That time of the year is with us again

Yes you guessed right again,Xmas is with us and what a busy year 2015 was . With a bit of OS travel a wedding and a few birthdays for the little people in our family,the festive season arrives with the usual stint hot weather leading up to the summer holidays. With the temperature climbing to the high 30s and to the mid 40s this will surely test our ability to survive . Xmas morning the kids attend to the business of present opening while the oldies organise the day ahead. The temperature is climbing steadily and by mid morning it's pretty darn hot but we still need tables and chairs for the 50 odd people who will attend this annual Xmas feast. This well oiled machine is soon  barking orders to the others , with the tasks almost complete we take a 5 minute break to wash the dust from our throats .The temperature is now in the high 30s as we settle down under a shady tree , with a hot northerly blowing we soon lose interest in the work side of things and settle in for a few cool drinks of our finest Aussie beer. The midday sun is high overhead but our thirst continues as we now await for the lunch is being served call, 2pm the meat is finally done and the carving has begun, 2.45 the lunch is being served call is given. As this orderly mob start to devour this feast fit for a king I reflect on the previous 44 Xmas lunches I have shared with this truely amazing family . Wadda has been kissed on the arse by a fairy to be sharing this very special day with a very special family........WADDA

FINAL EPISODE

Back in beautiful Australia my mind wanders back to the last 40 days of my European escape, and what a time we had. The quality time spent with my family is something I will remember for a long time to come, this is something money can't buy. This has been a somewhat cultural awakening for this true blue Aussie, just to understand how all those European go about their daily life was not lost on this weary bunch of tourists. After leaving England we flew to Dubai for a couple of days for our final bit of R&R before returning home, and what an eye opener this turned out to be. The first thing to greet you on a grand scale is the airport on  just how big and how clean it is,unbelievable . As we clamber into a couple of cabs and head to the Flora Creek hotel the temperature is hovering around 30 c and it is around midnight. The 3 bedroom apartment is situated on the 47th floor so we have a commanding view of this desert oasis, as the sting goes out of some of the touring party no early starters for our last tilt on the tourism trail. With a mid morning start we catch our favourite means of transportation yes the hop on hop off bus gets the nod. As we circle the city there is one thing that keeps turning my head and that is the Burj Kaliff the tallest building in the world. After several hours of circling this old but mainly new city the heat forces us to seek refuge under the AC, the next morning we are set to challenge the piece of architectural art called the BURJ KALIFF standing some 830 mt tall the thought is scary. After they get a $190.00 a pop out of us we wonder if this is the right move, with all the introductions complete we head to the 144th floor some 555.7 mt from the ground in 77seconds. When the lift doors opened it was just stunning as we crept closer to the glass windows I stopped shaking and began to enjoy the spectacular views, but there is one more twist in the tail of this monolithic monster. You guessed it there's an external viewing platform attached to the outside of the building, this is a must for all of those with the guts to know your limits. Wadda leads the way to this awesome viewing platform, i am a touch nervous but manage to curb my fears. With the weather still hot me and the kids head home to the pool to relax. Time to leave this place of wonder and return to the land we love so much, a13hr flight on the flying kangaroo is not something I like but I'll suck it up , off to the Seymour Cup so better get some sleep for the next big event in WADDAS busy lifestyle............WADDA

It's over

40 day's have gone very fast but that's how long we've been on this traveling road show, and what a time it's been. Going to 8 different countries and learning just a tiny bit about each one sure makes you appreciate our great space called Australia, we are certainly privileged to be able to call Australia home. We are now cooling or jets in Dubai so yesterday we were able to do the hop on hop off bus tour and it was well worth the price of the ticket, the afternoon activities were the desert 4x4 and evening in the desert camp, I had to break a promise I made to myself about not drinking water on this trip. It just got to hot so water did pass my lips but only once ,today we are heading to the Burg Kaliff for a view of this incredible desert city. We will be going up about 830 metres into the heavens above Dubai so this will b

Its almost over

Yes folks that time is nearing for this adventure to draw to a close, but our last full day in the UK was spent in the beautiful Somerset town of Bath. We ditched the van today and took the bus the last 8miles into Bath, thank god we did. This place is busy and the streets are narrow and all the twisted sisters want are shops selling shit. But first things first the hop on hop off bus takes us to every nook and cranny around this beautiful place, the twisted sisters nick off at the end of this 50 minute journey with a plan to meet us later. With a lunch break called for 1.30pm we go our separate ways to meet later on, when later on arrives the girls arrive back looking quite ill. What could be so serious is that the trinkets are few and far between, as they slobber over some morsels of food a new plan is hatched. I take the grandchildren under my wing for another history lesson as the jibbering sisters make one more attempt to fill their bags with junk. My teaching of history to these wonderful children has been a pleasure I will not forget, we continue to wander aimlessly around while the trinket hunters trawl the streets of Bath ,it's over and they have returned half happy to catch the bus home thank you God. We take the last supper at the Queens Head hotel in Box and what a lovely meal was had by all ..........WADDA

