He wore his Adidas kit for the Rudebox encore
He sang fantastically and the whole package, as usual, was just perfect.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Roooobbbieeee!!
He only sang a couple of songs from his new album, just ‘Rudebox’ and ‘Lovelight’ but then he crammed in loads of his hits from the rest of his albums, including ‘Rock DJ’, ‘Make Me Pure’, ‘Sin Sin Sin’, ‘She's the One’ and ‘Let Me Entertain You’, as well as the obligatory ‘Angels’ which he sang all the way through unlike previous concerts where the crowd has sang it. The only slip ups he made was forgetting the lines to two of the songs, ‘Advertising Space’ and ‘Back for Good’ – which he did apologise for and said that it is difficult with people shouting things out at you when you are trying to start a song – which I can quite imagine! He said it was absolutely terrifying to forget a line in front of 52,000 people!
Robbie in his Lions shirt
He opened with ‘Radio’ and was dressed in a Brisbane Lions shirt which is the local AFL team, whom he met up with the night before. The sound quality was excellent and Robbie was on top form working the stage in his usual showman style. The fact that we were so so close made the whole experience one of the best concerts we have been to. He made everyone (even the guys) go crazy with excitement when he came anywhere near us.
Aaarghhh!!
It was then time for Robbie, the build up, the smoke, the fire and then we searched the stage desperately trying to see him come out, and then he burst up through the centre of the little stage that we were stood next to!! I nearly passed out before the concert had started! I am so gutted that my camera has broken, I would have got some really good photographs, but I had to use my mobile phone camera instead hence the poor quality of the photos here.
Look how close we are to the end of the walkway!!
We had a look round the shops in the morning and then checked into our next hotel and got ready for meeting Mr Williams. We were able to walk to the stadium and got there around 4pm. We managed to get a fantastic position about 10 people back from the side of the end of the walkway that ran out from the main stage. It was then a case of sitting for a few hours trying to amuse ourselves and trying to drink enough but not too much.
Stupidly, at about 6pm, everyone got up and surged forward so we were stood packed like sardines for another hour before the support act, Sneaky Sound System, came on. We didn’t really rate them much but they passed ¾ hour on. Just before that I had to push through everyone to get to the toilet, trying to get back in was the most awful experience, I haven’t been swore at so much before!! I don’t think they think about the fact people at the front need to go to the toilet and have drinks as well! When Andy went a bit later two girls refused to let him past until he argued why would he be on his own trying to get to the front?!
The Stage at Suncorp Stadium
We set off at about 6.30am and after a few pit stops got to Brisbane at about 2pm. We had a bit of a sleep in the afternoon at our hotel and then went out to an amazing restaurant by the river that evening. Il Centro is actually where we went on the last night mum, dad and Kate were over here, and I just had to go back for more of their infamous Sand-Crab Lasagne – mmm!! The meals were superb, we had a few drinks afterwards and then had a reasonably early night in preparation for the concert the next day.
Christmas Tree in Brisbane
We dropped Ben off at his second home, the kennels in Habana, and off we went on the next stage of the big journey to Brisbane at about 3pm. Between us, we got to Rockhampton at around 7pm and had a lovely meal at a Thai restaurant in the city centre. We then drove for another hour and stopped at a service station lorry park, got the back seats down, pumped up the air bed and had a cheap night’s sleep in the back of the car! We even got a shower in the morning at the service station – urgh!
Ben taking a drink from the water fountain!
ROBBIE WILLIAMS
On Monday 11th Andy, Ben and I set off to Mackay on the first leg of the journey to see Robbie Williams at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane!!
We had to get our car serviced in the morning so we had to entertain Ben in Mackay centre for 3 hours, we had an amusing moment when we were trying to get him to drink our of the water fountain and he thought we meant he had to jump on top of it! If you imagine a 35 kilo Labrador teetering on a water fountain about a metre high and 20cm square then you will get the picture!
On Monday 11th Andy, Ben and I set off to Mackay on the first leg of the journey to see Robbie Williams at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane!!
