Posted 3:26 AM by Lodger
Damn! Posting photos to Blogger proving difficult. Probably the archaic connection via phone line. We've got a broadband connection coming soon, but waiting for hook-up. Will be able to load all my cds on to my ipod then, as have also just bought a 320 GB external hard-drive (more space than we'll ever need, but bigger is always better, right?)

May Day long weekend here, so enjoying a lazy Saturday morning... crashed after delivery Thai food last night. Both of us woke up about 1 AM last night and couldn't remember falling asleep... crashed again and got up this morning about 8. I feel very refreshed, best I've felt since our arrival home last week. Will probably spend the rest of today reading, lazing, maybe a DVD, more reading and lazing... might fit in a run, since haven't exercised since Monday squash session. Missed Pilates on Wednesday, crashed on the couch instead.

Reading this, I'm thinking, have my sporting activities become a bit preppie/yuppieish? Squash on Mondays, pilates on Wednesday, fit in a jog one other day a week. Maybe it isn't as bad as I'm imagining, just that I live in a society in where football is the only game... rough men who swear and inhale pints of lager play football; poofs play squash, and, as for a man doing pilates... best keep that to yourself and the odd trusted mate.

About pilates. It's brilliant. I've got a bad back and right shoulder, and the awareness of posture you gain from the exercises is life-changing. It's also a damn good workout, although I'm still at the beginner stages.

I've always liked running, although the pounding sometimes causes my shoulder to ache and it's obviously not good for the knees. Winnie has run in the past two London marathons and both years we've been in to London to cheer her on. The marathon was last Sunday and she knocked 20 minutes or so off her time from the previous year. We were all very proud of her. Both times I've watched the marathon, I've thought I'd like to run one before I'm fourty. I know I could train and do it fine enough... I've a light frame when I'm in shape and have always enjoyed long distance running. The problem is discipline. Could I really dedicate myself to the training regiment needed for a marathon?

Posted 4:53 PM by Lodger
Speaking of random observations. The smell of nicotine, isolated from the smell of cigarette smoke, is foul. Had a haircut today from a woman who obviously smoked. She covered up the smoke smell well-couldn't smell it on her clothes-but her breathe and her skin faintly smelled of nicotine. The smell was subtle but insidious, at times turning my stomach. It's a sour, almost deathly smell; the smell of a smoke-filled pub is less offensive. But the smoke-filled pub will kill you, so...

Posted 3:08 PM by Lodger
THE LAST FEW DAYS IN SYDNEY

LtoR: John(Em's Dad), Alex, AJ, Em
LtoR: Me, Rob, Belinda

Good Friday was another family day in Sydney. I met both Em's brothers, Rob and AJ, and their partners, Belinda and Alex. We met at North Head, a lookout point above the north beaches over-looking the city. The view was amazing and we were lucky with the weather, +30 and sunny, a nice change from winter's last traces back in London. After meeting at North Head, we went to The Newport Arms pub for lunch, a place with another great view near AJ's flat. We drank midis (small glasses) of beer and ate fish, while playing musical chairs trying to find a place to sit in the shade where the oddly pale-skinned Canadian could escape from the sun. Eventually we found the tables shown above and enjoyed a lovely fish lunch. Notice the Vancouver Canucks shirt I'm wearing proudly - not sure how I feel about the Canucks now after their disappointing finish, but I'll save that for another time.

After our pub lunch, we went to the North Beaches and Em and I walked on the beach, even got our feet a bit wet. The water was apparently a little cold, but it felt fine to me. The long, dreary London winter was a distant memory! Since we've been back it's been much nicer here, so the trip to Oz carried us through the last weeks of winter.

After the beaches, the boys and their partners headed home for the evening and we headed back to Bert and Baz's for dinner and another introduction to a family member for me - Em's Aunt Sue. She's very nice, quite soft spoken, a very interesting person. She lived in BC for quite some time several years back, and was keen to share her experiences and ask questions about where I've lived, family, etc. She knew everywhere I mentioned, used to shop in Squamish when she lived and worked in Whistler, had friends in Kamloops, and was very familiar with Vancouver. She has very fond memories of her time in BC; I enjoyed swapping stories with her and was pleased to hear she had so many good things to say about places I hold so close to my heart.

