This will be the last blog I write from Canberra. It is actually about the weekends I spent in Sydney and Beechworth, but was too lazy to write about after the event. Also, last week I got the news of a life time. My Settlement Visa to the UK was granted. Yes!!!! 18 months of planning and separation from Pippa has finally come to an end. I am leaving Canberra on Saturday 18th for a few days in Gosford and Sydney then I fly to London on Wednesday night. But more a...

Well the weather in Canberra is finally warming up. So perhaps I will get a spring before my next winter, but potentially have no summer. But I am not here today to discuss the weather. Yesterday I joined the mass of blue rinse, Zimmer Frame wheedling 'dears' heading for Floriade. This is Canberra's Spring Flower show. Not quite Chelsea, but lots of garden beds that are supposed to look like something. But I shall get to that in a minute. My main reason for goi...

A week or so ago I went to the National War Memorial. I am attempting to get out and see places before I return to England. With only a day or two off I try to see places around Canberra. Hence, the previous couple of blogs with Parliament House and Square Rock. As it has been raining heaps I decided that an indoor place was on the cards for today. In fact it has been raining so much in Canberra that one of the ambulances got bogged at a pick up and had to call ...

Today in Australia we all choose between a Ranga and a Budgie Smuggler. We have had a Clock Collector, a Champion Beer Swiller, a Hotel Lobby(ist) with no pants, Tin Tin, a Lover of Queens....twice, a Swimming Russian Sub Chaser and now we choose again. Yes.... for those of you off the big island it is federal election time again. And this year we have less chance of getting it right than ever. The campaign to get our vote has been so dull our options are really...

Something I have been meaning to do since Pippa and I first came to Canberra was visit the New Parliament House. It is on the classic school trip itinerary, but it has been a few years since I was at school. As yesterday was a pleasant day and the weather was fine, if a little cool, I decided to fulfil this 'to do list' item. It was actually not a bad day. I parked under neither but made a point of coming up from the car park outside the building. You enter thr...