We had to get our car serviced in the morning so we had to entertain Ben in Mackay centre for 3 hours, we had an amusing moment when we were trying to get him to drink our of the water fountain and he thought we meant he had to jump on top of it! If you imagine a 35 kilo Labrador teetering on a water fountain about a metre high and 20cm square then you will get the picture!
Andy and Ben chilling out in the hammock!
December 2006
Into summer now and the temperatures seem to immediately jump 5 degrees as we pass December the first. It is still extremely dry with the water restrictions still on since we arrived here! I think we’ve had about 4 or 5 days with rain since May. All the Christmas lights and decorations are up in town which is still very odd to see in this searing heat. We still have to put our tree up, but have received some lovely Christmas cards already – thanks to everyone who has sent us one, it means so much more when we are over here to receive cards, I love going to our mail box at this time of year!
I went along to carol singing rehearsals and sang at the Moranbah Carol Service in the park last weekend which was nice and I started feeling a little Christmassy! It was also nice to sing again after a long time away.
Work-wise, I have been working on a project at the Community Health Centre called 10,000 Steps which is a challenge where people wear pedometers and try and aim for 10,000 Steps a day, or just to walk more than they do at the moment to improve their health and fitness. We ran a team challenge in Moranbah where teams of 6-8 from the community and workplaces tried to walk from Port Douglas (North Queensland) to Hobart (Tasmania) in 6 weeks – an equivalent of 3.8 million steps! I was co-ordinating the challenge, setting up the teams on-line and producing a weekly newsletter. There were a total of 62 teams and 452 people taking part so it was a good challenge! At the end we organised a presentation breakfast for everyone and I devised a treasure hunt around Moranbah! It was a really fun project to be involved with and I am relieved to say that the breakfast and treasure hunt went really well!
Into summer now and the temperatures seem to immediately jump 5 degrees as we pass December the first. It is still extremely dry with the water restrictions still on since we arrived here! I think we’ve had about 4 or 5 days with rain since May. All the Christmas lights and decorations are up in town which is still very odd to see in this searing heat. We still have to put our tree up, but have received some lovely Christmas cards already – thanks to everyone who has sent us one, it means so much more when we are over here to receive cards, I love going to our mail box at this time of year!
I went along to carol singing rehearsals and sang at the Moranbah Carol Service in the park last weekend which was nice and I started feeling a little Christmassy! It was also nice to sing again after a long time away.
Work-wise, I have been working on a project at the Community Health Centre called 10,000 Steps which is a challenge where people wear pedometers and try and aim for 10,000 Steps a day, or just to walk more than they do at the moment to improve their health and fitness. We ran a team challenge in Moranbah where teams of 6-8 from the community and workplaces tried to walk from Port Douglas (North Queensland) to Hobart (Tasmania) in 6 weeks – an equivalent of 3.8 million steps! I was co-ordinating the challenge, setting up the teams on-line and producing a weekly newsletter. There were a total of 62 teams and 452 people taking part so it was a good challenge! At the end we organised a presentation breakfast for everyone and I devised a treasure hunt around Moranbah! It was a really fun project to be involved with and I am relieved to say that the breakfast and treasure hunt went really well!
Beautiful view over Cape Hillsborough
Emma, Louis and me on the rocks!
A Kookaburra sat on a chair!
We went camping with Carol, Ian and the children for Andy’s last match of the season and it was Louis’ 10th birthday. We had a lovely BBQ tea on the first night and then the next day Andy and I thought it would be nice to show them Cape Hillsborough national park (where we have been a few times and spotted snakes there) as the children would like the exciting walk over the cliffs and then onto the beach. It turned into an absolute disaster. After we had walked for an hour in the heat of the sun with little water, the tide was right in (I had misread the ‘7’ in the low tide time 7.55pm for a ‘1’ – error!) and we got stuck at high tide at about 2pm not able to get across to the beach. We sat for a while willing the sea to go out, we had two options – to wait about 3 hours for the sea to go out, or walk for an hour back over the top of the cliff with no water left! You can imagine the mood was not great and the children were utterly fed up as we all trooped back along the path. It was Andy’s last football match that evening and the poor lad was exhausted by the time he got there!