During dinner I got some gentle ribbing from the family about my 'English tan,' especially from John, whose reputation proceeds him in that area. I think he's gone quite easy on me so far, I hope because he doesn't want to scare me off; a bit presumptuous on my part, maybe?

The next morning was an even bigger family day, my biggest day yet for meeting Em's relatives. Bert prepared a brunch, which we had in the back garden with the fam. Sue, AJ, Alex, Rob, and Belinda were all back for the occasion, while I also met another aunt and uncle, Helen and Ashley, and their daughters Joanne, Victoria and Georgie, along with Joanne's boyfriend, Cameron. Everyone seemed nice, I seemed to fit in fine (I hope)... Helen at one point noticed I was nowhere in sight, and expressed concern that I may have made a break for it, but being from a large family myself, I didn't find the occasion too stressful. In fact, meeting so many people over the two weeks, at the wedding in Narrabri, and all the family in Sydney, was, I guess, in a strange way, kind of comforting. Sometimes a trial by fire is the easiest way forward.

After a relaxed afternoon visiting, John, May, AJ, Alex, and Em and I met up with James and Tamara and their kids, old family friends of the Wilsons who just moved back to Sydney from London. Em and I had spent quite a bit of time with them when they lived here, and it was great catching up with them. Their kids are a lot of fun and definitely remembered the two of us... they all took turns holding our hands and telling us about their new schools. Hannah, their youngest, even convinced me to give her a piggy-back ride for old times sake... she's grown a bit since the last piggy-back ride! Piggy-back days are definitely coming to an end!

I guess that's about it. Sunday, the trip to the airport, some teary goodbyes, a four hour delay and a 24 hour flight, some jet-lag back in London, a couple of weeks back at the old grind, and it's April 27th. It already seems like the trip was quite awhile ago. But while we were there, it felt like a long two weeks... we packed as much as we could in and even with the long flights, it was in many ways a very relaxing holiday. Goes to show how stressful London has become for both of us. Don't get me wrong, we've had an amazing run here, but we both feel it's time to move on. I still sometimes have 'pinch me' moments though, like seeing the Trevi Fountain in a film the other day and thinking I've walked past that many times. The experiences and memories - this little flat with our lovely back garden, impromtu soirees at Win and Scott's, nights at the pub, proposing under a tree in the Kent countryside, playing hockey on Saturdays... I could go on, but I'll spare you any further gushing. What can I say. I'm a gusher.

Next entries... back to the day to day. Sporadic bitching about teaching. Random observations. Fun fun!

Posted 12:56 PM by Lodger
SOCIALISING IN THE BACK GARDEN
R to L: AJ (EM'S BROTHER), MAY, ALEX (AJ'S GIRLFRIEND)
THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE

Posted 12:31 PM by Lodger
SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
VIEW OF THE SKYLINE

Posted 9:36 AM by Lodger

BACK IN LONDON

Em and I arrived back in London Easter Monday morning. Our flight was delayed 4 hours, so recuperation time for work was shortened a bit, but jet lag after trip home has not nearly been as bad as when we went the other way.

Wasn't able to blog from Em's Aunt Bert's flat in Sydney, but can report that we had a great time there. Sydney is very modern and clean for the most part, but the many old colonial buildings, many of them churches, inter-mingle seamlessly with the steel and glass of the modern architecture. Although smaller than London, Sydney has more the feel of a metropolis than London, which is really a sprawling collection of small communities or boroughs. Bert (Roberta) and Em's uncle Baz live in Paddington, in the Eastern suburbs, a short walk from downtown, Centenial Park and the eastern beaches. The community is quite multicultural with many funky shops, cinemas, and art galleries, and a great Saturday market.

