Business networking

I had an earlier start than usual today in order to get to Dee Why where a local business network group meets each week. I'd been on the mailing list for a while and was waiting to attend a meeting that had an interesting speaker, which was about sales techniques this week.

The event started at 7am in the large RSL Club, where a small room had been set aside for about 40 people. I met one of the members in the lift and he 'looked after me' to get me signed in and meet some of the others, who were all very welcoming. It was a very lively group and quite a different format to the UK-style meetings that I'd been to - including singing the national anthem, which I couldn't participate in!

There was a cooked breakfast served and during this each attendee also had a 30-second opportunity to say something about their business and offer a tip or 'thought for the day', which took me unawares so I had to think of something quickly! We then had the main speaker who was interesting but a bit rushed in the time available.

At the end I did a bit of extra networking and left soon after 9am, slightly drained from the 'full on' experience at that time of the day, but it should be a useful and stimulating group to continue with and so I'm planning on going through it all again next week!

Little Manly

Laura had a driving lesson as usual on Sunday morning and we're now going through her log book to 'tick off' all the things she needs to be able to do. I took her out to Terrey Hills along the 2 and 3-lane main road which is good practice for lane changing, although it was a bit hairy at times when the traffic coming up behind was quite busy and fast. Still, she did well and will need to get more used to these type of roads as most of the main roads here are like this.

In the afternoon Laura and Caroline were doing homework and Sue and I dropped Rebecca off at the movies before heading to Manly where we walked around the inner bay and around to Little Manly beach. This is an area we hadn't explored before and there was an interesting park on one of the headlands that used to be a gas works until the mid-1960's (and must have been a local eyesore!).

On Saturday there had been blue skies and it was much warmer than recently, so we'd completed the cliff path between Curl Curl and Dee Why, since we had also wanted to try getting a panoramic shot of the view over Curl Curl and Manly, with the city in the background. However, the 4 photos required had differing sky colours, but I found a nifty piece of software on the Internet that helps to merge the images together into a perfect picture (see below, and click on the image for a larger view).

In the evening we picked Laura up from work and all went to meet the Clarks in a hotel near the airport as they had returned from Queensland in the afternoon and had a early start to NZ in the morning. We had a pleasant evening hearing about their experiences up north and then drove back through the city at night (getting stuck in a traffic jam in the centre).

Visa meeting in Sydney

I'd been invited to attend a seminar in Sydney yesterday evening, organised by the NSW dept that sponsored my business visa and the Federal immigration dept. It was an information session for people on business skills visas outlining the process to apply for a permanent visa.

It was a lovely warm sunny day after the recent cold spell, so I caught the ferry in late afternoon and walked to the location in one of the main tower blocks, the up to the 47th floor for some great views over the eastern suburbs as the sun was setting. The seminar lasted for one and a half hours and offered up a few useful bits of information, although it was also the first that they'd organised and it was a bit rough round the edges! It all seems like a long way off for me yet and I've still got at least a year or so before getting close to achieving the required targets.

I was also hoping to meet a few others in the same situation, but most that I spoke to were on slightly different visas and it wasn't a great situation for networking. Still, I did bump into a lady who I'd had a business meeting with the day before and hadn't realised that she was still on a temporary visa and I think her deadlines are getting a bit tighter than mine!

Walking back through the city to Circular Quay was lovely - the temperature was just right and there was an 'end of working day' buzz about the place. Just made it to the ferry in time and enjoyed the night views of the city as I headed back to Cremorne.

Weekend papers

This weekend has been quiet compared to the last few. Caroline was off with friends yesterday morning, Rebecca had a party in the afternoon and Laura was working and then off into Sydney for a rock concert in the evening at NSW Uni. Sue and I had a rare trip to the shopping mall together in the afternoon after dropping Rebecca off, with the rest of the day spent around the house. Today has also been dull/wet with the girls doing homework and us having a brief walk between showers to explore the area.

The weekend papers tend to be similar to the UK here - big issues on each day with lots of supplements, plus giveaway CDs and other things to boost circulation. We can usually make do with the Sydney Morning Herald on the Saturday which keeps us going all weekend, although they also publish a thick Sun Herald in a tabloid format on the Sunday.

There are only really 2 newspapers of note in Sydney - the SMH is the equivalent of The Times and published by Fairfax, who reproduce the paper with a different regional news slant in Melbourne as The Age.

Then there is the Daily Telegraph (and Sunday Telegraph) which is more of a tabloid, 'Daily Mail'-style paper with a big emphasis on sport. There is also some amount of 'gossip' but nothing like the level of intrusive and sensational stories from the UK papers, mainly because there is little competition for circulation, since both these papers have quite different readerships. The only other main paper on sale is The Australian although this has a very low circulation in comparison to the other two.

The Clarks depart

Monday was the Clarks last full day in Sydney so Laura went with Alice and her parents to the city for the day and they visited Darling Harbour and The Rocks area again, although this time it was bright and sunny! In the evening we all went for a Thai meal in Forestville which was lovely as usual.

