollars for a Corona, that even beats the Aussies most expensive bars at over £6.50 a bottle. I could have 4 for that price at the Club ! Nontheless, it seems an enchanting place, I can see why you like it Fiona. Kath is snoring yet again whilst I write the blog and with the 3 hours time difference from Sydney, it is time for me to call it a night also.

Wednesday 10^th February 2010

Part 1 at Sydney Airport

I’m writing this whilst having a coffee waiting for the flight. When I awoke, I thought, this is it, the last few hours in Aussie and the sun is cracking the flags, beautiful day. Typical after all the rain we have had recently. We tried to book the taxi for 1.30pm for a 4.30pm flight but the company insisted on picking us up at mid-day. Hang on a minute, who is telling who here, if I want a taxi at 1.30pm, that is the time we will have one, not when it is convenient to them. They no doubt had a pick-up at that time and thought they could us drop us off and save a journey. I asked Chris to phone back and tell them, which he did. The owner ended up coming out and making a special journey but isn’t that what taxi’s do. I am after all paying $59 for this service.

After breakfast, I went for a walk along Manly Beach and into town to do a bit of last minute shopping. Down by the Wharf, I spotted a young couple in their early 20’s looking at the ferry times. I asked if they were going to use the ferry to which they said yes. I gave them our two tickets which are still valid until 0600hrs tomorrow as we would no longer need them. They were very appreciative especially when I told them they could the ferry all day for nothing and go where they wanted.

Walking back along the beach, the sand was strewn with small bluebottles, jellyfish with long blue tentacles. I didn’t want to stand on one of those just before we set off. We showered and changed and had an uneventful drive back to here at Sydney Airport. The Qantas flight to Changi, Singapore, sets off in less than an hour and is the through flight to Heathrow. Wouldn't fancy that without a stopover as it is 22 hours in the air plus the refuel time. They have have just called out our names over the tannoy to go to Gate 34. Kath is in a panic, they will just want to board us first with the wheelchair.

Further to my last

Tuesday 9th February 2010 part 2

Forgot to metion, the footpaths on the promenade are divided into two lanes like a road, one direction on the right, the other on the left, really strange but stops the joggers (millions of them) from bumping into each other. Another great idea, no alcohol on the beach or promenade area or outside beachfront bars after a certain time and no smoking on the beach or promenade. It's $17, almost £10 for a pack of 20 cigarettes and they are talking of making it illegal to smoke anywhere in public with a 100% ban throughout Aussie.

Anyone need free tickets for the Sydney Ferry, mine don't expire 'till after tomorrow but I don't need them. Was going to offer them to some backpackers in the bar tonight until I realised they from Germany. I mentioned the war once but think I got away with it.

A day by the beach

Tuesday 9th February 2010

The sun was shing as predicted this morning and we stuck to the plan of not doing a great deal. Kath spoke to Lucy on Skype, first time she has used it whilst at the same time, I was on the phone to Vicki.

We made our way down onto the beach via the stairs that have direct access according to the owners claims. They are true to some extent but a decent set of steps would have been difficult enough for Kath. These were from one rock to another and the handrail only went down the first few. We managed however and set out our towels for a day in the sun. I went into the sea, the rollers were 2 - 3 metres in height which was good fun until I swam out behind them. I was bobbing around going up and down over the waves before they broke into surf when one rather large one broke early and caught me unawares. As I came back up to the surface, another crashed down on top of me and I swallowed a load of water which is most unpleasant at the best of times. I tried to get my breath and watched each wave coming towards me and breaking just when I didn't want it to. I wasn't in any real difficulty but you can see how weaker swimmers are caught out in the rip tides here. I was quite pleased when I felt sand under my feet and called that a day. It's great fun if you have a surfboard but swimming is not advisable in those conditions. Fortunately, no Great Whites were in the area to pick me off though there were some quite nasty bluebottle jellyfish that turned up later in the afternoon in their thousands.

