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On 10 December at about 9am, Dan rang me at work. She needed me to take her to the Family Birth Centre to see the midwife about something. It was possible waters had broken and they passed Dan onto the hospital for further tests. These were inconclusive and they wanted her to stay in hospital overnight for observation. She rang at 4.30am to say contractions had started at midnight. Her father, who had come from China to support us with his grandchild, and we made our way to King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH) and spent a long morning and early afternoon supporting her through early labour. Dan’s father did fantastic work massaging her back and I did service as Dan’s squeeze, meaning providing a hand she could squeeze the heck out of, patient support and watchdog. ... read more

We decided to try for a baby when Dan arrived in Australia, imagining it would take some months. It took no time at all, hardly allowing time for Dan to get established in her new life. An Aboriginal cultural tour at King’s Park with Cliff’s colleagues in June provided an opportunity to understand Aboriginal ways of life, connections to land and spiritual beliefs (thanks to Kaye for some of these photos). July saw a party at home with friends both to celebrate our birthdays and to welcome the marvellous Diana back from England. In August, we braved the ferry to stay a few days in a cottage on Rottnest Island. Despite the season, we had a really lovely break there, just don’t ask Dan about the trip over! The Quokka, which you can see easily on ... read more

A longer trip had to be cut short for work reasons, but we managed a long weekend in Sydney via Melbourne, where we saw Cliff’s all-time favourite Jazz artist Abdullah Ibrahim with his band Ekaya, at the Regent Theatre as part of the Melbourne Jazz Festival. In Sydney, Dan was able to see Cliff’s grand family home in Eastwood, to meet his mother in the nursing home, to meet some close friends of his from University days at a local restaurant and to enjoy a gathering with relatives, including a niece and nephew who had come all the way from Canberra! On our last day, we also managed to visit Taronga Zoo and lunch with a favourite aunt. ... read more

On 19 March 2008, Dan arrived at Perth Airport, managing to bring much extra luggage, as one does when one emigrates! In the end the immigration authorities were kind to us and processed Dan’s application expeditiously, once we had finally inveigled the necessary Criminal Records check from the UK Constabulary on our third attempt. We celebrated our first night together in Australia at the Fuji Sushi Station in Victoria Park, long Cliff’s favourite restaurant. Some of our initial sightseeing included Fremantle, Cottesloe Beach, the lookout on Reabold Hill, King’s Park, Perth City, Cliff’s workplace on the 27th floor of a city building, Mundaring Weir and Lesmurdie Falls. Dan also enjoyed meeting some of Cliff’s friends and colleagues, including an early meal with Marlene, Natalie and Patrick at the Aquarium Seafood Restaurant in Belmont and at a ... read more

I was privileged to enjoy Christmas with in great company (Diana and her Greek-Australian friend Nancy) in a coastal town on the Peloponnesian Peninsula in Greece. As well as hosting a fine feast for Christmas Day, Nancy managed to show us remarkable amount of Peloponnesia including the ruin of ancient Mycenae, sites associated with Hercules, an ancestral village or hers in the hills and Nafplio on the South side, dominated by the Venetian Palamidi Fortress. We then returned to Athens where Di and I threw ourselves with gusto into seeing archaeological sites and museums while Nancy returned to work. It was very moving to see the Parthenon, and the many other signs of history that litter the landscape in this remarkable city. Finally, I clambered back aboard my BA flight to Heathrow, only to catch another ... read more