What a weekend! Its been eventful to say the least.

It was Hammys birthday Saturday. we bought him some Sherbert Lemons cos they're his favourite English sweet, a razor and some shaving foam for his little bit of bum fluff, which quite honestly the dog could lick off, Willy Wonka choclate and we bunged $10 in a card. Billy and Rich got him some bits and he seemed really pleased. We bought him a cake and sang happy bithday to him, which I'm utterly convinced he was delighted about!

Me and Nick wanted to get a bit of shopping so we headed out for a while. We treated ourselves to brekko in Oscars, which was a lovely leisurely start to our day. We had a dawdle round the shops after buying sweets to take home, a present for Rob and Fil for lending the the tripod and the lounger and a beautiful glass friendship ball for Billy and Rich. It had a lovely poem with it that makes me well up every time I think of it. It said the ball has no begginging and no end, like a friendship and that no two patterns that it creates when the sun shines on it are the same, just like no two friends are the same. As soon as I read it I knew instantly that we needed it to buy it. I was really choked. I cant find the words to tell Billy and Rich just how much we love them without sounding like its a joke. This summed it up for me. We managed to buy loads of goodies despite there only being about a dozen shops. Enough for Nick to be completely bored though by the time we'd finished.

After our very pleasing purchases we headed to Dome for coffee. I was totally making the most of everything as time is running out for us now. We sat upstairs and looked down on everyone going about their business. We lolloped in leather, wingbacked chairs, taking in every bit of the day. Chatting and enjoying the company over coffee and apple pie.

When we got back we gave Billy and Rich their present. Billy said once the table was back indoors it would go there, by the window, in the sun. That is if Rich ever opens the blinds!

There was just enough time for a little laze around before me and Billy donned our glad rags and set of for Micky Bubble. I was quite honestly beside myself with excitment! The drive there went without a hitch but when we arrived we couldnt actually find the arena car park because of the roadworks! As luck would have it there was a multi storey just over the road. We successfully parked the car and head for the arena. As we left the car park the heavens opened! The first rain of the year on the night we go to see Micky. Thankfully it wasnt far to walk so we didnt get too wet. We bought sweets and drink like we were at the cinema and the minute we were allowed, we were in our seats. We werent really sure where our seats were so it was a lovely surprise to find we were really quite close. Perth Arena is fairly big but nothing like what we have in London. Our view was perfect! I was like a maniac. It took ages for the other seats to fill up but I think thats cos we were in our so much earlier than most!

When the lights dimmed and the music started I thought I was going to be sick in my rather fetching tote bag I had just bought that had 'Buble girl' slapped on the side. I thought I was going to cry. I didnt know at the time but the crying would come later. Oh my god! He was so amazing. Superb in fact. He sang a mixture of songs and each time one started I clapped frantically and declared "I love this one, its my favourite" until such time when he did sing my favourite. There was no declaration of love this time. I just clamped my hands over my mouth on the opening bars of the song and then proceeded to bawl from start to finish. It was just too amazing. I wasnt the only one who thought so either. The woman 2 rows in front was obviously totally captivated. She pranced about with her arms in the air like she was summoning help. In fairness to her, judging by the crazy moves she was chucking, I'm not sure she was hearing the same songs as the rest of us.

The time shot by and it was over as suddenly as it started. I was on a high after that and went cavorting out, swinging my new bag, grinning like a nut case. The fact it was hammering down didnt even matter! By the time we made it to the car we were saturated and starving. All that excitment really works up an appetite. We grabbed mac donalds on the way home and then made the boys sit and listen to our stories. They'd stayed home with beer, steak and chicken so had had an equally good night. Although I'm not sure how theirs can compare.