Kathryn and I at the 'Races'
On the 7th of November it was Melbourne Cup Day which is the Australian equivalent of the Grand National. Over here though, unlike in England, throughout the country loads of people get dressed up as though they were actually going to the races (in hats too!) and go to a local venue to watch the race on a big screen! Here, the workers club function room was the place to be, so I got all dressed up and went with some friends to the race day luncheon. Well, it was an experience, people applause whatever is happening on the big television screens and really get into the race with sweepstakes and quizzes going on. The seafood buffet was superb and we got free champagne on arrival to set us on our way! I managed to jointly win the Melbourne Cup quiz (due to me being armed with my trusty racing paper!) and get a second place from my bet and on the sweepstake which made the day even better! It ended up being a big session with Andy picking me up at 10.30pm that evening after almost 12 hours drinking. Needless to say, the next day at work was not an enjoyable one.
November 2006
The first weekend in November Andy was due to play the Gold Coast in Brisbane. Andy got free flights and accommodation with the team, and I decided to go down to watch them on a cheap flight and incorporate it with a day of wedding dress shopping in Brisbane!
We hadn’t seen a drop of rain since the beginning of June, and from the moment I landed in Brisbane it poured down! I got drenched wearing my summer clothes racing between wedding dress shops! It was so strange trying a wedding dress on for the first time, looking in the mirror at yourself is quite an emotional experience, something every girl dreams of all her life! I had a great day trying some beautiful dresses on and being treated like a princess. It was a bit upsetting when other brides-to-be were there with mum, sisters and friends, however it was good in a way just to dash round on my own. I found a gorgeous dress but didn’t order it in Brisbane, I needed time to think about it. Back in Mackay a few weeks later I found the exact same dress a lot cheaper and ordered it!!
As I mentioned earlier, due to the rain which didn’t let up all day, the pitch in Brisbane was waterlogged and the game postponed! Andy and his team took advantage of a night out in Brisbane and I took advantage of an amazing restaurant at my hotel and a very good bottle of wine. Bizarrely, we both travelled all that way and didn’t actually see each other!
The first weekend in November Andy was due to play the Gold Coast in Brisbane. Andy got free flights and accommodation with the team, and I decided to go down to watch them on a cheap flight and incorporate it with a day of wedding dress shopping in Brisbane!
We hadn’t seen a drop of rain since the beginning of June, and from the moment I landed in Brisbane it poured down! I got drenched wearing my summer clothes racing between wedding dress shops! It was so strange trying a wedding dress on for the first time, looking in the mirror at yourself is quite an emotional experience, something every girl dreams of all her life! I had a great day trying some beautiful dresses on and being treated like a princess. It was a bit upsetting when other brides-to-be were there with mum, sisters and friends, however it was good in a way just to dash round on my own. I found a gorgeous dress but didn’t order it in Brisbane, I needed time to think about it. Back in Mackay a few weeks later I found the exact same dress a lot cheaper and ordered it!!
As I mentioned earlier, due to the rain which didn’t let up all day, the pitch in Brisbane was waterlogged and the game postponed! Andy and his team took advantage of a night out in Brisbane and I took advantage of an amazing restaurant at my hotel and a very good bottle of wine. Bizarrely, we both travelled all that way and didn’t actually see each other!
DANGER, DANGER!
November was fairly uneventful as well, apart from football every weekend.
The most exciting (and scary) news in November was that a pack of 8 Bull Sharks and two crocodiles had been spotted metres away from the shore at Blacks Beach (where we go all the time, and Ben swims there!). The sea was cleared of 40 people and signs were up for the next week warning of sharks and crocs!
Cathy, Kimberly and Kerry at the Cocktails and Quiz night
October 2006
October seemed to pass by in a whirl of afore-mentioned football matches and presentation evenings, most Thursdays and every weekend saw us trekking to Mackay for the beautiful game!