After an hour or more, we decided to venture further down the promenade and so I went to get the wheelchair. We passed the place where we were led to believe we were originally staying which is right on the beach at North Steyne, near to the restaurants and shops and not up that damned cliff at the north end of the beach. I am still annoyed about what has happened despite the apartment owners being very helpful. It would have life a hell of a lot easier at the other location. We stopped for lunch before continuing around the south end of the bay and past Cabbage Tree Bay and up the slope to stop overlooking the ocean from the top of the cliff at the other end of Manly and near to the North Head entrance to Sydney Harbour. I went for a walk into the National Park whilst Kath read her book. I found some great views of the sea from there but turned back before reaching North Head.

When I rejoined Kath, we re-traced our steps along the seafront before stopping on the beach near to the North Steyne Lifesaving Club. There are three on the beach, Manly to the south, North Steyne in the middle and Queenscliff to the north. The competion between each club is immense and they are all really proud of the splendid work they do. I think I fell asleep for an hour, pushing this wheelchair will either get me fit or kill me, not sure which. At around 6pm we wnet back up thye cliff for a shower and change before going out for a meal. We ate at a restaurant on the beach near North Steyne. I had John Dory fillets on beetroot with salad and basil oil....wonderful. Kath tried fish yet again, despite not really liking it and chose Barramundi. She tried to eat it, bless her, but gave up half way through leaving a full Barramundi fillet....disgraceful. We shared an apple and blueberry crumble as we were warned that it was going to be a huge piece and they were not wrong. It was absolutely gorgeous aswell. We finished the night at Ivanhoe's on The Corso before getting a taxi back.

That is the last full day in Aussie as we fly to Singapore tomorrow afternoon and start to recoup some more of the hours we lost on the way here. It's an 8 flight with 3 hours time difference. I thought I had booked transport from the airport at Changi to the hotel but looking at the itinery, I haven't.................more expence. See you in Singapore tomorrow all being well.

A & K

Taronga Zoo, Sydney

Friday 8th February 2010

This is going to be quick today. My boss, Nigel, has been reading the blogs and commented that he thought I was on holiday. He's obviously worried that i won't want to type anything when I get back to work.

Weather really good today at last. Took the ferry into Sydney and then another to Taronga Park Zoo where we then caught a cable car to the top (it is built on a hill) and worked our way down with a few ups in between. On such a muggy hot day it was good to push the wheelchair around. If nothing else, I will return a hell of a lot fitter.

We 'stood in line' waiting to see the Koala's for the best part of an hour after being fleeced of another $19.95 on top of the $82 it cost for us both to get in. The Koala's were wonderful, the Roo's and Wallabies were idle and asleep as were most other things if you could see them. I'm sure they have empty cages in some of these zoo's with large amounts of plantation to hide the fact that there is nothing really there. The elephants live in area not much larger than my garden and as we went around, I remembered that I don't really like zoo's all that much. Everyone has raved about Sydney Zoo as a 'Must See' attraction but I'm not sure. Kath is even worse than me as she went to South Africa last year and saw a lot of these creatures in their natural habitat in the wild which is where they should be. I know there are conservation arguements but personally, it wouldn't bother me if I never a saw a zoo again. Having said that, the seals and sea lions put on a great show as did the birds of prey. Amazing what you can teach a wild creature in return for a morsel of food. Off my soapbox now!

Went back to Sydney by ferry then caught the Manly ferry for probably the last time as the forecast is good for tomorrow also and we hope to have a day chilling on the beach, something we haven't really done since we set off from the UK. We have had our money's worth from the 7 day pass we bought for the ferry as we have gone everywhere by that mode of transport. Pat in Canada likes the idea and said it was better than sitting in traffic jams, I quite agree.

