Hewitts

Are you still out there?

Re Back issues   I live in Sydney, Australia and if there is anyone in my neck of the woods who would like about 50 back copies free, let me know

Hewitts is excellent, and I have no words to express how much I enjoyed our morning at Bondi Beach!  (quote) Well SB when are you coming back down under so we can do it again!  Hoping to do a trip in 2007, so moules et frites at your beach or fish and chips at Bondi which ever comes first.  Meanwhile email me how you and your lovely family are. I have also met the lovely Elaine of "Grannys" in Provence and Peter of the Languedoc page.  So for a down under forum member I am not doing too bad!       

Will someone put in the FAQ section a step by step procedure for posting photos into message posts.   Thanks[ :)]

No this is not a stupid question.  Flies are the most annoying thing about an Australian summer,  I think we are the most fly bown Country in the world.  I think the most sensible thing to do is fit fly screens, and I am posisting a do it yourself link.  Of course it uses Australia names and equipment in its discription, but any DIY handy person will get the guist. Security lockable fly screen door fitted  along side your external doors are the answer.  They can be locked at night and you have the security and the breeze. Not sure if you can get them, but by the numbers  form members posting that they are driven mad by flies and mosies I think this could be a good business opportunity for someone with a bit of initiative, come to think of it door to door salesperson.  Sorry couldn't resist that. There's no flies on me!  Well its Winter init! http://www.bunnings.com.au/site/files

 I have just read an article in today's paper which struck a cord with me, having just spent three weeks in Western Australia on holiday with a couple from Bedford and another couple from Wales (living there for a long time, born in England). "People may hate national stereotypes but the fact is that all of the Englishmen I meet - including those who I like - whinge.  They winge about the taste of the beer, the temperature of the beer, the price of the beer and the size of the glasses in which the beer is served.  I notice that this doesn't lessen the huge volumes of beer they drink. and they aren't happy about a number of other things apart from the beer, too, but unforunately I'm only writing a magazine article, not a 75,000 work book." Barry Divola - Sunday Life - The Sun-Herald Magazine Our three weeks holiday was spent listening to it's too hot, it's too cold, it's too expensive, there is too much on the plate,  ad nauseum.  We loved Western Australia but we were glad to get home, we'll go back on our own someday.  We have known the couple from Wales for forty years or more, but for some reason they now could winge for England and the other couple, I just won't go there or I'll be writing a book.    

But Wen aren't we also thought of as wearing corks on our hats,  and lying on Bondi Beach all year round, heavy drinkers, sports mad um come to think of it tomorrow is Anzac Day, we are off to the beach, will have a barbie, drink some beer and wine, don't know about the corks on the hat, give me some aeroguard anyday, but will probably watch some footy!!!

Friends of ours have tradional farmhouse in Dordogne with swimming pool, farmhouse sleeps 6 - 8, converted barn sleeps 4.  Nearest village Rouffignac.  Email me for full English contact details. Available May, June and one week in July and one week in September

[&] I don't know the answer to this one other than it takes time for things to change. I have lived in my suburb of Sydney for 30 years and when we first moved in, it was the fashion to have huge dogs mostly Afgan Hounds; go to work; open the front gate and leave them out all day until you return in the evening.  Our house has the only nature strip (strip of grass) and of course I spent everyday removing dog shit. There was even a shop selling a Tshirt with "Balmain Dog Shit capitol of the world" on the front. I am not sure why or when things began to improve.  Certainly after I threatened people with scooping it up and putting it outside their houses helped and the time I threatened the local real estate agency responsible for letting a house two doors up to tenants with two german shepherds, who were specifically bought down the street to the grass to perform every morning before they went to work. I told the real estate agency they either did something about it or I would put it on the doorstep of their shop.  "You can't do that" "Watch me". In our suburb and all over Sydney there are now collection boxes in parks with plastic bags supplied and fewer and fewer dogs on the street, but as I say this has been a slow turn turnaround over 30 years. It is now unlawful with a reasonably heavy fine to have a dog loose on the street, if picked up and no collar it is taken to the "dog pound", if walking a dog on a public footpath it must be on a lead. The turnaround must have been a result of complaints from residents, parents using playgrounds, which are now mostly fenced off, to prevent dogs with or without owners, getting too close to the equipment to deposit their little parcels and also a general case of being more environmentally aware. Attitude comes into play here too and there is a great Australian saying when decribing something difficult "it's like pushing shit up a hill with a stick" and I think the expression could well be applied to the current sistuation you are all talking about in France.  If everyone who is upset about it starts picking it up, like I did so many years ago, others in your village, hamlet might follow your trend and general awwareness builds that it is not environmentally friendly to leave it, and who knows in 30 years you too may be dog shit free.  I should be lucky  to live that long I hear you say. [:)]      

