Over & out

Exams are over. I'm finishing up here. Had a few days down south, which was really good. I'm now packing up & saying bye to Australian friends, such as this fella:







Touch down at Heathrow early Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading this year. Hopefully see you soon.

Living the dream...

I could do this whole Australian thing a little longer. At the beach this morning (in the middle of winter) it was at least 25c, a light breeze, cloudless skies, bright sun, vibrant waters, & glassy 2ft surf. Perfect.





I have had a bit of an all Australian day... after the morning surf I headed to Subiaco Oval with a few mates to watch an AFL game - my first professional, live game. Fremantle Dockers beat Richmond Tigers 106-98, which is good for me. Sports spectators down here are far more diverse than in Englad: far more women & children. It's obvious why - sitting in the sun on a chilled out Sunday afternoon with family & friends is a little different to braving the gale force winds and sheet rains on a dark November Saturday afternoon sat in the town end of the County Ground, as Swindon lose 1-0 to Port Vale... the only goal being a penalty. That takes a little more commitment, & interest in actually what is going on. I'm planning on finishing the day off in a not so traditionally Australian way - by heading to Church.





Yesterday morning was my first exam - employment law. It was my potential banana skin this semester as it was a 90%er and my lecturer seems to get kicks out of setting ridiculously confusing exam papers. I think you need to be a professional reader to actually read the questions in the exam, because they are so long - and a doctorate would help to figure out which combination of questions it is ok to answer. Anyway, after navigating those tricky waters I still had some inspiration to write some stuff... I actually ran out of time half way through my second question, which isn't great, but I think I got enough down to do ok. We'll see. Last night I also went to the aforementioned Subiaco Oval, to watch the Australia v Fiji test. A comprehensive 49-0 win for Australia - good preperation for the imminent tri-nations and World Cup. Sports games cost so little to watch out here - it cost me roughly £17 in total to watch both those games!





Apart from trying to get some preperation in for these exams over the last couple of weeks, I have put a fair amount of effort into living the dream. Friends leaving parties, dinner out with friends, surfing, sports games, bush bonfires & bbq's, Sunday sessions (afo drinks) at Little Creatures, & Caversham wildlife park... all contributing to some memorable last few weeks. There are still a few more things I would like to be seeing & doing in the next couple of weeks. Of course, I'll try not to forget that I still have two more exam papers to sit this week.

The boys bush bonfire & bbq!:

So, I'm certainly loving this place. It will be so sad to leave. But also getting more excited about many of the cool things about coming home - Anneli, mums food, family banter, friends weddings, catching up with you(!), Bratton, familiarity... see you before long!

Fight club

The first rule about Fight Club is....

Ok, so I'm breaking all the rules! This weekend I headed north of Perth to Moore River with a great group of 25 men from church. It was the Fight Club (church mens ministry) weekend away: time to hang out, chat, bond, eat meat, and have fun. I was responsible for buying the food (ahem, meat) for the weekend so got 100 sausages, 40 steaks et al en route to McDonalds where the weekend began. On Friday night we had a good chat led by Rory (our pastor) about being faithful as young Christian men - something increasingly counter-cultural in all senses I think. We then headed to the beach for some wrestling. The ring was drawn in the sand, and two guys were sent in to scrap it out. Once the champion had prevailed he did not have an instant to recover before a new challenger was at him - very amusing. On my turn in the pit I prevailed over two guys before taking a big hit from an eager challenger. I was concussed so decided to sit out the rest of the fighting, a physcial game of British bulldog, and a night swim in the sea. After everyone got back we stayed up very very late watching Arrested Development, and Braveheart. A hearty evening of good chats and relaxing banter.

On Saturday we headed to the sand dunes for some sand-boarding. It was quite a cold day, and raining heavily. Still, we spent several hours boarding down dunes, running back up, and generally having a good time. I also tried my hand at being towed behind a 4x4 on a rope - kinda like wakeboarding, though I struggled to get a hold of that one. After this, I went for a quick surf with Joel. It was amazing to drive in his 4x4 onto a windswept beach with no one else to be seen and hop into the water straight from the car (almost). The surfing wasn't great, & I took another knock to the head from my surfboard. Amazingly, just before this happened a dolphin breached the water about 2 metres away from me. It gave me such a surprise as it came out the water that I jumped off my surfboard - I then got nailed by a bomb, & got the surfboard to the head. Needless to say at that point it was time to call it a day.

