Australia 5

Hello..

So last Friday I had the laziest day ever. Watched and entire Harry Potter film and my only accomplishment was to clean the flat. Despite having nothing to do i still managed to almost miss the train up to Cardiff! I don't know how, one day I will manage to organise myself.

Ali picked me up at the station and we headed to the place she was staying. It was owned by a couple who Ali's Dad knew at uni. Two doctors, the mother Trish was from Scotland and her husband Cliff is a retired Doctor (Australian) turned artist. Their house was beautiful. It’s an ecological house based on a courtyard and a glass corridor runs around he middle with all the rooms off it, leaving a exhibition like space on the internal corridor wall for all Cliffs paintings to hang. We went to bed pretty quick as Ali was dead from the vets and we wanted to get up early to get up to the Hunter Valley.

Had eggy bread and vast amounts of ketchup from breakfast then headed off in Ali’s rental car with he trusted Sat nav up to the wineries. it was nice up in the low rolling hills but something I have come to realise about Australia is how the green isn’t really green. Apparently there is less Chlorophyll in the leaves as obviously less is needed as there is more constant sun that in European plants. Cool eh! Anyway, not sure I like the dulled greens too much, fells like your eyes have gone a bit funny in the sun. We went to a winery that Trish had recommended and had a taste of a really nice chardonnay and bought a bottle of it for dinner.

I managed to miss the turning when I was reading the map to the next place as I was looking out for Kangaroos on the side of the road. WE got back on track tho and headed into Morpeth for lunch. We stopped in the supermarket on route and got food for dinner as we said we would cook. Morpeth was nice as the Hunter River runs through it, so Ali and I sat and ate lunch on the boat jetty and demolished a massive loaf of bread and had a really nice pumpkin and cashew nut dip thing which I tried to recreate the other day with limited success.

We set off again back to using the sat nav after my earlier failure and headed up to Pindimer. Trish and Cliff have a holiday home up there by the water and go up most weekends. Was right in the costal bush and Ali and I got there before Trish so wandered up the beach. There are a few holiday home/modern cottage things along the water and as we wandered past one garden we saw about 10 kangaroos just sitting there munching on the grass! Was so cool, didn’t get very good pics tho as the sun was setting right behind them.

When Trish arrived we got the fire going in the hearth and sat down with a glass of wine and chatted about lots of things, Trish is a paediatric doctor and head of the whole Newcastle area so she was telling us about the massive problems with Aboriginal health and a horrific racism that still is far too prevalent.

Ali and I made a Jamie Oliver Fish pie (adapted) recipe for dinner and it turned out really well! Trish then headed out to pick Cliff up from the airport and Ali and i sat by the fire with the dog and facebook staled people in Glasgow and nattered. The others got back and we nattered some more and tried to work out what sort of animal had owned the skull that Cliff had found on the beach. He thought it was a pelvis and we decided it could have been a bird or a fish... or a little mammal! So we didn’t really get very far even with two doctors and a vet! I recon i was closest with a catfish or something.

On Sunday Trish gave us a bit of a tour of the area and we saw some dolphins in the river. We walked along a beautiful long beach with big crashing waves and I went for a little paddle before a MASSIVE wave came at me. I should have just gotten wet because as i jumped to miss it my little waterproof camera jumped out of my pocket and disappeared for a life with the fishes. Would have been less annoyed if it were not waterproof ‘cos I know it’s probably not even broken yet! grrr. Never mind. We went and go coffee and cake after that to sooth my broken heart after my traumatic loss and then pottered back to the house.

After lunch we picked lots of Lemons from he tree in the garden and Trish gave me about 8 to take home! What you loose on the camera you gain on the lemons.
After lunch we headed back to the house in Cardiff and put Ali's pics on facebook before she had a chance to lose her camera too. She gave me a lift to the station and I got on the train back to Sydney. It took forever as someone had jumped in front of a train further up the line and there were massive delays. Ended up back in Sydney about 45 mins late and got the bus back and fell into bed.

Monday was an easy day as I didn’t really have any classes. I went into studio in the morning (via the charity shop where i finally found myself a second pair of jeans) and then went to Nina’s new flat for Lunch after a quick swim in the 50 meter pool again. Its going to be weird going back to the 20m one in Glasgow! After our late lunch at Nina’s I phoned mum and said Happy Birthday. I love mums reaction on the phone as she always sounds so surprised! Like phones from Oz are a new phenomenon or something (just teasing mum!) Anyway, so my evening was pretty relaxed. I got a movie out and tried to recreate the pumpkin dip that Ali and I had discovered. Watched 'Becoming Jane' and went to bed.

Tuesday was a bit hectic as i had a proposal due for my Glass elective but also had to go into main campus on the bus to pay a ceramics fee and talk to Ross on Skype at lunch time. The Glass class in the evening was much more complicated than last week! We were making a tumbler an there are so many steps to remember. Mine turned out ok but had a triangle bottom for some unknown reason. A few exploded which was exciting and everyone was going red in the ace trying to blow a bubble in the glass to make the shape of the cup. The class ran over by almost an hour so I wasn’t back till almost 9. I watched tv and made dinner, then went to bed so I would have some energy for Wednesday which is always a stupidly busy day.

I missed the early morning paddle on the harbour as I was really exhausted and had to finish my proposal that I should have handed in the night before. Was in the library by 9 and then had class at ten for crits all morning. The afternoon I had my first one on one tutorial with my tutor Michael and he seemed pleased with the work I had done so i headed off to get the bus to ceramics. Did lots of glazing at ceramics then threw a couple more bowls. Didn’t get one as big as last week but the 2 of us doing advanced ceramics had stayed when the hand building class had gone home. and taught a German girl how to throw, so we didn’t get away till about ten. The bus then decided not to come and I had to wait forever for the next one. They shouldn’t put a takeaway right next to the bus stop and i gave in to it and bought a veggie kebab. (Wasn't going to have the energy to cook by the time I got back anyway!)

I got to my front door finally and realised I had forgotten my bleedin’ keys but thank goodness Bellinda was still up so I didn’t have to wake anyone up or try to break in.
I got up early this morning and managed to retrieve my keys by way of a very friendly janitor who unlocked the workshop for me. I turned the bowls that I had thrown last night and am not doing all my emailing duties that I am behind on.

This weekend Ali and I are going to the Blue Mountains for a bit of an adventure. Don't worry we will be careful and not emulate that stupid Brit who got lost in July. They did find him btw and he got tonnes of money from the papers for the story! There was lots in the papers here about it as people thought he should give the money to the emergency services which had spend days looking for the silly prat.

Any way. Lots and lots of Love to all. Will send you a dramatic account of Kangaroos and Koalas when i get back. Hope you are all well xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx