I've been away this week - a business trip to
The Company's Perth office and a client meeting.
I travelled Monday evening, but, although it was a flight of 2700km, which took about 4 hours, it was still only 8:30pm local time when I arrived. That's because Western Australia (aka WA) is 3 hours behind Melbourne time.
Actually, they have just voted to have a 3-year trial of daylight saving time from the beginning of December, which will bring them forward to the 2 hours behind Melbourne time they are in winter. The debate was quite protracted, I understand, with objections that included (I kid you not) "The curtains will get more frayed by the extra sunlight" and "It will upset the cows". Hmm. Still, WA is vast (I saw a map showing Britain, Germany and Japan together all fitting comfortably within its area) and it can't make much sense for those in the far north to change their clocks as they are so close to the equator - further east, neither Northern Territories not Queensland do.
Anyway, I arrived in Perth, checked into my hotel, and went for a walk to stretch my legs and find a drink. I know it was only a Monday night, but the city centre seemed deserted in comparison with Melbourne. All the restaurants seem to shut by 10pm, but I did find one pub open. I was surprised to see that they were serving this...
Yes. Abbott ale, brewed about a mile from home in Bury St Edmunds. I told the barman I would tell him how well it had travelled. The answer was - "Badly". It bore hardly any resemblance to what I knew. It was served chilled under CO2 pressure and tasted like it had been pasteurised. Yuck.
On Tuesday I had an early meeting in the CBD and went for coffee with, Warwick, a WA colleague. Before heading to the office in Subiaco, he gave me a quick tour of the city centre. He rather cunningly invented a meeting with someone on the 47th floor of
Central Park Tower, the tallest building in Perth. "That was quick", said the girl on reception when we handed our visitors badges back 10 minutes after she had given them to us. I think she might have guessed what the meeting was!
The view was quite spectacular. Way down below was the famous
Swan Bells tower, housing the bells from St Martin in the Fields in London.
My host, and fellow ex-pat Brit, Martin took me out at lunchtime to the famous Kings Park for a quick walk about. Fabulous views, and the grass seemed a lot greener than in the Parks in Melbourne. And it was hot too. In fact, I don't think I saw a cloud to speak of in my 2 1/2 days in Perth.
The company's office in Subiaco is also quite close to the home of the
West Coast Eagles, current Aussie Football champions. I remember seeing lots of their fans on
Grand Final day. So I had to take a picture of their stadium.
On Tuesday night I visited the Northbridge area, just across the railway line from my hotel, where there are plenty of cafes and restaurants. Here I was tempted to buy some Chocolate Chilli icecream. Yes it was chocolatey, but not very spicy.
After a successful client meeting on Wednesday, my host Martin organised a meal for four of us at
C Blu restaurant on Cottesloe Beach, just along the sea front from the famous Tea Room.
The water looked so inviting, and there were plenty of people in swimming, but I didn't have my trunks with me. The meal was excellent - I had chilli prawns (big fat ones) to start followed by Snapper and salad - delicious, and we had a great view of the sun setting over the Indian Ocean.
It was interesting to talk to Martin about how and why he had emigrated and how he has found it. He has been in Australia for a year and doesn't regret making the move. But Perth is currently in a big boom fuelled by growth in the Mining sector and house prices have rocketed by more than 30% in the last year, overtaking even Sydney prices.
Yes, Perth is quite nice, the beaches are spectacular, as is the Swan River, but the city (shopping) centre was a bit drab and unexciting. My Perth colleagues would like me to come and live there, but it sounds like housing is getting a bit expensive and I think I prefer Melbourne, anyway....
If I come back to Australia, that is - I'm due to get a job offer next Tuesday, but I don't know if I want to accept it.
You can see more of my photos of Perth
here on Flickr.
I think they look rather festive, and quite smart in those cellophane bags with Tassel Pickle labels. Those are Tokyo Hot and Fiesta chillis.
It's nearly as big as Little Miss! Only 9 more trayloads to go. Anyone need any dried chillis?
The water was pouring merrily over the weir beneath this bridge. Ooh look. Big Miss has been growing while I was away - she's nearly as tall the Missus now. 
We continued along the western bank of the River Linnet.
As the woods close in from each side of the river, you get to a point we call Echo Valley. It works best on a calm quiet day like yesterday. Little W had great fun shouting at the trees and hearing them echo back. 
But what we were really there for, and the reason why Little Miss had to carry a bag of carrots all the way, was to feed the 'Reindeer'.
Yes. Well, actually they are Fallow Deer, not Reindeer, but we pretend otherwise.
Yeah. Job done for this Christmas Eve!
...which gives a result that looks like this...
It's a pretty impressive tool, I think.
A highlight of the run up to Christmas for us is the Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal Christmas Pantomime. This year it is Aladdin, and it is every bit as good as previous years.
It makes an atmospheric venue, with the audience surrounding 3/4 of the stage. Circus is combined with traditional pantomime as the terrific Incandescence Circus Theatre Company add stilt-walking, fire and acrobatics to the story.
No James Nickerson as pantomime dame this year, but Gregory Ashton is a lively Welsh Widow Twanky with an impressive range of costumes.