The only other event was a Cocktail and Quiz night I went to with the girls from the Community Health centre. It was a good night and I actually felt quite intelligent, particularly when no-one believed me when I said that Stephen King wrote the Shawshank Redemption. Fortunately I had a little ‘text’ assistance from Caroline back in England when it came to a few other questions that needed answering! Our team came second, and I got second prize in the raffle, so a good night was had by all.
October seemed to pass by in a whirl of afore-mentioned football matches and presentation evenings, most Thursdays and every weekend saw us trekking to Mackay for the beautiful game!
The only other event was a Cocktail and Quiz night I went to with the girls from the Community Health centre. It was a good night and I actually felt quite intelligent, particularly when no-one believed me when I said that Stephen King wrote the Shawshank Redemption. Fortunately I had a little ‘text’ assistance from Caroline back in England when it came to a few other questions that needed answering! Our team came second, and I got second prize in the raffle, so a good night was had by all.
Andy playing for the Whitsunday Manta-Rays, stood 3rd from left during national anthem
Andy was also selected to represent the Whitsunday region in the Queensland inter-state competition which kicks off as soon as the main football season finishes. This competition brings together representative teams from the whole of Queensland! After training for a few weeks they got to fly to Cairns and Brisbane (which ended up getting called off due to waterlogged pitch following a drought of 6 months, after the whole team had flown down there!!), and played against Townsville, Sunshine Coast and Bundaberg teams at home! It was a fantastic experience for him, although very tiring having to travel 5 hour round trips for training and home matches. The Whitsunday Manta-Rays ended up being bottom of their group so never made it to the semi-finals which were to be played as an opener to a Queensland Roar game at the main (Suncorp) stadium in Brisbane. Andy had a lot of ‘issues’ with the management style and will fight to manage the side next year – watch this space!!
For now, we have some weekends together for a few weeks until training begins at the end of January for the next season.
Moranbah Charity Golf Day (Andy on right)
At the end of September we went to a charity golf day, organised by the local police. The golf course here in Moranbah is really nice, and probably the greenest and best grass around! Those who know me will know that I have never played golf in my life, this was good enough reason for me to opt to cheer Andy on instead. Andy doesn’t play a lot, but of course is good at it as, irritatingly, he takes to any sport well.
Groups of three played each hole along with another two groups, and each group used their best ball from which to take the next shot. It was such good fun, a drinks cart drove around all day providing alcoholic refreshments and we had a nice group of people who didn’t take it all too seriously! Our group didn’t do too badly and we got a goody bag as a prize. I actually got to play half the holes in place of another lady who decided to concentrate more on the drinking. I wasn’t too bad actually, and my final shot on the 18th to get the ball in the hole from about 10 metres impressed everyone!
Groups of three played each hole along with another two groups, and each group used their best ball from which to take the next shot. It was such good fun, a drinks cart drove around all day providing alcoholic refreshments and we had a nice group of people who didn’t take it all too seriously! Our group didn’t do too badly and we got a goody bag as a prize. I actually got to play half the holes in place of another lady who decided to concentrate more on the drinking. I wasn’t too bad actually, and my final shot on the 18th to get the ball in the hole from about 10 metres impressed everyone!
The feast!
The end of the party!
After over a year living here and being invited to other people’s parties and houses (very Australian but not something we Brits are used to), we thought we really ought to make an effort and do some entertaining. Initially we were going to have several little evenings for various circles of friends, but then thought we’d go for it and have one big party and invite everyone we knew!
It was quite stressful really, making sure the house was spotless, getting enough food, drink, plates etc. took some preparation, as well as sending out all the invites. Fortunately, Carol (our English friend) is a trained chef and offered to help me out with the food.
After all the preparation and the nerves during the day that no-one would turn up, the party was a resounding success!! I was still jumping around to Rage Against the Machine at 5am! The food went down very well, thanks to Carol’s help and the drink went down even better – especially the vodka jellies and some beautiful shots (haven’t a clue what was in them) made by our South African friends!
