I reclaimed the green beastie on Tuesday and found my way to the Swan valley. All the wedding stuff seemed to be under control - or would be as Dave was on the case - and it was my last opportunity to see something the area.
I had a really nice trip but I was disappointed in the Swan Valley. It was very very flat, I saw very little of the river and one field of vines looks much like another - especially when you're driving and having to reject all the invitations to taste! I had a very pleasant lunch at the Riverside vinery - though I never did see the river there. On my way back I stopped at an aboriginal art gallery and came away with a boomerang.
Got back to find that Ben's visit had started with a trip to Ikea ............. But all the shopping was done and the transport to and from the wedding - including a Rolls - was booked. Dave, Ben and I had a very quiet but very good steak dinner. Ben spent the night with his soon to be brother-in-law. I'm glad I didn't!
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Reindeers and snow men
How can you take Christmas seriously at 35 degrees - even if the shops are full of snowmen and reindeers! We had a serious shopping list for Monday - the grooms wedding ring; the bride's earrings; hat, shoes and shirt for the father of the bride to name but some of what we were to get. I couldn't be left out ........... bought another pair of shoes! Very classy black suede wedges - absolutely impractical for that dry, dusty environment and not much better for Scottish wet but irresistible!
Dave and I spent the evening making the place cards for the wedding - Blue Peter has nothing on us!
Helen (Louise's mum), Stav (Helen's partner) Ben (Louise's brother) and Freya (cousin) were all arriving around midnight. I was quite happy to leave Dave and Louise to the task of picking them all up from the airport. Ben was to be in the house with Dave and I, while the others had a separate apartment.
Dave and I spent the evening making the place cards for the wedding - Blue Peter has nothing on us!
Helen (Louise's mum), Stav (Helen's partner) Ben (Louise's brother) and Freya (cousin) were all arriving around midnight. I was quite happy to leave Dave and Louise to the task of picking them all up from the airport. Ben was to be in the house with Dave and I, while the others had a separate apartment.
Family and a fish hook
Dave made the bacon sandwiches on Sunday morning. Louise had stayed over and gone into work very early to finish up, she called to say that Craig had a fish hook in his finger and could we pick up a scalpel on the way over! To cut a long story very short Craig finally gave in to family pressure and had the hook removed by a doctor on Sunday evening!
Dave, Louise and I took another trip to the wedding location where Dave and I reinforced our earlier advice to Louise - that gold stilleto's not wise if wanting to get up and down 90 stone steps as beautiful bride! Dave also decided that wearing a suit for the wedding was above and beyond what should be expected of the father of the bride!! It reached about 37 degrees during Sunday afternoon.
Craigs Gran, aunt and cousin arrived during the day as did friends Iain and Laura who are
back-packing round the world. The day finished with a Barbeque in the garden at Craig & Louise's house - with enough food to feed the entire wedding party for a week!
Dave, Louise and I took another trip to the wedding location where Dave and I reinforced our earlier advice to Louise - that gold stilleto's not wise if wanting to get up and down 90 stone steps as beautiful bride! Dave also decided that wearing a suit for the wedding was above and beyond what should be expected of the father of the bride!! It reached about 37 degrees during Sunday afternoon.
Craigs Gran, aunt and cousin arrived during the day as did friends Iain and Laura who are
back-packing round the world. The day finished with a Barbeque in the garden at Craig & Louise's house - with enough food to feed the entire wedding party for a week!
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Saturday in Perth
The adrenaline and jet lag caught up with me on Saturday morning and it was nearly 10 when I woke up - about 4 hours later than usual. After a fantastic bacon sandwich I headed for the Swan Valley - lovely river, dozens of vineyards. Except I missed the turning and ended up in the centre of Perth. As cities go it is very attractive (small! lots of water!) and I decided to make the most of my mistake and explore. Having zig zagged through the main streets I started to climb and found myself in Kings Park. The views of the city are great and the park is beautiful.
Louise called while I was in the park and asked if I could get some place cards for the wedding dinner. She gave me the name of the shop and said it was past the shopping mall. Silly me - I didn't ask how far past the mall, or more to the point, which direction past! I found it eventually - at least 3 miles past the mall on the way into the city. And incidentally found out how and why I'd got so badly lost the night before. The shop did not have what was required but I left with all sorts that would serve a Blue Peter presenter very well.
I met Louise from work as she wanted to visit the location of the wedding and the restaurant at the same time as the real thing. This was her last day at work before starting 2 weeks leave - unpaid leave but she's not been there long and had been pleasantly surprised that her job was being kept open for her.
