The power of the Internet

This morning:

HARBOUR BRIDGE! HARBOUR BRIDGE! HARBOUR BRIDGE! COATHANGER! YES YES YES!! WHEEEEE!

Ahem hang on while I compose myself.

This morning we drove over the harbour bridge to visit Elizabeth and Rob for a wonderful brunch on their outside terrace, which is suspended high above their trees, cockatoos squarking and possums sniffing about. Ate loads of fresh mangoes and blueberries along with Elizabeth's home-made jam and freshly-baked bagels. Our life is so poor in comparison - how I long to wipe floury hands on my apron.

I "met" Elizabeth on the internet, she's a teacher in Sydney but spent four years living in Oxford where she found the poms hard to get to know. I also "met" Lynda on the same website (a pom who's doing the same as us). Lynda's husband is a geography teacher in Nottingham and they have done a job/home swap with a teacher in Sydney. They arrived earlier this week. They were also invited to Elizabeth and Rob's house today.

Speaking to Lynda, it doesn't sound like a fair swap. Apparently the Sydney couple left fifteen used razors in the bathroom. Anyway, we had a lovely brunch and taught Elizabeth the meaning of various English words like "minger". She and Rob are hoping to relocate to Winchester for a year in September so she needs an update on the lingo. We have foolishly promised to return the brunch favour but now I'm comparing the view of our back garden with the view from their terrace and wondering whether Sainsbury's croissants will cut the mustard.

This afternoon we relieved Gordon and Jo of much of their furniture, which is now stored in our LUG (lock up garage) then headed for Clovelly beach, where Ella had a pleasant tantrum and built five sandcastles. By 6pm I'd had my first vodka and she was in bed at 7pm sharp with only one read-through of "Kipper". The kid's in trouble.