Being Forty...

So.

Lets recap on how being forty is going thus far.

In my mind, being forty was going to be wonderful. I was going to be thin and extremely fabulous. It was going to be my best decade yet.

There were signs, however, in the days beforehand that this might not turn out quite as well as I had fantasised. For example, having a customer in the shop putting my tummy and saying 'are you hiding a baby bump?'. No. Actually not. I am hiding being fat. And not very well, it would seem.

Also, on my last day as a 39 year old, I enjoyed my walk home from work in the sunshine very much. And then when I got home realised that the car was not on the drive. Because I had left it at work. Not the actions of a young, vibrant person with no signs of early Alzheimers, I'd say.

And then there was the actual day itself....spent running between bed and toilet while my poor, wretched forty year old body tried desperately to expel whatever bit of contaminated sushi it was that gave me food poisoning. Not very glamourous. Although I was unexpectedly thin. My lovely birthday dinner cancelled, I spent the weekend reflecting on how I will NEVER EAT SUSHI again.

By Monday I was starting to feel better. Possibly even a little bit glamourous as a result of my newfound thin-ness. Until school phoned me and asked me to pick up Anna as she had stomach pains. I was a bit pissed off really - on Mondays Anna often has an ailment, and I send her off all jolly and she soon forgets about it. I thought the school were being hoodwinked, but when I turned up she was deathly pale and not looking too well at all. By the afternoon, I could see we were in for another kidney episode and took her off to the doctor who said she could be admitted to hospital. We actually managed to get through the night at home but she went in this morning, stayed for the day and had some IV antibiotics and fluids. She perked up late afternoon, and they said we could go home with some different medication. Now, of course, she is running a temperature of 40 degrees and I'm getting everything prepared for readmission. George has spent the last two nights at two different friends houses, as Andrew has been away on business, and frankly....

......being forty has been a bit shit.

No more winter!

Fundraising quiz night in Avalon. We went as the 'Get Smart' table.




Andrew didn't entirely understand the theme!

The funny thing about Australia is that it really doesn't have any sort of spring or autumn - or at least, nothing which the English could associate with those seasons. After what seems like months of wearing boots and jackets, the sun has suddenly come out and we are in shorts and slapping on the sunscreen again. On Saturday the temperature reached 27 degrees and this morning for the walk to the school bus at 7.25am, I only needed a t-shirt. The poor children, however, are obliged to wear their winter uniforms until the end of next week, when they break up for the spring holidays. After that, they will be back into their summer togs for the next two terms.



Naturally - eventually the men had to put the wigs on....




In the space of a couple of weeks, I have gone from switching on the electric blanket every night, to being too hot with the duvet on. And before you snort with derision at how pathetic we are with our leccy blanket, bear in mind that at night, the temperature can go down to 7 or 8 degrees, which is very manageable in an English house. However, we have all stud walls, no insulation anywhere, single pane windows, gaps at the bottom of outside doors letting a gale in, and NO heating of any sort. Now you see how quickly you would nip out for an electric blanket!

Summer sports have also started in earnest, so now we are into a round of cricket matches and practice, and the netball 'summer comp'. Andrew is even planning to play summer soccer (which I won't be watching as it takes place at 8am on a Sunday morning....). Anna wants to join Nippers (junior surf life savers) which is at 9am on Sunday mornings - nearly civilised and at least I get to lay on the beach while she does it.

The other way in which we definitely know that summer is on its way, is that we have had our first ant invasions (the first one, oddly, in the upstairs bathroom, the second - today - in the kitchen) and we have started to both hear cicadas and see their discarded shells. At dusk, as well, the rainbow lorikeets have restarted their deafening choir and the laughing kookaburras are beginning their hysterics earlier and earlier in the morning.

Some of you may know that Andrew and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary last week, and to celebrate we took ourselves off for a very swish lunch at a very swish hotel in the city. It must have been swish, as Will Ferrell and John C Reilly were hanging about in the lobby, before taking off in a fabulous yacht for the day. We realised later that they were in town to promote their new movie - Stepbrothers - and last night they were on 'Rove', the most important TV chat show here. They were very funny, and I think the kids would really enjoy the film.

Andrew and I are, of course, very pleased to have reached the 15 year milestone, and it made us think of all the people who were at our wedding and are still in our lives now. My dad also sent us a copy of the speech he made on the day, which still stood the test of time. I remember during the ceremony, the celebrant made the comment that he had not presided over a marriage before where the couple had promised to compromise. I think we've both compromised a fair bit over the years, and there have been dark times, but all in all, I'd say we are very lucky to have found each other and managed to make it to this stage. As Andrew once said - 'we deserve each other'...

