Our stuff finally cleared customs and arrived at our house yesterday, two weeks after arriving in Brisbane. Unfortunately we were one of the unlucky ones and we got levied for an inspection fee by Customs, which cost us $270. They didn't do a very good job though because on opening our boxes we … read more

HSBC's half year results show that the banks are having to pay a lot more out than previously thought: Britain's banks face £1bn bill from charges revolt | Special report | Guardian Unlimited Business If you haven't already claimed back your unfair charges, like we did, you've probably missed the … read more

The banks must be tired of paying out to those of us (in our thousands) that have reclaimed bank charges, as they're finally accepting a test case in the courts. Having worked for banks and knowing a little about their operations, I doubt very much that they'll be able to prove that they can justify … read more

Two examples, in my view, of business stupidity: 1) The project I'm engaged on at work now has, get this, 5 project managers. There is: 1 x Principle Project Manager 1 x Project Manager 1 x Project Manager - Quality Control 1 x Project Manager - Risk, Issues and Finance 1 x Project Manager … read more

Liverpool today unveiled the design for the new stadium, scheduled to open in 2010. The design is an upgrade on the initial plans as the new owner's would like to be able to increase capacity above 75,000, subject to the plans being approved by Liverpool council. It was always a nightmare getting … read more

I had a meeting on the 32nd floor at work today. It's a bit distracting when you have a view like this... Taken with my Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot Camera phone read more

I should read the local papers more often, as when I went out for lunch today I had no clue why roadblocks had been set up and why police were milling everywhere. I soon discovered the reason why when I came round the corner to St Stephen's Cathedral. It was the funeral for Brett Irwin - the police … read more

The USS Kitty Hawk is in Brisbane this weekend - on one of the stops on her final Pacific Tour before she returns to be de-commissioned next year. Even though the ship wasn't having an Open Day, we drove down to take a look. Because the Kitty Hawk is a SuperCarrier, it's too big to make it up river … read more

Another great tool from Martin Lewis' site. First he helped us find cheap flights. Then he helped us make cheap international calls. Now here's a great resource to help you get the most foreign currency for your pound. It's not much use to us anymore but bear it in mind if you ever come to visit us … read more

Genius - http://blog.viddler.com/cdevroe/wine-cork/ read more

Lauren's first 'wobbly tooth' finally came out today. She's very excited. I suggested to her that instead of putting it under her pillow for the tooth fairy she might want to keep it as a souvenir - something she could show her own children one day. She knocked back my suggestion. She'd rather have … read more

If it wasn't for the fact it's not April Fools Day I would have thought this news story was a joke: Devon and Cornwall police today confirmed they'd arrested a man in connenction with the Cornwall National Liberation Army (CNLA) threats against celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein and their … read more

See more of our photo's on Flickr read more

I've finally bought my first Digital SLR. After much research, I chose the Canon EOS 400D Digital Rebel Xti. It's only an entry-level DSLR but it will do for me. Anyway, after a lifetime of operating simple point and click cameras I don't know the first thing about focal lengths, exposure metering, … read more

Yesterday was Lauren's birthday. We had work and school as normal but afterwards we had a little party for her. The neighbours came round as well as Cath and Bonny. And tomorrow we're taking her to Sea World. Again. It doesn't seem like two minutes since the last time we went but we gave Lauren the … read more

With the weather nice again we went out and bought our first proper aussie BBQ yesterday. We couldn't believe how cheap they are. We bought a 4-burner gas flat-top barbie for only $119 (£48). We bought it from Bunnings, which is basically the equivalent of B&Q in the UK. In fact, it seems to be … read more

Banks ordered to reveal true cost of charges - Guardian Unlimited Money I may have got my money back, but I'd still like to know how they justify the charges. read more

It seems John Smeaton has become a bit of a cult hero on the web. Only in Glasgow would a member of the public tackle a man on fire and get a boot in. There's now numerous sites and videos on the web dedicated to (mostly taking the piss out of) John Smeaton. I know I shouldn't, but you've got to … read more

Being a bit of a web geek, I like to keep track of developments in the web2.0 space. There's a lot of new websites popping up everyday now taking advantage of advanced web scripting languages that add interactivity and social networking. Some of them are actually quite exciting and are making a lot … read more

Finally, a signing that might help us challenge for the title. Liverpool has completed the signing of Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid. He's taking up the number 9 shirt left vacant by Robbie Fowler. If Torres turns out to be half the striker that 'God' was in his prime then we're in for a … read more