Sunday morning all the boys (Nick, Rich, Rob, Walt and Alex) planned a trip to the car show at Caversham. Not ones to be left out, me and Billy took ourselves off to Guildford. Its a little main street, steeped in history and lined with antique shops. We had a good rummage in each and every one of them and found loads of things we'd buy if space and money were no object. There was all sorts of hidden treasures that triggered all sorts of memories. We reminisced about who had what when we were kids and who STILL has what from when we were kids. There was floor to ceiling clutter. Hundreds of objects all with a different story to tell but all with that familiar musty smell. Luckily for us, nestled among the antuque shops was a bakers. In we went. It was time for brunch after all! We sat outside at a table, boldly plonked on the narrow pavement and ate cake and rewarded ourselves for not buying numerous treasure we cant afford or dont need. While we sat there a tatty homeless man came along. He was rotten, his clothes like rags, his hair and mess and his feet toughened and black from wearing no shoes. We watched as he rummaged in each of the bins along the street, looking for scaps of food or a swig of someones discarded drink. It was at this very moment, that Billy was struck with the notion that she should do a good deed and give this bloke a cake and a drink. Admittedly it was a cake she'd had a bite of but, beggars cant be choosers. I thought it was a lovely idea so egged her on. What I didnt realise was, when she said "she" wanted to give the bloke a drink and a cake, what she actually meant was she wanted me to do it! I get all the good jobs. It was a team effort in the end. Billy went and bought him a drink and I had to take that, and the bitten cake over to him. He was really grateful and whipped them out of my hands before I could change my mind. Luckily I didnt catch a whiff of him cos he was rotten, so alls well that ends well. We finished up our own drinks feeling chuffed with ourselves. It was a beautiful Sunday. Antiques, coffee, cake and my dearest friend. You'd have to go a long way to get a better morning.

By the time we got back, the boys were home too. Billy and Rich decided to have a lazy afternoon indoors and me and Nick decided to go back to Fremantle. We'd missed the markets last time and we still needed to buy prezzies so it was ideal.

It was a bit overcast and had rained for 10 mins earlier in the day but it was still nice and warm. We parked in the same place as before and headed straight up to the markets. It was brilliant. It was a bit like Greenwich market but better. There was all sorts of sounds and smells wafting round the numerous stalls. Bags, leather, souvineers, all sorts of NikNaks took up one half of the market and the other half was fruit and veg, and food stalls from all around the world. We bought a Turkish flatbread, like you do when in Australia and stood in the sun eating, listening to some old man serranade us. We bought loads of presents while we rummaged around and in no time at all we were loaded with bags! We were chivvied along with the crowds of tourists and locals all enjoying their Sunday afternoon. We went with the flow of traffic and found outselves spat out onto cappuccino row. Unlike last time we visited, it was heaving with people. We stopped for a coffee and watched the world go by. There's so much to see and hear. I could have sat there all day. No time however, as the heel fell of my shoe so I needed to find a new pair. For quickness I settled on a pair of $5 flip flops that had 'Australia' emblazoned on the inside. There was still time to make it to the sheds before they closed so we strolled through the streets of Fremantle and back towards the harbour. We were almost there when the sky came over really black and without a second warning, the heavens opened. It poured down. I have never seen rain like it. It was falling so hard and fast it felt like thousands of little niddles hitting our exposed flesh. The wind picked up and drove the rain straight into us. There was quite litterally nowhere to hide. We just had to keep walking. Just as we reached the sheds the wind caught the hem of my dress and blew it inside out. Fabulous! Just what I needed. To make matters worse, if that was at all possible, I was so loaded with bags I couldnt even hold it down. We made it to the cover of the shed, soaked to our skins. We looked like we'd just got out of the bath! I have never been wetter. What must we have looked like, standing, dripping, outside the closed markets, laughing as sheets of rain continued to fall from the ash grey sky.

As suddenly as it started the rain stopped. We were still soaked but we strolled back towards the harbour and all its restaurants none the less. It was breezy and for the first time, we were a bit chilly. It didnt put me off taking loads of picture though. The sea and the skyline were so dramatic. It looked moody and ominous. When its sunny it looks so friendly and inviting but when its overcast and wet it looks so hostile. I love its unpredictabilty. Nick was giving up the will to live by then. He was soaked, cold, loaded with bags and just loitering while I pranced about with the camera. The last straw came when I suggested he sat on the soaking wet bench next to a bronze statue of a woman in a bikini. He said if I took one more photo he might be forced to kill me. Clearly the sea wasnt the only moody and unpredictable bit!

One sure fire way of completely changing Nicks mood is to feed him. So looking like 2 drowned rats we went in search of dinner. We went to Kalis, the place we went to with Billy and Rich. Half of it is a traditional fish and chip shop while the other half is a fresh fish market. And that was where we were heading. We bought octopus, garlic mussels, huge coral pink, fleshy king prawns and a bowl of steaming, creamy fish chowder. We sat outide under the cover of the restaurant and looked out over the blanket of grey sky and grey seas that completely enveloped the harbour. It was dark and chilly and the chowder was a welcome treat. We sat and and watched the rain bouncing off of the tables, boats and sea as we devoured our seafood picnic. I'm sure I would have managed to eat more if only I could have stopped grinning.