Through our membership with the 4 wheel drive club, I had arranged a working bee at the Black Cockatoo Preservation society in Karakin. Firstly, I can’t specifically remember but I do not think we used the words “working bee”, in the UK and I first heard the terminology from Helen on our favourite farm in Wagga, I assume Working Bee, comes from the term “Busy as a Bee”. Anyway, the 4 wheel drive Association of Western Australia use the premises at the Black Cockatoo Preservation Society and in return the 4 wheel drives clubs who are members of the 4 wheel drive association are expected to put in some spare time for jobs to be done as part of the remuneration. So the day had been set, the sun had come up and started the day ... read more

GRUMPY OLD MEN April struggle in the mud I was invited to attend a short men only getaway trip, called “Grumpy old men”, we had only taken over the house sit the night before so I wasn’t that keen to go, but Caroline said how much she was looking forwards to a weekend on her own and of course it would be good to get out in the truck and do some off roading. I had the swag rolled and in the truck, along with all the usual bits and pieces, Chainsaw, petrol, sleeping bag, food beer and so forth. Our meeting place was at the bakery in Pinjarra, initially all the guys met in Byford, so I was not going to go 40K’s in the wrong direction to come all the way back. It was ... read more

Dogs Reward I guess it pays to be cute and even in the animal world creatures know when they are and they do tend to use this as an emotional lever. Well Bitsy is no different. Who is Bitsy, well Bitsy belongs to the house we are sitting at the moment and one of the instructions we were given when her owner is away was to “Wash the Dog” I appreciate that Caroline has had a lot to do, whilst I have been away so, over Skype I had said that as soon as I was back I would wash the dog. Today was that day and after dropping Caroline off at the train station, I got back to the house and set about organising the mission in hand. Dog bath, full of warm water-check!, dog ... read more

Hi all, Sorry for having not blogged for a while but our world just went bang, as I type this, it is the 14th January 2014 and I am sitting in the kitchen of our dear friends house Gary and Karen Barber in Tamworth in Staffordshire, whilst Caroline is back home in Perth Australia 10,500 Miles away and I am missing her like crazy, all I can say is thank god for Skype. My mum passed away on Boxing day, very suddenly and without warning which forced us to react within a couple of hours and with the help of a dear friend jenny, daughter of Janet and Ted Davis, she managed to organise all my travel requirements at the drop of a hat and get me on the earliest available flight available. With my bag ... read more

Hey all, How about this as a vehicle to travel around Australia In, people we know in the Toyota Landcruiser club Kym and Floretta Parker, did exactly this and for 8 years, how about that. The coach was purchased from a coach company in Victoria (as a standard coach) and they converted it to become their home for this mammoth trip, which included removing all the existing seats and other decor and completely fitting it out and completely cutting off the roof and raising it 7 inches. They gave us the grand tour over the weekend and I have to say it was awesome, we obviously compared travel notes on both of our adventures, though obviously the coach would not quite go where Jack can go as it is 40 Ft long and it weighs 22 ... read more