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i thought id give you a wee update on oz here since my last email was all too brief.
there are a lot of boy racing driving round about where i am staying - my new bike is fantastically light - i want one at home if i can't get this one home with me - i paid about 100 quid for it which isn't cheap i guess but boy it goes like the clappers - had it up to 40 mph on a hill - it came with a cycle computer and helmet and other bits too - i reckon i can get up to 50 on it once i get the higher gears accessable - the cars don't seem to know how to pass a cyclist here either(why i am going so fast so they don't overtake me) but there are plenty of cycle lanes and quiet parallel roads to use instead - i heard on the radio that in one city in oz one in thirty random motorists stopped were over the drink drive limit. The driving is bad if what i ahve seen is representative - incl a head on crash on a quiet suburban road - a motorcyclist getting cut across and lots of honking of horns. So much for the laid back ozzy style.
The malls are focal points for the women to go to during the day. There are ones spotted about all over the city. Most of the stuff in them isn't all that great but prices are quite high. It is nice to see an Ozzzy way of doing christmas with the decorations taking on an ozzy style - and some of the malls decorations are lovely - big christmas tree with angels circling above - and I saw the Santa in the mall too - he was a bit skinny and I thought a big massive burly guy with a real white beard passing by would have been better for the job if he had been a bit friendlier looking. It was a bit of a regular thing to see my cousins picture taken with Santa at my Grannies when i was growing up.
the painting started in earnest today - cool day only about 24 but still got a bit red on my arm - only slightly - but its quite an impressive watch strap tide mark -the painting , it should be straigt forward and there is some joinery work to do too - plywood just doesn't seem to be that popular here - but the hardboard that was used in the porch has sagged and buckled - silly and predictable!
i bought a fishing rod - a ten foot spinning rod - best times to go are sunrise and sunset as the fish come in to feed then - plan is to take it with me on my multiday walks and see if i can't supplement my dry food diet. I bought some dried food the other day, they do a very spicy pee from China I think - there is a lot of food in the shops from China - got some strange berries too that i'd never seen before from there - i might try and do some drop sconne baking on the trail - i don't want to walk really hard - though on one of the tracks the distances seem tiny - ten miles many days, though of course they use kilometres here - shame the exchange rate didn't stay as static as the conversion between miles and kilomotres
the beeches are pretty amazing - the whole of the coast is just beech really apart from the odd rock here and there - lots of kite-surfers and wind-sufers - i had my zoom lens on one yesterday as he was powering back to shore and just as he was getting closer i ran out of memory - there will be other opportunities i am sure
the beer and wine are pretty good here too - i got given $100 when my bags were not on my flight - so i bought some wine and beer with half of it - the warm air is good to drink it in too enhancing the flavour perhaps
its strange having had a Saturday and the football games in Scotland won't be kicking off for another 3 hours almost - takes the agony out of it though when you wake up in the morning to check the scores
i did a tiny bit of snorkelling yesterday - saw one fish - quite a nice one - the water was a tad cold - required a bit of heavy breathing but after the initial shock was quite pleasant - bit different to my snorkelling on isaly last summer when my head was freezing up as i moved slowly through the water
the kite surfing looks terrific too - its suppsed to be quite easy to learn - but it ain't cheap - i'd like to do a dive too - in fact it would be good to take the next course up from the basic one - but you need to get another medical done i think. Its not all that expensive relatively and you get a few dives out of it too.
So the cloning process meets with a temporary glitch - i look forward to comparing the festool plunge saw to the dewalt - i have a feeling that there isnt a great deal of difference in them - it can't be a trademark design by festool but when i compard them in the shop they seemed the same.
My friend matt tends his garden a lot - its like an oasis amongst brown gardens - his runner beans were lovely tonight with chili and there is a steady supply of strawberrys. He's also got a pumpkin on the way - a triumph of his fertilising the pumpkin as there aren't enough bees around here - there are about 50 seeds in it that all need some male input - i think it will grow quite fast.
My friends two kids are real characters - zoe graduated from kindergartem this week and was given a portfolio of her work and a report, which she did very well in. Some of the names of the class were funny like Mango and Tiahsha. Hughie is 2 and a lovely wee cheeky boy.
