Australia
 

Mum's going to Brisbane!

She'll be there the first two weeks in June - leaving England on 3rd and coming back on the 20th.

She'll be staying at Uncle Jim's in Hendra, Brisbane 4011.
She's been before and is not there to do touristy things, but if anyone would be around to meet up for a cup of tea I know she'd love it. She's there to visit the family; what with Grandad dying last year and Jimmy having a health scare this month I think they both need to touch base. Jim will be working at least part of that fortnight, Hannah's at Uni and Glenys works full time, so she will have some time free. She doesn't drive and will have limited spending capacity, but I know she'll be getting the bus into Brisbane.

There's only so much time she can spend cleaning their house and doing their ironing after all.

I know you're all busy (and/ or pregnant) or live a million miles away. I just thought I would put this out there because it's a long way to go and not have a chance to meet up with someone.

I doubt she'll get the chance to go again. She's cashing in a previously untouchable savings bond to do this and once it's spent it's spent. But it's easier for her to go than Jim to come over here.

Wish I was going too!

Do you still have my number Sundae? If not let me know, and give it to her and tell her to give me a ring when she's got some free time. Me and Max will meet her in the city for a cuppa. :)

I could also give your Mum that little present I have for you which I STILL have not posted. lol

Cheers, chick!
I'm not sure I do have your telephone number, so PM me it anyway.
She seems really up for meeting you.

She's a good old bird when it comes down to it.
Just hard to live with - like most mothers once you've reached puberty!

When's your b-day?
Can she bring something over or will I miss it that way?
Again, I know the info is around here, I'm just being a lazy-bones.

My birthday is in early June, so chances are your Mum will be here when it's on. Unfortunately, there's not going to be a party since I'll be about 6 months preggers. :(

I'll PM you my number so you've got it anyway. :)

I'm sure it'd be lovely to meet your Mum. We can gossip about you for ages. I'll get all the dirt! hehehe

I will post more as I get round to it.
This one just appealed to me instantly as it was food.
Until I found out what a dirty birdie Mum was.

This open sandwich comprises bacon, cheese, chicken and banana.

Ali & mate in the Royal masks I sent as a joke gift.
Suits them.

When life gives you lemons....

When life gives you bacon, chicken, cheese and bananas....

Banananananananas

Okay, Ali will have to help me out on these.
I say "Will have to" but I really mean is I will type what I remember Mum telling me and she can correct me/ fill in the gaps if she chooses.

Fairly typical Aussie house. Queenslander style I think.
Front and back.

Parking under the house, laundry room also. Having the house on stilts keeps it cooler. Inside all the rooms radiate off the living room, again to keep it away from the blazing sun. They had a veranda but enclosed it to get extra indoor space.

It was in the process of having the paint stripped and being repainted. Excuse the advert on the truck - other home improvement firms are available. This is not an elaborate spam attack.

Repainted house to give you an idea. Some work left to do when she left.
Mum and Uncle Jim ?somewhere on the river? in Brisbane.
I think she said Kangaroo Point, but that could be a completely different photo.

Hmmmm, this might be Kangaroo Point!
Nice shot, Mum.

Food in a Turkish restaurant they visited.

Cold Winters night in Australia.
Mum, Hannah and my Auntie Glenys. She's a Kiwi and feels the cold badly. She hated London and would huddle by my Nan and Grandad's electric fire, swaddled in jumpers and scarves.

Uncle Jim still retains an English sense of temperature, as you can see here.
It's not Winter, it's shirtsleeve weather!
ETA he does have two arms in real life.

They drove Mum out for miles to show her some of the places they love in the country.
On one day Glenys drove the equivilant of London-Paris, whereas Mum thinks it's dangerous driving to and from London in a day (round trip less than 120 miles).

Mum said the towns are sometimes just wide places in the road.
If they have a general store and a pub they draw people from many miles around.

Mum showing she has no reason to fear the traffic in onesuch "town".

One of the places they visited. It has a truly prosaic settler name of Bald Hill (although Stony Batter is nearby). It does look like an extraordinary place, but sadly many of her photos here were blurry.

I think this is in the same region as the banana sandwich, as they follow closely.
Can't help you more than that. Stanthorpe possibly?

Second photo taken by my cousin.

Artificial beach in Brisbane.
Looks wonderful.
Remember this is Winter!

Mountain views.
Again, unsure of exact location. Somewhere within (Australian) driving distance of Brisbane.

And finally...
Animals!

Kangaroo and joey. Captured by Hannah after much persistence.

Mummified cat. Found under the floorboards of Glengallan Homestead. The house bankrupted the building's original owner. It's recently been restored and preserved and opened to the public. It's old by Australian standards (1868)

The cat is simply preserved - found when renovating. Obviously crept in when the place was derelict and couldn't get out again.