 Whilst visiting the world ice skating championships in San Francisco where we had all event tickets we were seated next to a Canadian couple who had a daughter the same age and the girls got friendly.  After the event they corresponded and my daughter went to stay with the family in Rocky Mountain House.   During her stay she visited the University of Calgary where the daughter was studying.  In the common room a girl came up to her and said I think I know you.  I was an exchange student at your school in Sydney last year!   After my daughter returned to Sydney, and the Canadian girl had spent a holiday here, she sent us a letter from Canada telling Imogen how one day at Uni she heard an Australian accent.   She asked the girl do you know Imogen Hewitt.  Bearing in mind the size of Australia, the distance from Canada and likelihood of this girl knowing my daughter imagine the surprise.  Yes I do I train at the same ice rink.  Turned out this girl was on a scholarship as a speed skater and trained with my daughter who at the time was quite a good figure skater!!   On the same trip we visited the Grand Cannon.  Leaning over the rails to oh and ah at the view guess who was walking past but the girls’ head mistress from Sydney who had been on a conference!!!   So yes indeed it is a small world and getting smaller!

[quote user="Alcazar"] <<She phoned him at home - and her first words of the conversation were "where are you">> Ha! My wife once got lost, and even had a mapbook with her. She phoned me, desribed what she could see, and asked, "where am I ?" I kid you not Alcazar   [:$] Oh I can relate to that , so him indoors thought he would buy one of those GPS jizzmos for me so that I couldn't lost.  Of course it is in his car and has been since purchase and he now spends entire journeys shouting at it  that it is going the wrong way.  So now I am still lost because if you don't know where you are what is the use of a street map! and the GPS thingo is in his car where it has become his new boys toy entertaining him endless as he trys to trick it every step of the way by insisting on going the way he would have gone anyway!!!  [/quote]

[:)] It took a couple of urgent emails but have a new password and am back.  I particularly like the difference in loading speed, it was so slow before and that was with broadband, goodness knows the frustration level of those with dialup used to be. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New year from Eleanor in Sydney [:D]  

[quote]In my (sheltered) life I have yet to meet an American (or an Australian for that matter) who can speak English but I suppose there is a first for everything. John not[/quote] Yeh well like everyone in the UK speaks good English like don't they!

I have been reading this thread with interest and have decided I must be thick or perhaps it is because I live upside down in Oz. I understand the scams about send me your banking details and you will received a million dollars, but how are these phoney bookings trying to get your money if they have to pay you for accommodation? I wonder if they ever do get someone to send their bank details, I suppose you never hear about it because the participant would be sooo embarrassed to have fallen for it.

Well all I can say is "Good on 'yer" Lynda and Richard. I think you are very brave, and full of the "get up and go" which I have learnt to love about Australia and Australians.

Absolutely true story this is I promise. Naval officer and wife from Australia are relocated for a service of duty to the Royal Naval College in Greenwich my old home town. It is the husbands birthday and the wife has bought a present but only newly arrived doesn't have yet a kitchen drawer with bits of this and that including sticky tape which at the time was called Durex tape in Australia. It is not called that now!!! I guess we caught up with the rest of the world!!! So my friend goes to the nearest local newsagent and says I need some durex, but as it was nearing Christmas she says I don't want the fancy stuff with Father Christmas and sleigh bells I just want plain durex. Shop assistant gets extremely flustered and says I think you want the chemist next door. Thinking that English shops are a bit strange and why would you not sell sticky tape at the newsagent shugs her shoulders and repeats the same request to the chemist next door, who had obviously encoutered the mix up before and redirected her to back to the newsagent for Cellotape. They lived in Greenwhich for 3 years and the shops were her nearest local shops and she never went near them again preferring to do a round trip of many more miles to get her shopping. As this story is about 30 years old and sensibilities were very different than they are today can you imagine just how she felt!!!!!

I very rarely have any problems maybe because I am logging on in the middle of the night your time? However why is it sooo slow navigating from page to page? The slowest site I ever look at, you really have to put aside a decent amount of time if you want to follow threads.

Ahh very cute. Beats clening out the litter tray!

