The latest news on Sheffield Street (Klik hier voor nieuws in het Nederlands)
15/01/2006; 8/07/2005; 5/3/2005; 7/1/2005; 2/11/2004; 9/10/2004 ; 2/10/2004
Hello all. Long time no update on the news front but finally we've done some. A bit late maybe since most of you have been in contact via Email anyway, but for those who we haven't spoken or written since our move, there we go. But first of course we wish you all the best for 2006!
Hope you've had a wonderfull Christmas and Newyearseve too. We had visitors over at Christmas. James and Steffi, now living in Sydney, came over and we had a lovely Christmas. Our neighbour Jean had invited us and James and Steffi for a traditional Christmas diner at her place. A novelty for us since Sandy is from a non Brittish immigrant family and Ad's from Holland and roast lamb and turkey are not on the menu for Xmas in Holland. Same for Steffi and James, comming from New Zealand but having lived in Berlin for a very long time, hadn't had one in a very long time too. Together with Vern and Wendy (also friends of ours) and their little girl Clarissa we had a ball. Didn't get home untill 3am. New Years Eve we were invited at Stef and Derri's who manage a high rise appartment building near the centre of town and therefore have roof access. From there we had a magnificent view over the city and ofcourse of the fireworks at Docklands. A very very nice way to start the new year in deed. Still a bit strange for Ad to have Christmas and New Year in summer but slowly he's comming over to the otherside and enjoying having all the festivities in summer in stead of having them in winter. Have look at some pictures of Christmas here in summer, along with some photo's of our trip with Sasan en Roeline early december
Furhtermore we're doing very well. Ad's managed to get his CCNA cerficate after comming back from our trip to India and that helped him to his first real job (well 2 month contract) working in IT again. At the moment he's looking for a new position since not much work is done over the Christmas period. Hopefully next tiem we have more good news on this. In the mean time Ad's teaching himself Linux and althought very interesting and not to hard, it does sometimes get on his nerves a bit. This week he's try to get it connected to Internet as welle and that wil lprobably look abit like this:
Sandy has been well too, besides some physical problems after spending too much time gardening. Our regular visits to the gym do seem to help us to get a bit fiiter though. Hopefully we'll be trim and fit by next Christmas although our attitude towards nice food may make it a longer process than necessary. We're not upset about this and like the way we do things anyway. Sandy has been very busy on Internet and has also started selling items via Ebay, and is the gardener of the house with much success too. The backyard looks great and besides the flowers and trees is also home to our own herb and tomatoe plants. Not bad at all living here! We haven't been sorry once for moving again after such a short time at Walker Street.
Big news of last week was the arrival of Zetor (yes named after the tractor) our 12 weeks old ginger tabby kitten. He's "cute and cuddly" and after settling in has started to try and dominate the house. Still not very succesfully since Bontje is ruling with a strong paw as itis, but that's only a matter of time. Besides being fun and cute, he can be a little tiresome a night since he keeps trying to sleep on Ad's face. He is slowely getting a bit better but Ad still wakes up a couple of times per night. Here's his first picture for you.
Furthermore not too much news. Hopefully next time we've got good news about Ad's new job, main objective for this week. Next week we're riding our fire motor rally since comming to Australia. The Victorian Police has organised this one and next sunday it's going to take place. We're really looking forward to is because we don't ride much (together) and this gives us the change to meet some more riders. The only ones I've met so far have all been very nice, especially the one who stopped to ask if I needed any help after breaking my throttle cable, and invited me to their Kawasaki monthly meeting. The MRAA organises once a year a big rally for collecting and delivering toys to childeren by motor riders. All sound good to us so we're really looking forward to this ride.
Have a look at the new pictures on the site and we do promise to keep the news a liitle more current than we have the last year.maal heel goed in ieder geval. Ben benieuwd.
Groeten Ad en Sandy
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Hello everybody. next week it's finally going to happen. On July the 14th Ad is finally going to do his CCNA exam. Afrer that he hopes to finally be able to get another job in IT. Without that piece of paper it seemed to be impossible to find anything because just experience in the Netherlands was not really good enough, despite his honest face. It's not that Ad didn't enjoy his time at Gapbuster (nice team mates to work with) but in the end always working at night doesn't make life better. About time for a change.
