Manly to Spit Bridge walk
The girls were all off doing things with friends today so Sue and I decided to walk the Manly to Spit Bridge path around the foreshore of part of Middle Harbour. It took about 4 hours in total and was a hot sunny day, but started to cloud over around mid-afternoon. The path was well marked and mostly easy walking and there were quite of lot of other people doing the route as well. There are some lovely views over Manly and the Middle Harbour, plus we noted some secluded beaches with safe swimming that we may come back to with the girls.

There are some photos from the walk here.

Yesterday had been another day for exploring and we took Caroline and Rebecca for a drive into the Kuringai-Chase National Park, north of here. There are a view roads through the bush to some viewpoints and waterside locations, including a great view across Pittwater to Barranjoey Head and the coastline further north. We also took the girls for a short bush walk although they weren't happy! However, we all returned safely with the only sighting being a large goanna (lizard).

First Christmas
I've not been spending time on computer over the last few days (hooray!), so here's a brief summary of the Christmas period here and there are some extra photos here.

On Christmas Eve the weather was cloudy and wet for much of the day, with a short period of very heavy rain which had rivers of water flowing down the street. We all went into Sydney in the evening to the 8pm Mass at St Mary's Cathedral in the city centre where there was a choir singing carols for 30 minutes beforehand. Not surprisingly the place was packed but we managed to get a pew for the lengthy service!

It was still raining when we left and so had a quick drive around the buildings that are currently lit up with projected images, including the town hall which looked impressive. Then it was back across the bridge to home and then we all went across the road where some neighbours were holding their annual Christmas Eve barby for people in the street, so spent a few hours there getting to know some of the others living around us - very pleasant evening sitting out in the warm and the rain had mostly stopped by now.

Christmas Day was spent opening presents at home and then we all went to Clive & Jane's house for lunch. It was getting warm and sunny by now so we sat out on their veranda and had a very good 3 course lunch, followed by general chat and some games with their daughter Emily. Back home for the evening of telephone calls back to the UK and more games!

Boxing Day was hot and sunny again and we headed off to St Georges Head to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart race on the harbour. We hadn't quite expected such large crowds but it is a big annual event and it was difficult to find somewhere to park, before walking onto the Head where there were already a large number of people with their picnics settled in for the start at 1pm.

The harbour was crowded with boats and there were also lots of TV helicopters flying around. A canon was fired at 5 minute intervals in the run up to the start as all the yachts manoeuvred into position and then they were off to a general cheer and then gone within 10 minutes, out of the harbour and off to Tazzy! Everyone then left and we went home for a few hours before heading off to Hanna and Michael's house for champagne and mince pies (they are old friends of Angela's who we had met on our visit in 1993).

Today Laura and Caroline were off with friends, so Sue and I went with Rebecca to Mona Vale beach for the morning which was lovely and warm, although the sea was quite rough and we all got dunked under some big waves. After a picnic lunch on the beach we headed back to the house to spend some time around the pool in the afternoon.

End of primary school
Rebecca finishes 'primary' school today - she's been at Allambie Heights Public School for the past 10 weeks and really enjoyed her time there, having made lots of new friends. The primary school system actually lasts a year longer in Australia so that there are only 6 years at secondary school (compared to 7 in the UK) and due to the term differences, Rebecca is slightly ahead of where she would be in the UK now - as well as being one of the youngest in her year.

She's had a variety of activities over the past few weeks, culminating in the Year 6 Dinner Dance at the school last night. It was a fun evening with all the children dressing up, having photos, enjoying a sit-down meal together and then finishing off with some speeches and presentations, followed by dancing for an hour. They had been practicing different dance routines for this over recent days (both individual dances and 'barn dance' style to modern music) and the parents were invited along to watch - and to join in briefly at the end!

All the children in her year (about 45 of them in 2 classes) seem really well behaved, polite and respectful to the teachers which was good to see. They're all going off to start various schools at the end of the summer holidays in late January, with about 15 of them going with Rebecca to the Forest High School, where Laura and Caroline have also been since October.

Carols in the Domain
The four of us headed off to the city last night to watch this free, open air carol concert (Laura was out at a meal with friends). It's an annual event here - now in its 24th year - and is held in the large park next to the city centre, plus it was also televised on national TV. The format was different singers / celebs coming on to sing carols and Christmas-related songs on a large stage, backed by a choir.

We arrived just before it started but many people had been there during the afternoon as well for an earlier show so the park was almost full with picnic rugs and well organised groups who were settled in for the show. However, we got a good view and enjoyed the show with the spectacular view of the park filled by candle light and a lovely atmosphere.

