An unsuccessful haggis trip in the rain - are you sure we're not in Scotland?

As usual, this week consisted of some netball on Monday (indoors, 30C outside and no air conditioning, eurgh), some twilight golf with the Dingoes for Bob on Thursday and a feeble attempt at the gym on Friday before abandoning ship and heading outside for some tennis - too hot to be couped up inside! A netball loss for me, a golfing loss for Bob and no tennis match this weekend as we had a bye. Hopefully next week shall bring us some victories! I did make the decision to get up early on Thursday morning at 630am and swim 40 lengths before work - won't be doing that again, I thought I was going to die of fatigue before 10am!! Don't know how people do that every morning. Needless to say, Bob declined to join me and stayed in bed for an extra hour sleep - a wise move

We are preparing for our Scottish party this Sunday and so we decided to drive to Dandenong (45 mins west of Warragul) to get some haggis from the British Butcher, only to get caught in a rainstorm so bad that we had to pull over to the side until it calmed down! Australia weather is so up and down it's unbelievable! We arrive in Dandenong only to discover that the butcher shut an hour before we arrived - d'oh. How annoying! Same trip planned for next Saturday, a bit earlier this time

On the way home, we took a detour to Wild Dog Winery in Warragul - we were heading to a dinner party and wanted to pick up some wine, which obviously called for some wine tasting. Lovely spot, bringing you here Mum and Dad, Helen and Steven when you arrive!

Our dinner could be described as partially multicultural - Lisa and Barry (Australian hosts), Barry's bro Ross and his girlf Chrissanya (also Australian), Danish guy Lars, Dutch girl Susan and us Scottish folks, a good mix and made for some interesting chat! Lars and Susan run a campsite in Denmark and somehow manage to give themselves 5 months holiday every year, brilliant! Free tent pitch site if we are ever in Denmark : )

Today Bob had a golfing outing all planned with two of his mates but was sadly rained off which meant he had to stay at home and watch the cricket. Hard, but somebody has to do it. I was off to Melbourne for a hip pathology course, my brain is now officially fried with information overload but reckon I've now got some good stuff to use in the clinic for some sporty patients. Now relaxing on the sofa with a wee glass of vino, with Bob baking Gingerbread in the kitchen!!!

Can't believe it's snowing at home, sounds like it'll be lovely and festive, especially with the christmas markets in Edinburgh, missing the mulled wine!! Would love to say that the weather is hot and sunny every day but it really is a 'four seasons in one day' climate at the moment. Only 3 weeks until Perth, hot and sunny all the way, hurrah!

Christmas cards should be en route soon - I'm working on it!

Have fun in the snow everyone - got a cocktail party on Friday and our Scottish party on Sunday, will update you next week with the next episode from Oz : )

xxxxxx

Sunshine!

Apologies folks for the lack of blogging over the past couple of weeks - truth be told, Bob and I have led a fairly quiet life in the country so not much to report!

Bob was excited about going into the final round of the club championship on Saturday but it appeared he got himself overexcited, took a few risks that didn't pay off unfortunately and finished an admirable 2nd. Not bad at all from 150 competitors! On a plus note however, he has a new job (managed to get through the interview without putting off his new employers with that horrendous MO) and starts with Baw Baw Shire council on 3rd Jan with a company car thrown in for good measure - hurrah!

Tennis has been somewhat variable over the past two weeks - played really well one week, then it was rained off the next and then Saturday there, I had an absolute 'mare, probably something to do with the coach telling me my ball toss on my serve is about 7ft too high and me trying to change it and failing miserably. Double faults galore! Hmph. I shall persevere.

Work is busy busy busy! We had our christmas party (early I know) at Chambers on Saturday night, a chance to get glammed up in the country and a posh meal and champers all paid for by the boss. Awesome and much fun. No scandal to report, everyone was fairly well behaved and we were all tucked up in bed by midnight. It felt really weird to have a christmas party in the beer garden with the sun shining - disappointed about the lack of crackers and party hats! Not a santa in sight. Scottish crimbo parties win hands down : )

The weather has been picking up here - we had a glorious day yesterday, sat out in the garden and BBQ'd, sunny and 28C, think it's meant to be 32C today which is rubbish as it's Monday morning and we'll be at work all day! At least it'll be pleasant to eat lunch in the park. Sunscreen is becoming a permanent fixture on my peely wally skin these days!