After a big meat dinner a few of us headed to a random Inn in the middle of a national park, which feld like it was about 99 miles from any civilisation. We were hoping to catch Australia v Wales (rugby union) on the big screen, and were not disappointed when the barman switched channels for us. Good beer and hot potato wedges sustained a very good evening with friends. I will miss nights such as these. We then returned to College where we watched South Africa trounce the England 'C team' in a disappointing game. A few of my South African friends enjoyed the victory at the expense of myself and Ben (the other exchange student from Leicester) - richly deserved on their part, as the England rugby on show was fairly (actually, very) rubbish, and South Africa seem to be on the right track for the World Cup. I hope Ashton can turn things round a little before 14.9.07 when I will be watching the teams play again in Paris at the Rugby World Cup, nevermind before the second Test next weekend. Unfortunately, I've got no photos to share with you. Off to church now. Bye!

Australian Footy

I've just got back from playing AFL (Australian Football League aka aussie-rules, or footy) for college. It was quite good fun, though we got fairly well thumped. by 40 points. I really enjoyed it however - fun to learn a sport in a competitive arena (these guys took it fairly seriously) & I really enjoyed wearing a styley 'vest-shirt'!!

So, I thought I should eductae you on a central tenet of Australian 'culture' (I use that term lightly!). Footy is the most popular sport in Australia - like our football. As the sport of the masses, it is played by bogans (chavs) who sometimes get themselves in a little trouble, as do many of our footballers.

Thus, the star captain (Ben Cousines - see above, with the ball) of the West Coast Eagles (Perth team - winners of grand final last year eg Man Utd) has a crack addiction that was recently exposed. Now that isn't too good for a role model so he's been in rehab in America, & will soon be playing again. There are also a fair few fights in AFL games - the team we were playing thought this was a good idea too, & got a little fired up. Luckily it didn't boil over too much.


The basic rules are that you can't run more than 15m without bouncing the ball, you can't throw it to your team mates but have to 'handpass' it, & if you kick it more than 20m & your team mate catches it directly, that is a 'mark' & he has a few seconds to compose himself & play on. Catching a 'mark' near the goal kicking area is vital if you are to score goals.

Pitch: a huge 'oval' - a football/rugby pitch easiy fits in with space at the sides and end. So marking is man on man - I played in the half back flank (see diagram) .

Scoring: you just gotta kick it between the posts, as high as you like. Between the middle (taller) posts gets you 6 points (a 'goal') & in between the (shorter) outside posts gets 1 'point'.

Tactics: in defence the idea is to disrupt the flow of the attack, hassle them, & stop them from getting marks, then start an attack. Up front the guys are trying to keep the ball moving & get a mark in goal kicking distance.

Apart from that it is a free for all brawl with bodies, limbs, tackles, boots flying in every direction. There are so few rules governing the breakdown (as far as I can make out! I may have just ignored them) unlike, say rugby, that it really can get messy in there - anything goes.

I haven't been to see a live match yet, though I've seen a few on tv, but plan to before I come back. In other news, last night I went on 'the wonders of the east' tour - arranged by my friend Simon, where he shows friends what he considers to be the best sights of Perth. We had some good banter, & it was cool to hang out. In the car, we realised we were from 5 different continents: Me (Europe), Simon (Australia), Sara (US), Eugene (Singapore), Pat (South Africa). Also been working on essays, 3 deadlines this week. Only surfed once in 3 or 4 weeks, so will hopefully get going again once these assignments are done. Ciao.

Catch up

It is amazing how quickly the last two weeks have gone since my last post... I honestly do not know where it has gone! C'est la vie.

I have begun a (slightly less than) part time job on Monday mornings. I am doing some voluntary work for Case for refugees - a local charity aiding refugess in their visa applications and guiding them through the process of settling in Australia. It is good to help out, & also get a little legal experience on the side. I have also read a veritable plethora of journals and legal texts in research for several essays that are due in a few weeks - this is the staple diet of a law undergraduate degree in Australia. With slightly more forward looking vision, I have also completed a few more applications for summer vacation schemes with law firms, and thus may yet try my hand at the 'big city business' bag for a few weeks this summer.

One question I found particularly difficult to answer on one of the aforementioned applications was:

Creativity - Describe a new way you were able to apply existing knowledge to solve a problem.

It sounds simple, but you try answering it. In fact, I would appreciate it if anyone has any ideas of what material I could use (from my life!) in answer to such a question. I'm dry on this one. Keep it clean please, boys. The whole process is a little demeaning as it can be difficult to impress the recruiters in answering such questions without churning out the usual 'trite CV lines.' The joys of law.

JoeyRadford visited for half a week, so it was fairly cool to hang with him a little. He was around last Saturday, when it was the annual college car rally, which involved car loads of people dressed up in a fancy dress theme terrorising locals in Perth for various photos, bits of information, prices, autographs and the such like. Being one of the last groups, my tactful and subtle request in the gay bar for a photo of Joey with 'anyone available' was quickly unmasked as specifically requiring a lesbian... very embarrassing, but alas we got the photo & continued! The rally ended with a party on someones farm out in the country, inlcuding a bush band with Aussie county dancing - a distant cousin of the barn dance, celiedh and other such folk type dances. It was a good night. The photo below is of my car - dressed in the theme of Scooby Doo after securing a brown van as our mode of transportation... I am 'Fred'. (nb: we were one of the less adventurously dressed cars... everyone else went to far more effort: spartans, ninja turtles, flower pot men et al!)