(you now have permission to reach for the sick bucket...)

Speaking of marriages, we are dealing with another divorce in my family, and it has been difficult being away when you know that your support is needed. It's also disappointing on a personal level when there is a break up within the family. You invest in that relationship and love them because they are loved by your loved one, and because they are part of your family. When it ends, and especially when your loved one is left, it feels rather like you have all been rejected. Which in this case we very much have. But there is always Skype, texting and the phone, and Andrew was also able to give this gem of advice on finding a new partner when the time is right. My advice was to look for someone who was just nice - not fabulously sexy or great looking - but ordinary looking and a nice person. And without a terrible track record when it comes to marriage! Andrew called out from the background - 'that's what I did - and it worked for me!'. Hmmm...not sure if that is a compliment or not really....

Another important milestone to be reached this week is my 40th birthday on Saturday. I'm quite excited about it and not at all worried about being the big four ''o". Virtually everyone I know is either 40 or over, and they are happy, in good shape and enjoying life. There is no point looking back, and no point in having regrets, and
I'm going to be looking to the future. I'm going to work on spending less money on things, and spending more time with people and doing things. It should be fun!

Catch you after my hangover has worn off!



A nice walk at Manly Dam for Father's Day

New talents and new houses

Although I'm aware that I haven't yet completed all the uploading of photos etc from Beth's visit, I thought it would be nice to do a general update of what is going on Down Under these days. It seems like a while since we did that!

One big piece of news is that Anna's netball team won the Grand Finals having remained undefeated throughout the entire season. Winning the Final was no mean feat though for a number of reasons - the team they played against had only been beaten by them, and by a small margin, the weather was TERRIBLE and some of the team (including Anna, and their star player Charlie) were really very sick, and only on the court because we had turned up thinking it would be cancelled due to the wind and rain. Anna (and, as it turned out, Charlie) had been absent from school all week, with a really horrid virus which had been touring the school, and really seemed to have knocked them off their feet. A high temperature, sore throat, cough and headache thing. Anna hadn't really eaten for over 5 days and had lost a lot of weight, but she was determined to go, so on seeing the weather I agreed to drive her down to the courts on Saturday morning - convinced that it wouldn't go ahead. And it did! I've never suffered such horrid weather since we arrived here, and it was cold even by English standards. Add to that the rule that they must wear their netball dresses (mini skirts and no sleeves) and you had a recipe for a very guilty pair of mothers. Anna made it through 2 quarters and then retired back to bed till Tuesday. She was, however, very pleased with her trophy! We've got a few weeks off and then the summer competition starts....

George is still doing really well with his basketball, and now plays in a Saturday league for another team, as well as for school. He has also started having piano lessons again (he had a brief flirtation with this when we were in the UK) and he seems to be really enjoying it. He practises without being asked, and I think this is very much the result of him having a great young teacher who recognises that a 12 year boy needs a certain extra something to keep him interested. This has come in the form of learning to play both the theme from Star Wars and from James Bond. George needs to be more engaged in everything he does (he has a tendency not to be bothered about anything much - which he certainly didn't inherit from me!) and it is great to see him really interested in his basketball and piano. He has also said he would like to go to drama, so I am looking into that.

And the most exciting news for the moment is that we are moving house....again!! We haven't really warmed to the house we are currently living in, which although very large and on paper seems like a great place, just doesn't seem to work as a home. It's very dark, which I'm sure is great when it is very hot, but I just feel like I am stuck in a very big cave all the time. It also takes an awful lot of cleaning and tidying. The other problem has been the distance to school - although there is a school bus and quite a lot of children from St Lukes live up this end of the peninsula, we were just finding that we were spending far too much time making the journey up and down for school, sports and friends. We have found a gorgeous house in Beacon Hill, which will be only 7 mins from school by bus or car, and only half an hour into the city for Andrew (it is at least an hour from Mona Vale - 90 mins on a day like today when the Harbour Bridge was closed due to a big smash...). We are all very excited about the house, which is really beautiful, has a fabulous pool and spa and backs onto some lovely bushland. George will be within walking distance of a couple of school friends, and Anna has friends a very short distance away. We will not really be within walking distance of the beach, but even that will only be 10 mins away, and we usually find that we need to take so much clobber we need the car anyway!

