James' first day at school

Today was a very special day for our family as James attended his first day at primary school. Upon waking this morning he sang and shouted, jumped on all the beds, ate breakfast "for energy" and was a good sport posing for photos on the front steps. Martin and I walked him the few minutes to school where he joined his Prep class. He put his little hand in mine as we walked through the main doors! We found his classroom and he was off - finding his peg for his bags and hat and meeting his teacher for the first time. It was a short day so at 12.30, after their lunch, Ninny and I met him to walk home. Afterwards Granny & Papa came to hear all the exciting news. James has learnt 'hello' in Japanese, written his name in Japanese characters, scraped his elbow playing Duck, Duck, Goose ("I just wasn't watching where I was going!") and is terribly enthused about tomorrow. Oh, and he is also now faaaaaast asleeeeep.....!!!!

Some photos here.

Australia Day at Sandy Point

We find ourselves updating our blog far less frequently. I guess it's understandable - mostly as we are now spending so much more time with family.

Upon returning we have spent time camping. And it's something that James absolutely loves. He not only enjoys sleeping in the tent - but also the adventures we get up to.

So this Australia Day long weekend we combined camping with spending time with our close friends Todd & Clare - and their 3 month old son Ethan.

Todd has a family beach house at Sandy Point just west of Wilsons Prom. It's one of those fabulously basic homes - all too rare these days. It's positioned just back from the dunes only a short walk to the beach. So we camped on the front lawn under the tee trees. Merrilyn though it was heaven as we still had access to the kitchen, shower, etc.

It was a glorious summer weekend. Spending lots of time at the various beaches - including the Prom. James discovered that Squeeky Beach's cohesive white sand was just perfect for making sand castles.

I've posted some photos here.

Peter in Melbourne

Last night I collected Peter from the airport after the long flight from London. He arrived at 9.35pm and was met by Ian, Airlie and myself. He seems fit and well this morning and has a busy 10 days planned in Melbourne. It's lovely to have a little bit of English-ness here with us!

Picnic at Murrindindi

With the first few weeks of work a little stressful we wanted to make he most of a 28 degree Sunday to "head for the hills". Our destination was the Murrindindi Nature Reserve about 100 km north of Melbourne; near Yea. Fabian, Suzie, and Giulia joined us which ensured lunch was more of a feast than a picnic.

The Reserve is a bit of a treasure located along the Murrindindi river. It's a favourite spot for campers although this weekend we were lucky that there weren't too many around. We set up under the eucalyptus canopy next to the rivier. The shade and cool waters provided us relief from the heat. After scouting around the area we got stuck into lunch. Plenty of bread, cold cuts, sardines, olives, fruit... mmmmm.

Fabian turned his attention to whittling. James, Giulia and I headed for the river. It was sooo cold - so we didn't go in beyond our ankles!

After relaxing for the afternoon we set out for some bush track driving across to Narbethong - where we stopped for a long cold drink at the pub. An afternoon in the bush with good friends and food. Now that's the way to spend a Sunday!

Photos are here.

James' 5th Birthday - "my best day ever!"

Today was James' 5th birthday and we were blessed with a glorious warm, sunny day for an afternoon party at our new home. James squealed with delight over his new Hawthorn AFL football from us, and was equally enthusiastic with a soccer goal from Granny and Papa. He was a very lucky boy indeed to receive so many presents from his family and friends. A lot of things are for outdoor use, so roll on summer!

James, and his cousins and friends, had a great time outside finding treats in the garden as well as polishing off bowls full of sweets. In the playroom the helium balloons kept everyone happy (and the bigger kids went straight for the helium!) James had earlier helped me decorate his iced cupcakes with happy faces and couldn't wait to blow his 5 candles out. We are glad to be able to once again share special occasions with our nearest and dearest! We missed our Windsor friends of course! Happy Birthday, 5 year old boy!

Photos are here.

Aireys Inlet

There is no better way to spend a beautiful sunny day than on the beach. And our favourite is Aireys Inlet on the Great Ocean Road to the west of Melbourne. Before moving to the UK this is the place we escaped to.

We arrived at Anglesea just in time to get fish & chips and head to the beach at Point Roadknight. Curiously we were not harassed by seagulls as we got stuck in to the piping hot flake. James has taken a liking to dim sim so there were plenty of those as well.

We then headed for possibly our favourite beach - the western end of Fairhaven - known as Moggs Creek. In fact, this is where we introduced James to the ocean when he was 1. Although a little windy we had the whole stretch of beach to ourselves. I struggled a little to put up our beach tent (more as a wind break than to shade the sun) whilst James focused his attention on the more important task of making sand castles.

Heading back to Aireys we stopped at a park to have a play. Would you believe - one of his little kinder friends drove up at the same time. Turns out they have a holiday house at Aireys. We are sooo jealous! Being at the foot of the Split Point lighthouse - Aireys most recognisable landmarks - we took the short walk around the point that also takes in Eagle Rock. To finish off, we walked the cliff tops just as the lowering sun fired the beaches below. We certainly missed these days in the UK!

Photos are here.

I have a new job!

OK - so it's been a little while coming. Today I accepted a now job. It's a senior position with a major global Telco company with lots of challenges. I was fortunate to have two offers on the table... but with only one of me I had to decide. One of the factors was the opportunity to travel again should we want to. That being said, we expect to be here for at least a few years.

Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow I'll try to enjoy the last few days of "down time" in Melbourne's glorious Spring weather. I took a few photos of the garden here. The tulips and daffodils remind me of England. We plan to plant some sunflowers in the next few weeks. They evoke memories of the Bennett's back yard in Fleet - and of course - the Loire in France!