Today was a quieter day. The skies were overcast this morning and it felt cooler out in the garden. After a leisurely breakfast Maria drove us down to Freemantle to the famous market. It's only a 10 minute run from Attadale and we found a parking space at the football ground right opposite the market. Housed in an old building, the market consists of over 50 stalls and vendors selling everything from fruit, vegetables, meats, sweets, deli products, health products, crafts, clothing, shoes, gifts, ready-to eat food etc. It's very colourful and has a super atmosphere. Like most of WA prices are very high and Maria advised against buying items that would be better purchased from the supermarket. After looking around for over an hour, we bought two fresh pineapples, some dried fruit and nuts, cup ... read more

There was a change in the weather today. I should know because my jet-lag meant that I only slept for a couple of hours and then kept me so wide-awake that I got up at about 2.30am and never got back to bed. The clouds of day one dissipated and as the sun rose, it was to clear blue skies. With the sun came warmth and we were able to sit out in the garden for breakfast. Maria had planned a 25km cycle ride with some friends and invited me to join them at 09.30H. The friends all looked fit and lean. The cycles were serious pieces of equipment and I am sure that they would have left me panting miles behind. Accordingly I declined. On her return, Maria put a simple picnic lunch together, threw ... read more

Heathrow has always been crowded, busy and chaotic. When I used to travel to London on a monthly basis in my oil industry days, there were ways of working the system to make it more tolerable. Checking in early, finding quiet lounges and avoiding the masses. No such luck on this trip. Transferring to Terminal 3 - involved a short bus ride through the inner workings of the dark underbelly of the airport. Having arrived earlier than expected we felt that we might have time to check-in at the Quantas desk and make sure that our boarding pass was good to go. All was in good order so I asked about our cases going to Perth. Quantas were very surprised about this so checked the logging system to see where in the complex system of millions ... read more

Friday evening and I'm still in the office sorting out the last of the customer jobs to go out before we close. I promised several clients that we would get their jobs out before I leave. Any sort of closure is the same, there is always a last-minute rush of work. And when we re-open on 30th October there will be a massive pile of urgent work for impatient clients. It's stressful and means long hours just before departing and on resumption. Sometimes I think that it's a lot less bother not going on holiday! At least the packing was completed over a week ago. Just got to zip the case and ready for off. It's been some time since I travelled multi flights. Last time the check-in clerk at the airport promised that the bags ... read more

I've never done a blog before but felt that a BIG travel adventure should be logged and blogged and shared. Planning the trip started over 18 months ago and was done without my knowledge. The family and many friends knew about the proposal to send Hazel and I to Western Australia as a massive 60th birthday surprise. Throughout the incubation period there was a fear that I might discover what was afoot or that I might book a trip myself. Back in June I did come very close to booking a holiday in Corfu, Greece but Hazel talked me out of it just at the point that I was reaching for my credit card. Being a big birthday, I decided to invite friends and family for a big shindig. I rented the village hall, booked a ... read more