We went back to the apartment to change for the evening and then went out to the Manly Grill for an excellent meal (steak) which left little change from £100...owch, but it is my birthday. We then walked along the beachfront and tried a new bar, Henry Afrika's. I must appear tight when complaining about prices but $9 (£5) for a bottle of Corona is a bit steep. Needless to say, it was their loss as they will only rip me off once so off we went. We finished the night in the Ocean Bar but upon leaving, there were no signs of any cars on the roads, let alone a taxi. Kath has not been good today on her legs and the last thing we needed was a 15 minute walk to the Wharf to find one.

Spoke to Lucy at home and all seems well with the new bathroom though it isn't finished yet. The tiler says it should be done tomorrow, hope so.

Lucy Hall should be having her baby today on my birthday and her's is on Kath's birthday, how spooky is that ? Don't forget to call her after me will you?....hope all goes well.

Hope you like the pics of the Koala's etc. Bye for now A & K

7th February 2010 part 2

Amazing how the mist obscures the buildings in some pics of Sydney and look at the seagull one. I'm amazed it has come out although it is not that good,


Hope you like the other pics including the ship that scared me half to death !

The night shots are experimental but fun to look at, hope you like them.

The things you can you do when you are bored !

Sunday 7th February 2010

Can't believe it's 4 years since Mum died, where has the time gone, equally, can't believe it's 53 years tomorrow (or today, as it is 7 mins past midnight) since I made my appearance on this earth.

After yesterdays depressing weather, today couldn't possibly be worse. We had 87mms of rain in Manly yesterday (3.5") and locals are saying that this is unheard of in the summer. The temperature is hot and sticky, very humid but the rain just won't go away. The best place to be when it is like this is in the sea as the water temperature is 22C.

I saw the clouds through the bedroom window and decided that I wasn't going to hurry to get up as there wasn't much point. It got to just after 9am and Kath told me she had been watching hundreds of people swimming in the sea. It turned out to be the Cole Classic, the worlds largest registration swim and this morning 3328 took part despiter the rough conditions. There is a report in this mornings Sydney Morning Herald about the occasion. In the meantime, the council had dug a huge trench on the beach to let the rainwater from a river run into the sea from the surrounding hills.

Chris was going to have his hair cut and asked if we wanted to go to the Warringah Shopping Mall with him whilst he was scalped. I hurried breakfast and agthered a few things together for the day and off we went. We bought a baseball type hat and a polo-shirt with the Manly Sea Eagles logo's attached. I thought Ian Helsing would like the cap as he wears baseball hats quite a lot to cover his lack of hair, poor lad.

We asked Chris to drop us off near to the Manly Wharf and although we had no definite plans, they probably involved going in to Sydney on the ferry.

We walked around the wharf beachfront area but it started to rain AGAIN and so we sheltered under a tree and made plans. Too late for the zoo and no point in going if it's going to rain a lot so we caught the next ferry to Sydney. It's quite funny now that we have got over the excitement of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge coming in to view on the final leg of the crossing. We now just sit there and take it in whilst first time passengers jump up and take out their cameras to video or photograph the moment. We just sit there like seasoned travellers having done it hundreds (!!!!!!!!) of times before.

When we arrived at Circular Quay, we went straight to Wharf 4 and managed to get on the quick jet boat to Watson's Bay which stopped at Garden Island, Darling Point, Double Bay and Rose Bay before landing us at our destination. The weather was fine, overcast still but no rain as we made our way through the gardens opposite the ferry terminal and up the hill to the road. I will have muscles in my spit after this holiday with the amount of pushing on the Red Cross wheelchair and it's cumbersome load that shouts instructions to be from under the calm of an umberella whilst I get soaked to the skin either through the rain or the effects of the heat.

