Very "Berry Avenue" Christmas

4/12/2012
It’s official, we are in the middle of a heat wave ( that’s what it used to be called before global warming). We have noticed it getting slightly warmer over the last few days, creeping up to the high 30s, 32 is our norm but now it is 35+ and, not too humid.
 I did manage a couple of hours on the ride on mower until  it got too hot, then retired to the pool.
 We had a visit from Frank who wanted to chat about our house swap next year which is looking much more likely as his wife Julie, has come round to his way of thinking. So Newbold will have temporary Aussie residents for three months, July to the end of September. Surely the UK can’t have another summer like the last one ( we told Frank it was very unusual) ( only a tiny lie ).
 We are more or less settled into Paul and Lorraine’s beautiful home but still looking for light switches and still working out which is the best beer fridge. Now familiar with the security code to get in and out of the pub (1746), should have paid more attention at school. Not so familiar with the nice shiny white car that Paul has lent us as I have already re-arranged the front number plate and the panel below it. The car is automatic and I haven’t driven one for many years, I misjudged the cars length as it crept forward and nudged a few large boulders. Looks like a trip to the body shop soon.

5/12/2012
Bloody hell it’s hot!
 We escaped the late morning heat by meeting up with the usual Wednesday morning suspects for coffee at Clifton Beach shopping mall where the air con is flat out like a lizard drinking. Nobody was keen to leave the cool of the coffee shop it being lunch time before we reached home.
 Before we left the mall we had to do a bit of shopping, supermarket stuff, and found it odd seeing the staff wearing Father Christmas costumes with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer being played over the loudspeakers………it’s 40 bloody degrees outside in the sun!
 General chit chat about the royal baby to be is, on the whole, quite favourable here in OZ, if you count ‘the royal up-duffness’ as complimentary. Naming the child is a bit of sport also. The bookies are offering 250-1 about it being called Wayne, Kevin, Sharon or Chardonnay, my 10 cents are safe.

6/12/2012
I have done it again! Would you believe I managed to nudge the front of the car again? I just rolled into the towing hitch of a vehicle parked in the supermarket car park with no damage to the opposition but now definitely need a new number plate.
 Tonight was the start of a very social long week-end with a few beers and a meal with Phil and Julie at the surf club. We have something planned for the next three but the topic of conversation tonight was about the Aussies coming over to the UK in the future. Several of our friends are keen to visit Europe meaning they would stay with us at some point in their travels. We have explained to them they will have a limited amount of space compared to the spacious open plan houses they live in but hey, they are Australians, they will just have to get over it!

7/12/2012
Humph! After a night at the rugby club we still need to visit the butcher next week, very close to winning a few days supply of meat, but not close enough.
 The journey home on the courtesy bus took us through a couple of residential estates where many houses have decorated their garden fronts with fairy lights. Most are quite tasteful but others are very ‘Berry Avenue’ with Father Christmas climbing up to the roof in his bright red woolly suit and wellies. Then there is Rudolph and his sleigh covered in snow of the cotton wool variety……it does appear odd here in the tropics.
 Our day has been about keeping cool though we did make a quick shopping trip into Cairns for some odds and sods to comply with the theme for tomorrow nights party. It’s Alana’s birthday and we are invited to her party at a local restaurant. The theme is posh flip flops ( I refuse to call them thongs ). Jane has flip flops decorated with real imitation jewels and mine will be true Pommie. I have Union Jack metal badges on my flip flop straps and the Union flag transfers on my big toe nails. We couldn’t find Union flag transfers so we bought Australian flags and cut off the flag in the corner and used that. For this I apologize to my Aussie mates and will accept a punishment as long as I don’t have to eat Aussie pies for  week.