Wednesday 25 was ANZAC day - a remembremance type day commemorating Aus & NZ soliers in WWII. I went to a service in the chapel, which was moving. My tutor group from college then had a social in the afo: ice blocking, which is essentially sledging on blocks of ice down a hill. It was quite cool, but is clearly an inferior Ozzie version of one of my fav child-hood outings. Its got nothing on Happy Valley! We then went out for an all-you-can-eat Chinese, which was edible... so that was good!

I've just got back from a unichurch weekend away. It was cool fun. We heard some talks from the book of Daniel in the Bible which were helpful... about living a Christian lifestyle in a world that is not Christian. Lots of challenges there. However, there was also lots of time off for chilling out over the weekend, which was good. Yesterday afo, 6 of us guys hired some canoes & went up the river: sinking each other, sabotaging other groups, & generally being 'laddish' & causing trouble. We also found some v.high sand dunes that ran right down into the water. We each ran the gauntlet down the dunes trying to get to the safety of the water whilst getting nailed by all the other guys - good to practice rugby tackles. Later we also dragged one of the hire canoes 50m up to the top of a sand dune & had a go at some bob-sledding Jamaican style down the sand into the water. That was one very cool hour.

Tonight, I played football for my college in a couple of games against the other residential colleges from UWA. It was a windy & blustery night, so it felt a little more like playing back home (apart from the considerably warmer climate!) which was nice. We played 2 games, & won them both - I managed to steel a goal & set one up, so not a bad night in all. I hope you are all well & enjoying the early summer vibes in England. Go hard in the exams friends, a long summer is just around the corner!

Easter

Mum & dad returned from the east coast & we headed down south WA for a week of family banter - travelling the coastal route, & terrorising laid back country towns in our campervan. It was a good time, & cool to see some of the beautiful spots this state has to offer. We spent time relaxing on beautiful beaches such as Salmon holes, & Redgate - mostly in the sun... & often also the wind! We also explored some of the beautiful southern forests, which included a 'tree top walk' & climbing a 61m Gloucester tree on metal stakes spiralling its trunk - mum led the way which was very impressive! We also visited some wineries & spent enough time trawling through souvenir shops on mums infamous missions.

I think a highlight for my parents was meeting some of my friends (& their parents!). We had a good meal with Rory & Susan, then hung out with Rory's parents over the Easter weekend, before visiting the farm of some of my other good friends (the Dodds). It was a beautiful place, & good fun to go walking, swimming, & quad biking round! My folks plane out of Perth was delayed by a day, so I actually had said goodbye to them three times (after a surprise early morning goodbye) by the time they left! The weekend has been a quiet one, but that is not a bad thing as the rest of semester is lining up to be a busy one. Thanks for stopping by - keep in touch.

Work hard, play hard

Mostly, for your amusement, and also to my shame... here is a recent pic of me 'surfing'.* Looks like fun eh?!

Honestly it isn't always like this, but the camera doesn't lie I guess!

So, the weather is cooling down considerably at the moment. Realising I have got used to the climate though as I talk about 20*c as if it was -5*c: bring on the English summer! One weird thing though: even if it remains fairly hot outside, inside the buildings it is really cool - actually cold. So I can sit in my room working & shivering away on a warm sunny day! Strange.

Well, my folks arrived safe & sound, if a few hours late. It was good to hang out & show them the 'burb. They seemed to like Perth, enjoy meeting some friends, had a good time at church, but were unimpressed by the sea temperature. I think they may have expected tropical waters. They are in definite need of a holiday, so I think they will be enjoying the break. They have been in Sydney & Melbourne for 10 days & return to Perth later this week.

In the meantime, my life has been determined by essays & assignments. Not to say that there hasn't been some 'play' too. I want to ensure you that this blog is for my highlights, & not the sum total of what I do every day - uni just isn't that interesting. So I have got through the first round of deadlines this semester, & feel a little better for that. I'm also busy writing letters/emails/application answers telling commercial lawyers how much I love them. White collar slavery. The application process for graduate law jobs has begun (to commence in September 2009!) & I'm jumping on the bandwagon, if a little reluctantly.

On Friday night I went to see the Western Force play again. Another good win, this time against the Natal Sharks from SA. Afterwards we went out for a curry in Subiaco - my first one in Perth. A slightly disappointingly weak (less spice than one of Ruthy's dishes) effort from Australia compared to Leicester's fair curry houses.