Watson's Bay is famous for a few things such as Doyle's Fish Restaurant which was established in 1845 and is situated by the ferry point whilst The Gap is up through the park and across the road, up a few steps and then there is a sheer cliff face into the Tasman Sea. The waves come crashing in over the rocks and smash against the cliffs below with great ferocity. The resulting swell is pure white and aqua-marine coloured before the next wave smashes over the top of the previous one. Watson's Bay is on a finger of land facing north that ends a little further up at South Head. Across the water is North Head and the space in between is where the ocean floods into the Sydney Harbour Estuary causing the currents that tosses the Manly Ferry about from time to time, when heading to Sydney or Manly. If you can imagine that on the eastern side of the finger is the ocean or Tasman Sea, not quite sure which, with its huge rollers crashing into the cliffs whilst on the other side a few hundred metres away is the calm and tranquility of the Sydney Harbour..... awesome place.

I forgot to mention yesterday that we went to North Head but we couldn't see a great deal due to the weather but this is where Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban (whoever he may be) held their wedding reception in 2006 (who cares).

I took a few photo's before the heavens opened yet again. We sheltered in a bus shelter nearby and when it had al;most stopped, I went to take more pics. What was really weird was that whilst I was looking at a memorial to a sailing ship that was lost a few hundred metres from the point I was standing at, in 1845, with the loss of all 123 crew except one. As I looked out to sea in the haze of the misty rain, a three masted sailing ship appeared from the gloom. I actaully closed my eyes and thought that when I opened them again, it would have gone. What would I tell Kath.... I have just seen an old ship out at sea that appeared from the mist and next time I looked, it had gone. She would think I had lost my marbles but when I opened my eyes again, it was still there. I took a photo of it and I couldn't see the ship in the photo !! This is not happening, I thought, how can you read about an old ship that was lost at sea and then it comes out the mist at you. It got closer as it made it's way through the Heads and turned down the harbour for Sydney at which point I realised it was one of those replica ships that people can go out for day trips on. I'll tell you what, the hair on neck was standing on end when I first saw it. We spotted it later in the day in Sydney Harbour and realised at that point that it was a tourist boat.

We ate at Doyle's before catching the catamaran back to Sydney. That was a great trip as it was non-stop, speeding through the harbour and overtaking everything else in sight, even the police patrol boat couldn't keep up with us.

Back in Sydney, we dodged the occasional downpours as we walked through The Rocks and under the Harbour Bridge. We wanted to go for a drink into Sydney's oldest pub, the Fortune of War. Nothing really good about it, the toilets were smelly and disgusting but an entertainer called Lance Link was setting up his equipment in the corner. We ended up staying until the 10.10pm ferry as he was brilliant. He got all the people up and dancing and it was a great show.

We just caught the ferry back to Manly and about a third of the way across in the 30 minute crossing, we were joined by about 20 seagulls that flew along side us, just out of touching distance. It was so strange to feel the wind blowing by as we looked over the side of the ferry and also see the speed we were travelling as we looked down into the water yet, about 3 - 4 metres to the side were this flock of seagulls, just matching our speed. They are nasty creatures thoiugh as even when flying majestically alongside a boat, they squark and attack one another at regular intervals.

Once back in Manly we went to late night 'pie shop' that is frequented by local revellers....... absolutely disgusting and mine went in the nearest waste bin despite costing me $4.50. We had a final drink at the Ocean Bar before flagging down a taxi and making our way home at around 11.30pm.

Quite an eventful day and really enjoyable despite the weather yet again. We have decided that whatever it wants to throw at us tomorrow we are goin gt to Sydney Zoo. The forecast is for more rain and unsettled until Wednesday when the next 3 days will be glorious bsunshine but of cours e we will have gone to Singapre by then, no doubt to record rainfall or some thing equally horrific.

Happy Birthday to me.... goodnight and thanks for looking in.

Dad, if you are reading this, hope you are OK. Vicki and Lucy are keeping us informed but it's not easy phoning home as none of our mobiles work. Will call you from a payphone at some stage.