Afrer Ad's exam we'll first go on a nice long holiday to India. We've been wanting to go there for quit some time but now, finally the time is right. We'll be flying into Calcutta (Kolkutta as it's called now) and well be going back from Bombay (Mumbay) so with those two places booked at least some of the trip's in place. For the rest we'll just see how we go. With all the floods now and the current tension in Varanassi, we'll just have to wait and see what's going to be a good plan. Luckily India is a big country so we'll surely be able to find a good wat around the country.
Furthermore we haven't got too much news really. We're enjoying our new home (click here to have a look) and garden very much. It's been a very very good choice to abandon the other place and move. After sharing the garge with many boxes we couldn't unpack, the car has finally got his own place now. With exception of a few boxes with videos and that kind a stuff, everything has found its place again. In order to celebrate this beautifull occasion we held a BBQ with some friend a couple of weeks ago, kind of mid winternight BBQ. For the non-aussies, midwinter in Austraia is not quit a frosty event but still, the temperature doesn'f exceed 15 degees much and in the night is does cool down to around 5 so really cold enough to start up the heater. With the BBQ we had a nice fire going and Phil and Sandra brought their terras heater to keep the cold away. Excellent!
Well, just one more week of studying (very necessary) and then we're off. I'll let you know the result.
Groetjes from a chilly Melbourne
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Hello everybody.
Again it has been over a month sice the last up date of
developments in Melbourne so it's high time again.
Not that it's been all quiet from this part of the world since some of you have
sent us emails and or received emails from us. And Ad says many thanks for the
nice birthday emails he received making his first Aussie (well second really)
birthday a special one. Anyway for those who did, you might recognize some of
the updates from your own emails :-)
News for the most of you will be that we'll be moving in April. We'll move to Preston a bit further north of the city than Northcote where we're living now. Not because we don't like it here to the contrary really, but because we're not sure for how long we'll be able to stay here. Our lease expires the 15th of June but whether it will be extended after that we don't know yet. All the more uncertain since we have no idea how our landlord, an old lady, is doing. We're afraid we'll have to move as soon as she comes to pass away and whether we can find something that will suit us on short notice we don't think so. Now the house house in Preston we would be sharing with Vincent at first will come available on the first of April, and we'll be sure we can stay there untill we have found our ideal farm. On the one hand it's a pitty to move since we have such nice neighbours here and Sandy has jsut finnished turning our contrete slab at the back into a very nice little garden (click here to see for yourself), but on the other hand the house in Preston is much bigger than here and has a big backyard and a real garage. And it has airconditioning which, in summer, is something we have missed this year. We are looking forward to living there at least (not so much to the moving part though).
Ad has applied for some jobs again. One with the Shire Council of South Gippsland, the area where we want to settle later, and one with Oxfam. Both of course in the IT department. The talk on the phone with Oxfam sounded very promissing. Let's hope for the best.
Sandy has taken up her mosaic making and has produced some very nice pieces which are hanging in the garden right now (not on the pictures yet but will be soon).
Also good news is that the footy season has started again. We're talking Aussie rules football and not the normal football which luckily is also shown on television every now and again. There's no football during summer and cricket is really not my thing (nor Sandy's but neither is Aussie rules, any football really). It's still only pre season matches but it's on again. We'll go and watch a match soon sometime.
Like you must have noticed, we're still fine and have settled in in Australian life very nicely so far. We do like the weather especially after seeing all the snow and rain that's been covering most of Europe lately. The summer is ending anyway here but it's still warm enough to enjoy.
Cheers from Melbourne Ad and Sandy
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A little later than we wanted but we'd like to wish you all the best for 2005!