Got a physio hip course coming up this Sunday in Melbourne, dinner with some friends on Saturday night and tennis on Saturday. We are currently planning a scottish street party on 5th Dec for St Andrews day - we have found a british butcher who sells square sausage and haggis but still need to hunt down some Irn Bru. Think we'll need to have vegemite and pavlova on standby for the ozzies who refuse the haggis!

Think that's all from our end - will update again next Sunday, love to all xx

The Races!

The Melbourne Cup was a grand day out. With a random last minute purchase of a rather feathery fascinator (with some added feathers sewn in by my non-creative self), a dressmaker required to adjust my dress at the last minute and the only glam shoes I packed killing my feet (I should have put more effort in to the packing) I was ready to go! Bob chose to wear his kilt and managed to attract lots of attention from racegoers although not one female asked him what he was wearing under his kilt - a welcome change from home! We did find some kilted friends in the crowds - teuchter man in full kilt dress, a Kirkcaldy boy who wore his with an open shirt and a pair of very old Adidas trainers circa 1990's and a Glasgwegian man who had a tweed flat cap to match. It really is quite funny when you meet fellow kilted people in that they become instant friends and the Scottish accent suddenly flows much faster and gets much broader! Bob was considering entering into the Fashion on the Field contest but sadly it was only for girls - I guess he could've argued that he was wearing a skirt.....

Having had Scotland the Brave played to us by a brass band fronted by Elvis, we managed to find our way into the field to find a spot on the lawn for the races. We got a good spot right by the winning post but unfortunately due to the public car parks being closed due to rain, we had to park in Richmond and get the train in, therefore sacrificing our camping chairs and picnic rug! Bah. Never mind. Despite two or three showers (sorry rephrase that horrendous downpours) we saw some sunshine and it turned out a rather nice day. We were all set for coming home with some winnings but we really didn't do very well - we managed to win $11 on a horse that came third in race 4 and that was that! Our form guide was rubbish!! I really should've used my normal tactic of best jockey fashion or unique name but we went with the odds and it just didn't work in our favour, even after all the debating about who we should put our money on for the actual cup race. So You Think was the favourite and we put $20 on to win - in hindsight that was silly, the favourite never wins! You live and learn.

We moved up to the top of the field, past the winning post and found some rather interesting people to chat to! A wee glass of fizz or two later and we decided to call it a day. Would definitely recommend a trip to the Cup, the people were fantastic, no drunken louts to ruin the day, the sun was out and the yelling at the horses was fun if only shortlived. Would've been much better to win a few bucks more - c'est la vie!

What else have we been up to........Bob had round 1 of his club championship yesterday - in Bob's words he was "a bit average but not out of it" so hopefully the rainy and windy conditions due for this Saturday will make for a better round! I was playing for Drouin Tennis Club against Tooradin and we had a convincing win, winning both women's doubles, two men's doubles and two mixed - myself and a guy called Matt lost our mixed when it went to a tiebreak at 8-8 and we lost 5-7! Argh. Beautiful day for both our sports yesterday with the sun splitting the skies and a warm 25C. Let's hope it continues!

I had a first this weekend - I went to a Tupperware party on Friday night!! Not my usual choice of party and it was clear I was in the minority with not being married, no children and no house! Never mind, the girls were lovely and I did manage to buy a loaf tin!!! Will I ever use it? Em.....It was an interesting experience, I had no idea how enthusiastic some people could be about tupperware boxes - Lisa, a fellow physio who hosted the party, was showing off her very organised cupboard with a zillion different kinds of tupperware boxes all labelled in alphabetical order - think I'm a looooong way from that ever happening in our house! I think Bob is quite glad

Found a potential Scottish friend in Warragul! It's a miracle. Went to the local wine bar with Nat and Renee for work on Friday and when I heard the voice announce that he had a mojito and cosmopolitan in true weegie mode, I had to question his accent! Turns out that was his first shift, he'd been in Warragul for 8 days and plans to be here for the year as his brother lives here. He used to live off Byres Road and went to Glasgow Uni! Hurrah. Bob and I have decided we shall befriend him.

Well I think that's it! X factor on a Sunday night - there's no escape!

Hope you are all well. xx
PS For those of you who know that I just go from white to red, peel then back to white again, I think I've finally managed to get a slight tan - AT LAST!!! : )