I have found time to go surfing, & had a great time out at a new spot yesterday - my best surf for a few weeks. I also headed down to the West Coast Blues & Roots music festival in Fremantle last night. I failed to get tickets but watched from outside with a few mates. I just missed the train & so didn't get to see John Mayer (so gutted!) but managed to catch Ben Harper (& the innocent criminals) - very satisfying.

* Insert: paddling around in the water, trying to look cool, & getting smashed by waves!

The golden year?

Wow! The last few weeks have flown by... a few things have happened that I reckon are worthy of a mention.

Last weekend I headed north 120km with a few mates to a little village called Lancelin. The surf up there is much cleaner & more consistent than the gnarly beach breaks around Perth (if you don't know what I mean - believe me, it's better fun & easier up there) so we went up on Saturday afo in time for a sunset surf, which was absolutely beautiful. After a BBQ & a few drinks in the only bar up there a few of us slept on the beach. A mate forget his sleeping bag, so slept in my surfboard bag! It was such a beautiful & warm night - & the stars were astounding. We awoke pre-sunrise & so were the first out in the surf the next morning. Awesome.


Yesterday was my birthday. Thank you to everyone who sent cards, emails, facebook messages etc. I had a cool day - got some cool presents from home... seems my sis & gf may think I just turned 12 by the presents they gave me!


So, I actually turned 22 on the 22nd. Apparently (if you are superstitious of course), that makes it my 'golden year'. It has been a good one so far, but we will have to wait & see what else is in store.


In the afo, I went with a few guys from college to Blackwell Reach, overlooking the swan river (see pic). There is a few fairly cool jumps off the rocks - here I am caught in action about to launch myself off... a good buzz.


In the evening I went out to Subiaco with a few friends from college & church. We went to a few bars & had a good night - there was a live acid jazz band playing in one bar, which was very cool too.


I got a sneaky surf in this morning, & in an hour or so I will be heading to the airport to pick up my folks. Will be good to see them again & show them my life here.

The life of Jonny

This is my life in the last week - the public domain, brief version:

Perth has been one hot hot place this last week. There were a few days where it only just dipped below 40 during the night! Needless to say it has been a little uncomfortable at times without AC, but generally I don't mind the heat greatly & quite enjoyed it - I guess its a fairly 'clean' & dry heat here, & not too often muggy which would be horrible.

On Tuesday night, my (some might say apostate!) Bible study group played the part of renegade & slinked off to the ice cream parlour & the beach instead of having a study at the church. We got a massive tub of 'Irish cream' & 'cookies n cream' ice cream at Cold Rock (with sweets & chocolates crunched in) & sat outside in the evening heat refreshing ourselves with pleasant company & the joy of cold, cold tastiness. After that, we headed to City Beach where there are floodlights in the evening. It is the first time I have been there, but it is such a beautiful beach & there were a few groups of people there having bbq's or playing sports. We arrived just after sunset, so it was getting dark but there was still a dominant red & orange canvas of residual sunlight sitting on the horizon. We decided to go for an impromptu swim as the water was so hot - it was very cool to swim out a fair way & just tread water whilst having a good chat with my friend Dan under the starry sky & drifting along the beach in the current. It was such a refreshing night.

On Thursday, I rocked up at UWA football (unfortuantely 'soccer' out here) training. I had planned to go to the rugby instead, but didn't make it - so may try that in a few weeks. Today I played in a trial game (football) & it went quite well. For some reason, they don't consider playing evening games despite the severe heat, so I braved 90 minutes in the late afternoon sun! We got a 2-2 draw, which wasn't bad considering it was a team that had hardly played together before.

Surfed on Friday & Saturday mornings. Friday was a strong but fairly consistent wind swell. 4 of us were out together & we had a very cool time. On Saturday, we were up before dawn & at the beach early. Unfortunately, I got fairly scratched up amongst the surf & got nailed by a sizeable wave... in the ensuing melee one of the fins on my board got swiped clean off by my heel. The board came worse off by far, which is a shame, but something I guess it's good to be thankful for!? So, I am parted from my board for another week, whilst it is in the repair shop. The joy. Think I must be clumsy, or very unlucky. Still, had an enjoyable time as it was a beautiful morning.

Lots coming up this week, so better stick to it. Take care.

The year in pictures...

So, I have been very successful in uploading a good number of pictures to share (at last I hear you cry!) but not so good at ordering them chronologically. Therefore, I will try and date them as accurately as poss in the comments under each one. Enjoy.

Oct 06: At the college cocktail party with Jenny from Leciester (left) & Jennie, a tutor at college who goes to my church (right).

Aug 06: Dave's visit & a day biking round the Margaret river region. Great fun with an 'old mate'!

