Kerry's "Letter from Australia" - October 2006 Well folks, we've arrived! And oh what a disappointment - it's cold - very cold!! This is Australia - it's always warm, isn't it? Not in Victoria it's not! It is early spring here and the temperatures dip right down at night time and don't always rise very high during the day. We didn't come very well prepared either, only bringing a few cardigans and mostly T shirts. The rest of our stuff is sailing somewhere across the ocean as I write this. The situation has not been improved by the fact that we are now officially - Trailer trash. Living as we are in a fixed caravan on a site until we can find somewhere more permanent to live. There is no real heating just a small electric bar heater and a great big vent in the wall (makes the old Rayleigh shop - in winter -seem positively balmy). I had to request extra blankets!! We did stay at Kevin's friends for the first night but he is in the middle of remodelling his house and didn't have much room so we thought this was the best solution. The site is manned by a lovely woman aptly named Kim as she is a dead ringer for Kim on the Aussie comedy "Kath and Kim" much to our amusement, she couldn't do enough for us and made us very welcome. Kevin - my DH -has undergone a miraculous transformation on his way here (personally I think he had an alien encounter in the plane toilets...). Since arriving he has begun to eat vegetables - green ones at that - a hitherto unknown phenomenon. From being someone who would sulk if anything more than peas and carrots were put on his plate, he has now changed into a card carrying veggie. He has wolfed down broccoli, sweetcorn, mange tout (Rodney, mange tout), green beans and even cucumber. Apparently they cook them differently here!! Another thing, he has taken to drinking red wine - previously a rosé and beer man - still we are living in the Yarra Valley and they do say the Aussies only export the rubbish and keep the best for themselves. There are several wineries very near to us where you can go directly to buy your wine and taste test as well - of which more later. Holly sadly did not meet up with ET and is still a finicky eater! The food in restaurants and cafés is generally very good and reasonably priced. However don't venture out late and expect to be served. The second day we were here we called into the local restaurant at 8.30 and the girl said she was sorry but evening service was finished and the restaurant was closing. According to Kevin's friend Rob, unless you are in Melbourne (city), no eateries are open in the late evening; even if you are invited to someone's home you are expected to arrive between 5 and 6. The local supermarket though is open 6am to midnight every day of the week!! One of our first tasks was to get mobile phones so we could keep in touch with the "relo's" back home. See, I've picked up some of the lingo already! This was easy and we asked for international calling. This proved great for the first few days and then they steadfastly refused to call anyone outside Australia. Obviously a xenophobic network. This has since been rectified. The first weekend we were here Rob arranged for us all to go to a place called Benalla for a bike race. For those of you who don't know my DH he is a keen racing cyclist (having taken it up again last year after a gap of 30 years), he was a bit out of condition as he hadn't been able to ride for two weeks, having earlier sent his race bike to Australia by UPS so that it would be here when we arrived. As we didn't know the way, we had to follow Rob - not something for the fainthearted - he believes every journey should be undertaken at breakneck speed and involve you gripping the steering wheel of your car so tightly your knuckles turn white and you exit your car at your destination like a quivering jelly. He is to road safety what Tony Blair is to world peace! On the day of racing Kevin and Holly stayed in town for the race while I had been booked on a tour of the local wineries (The King Valley) with Jan (Rob's wife) and the other cyclists' wives. Jan said they were a friendly bunch especially after a day of wine tasting. At the first vineyard we were taught how to distinguish different wines and their age. Quite interesting and informative. Then it was on to the tasting, if you wanted you could work your way through every one of the wines they produce. I however paced myself, not being a great drinker, or as they put it "A one pot screamer". These nice Australian wives who got on the bus sober were enjoying themselves so much; I don't know how they managed to stand. All in all we went to four vineyards and by the return journey the back of the tour van was choc a bloc with cases of wine bought en route. On the way back it was tradition to make up a ditty detailing the day to the tune of a well known song. This year they picked "She'll be coming round the mountain"... We've been driving round the wineries in the van, We've been driving round the wineries in the van... We've been driving round the wineries, tasting all their fineries, With Jeff our drunken driver at the wheel. We're all p*ssed and very high, Yee Hah, We're all p*ssed and very high, Yee Hah, While you've been at the race, We've been buying by the case, And Darling - Your credit card has kept up with the pace. This was the final version but it had some very interesting lines whilst in creation. In the evening there was a club dinner held at a local restaurant (7o'clock, I felt like a proper grown up eating out that late!!) and all the wives had to get up and perform the song for the husbands. During the speeches Kevin, Holly and I got a special mention as the new kids on the block, much to our embarrassment the whole restaurant turned in our direction and applauded. To top it off Kevin came 5th in his section, so was very pleased. And now, what you have been waiting to hear, yes the craft shops are fantastic - loaded with goodies and a lot of it home grown and reasonably priced. Chipboard is very big here where ever you go, so are animals (this I believe is an American trend, as Jackie said this was big when she was there in July). The staff all seem knowledgeable and very willing to help. A lot like Pulling on the Glitz I hear you say. I am missing you all and the fun of working at the shop. Here are a few words I have picked up that you may find amusing: Budgie smugglers - Speedo type trunks Sticky beak - being nosey That's it for now - next instalment will be during November, so check back later!