Sunday 6th September

Arrived at Sydney on time at 6.35am. Relatively easy to get off but chaotic getting through immigration. They’ve introduced machines for e-passports but these are along the length of the approach to the immigration hall so everybody queues at the first ones and it’s not obvious that there are several more further along the corridor. Eventually got to the machines which are very easy to use and issue you with a ticket. You then walk to a gateway where you insert the ticket and it checks your photograph and you simply walk through. We were expecting a full quarantine check after this but there was simply a man collecting the customs declaration cards as you walked past. On the plane we’d also been given a health history form that is all to do with Ebola. In the end nobody took these from us so we can’t see what the point was.

The international section was very crowded. We slowly made our way through to the domestic section but saw that there were long queues at the Virgin bag drop so we sat outside and had coffee and a snack. When we went back in the Virgin area was empty. They took our cases and we boarded a shuttle bus to the Domestic Terminal where we had a couple of hours to kill. In many ways the Domestic Terminal is actually smarter than the international one. There were lots of nice food outlets as well as shops. We simply sat with coffee and dozed etc until it was time to board.

The plane was tiny - a propeller plane with 2 x 2 seats. The flight was very quick. There was just time for the two cabin crew to serve everyone with a coffee and a small sandwich (free), when it was time to land again.

The new Canberra Airport is very smart and not very busy at all. It was easy to collect our bags and then walk a very short distance to the car rental where we didn’t have to queue. The pick up was easy and they weren’t interested in the DVLA codes! Car ( a Mitsubishi ASX) was OK although it took us a long time to figure out the satnav. You have to start by telling it which State you’re in, but it refers to these as counties. It was an easy 30 minute drive to Barry & Nancy’s. Barry had warned us that it was Fathers’ Day and the whole family were there, coming and going at various times.

Despite the chill we still had the barbecue and sat outside in the cold talking to everyone. They all left around 5.30pm and we cleared up, unpacked and sat and chatted and tried to stay awake until 8pm. Had to give up at 7.45pm and went to bed and slept through until 7am.

Monday 7th

Nancy took the grandchildren school and stayed for reading practice until 10am and Barry went off to the Podiatrist so we were able to make a slow start. We’d contacted Elizabeth and agreed to meet at 10am. It was only a 20 minute drive away so we were on time.

We had a look around the house and church and then went out around her parishes. After visiting the small church at Burra we went to the new housing development area and looked at the school that the church has built. We went into the cafe in the community centre and had coffee and a cake. Unfortunately Elizabeth had to be back for a funeral in the early afternoon (you can’t plan these things!) so we went back to her house. We showed her a few photos and we looked at photos of her family before leaving around 12.30pm.

We parked one street away from Elizabeth’s and walked through to the High Street to find somewhere to eat. We found a small cafe in the RSL Arcade. This will suit Bob as the walls are covered in LP covers and actual LPs. It also has a juke box and display of old cameras (as well as a gigantic spider!) Had a toasted sandwich each and then drove back home.

We need a couple of bits in the afternoon so first Les went off with Barry to get some batteries for the PIN sentry. Found the batteries but when we put them in the machine the display still doesn’t work properly so we guess the whole unit must’ve died. Fortunately we found that you can log in by getting a PIN from the Barclays App on our phones so as long as we’ve got wifi we’re ok.

While Les was out Anne downloaded the morning’s photos but couldn’t see some on Les’s camera. Tried plugging memory card straight into computer but no joy. Les found a tiny piece of plastic had broken off which was causing the problem. Managed to sort it temporarily and download photos but Les will use a different card in future.

We still needed a couple of other bits so we went with Nancy to the Hyperdome. Found a new lock for the suitcase to replace the one that disappeared. Anne bought some new luggage labels for the rucksacks. Went to Optus and got an Oz sim for Les’s phone. Les sat with a cup of tea and sorted out the phone while Anne & Nancy went to a dress shop. After another tea we went to Woolworths to get stuff for dinner and then came back home via Dan Murphy’s.

Had dinner and watched a Foyle’s War before going to bed around 10pm

Tuesday 8th

Slept well. Saw the grandchildren. Barry was working at the Police Station and Nancy in the school first thing. We sorted ourselves out and typed up the diary and did photos and emails until Nancy returned. Barry had a dentist appointment in the afternoon so Nancy came with us and we went to the National Gallery of Australia.

Very impressive but undergoing quit a lot of work rearranging at the moment so one whole floor was closed. We concentrated on looking at the Australian art. Had a nice lunch there and continued looking for a while before returning home via a short stop at the lake shore.

In the evening we went out for dinner with Barry & Nancy. They regularly meet with two other couples for dinner and this was one of their monthly meetings. Unfortunately one of the couples couldn’t make it but the other, Kevin and Margaret, were good company. We went to Little Istanbul, a Turkish restaurant. Very nice food but a bit too much of it and strangely they brought the main courses when we were only half way through the starters. Barry and Kevin have some sort of discount card which meant we got money off the meal. Also it’s not licensed and they don’t charge corkage for BYO so the whole thing was quite cheap - $75 for the two of us. Les had bought a bottle of Jim Barry Shiraz from Dan Murphys for Barry and Kevin and it seemed to go down well.

Wednesday 9th

Slept well again. Temperature down to -1c overnight!

