Social Networking...

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1c6HOEQBkW5MijjIB0jsOC70qTnJUhq7CGhFjtzyKVS3l-xIk9k_EbzMSBDNaDX-uJzqo-PxYN1dVmLLSJDXZqnTNvqwNbiLhvfpcFP6-SJ9T9jMA4ZhhRnmendaeOwy-RJ4O6Y8_GX_/s1600-h/AJH_0259_2.JPG">


I've got myself into a bit of bother.

You will have noticed, one would hope, that there has been a distinct lack of updating going on with this blog.

The thing is, someone introduced me to Facebook. And I'm hooked. Once I found that I could while a way an hour or so looking at people's photos, catching up with old school friends, and throwing sheep at them, there was no hope for me.

There is only so much time in your life for your computer, and I'm afraid that as a result, the blog has suffered.

However, it seems some people have taken note of its absence...which is pleasing.

Course - there have been other mitigating circumstances. For a start, it seems that for my post grad course they do expect me to complete quite a few assignments. Then there is the constant taxi service I provide to facilitate the burgeoning showbiz careers of my children. And on top of that - the computer gave up the ghost and had to have its hard drive replaced (at enormous expense - and thank God for the external hard drive and the wonderful Time Machine...).

No doubt you are dying to know what we've been up to, so I will do a quick summary....

The business they call show has been keeping us busy lately. First of all, Anna filmed an advert for Westpac (a big Australian bank). This involved spending the day in Brighton (yes Brighton) watching her run up and down behind a pretend icecream van with some other children. It's showing on TV at the moment and you can see one of Anna's legs. She is bitterly disappointed, but as I told her, she got paid....Then she got a modelling job for Total Girl magazine - a pre teen publication to which Anna actually has a subscription. Much excitement, much playground kudos. The issue comes out in August. Then George auditioned for a TV commercial for SOLO, the leading lemonade soft drink here. After a couple of call backs, he got it, and the ad also comes out in August. SOLO is sponsoring the Australian football team in the World Cup, and all the matches will feature this ad which also has Harry Kewell in it. Further playground kudos for the Pettifer children. And then Anna got a Sultana Bran advert, which will also be screening this August. So it seems both of them will be all over the telly in a few weeks time.

In sporting terms, Andrew continues to play old man football and to spend most of every Saturday afternoon and Sunday recovering from his various aches and pains. I do believe they recently won their first match, which caused enormous excitement. The team is a nice bunch of people, many of whom are from the UK. George's basketball team made it through to the semi finals, only to be beaten by a team which they had thrashed the week before. Having played brilliantly throughout the competition, this was a blow to them, especially as the winning team seemed to have found a few giants we hadn't seen before just in time for the finals. The boys in George's team seem to be pre-growth spurt, and rather than being outplayed, they were simply towered over. As I said to George, in six months to a year, the other teams won't still have that advantage and then it will all be about talent and skills. For netball, Anna's team remain undefeated, and are getting a real reputation as a team who cannot be beaten. This has led to some rough matches - even 11 year old girls start to get a bit pissed off when they are losing by up to 40 goals. The girls really need some proper competition now, but it's pleasing to see how Anna's game has improved with confidence. She is also playing for her school team, and has been asked a couple of times to play for the year above her, which has also served to boost her confidence.

George has completed another term at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, where he is studying their Acting for Screen course. He has his whole life all mapped out - he will go to drama school, then move to LA with his best mate Jack, where he will become a film star and Jack will become the world's first internationally renowned white Australian rapper. Hmmm. The back up plan is that Jack will still be a rapper and George will write computer software. We're all keeping our fingers crossed....

Anna is still all about dancing. She did her Grade 5 ballet exam this weekend - the preparation for which has been quite challenging, as she only started ballet 6 months ago. The other girls in her class have been doing it for 6 years. However, she worked really hard, and we are expecting a good result. She also danced in her second ever Eisteddfodd at the weekend, and her group came second. They were so excited, and looking forward to their next chance to get on stage.

Through school, Anna took part in the Junior Rock Eisteddfodd, which is a competition between public (state) schools. The schools create a dance performance to a theme of their choice, choreograph, make the sets, costumes and arrange the lighting, then take it on stage to compete. It was a fantastic evening - I couldn't get over the standard...there is a website where you can view the performances, and when I get the details I'll post it so you can see what the public school system here can do with the arts.

Oh - nearly forgot - we also had a fantastic holiday on Magnetic Island! We've also had some visitors - Kodl and Krystina from the Czech Republic - who we know from Milford, and Andrew has made a secret visit home on business and provided a lovely surprise for both his parents and his best mate Ally.

Other big news was that George became a teenager, which in our family means you get to chose a holiday to go on with your Dad, so on Saturday Andrew and George head off for their boys own adventure, flying to Melbourne to see an AFL match, then hiring a car to drive the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide and then getting the Indian Pacific train back to Sydney. Watch out for photos on here. Anna and I will be having a girl's week while this is going on, although Anna is dancing all week at workshops at the Sydney Dance Company.

The biggest news by far though, is that we are now looking at houses with a view to purchasing one when we become permanent residents in the New Year. We've known for a long time that we won't be coming back to the UK, but now starting to complete the paperwork relating to our permanent residency, it's all a bit more real. We really do love it here, and it's really not that far away. It will be a relief to have our own home, and some more stability.

And there will be plenty of room for you too, when you come to visit....