The location at Roleystone was beautiful and the views from the restaurant spectacular. And the visit took longer than we thought because Louise got a call from Dave to say he had landed. So instead of dropping me off at home and going to meet her dad by herself he got both of us. Which was fine as he'd hired a car - another Holden but a brand new one with LOTS of air conditioning. So I took the green beastie and left them to catch up.
We had a very pleasant evening - vague memories of crisps, sausages, peach vodka and too too much wine. Only absolutely sure that it wasn't me drinking the peach vodka!
Louise called while I was in the park and asked if I could get some place cards for the wedding dinner. She gave me the name of the shop and said it was past the shopping mall. Silly me - I didn't ask how far past the mall, or more to the point, which direction past! I found it eventually - at least 3 miles past the mall on the way into the city. And incidentally found out how and why I'd got so badly lost the night before. The shop did not have what was required but I left with all sorts that would serve a Blue Peter presenter very well.
I met Louise from work as she wanted to visit the location of the wedding and the restaurant at the same time as the real thing. This was her last day at work before starting 2 weeks leave - unpaid leave but she's not been there long and had been pleasantly surprised that her job was being kept open for her.
The location at Roleystone was beautiful and the views from the restaurant spectacular. And the visit took longer than we thought because Louise got a call from Dave to say he had landed. So instead of dropping me off at home and going to meet her dad by herself he got both of us. Which was fine as he'd hired a car - another Holden but a brand new one with LOTS of air conditioning. So I took the green beastie and left them to catch up.
We had a very pleasant evening - vague memories of crisps, sausages, peach vodka and too too much wine. Only absolutely sure that it wasn't me drinking the peach vodka!
Another classic motor.......
It was about 9.30 and I was just about ready for a second G&T when Craig and Louise arrived. It was great to see her, she looked smashing and despite being tired was excited about what the next few days would bring. So was Craig but he was also down because work - and therefore his anticipated income - had fallen through with no notice. He'd got a new job lined up but the timing of it all was c***!
Louise manages a jewellery shop and had been working until 9pm. She had driven over in their other classic car - classic in that at 26 it is as old as she is. Yet another Holden, this one a Gemini that is bright green and was to be mine for the next couple of days. Louise warned me that the plastic seats would get hot and there was no power steering. Never mind, we'd get on fine.
Friday morning was hot and I realised that I needed shorts. So I made a trial run in the small green beastie back to the shopping mall. It wasn't too bad on the way there as the car had been parked in the garage all night but getting back into it after an hour in the mall car park was torture! Plastic seats, no air conditioning and no fan!
And you're right I'm glossing over the fact that despite trying on just about every pair of shorts in the place I couldn't bring myself to buy any - I looked ridiculous!! I compromised with a couple of short skirts - mutton dressed as lamb rather than sack of potatoes tied in the middle!
I then took a couple of deep breaths and pointed the green beastie in the direction of Freemantle. No problem! Got straight there and even found a tree to park under. Coped reasonably well with only 4 gears - don't think I quite stripped the gear box - the engine agreed with my instinct to change up! Freemantle is very pretty and I enjoyed my walk around the harbour as well as the prawns from the water front cafe. I also enjoyed an exhibition of metal sculptures - fabulous things but far too big to pack in a suitcase.
I was really impressed with myself as I got back to the house without getting lost and after a quick change I headed to Louise & Craigs - Louise was taking me to Scarborough beach for fish & chips and to watch the sun go down. We had a great time - despite my new skirt and my knickers getting drenched by an unexpected wave. It was dusk when we got back to their house and Louise had confessed that there was a slight problem with the rear lights on the car - they probably didn't work....... So I headed straight off to be back before I really needed them. Except that I got thoroughly and seriously lost. Found myself in the wrong part of town and being followed - not by the police - but by young men in a couple of cars trying to frighten me. They did!! I eventually found my way back and calmed down with a glass of wine.
Louise manages a jewellery shop and had been working until 9pm. She had driven over in their other classic car - classic in that at 26 it is as old as she is. Yet another Holden, this one a Gemini that is bright green and was to be mine for the next couple of days. Louise warned me that the plastic seats would get hot and there was no power steering. Never mind, we'd get on fine.
Friday morning was hot and I realised that I needed shorts. So I made a trial run in the small green beastie back to the shopping mall. It wasn't too bad on the way there as the car had been parked in the garage all night but getting back into it after an hour in the mall car park was torture! Plastic seats, no air conditioning and no fan!
