Occasional feature: no. 1 [people we wish to shame into commenting]

Amy and Paul.

Pleasure and pain. Brains and brawn. Man and wife.

We know you've got a lot of DIY on but we need you in our lives and on our blog.

Tripping

Our last trip with Mum and Dad before they returned to England was to the Blue Mountains. No one had really talked much about the mountains - it certainly wasn't first on the list of any 'must see' when we spoke to the Sydneysiders.. but it was a bit of a gem.

The mountains form part of the Great Dividing Range - which prevented people crossing over any further west into the continent for about 50 years. They were finally conquered by Wentworth, Lawson and Blaxland who opened up the fertile plains (and therefore the potential for farming) when they found a way through. I couldn't really understand how anything could be big and impenetrable enough to stop so many determined people from getting to the other side - until I saw them. They are big: huge, dominant and beautiful.

Mum and dad left yesterday morning and we miss them already. I won't be trying to tempt them back with the latest Ozzie tourism ad though. Fully endorsed by John Howard who is convinced it won't offend it asks potential holiday makers "So where the bloody hell are you?" For the whole thing see here
Craig will tell you more on his site. You've got to love their optimism.

Beautiful Blueys

Four days at Blueys beach felt like a long time. We stopped running around trying to see and do as much as possible and settled into a happy rhythm of eating, sleeping and playing on the beach.

Mum and Dad have had the stamina of oxes, outstripping us in their enthusiasm, but I think we were all ready for a rest. There's something about a place where there is nothing much to do that forces you to relax... and we sat on the balcony watching dolphins and, on one amazing day, a whale, playing and fishing, feeling full up on beauty and on life.

This is my friend Alice's 'special place'. Whenever she talked about it back in the UK she sounded wistful and warm and now I understand why.

Great Barrier reef

Yes, it is amazing. Yes, it is like all the pictures. Yes, Nemo and Dory do live there. Part of me can’t quite believe that we had the chance to go and see such an amazing and beautiful place. We saw it through our snorkels and through the bottom of a glass bottomed boat. Even Evie donned her mask and snorkel and had a go. However, when I say we, there was one notable absence from the glass bottomed boat trip. Craig Borlase, rock and roll legend was ensconced in the upper deck, lying down and groaning gently.

It takes about an hour and a half to get from Port Douglas out to the reef and it was on this journey that Craig disappeared to his post on the upper deck. The memories of our Greek holiday came flooding back and I suddenly remembered that we had spent all our time on boats concentrating very hard on fixed points on the horizon to try and quell the rising sea sickness. Excitement had obviously made us block this memory out when we booked the boat… Still Craig soldiered valiantly on, only vomiting in the sea a couple of times….

Dad, Barney and Evie positively revelled in their enjoyment of the trip. Mum was a little green. I was feeling pretty proud of myself (and not a little smug) until 30 minutes before we got back to shore when I suddenly threw up in dramatic fashion (luckily I made it to the bathroom before completely embarrassing myself).

So: beautiful, beautiful world. Frail humanity.

Arrivals

They are here and we're feeling good.

Growing

So, both my boys have been working hard. Craig's beard is progressing nicely. I'm just starting to really grow quite attached to it - but I have to agree that the suntan could be a problem if he decides to shave it off. Barney is concentrating on his thighs - and they are certainly strong enough to hold him up.

Gorgeous, the both of them.

Beautiful Bircher

The truth is, I haven't really been sharing all that we've discovered in Australia. There are a few well kept secrets that we've uncovered in our short time here and will be bringing home. One is the joy of the top loading washing machine. It looks old fashioned and strange but it's SO easy to use - and if you forget a sock, you just lift the lid and throw it in. They are bigger and wouldn't really work in a fitted kitchen.. but don't know if I can go back to bending down again. It's been a revelation.

The other, even more magical discovery is bircher museli. I think it was invented by a Swiss doctor, and everyone here assumes that it's very European, but I'd never met it before. If you want to try it, simply soak 1 cup of oats in 3/4 cup of apple juice overnight. In the morning add natural yogurt, 1 grated apple and some sultanas. It keeps the Borlases filled up all morning. You can add more interesting fruits and soak in yogurt instead if you want to vary things a bit (but why would you?). So, try it. Send me a picture of yourself eating bircher and I'll put it on the blog.. Let's spread the word and bring Dr Bircher back to Europe.

Hairy Man

Craig is growing a beard. He can give you some good reasoning as to why (see here), but I personally believe that this is all subconscious aspiration linked to Strider in Lord of The Rings. We've been watching the trilogy in the evenings over the last few nights and it's amazing how it does begin to permeate your thoughts. Even I have been whirling the odd stick around in the garden and muttering "I am the daughter of king, this will not be my fate"...

I'll let you know how the facial hair progresses. I think it's probably a bit itchy.

Australia Day

Last week was Australia Day. It's a public holiday over here and we went along to see some new citizens being sworn in at a ceremony in the park. There was the traditional solitary Aboriginal didgeridoo player, a lady helping the children make kites (but really find it all a bit too hot and too much bother.. I think she was wishing she'd volunteered to be on the tea tent instead) and plenty of provision for purchasing barbecued food and icey poles (ice lollies to you and me).

It was a real mixture of the formal, proud and ceremonial followed by a rousing rendition of 'Ozzie, Ozzie Ozzie, Oi, Oi, Oi' to 'welcome our new citizens'. I love that about the Australians; they are unashamedly proud yet generally incredibly down to earth.

Evie liked it because they had a slide set up by the scouts which was basically a piece of plastic running down the hill, regularly doused in water and washing up liquid. They like their fair share of thrill seeking behaviour too....