Dec 06: An icon.

Jan 07: Trying my hand at some Tom Cruise action at my cousins bar in Melbourne.

A Perth sunset: just beautiful.

Dec 06: With Josh, Tim & Andrew - Perth students helping on church outreach in Sydney.

Oct 06: Eug & Ponti - two great guys who I hang out with a bit.

Aug 06: A local hunter... scary!

Feb 07: Beautiful, beautiful Piha at sunset. A week surfing on the west coast of North Island (NZ) before returning to Perth.

Aug 06: With Ben from Leicester at the door of my hall before the annual college ball.

Aug 06: Ian & Nigel who are good mates of mine, living it up at that ball.

Nov 06: Very cool to see Stephen & Jo, & hike the Kalbarri National Park, WA.

Jan 07: With Joey, my eastern states 'travel buddy' at Bells Beach, victoria (we have mutual friends in Leicester).

Aug 06: Enjoying a wine tour of a premier wine region with Dave.... thankfully keeping sober throughout.

Sept 06: A social night with my 'hub' Bible study group - Zalton, Toby & Mark.

Nov 06: The first Church outreach team to Sydney - Rory, Jon Rumble, Matt Dodd, JR, Jess Rumble, Sandy, Julianne, Mandy Dodd.

Feb 07: A very very cool few weeks with Anneli & Paul in NZ... much needed. Matauri beach on valentines day!

Mar 07: First college party of the new year & I am an emo kid (from the band 'Simple Plan' who I had never heard of!) whilst Nigel is doing wonders for the Kiss look!

Hopefully that is a cool catch up, & gives you a vibe of my year. Fingers crossed that this bad boy publishes... I hope you appreciate it if it does!

Room with a view

At last, I have managed to upload pictures. So first off, a couple of pictures of the view out of my window from my new room in college.

As you can see, its not a bad view of the Swan River. The other good thing about this new room is the access it potentially gives me to a spiral staircase leading to the roof of the tower of college. From there, the view is better & many a sunny afternoon or starry night may be enjoyed in the tranquility of being a few storeys above the hustle & bustle of college below... if only I can devise a way to get hold of those keys. Hmmmm.

The slight down side of my room is that there is no air conditioning, & with the heat like it is at the times it can be a little uncomfortable. However, much of the last week has been fairly overcast & even stormy. On my first day living in the tower there was the most electric & threatening thunderstorm I have ever been in. It included three full strikes to the lightening conductor on the top of tower which zapped around my room as if someone had let off a firework just outside my window. It was a crazy experience, but very cool.

Lectures began this week - seems like some of what I'm studying could be quite interesting... I hope! I managed to wangle a handy timetable with Mondays & Fridays off. I'm trying to fill that time with useful things, but it will also be useful when the assignment deadlines lurk. Generally, it is good to be back around college, at uni, & catching up with people at church. I've remembered again just how inconsistent the surf in WA is after surfing a beautiful break for a few days in NZ, but the weather is generally very good so being at the beach is awesome.

I will endeavour to upload a pictoral version of my time here so far in my next post with my new found skills.... we'll see how successful it is.

Home sweet home... away from 'home'!

I am now back in Perth & enjoying the hospitality of the Dodd family - the two sons of which are good friends from uni. Tomorrow I move back into college & on Monday the new semester begins.

I have enjoyed some really great hospitality over the last few months - a very big blessing. Last night I stayed with Rory & Susan, & it was very cool to catch up with them again... especially to meet their new son, Theo, & hang out with Miles again. We had a cool time together. On Thursday night I was staying with the Shudall family in Auckland - they are very cool. It was so nice to stay with them for a few days before Anneli & Paul left, & then to hang out with them a bit myself before I left. Hello to Andy, Ines & the kids - thanks for your kindness! So refreshing at the end of a long summer/ start of a new year.

I spent most of the week in a surfing village called Piha on the west coast of the North Island (NZ). It has one of the worlds most consistent left hand breaks, so it was fertile ground for working on the surfing. I had a good time & enjoyed relaxing lots - long sleeps, reading, surfing & lots of thinking. It was quite hard being alone at the start of the week, but I got used to it & enjoyed the downtime. It was such a beautiful place, with exquisite sunsets, black sand, & warm water. Camping was fun too.

My flight back to Perth took around 13 hours, included spending time in 5 airports, & changing planes 3 times... a little tiring, but cheap & I arrived back safely yesterday afternoon. I was a little concerned I had neglected to enrol for my courses & let the uni know I was still around, but I think all is ok & this week I will begin studying modules in: alternative dispute resolution, employment law, indigenous peoples and the law, the liberal democratic state. Should be a good semester, & I've managed to secure both Fridays & Mondays off, so more 4 day weekends! I'm aware most of you probably find that thought repulsive, but I can assure you I will be endeavouring to use my time well/productively.

