And now for something completely different...

A short film taken of Tam, Felicity and Connor today...



We've just got back from a weekend with sister Felicity in Brisbane, helping her and partner Peter to clear out beneath their house - which is on stilts and the underneath has become a regular dumping ground for at least a decade's worth of this and that, including an entire Corvette in bits. As usual Peter cooked divine food and we enjoyed a bountiful supply of Aussie red wine. Hopefully we managed to assist in their de-junking exercise. We have, of course, acquired a few items along the way - inflatable dingy, boogie board, directors chair, heritage cast iron pot, dvd player, scaffolding, wardrobe, table....hmmmm? Didn't we just get rid of loads of stuff in England???

We returned from the big smoke via hectic highways and curling mountain roads to our modest and tranquil homestead. Happily the veggies have survived a couple of days of Aussie spring sunshine without watering and the vocal bird-life is as abundant as ever. As Tam and I sat at dusk sipping on Tooheys New and listening to the cicada opera, we were delighted to see two fire-flies flashing rhythmically as they hovered past. Apparently they are moths. Whatever they are, it was a WOW moment for us. Of course, the fire-flies' arrival is due to the warmer spring weather, which has also brought forth the mosquitos - ho hum, the advantages of winter are over and the insect repellent is now my best friend!

Tomorrow we're off to the beach - about two hours drive south to Woolli and a house just behind the beach, guests of friends Karen and Ken for a couple of nights. So a dip in the Pacific Ocean and hopefully not too many mozzies.

Blue Knob Pit Stop

My big brother Piers, being the jet setter he is, popped in to see us for 48 hours last weekend. I have to say, it’s probably the first time since I was a little girl that I have spent this much time with him - even then it’s doubtful that it would have been as long as two whole days. Being 14 years older than me, my memories of him are infused by the smell of homebrew, hanging out in his hazy attic boudoir, where he got up to all sorts of things that I wasn’t allowed to know about. Coming home at weekends in his mustard coloured MG Midget he always had time to rip the mickey mercilessly out of his three little sisters, and to give me a helicopter ride whether I wanted one or not.

Piers's visit to Oz was sandwiched between Hong Kong and Singapore via Melbourne, and so we picked him up from Brisbane airport in our ever-reliable Subie. It never rains in August apparently, so of course the moment his plane landed the heavens opened and he had the full tropical downpour experience. Heading home via Murwillumbah, we stopped to get a few provisions. Piers returned triumphant from the bottle shop with a mere 6 bottles of vino, a carton of Tooheys New and another of Coopers Red. We’re not quite sure if he really had intended to buy 48 bottles of beer, or indeed if he knew that in Australia a carton of beer is a large box containing 24 x 375ml bottles. We would, however, like to extend our thanks - they’ve been keeping us going ever since. And yes, there will always be a cold beer in the fridge for you Piers.

Having total control over Piers for the weekend, we decided to have a full yet relaxed itinerary scheduled for him. We lunched at nearby Sphinx Rock Café on the other side of the Nightcap Range ridge en route home. Welcoming him to our "estate", we gave him the guided tour, teaching words such as “epiphyte”, whilst catching up, mulling over ideas and supping on divine lamb tagine courtesy of Jen. As self-elected designated driver, Jen delivered him for a nights rest to nearby Calurla, self contained chalets (shown below) run by friends Andrea and Bob (www.calurla.com.au).

The following morning, glad to see he could boil an egg and was bearing up under the strain, I brought him back to ours for more walks around Milly’s own private park and to show him where we source our water from - a nearby mountain spring.

We were slightly worried about him attracting ticks or leeches, whilst halfway through a business trip, and possibly contracting some infection or worse. Being the innovative thinker that he is, he devised his own, very fetching, critter repellent...

Off to Mt Nardi, top of the nearby Nightcap Range, for a pre-lunch appetiser - a brief walk and a taster of the incredible Australian rainforest. Then back to colourful Nimbin for lunch on the verandah at the pub bistro. We spent the afternoon at Nimbin Rocks Co-Op on Len and Kay’s sunny verandah for coffee and delectable nibbles, with Grant (Jen’s bro) and Karen (Co-op member) joining us.

Piers got the low down from Len regarding living off the grid – solar power, rainwater collection, composting toilet, and a tour of Len’s fabulous grevillea collection. The sun went down behind the cliffs, the temperature dropped and we quickly showed Piers the community house, basic accommodation where non-members can stay for $5 a night.

So Piers’s fleeting visit to the rainbow region sadly came to an end, hopefully not too exhausting for him, in terms of information overload. My only regrets were that it was too chilly to sit on our verandah and listen to the Whip birds, or watch the Eastern Spine Bill honeyeaters bathing in the pond. We did see a pademelon boinging out of our way one night, but as for the wallabies – there’s always next time. Come back soon Piers.