A & K

Raining Cats and Dogs

Saturday 6th February 2010

The local kids were involved competitions on the beach that lead to the winners being put forward to area final, the winner of that go forward to State Finals and the winners of that go into a National competition, and for what you may ask, to be Lifeguards on the beaches of Australia, a very serious past-time indeed. The beach was marked out into lanes and various different competitions were taking place from Queenscliff down to North Steyne. There were advertising hoardings, promotional tents and the hoards of expectant parents who all wanted their child to be the best. I watched from our balcony 7 floors above the beach but then the rain came and it rained and better rained until it was almost monsoon conditions. I don't know what happened to the kids but they had all gone the next time I looked. Chris called back at the apartment with Cheryl after he had been to the gym and said that he would try and find something to keep us entertained in the bad weather with a tour of the Manly Sea Eagles rugby league ground and a trip up the coast to see the beaches north of here.

Cheryl was meeting with some friends for lunch and so Chris took Kath and I in his car. First stop was the Brookvale Oval, the home of the Manly Sea Eagles. They won the Australian RFL in 2008 and in doing so, qualified for the World Club Championship where the Aussie winners take on the English Super League champions, which was Leeds Rhino's. The two teams met in Leeds in March 2009 and the Sea Eagles won 28-20 to take the Carnegie Trophy back to Aussie. Chris is a former Manly player and is very passionate about his club. He gave me a cap from 2005, that can be worn only by members of the Football Club. They are limited to only 236 members, so that was much appreciated.

Despite the success of the club, the ground only holds 23,000 and it not like some of the modern stadia we have in the UK such as the Galpharm in Huddersfield where it holds 25,000 but is all seated. At Manly, they have grassed areas and standing areas though when we were signed into the Clubhouse, it was like a casino at Las Vegas. There are rooms with gaming machines (one armed bandits) and even live betting on the horses, much like a bookmakers. There is a bar where you drink and buy meals. Chris said that it turned over $5m last year which helps to keep the club successful.

After a drink at the bar, we set off up the coast, calling in at supposed beaty spots such as Bigola, Whale Beach, Palm Beach and Pittwater. I am sure they are really nice but as we approached each one, the rain just seemed get heavier and we couldn't see a thing for the mist and rain. It stopped briefly whilst we were at Palm Beach where they film Home & Away but I wouldn't know as I have never seen it in my life, nor am I likely to. We took advantage of the clear spell and had a spot of lunch in a cafe but as we drove away, it started again. Many of the roads were flooded as we made our way back to Manly where we picked up Cheryl and went down to the wharf for a drink. The rain was coming across the bay at 45 degrees and you could hardly see the yatchs in the harbour that were being tossed about on the choppy waters. This is supposed to be summer and we are told that it will be like this until Tuesday but it will be nice on Wednesday for the rest of the week. Guess what day we leave...............correct, Wednesday. We have tried to put a brave face on this but today I am absolutely fed up with it and we might as well be back in the UK. Whilst in the bar, one of the TV chanels was showing the golf from the Dubai Desert Classic and it was even pouring down there.

We went back to the apartment and decided to go out for a Chinese. We took a taxi back to the wharf area and ate at the Pheonix Restaurant which had been recommended to us. It was very nice but we couldn't eat all the food we ordered and left completely stuffed. Whilst in the restaurant, we watched through the window at what should have been a lovely view of the wharf but the rain lashed against the windows and we could hardly see outside. Fortunately, it slowed down as we left to walk up the main street towards Ivanhoe's where we listened to a very loud and not particularly good band who were playing live. Fed up with the music, we went onto the sea front and sat in the Ocean Bar of the Novotel where it was noisy from the adjacent bar but at least we could hear each other speak (are we getting old? I'm sure that's how my mother used to speak). Just before we left, the bride and groom from a wedding we spotted ealier this afternoon appeared in the reception. When we saw them earlier, they were crossing the road onto the beach for some photo's but the rain was lashing down. Poor things, the weather must have been a big disappointment to them today. Fingers crossed for tomorrow but not looking good.

More pics from the 6th February

It only allows five pics per post so here are some more from yesterday.

Double click on the pics to blow them up.

Yet another day in Sydney

Friday 5th February 2010

Hi Bloggers,

I want to rattle this off fairly quickly as it is early in the morning and we have a fair amont to report.