We've had a very pleasant Christmas and a quiet but also very nice Newyears eve. Since it is not allowed to have fireworks yourself, the only fireworks were the ones organized by the city of Melbourne. Luckily we had a nice night (the last one since the weather has changed into only just above winter temperatures for the last week) and close by we have a nice hill overlooking the city. A brillian view on the fireworks! We were not the only ones with this idea either. The street was packed with people and cars stoped in the middle of the road to get a glimps aswell. Even a busdriver stopped for a few minutes to have a look and the trams could hardly get through. Unfortunately after the fireworks were over, everybody went straight home where it would have been an excellent oppotunity for a street party. Since drinking in public is stricktlt forbidden around New Year, this was out of the question. A pitty but it was nice all the same.
On New Years day we went to Hanging Rock (from the movie: A picknick at...) ot go and have a picknick and see the races. Not many were interested in the races, but everybody did make the best of this picknick opportunity. Lots of people (at least tenthousand), a very good atmosphere and lots of fun. A very pleasant way of starting the new year. Something that we will be able to get used to without any probblems.
The big news since last time is that Ad's working since the end of November (a night shift job calling people in Holland for a market research company) and that Sandy has recovered well from her operation but has a sore foot now and her doctor makes her walk in hign heels. Ad approves! Sandy is now looking for a frilly apron to match the looks around the house...
Furthere more ther's not too much news, except that we have a new room mate since last monday. He hasn't got a name yet but we do have a photo for you to admire his beauty (the way he likes it). He's a five year old Tomcat and has gotten used to living with us just fine. He was a bit scared the first couple of days. Actually, he was a whole lot scared the first couple of days. Every sound made him hide untill we got him out from under the couch, under the bed, behind the cupboard, but now he's fine and obviously very happy to be here. It's very nice to have a cat around the house again.
Ad en Sandy
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Hi everybody, we're still alive after two weeks of counting and recounting votes for the Australian Electoral Commission. Unfortunately we're living in a very safe Labour (ALP) seat so our efforts were mainly for statistical reason and not because it could mean the difference between two parties getting a seat in parliament. Anyway, it was fun doing it and a good experience for Ad to get to know how the Australians choose the government (he still can't get over the fact that the votes are counted by hand an not by computer).
Today was Melbourne cup day, the race that literally stops the nation. Again a big culture shock for Ad since in the Netherlands horse racing is not a big thing at all. we had good fun at the pub where more and more people gathered around the tele the closer it got to the start of the race. Good fun and we managed to pick the winner in our betting effort. Tomorrow we find out if we managed to get our money back but it does make watching the race much more interesting.
Not much more news really. We have settled in very nicely and besides working for the AEC, we have started doing courses as we mentioned earlier. The results vary a bit from week till week. Sandy's welding doesn't always go as well as planned and is sometimes quite frustrating to say the least. Ad's funiture making class is going a bit better but he is likely to run out of time before the course ends in two weeks time. Luckily he's allowed to come an extra evening ot try and finnish it of. He promisses it will be a nice thing in deed. Let's wait an see shall we...
Spring has realy taken off. This means that on nice days the temperature gets to 25-28 C and that's of course very very nice. Our back yard is getting prettier by the week with a last addition of an orange tree, a lemon tree and a proper garden set. We promis to take some photos and publish them but for now you'll have to believe us that it looks great out there. We can't wait to get out camping on the motorbike some time. Then we really know winter is over.
Bye for now.
Federal Election Polling Day
in Australia.
For the past few weeks it has been impossible to ignore: the 2004 federal elections.
As in England, Australia is divided up into electorates where people elect a
local MP for their lower house (known as the House of Representatives in Australia).
And as in England, there's only two main parties, Labour and Liberals (like
the UK's Labour & Torys). Having said that, though, the Liberal Party always
rules as a coalition together with the National Party (a somewhat right wing,
rural party). There are several smaller parties, such as the the Greens, that
also get a few seats in parliament. Tomorrow we will find out whether Labour
finally gets in, or whether we'll have to put up with John Howard as PM yet
again. Sandy and I will work at the Electoral office counting the votes for
our local electoral division. Sandy has been working there for the last three
weeks running a Pre Polling Booth for those people who weren't able to cast
their vote today. Today she's working at a Polling Bbooth; she started at 7AM
(!) and will be working till almost midnight counting the votes after the booths
close for the day. So tomorrow is the day we'll find out what will happen to
all of us for the next few years. Fingers crossed...