Camping in Mackay
We have done quite a lot of camping recently, because it is so expensive to stay in motels every time we have to go to Mackay for football training or matches and the weather is so good then why not?! It is really cheap, actually a dollar more than it costs to put Ben into kennels each time! The campsite is nice with showers and a BBQ kitchen area and we have a lot of fun being happy campers!
I have been getting lots of work at the council and hospital, just need to remember where I am when I answer the phone!
While Andy was working away from the mine at Moranbah Trade Services, he met Ian who is from Hastings in England. He arrived in May with his family and they are on a four year visa like us. We have got to know Ian, Carol and their children Emma and Louis really well. It is nice to be able to speak to some fellow-Brits who understand our culture (and our language!) and those little difficulties and home-sickness we sometimes face living in a different country!
I have been getting lots of work at the council and hospital, just need to remember where I am when I answer the phone!
While Andy was working away from the mine at Moranbah Trade Services, he met Ian who is from Hastings in England. He arrived in May with his family and they are on a four year visa like us. We have got to know Ian, Carol and their children Emma and Louis really well. It is nice to be able to speak to some fellow-Brits who understand our culture (and our language!) and those little difficulties and home-sickness we sometimes face living in a different country!
Andy in the Grand Final (in 6)
September 2006
I haven’t mentioned Andy’s ‘soccer’ yet, he plays for a Mackay team called the Wanderers as his main team. He also plays for Moranbah once a month in a league of three teams!
He has been doing really well, and scoring lots of goals – he totalled 24 in 12 games for the Wanderers at the end of the season and was the top scorer for the club and the league. It is great because the league Andy is playing in is basically it, apart from the A-League teams, so he gets on television every now and then!
The Wanderers won the league, however this is only a minor achievement as the teams battle it out in a series of playoffs to find out who the league champions are. Andy’s team lost the grand final to the main rivals the Lions.
There was a league presentation evening where the league player of the year gets selected from votes from every game (managers from each team vote their top three per game), Andy was 6th – which isn’t bad considering he has only been playing one season!
At his club presentation evening he was awarded Players’ Player of the Year, a fantastic honour for him.
I haven’t mentioned Andy’s ‘soccer’ yet, he plays for a Mackay team called the Wanderers as his main team. He also plays for Moranbah once a month in a league of three teams!
He has been doing really well, and scoring lots of goals – he totalled 24 in 12 games for the Wanderers at the end of the season and was the top scorer for the club and the league. It is great because the league Andy is playing in is basically it, apart from the A-League teams, so he gets on television every now and then!
The Wanderers won the league, however this is only a minor achievement as the teams battle it out in a series of playoffs to find out who the league champions are. Andy’s team lost the grand final to the main rivals the Lions.
There was a league presentation evening where the league player of the year gets selected from votes from every game (managers from each team vote their top three per game), Andy was 6th – which isn’t bad considering he has only been playing one season!
At his club presentation evening he was awarded Players’ Player of the Year, a fantastic honour for him.
MY LAST DAY AT COLES!!
August 2006
On 4th August I left Coles after a horrendous shift and vowed that I would never again work in a supermarket!
Probably the most exciting thing that happened in August was that I bought some miniature tomato plants and a strawberry plant at the markets in an attempt to be a green goddess. The strawberry plant died after a week (I forgot to water it for a few days and you can’t get away with that here when the temperatures are so high!). The tomato plants are actually doing well, luckily I bought four and killed two, so I now have two plants that are producing little tomatoes which is all very impressive!
I got headhunted by the council who wanted a casual admin person and heard I was good! I handed my CV in and got an interview at the end of August. It was another wonderful Australian interview where they don’t ask anything about you, just tell you about the job and ask if you have any questions! So my research on the many roles of the council was wasted! It suited me to have two casual jobs on the go to make sure I had plenty of pocket money coming in so I was pleased when I heard I had got the job!
On 4th August I left Coles after a horrendous shift and vowed that I would never again work in a supermarket!