This morning Mick & Eilish went to Manly and up onto North Head as it was sunny and clear again, although quite cold. Last night was reported to be the coldest July night for over 20 years in Sydney, with temperatures down to under 4 degrees and some car drivers even had to scrape ice off their windscreens!

By late afternoon the visitors had packed and were ready to go for the next leg of their journey up to Queensland, so they departed for the airport about 4.30. We'll see them again in 10 days time for an evening when they return to Sydney briefly before heading off to New Zealand.

Weekend tourists

On Saturday morning Laura and Alice booked a ride on the jet boat that we had gone out on several weeks ago to watch the whales. The longer whale trip was already full so they experienced a 40-minute fast-paced ride out to sea with a group of 10 on the boat and thoroughly enjoyed it, getting a good soaking at the same time as there was quite a swell. Sue, Rebecca and I had driven them down to Manly and we then headed up to North Head to watch the boat going out to sea, before going back to Manly again to see them come back in.

Sue & I went shopping for the remaining pieces of furniture we need for the house in the afternoon and then Mick & Eilish returned from their trip to Alice Springs in the evening.

On Sunday we had planned to all go to Palm Beach for the day, although in the end Laura and Alice stayed at home following a party the night before.... The rest of us drove up the coast and firstly walked up to the Barranjoey Lighthouse before returning to Palm Beach for a fish & chip lunch. The sun was out and it was a hot day out of the cool breeze and we took a walk along the main beach before heading home with a detour to Turrimetta Beach.

Bridge Climb at dusk

Laura completed the Bridge Climb with her friend Alice yesterday afternoon and they had timed it to catch the sunset and the lights coming on in the city. They had a great time and although it was quite cold, the day was mostly sunny and they experienced the orange sky over the west as they crossed the top of the bridge. The view of the city at night as they made their way down was also very special.

Sydney in the wet

Sunday started fine although there were some heavy clouds out to sea. By the time we left the house the sky was half sun and half cloud, with a strong possibility of getting more of the cloud. We had decided to 'do the City' and all of us, except Caroline, caught the bus to Manly and the ferry to Circular Quay.

The girls/women then headed into the City to go up Sydney Tower, while as Mick wasn't keen on heights we decided to walk around the botanic gardens to see the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier which had arrived in the harbour on Thursday for 5 days.

After that we had quite a wait for the others so stopped for a drink and some food at one of the restaurants at Circular Quay - by this time is was raining and the others had seen all the rain sweeping in from the sea while they were up the tower.

We dodged the showers as much as possible and went around The Rocks once we had all met up and then caught the ferry back to Manly. Jet lag and sitting down to travel by ferry and bus gave all the visitors a chance to doze on the way home!

Monday was wet for most of the day with some torrential showers in the morning, so we stayed in to watch the rerun of the men's singles final at Wimbledon from the night before, plus Eilish's case was delivered from the airport as it had been found at Dubai!

Laura and Alice went ice skating and Caroline was meeting a friend, so the rest of us drove to Cremorne and caught the ferry to the city again in the afternoon and visited the aquarium in Darling Harbour. The rain luckily held off on the ferry journey back, so we stood on the top platform to watch the city lights. Magical!

The Clarks arrive

Sue, Laura and I had an early start today to get to the airport and meet Laura's friend Alice, plus her parents - Eilish and Mick - who are making a 5 week trip around Australia and New Zealand. Alice will be staying with us for the next 10 days while her parents go off to Alice Springs for a few days and then they all head up to Queensland for a week or so before going on to NZ.

The airport was busier than when we met Caroline's friends and we had a long wait as their flight was late arriving, plus Eilish's bag didn't turn up, so that had to leave their details and hope that it would turn up before they head off to Alice Springs on Tuesday. Still, they arrived in blue sky and we drove in convoy through the city and over the Bridge back to the house.

The rest of the day was spent leisurely at home although Laura and Alice went shopping (!) and we took Mick and Eilish for a short walk around Long Reef before it started to cloud over.

House sorting

This weekend has been spent with the final stages of getting the house and various rooms sorted out. We're starting to feel at home here very quickly and enjoying the views, especially since the sun has returned and the sea is blue!

Most of the boxes have now been emptied and we've been doing some serious shopping for new furniture to fill out some spaces, plus a shiny new BBQ for the outside balcony as this house doesn't come with one already. Spent Saturday afternoon putting it all together.

Yesterday was spent on a trip to IKEA to get some furniture for Rebecca and Caroline. The last time we went to this store (which is near the Olympic Park) we thought Australia hadn't discovered the place as it was so quiet, but that all changed today as the store was heaving, due to it being the first weekend of the school holidays and also the end of financial year sales.

Still, we battled through and got what we needed and the checkouts were working quite efficiently. We then gambled on getting all the boxes into the car (as Laura was working at the shop in the afternoon) and just managed it, so that we laboured home with the extra weight and minimal legroom (well, I was OK driving!).