artistic bedroom furniture ironing stuff

I can’t wait to get all the paperwork and moving out of the way. I still have several things to do before I can feel more settled and spend my weekends doing exciting things and seeing some more of Australia. Today I made more progress, obtaining a Medicare card and ordering a bed (Go Harvey Norman, GO!!!). Next weekend will be moving in and then the weekend after will be, hooray, a trip to Melbourne.

I spent nearly $800 today, mostly on the bed but also a few knick-knacks and clothes. I bought the bed in Fyshwick, which is purely a suburb of Canberra devoted to warehouses and superstores. Virtually every ad on Aussie TV is for some “SO CRAZY WE’RE INSANE” sale for a store in Fishy. It’s not the most beautiful of places in Canberra but I guess everything clumped together in one place preserves the rest of the city. It’s a bit tricky to tour Fyshwick without a car, but I made do with the hourly bus and my feet. Whilst waiting for the bus back (without a bed I hasten to add…it’s being delivered) I killed some time in the servo (service station) and bought a map of New South Wales, which is inspiring me to plan some trips. I am really craving getting out into the bush, I can picture it now, me standing on a plateau overlooking millions of gum trees and creeks cutting their way through the forest. Thankfully the bush is never that far away from anywhere in Canberra…in fact there are snippets of it scattered all over the city.

After a combination of ironing and re-sorting all my belongings ready for moving wasted all of the morning, Sunday afternoon I walked along the lake to the Australian National Gallery. It was kind of what I expected really…a mixture of artwork by Australians and some foreign pieces. Probably my favourites were the bush landscapes and the old photos and pictures of Sydney. Of course, there was more abstract work but a couple of splodges of paint randomly thrown onto a canvas doesn’t really do it for me.

The sculpture garden outside was very soothing, set amongst gardens beside the lake. This is me as a work of art! (reflected in some shiny cones so the it is a bit distorted!).


There is a real burst of colour at the moment, with a bit of an England/Aussie spring combo. Like home there is pink and white blossom, and buds sprouting forth on deciduous trees. Then we have the more traditional aussie scene of eucalypt and wattle, which is the most vibrant yellow. The smells are pleasing too, fresh and minty with a tinge of honey!

What's this wet stuff falling from the sky??!

Tuesday it rained! Not for long, but a couple of showers with at least one of moderate intensity. That’s the first rainfall since I’ve been here. Thinking of rain and home, here are some British SANDY beaches for the benefit of those who don’t think they exist!!!!

Canberra tourism

Some more touristy pics of Canberra...
1. Parliament House
2. Looking across the Mount Ainslie and the War Memorial
3. Black Mountain and the lake at dusk

Fine wines, fast cars, pretty birds...

An update of things which have been going on in the last week or so…

Thursday brought the thrill of Christmas early with the arrival of my two boxes from the UK. I couldn’t remember exactly what was in there so some of the stuff was a surprise. It’s nice to have a few more clothes, CDs and pictures, plus random things like a Devon flag and my NASA mug. It was a double thrill when I got my first authentic Aussie ute experience transporting the boxes from work to home (how do you spell that….yute, yoot, ooot???...anyway utility vehicle…if you watch Neighbours you’ll know what one is!)

Thursday night encompassed some fine dining, well, snippets of fine dining as there was a market research society meeting with a Michelin starred chef cooking up a few treats. I’ve never had so much seafood in one night, not being a big seafood lover, but I gave everything a go. It was the classic roast pork belly which topped the night though and I managed to sneak a couple of plates of that! (they were only small samplers!!) Of course, this was washed down with some very fine local wines, which may inspire me to take up some more serious wine-tasting!

Friday marked my first experience of driving in Australia and I managed to crash twice. It was in a go-kart and no-one got hurt (apart from myself!) so fear not. The go-karting was down in a place called Hume and quite a decent sized track. I certainly got better with each lap and if it wasn’t for my 60+ second lap when I crashed and got stuck on the second run my average time would’ve been OK. But in the end I finished up last, a mighty precursor to future Aussie v England contests I fear. The karting was followed by some drinks and a good Indian feed in Manuka. I’ve had Indian in Australia before and it was noticeably different to the UK, this time round however was closer to home. There are so many eateries in Manuka and I have only just touched the surface so far.