Usual morning arrangement. Up early enough to see the grandchildren arrive around 7.45am and go off to school with Nancy. Barry had two doctor’s and one physio appointment today so we didn’t see much of him.

When Nancy returned from school we went to the Hyperdome. We bought some fish for dinner but Anne also managed to find two tops and a pair of shoes. All very cheap in the sales - tops were £3.50. Had a coffee and then went back home to put fish in fridge.

Set off for the Mint and got there about 12.30. The next guided tour was at 2pm so we had a quick sandwich and then looked around the exhibitions. The tour was very interesting and the young lady leading it was very amusing. When the tour finished we stayed watching above the coin pressing hall until one of the robots, Titan, emptied 100,000 AU$2 blanks into the hopper and we could see it go through the whole process of counting, pressing and packing, etc. All very impressive, especially learning about the special care taken with uncirculated and proof coins.

Left about 3.15pm. Decided to go to Red Hill Lookout which was fairly close by. Lovely clear views from the top. The cafe was open so we had a cup of tea and a cake. Came back down and intended to go to the Calthorpes House (an unrestored 1920s house). Unfortunately the signing wasn’t very good and completely missed it. However it was on Mugga Way. This is an area of very posh houses, many of which had previously been used as embassies and indeed some still are. Nancy took us round the whole area and then into the nearby area where she and Barry had their first Canberra home. Really interesting. At the time they moved there all the houses were built by the Government. Relatively few of these remain. They’d either been knocked down and rebuilt or altered beyond recognition. Nancy showed us their house and explained that most of what we saw wasn’t there when they owned it. Fascinating because this is something you couldn’t do without a local to guide you round.

Saw kangaroos on the route home. Had our fish in the evening and the Turkish pastries we’d bought from the restaurant the previous evening. Sat and watched an old New Tricks in the evening before bed.

Thursday 10th

Usual morning routine. Barry at Police Station and Nancy went for physio. Set off around 10.30am for Tery & Maureen’s in Franklin. Fairly easy journey - took about 30 minutes.

Looked round the bungalow and sat talking and having coffee until lunchtime. Anne cooked the salmon that Maureen had bought as she has never cooked fish before.

After lunch we went out for a look round with Tery. Maureen had to collect granddaughter Belle from school and take her to her parent’s house. Tery took us up to a viewpoint where we could see over the whole area. After this we drove around the area and then went to Ginninderra Village - this is part of a whole area of heritage buildings - either original or recreated. Half tourist site, half shopping centre. We sat and had a cup of tea before driving through the village and eventually back round to Aaron & Tracey’s in Harrison. A brief hello to them all and we came back with Maureen to their house and then set off back to Monash.

When we got back we left straightaway to visit Caz and Stuey. Caz gave us cheese and biscuits including halloumi. We sat and chatted for about an hour and a half before returning home.

Had a quick toasted sandwich before settling down and watching Poirot and New Tricks. Went to bed around 10.30pm.

Friday 11th

When we woke up Jasper was here. In the early hours Caz had been taken to hospital with severe pains - she had been unwell for a few days. It turned out she had pleurisy - the hospital sent her home with antibiotics.

Nancy took the grandchildren to school as usual and then went onto the hairdressers. Barry nipped to Bunnings and then the gym. Anne did some washing and sorted out packing for leaving tomorrow.

When Barry came back we went with him to Bunnings to buy some LED lights and then had coffee at Brewhouse and finally into the Hyperdome for toiletries. Also filled up with petrol.

When Nancy got back at 12.45pm we set off for the National Aboretum. This is really impressive - both buildings and the planting but most importantly the overall idea.

We had a quick snack lunch in the cafeteria and then a free half hour talk by a volunteer, Rob. He told us the history of the arboretum and why the species of trees were chosen.

After the talk we went round the Bonsai collection and then drove to the Dairy Farmers Lookout and then the Wild Brown Land lookout. Unfortunately Nancy lost one of her rings whilst we were here. We then drove a complete circuit before setting off for home. We went over the Scrivener Dam and past the Governor’s Residence rather than coming straight back home.

In the evening we went out to the local Chinese restaurant. The food was very nice but we didn’t realise how huge the portions were. Anne had fish in batter with plum sauce. There was so much that she could only eat half of it. Barry & Nancy ended up taking it back with most of Nancy’s dish. Barry’s dinner for next day!

Saturday 12th

Got up reasonably early. As it was Saturday both Barry & Nancy were around and we all had an unhurried breakfast together. We’d agreed with Robyn that we would leave at 10am to be with her around 11.30. We were well on time getting ready to go until we realised that we hadn’t had another go at booking online for Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. We did this a bit hurriedly on Barry’s computer, then found that the tickets were sent by email so we had to forward the email from the Mac to Barry and then print them. This slowed us down slightly but we still had time to say all our farewells with hugs and kisses and drove off with a wave about 10.05.

About 10 minutes up the road we realised that the water bottle was rattling slightly in its holder. When Les lifted it up he found Nancy’s missing ring underneath. We decided it wasn’t worth returning to Monash so Les phoned her and told her we’d post it from Tathra on Monday. About another 30 minutes up the road Nancy phoned back. Disaster! Nancy had found Les’s wallet and credit card in the office next to Barry’s computer where we’d used it to buy the tickets. We had no option but to turn round immediately and start heading back. We realised that in all this was going to make us about 90 minutes late for meeting Robyn & Len. We phoned but couldn’t get through so left a voicemail message.