I expect life will be busy again very quickly as I catch up with friends & meet new people. It feels good to be back in Perth - & it does feel more like a home with 'old' friends & familiar places, after being constantly on the move for 3 months... that is a very good thing.

Ouch!

Yesterday was a difficult day. Anneli & Paul flew out of Auckland at 3pm. We had such an awesome holiday together in New Zealand, which made the parting all the more difficult. Unfortunately I will not see Anneli for another 4 months or so, until I return back home. But thankfully, she is still interested in being my girlfriend so she obviously had quite a cool time in New Zealand too! We did so much... glaciers, rafting, dolphins, horses, bungy, beach, kids camp, yachts, whales, camping, bars, ice creams, good food, hot spas, coffee & nearly 6000 kms! There are many happy memories & funny stories - perhaps I will inflict you all with them when I get back. Also, maybe some photos will follow here in a few weeks.

For the time being, it is a real blessing to be staying with a very cool family in Auckland so I am not all alone straight away. However, tomorrow morning I am heading to the coast for a few nights where I will camp & hopefully surf fairly intensively for a few days. About time too as I haven't been in the swell for a few months. It will be a good few days to recharge & get ready for a new semester back in Perth starting next Monday.

Must rush!

Alive & well. New Zealand is amazing. Having an awesome time. Anneli says hi to my public. Driving to catch ferry to North Island NOW...!

The celtic charm of Christchurch...

I awoke Saturday morning to overcast drizzle. It was also fairly cold. That felt refreshingly & reassuringly like home. It seems I have got used to the Australian climate!

I arrived in Christchurch (New Zealand) on Friday night, after a good flight which included a sighting of a comet blazing through the dusky southern hemisphere atmosphere with increasing awesome presence (now that is poetry!). It could have been a difficult evening after getting late for my flight (being the last one to check in, only 70 mins before departure) & arriving in Christchurch at midnight by myself, with no money, & with nowhere to lay my head. Thankfully, the services at Christchurch airport do not have an expiry time & remain efficient until late into the evening, unlike some other airports. So I booked into a cosy hostel, met some other backpackers from my flight & went out for a cool beer at a trendy local bar. The evening had a good vibe, as we all navigated the adjustment to new surroundings together - something that can be unsettling when a solo traveller. It turned into a late night, but a good one.

My last week in Australia was a very busy, but also very satisfying one. It included meeting many of my Melbourne rellies at a family BBQ, trying my hand at mixing a cocktail 'Tom Cruise style' at Phil's bar, & Nathaniel's (my nephew, once removed... I think?) 5th birthday party - pirate theme. I also soaked up some of the Melbourne night life in some trendy bars, & supped a full dose of Australian culture in Federation Square, at the art museum, & later a 'Chicken Parma' at a cafe. I had several tasty meals in the week including Nepalese cuisine in town (some of my family lived in Nepal for a few years) & tender, tender lamb at the place of my other uncle & aunt.

On Tuesday I went to the Australian Open, hoping to see Andy Murray play (in what turned out to be an empathatic win) but unfortunately due to the soaring temperatures (45c & higher) his game was moved & I didn't realise. They didn't start any play until 8pm & then made sure all the days play was completed, resulting in games going on past 1am - still in heats of well over 30c!

I also found a bit of time for some work, to bulk up the piggy bank a little more!

Well, on to Christchurch... somebody told me today that summer ranges anything from 5 to 35c - quite a variation. It has been a very good weekend, which is awesome as it had the massive potential to be a 'graveyard slot'.

After a lie-in on Saturday I checked out the town & some of the sights. A Cathedral, the Avon river, the Botanic gardens, & the tram all combine with some beautiful architecture & quality town planning to make it a charming place. The population is about 300,000 strong & I am beginning to reckon this is the perfect size for a city - big enough to have a fair amount going on & feel busy, but small enough to feel you get to know it, & for people to be friendly.

Christchurch is described as the most English of New Zealand's towns & so that is good. But, I definitely sense a strong celtic influence... from the 'twang' in the accents, to the climate & scenery; from the architecture, to the slightly more friendly than English vibe - to me, this is Scotland down under. It certainly seems like the southern hemispheres celtic cousin to Australia. There was a noticeable difference in peoples attitude compared to Australia - just as laid back & uber friendly, but in a more cosy manner (hard to describe). Perhaps mirroring a variations within the UK!?