And you're right I'm glossing over the fact that despite trying on just about every pair of shorts in the place I couldn't bring myself to buy any - I looked ridiculous!! I compromised with a couple of short skirts - mutton dressed as lamb rather than sack of potatoes tied in the middle!
I then took a couple of deep breaths and pointed the green beastie in the direction of Freemantle. No problem! Got straight there and even found a tree to park under. Coped reasonably well with only 4 gears - don't think I quite stripped the gear box - the engine agreed with my instinct to change up! Freemantle is very pretty and I enjoyed my walk around the harbour as well as the prawns from the water front cafe. I also enjoyed an exhibition of metal sculptures - fabulous things but far too big to pack in a suitcase.
I was really impressed with myself as I got back to the house without getting lost and after a quick change I headed to Louise & Craigs - Louise was taking me to Scarborough beach for fish & chips and to watch the sun go down. We had a great time - despite my new skirt and my knickers getting drenched by an unexpected wave. It was dusk when we got back to their house and Louise had confessed that there was a slight problem with the rear lights on the car - they probably didn't work....... So I headed straight off to be back before I really needed them. Except that I got thoroughly and seriously lost. Found myself in the wrong part of town and being followed - not by the police - but by young men in a couple of cars trying to frighten me. They did!! I eventually found my way back and calmed down with a glass of wine.
Pohutukawa Trees
Throughout New Zealand the Pohutukawa - or New Zealand Christmas trees - were coming into flower as I left. There are more in the north and I was often told that they look absolutely stunning as they are covered in bright scarlet flowers.
As Craig was driving me to the supermarket I saw one, pointed to it and said "so you have Pohutukawa trees too". I got a blank look at first and then "yea, bottle brush tree, native to Oz". Well it might be, but there's not much poetic about bottle brushes.
Shopping with Craig was much like shopping with Mick...... "What do you want that for? That's too expensive, this one's reduced". He was right about one thing though - Australian bacon is much better than ours - and not just because the rashers are 18" long!
Despite having enough food for a small army I was too tired to eat much - I'd lost 5 hours coming from New Zealand - so I settled for a large G&T.
Arriving in Oz
The plane arrived a little early into Perth which was some compensation for the time it took me to get through immigration ............ The form asks you - amongst other things - if you are bringing in any food and if you've been on a farm in the last 30 days. I answered yes to both these questions as I had spent a great weekend on Michael & Gaye's farm in the Wairapa and I had succumbed to some Pineapple Lumps! I also had a box of wonderful chocolates that Anne had given me.
Admitting the farm visit meant that my footwear was checked. Despite turning out the case that I was sure the sweets were in they couldn't be found and it was decided that the 2nd case should be x rayed. Pleased to say that the Pineapple Lumps are fine!
Craig (my soon-to-be-nephew-in-law) was coming to meet me as Louise was still at work and after adjusting dial codes I got to speak to him and was told to look out for a big blue truck. It was about 6.30 by the time I got to the front of the airport and about 22 degrees - much better than the 45 that I had been threatened with!
The big blue truck is a classic Holden - bench seat in the front and gear stick on the steering column and plenty big enough for my suitcases. Having collected the keys and paperwork we set off to find the house that my brother Dave was renting for us. This took some time and led us to a garage, a couple of alleys and confusion.... Calls to Louise didn't help.
A beige building near the booze shop...... It was looking like we'd have to point the remote control at every building we saw then a question "Is Louise a little dyslexic?, could 916 really be 961?" She is, it could be, and it was indeed a beige building near the booze shop. It was also a very nice house - ideal for Dave, Ben and I.
Admitting the farm visit meant that my footwear was checked. Despite turning out the case that I was sure the sweets were in they couldn't be found and it was decided that the 2nd case should be x rayed. Pleased to say that the Pineapple Lumps are fine!
Craig (my soon-to-be-nephew-in-law) was coming to meet me as Louise was still at work and after adjusting dial codes I got to speak to him and was told to look out for a big blue truck. It was about 6.30 by the time I got to the front of the airport and about 22 degrees - much better than the 45 that I had been threatened with!
The big blue truck is a classic Holden - bench seat in the front and gear stick on the steering column and plenty big enough for my suitcases. Having collected the keys and paperwork we set off to find the house that my brother Dave was renting for us. This took some time and led us to a garage, a couple of alleys and confusion.... Calls to Louise didn't help.
A beige building near the booze shop...... It was looking like we'd have to point the remote control at every building we saw then a question "Is Louise a little dyslexic?, could 916 really be 961?" She is, it could be, and it was indeed a beige building near the booze shop. It was also a very nice house - ideal for Dave, Ben and I.
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