Hello again,

What Saturday already and I've been here almost six days.

The weather has been fine and each day it has crept up to the low seventies by noon, and then dropped down each evening to the low sixties. Evening though is much earlier than at home, it's dark by six o'clock!

I was reading earlier about the Icelandic volcano eruption and the chaos it's causing the airlines. Has it affected the weather too? Looking at the temperatures it seems colder than it was a week ago.

If we think our governments are crap how about this for muddled thinking.
Canberra has sold licences to two of the worlds biggest coalmining industries to invest in open-cast mining on Australia's best and most productive farm land on the Liverpool Plains in NSW. One of the companies is state owned by China. They have 750 coal-fired electricity producing plants. So much for reducing dependancy on fossil fuels. I wonder who is more culperable in this case Australia or China? Already 22 farmers have sold up their land for mega bucks. Obviously they don't really care for the future. However there are many other farmers who are dismayed at the turn of events and what they see as wanton destruction and probable pollution of the land and the water reserves which lie in the rocks.

Spent this morning browsing around the huge three storey shopping mall in the district of Hornsby. It's a fifteen minute drive from here. It's in the middle of the town and houses most of the shops there. But the variety of stores is amazing, everything from post-offices to pet stores, DIY to diners, banks to boutiques, craft stores to Art gallerys as well as Butchers and bakers. Sport shops and gift stores. Also department stores like David Jones and Target. I wish Liverpool had gone for something like this mall instead of the cold and windy Liverpool 1 complex.

Must close dinner is ready.

HI Everybody,



Arrived safely last night after travelling for 24hours in relative comfort.

Anne collected me from the airport and drove me back to her house through quiet evening roads. We didn't feel sleepy so we talked until about 1am catching up on family news.

This part of the world is just going into autumn but believe it on not they will get the same spring flowers coming out in the next few weeks that we have now. Daffodils and pansies and camillas etc besides some rather eyecatching native trees that blossom in autumn.

Weather wise it's in the 60F region although it can be hotter. Tomorrow is going to be a good day weather wise and we are all going a beach called Bigola.

about half hour's drive away.

Hope to have more news tomorrow, my mind is a bit fogged at present delayed jet lag I think!



Oh by the way I have bought Jon's Mortlock and now the kids are fighting to be the first one to read it. It's a pity I couldn't get to Chester to have it signed but I sort of ran out of time so I went into Birkenhead and got it in Waterstone's. Jon's signing books there on the 24th April.

Hello and welcome to my first blog!