Anyway, I have enjoyed getting lost (kind of on purpose... in that I was in no rush to 'find myself' again) round the town, on the banks of the river & in the gardens. It is maybe a bit sad, but I have quite enjoyed some JR solo down time. Probably very good before a crazy few weeks. I also checked out the history museum, art gallery, & watched 'The Queen' at a tiny retro cinema! I also went to church today & it was good to meet a couple of really friendly guys there tonight. The 'World Buskers Festival' is currently being held in Christchurch & so it has been very entertaining to see some of the acts performing from all over the world. They are very good at what they do, & though street performers can sometimes be frustrating I reckon they are mostly good value, just seeking to make an honest living.

Tomorrow I meet Anneli & Paul at the airport & we head off on a week of fast paced travelling of the South Island. Will let you know how that goes.

Work hard, play hard

Last Saturday I took the overnight bus from Sydney to Melbourne. It wasn't the most comfortable nights sleep, but I arrived safely & on time all be it lacking my driving licence (which is possibly quite important for hiring cars & as my only other id than my passport) which I managed to lose somewhere... who knows where!? It was very cool to be picked up by Richard & Glenys, my uncle & aunt (all be it a few 'branches' along the family tree) who I was meeting for the first time. On Sunday I spent much of the day in cafes & coffee shops eating good food, drinking great coffee & meeting the world & his wife down under, who I somehow seem to be related to in one way or another. It was a good fun day, although I was gagging for a shower & a sleep by late afternoon.

I spent a few days this week labouring & gardening at my uncle & aunts place - helping them out with stuff they needed done, & also stacking up some dollars for upcoming travel treats! This included going to war with an axe against a flower bed for a whole day! (sound like a poof, right?!) I can assure you it was no easy task - it was root central down there & as hard as concrete. The axe really was my most effective weapon at breaking the surface, & even that sometimes seemed to struggle with the task... as did I in the 30+ heat. I also almost killed a Possom when I knocked it 30 ft out of a tree whilst it was sleeping - it looked a little dazed & shocked, then whimpered off somewhere... either to recover, or possibly to die. Oops. Today I ventured UNDER the house, crawling amongst the cob-webs & dead bugs. I won't lie - I was scared - there are all sorts of sick spiders in this country that do horrible things to people, I'm sure. Anyway, the cable had to be re-routed, & I was selected as the man for the task. It was successful in the end, so I have happy hosts - which I think is a very good thing.

Amongst this work, I have also been having some good fun. On Wednesday I joined Joey & a couple of other English travellers to drive along the infamous Great Ocean Road. It was an absolute scorcher - over 35 I think - & much of the day we were in fog from the bush fire smoke that blankets Victoria each summer. However, we also saw some beautiful scenery - rugged cliffs, pumping surf, & national parks. We stopped off in Torquay en route, the home of Australian surfing (ironically, considering the nature of its English cousin), where Quicksilver & Rip Curl originated. We had a mosey round a few of the many surf shops, but unfortunately had no time to look round the surf museuem. We also stopped off at Bells beach to see the big surf & later on saw the 'twelve apostles' (now 8) - successive cliff 'stacks' along one stretch of coast line. Some places we passed through on the day include Colac & Geelong - interesting names huh!?

Yesterday I went to the MCG to watch Australia play England in the first cricket one day international of the tri-nations series. It was another dissapointing result & muted performance from most of the English team. But, it was a great day (again, very hot - we were in the section of the ground facing the setting sun) & good to see some international cricket after not making it to any of the Ashes tests. The crowd was fairly vibrant in our section, particularly as the beers went down & there were several fights, expulsions & plenty singing/swearing excessively. Drunk sports fans really are the same wherever you go the world over, I think.

It has been really exciting to hear great news from HOME (Bratton), HOME in term time (Leicester) & current HOME (Perth) the last few weeks! It makes me want to be back in all of those places at once! Congratulations are due to Kate Venn & Jooles (B) who got engaged, Steve & Rach (L) who also got engaged, & Rory, Susan & Miles (P) on the arrival of their new son/brother, Theodore William Bligh Shiner... corker of a name! I am so excited for all of these amazing people & can't wait to see them all in due course, to celebrate these exciting things!

I now have one more week here before I go to New Zealand, where I will meet up with a very special someone. That will be a little taste of home that I reckon will make up for missing all these big events!

Farewell base camp

Since Nov 25 I have been based in Sydney & have travlled in & out of there many times. Tonight I leave, never to return! I'm taking the overnight Greyhound to Melbourne where I will stay with family for 2 weeks. The plan is to do a little work to gain some $, & also see some of what Melbourne & Victoria has to offer the world. It should be a good few weeks.