I have been trying to adapt to Aussie life by embracing the local culture and had a meat pie for lunch on Saturday followed by an afternoon of flicking through the sport on TV trying to understand AFL (Aussie rules). Thankfully there was some rugby union on (Aus v All Blacks), a sport I understand reasonably well and I’m picking up League reasonably quickly. There is some coverage of the footy back home and I was in a pub on Saturday night where they were showing the premiership matches. On the cab drive home I was informed of a radio station where you can listen to the footie, and found that this was a Radio 5 commentary, which strangely made me think of home and going to the footy freezing cold buying a pastie!

Now here comes the touristy bit…

I decided to get some fresh air on Sunday afternoon and popped out for a stroll, taking me through Forrest to the back end of Parliament House. Here I wondered through the gorgeous parkland surrounding Parliament House, packed full of shrubs and gums and wattle, interspersed with tennis courts and views of the mighty flagpole.

You can easily kill an hour or so walking the grounds of Parliament House, sizing up the angles and the sculptures and views dotted around the place. From here you can also walk down to Old Parliament House, with yet more parkland and sculptures and pools offering some nice reflections


Finally the straight line of grand buildings ends on the shores of Lake Burley-Griffin, with views across to the city, Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain.

There is a great glow to the sky here at sunset, I think it’s commonly known as an “afterglow” which appears after the sun has gone down and lights up the horizon. So, it was with this afterglow that I walked along the lake, past numerous joggers, who like the birds seem to appear at this time of day and returned to Kingston.

...and what I did on Sunday

Usually if you were to wake up at 6am on a Sunday morning you’d be pretty disappointed. I was chuffed to bits! This was the first time I had not woken up at 3am and experienced something more like a normal nights sleep. In fact, it was before 9pm that I could keep my eyes open no longer and despite some partying in the apartment complex I slept pretty solidly through to 6. I think forcing myself not to have an afternoon kip yesterday was the key. Anyway, woke up to see a couple of these parrots on the tree outside my balcony.

I visited Kingston market which is a Sunday institution around here. It was, again, really pleasant. Just lots of stalls selling lots of nice crafty things, curios, antiques etc, but of most interest to me, food & drink. There was some great looking fresh bread, lots of sauces, antipasti, sweets, cakes, nuts, fruit & veg, beer and wine. For my part, I bought some apples, some gorgeous macademia nuts and a bottle of plonk from just up the road in Gundagai. I’ll be definitely making returns visits as there were a few things which caught my eye.

The "holiday" is over and work is set to begin...it's time to iron those shirts again (joy!)

a couple more red hill pics

This website seems to be tempermental uploading pictures. Here are a couple more which relate to the post below!

what I did on saturday

There is something about Kingston on a Saturday morning which is appealing. I think it’s everyone eating breakfast and drinking coffee and just generally being happy. Perhaps the promise of spring is also in the air…today I didn’t have to wear my jacket whilst out.

In the arvo, instead of giving in to the temptation to have a kip, I went to another part of the Canberra nature reserve, Red Hill. This is just a mile or so west of where I am staying and is one of the many hills which pops up in Canberra. Again there were parrots on display and I spotted a few kangaroos (my first since arriving). However, the real highlight was the view at the top, which is 360 degrees. From here, you can hardly see a city, just clusters of buildings sprouting out of the bush. To the south and west the ranges rise up (they eventually join up with the Snowies) whilst looking East you have the Parliamentary triangle, Mount Ainslie and the city centre. North is the photogenic Black Mountain.





At the top was a little café (there is a road up there for the less active!) so it would have been rude not to have sat out on the terrace with a cappuccino and slice of chocolate cake! I was so glad I made the decision to go out but tiredness did start to catch up with me walking the pretty streets of Deakin and Manuka. It was late afternoon so numerous flocks of Gallahs and parrots (there seem to be two main varieties – red and blue & red and green) were gladly interrupting my slow walk back to my apartment. I guess I will get used to seeing them eventually and not take any notice like the rest of the city but at the moment they are a real novelty.

