It was only 4 years ago, yet I can remember very little about the 2004 Athens Olympics. Some of the sporting achievements stick out, such as Kelly Holmes winning 2 Gold Medals, the Men's 4x100 team winning Gold, and the discovery of Amir Khan. However, I can hardly remember a thing about the 2004 … read more

I've just been watching this video on the BBC website about supposed Aussie sour grapes over the success of team GB. If you get any Aussies throwing out the same line that 'it's not England, you can only beat us if you combine your countries', just point out to them that most of Australia's golds … read more

I find it pretty cynical that whilst the rest of the world's media is following the IOC official Medal Table, i.e. ranking countries by Gold, then Silver, then Bronze, which currently puts China at the top, the big US media companies are instead ranking countries by total medals won, which of course … read more

There seems to be a load of christmas movies on TV at the moment. Apparently it's quite traditional over here - Christmas in July. It is the middle of Winter but it's still a bit strange watching White Christmas when it's 23 degrees C outside! read more

After 14 months of trying, we've finally been able to get ADSL. Hooray!! I've been applying fairly regularly ever since we arrived in Oz but kept receiving the same reply - "no available ports on the exchange". However, after being told ADSL had been activated for my line (it only took a couple of … read more

I never thought that getting my hair cut could be such a wonderful experience. Being previously used to a 5 minute cut and quick brush down (which always seemed to leave more hair down the back of my shirt than what went on the floor), the first time I got my hair cut in Australia I was pleasantly … read more

The worst of the weather seems to behind us so it was business as usual this weekend. A lot of time was spent in the pool. We had a BBQ Saturday night with the neighbours, and I managed to get a gym session in on Saturday and a game of golf on Sunday morning. The golf was hard work to say the least. … read more

Yes I got burnt - again! But I'm not the only one, Daryl has too. He didn't even realise at first he's getting redder as the evening progresses, we're glowing like little berries. There's only Lauren who isn't red - she's a gorgeous colour (with a permanent white bikini on) It's a good job we look … read more

It finally stopped raining long enough this weekend for us to get some sun and take a dip in the pool. In fact Rach even got sunburnt. Again. Will she ever learn? The whole xmas and new year period has been a complete wash-out. Brisbane has succumbed to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, which … read more

I'm the unlucky one! Living here it was bound to happen sooner or later and it happened to me - what a surprise! I've been bitten by, I think, a grey house spider (looked it up on the University spider finding website - very helpful) this is what it said; "bites by Achaeaeanea species in Australia … read more

I'm babysitting tonight as Rach and Steph have gone to Rachelle's xmas work do. It's a good job Steph is here otherwise I would have had to go to it. I can't quite get into the xmas spirit on a Monday night near the beginning of November, especially after a long first day in a new job! I guess … read more

Over the last few days I keep hearing people talk about Movember. It seems to be a big thing over here. Curious to find out what the hell people were going on about I looked it up. Movember is a charity event held each November where men (and I'm sure a few women could qualify for this as well) … read more

I've just picked Stef and Lucy up from the airport. Unfortunately, after weeks of glorious weather here we've now got heavy cloud cover and constant rain (the fine rain that wets you through as Peter Kay would say), and it's set to be like this right through until Monday. Bloody poms bringing the … read more

Today is Melbourne Cup day in Australia. Billed as 'the race that stops a nation', the Melbourne Cup is the biggest even on the horse racing calendar in Australia and seems to be a pretty big deal judging by the fact that people have been going on about it for weeks now. Apparently, aussies are more … read more

It's been a little while since I last posted but after the phone call I had today I felt the need to share. I spoke to Craig (one of my technicians from Harvey Norman) I actually called him for some advice (I've dropped black eyeliner on my cream bedroom carpet but that's another story) He said he … read more

It was one of those days today... First I made a small change to a server at work which completely broke it. I was being rushed to make the change so didn't give enough thought to what I was doing. If I'd have sat back and thought about it for a second I would have realised that what had been … read more

On Saturday, myself and Rach completed an official Boatsafe course and passed the exam which now allows us to hold a Recreational Marine Drivers Licence. This means we'll be able to take out 'hire and drive' motor boats which are 6 metres or less in length. In the future we may even buy a boat of … read more

Just a brief update for the last week: We had a pretty quiet weekend with the exception of Saturday night which somehow turned into a beer fest. Our alcoholic kiwi neighbours - Julie and George - came round for a beer late Saturday afternoon and I somehow managed to stay up drinking with George … read more

This morning I was jogging round our local park before work and I came across a family of deer grazing by the lake. It was an amazing sight. I probably wouldn't have spotted them if it wasn't for a group of people who pointed them out to me, as I've usually got one eye looking up into the tress for … read more

Well I've completed my first week and I think I'll be happy working there. The club Manager is really nice. On my first day I went in with the intention of asking if there was any way I could alter the 9am -3pm shift which was advertised to 8.30am - 2.30pm so I can pick Lauren up from school, I … read more