Probably the most exciting thing that happened in August was that I bought some miniature tomato plants and a strawberry plant at the markets in an attempt to be a green goddess. The strawberry plant died after a week (I forgot to water it for a few days and you can’t get away with that here when the temperatures are so high!). The tomato plants are actually doing well, luckily I bought four and killed two, so I now have two plants that are producing little tomatoes which is all very impressive!
I got headhunted by the council who wanted a casual admin person and heard I was good! I handed my CV in and got an interview at the end of August. It was another wonderful Australian interview where they don’t ask anything about you, just tell you about the job and ask if you have any questions! So my research on the many roles of the council was wasted! It suited me to have two casual jobs on the go to make sure I had plenty of pocket money coming in so I was pleased when I heard I had got the job!
July 2006
Congratulations to Andy and Amy who have another little girl in their lives, Millie Grace was born on 14th July!
On the 10th July I took my first tentative steps away from Coles supermarket and had an interview at Moranbah Health District (Queensland Health) for a casual administration job. Considering what the job was, the interview letter was quite terrifying considering I hadn’t had a proper interview for over 6 years! A panel of three would be interviewing, but before that I had to do a practical test!! I researched Queensland Health extensively and any topical health issues, re-read my ‘Great Answers To Tough Interview Questions’ bible and had sleepless nights wondering whether they would make me mail merge a 1000 letters in 10 minutes. However, I needn’t have worried too much as the practical was typing a letter (although I was so panicked by this time that I had a mental block remembering which side the customer’s address went on!!). The interview consisted of such killer questions as ‘What does confidentiality mean to you’ and ‘What details would you write down if you needed to pass a phone message on to someone’.
The following week I found out I had got the job, and I handed my notice in at Coles after 10 months of suffering!! Hallelujah!!
The work can be at the hospital, community health centre, mental health or main offices and being casual means I cover holidays and sick days, I can be phoned at any time, but I have the right to say no. I am really enjoying the work a lot more that I originally thought I would. (You wouldn’t believe how much the task of having to cover brand new books with clear sticky stuff can be so scary though)! It is so refreshing to be in an office environment and to feel like I am human again! The people who work there are all really friendly and helped me settle in straight away.
Andy went back to college in July and August to the TAFE in Mackay for ten days (split up over several weeks) intensive electrical tutoring.
The rules here in Australia are that however much experience you have or whatever electrical qualifications you have in England, you have to be approved by the Australian electrical body and then you have to be approved as an electrician by whichever state you live in!
Queensland dictates that Andy has to pass the Queensland fourth-year electrical apprentice exams in order to be given an electrical license. This was a very scary thought for Andy who hasn’t studied for ten years, and we all know that we couldn’t re-take our final exams now! At the same time as studying at college Andy got put with an electrical company in Moranbah for a few months work experience outside of the mines, so he was going round doing house-wiring and installing air-conditioners!
There was a lot of pressure on him passing these exams as, theoretically, if he didn’t get his license then they may send us packing back to England!
After many hours studying in the library here and the tough days at college, he passed his exams with flying colours and is now the very proud owner of a Queensland Electrical License! He wasn’t finished yet though, he then had to be signed off as an electrician at the coal mine…. This wasn’t to happen until another 4 months later!! The whole process took 17 months which is crazy considering he worked as an electrician in England for about 9 years!
Congratulations to Andy and Amy who have another little girl in their lives, Millie Grace was born on 14th July!
On the 10th July I took my first tentative steps away from Coles supermarket and had an interview at Moranbah Health District (Queensland Health) for a casual administration job. Considering what the job was, the interview letter was quite terrifying considering I hadn’t had a proper interview for over 6 years! A panel of three would be interviewing, but before that I had to do a practical test!! I researched Queensland Health extensively and any topical health issues, re-read my ‘Great Answers To Tough Interview Questions’ bible and had sleepless nights wondering whether they would make me mail merge a 1000 letters in 10 minutes. However, I needn’t have worried too much as the practical was typing a letter (although I was so panicked by this time that I had a mental block remembering which side the customer’s address went on!!). The interview consisted of such killer questions as ‘What does confidentiality mean to you’ and ‘What details would you write down if you needed to pass a phone message on to someone’.