So, there we go, one of Canberra’s hills climbed but I’m sure I’ll go back in different seasons to see how the colours change. In the meantime there are some other hills on the list!

wildlife

I haven’t mentioned the wildlife yet. You really know you’re in Australia when you hear all sorts of screeching and see multicoloured birds everywhere. These are everywhere and nobody takes the slightest bit of notice. Apart from me, with my head in the air looking every part the Englishman in Australia. From my apartment window I saw a red and green parrot picking at the tree outside. The magpies don’t look much but they make plenty of crazy noise first thing. I’ve seen other colourful birds that I can’t identify and they seem to be very restless to the extent that they don’t stay still for long for a photo opportunity.

I visited a part of Canberra nature reserve on Thursday. Basically this is scattered all over the city in patches of bushland which means you never have to go far to get some peace and quiet. I visited an area just past Kingston at the eastern edge of Lake Burley Griffin. Again I saw a fair few birds and also a couple of hares I think. They of course were startled by my presence, which startled me (any noise in the undergrowth is a worry!). I did manage to get a pic of a “flaming Gullah” by the lake on Friday.

Pictures

Here's a couple of pictures from Parliament House...

So the second leg of the flight was again perfect, 3 seats to myself meant some more spells of sleep were possible. As expected though the last couple of hours felt long, flying over Australia with Sydney right at the far eastern end. The flight was mostly in darkness so there was little to see, though dawn broke as we landed in Sydney and I was welcomed by a rich red sky and chilly temperatures. I had to wait around a bit for my bus to Canberra, which again ran like clockwork. The 3 hours between Sydney and Canberra isn’t all staggering but there are some vast areas of eucalyptus forest, hills and gorges that I passed. Finally, after some 36 hours on the road I arrived to the less than overwhelming Canberra bus station. It wasn’t all over there however, as I couldn’t check in to my apartment until 2pm, so it was time for my first, somewhat fatigued walkabout.

I’m in a suburb called Kingston, which is just south of Parliament and very middle class with a slight bohemian vibe. By now it was pleasant with the sun beating down and numerous bigwigs and people that do lunch were doing lunch in the many eateries and cafes of Kingston. I was pleased to see it’s not all Thai noodles and skinny lattes with the inclusion of a quality pie shop and bakery. Kingston seems really nice – relaxed but with a slight edge. I can easily imagine sitting at one of those cafes supping a latte when it gets warmer.

From Kingston I walked on through Telopea Park to the shore of Lake Burley Griffin. From here there were pleasing views of distant hills and the closer lump of Mount Ainslie. Everything looks a bit wintry at the moment, but you sense in a month or so the trees and parks will be bursting to life. The shores of the lake were breezy and I still had time to kill so, like a beacon calling me, I walked to Parliament House. It is a stunning building and the area delightfully manicured. All the angles have been perfectly calculated to make an impression on the viewer. The view from Parliament House is also astounding, looking down the perfectly straight 2 miles or so past Old Parliament House to the war memorial, framed by Mount Ainslie. There are so many hills in Canberra, and these are not allowed to be built on so the city is tucked away around these. Look out for future news of hills I have climbed!

Now Canberra was a planned city and yes, the car is king. Not that you can’t get around as a pedestrian (and it’s great for cycling) but sometimes you can easily lose your sense of direction. One of the first things I did in Kingston was buy a map but even that couldn’t prevent me from taking half an hour to walk from Parliament House to Manuka in a zig-zagged fashion. Manuka is just like Kingston with maybe a few more shops and a supermarket. This is where being away from home starts to bite – I WANT TESCO!!! The supermarket seemed to stock most things but I don’t know where everything is. I am stressing that I will not be able to find a decent natural yogurt (this is very important to my start of the day!). Why no wholemeal pasta??? Why are those apples sooooo shiny??? Also, it’s not really cheaper than the UK despite rumours you might hear. One plus though is that the cheese seems to be comparable to the quality in the UK. Anyway, it’s only one supermarket…I’m sure I’ve got many more to test. BUT NOWHERE WILL EVER MATCH TESCO!!!