Late again

Yes I was late again the reason being my G3 network run out of coupons to keep it up and running, not investing any more hard earned Aussie dollars into the British economy. We arrived in Box just out of Bath and our unit has free Wi Fi thank god. After a day in the Cotswolds our brains can take no more of this beautiful countryside, these pretty little towns just keep coming about every 5ks just so so beautiful. The girls have loaded their trinket bags to almost overflowing, but the rules are you buy you carry. Tomorrow is our last full day in the UK so it will be spent in Bath,anyway feeling a bit worn out so see ya.........WADDA

Long lost photos

Something has happened and all of a sudden my photos have returned,don't know how so sorry that they go all the way back to Geneva but that's the best I can do. I have attached them to last blog
......WADDA

Kendal to Liverpool

Another great night this time in Kendal, just a few things of interest about this dot on the map. What we thought was just a village turned out to have a population of around 30,000 and their local cricket club was established in1835 also their fruity cider is another story. We make tracks for Windermere just north of our present location, wow has this place got it self smothered in beauty. As we park the van and decide where this adventure should start you just can't take all this beauty in , just stunning and truely amazing. As we wander this beautiful place the girls spot the Beatrix Potter museum and head in for a look while I seek higher ground for a birds eye view. A local steers me to higher ground and pretty soon I have a commanding view of this beautiful place, I take my place on a park bench and saviour the view. As we meet up and swap stories time is a wasting we hit the M6 bound for Liverpool, asTom Tom lights up and we make for the M6. All of these M&A roads are very busy so the eyes in the back of your head also need to be also open. Spot a sign saying Blackpool so a quick detour and Blackpool here we come, we arrive in this carnival city by the sea and are just gobsmacked 5kilometres of carnival and side show activities. Unable to find a park so we kept heading south, on arrival in Liverpool and with some confusion we arrive at the Novetel hotel smack bang in Beatles territory, all that stuff to do in the morning..........WADDA
SORRY STILL NO PHOTOS

Edinburgh to Kendal

The new navigator has now taken over as the boss,you guessed it Tom Tom has arrived to rescue us from disaster. Try as they may the others were just not up to the level required for for this difficult job, Tom Tom is an expert in the art of navigation and he knows best. Sometimes he maybe speaks a bit soft but I am coping with this minor problem, by the way the food in Edinburgh has been voted some of the best we have had. Now the road trip to Kendal with Tom Tom taking pride and place in the front we depart Edinburgh bound for the lakes district of Crumbia. As the navigator takes it gently on us and takes us past every Damm school in Edinburgh we finally break loose of the city limits, what a relief. As we follow family hunches and folklore we head to Pebbles in search of some long deceased relative ( a doctor I think) , soon the van is full of jibber regarding information relating to this matter. So armed with these vital clues this matter is to be continued at a later date, thank god. Soon another castle is on the horizon so we veer off for a bit more castle mania ,next stop is Gretna Green not far from the boarder. Gotta gather more trinkets don't seem to have enough yet ,after a long drawn out procedure we arrive at this ghost infested pub called the Romneys. Ghosts I have never heard so much rot in all my life just another way to try to fleece poor old WADDA again. Gotta go Tom Tom is awake..........WADDA

Edinburgh in the rain

Start the day dodging the traffic warden, yes he is in full flight in this street trying to nip cunning old WADDA for a few quid in parking fines. Not to be so l have relocated the vehicle away from this nasty man, I hope. We gather in dribs&drabs out the front of Haymarket hotel and begin to implement our plans for today, set off to see the Edinburgh castle in fairly chilly conditions. With the wind at our backs we enjoy the brisk 2 kms walk, through a city that looks tired and a touch grubby but we continue. Our arrival at the castle the wind has turned for the worst it's now officially freezing, by jumping from one doorway to the next we remain out of theses terrible conditions. Well a few hours into this castle haunting we declare a lunch break, and head to the Ensign Ewart hotel to refuel the boiler. WADDA notices there is a hot toddy on the drinks list, i take this opportunity to sample some of Scotland's finest whisky. The tasting experts from Australia declared it devine ,with the lunch break over we brace the elements once again. WADDA has a plan for this shitty old day so he offers to take his precious grandchildren home out of this terrible weather, an offer they readily accept. As we ride home in style in a black cab I smile to myself and think this is livin.......WADDA