We also have the green bags that have a strong base and fold down too which you buy for approx 50p and they are strong and last for a long time. You can use them in any shop regardless of the logo on the side. Unfortunately although many people do use them, supermarkets still provide plastic bags and I am not sure of the figures, but would guess because they still provide plastic bags that there is the tendency to leave the green bags in the car or just plain forget them unless you are truly committed. If the plastic bags where not available, or were charged for, the green bags would be used more, and hopefully this will be the next step. People are becoming more and more environmentally aware with all local councils now providing a weekly service with a bin for the pick up of paper and cardboard and a separate one for glass bottles and plastic for recycling in addition to garbage collection, not just the councils with "greenie" residents. Why some of us are so behind some of the Countries mentioned in this thread I don't know, perhaps in my case, Australia, we still has lots of space to dig big holes and tip it in, like the suggestion by a previous PM that we dig big holes and dump the rest of the world's nuclear waste in as a big money earner, oh yeh, get that passed by the voters, I don't think so.

Please let us have some more, or if you have stopped for any reason, maybe you have found a publisher or are concerned about copyright, do let us know so that we don't get our hopes up everytime we log on and search for the next chapter. I am was enjoying so much ............... Eleanor

An interesting post. With Australia being such a huge country sad to say in our 36 years here we have not seen a great deal of it. Mostly trips up and down the eastern coast and a trip to Tasmania. Planning to be what is termed here "greynomads", meaning taking off with something to tow on the back of the jam jar for a couple of months round Australia. The camping areas are full of 60 ish folks doing the trip and we hope to be amongst them next year, and it is such a huge Country noone gets under your feet and lots of open road and quiet places to camp. In the meantime, visiting Western Australia to meet up with some friends from Wales in February, they will be escaping the Welsh winter and who won't!! Also planning another trip to UK and of course France for 2006 which seems to be a every two year thing as long as funds will allow. Funny how where ever you live, the last place you go on holidays is your own backyard. I was born and lived in Greenwich, London and it was not until I had children of my own to show things to that I started to do the London tourist thing embarrassed to admit that my first trip to the Tower of London was with my kids when they were little, because when I lived there is was all so familiar and part of my everyday life that I didn't take advantage of my youth and get to know my city all that well and now have to do it it fits and bursts when I return. I have visited far more of Sydney's tourist attractions than I ever did in London because we have lots of visitors and we pile them in the car and take off to show them the sights. I guess in London it was a case of up and off to the train and tube to work and back again, and taking the views of the city from the train for granted, as well as growing up in one of the most historical suburbs of London and playing in the huge Greenwich park every day after school in sight of Queen Anne's palace, the Royal Naval college and the Observatory and having Sir John Vanburgh's castle at the end of my road. Such treasures and how I took it all for granted!!! Still plenty of life in the old girl yet so round Australia, and Uk and France thats my long term plan for the next two years with WA thrown in too.

We are more than doomed here in Australia as far as water is concerned. We are on servere water restrictions and my car is really dirty, just ain't the same with a bucket and sponge instead of a full on blast from the hose. It is a very good suggestion of a previous poster to buy rain tanks now because it will only get worse as our world wide climates change. They are big and not particularly attractive but catch every rain drop and people in surburban Sydney are now installing them. Our dams are down to less than 40%, cracks are appearing in houses as they completely dry out, our bathroom tiles are cracking as the outerwalls of the house dry out and we are now going into Spring without more than a shower or two all winter. I don't unfortunately think it is just a bad winter with no rain, as it is about the third in a row and I worry that all around the wowrld the climates are changing. I can't remember temperature of 30C plus in England during the summer which has happenednow for a few summers in the row. So yes we are all doomed, so dash off to your local cash and carry, not that you will be able to carry a rain tank and order one to catch what rain you get in the winter ready for next summer.

We have cheapish petrol, ocean, sun - sometimes too much of that, and we speak a variety of English much the same as you speak a variety of English so how about Australia. We are very friendly too!

You need to meet my girls, nothing suppressed about them I can assure you! Wore the uniform with pride 5 days a week and Saturday morning sport and kicked their heels up with individuality to the fore at the weekend. Guess what, they will be sending their girls to the same school, if they get the chance.

Bring back the uniform I say. Regulation skirt, shoes, socks, knickers, blouses, sports gear, blazer and even hair ribbon and yes regulation school bag. Worked for me, just passed 'em down to next in line. One bag lasted year 7 - year 12. Everyone looked the same, no posing with latest in gear, no one knowing whether you had money to burn on such things or not. Mind you the fees where a bit over the top!!!