The very bestest thing about the new house though is that we will be looking after Phil and Jenny's Bernese Mountain Dog there! He is called Bronson, is absolutely gorgeous and a great big softy! We should be in by the middle to end of October, and we'll let you have a change of address when we have dates etc.

Andrew has been sick lately with a really bad case of bronchitis, which has made him a bit miserable, but he's back to work now, and trying to shake it off. Touch wood, I haven't come down with any of these lurgies, and long may it remain so!

Today, as you will know, is 1st September, which in Australia is officially the first day of spring and predictably the temperature rose by about 3 degrees. The seasons are pretty simple here - spring is September, October, November, summer = December, January, February, autumn = March, April, May and winter = June, July, August. I was thinking about how it works in the UK and I decided on this

Winter - Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb
Spring - March and April
Summer - May, June
Winter - July, August
Autumn - September

plus any combination of the above.

I'm allowed to joke about it - I'm still English you know....

Beth Down Under 2008 - Magnetic Island

Our very first glimpse of Magnetic Island


As you know, Andrew left the UK in advance of me and the children, and we were joined on the journey home with our niece Beth. She had just turned 18 (as you will also know if you have been following!), and her gift from her mum was a trip to Australia to stay with us. We were very pleased to have her, and decided that our gift to her would be a trip to the Barrier Reef, staying on Magnetic Island. This was genius for a number of reasons - it would be a really great experience, I would have to go with her (hurrah, a holiday in the sun!) and a precedent has been set that I take nieces and nephews on holidays to sunny places!

So after a couple of days recuperating from the long flight, Beth and I took off again for a flight to Townsville in tropical Far North Queensland. From there we took a ferry to Magnetic. And boy, was it beautiful! The temperature was around 24 degrees, which apparently was unseasonably cold for the area - there were people wearing woolly hats! - but given that it was deep mid winter, we thought that was pretty good, and a lot warmer than it had been in Sydney. We stayed at a cute little hotel called the Tropical Palms Inn and hired the most ridiculous open top car you've ever seen. It was as old as the hills and had gears, which I'm no longer used to, so there was a lot of amusement as I tried to negotiate the hills around the island!

Highlights would probably be hand feeding rock wallabies, holding a koala, snorkelling on the Barrier Reef and Toad Racing. We also did an 18 kilometre bike ride, which was tiring but very enjoyable. However, in the afternoon after this, my legs ached so much I had to take Nurofen! At least I wasn't like Beth, who had had a very hard bike saddle (look - I'm nearly 40 - I deserved the cushioned gel saddle on my bike!), and could barely sit down for the next few days.

I should clarify about the snorkelling....at great expense we bought two snorkelling sets, and decided to go to what was known to be the best beach for the activity. It wasn't accessible by road, so we set off on foot for a pleasant walk to the Arthur Bay. When we got there, it was beautiful, and we got kitted out. There were a couple of other people out there but I felt a bit apprehensive - in order to see the reef you have to go out quite far, and once there, there is nothing to catch hold of if you need a rest, and no chance of standing up. But we thought - having come all this way to see the reef, we should get on with it. So off we went, walking awkwardly in our flippers at first and then starting to swim. Suddenly the reef was in view, and what was the very first thing I should see? A bloody jelly fish! Now let me explain about jellyfish, and Australian fish generally. Far North Queensland is famous for box jellyfish which can kill you. July is not supposed to be the season for them, but there are also any number of other creatures on the reef that can kill you, and some of them are jelly like. The very last thing I wanted to see whilst swimming was a jelly fish. The moment I clapped eyes on it, I panicked and started to do comedy swimming in my attempts to get away (just for info - breast stroke does not work well with flippers it would seem). Apparently, in doing so, I kicked up a lot of sand which blinded Bethany. Before we knew it we were stumbling out of the water again. And that was it - we didn't go in again. Too scared! Initially I thought I had got away with it with the jellyfish, as it clearly hadn't stung me. However, we chatted to the couple on the beach who had been snorkelling and they told me that there are some types of jellyfish which you don't know have stung you for about half an hour, then you start to feel really ill. I spent the next half hour checking my watch and having a panic attack.

Dear Reader - you will be relieved to know I survived....



Arthur Bay - where we kinda sorta went snorkelling!



A rock wallaby and her joey - how cute??



Toad racing - we bet a lot but didn't win anything! It was a great laugh though.



The Tropical Palms Inn



Beth pretending to drive our funny little car!





Holding a koala was a real experience. Their fur is like sheep's wool



Beth all kitted out to brave the reef!