There are some great set piece songs and dances and some colorful minor parts. Keiron Crook is cool as Djinn, the Genie of the Lamp and Lung the dragon adds chinese character and an excuse for the traditional everyone-join-in song "Lung the magic dragon, lived in a lamp...."
Fabulous entertainment. It continues until 7th January.
Even when it eventually got dark, it felt too warm to be christmassy. Here is Bourke Street.
But now I am home in Bury St Edmunds and we have put up the decorations in the house, it is quite cold and it gets dark early.
And the Abbot Consort are into rehearsals for their annual carol concert (7:30 pm on Tues 19th December at St Mary's, Ipswich - on the corner of Stoke Street and Belstead Road). Yes, now it feels like Christmas is coming.
I went into town to go to the delivery office to collect it. But when I got there I found this...
Aargh! The delivery office has moved. But where to? Skyliner Way? Never heard of it. I headed for the main Post Office to ask them. But then I spotted this Information Point on Cornhill. 
I'd noticed it before but never tried it out. Here was my chance. You just point your finger at the screen and off you go. I entered the post code from the card - IP32 7YY.
Hang on a minute. That can't be right, it's showing a spot just round the corner from the old delivery office, where the Bury Free Press offices are.
I walked round the corner and spotted a postman emptying the post box. "Where's the delivery office moved to?", I asked. "Ah. It's moved to Moreton Hall now". And now I remembered seeing the AA sign coming up the hill past Sainsbury's and Matalan - 3rd exit at the roundabout. An easy walk from home. If I'd known. 
These are the Fiesta chillis.
They are a lovely mix of colours and are quite hot.
These are mostly being dried. They are very mild in flavour, and have all turned red while drying. Great for adding colour.
Very potent. To show the scale, one of the Tokyo Hot chillis is laid on top. These are medium hot, quite sweet and fruity.
Absolute dynamite, but beautifully fruity.
Well, OK, I cheated. That sunset was over the Indian Ocean when I had my meal overlooking Cottesloe Beach on my Perth trip.
This Gobi desert landscape looked desolate.
In fact, we travelled across thousands of miles of frozen and apparently empty land before we got to Europe, which was mostly covered in a sea of cloud.
But the best sight of all, after a long wait for my bags (they had a shortage of baggage handlers at Heathrow), was this...
I had one last lunch date with my pals Beverley, Colin and David at Lime restaurant on St Kilda Rd. Many thanks to them for their help in my job and making me feel at home.
And I finally got to meet up with some old friends of my Mum and Dad, Ian and Janet, who treated me to a lovely meal of Australian lamb in their Toorak home.
It was good to hear their stories about how Melbourne and hear how Ian came to meet my Mum all those years ago when she was only 19. Many thanks to them for their hospitality too.
They reminded me a bit of squirrels back home, which can also be considered a bit of a pest. They are also very tame. 
These two scuttled about while I tried to take their pictures, but came up to see if I had anything for them in my plastic bag.
Yes, that is actually a paw on my leg. Cheeky things!
It was great. And more of a leaving do than I had back in May when I got my freedom.
It is always busy. The aisles are all labelled in English, but not so all the goods. I almost felt I was in Asia shopping there - I don't remember seeing any other white Caucasian males on any of my forays.
I've never seen so many varieties of chilli sauce. And I got a 16 oz jar of delicious pickled whole chillis from Thailand a few weeks ago. They are really quite hot and I don't think I'll get through them before I leave unless I start having some for breakfast. About 4 a day will do it. On second thoughts, no, not for breakfast.
What is it for? Well if I move another 100m long the road, you can see. They are queuing to look into Myer's shop windows. Since 1956 they have dressed up the windows for Christmas with a story.
This year it is based on the story Wombat Divine by Mem Fox. Wombat tries out for all sorts of parts in the bush Nativity play. But he's too big to be Mary, too short to be a King and too heavy to be an angel.
But eventually he finds the perfect part... 
That train looks fun, but I think I'm too big to be allowed on. Only junior wombats allowed.
I travelled Monday evening, but, although it was a flight of 2700km, which took about 4 hours, it was still only 8:30pm local time when I arrived. That's because Western Australia (aka WA) is 3 hours behind Melbourne time. 
Yes. Abbott ale, brewed about a mile from home in Bury St Edmunds. I told the barman I would tell him how well it had travelled. The answer was - "Badly". It bore hardly any resemblance to what I knew. It was served chilled under CO2 pressure and tasted like it had been pasteurised. Yuck.
My host, and fellow ex-pat Brit, Martin took me out at lunchtime to the famous Kings Park for a quick walk about. Fabulous views, and the grass seemed a lot greener than in the Parks in Melbourne. And it was hot too. In fact, I don't think I saw a cloud to speak of in my 2 1/2 days in Perth.
On Tuesday night I visited the Northbridge area, just across the railway line from my hotel, where there are plenty of cafes and restaurants. Here I was tempted to buy some Chocolate Chilli icecream. Yes it was chocolatey, but not very spicy.
The water looked so inviting, and there were plenty of people in swimming, but I didn't have my trunks with me. The meal was excellent - I had chilli prawns (big fat ones) to start followed by Snapper and salad - delicious, and we had a great view of the sun setting over the Indian Ocean.