After arriving in Sydney on Tuesday night, we went to the Royal Easter Show on Wednesday, Australia's biggest and oldest agricultural exhibition, which is kind of like a really big P.N.E., or in other ways, similar to the Calgary Stampede. This year it was more similar to the Stampede than usual, as the theme was rodeo, celebrating 75 years of rodeo events at the show. The night we were there, we saw the final events of an Australia vs. USA international competition, and I'm happy to say, the Aussies squeaked it out. Go Aussie! The rest of the evening show was filled with high revving, motor sports action. The highlight was a freestyle motorcross demonstration, lots of big air off of huge ramps, gasps from the crowd, not normally my type of thing, but actually quite spectacular (much better than a MONSTER TRUCK SHOWDOWN!!!) We also watched a polo match, a show jumping competition, and camp drafting, which is basically competetive cow herding, but more complicated and faster than my brief definition implies... more entertaining than one would think actually, but not interesting enough to elaborate further. One other highlight was the food and produce pavilion, where cottage industry producers sell their tasty treats. We were roped in by a wine seller to have a taste (several tastes actually), the guy talked our ear off, a salesman through and through, but the wine was good. May and John (Em's parents) bought a case while Em and I just freeloaded... ah the benefits of being young and in debt. I also experienced one of the great traditions of 'The Show,' purchasing showbags! Showbags are sample bags put together by companies like Nestle, Cadbury, Willy Wonka, Barbie!!!, etc. They're for kids really, but who doesn't want to taste childhood again from time to time. Em bought a KitKat bag, full of Nestle chocolate stuff, and I went for the Willy Wonka bag which is stuffed with candy!!! Mmmm. Gobstoppers.

Also ate Emu burgers. They were gross. Should have went with the crocodile hot dog.


THURSDAY

Went on a Sydney Harbour lunch cruise... prawns, salmon, crab, and lots of other delicious seafood along with lovely views, and, unfortunately, a bit of rain. Got as far as holding a 'fresh' oyster, in shell, in my hand, was ready to throw it back into my waiting gullet, but lost my nerve. They look like grey snot. I am determined to try it again some time, as many people tell me they are fab, full of salty sea goodness, but next time, I'll keep my eyes focused above shell's edge.

The Harbour is very pretty. Much of the land along the water's edge is still undeveloped, especially on the north-east shore heading towards Manly and the northern beaches. The forests of gum trees are very thick with rounded, rather than pointed tree-tops, and their green leaves have a blue-grey tinge. Very lush like the forests on the BC coast, beautiful in a different way. From a distance the tree-line appears to come right to the water's edge in parts, but when you get closer you can see several yards of sloping rock, or grass or beach, destroying the illusion of what almost looks like a quilt of broccoli heads floating upon the water.

The harbour cruise was a birthday gift for both May and John, and for both it was quite an exercise in nostalgia; both went to school in Sydney. John seemed to particularly enjoy it, a reminder of his wild younger days. Apparently he swam across the harbour once on a dare, disdainfully denying the presence of sharks after being warned by friends. Later, when he realised the warnings were true, that sharks did indeed inhabit the waters, he apparently felt a bit queasy. But he lived to tell the tale.

After the cruise, as it was raining, Em and I checked out the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay, which was quite fortuitous, as Sam Taylor-Wood's photo exhibit of male celebs crying (you did read that right) was showing. It was actually very good. The best ones were Philip Seymour-Hoffman (shattered, broken), Paul Newman (honest, soulful), Robert Downey Jr. (angelic, purified), and Hayden Christiansen (weeping like a little girl). Jude Law looked like a sleasy faker. Didn't believe it for a second. I also really liked her photo of a guy suspended in mid-air, called 'The Leap.' Check it out if you can.

After a quick shower and change into formal attire at Bert's, Em and I made our way to the Opera House for a performance by the Australian National Ballet and the Bangarra Dance Company, an Aboriginal ballet group. They performed two pieces together, 'Amalgamation' and 'Rites.' I'm no expert on dance, but the performance was amazing... seeing the mix of traditional European ballet and aboriginal dance was very powerful. We splurged a bit on the evening (although the tickets were a gift from Bert), going out for a nice meal at the opera bar after the performance. Emma looked stunning in her black chiffon dress and blue silk shawl. I'm told I was dashing (if I do say so myself) in my chocolate brown suit. The view from the balcony over the harbour at night was pretty special; it was cool being able to stand out there with our drinks during intermission. Very romantic. Up close the opera house is really interesting. Each of the 'sails' is a seperate auditorium and once you're upstairs, to pass from one auditorium to the other you have to go outside. However, its all joined at the lower levels. I always thought, viewing it from a distance in photos, that all of the 'sails' were connected, that they were, in fact, all just a cosmetic feature of the ceiling. Like so many things one experiences in a foreign country, it was not quite like I thought it would be. But the evening was better than we both could have imagined. A perfect night.