So exploring the supermarket easily ate up the remaining time I needed to kill and I checked into my apartment. It’s very nice and spacious for me, though doesn’t seem to get much sunlight and only has a heater in one room. I checked for spiders and it seems to be clear. What it does have is a big double bed which was much needed. I didn’t pass out straight away and woke after a couple of hours, forcing myself up to eat some dinner and watch Aussie TV. I lasted out until about 8:30pm and with the exception of 15 minutes slept through until 3am. But 3am was it. I think I got up a couple of times, made a hot drink, read a little but by 6am my mind was buzzing with all things I need to do so I got up.


Hopefully pictures to follow soon!!!

Hello from Malaysia!

Well, the wonders of technology means I am sending this from Kuala Lumpur airport. The journey has all gone wonderfully well so far really. Apart from being upgraded to first class it couldn't have been much better. Getting to Heathrow was a doddle, I managed to check in and clear security in 15 minutes. The highlight of the trip so far was finding myself in a row of 4 seats with just one other person. This at least made it a bit easier to sleep, though only in spurts of 15 minutes. Video on demand was something new to me on a flight too, though the movie choice still wasn't inspiring. So, barring any unexpected glitches on the next leg of the flight, Malaysia Airlines gets a big thumbs up. Of course, it's not all sunshine and lollipops...I have a cough and dry skin and dodgy airline stomach but what more can you expect?

Kuala Lumpur airport is a beauty. Architecturally it is impressive but it is just so quiet and relaxing. There's no hustle and bustle so I'm shortly gonna take one of the loungers and gaze out at the tropical hills in the distance. I can't see anything of KL the city though, even those big towers seem to be hidden somewhere.

So, just about 15 hours to go then...

Can I berra it?

So, I have survived the BBQ with a side dish of home made lasagne, and am fit and raring to go. When I say fit, I mean I have that usual going away sore throat and headache which was so inevitable I couldn’t put a bet on it at Ladbrokes. The last few days were filled with some old favourites – a bit of Dartmoor, followed by a dash of the Devon coast, punctuated with the food stops.

It’s been quite muggy these last few days and it’ll almost be a relief to cool down in Canberra. First I have "the longest day" to get through. I shall leave Plymouth and return briefly to London before flying to Koala Lumper and then onto Sydney. The final leg shall take me by coach to Canberra, where it should be something like lunchtime Wednesday when I turn up all bright-eyed and bushy tailed. I am excited of course, but now I just want to click my fingers and suddenly be in Canberra.

Thank you to all my family and friends in the UK who may just happen to be reading this who have made the last two weeks or so a lot of fun. Of course I shall look to the future with a great deal of excitement but many of you have done so much to make me realise what I’ll also be missing out on. Please drop us a line once in a while (you know who you are!!!)

Good luck as the nights draw in and the mercury drops!
With love from the UK for now,
Neil

devon diet

I think everyone wants to fatten me up so I have to pay "excess baggage" on my flight. It’s a tough dilemma because I want to be reasonably healthy for the journey, but am also seduced by that last home roast dinner, those fish n chips from Francines, and the numerous pasties and pork pies saying "Eat me, eat me, EAT ME!" Then you are visiting people offering tea and biscuits and more biscuits, with some cake on the side. Clotted cream is everywhere. I was on Plymouth Hoe yesterday and did all I could to resist Jon-Jon and Ruby’s raspberries, ice cream and Cornish clotted cream special only to end up with a big bowl of rhubarb crumble and clotted cream after my huge roast dinner in the evening. A cream tea is on the agenda and I will have to fit a pasty somewhere in my eating schedule. Plus there’s a BBQ planned for my last night (er, cos they won’t have them in Oz?!). My token effort is to eat fruit and natural yogurt in the morning along with a glass of smoothie (which is ounce for ounce more expensive than diamond encrusted gold nuggets). Start on a high and let it all go downhill from there. Need to get me some comfy pants for that flight…