Bushfires

Today has been a national day of mourning in respect of the bushfires that ravaged areas of Victoria 2 weeks ago.

Black Saturday as it is now referred to has had a huge impact on the country. As you can imagine, we have had wall to wall coverage and every TV channel broadcast the memorial service that was held this morning. People congregated in all of the major cities to pay their respect. It was interesting to hear the Queen referred to as the "Queen of Australia" by Princess Anne who addressed the service on her behalf (see previous Blog about how much more prominent the Royal family seem to be in Australia than in the UK!).

It has been interesting to follow the BBC Blogs of the event.

Whilst the news has been dominated by the Victoria fires, we have also had a few a bit closer to home. The was a fire set by a "fire bug" between Newcastle and Sydney and there have been a few fires in the Hunter Valley. We can, on occastion, smell smoke and the horizon is hazy from smoke.

one year on

It's a year this week since we arrived in Australia. Weary from 5 months of travel and anxious about having no visa and no where to live.

6 months in Sydney which where I felt like a bit of a nobody. Until my visa was granted, I was just a tourist. But I was a tourist without any money and so the days were spent reading newspapers, drinking coffee and walking the city, exploring areas which are now very familiar. Then the visa was granted and the frustrating job search began. It ended 3 months after it began, not quite where we thought it would but by September we were up in Newcastle and I was starting another chapter of this adventure.

Since then, the time seems to have flown by. Getting back into the swing of things at work took little time. Learning to speak more Australia than Scottish has taken a lot longer and I still get lots of puzzled looks when I speak too quickly or too quietly.

I have seen every season in Australia. From the surprisingly cool winter to the very warm summer. The natural beauty of the country can still take my breath away as can the sheer vastness of this country.

These are the highlights of my year :-

- Having an amazingly special New Year dinner with Brad
- Climbing the Harbour Bridge with Mum on her birthday
- Walking from the Spit Bridge to Manly and realising the natural beauty of Sydney.
- Being able to show family and friends around the City like I am a local
- Swimming in the Pacific on New Years Day
- Getting a job that I really enjoy!

Brad is about to start Uni again so that will bring more change to our lives but this year promises to be even more exciting with a visit to the UK for Jenny's wedding in August.

Funniest advert ever........

enjoy!