Festivals and Farewells

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How time flies and with the blink of an eye it is all change. Cieran came over at the beginning of July and revisited some favourite haunts near and around Sydney before meeting up with us at Byron Bay. He managed to hand in a number of CV's for some casual work and within five minutes of handing one copy in he got a call to visit for an interview! With his experience and knowledge of the catering trade having worked for the Tanner Brothers in Plymouth he was soon employed and being slotted into rostas. Some how he managed to keep a sensible balance between full time work and having a holiday and wherever possible would explore the nearby areas and take the car for a spin further out of the city. He also set up a mini gym in the garden and would often take a plunge in the pool, often 'skinny dipping' I believe but we never managed to catch him doing it!!!

He and Tristan managed a number of trips to the Gold Coast and visited Surfers Paradise for a swim and a surf. We also enjoyed having Ashley visit us from the UK after attending World Youth Week in Sydney so we were able to visit Mount Cootha and the Planetarium. The city and all the shops, Oxford Street and the abundance of coffee shops to sample but a few different aromas. We drove out to Wellington Point and walked out on the peninsula as the tide and gone out a long way and then onto Cleveland to the lighthouse and drive around the posh roads with expensive houses alongside river berths trying to decide which one we would like to live in, Millionaires Road really, it was a shame we left the Ferrari in the garage!!!

It was great for all the boys to be together and have some time with each other it has been a long time since we could do that and we all appreciated the time we had. Despite the cosy conditions downstairs where they slept, fondly referred to as the 'Pit' they managed to go Clubbing in the Valley and meet up with some girls I believe as well as have a laugh or two. The bicycles proved to be a good means of transport, especially going too and from work and the gym which became a regular haunt. Cieran managed a number of interesting evenings out afterwork with colleagues at work, all quite an education!!! Tristan is on a mission at the moment and is working so very hard getting back into shape he has lost weight and his tummy seems to be shrinking! He is very keen to work on his biceps and loves to flex his muscles which makes us all laugh. Alex and Anne are also frequent visitors to the loacal gym and enjoy both Pilates classes and are very busy following a fitness programme.

We also managed an Aussie Style BBQ with a number of recently found friends from everyones work places and social circles, we went to our favourite butcher and wrestled at the meat auction amidst crowds of other people all wanting reduced meat that are piled onto trays and the first person to place a $20 note on the counter to gain ownership of the meat gets to take it home. This could vary from Porterhouse and fillet steak to chops, veal cutlets, chicken pieces and mince, all weighing in around 15 kilos a tray, not bad for £10! You just have to be prepared to take pot luck, but it is great for any barbie! We had a great day and enjoyed getting to know everyone better. We made lots of salads and desserts Pomme style which went down a treat so we showed them how things were done in the UK! Some of the children even ventured into the pool and Anne was very noble and got in too to supervise, fortunately the water is getting abit warmer now, once the numbness has set in there is no feeling...ha! ha!

Just before Cieran left, Brisbane celebrated The River Festival which started with an amazing firework display all along the river, people and yachts gathered from early afternoon onwards to get a good position along the river edge to view the fireworks or berth somewhere in front of the Story Bridge which had been decked with hundreds of pyrotecnics all ready to explode in time to the music. We set off on our bikes as a number of the roads were closed and the traffic build up soon caused traffic jams, so we found a great vantage point on top of the cliffs opposite the CB District and sat down in our deckchairs , had a beer or two and joined in the anticipation and hype of the evening. The fireworks were amazing and went on for about 30 minutes, changing colours and variations as the music played. They were being set off from the top of buildings, boats along the river, bridges and footpaths, wherever you looked the sky was alight with stars and exploding rays of light.The most amazing highlight of the evening was to see the Airforce Jet fly in over the city and eject its fuel in full flight which then ignited into a huge ball of fire, otherwise known as Dump and Burn. It was like watching a comet fly through the sky and disperse in the star studded sky. It was very interesting to be part of the build up as the music along with the fireworks built up to a climax getting louder and faster towards the end, by the time we heard the pilot announce his approach over the radio everywhere was at fever pitch and we all shouted the countdown as he flew towards the city.I will try to attach a video clip Anne successfully took of the fly pass.
It was a wonderful spectacle and a brilliant end to Cierans stay in Brisbane.

On the Sunday all five of the boys drove down to the theme park Wet and Wild on the Gold Coast for a day of fun on water slides and shutes. The sun was out but not too hot to worry about the rays and for the next five hours they challenged each other to races down slides and fell off vertical shutes into pools of water. A good time was had by all and Dominic was able to celebrate his birthday with his brothers in a crazy day full of water rides and frolics.

In the evening I cooked a special 'Christmas Dinner' with all the trimmings as it was going to be the last night we were all going to be together as Cieran had decide that he would not fly over for the two and half weeks at Christmas as he had alot of work to do with his finals approaching. so we celebrated in style and had the large dinner plates stacked high with Cristmas food, candles, Christmas lights and cloth along with some silly pressies to mark the occasion. It was the perfect end to a great weekend. We even managed a family photo eventually with all eight of us and not pulling funny faces behind each other, needless to say it took a few attempts to get the right picture. As the boys say that is one for the Newsletter/ Calendar!

Monday came and we took Cieran to the airport said our farewells how quickly the time together went and how long it will be before we will see him again. He has a new address this year as he has moved yet again, to accomodation even closer to the college so no excuses about being late this year. He has taken some wonderful photos whilst over here travelling and we know he will enjoy putting them to good use in the following months to support work in his portfolio, he gained a 2:1 pass at the end of these two years so is hopeful to pass with flying colours with a degree by the end of July. He also returned in time to fly out to Bratislavia to attend a friends wedding and represent us all, not bad going for one holiday really! We would just like to wish Marcel and Zuzanne all the very best too for the future and hope the big day was a happy one for everyone.

This blog has turned out to be more of a newsletter and update really but it is a good way of informing everyone of what is happening over here.

One piece of news as I write this, Kevin will be in the air flying back to the Uk to visit his parents and to be around for his father, Eddie who is to have a triple bi-pass operation this week. So he left this morning, Monday (8/09/08) and arrives Tuesday at 7am. his suitcase is filled with goodies and cards for people and he hopes to manage a fleeting visit to some family and friends in between trips to the hospital. It will be good to be with Annette and Sheila to help with the driving and the visits to the hospital. Incredibly he has been told that he should be home five days after the op!!! So we have fingers crossed that all goes well and he makes a quick recovery, without which he will not be able to visit us!!

You never know you may get a call or a flying visit from him so watch out!!!

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