Buzzing train stations, getting from Heathrow to Paddington far faster than anticipated, bringing my train booking forward and chatting with a lovely, rather crazy English couple sitting opposite me on the 4 hour trip to Plymouth. So now sitting in the train, watching the gentle English countryside rolling past and my travel companion doing a … Continue reading Trains, planes & automobiles →

Heading back to the UK tomorrow, as Andy's mother has passed away. It wasn't unexpected, but still a shock when a family member leaves us forever. Now there are the rituals of a funeral, a wake, a will to be read, a home to be cleared for sale; the tidying up of a life. I … Continue reading Sudden, sad trip back to the UK →

Warm day in Perth, I could be at the beach swimming, or home in the garden, or having breakfast in a cafe. Nope … I’m walking round Bold Park with 9 litres of water and lots of blister plasters, training for the Three Capes walk in January. The walking is slowly, steadily getting better and … Continue reading Am I crazy ? →

The first week of intensive study online, and a second week of study culminating in an intense presentation which makes up 10% of our unit total, is finally finished. Last night, after the presentation, I was exhausted and spent the evening doing some simple cooking followed by a light Netflix series. I did wonder why … Continue reading First fortnight done →

On an airplane, again , on the way home. It’s been a much more peaceful and low key holiday than my normal activity-packed trips, and I do have to remember that much of the driver for this break was to rest. It’s not a waste, or shameful, to read a book and swim a little, … Continue reading End of a holiday →

A couple of days of exploring and swimming in lovely waterfalls in tropical rainforest, followed by snorkelling in warm water over coral reefs. I’ve been very happy with being able to cope with the heat, it’s very humid here as it’s wet season so we’ve been sweating hugely but managing some pretty short, but steep … Continue reading Waterfalls, rainforests & snorkelling →

When one day is beautiful, vibrant, colourful Buddhas, the next is hand feeding elephants, and cocktails every evening, it’s got to be Thailand. This is an eight day break; between a difficult period of redundancies at work then reallocating the tasks of liked & valued colleagues who departed unexpectedly, and starting the final two units … Continue reading Buddhas, elephants and cocktails →

A cool, peaceful evening, walking around a winding path through King's Park, looking at light sculptures. Ideal location for it, with the tall trees and views over the the city and the river. A couple of cups of mulled wine were very welcome although it really wasn't a cold night. It would be difficult to … Continue reading King’s Park light show →

Views from a local park, with a pleasant 5.5 km loop track. Perfect for a training walk, and I’ll start carrying heavier loads from now on. I finished it today strongly, and felt as if I could carry on after a decent rest. Only a few flowers but I can see myself coming back pretty … Continue reading Views of Perth →

Last week was one of the most difficult weeks at work, with 150 people out of 550 made redundant. I was not one of the people terminated, which is a great relief however that's a huge number of people to suddenly leave a workplace. We've been rattling around this week, trying to work out who's … Continue reading Redundancies at Santos →