WHERE ON PERTH ARE WE

Hello folks...well we are still here.

I sat at work today smuggly thinking of how very lucky I am to be me. Healthy, happy,( I was going to write handsome..but even I laughed) lots of people to love and love me back. Still able to run around and play the sports I love..Cricket, Golf.

The general feel to this trip to Australia is one of being less stressed and of not pressuring ourselves as much to 'make it work'.

I am working as a clinical specialist in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. I am based across two clinics Warwick....based in the Northern suburbs and Shenton clinic, near Subiaco, the town where my Dad lived in the 1920's and 30's. (Dad died in 2002)

I pass his old house (It is still there 141 Bagot Road) and see children in my clinic that attend his old school (Subiaco Primary)...If that doesn't tell us something about the circular nature of life nothing does. Their is an old tree just next to his old house and it is hard not stop my car every day to feel the bark, knowing that he would have played and climbed the very same tree as a child the same age as my boys.

My Dad would have been so pleased we were now living here.

Here I am treating this like a diary...sorry..and not what it is supposed to be.....'an hilarious collection of anecdotes'.......

I got to thinking that all my years working with children and being in a female dominated profession may be making me....'politically correct'...arghhh...so to dispell this myth, here is an old one...

His and Her Diary Entry

HER DIARY ENTRY:

'He was in an odd mood Friday night. We planned to meet at a pub for a drink. I spent the afternoon shopping and I thought it might have been my fault because I was a bit later than I promised, but he didn't say anything much about it.
The conversation was very slow going so I thought we should go Off somewhere more intimate so we could talk a bit more privately.

We went to this restaurant and he was STILL acting a bit funny. I tried to cheer him up and started to wonder whether it was me or something else.

I asked him, and he said no. But I wasn't really sure. So anyway, in the car on the way back home, I said that I loved him deeply and he just put his arm around me. I didn't know what the hell that meant because you know he didn't say it back or anything, this is really worrying me.

We finally got back home and I was wondering if he was going to leave me! So I tried to get him to talk but he just switched on the TV, and sat with a distant look in his eyes that seemed to say its all over between us.Reluctantly, I said I was going to go to bed.

Then after about 10 minutes, he joined me and to my surprise, he responded to my advance and we made love. But, he still seemed really distracted, so afterwards I just wanted to confront him but I just cried myself to sleep.

I just don't know what to do anymore. I mean, I really think he's seeing someone else and that my life is a disaster.

HIS DIARY ENTRY:

Australia lost. Got a shag though.

Just to finish an Aussie story that makes you clench your fist and go YESSSS!!

Biker surprise for Sydney robbers
Two armed robbers who targeted a Sydney bar that was hosting a bikers' meeting must have "failed robber school", said the club's chairman.
The men stormed the bar brandishing machetes and wearing balaclavas - unaware that 50 bikers were holding a meeting in an adjoining room.
Alerted to the robbery, some of the bikers chased the men as they fled.
One was caught after trying to escape through a back door. He was later treated in hospital for minor injuries.
The other man ran off but was arrested by police in a street nearby.
Southern Cross Cruiser Club chairman "Jester" told local media that the robbers had "picked the wrong night".

GREAT....Stew

To Hull and back

Hello folks Hope you enjoy the photos.

I hope to put more photographs on each week....

Well I returned to form this week scoring a 2 1/2 hour 72 in Saturdays cricket match. One boundary meant I ran a great deal. Thank goodness I ran the New York marathon in November........(Notice two brags for the price of one)

Some of the pictures were taken at the match at Prince Regent oval, whilst I and the kids sheltered from the 36 degree heat.....ha ha.
Stephen loyally wears his West Brom shirt little knowing that hours later the baggies would do what they always have done...try to ruin a great weekend.....Losing to Hull....

The other piccies were taken Sunday at the Perth Zoo and afterwards in the pool at our temporary house.

Meanwhile I am trying to persuade Jackie to allow...? me to go to the cup final should..(when) we get to Wembley. All donations to the Wembley trip gratefully received...

This week sees more house hunting...grrrrrrr and settling into work...zzzzzz. The weather and the lifestyle has meant I am more relaxed than ever.

In the past year though the family trips and adventures have been fantastic, Monaghan in particular.. and Angies birthday a close second.

We await news of the loves and lives of you all.....

Love Stewby dooby dooo

BIG DOWN UNDER

Hello Everyone

Big love to Jackies Sister Angela who is recovering from a broken shoulder, suffered when on holiday where she tripped on her shoulder bag.....(I kid you not)....She was infact SOBER....

Rumour has it she had, however just seen two hunky spanish ambulance men..... Still if anyone wants a shoulder to cry on Angela's isn't going anywhere for a while.


We all wish Angela well and look forward to seeing her in Aus soon.

This week I thought I would explore what is 'Big Down Under'..... ooh err missus and attempt to cheer everyone up.

Well strangely, humour is alive and well. However not all of it intentional......as this picture at our local shopping centre shows....



Australia is a great country to visit, however it instills strange images for tourists and here is a collection of odd tourism requests and questions....
These questions about Australia were posted on an Australian Tourism website. Obviously the answers came from fellow Aussies.....just trying to help:

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV, so how do the plants grow?
(UK) A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only four thousand miles, take lots of water...

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Hervey Bay? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia? (USA)
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not... oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is north in Australia? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Do you have perfume in Australia? (France)
A: No, WE don't stink.

Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia? (UK)
A: You are a British politician, right?

Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia? (France)
A: Only at Christmas.

Q: Are there killer bees in Australia? (Germany)
A: Not yet, but for you, we'll import them.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees.(USA)
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Q: I was in Australia in 1969 on R+R, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Kings Cross. Can you help? (USA)
A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.

Q: Will I be able to speek English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.


Well folks the Albion won...5-0 and are marching on to Wembley..(Will Jackie let me come back for the final)


Fremantle Dockers won the local Derby..All we need now is Man Utd to get beat and I am a happy chap.

Next week photos......


Stew

Back Down Under

Well the Gills' are back in Australia........Yes I know some of you told us so.......


James and Stephen have settled into their new schools and Jackie and myself are back at work.




This has been a very warm summer over here and is 36 today with an increase predicted for the weekend!!!!!!!



I hope that all the promises of visits come true. Dymphna and Angela have booked up. Karen and Mike are coming...Come on Paul you can't be beaten.....


I have worn my baggies hat whilst playing Cricket and have started a campaign to get the Cricket team I play for to adopt 'Baggies' as a nickname.


The baggies (WBA) have slipped from top to fourth since I went. However fear not.....because I have been dreaming of Wembley every night....The same dream where we beat Arsenal 3-1....weird... however in the dream Tony Mowbray keeps looking up to the crowd to check on my possible appearance in the second half and I never get the nod from him...not so weird.


My last baggies match was Charlton at home one of the coldest wettest games I can remember and as I and my two boys massaged our blue fingers to life I had the final indicator that warm evenings are where my future lies.


I would like baggies fans to consider supporting the Fremantle Dockers Aussie rules team, as they are very similer in the emotions they convey to their fans...hope over expectation all set in a retro 1970's style (Picture wooly hats and rattles...No really) with great eccentric fans, the one who sat in front of me at my last Dockers match yelled, for an hour.. "blood the bugger"....lovely.





What can you expect in a country whose biggest entertainment export are these boys..






Even Michael Jackson would hide his Kids from this lot.....

Love The Gills