Chris took us down to Manly Wharf after breakfast with a view to going into Sydney and then heading for Toronga Park Zoo. When we arrived at Circular Quay, the weather was threatening yet again and so we decided to go back to Darling Harbour where we went yesterday and visit the places we didn't do.

We got off the ferry at Darling Harbour and waited by the Aquarium until it stopped raining before making our way towards the Chinese Gardens where it rained again. We sheltered with others under a pagoda at the garden entrance until it stopped. We then walked around, sightseeing, until lunchtime. I don't know why, but we went to a McDonalds, probably because Kath likes their coffee. I cannot eat burgers but have tried their chicken sandwiches in the past and don't like those either. I must have forgotten how awful they are as I went ahead and bought one.........they are still disgusting but the chips were nice!

Whilst resting on a bench in the harbour, a lady approached upon seeing the the sticker on the side of the wheelchair that announces to the world that it is 'On Loan From The British Red Cross'. It turned out that she used to be in charge of loaning wheelchairs from the Red Cross in North Yorkshire and wanted to know where we had got it from. Small world yet again. She and her husband were staying with their daughter in Sydney and had been out since November, now I like that idea.

The sun was beating down us as we walked around but there were some threatening clouds around. The forecast had said thunderstorms at around 5pm. They came a little early and so we made our way back to Circular Quay with a view to going back to Manly. It was pouring down by the time we arrived at Circular Quay. We quickly headed for an outdoor cafe on the opposite side of the road for a coffee. There were canopies over the tables and we sat and watched as people hurried through the lashing rain to catch a ferry home. The raindrops were bouncing back up off the stainless steel table at the side of us, it was that heavy. After coffee we dashed across to the Quay and went through the ticket barrier to get on the boat when I spotted some blue sky over the harbour bridege. The flags on top suggested the fine weather was heading our way so, as people boarded the boat, we tagged onto the crowd of people that had just arrived and went back outside. We watched from under another canopy as the black clouds slowly drifted away and were repalced by clear skies. It stopped raining and off we went again, around the right hand side of the quay to the Sydney Opera House. We marvelled at the sight as I trudged my way around the outside of the building whilst Kath complained that she needed the loo! We took many pics from different angles and I went up the steps at the front to explore a little further.

Situated at the side of the Opera House are the Royal Botanical Gardens. The sun was shining and the pavements quickly dried, within a few minutes there was no sign that it had been raining. Off we went again, around the superb gardens with trees from all parts of the world. Unlike the UK where they usually tell us to keep off the grass, here, they encourage you to go on the grass and touch and feel the tress. I took what seemed like another million photo's, some of them with the unreal background of the city's tall buildings towering over the edge of the park. We were probably in there a couple of hours, walking around and taking in the views. Just before we left, we spotted hundreds of Flying Foxes that were coming back into the trees to roost for the night. They are like huge bats and after fighting with their nearest neighbour upon landing, they cling to the branch and swing upside down and sleep for the night. There were hundreds in each tree but just in a small area of the park. Eventually, we found the exit near the Opera House and I sat to rest my aching knees. We then walked around the many cafes and bars underneath the Opera House where crowds had gathered, some in black tie attire, for a show and there were we in shorts and t-shirts.

We caught the ferry back to Manly and went for some dinner and a drink in one of the Beachside bars before ringing Chris to let him know where we were. He had said earlier that he would join us for a beer with it being Friday evening. Cheryl came with him and we sat in a hotel bar on the front until around 11.30pm when we made our way home.

Another lovely day that could have been spoiled by the weather but we made the good decision to not go back to Manly early as I would have hated to have missed the rest of the afternoon.

We made contact on the internet with Lucy and told her to call us at the apartment which she did, so we had half an hour taking and catching with things at home. I spoke to Steve, the tiler and although there have been a couple of issues, everything seems to be going OK.

A day out in Sydney part 2

More photos from yesterday in Sydney