Some other big news (for us) is that Ad's motorbike has been approved and registered with Vicroads, meaning he is allowed to ride again. Which he did, of course, right after he got his registration on Monday. Since the Melbourne surroundings are quit hilly, there's plenty of nice winding roads with great curves and panoramic views. It's great to be able to ride here. Some of the photos taken during this trip are posted on the site. Clicke here to see them.
Furthermore we've both started doing doing evening courses. Sandy is doing a welding course and Ad is doing furniture making. Very nice and very hands on and if everything goes according to plan, we'll be left over with something as well. Tuesday evening was the first evening of the courses and with exception of some starters mistakes it seems to be a lot of fun. Ad is trying to make a little desk cupboard for holding our photo and video camera, and Sandy has been introduced to oxy-acetylene welding on her first night. All in all a nice start to the courses, and a nice way to meet other people too.
Tune in for further developments. Groetjes, Ad en Sandy
Saturday October 2nd 2004
Hi everybody! We're very glad to finally be able to bring you the latest news from Melbourne. it's been such a long time since our last newsletter that we're not sure what you do and don't know about what has been happening.
The easiest thing for us to do is to create a kind of web log for ourselves so that you can see all of our latest news. This means every time we put some news on the Net, we add it onto our existing newspage on the top, "above" the last posting. so you don't have to go through all of it to find our what is new. We'll make sure that we date everything so it will be easy to see if there is anyrhing new at all.
Well, we've finally done it! We have moved into our new house! On the second of August our container was delivered to 61 Walker Street (see the pictures by clicking on our picture site) and our new home was filled to the gills with boxes. It took us a couple of weeks to find a place for all of the things we need, and also to find a place to put the things we won't need until we move again. Hopefully that will be the last time we EVER have to move house again. We've decided that moving is not one of our hobbies. But in any event, now everything looks the way we like it. Of course there's a lot less room than there was at the farm in Boskoop (i.e. in the Netherlands) but for just the two of us thats more than enough. One visitor is still easy enough to put up too, two visitors would be a bit harder but if they're not fussy at all it could be done. It's a nice place indeed. About a hundred meters from our front gate there's a creek, Merri Creek, how's that for a name, and if you walk, run or skate along it you eventually come to a very nice cafe (in Australia a cafe only sells non acoholic drinks) in an environmental "theme park". Walking in the other direction, after about five minutes you'll find yourselve on Northcote 's "groovy High Street" with all kinds of little shops, cafes and pubs. A tram runs down High Street into the city. Just before High Street is Westgarth train station which gets you to the city in about 15 minutes. Not bad, hey? Location Location Location as they say around here.
The house itself is nice too. Above the garage is a bedroom, which you reach by going through one of the other rooms. We chose this one for our bedroom. The only stairs in the house go up to this room, and we have both managed to fall down them already. Ad slid down them on the first morning there, and wrecked his shoulder again, making him stay on the couch for another two weeks. Luckily this was during the Olympic games so it wasn't been too boring for him. Sandy did it a week ago, but her fall was broken by the door jamb, so instead of getting a wrecked neck, she just got a massive lump on her arm. Because she did it in the middle of the night, during her nightly pilgrimage, she had to try to go back to sleep clutchig a lump of ice to her arm. (She used a "Razz"ice block, for those of you this means something to.)
To get to the bedroom you have to walk through our study where we have put up some shelves (built by Ad) and desks for our computers, in order to be able to contact you guys. The lounge room joins up with the dining room with two sliding doors. The back half of the dining room opens into the kitchen so we have a nice spacy L-shaped living area all up. The bathroom did come with a bath which we haven't used so far, but Sandy plans to. She has a floating-pig-in-a-bikini ready for it. And finally there are two small extra rooms at the back of the house. One is almost completely full - to the ceiling - with the boxes we didn't unpack, and more furniture. The room furhest to the back is actually outside the house, built on after the initial construction of the house. We use it as a studio typo of place since it's nice and sunny whereas the rest of the house is very dark. There are only small windows throughout the house, which is southfacing (which is the wrong way in the southern hemisphere for getting sunlight) so especially in winter here it's pretty cold in the house. The studio faces north and is almost all window - very nice now, but will be like a sauna in the summer! It's nice to be able to divide up the lounge room in two sections, making it much easier to heat up the television part - a bit embarassing to admit it, but that'ss the way it is!