Folks are quite ignorant of the way the different accents and places fit in to the british isles - i keep getting asked if i am english - and someone had the cheek to ask when did england take over scotland - i should have said england has a scottish prime minister,its more the other way round.
keep fending off the cops please - they will eventually give up i hope!
i thought id give you a wee update on oz here since my last email was all too brief.
there are a lot of boy racing driving round about where i am staying - my new bike is fantastically light - i want one at home if i can't get this one home with me - i paid about 100 quid for it which isn't cheap i guess but boy it goes like the clappers - had it up to 40 mph on a hill - it came with a cycle computer and helmet and other bits too - i reckon i can get up to 50 on it once i get the higher gears accessable - the cars don't seem to know how to pass a cyclist here either(why i am going so fast so they don't overtake me) but there are plenty of cycle lanes and quiet parallel roads to use instead - i heard on the radio that in one city in oz one in thirty random motorists stopped were over the drink drive limit. The driving is bad if what i ahve seen is representative - incl a head on crash on a quiet suburban road - a motorcyclist getting cut across and lots of honking of horns. So much for the laid back ozzy style.
The malls are focal points for the women to go to during the day. There are ones spotted about all over the city. Most of the stuff in them isn't all that great but prices are quite high. It is nice to see an Ozzzy way of doing christmas with the decorations taking on an ozzy style - and some of the malls decorations are lovely - big christmas tree with angels circling above - and I saw the Santa in the mall too - he was a bit skinny and I thought a big massive burly guy with a real white beard passing by would have been better for the job if he had been a bit friendlier looking. It was a bit of a regular thing to see my cousins picture taken with Santa at my Grannies when i was growing up.
the painting started in earnest today - cool day only about 24 but still got a bit red on my arm - only slightly - but its quite an impressive watch strap tide mark -the painting , it should be straigt forward and there is some joinery work to do too - plywood just doesn't seem to be that popular here - but the hardboard that was used in the porch has sagged and buckled - silly and predictable!
i bought a fishing rod - a ten foot spinning rod - best times to go are sunrise and sunset as the fish come in to feed then - plan is to take it with me on my multiday walks and see if i can't supplement my dry food diet. I bought some dried food the other day, they do a very spicy pee from China I think - there is a lot of food in the shops from China - got some strange berries too that i'd never seen before from there - i might try and do some drop sconne baking on the trail - i don't want to walk really hard - though on one of the tracks the distances seem tiny - ten miles many days, though of course they use kilometres here - shame the exchange rate didn't stay as static as the conversion between miles and kilomotres
the beeches are pretty amazing - the whole of the coast is just beech really apart from the odd rock here and there - lots of kite-surfers and wind-sufers - i had my zoom lens on one yesterday as he was powering back to shore and just as he was getting closer i ran out of memory - there will be other opportunities i am sure
the beer and wine are pretty good here too - i got given $100 when my bags were not on my flight - so i bought some wine and beer with half of it - the warm air is good to drink it in too enhancing the flavour perhaps
its strange having had a Saturday and the football games in Scotland won't be kicking off for another 3 hours almost - takes the agony out of it though when you wake up in the morning to check the scores
i did a tiny bit of snorkelling yesterday - saw one fish - quite a nice one - the water was a tad cold - required a bit of heavy breathing but after the initial shock was quite pleasant - bit different to my snorkelling on isaly last summer when my head was freezing up as i moved slowly through the water
the kite surfing looks terrific too - its suppsed to be quite easy to learn - but it ain't cheap - i'd like to do a dive too - in fact it would be good to take the next course up from the basic one - but you need to get another medical done i think. Its not all that expensive relatively and you get a few dives out of it too.
So the cloning process meets with a temporary glitch - i look forward to comparing the festool plunge saw to the dewalt - i have a feeling that there isnt a great deal of difference in them - it can't be a trademark design by festool but when i compard them in the shop they seemed the same.
My friend matt tends his garden a lot - its like an oasis amongst brown gardens - his runner beans were lovely tonight with chili and there is a steady supply of strawberrys. He's also got a pumpkin on the way - a triumph of his fertilising the pumpkin as there aren't enough bees around here - there are about 50 seeds in it that all need some male input - i think it will grow quite fast.
My friends two kids are real characters - zoe graduated from kindergartem this week and was given a portfolio of her work and a report, which she did very well in. Some of the names of the class were funny like Mango and Tiahsha. Hughie is 2 and a lovely wee cheeky boy.
Folks are quite ignorant of the way the different accents and places fit in to the british isles - i keep getting asked if i am english - and someone had the cheek to ask when did england take over scotland - i should have said england has a scottish prime minister,its more the other way round.
keep fending off the cops please - they will eventually give up i hope!
What you going to do with your time off? Let me know what its like to have an mri scan! I don't think I know of anyone who has undergone one. I hope it heals up well if it is a break - was it left or right hand?
Enough from me!
Have a great Christmas and happy new year.
S