How cool am I? NOT...



Beth at West Point Beach, at the end of our bike ride.



Not bad for the middle of winter, eh?







Beth with another selection of native Australian wildlife.

Finding your rhythm....

James and Lewis - Lewis is in hospital at the moment suffering from pneumonia. We are all sending him hugs and kisses, as I am sure you are!

God - I really am behind with this aren't I? I imagine all the regular readers have given up on me, but fear not! I am just struggling to get back into the swing of things following our trip to the UK, then my trip to Magnetic Island with Beth, then two weeks of doing touristy things (mainly shopping!) with Beth, then a week of everyone being ill. I'm hoping this will be just be a normal week of school runs, work and the gym, and that I will manage to get the house back in order (I can't even begin to describe the state of my house at the moment, but suffice to say that there is an ironing pile that would challenge even the most dedicated mountaineer, and the mess.....well. It's just shameful really).

Also events at home have been preoccupying me. As I've said before, when people you love are suffering, it really brings home how far away we are. But also it proves to me that it is possible to be a family and be thousands of miles apart. Love travels well.

So - how am I going to catch up? Well I wanted to make sure I put some pics of the children and their friends in Milford on here, so I'll do that. Then I'll tell you all about Beth's visit (which was soooo much fun!), then I'll move onto the usual comments on Aussie life and our more recent adventures. Then I absolutely promise - normal service will be resumed.

Enjoy!



Anna and George with the lovely Bray boys, Henry and George



Anna and George with the Bray boys and the Bray girls - Zara, Lizzie and Martha in the pram!



Anna and George with Abby and Olly, who came to Center Parcs with us




Anna and Jamie



George and all the Milford Boys! We couldn't get over how much their hair had grown! From left to right - Conor, Thomas, Oliver, Colm, George, Joe and Piers. They are all wearing the australian t shirts we brought over for them.



George and Colm. We made Colm bend down a bit so that George didn't look like a midget!


Anna and all her BFFs - Nancy, Rosalind,Anna, Jessica, Lauren and Megan. Ellie and Gigi couldn't make it.




Three very blue eyed girls - Phoebe, Anna and Ophelia.

The Pettifers Down Under UK 2008 - Friends

Sarah, Andrew and I, Charlotte and the wonderful Charlie. We are walking along the sea wall at Keyhaven, which is a walk we often used to do with Charlie. I was bloody freezing!



Nugs, Anna, Phoebe and Nancy




Me and my best friend in all the world - Nugs



All the Enfield and Latymer boys up in St Albans after a great Indian. I look huge-mungous in this picture!



Me and my lovely friend Hazel



Lynne and Thomas



Andrew and Caroline



Louis, Johnny and George.

The Pettifers Down Under UK 2008 - Babies

After a few barren years (not literally) on the baby front, suddenly when we left, everyone started reproducing! I'm fairly certain that the two things are not related, but it did mean that when we got back to the UK, there were a number of small people we needed to get acquainted with.

First there was the new addition to Hazel and Dave's family. Martha was born a few days before we left for our trip, so we were especially honored that at 11 days old she travelled from her home in Nantwich to her Uncle Jim's in Lincolnshire, just to see us. It was a fleeting visit, but it was lovely to get to see her when she was so tiny. And Dave better start worrying - with 3 daughters now, that's three weddings he is going to have to pay for! He might have to sell some of his international property portfolio!

Then friends Gary and Lynne had gorgeous Thomas, who was exactly as a baby should be - all chubbly and smiley and happy. His two brothers, James and Ross seemed quite pleased with him too!

Lastly, we were lucky enough to have our very much loved former au pair Josefine come over and stay in Lymington for a week while we were there - along with her 18 month old daughter, Ophelia. Anna and I last saw them in Koln when Ophelia was about 8 weeks old, but George had never met her, so it was lovely to catch up. Now Ophelia is a walking, talking, bundle of fun, who managed to teach both George and Anna a few words of German. We are all hoping that they will come and see us in Australia sometime, although it is difficult with Josefine's studies.

There was one other baby - Sam and Neil had Ben just after we left for Australia, and we met him for the first time. He was gorgeous, but I forgot to take a picture!

It was all almost enough to make me want to go out there and procreate!

But not quite.....



Me and Martha - she is only 11 days old here!



The beautiful Martha again.



Gary and Lynne's gorgeous baby, Thomas. He was a real cutie.



Thomas again - who could resist those blue eyes?



Miss Josie Jo and the wonderful Ophelia