Our garden is not much to speak of. The whole area at the back is made up of concrete, making the weeding an easy job but it's not as nice to sit in. We've bought lots of plants - herbs, flowers, saplings and even some vegetables in pots - to make it a bit more green and friendly looking which has worked quite nicely (again see the photos on the picture site). The barbecue is set up, and we have charged it up once already. We brought a large old wooden barrel with us from the farm in Holland, and have placed it where the gutter on the roof spills over, so we've been proudly self sufficient in garden water since we've been here. We also brought a wider barrel, half the height, which we have turned into... yes! A water feature! We have 6 fish, and several native water plants, and it looks quite nice. A possum comes to visit our garden now and then. The neighbours told us he used to tromp around in their roof until one day he tromped over a weak bit of the ceiling and it gave way. When they got to the room, he bum was sticking through into the room, and he was jammed there. They had to push him back through. We've been leaving him fruit and bread with honey, and we knows it's a possum (there are secret Aussie ways to find out, you know) but we haven't managed ot see him so far. He started eating the tips of the azaleas as a side dish with dinner, so we had to move his dining table. He doesn't like the new spot as much. One sunny day we also found a large Blue Tongued Lizard in our back yard, about 30cm long. We've seen him several times now, and he seems to live underneath our house. And in the evenings, just after the sun sets, we can see thousands of fruit bats fly over our house on their way to the orchards north of the city.
The front of the house actually has dirt in it, as well as a lawn. We left this bit for the last (don't ask why, we don't know) and finally got stuck into it last week. We weeded the whole lot, bought a large box of bulbs, and planted them, and then there was just the lawn left. We thought about just getting someone to come and mow it every few weeks, as the neighbours (on both sides) do. But then we found out that they pay about $60 each time for this, so we went to the DIY centre and bought a hand mower instead for $120. I know what you're probably thinking: they're lots of hard work. No! They're not! I'd used one of these not so long ago, and knew this, but Ad was pretty sceptical. He remembered the ones from the old days. This is basically the same thing, but somehow Flymo has managed to improve the design no end, and it is not only super easy to push about, it also sharpens its blades each time they go round. We got home with it and I had the lawn mowed within about 10 minutes, even the bits where the grass was about 20cm long. Ad was so amazed he kept taking it away from me. He rang his brother in Boskoop and tried to convince him to get one too (as the old one there has to be replaced this year) but Toon wasn't as easily convinced, not having had the benefit of a hands on demonstration.
What else in new? Ad has brought his motorbike to the mechanic to get it repaired and tested (Road Worthy Test and Vehicle Assesment Test) to be able to get it registered here and be allowed to ride it again. It has been a long time, much too long to his liking, since he last rode it so he can't wait until it's Monday. Hopefully on Monday we can update the news telling you that he has made his first Australian motor ride. We're having a federal election here on Saturday 9 October, and Sandy started working for the Australian Electoral Commission two weeks ago. Sandy works at a pre polling booth: this is for people who can't vote on the day (going overseas, having an operation etc). Australia is one of the only countries which has compulsory voting: you get fined if you don't. Ad has been sending out job aplications too but so far no success. A meeting at an intermediator did sound very positive though so hopefully he will be able to start working soon too. Meanwhile he has time to get all the other errands done,like getting the bike registered, getting his diabetes stuff organised, getting this blog started.
Well I think that will be all for now. We think the message is clear enough; we're settling in very nicely over here and are very happy with our new house and neighbours and surroundings. We hope you will be able to see the photos on the other pages as well and keep checking them because during the week we'll put more and more pictures on.
By for now, groetjes Ad en Sandy