This is the last post I will be writing from the comfort of the dinning room table in my little house by the sea. I’m about to be asked to pack up the router and the telephone and place them in the suitcase which is already 10KGs over the limit (eik!)

It is very sad and more than a little bit stressful to try and fit everything that is left into a suitcase that must not weigh more than 20KG. In fact I’ve already managed to fail quite miserably on that count

At least I have LOM and SPAN here, and that’s cool We’ve had a great few days in Melbourne and LOF and I really enjoyed Hobart – although I was quite upset to discover that the Cadbury’s factory isn’t open at the weekends and I failed miserably at my mission to visit the factory on the other side of the world. He was, however, more than happy to walk down the main high street and into the annual Beer fest. Mummy Cow.. got you the coolest little gift They have Moo beer!!! LMAO!!! and the beer mat was more than adequate as a tea holder at work – the catchphrase will make you smile

So… here I am signing off in lil’ ‘ol Adelaide… I might be chatting in Bangkok or may be silenced until I arrive in the UK on the 10th… I’ll try and keep a travel diary again and I will be taking my laptop with me so fingers crossed. To those of you in Oz, a sad farewell; it’s been awesome and we’ll miss you and your beautiful country. To those of you in the UK… See you soon you poor buggers! Put the kettle on, find as many jumpers and blankets as you can and make sure the heating’s on

We’ve been working hard this week to get everything in order and ready for our trip back to ol’ blighty. The car has been sold and LOF has been working hard showing a wide range of people around the house. Obviously, we have both finished working now so that we can get the final bits and bobs sorted before we head off on our final Australian adventure and then our eventual return to London Eng – er – land.

Span and LOM have obviously arrived on this side of the hemisphere and it was great to hear a very happy and bouncy Span telling me about the wonders of Hong Kong the other day. They’re in Sydney now and are still coming to grips with the ol when do I sleep and eat problem that jet lag causes. Poor things. They’ll be cool though and I am sure that Sydney is right up Span’s street. She did tell me the other day that after being in Hong Kong her and LOM first thought of the word “QUAINT” when they got there! LMAO I think most Aussies think it’s the biggest most sprawling metropolitan place ever! They’re right though, they are staying in the older bit and it is lovely and ‘quaint’ in it’s own way

We’re off to join them in Melbourne this coming Wednesday and then when they coach of down the Ocean rd. we’re heading to Tasmania for 2 days to see what’s over in Hobart. I have been told by several locals that Tassie is ace and that 2 days isn’t going to show us very much at all but I say a quick visit is better than no visit at all and I am looking forward to seeing it. It’s supposed to be more untouched. I do hope it has more going on that Kangaroo Island though!! lol

Of course, it was always my plan to make sure that, one way or another, we got to Tassie. It is the home of Cadbury world Australia!!! As a resident of B’ham it is my duty to go and check that out and have a word about the ingredients that they are putting into their cadburys here!!! tut tut tut!

We’re back to Adelaide on the Monday where we’ll meet up with Span and LOF at the end of the Ocean Rd, Adelaide . We’ll stay in the house for two days and then we have to hand the keys over on Wednesday. We leave on Thursday the 6th on route to Bangkok. Please don’t be suprised if you receive a christmas present from their! – if at all!! Chirstmas has been far from both of our minds lol. We’ll explore Bangkok for a couple of days and then get back on the plane to London; arriving in London in the early hours of the 10th of December.

Not long now folks!

I have mixed feelings about returning:
What if it’s not the same in the UK now?
What if I ‘ve changed soo much that I don’t like it anymore!!?
What on earth is it going to be like to work in a fulltime position again and will I resent it if I don’t get chance to carry on what i’ve been doing here???
How will we cope with the cold again?
How cool will it be to see the cats, my breath in the air, the snow, my family and friends……!!!

So I’ve now finished my final week at Thebby. The couple of months are over and I left on Friday with champagne and the usual friday night chocolates. It has been great working there and I have really enjoyed working with a lovely bunch of people who have been more than keen to take part in this new initiative I brought with me from Blighty.

The 12 champs have been working really hard and most of them have managed to use the board and the software in several lessons. Some of them have created some pretty impressive stuff and deserve a big pat on the back. I just wish that they would believe in themselves a bit more! They’ve only had about 10 weeks and they have got more skills than those who have had the board for 2 years!! I guess it has all be crammed in in such a short time that more time is needed to feel comfortable with the new skills that they have acquired. I have no doubt whatsoever however that they will go on to create some fabulous resources and I hope that they will choose to share these with the rest of us on the teachertechnologies Moodle

As an aside for Mummy Cow and DF; I have particularly enjoyed the fact that the Principal has a cellar (which contains champagne and a variety of whites and reds) and that he has allowed us to raid it every Friday night for our Whiteboards and Wine sessions! The trick has always been to get me to answer as many questions as possible before I finish the first glass. Obviously, on my last day I had more than one glass and as a result was getting louder and sillier! I was heard to tell them i would email the Immersive team in England to say “oi tart! I want a network install!” Which amused them greatly and made them want to ply me with more alcohol to see what happened next IN short… I am sure that what we need to do is have DF get a cellar, which he can stock with the governors permission and we can raid every week at our meetings It makes us all far more productive!!

Working with the refugees at the college has been an unforgettable experience and I have learnt so much from them. I can not believe some of the hardships that they have had to face and the next time a student can’t come to school because their hamster died I will be reminded of the student who found out her family had been murdered over the weekend and turned up to lessons. I guess the school is a solice and place to find friends and support and I hope that’s the way the students at my other place of work see school too.

I was given many generous gifts; Koalas in cuddly, chocolate and keyring form, a cat/pig keyring, a kangaroo fridge magnet and a clock. I’m not sure how I’m going to get that one home but all of these gifts were more than appreciated and I am very grateful for the thought that has gone into them. Thank you .. All of you for letting me be a part of your fabulous team

VS

Would you???!!!!!! OMG!!!!! How are you even still alive????

Anyone want to rent a house by the sea?

It’s here already. The time to pack up and leave is upon us. Granted we have to ship stuff a couple of months in advance but I am certain that the remaining 10 weeks will fly (they did the other end) We arrived with only 2 boxes, 2 suitcases and 2 guitars and are leaving with 4 boxes, 4 cases of wine, 2 suitcases, 2 guitars and 1 office chair (That’s 13 items eik! 13!!! it’s a good job i’m not superstitous!
The boxes are packe d now anyway and the man is coming tommorrow to put it all in a container and then onto a boat. It will then spend the next couple of months at sea until it lands at my parents’ house – at which point, no doubt Mum and Dad may have some valid concerns about where they are going to put all that stuff whilst we travel back! lol I’m afraid I have counted the wine though! Infact I have to list it all with alochol content for the Tax people who are charging us £3 a bottle to bring it into the UK! Cheeky buggers! Either way it’ll still save us money in the long run. I think that make the celebratory bubbles for our weddding £9 each! lmao! Woo hoo! and it’s soooooooooo tasty good!

You will also note from the pictures here in that LOF still has not cut his hair. I believe he has left his Bon Jovi phase now and is entering an altogether different phase. I do have it on good authority that his first hair cut since last October will occur soon however. It’s getting too hot! lol As soon as we find him underneath the fluff I’ll send you a picture

Anyway time to label the boxes – Erasing the words Destination ‘Brisbane, Australia’ and replacing them with ‘Worcs. UK’.
mmmm…