Wow!! this is such a pretty picture!

Much of Texas is like this.

That would probably be Highgate Hill I think, or close to it. About 4 or 5km out of the city.

This looks like somewhere around Cunningham's Gap to me.

This would be Stanthorpe. I've walked through that park.

This is definitely Kangaroo Point. People do rock climbing and abseiling here. It's also a nice picnic spot with gas BBQ's available. Every year in Brisbane we have an event call the River Festival, and the conclusion of that event is RiverFire, which is a huge fireworks display. Kangaroo Point is one of the best vantage points because you can view all the way round the bend in the river, so you don't miss anything. They used to have F111 fly overs, but sadly, they've been decommissioned, so that era is gone. :(

If you look down into the river behind where Sundae's Mum is standing, that's where Southbank starts, just on the other side of the bridge in the background, which is where the artifical beach is. When Brisbane hosted Expo '88 (Australia's Bicentenial year), Southbank was the location. After expo, the area was turned into a park land with restaraunts and boardwalks, creating a meeting area for the people of Brisbane for times of celebration. It really is quite lovely what they accomplished.

Wow, we just found out we are heading to Oz after summer, my wife has to do a project in Geelong near Melbourne for Shell Oil. 3 weeks in September and maybe 4 in November. Never been down there so looking forward to it as I start planning.

Oh awesome chris! Geelong is just out of Melbourne, so it's a great jumping off place for visiting some of the most awesome places Victoria has to offer. There's some magnificent places to see along the Great Ocean Road, and if you keep going for an hour or two you could even meet up with Zen from there!

I think Sandypossum lives somewhere down around there too. Ducky used to, but now she lives closer to me, but she might have some ideas for you if you send her a PM. :)

I've been unintentionally mean to Ali - Mum brought back some gorgeous birthday gifts for me from her and I haven't posted them.

This was mostly to do with a HUGE falling out we had pretty much as soon as she got home. But I got over that and still didn't show my goodies!

So here they are.

A beautiful, soft, heavy, baby-pink top from Jacobs Well, the area of Brisbane Aliantha lives in. Mum was coveting it, but she has an abnormally large head and couldn't get it on. Ha ha ha. My head fits in fine but my bosoms are a bit squeeeezed. That's okay, I intend to lose weight before winter and this top will certainly be an incentive - it's really gorgeous.

And what's this? Something frilly and flouncy that cannot even be contained by a bag?!

The item above is a gorgeous net creation in rich purple (it comes out almost blue in these photos - it is not). It's a skirt/ petticoat that comes down to mid-calf, with a panel at the top and layer after layer of flouncy net underneath. It really does need to be seen to be appreciated.

I am thinking of wearing it under my tut for my Midnight Walk this weekend - depends on the weather report.

The skirt has been living in my wardrobe, but I kept the bag it came in, and repacked it to show how it arrived.

Many thanks Ali, for knowing my tastes.
I know Mum was a bit shocked by the skirt. She seemed surprised that you would buy something that alarming :) Good for her to see that my dress sense isn't really as extreme as all that!

I'm really glad you liked it Sundae. The skirt was the birthday pressy. I'd had the jumper here for quite a long time and just hadn't sent it. I actually meant to send it last Christmas if you can believe that! lol

One day my shit will be together...or not. Fuck knows really.

We like you shit n all too, Ali :)


Chris....Warnambool is a beatufil spot to visit, maybe an overnighter so you can cruise along the Great Ocean Road.

Apollo Bay is gorgeous and the big restaurant on the hill on the right that overlooks the ocean is divine!! You will see what I mean when you drive past, you cant miss it.

Ottway Ranges are very pretty and have some great walking trails and waterfalls.

Id venture up to the Grampians, but that wouldnt seem like a big drive too me. They have the best icecream at Halls Gap. I was born over that way :)

Williamstown is fantastic for getting your shop on!! and awesome food.

If you spend time in Melbourne, go to South Bank and walk along the boardwalk. Its such a pretty place and so many little treasures tucked into the arcades. My favourite being Paddy's Irish Bar...just dont mention my name.....long story.

Sorry I missed your Mum, Sundae. If I had my shit together, I would have seen this thread and might have been able to pop down as well.

Thanks for the ideas. I went to our local used book store for ideas but the only book on Australia travel was one geared for gay and lesbian travel so I passed.

It looks like we will be there from Sept. 5th to 28th for my wife's work on this trip, a later trip in November may happen.

I'm thinking with the weekends and odd days we can explore Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road as well as the nearby wine country.