I spent Christmas with a great family in Sydney. We had a fairly traditional roast, but ate it sitting by the pool in the sun - a little different to home (unless you are a certain South African family I know!). For New Year I stayed with Joey and we went to a party in a flat with a very cool view over Sydney, the Harbour Bridge, & the spectacular fireworks. This week I laboured for a few days at a Bible College, helping out with some landscaping, renovation and lawn-mowing. It was good to do some physical labour for a few days, especially as it wasn't worth watching the dismal death of English cricket in the SCG final Ashes test. Finally, the Aussie smugness may recede - though its unlikely. The last couple of days have been very cool. I've been staying with a guy I met at NTE in Nov. It has been good to hang out with him, meet some of his mates, and unexpectedly catch up with others I met at the conference. Now, to a new place & new people.

A 'strine xmas (An Australian Christmas)

Dashing through the bush, in a rusty holden ute
Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs
It's summer time & I am in my singlet, shorts & thongs

Chorus
Oh jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day
Hey jingle bells, jingle bells Christmas time is beaut
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty holden ute!

Engines getting hot, we dodge the kangaroos
Swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too
All the families there sitting by the pool,
It's Christmas day the Aussie way by the barbecue

Chorus

Come the afternoon, grandpa has a dose
The kids and uncle Bruce are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go, we take a family snap
Pack the car and all shoot through before the washing up

Chorus

For old times sake....

It's Christmas Eve, hip hip hooray,
We all love this special day!
Tomorrow's gonna be even better,
We hope that Santa's got our letter!

Travelling & all that...

Lots has happened in the last few weeks since I left Perth. After spending a week with Drummoyne Presbyterian Church (see below), which was really enjoyable & a great time to grow in all sorts of ways, I headed to the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (UCCF equivalent) 'National Training Event' (Word Alive/Forum equivalent) in Canberra. We heard talks on eschatology (the end times) by Phillip Jensen - a very clever man who spoke for well over an hour each night in great depth on complex issues. Richard Chin also gave talks on the book of Colossians - he is the director of AFES (Richard Cunningham equivalent!).

However, possibly the most rewarding thing of the week was attending a 'strand' small group that did an in depth study of the systematic theology of the resurrection in the Bible. This included considering every reference to resurrection (Jesus' in the past, the Christians in the present & everybody's in the future) in the Bible & marvelling at the centrality of this belief to the Christian message & all Christian belief. So, may sound a little heavy to some of you, but an amazing privelege to consider in such depth. The week was so good because there was such a focus on the training & growing in faith through the studies, so it really was transforming. Other highlights of the conference was hanging out with Perth people, meeting loads of new people, & playing 'stingers' - a new version of frisbee... for men only.

After NTE, I headed to a place called Campbelltown (no kidding - very ironic, should have got a picture) just west of Sydney with 20 other students from universities in Perth. We were again joining with a local church to do some Christmas based outreach. I only knew a few of the team beforehand, as most of them were from other universities in Perth so it was great to get to know another new group of people. I stayed with a really great couple from Northern Ireland whilst there, called Phil & Gayle. It was cool to spend time with them & have some good chats! The 20 of us on our team then met with another team of 20 also from Perth & we spent some time in Sydney, then went to the Blue Mountains & hiked through luscious canyons & creeks littered with waterfalls. I returned to Sydney after this & stayed with a guy called Joey who is a Leicester lad in Oz for a gap year.

Joey & I headed north of Sydney on an overnight bus to Byron Bay - a surfer/hippie hang out. On the way we stopped at the 'Big Prawn' & took the compulsory touristy photo's. Byron was very cool, if a little cloudy & wet. That didn't stop us from getting amongst it with some surfing action. It was a very good thing to be back on a board again, after a fair few weeks dry... I totally enjoyed that & didnt't want to stop even when my body had had enough. We then stopped off at Surfers Paradise a night, where we didn't surf. It isn't really a paradise for surfers, but more a Blackpool style resort in the Gold Coast theme of things. All bright lights, shopping malls, & quite a bit of tack... mind you, not half as much as Blackpool. Brisbane was our next stop, where we cultured ourselves in the various free museums & art galleries. It was really good to do, & something I should try to do more often as I see various different places.

I am now in Hervey Bay, Queensland - a few hours north of Brisbane. I'm staying with a great family, the Hoole's, with 3 cool kids (8, 9 & 11). They are the relatives of some friends from Bratton & have very kindly taken me in for several nights just before christmas. It is nice to be relaxing in an Aussie home, & seeing how they celebrate Christmas. We have just come back from the annual drive/walk around various parts of their town where house after house clothes itself in Christmas lights. It is a real attraction with half the town turning out to look at the lights. One street is even officially renamed 'Christmas Street' in the month of December due to every house bar one going overload on the lights! I will be here for the next few days, hanging with the family, playing with the boys, swimming in the pool, & hopefully reading lots!

So that brings you up to date. Sorry its a long one. Lastly, I hope you have a great time celebrating Christmas this year. Remember to take some time out to think exactly what is worth celebrating this year that will last beyond Boxing Day! God bless.