We caught a late ferry back across the harbour and then picked Laura up on the way home to get back just before midnight.

3 months on
It's now been 3 months since we arrived on the evening of 13th September. This seems like much longer ago as life has been so different over this period and I guess we've all been doing a lot too! So we thought we would mark the occasion with a summary of the main things we like here so far, and some things that are not so good:

Things we like:
- waking up to blue skies and warmth
- the beaches and harbour views
- positive, friendly people
- the wide roads and (mostly) free flowing traffic
- public transport (buses and ferries)
- lots of things going on in and around the city
- the hills, giving views across the coast and city
- getting bags packed for you at the supermarket checkout
- lack of Christmas shopping mania!

And some things we don't like so much:
- missing family and friends
- potentially dangerous wildlife and sea!
- not getting to the beaches enough (at the moment)
- American-style TV and news
- long waits at traffic lights to get onto the main roads
- the hills, when cycling!
- still getting dark at 8pm in the summer.

However, we were struggling to come up with much on the second list, which is a good sign!

Lightning
We enjoyed a big electrical storm last night, following a hot and windy day in the high 20's. As night fell there was an almost constant flash of lightning coming from 3 points over the hillside opposite our house, so covering a wide area. Initially it was being reflected behind the clouds but came nearer after an hour or so with some big flashes lighting up the sky. It was very impressive to watch yet there was very little sound of thunder accompanying the flashes, so it was thankfully some distance away.

Today has been much cooler and wet!

Mosman concert orchestra
Sue and I headed down to Mosman this afternoon to watch a performance by the Mosman orchestra, partly with the intention for Sue to see if she wanted to try to join them as a flute player. It was held in an old church that is now the local arts centre and it was a small audience but a reasonably large orchestra. They played a marvellous concert, including Beethoven's 5th Symphony, and we were very impressed - so much so, that Sue's not sure that she's ready for this level performance yet...

The end of the week was quite busy, with Rebecca's induction day to the Forest High School on Thursday, Laura's 'graduation' morning on Friday (as she has now finished school), and then Christmas preparations over the weekend - buying a tree on Saturday morning and putting up the decorations today. We also all went Christmas shopping on Saturday afternoon at the main shopping mall, which was busy but not too manic.

Last night was a late one for most of us as Laura took her friend PJ on the ghost walk at the old Quarantine Station near Manly, so I collected them at 11.30. We then waited up for Caroline who was out baby-sitting for a family who had gone off to see Robbie Williams, so she didn't get back until 1.00.

Social tennis
After a few weeks of just playing together, Sue and I went along to a social evening at the tennis centre last night where they had a mixed 'round robin' session under floodlights. It was a lovely warm evening and we enjoyed the play - there were about 12 players there (mostly edging on the 'maturer' side of us!) and we mixed around for each match of 8 games. The standard was generally good so that it was a challenge but not too far ahead of our game at this stage!

Apparently they sometimes play beyond 11pm but we finished by 9.30 as I had to collect Laura at 11 from her school 'formal' party in a hotel in Manly, which she enjoyed. It's her last week of school this week - although Caroline and Rebecca have another few weeks to go.

Watched the cricket on and off during the day as another England collapse saw Australia get a surprise win in the 2nd Ashes test - how depressing! Still, there was only one mention of it at the tennis in the evening!

Business starts today!
It was the 'official' launch of the Australian business today with the completion of the website for the Web Marketing Workshop and the start of some advertising activity. The site had been ready for a week or so and I was just waiting for the final graphics from the UK which are now in place. The second website, for the Web Search Workshop should also be finalised in the next week or so.

The answerphone message has been changed to a 'work' one (although I'm usually around during the day) and so as I begin to build up the online advertising and try out different things, there will hopefully be some response over the coming weeks and months! However, January is apparently quite a 'dead' month for business here as many people disappear for their summer holidays, so it should be a gradual build up to a busy 2007.

Wet weekend
This weekend was a bit of a washout, with Saturday being the worst day with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. This followed a very warm day on Friday which saw us sitting outside in the evening at the Newport Arms Hotel, a big family pub overlooking Pittwater to the north of Sydney, but overnight the heat disappeared and the rain arrived.

Rebecca had a party in the afternoon in the open at Manly Dam, but the heavens opened as we drove there and the parents of her friend decided to postpone the party as there was little they could have done outside! Caroline was out all weekend and Laura went out for the evening, having spent the morning job hunting at the local shopping centre, which may prove sucessful as she's been invited back for a trial on Monday after school at a very nice patisserie.

Rebecca had 4 friends around this afternoon to practice a dance routine for a talent show, so we hid downstairs! Watched some of the Ashes enviously from Adelaide where the sun was shining!