Posted 2:04 PM by Lodger


MONDAY AFTERNOON:

Yesterday Em took me out on the quad bike. Got to see a bit more of the property and a lot more goats. Also saw an Ibis in one of the dams and some ducks.

The picture on the left is a view from the veranda at the back of the house. The other is self-explanatory, I think.

Heading to Sydney this morning (it's just after 7am on Tuesday here). We'll drive through the Hunter Valley on the way to take in some vineyards and do a bit of tasting. I may sleep much of the drive. I've been sleeping loads over the past week - I was very sick with a nasty throat infection during the two weeks before we came over here. I easily lost 20 lbs during those two weeks and didn't get a lot of sleep, so my body is still in recovery mode. I went to bed at 8:30 last night and also had a two hour nap yesterday after lunch! My throat and ear have also been a bit sore off and on as well, so I've been a bit nervous that it may come back. But today I'm feeling pretty good so far. Fingers crossed!

Looking forward to Sydney and the Royal Easter Show. Will, of course, be meeting a bunch of new people, many of them very important this time - two brothers, Rob and AJ, and Em's aunt Bert, who is her godmother. It's all happening, as they say.

Posted 9:33 PM by Lodger
AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK ADVENTURE


Emma finds it amusing when people refer to Narrabri as 'the outback,' but I'm a Canadian city-slicker. I can get away with it.

Emma took me for a drive around the property this morning. The size of the land exceeded my wildest imaginings. May, Em's mom, has told me it is 2996 acres. Most is flat, but some of the hills/mountains that line the back of their land is part of the property. Haven't been up on any hikes yet, or picnics. There'll be lots of time for that.

Saw some more wildlife during our drive - some young kangaroos, several herds of wild goats and two emus. One kangaroo we saw was having some obvious trouble though. It was clearly blind, having trouble hopping over the tumbleweed and kept turning back and forth on itself, clearly confused and unable to find its way. We told Em's Dad where it is on the property and he's bringing out the rifle this afternoon to put it out of its misery. Hopefully he can find it. It was quite upsetting to watch.

Knowing that Em and I will be living here for awhile, I was quite tense my first few days here. We've both noticed that one of the more difficult aspects of an international relationship is the artificial nature of first meetings of family and friends. You meet everyone all in one go while on vacation, and you feel enormous pressure to get to know everyone and fit in while also having an enjoyable holiday. But having met Em's parents previously in England has really helped... the initial introductions and hesitant, exploratory conversation are gone. We're ourselves, everyone is chilled out, and now that the jetlag seems to finally have passed, things are very relaxed.

I'm both nervous and excited about living here. We'll be living in 'the cottage,' a small house on the property just down the road. It's far enough away that we'll have our privacy, but close enough that we'll have the support of family if we need it. The cottage hasn't been lived in for some time now, so it needs a bit of work. It will be painted and the yard will be cleaned up for when we arrive in January. I'm excited about the new adventure, the change from the fast pace of London life. I want to experience everything that makes this place so special to Emma. The bulk of my nervousness comes from one thing really - inexperience living a truly rural life. I've lived in small towns, but not on a farm like this. But even as I write this, the excitement is palpable. This is an amazing place, and even though I'm nervous, I'm looking forward to January with real anticipation. It's all so much MORE, in every respect, than I expected. There are cockatoos in the air and the trees here! Not a big deal, maybe. There are bald eagles in our trees, an equally exotic and interesting bird to those who aren't used to seeing them in the wild. But that's the point. I'm not used to seeing any of these things in the wild. It's all new.