The following week I found out I had got the job, and I handed my notice in at Coles after 10 months of suffering!! Hallelujah!!
The work can be at the hospital, community health centre, mental health or main offices and being casual means I cover holidays and sick days, I can be phoned at any time, but I have the right to say no. I am really enjoying the work a lot more that I originally thought I would. (You wouldn’t believe how much the task of having to cover brand new books with clear sticky stuff can be so scary though)! It is so refreshing to be in an office environment and to feel like I am human again! The people who work there are all really friendly and helped me settle in straight away.
Andy went back to college in July and August to the TAFE in Mackay for ten days (split up over several weeks) intensive electrical tutoring.
The rules here in Australia are that however much experience you have or whatever electrical qualifications you have in England, you have to be approved by the Australian electrical body and then you have to be approved as an electrician by whichever state you live in!
Queensland dictates that Andy has to pass the Queensland fourth-year electrical apprentice exams in order to be given an electrical license. This was a very scary thought for Andy who hasn’t studied for ten years, and we all know that we couldn’t re-take our final exams now! At the same time as studying at college Andy got put with an electrical company in Moranbah for a few months work experience outside of the mines, so he was going round doing house-wiring and installing air-conditioners!
There was a lot of pressure on him passing these exams as, theoretically, if he didn’t get his license then they may send us packing back to England!
After many hours studying in the library here and the tough days at college, he passed his exams with flying colours and is now the very proud owner of a Queensland Electrical License! He wasn’t finished yet though, he then had to be signed off as an electrician at the coal mine…. This wasn’t to happen until another 4 months later!! The whole process took 17 months which is crazy considering he worked as an electrician in England for about 9 years!
Andy and Sandy (Sandy is holding a pint glass!)
On the 13th July we drove to Airlie Beach to meet up with Mark and Faye who were travelling in Oz for a few weeks.
Andy and Mark entered the pool competition and both made it to the quarter finals, close but no jug of beer! We had a great night drinking some very colourful drinks and it was good to see them both and their friend Lindsay who is also living over here, but further north in Townsville. It was tough driving home the next morning and straight into a 9 hour shift at Coles with an almighty hangover!
You see, it does get cold here, we even had to wear jumpers! (Think I'm mutating into a preying mantis looking at those arms...?!)
Before Australia they had travelled to India, to Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Himalayas, Goa and Mumbai amongst many other wonderful sounding places. From India they called at Bangkok and other places in Thailand then on to Vietnam before landing in Perth on the west coast of Australia. From Perth they drove the huge journey (about 3600km!!) to Broome (the northern end of West Australia), and then flew across to Darwin in the Northern Territory (right at the top). From there if you head directly south to the centre of Australia you get to Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock). A flight to Cairns next which is right at the top end of Queensland and then the journey down the coast towards us!! So, you can imagine, they were having the most incredible adventure, it wears me out just thinking about it, but I just can’t wait to do some similar travelling. After visiting us they were off to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, then New Zealand, Fiji and then the USA Las Vegas to Canada and then to New York!!
Sarah and I had a huge wine and photograph session whilst Andy and Steve went off to play some football. We had a massive BBQ meal and then chatted into the early hours. It was so lovely to see them both and it was really sad when they left. We’re really glad they took the time to drive out and see us amongst their far more exciting inventory and we can’t wait until their next visit…!!
They landed back in Blighty in September and then had to try and lead a normal life again, which must have been very difficult!
Steve and Sarah in Oz!
Sarah and Steve’s Visit
6-7th June 2006
In March 06, Sarah and Steve moved out of their flat in London, packed their stuff and headed off on a round the world trip for six months!!
They were going to be in Australia for two months so while they were up at our end of Queensland they drove out to see us at our new house and we had a lovely evening catching up, eating and drinking before they had to head off down south to the bright lights of Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney!
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